Webber Creek

6 March 2005 No Comment

Webber Creek is a small tributary to the South Fork Of the American River. Parts of it run very near my house, so I was interested in learning what kind of paddling might exist on it. There is very little published information on the run, but Mike Bean had put me in Contact with a fellow named Joe, whose sort of the unnoficial guru for this run, having watched it closely, and done it many, many times.

Turns out there are several runnable sections all dependent on rain to bring up the flow. Last night Joe called me up, said “we’re going”. I’d actually decided not to kayak sunday, and get some stuff done that I needed to get done, but I couldn’t resist, so 10 AM this morning (sunday), I’m at the takeout. We drive the shuttle, suit up, and put in under a bridge. It’s about 8 miles of paddling to our takeout (the Salmon Falls take out on the SF American Gorge run). Ther first several miles of Webber are pretty junky, low water, rocky and BRUSHY. I spend an insane amount of time hoping not to get a stick through my eye!

Towards the last few miles it steepens up, and there are some fun rapids, it improves A LOT. There are some cool rapids, with some quick moves required, although nothin too hard or heinous. At one point I see Joe lead the way dwon an odd little left chute, but I think I see a better way. I was wrong, and in one rapid I get a little to experience a log strainer limbo move, a roll, and being broached upside down hanging from my thigh hooks with my head in the air! The last couple bits are pretty fun, although still pretty boney, and moves quickly, then we hit the SF just above Bouncing Rock.

A fun local run, kind of neat to do, a bit of an adventure, but the brush and rocks limit the “stars” I would give it in a hypothetical guidebook. I think when I do it again, I’d like to do it with a higher flow as well.

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