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It’s been a crazy spring, lots going on with family, school, and starting a company. I’ve barely had time to sleep, but I find paddling refreshes me in a way nothing else does. I’ve snuck out for a few early mornings and late afternoons, and a couple Saturdays. Most of it has been on familiar terrain, with groups that move quickly, so I have hardly taken any photos. Several have sat on my hardrive, waiting for me to get a moment to put them online, so this page is a bit of a clearing house. Pictures include three local runs:
Giant Gap – A classic class IV+ run. It’s only about an hour drive from my house, then a steep 2 mile hike to the put in. The rewards are huge, super fun rapids in a gorgeous undeveloped steep canyon. A true five-star classic. We waited for 2 hours at the put in for some members of our group, who got lost on the hike. Still a great day.
Cache Creek – This is a fun, class II+, about an hour west of our house, just east of Napa Valley. It’s got some good rapids, and an easy shuttle. Kim and I paddled this one sunday afternoon in our two-person whitewater kayak, with a friend and his son. Until the takeout, we didn’t see a single other person on the river. Nice.
Pauley Creek – The water looked a little low, but I was desperate for some steep drops, and given the way flows were looking this spring, I knew I couldn’t be picky. A group of us headed north to Downieville, to the classic creeks there. We hiked in to Middle Pauley, and had a great day. Most of the big drops were clean, but I did bump a lot of rocks on the smaller rapids. Still, sunny and warm, with 15+ foot waterfalls equals a good day out.
Hopefully there will be more paddling this year. The snowpack is dwindling quickly, but there are still the dam-release runs.
Geoff
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