California and Oregon Rafting

We just finished a trip down to Texas to work for Far Flung Outdoor Center on the Rio Grande. We mostly did half day trips which started in canoes because the water was only 90 cfs. Soon after we arrived, the flow went up to 300 cfs which meant that we got to take rafts instead of canoes.

The full day trips were a good time and the most interesting trip was the boomerang. That involved paddling a canoe upstream through the amazing Santa Elena canyon, having lunch, doing a truly special side hike, and then paddling back down. Once the water came up, we did down river trips throug the various canyons.

To learn more about the Rio Grande area, read Big Bend Rafting.

The forecast runoff for California rivers still looks about average. The rivers in the far south Sierra (Kaweah and Kern) look to be about 80% of average, the rivers of the Central Sierra (Merced, Tuolumne, American) are about 90 -110% of average, and the Northern Sierra seems to be a little lower at around 85% of average. The rivers of the north Coast (Scott, Cal Salmon, and Trinity) are all 100 to 110% of average.

These percents represent the “unimpaired snowmelt runoff.” This is the runoff expected from April to July as a percent of average. For more detailed information, go to the California Department of Water Resources web page about Snow Conditions.

Hetch Hetchy hasn’t made any promises yet, but it looks like we’ll have great water on the Tuolumne this year. They are hoping to release four hours of 1200 cfs each day through Labor Day weekend. As usual, there will be no water released on most Sundays. This is great news for Cherry Creek as 1200 cfs makes that run a blast.

To learn more about the Tuolumne River check out C-W-R.com.