Most years, our Forks of the Kern trips are just about wrapped up by July. This year, the Forks season isn’t even opening until July. The huge 2011 snow pack and early season high flows have allowed us to postpone these trips to take advantage of the long backslide of the peak runoff. What does that [...]
Kern River Outfitters is offering several tempting opportunities for friends and families to celebrate the Fourth of July weekend this year. There is still some availability for rafting trips on the Upper and Lower Kern and they have just opened two half day trips on the Lower Kern for Saturday, July 2nd and Monday July 4th. [...]
The Thunder Run is an exceptional Class Five 0ne-day trip on the Upper Kern. We ran one today and yesterday. The conditions are perfect: beautiful weather and exceptional water flows. Pictured above is our guide Scooter Carling and his raft of eager paddlers having the time of their lives dropping into Fender Bender Rapid. They were [...]
Yesterday our crew packed into the Forks of the Kern in preparation for our Forks training trip. We're launching this morning and will be taking out tomorrow afternoon. Things are looking great for the trip: beautiful weather and great water flows.Gary (many refer to him simply as "Starter") drove some of the crew up and was [...]
After completing our 2010 Guideschool, and being checked off to run this portion of the Upper Kern, Ben Woodruff is seen guiding the first Lickety Split trip of his career. It's not every guide who gets his first trip immortalized in digital pixels. Ben's hitting the wave at Ewings straight and everyone is in the boat. [...]
Access to the trail head for the Forks of the Kern will be delayed this year. Due to the high volume of snow this winter and spring (the storms still haven't released their grasp on the Southern Sierra), Lloyd Meadow Road is still closed and will remain so for up to two weeks. The photo above [...]
The recent spate of storms have left us wondering where spring went, but we can't help but be excited about the still growing snow pack. At over 109% of normal, we are looking forward to a long, fun Upper, Forks, and Lower Kern season ahead of us. Yesterday, the Kern River Valley was hammered by yet [...]
After a long season, even the Kern River requires a rest from the annual whitewater run off that allows us to play all spring and summer. The river mellows, the cottonwoods, alders, and willows all swap their green foliage for bright colors and eventually relinquish their leaves altogether in preparation for a long winter nap. A [...]
Forbes Magazine recently ran an article on the ten best places to go whitewater rafting in the country and the Kern River made the top of the list.If you’d like to see the notation click here.Kern River rafting has never been more popular and the 2009 season is expected to be another great year. Southern California [...]
This past weekend the Kern River Valley celebrated the fifty first anniversary of Whiskey Flat Days. Friday, February thirteenth, presented a less than ideal weather scenario with a veritable blizzard descending on the Kern River Valley. By noon, the snow was accumulating rapidly throughout the entire region. The following Saturday morning however, the sun rescued the [...]