BRT Insights - WW Kayaking & Hiking

What could be better than kayaking with friends on a nice sunny day!!

BruceH, Hubert & I drove up to Coloma and unexpectedly met up with my old friend BobbieH and her friends Ed and Brigett. We put-in on Coloma to Greenwood Run SF American River (map & guide) at a really nice flow of 1600cfs (El Dorado County, California, USA).


There were lots of kayakers, IKers, rafters and innnertubers on the river, but crowds seemed no greater than normal even though this was a 3-day holiday weekend. Since this was only my second river trip of the year I took it very easy and had a nice mellow day. I did a little surfing in the rapids upstream from Gremlin wave-hole and got a couple of good rides at Gremlin. My kayak paddling instincts were still plenty fine for class II whitewater, but my stamina was down because all of my paddleboating muscles were totally out-of-shape.

We had lunch on our favorite island downstream from Henningson Park and reapplied sunscreen. Then we got in a little surfing on the great little wave upstream from Camp Lotus. I just don't understand why there are not lines of boaters waiting to learn to surf on this great little wave, but I don't mind too much when it is free for me to just jump on it and surf as long as I like.

We blasted through Barking Dog Rapid with no plan to stop and play there. The funny water downstream from Barking Dog messed around with me a little. I got through it without major embarassment, but it was another little reminder of how out-of-shape and out-of-practice I am. By then the flow was starting to drop. We did just a little more surfing and eddying as we cruised down the river through Current Divider, Highway and Swimmer's Rapid. And I got to rescue one swimmer (you owe me a beer!!).

Totalling up my fluid intake during a day of boating (~1 pint) I realized that I must have been pretty severely dehydrated in the latter part of the day. In the thrill of the moment I never feel thirsty while kayaking. Muscle performance suffers when the body is dehydrated, so I definitely need to pay more attention to maintaining good hydration while kayaking. I want to ensure that I can get the full benefit of whatever level of kayaking performance that my fitness will permit.

Ed & Brigett's 55 Ton truck did a great job of shuttling all of us and all of our gear back to Coloma. Our former favorite restaurant in Cameron Park has declined greatly under new ownership, so we got dinner at Old Spaghetti Factory in Rancho Cordova on the way home.

Photos & videos by BruceH using the Stylus Tough 8000 waterproof camera:
• BruceH's SF American River kayaking pictures.
• BRT kayak surfing upstream from Camp Lotus - video by BruceH.
• BobbieH kayaking Swimmer's Rapid - video by BruceH.



• (Please click on the Comment link below and add your comments, insights, and experiences from the kayaking trip. Write as much or as little as you like to tell the story of your day on the river.)

More about:
• Trip Reports - Kayaking Whitewater Rivers in California.
• California Whitewater River Guides for kayakers and other paddle-boaters.

IceRocket Tags: kayaking.
Tags: kayaking, river, whitewater, paddle boating, playboating, American River, California.

Labels: trip