Lower Kern River: Dam to Hobo Campground (June 12th, 04). Hobo Campground to the Bridge (June 13th, 04)Paddlers: Carlos, Beck, Damian, Scott, Emery and his friend. Water Level: 880 cfs on June 12th and 930 cfs on June 13th.
The upper kern was running very low (750 cfs), a sign showing the season is ending soon. We decided to paddle the lower kern which we hoped it would last thru another month (July/August) or so. At 880 cfs, the run from the Dam to Hobo campground was very scenic but long section of flat water and the rapids weren't very exciting. It was also a long run (about 4 hrs).
Second day was more satisfying. Walt tried to talk me into running the Forks of the Kern, but I decided to do something more comfortable. The Hobo to the bridge section has a mix of class 3s and easy 4s rapids. Scott and I took out at the bridge (as we wanted to hit home early) while Carlos, Damian, and Beck continued down to Democrat. We saw a hot spring just shortly after the put-in (about 2.3 miles downstream on river left). There were two hot tubs and could possibly fit 8 people comfortably. At lunch break, we stopped at "Royal Flush" rapid which was awesome to look at. We all walked around and put-in at the bottom.
|