OVER THE BOW: ALDER CREEK

It's the song of the mountains. The annual spring anthem of harmonious hisses, splashes and gurgles that builds and swells into a roaring crescendo in each alpine stream and river. Writer Wallace Stegner called it "a steady renewal of force; transient and eternal, " that every sense applauds.

"Listen again to its sounds," he wrote in The Sound of Mountain Water: The Changing American West  "Get far enough away so that the noise of falling tons of water does not stun the ears, and hear how much is going on underneath... The small talk of side channels, the whisper of blown and scattered spray gathering itself and beginning to flow again, secret and irresistible, among the wet rocks."

That rumbling symphony of raging water turned out to be a trumpet's call for elite paddlers after a series of late-winter storms pumped moisture into the veins of the Northern California water supply. Like a blast from a fire hose, these "atmospheric rivers," as these storms are known as, produced massive quantities of snow and rain, causing an explosion of high-water conditions in the region's creeks and streams. For extreme paddlers like Gavin Rieser, there couldn't ever be a more perfect storm.

"It is probably the gnarliest bit of whitewater I have paddled," wrote Rieser on his Facebook page, "It starts off with super fun and super nonstop Class 4 to 4+5, with an optional hike out for those not willing to brave the depths of the canyon below."

Sacramento's Rieser and his paddling partner Harry Lopez took advantage of flooded Alder Creek, a tributary to the South Fork American River, west of Kyburz, California. While the South Fork section is a local paddling favorite, the creek is more of a mystery.

"I'm sure I wasn't the only one wondering what might lay upstream," posted Rieser, "The creek has seen some descents both at the bottom and much higher up, and I myself paddled a short section above the meadows a few years ago. What amazes me is how much of it actually goes. While there are a few mandatory portages, most of the stuff we did walk was runnable. We either weren't feeling it or walked due to safety and time concerns."

Rieser estimated the steepest part of the nearly 2-mile section of the canyon has several drops between 5 to 15-feet, with its biggest fall at nearly 60-feet.

"It is relentless," he wrote on his Facebook post, "I dub it, the "Gorge of Gnarnia." Really,  it's more like 2 gorges separated by super steep boulder gardens reminiscent of Middle Kings, but hey, who's counting? If you want your Class 5+ fix, I highly recommend the "Gorge of Gnarnia."

According to Rieser it took them nearly 8-hours to explore, scout and paddle the rugged and steepest nearly 2-mile section of Light Canyon's Alder Creek before hiking out very tired and sore.

"There were many more amazing and epic rapids," stated Rieser on Facebook, "Most of them we ran, many of the ones we walked were runnable but portaged due to safety and time concerns."

We are all called to that serenade of rushing water echoing through the canyons. In its encore performance, we look forward to hearing it every year in winter's finale and spring's overturn. Its repeated refrain of nature's chorus that seems to perpetually speaks to us. As mountain climber and environmentalist David Brower said, "Let the mountains talk, let the river run. Once more, and forever. "

Rieser is the Where is Waldo of kayaking in California. He, his pickup truck and kayak travel everywhere in Northern California looking for steepest roads and biggest drops. You can see all Rieser's' photos on Facebook and follow him on Instagram at @kayakerdude1435.  Check out his videos on YouTube.

Over the Bow is a feature from Outside Adventure to the Max, telling the story behind the image. If you have a great picture with a great story, we would love to see it. Submit it to us at nickayak@gmail.com

BUT FIRST, LETS GET A SELFIE: 15 KAYAKING INSTAGRAM YOU SHOULD FOLLOW

                  
At Outside Adventure to the Max, we just love our friends who thrill us with a daily post of their stories and visual media on Instagram. Whether they're running waterfalls, raging rapids or a long distance sea trek, they have brought us along and made us feel part of their adventure. Some are well known top notch kayaking athletes and photographers who have garnered thousands of followers and millions of likes while are others just might be off your radar till now.

Want to know who we follow? Here are some kayaking-feed-favorites that help us get fired up for new paddling destinations for our weekend and upcoming adventures along with inspiring us with their great images of our kayaking culture.

Cameron O'Connor

@cameron_kayak16
For chutes and paddles whitewater play boater young Cameron O'Connor puts us in this cockpit at renoriverfestival and gopromountaingames along with some other hard charging venues and play parks.  

@darinmcquoid
Darin McQuoid, a California based photographer and white water paddler, has kayaked most of the world on international expeditions.  An eye for action, his photographs have been published in National Geographic, Outside, Canoe and Kayak, Kayak Session, Paddler, Rapid Magazine

@peterholcombe
Makes, I live a van down by the river sound cool. Gypsy photographer Peter Holcombe leads his family around the country chasing a dream and his daughter's pink Jackson kayak.

@sagekayak 
At Outside Adventure to the Max we just love to keep up Freestyle Jr. World champion. USA Jr and Senior Slalom Team's sensation Sage Donnelly. A
a rising star in the world of whitewater kayaking, Sage shows us that girls still just want to have fun all while competing on a world class level.

Kate Hives

@kate_hives
Kate Hives is an adventurous sea kayaking guide and rough water coach with SKILS based out of Vancouver Island. A world explorer Keep up with Hives in her blog At home on the water.

@kalobgrady88 
It's his life, it's his passion. Kalob Grady grew up on the banks Ottawa River one of the world's greatest whitewater playgrounds so brace for waves. He just signed on to be the head coach of World Class Kayak Academy so pack your bags for trips to Canada, Uganda, Zambia, Chile, and West Coast.

@nicktroutmankayak
Nick Troutman is one of the most popular paddlers on the circuit. A World Freestyle Kayak Champion, film maker and most of all fun-time dad.

@pete_delosa
One of most popular guest at Outside Adventure to the Max bloggers, California based kayaker Pete Delosa takes us down some the biggest drops the Sierra can provide. Insightful and always fun you can also keep up with DeLosa on his blog at River-Bum.com.

Pete Delosa

@rafaortizkayak  
You will need a Red Bull to keep up with Rafa Ortiz, one of whitewater kayaking's super stars. The subject of “Chasing Niagara," a film chronicling Ortiz's pursuit of being the first person ever to go over Niagara Falls his shots are beautiful, daring and always amazing.

@martinbeebeephoto
Hey is time to relax yet? Martin Beebee mixes kayaking, golden retrievers and hot and cold places across the map in visions of peaceful tranquility. His aerial footage of the South Fork of the American River is pretty cool too. But, you'll have to go to YouTube for that.

@kayakerdude1435 
Gavin Rieser is the Where is Waldo of kayaking in California. He and his pickup truck and kayak were traveling everywhere this past summer looking for steep roads and big drops. This is the only way to keep up him unless you want to chip in for gas money.

@sleepygoat
Funny handle but beautiful photography as J Maxfield explores the levees and reservoirs around Lewiston, ID; far away from the daily routine.

@garethtate
Gareth Tate like to charge hard with an unquenchable thirst for travel and adventure. Tate takes us up snowy peaks, down raging rivers and for a dip into Lake Tahoe.

Dylan McKinney

@dylankmckinney
North Carolina whitewater globe trekker Dylan McKinney captures the feel and excitement of paddling in some of the world’s foremost whitewater. He puts you up front and takes you for a wild ride. Hold on tight!

@nickayak
The official feed of Outside Adventure to the Max. Follow us on river trips along the American River and moonlight paddles with Current Adventures as we count down to 100 paddling days and beyond.

For more adventure and inspiration along with connecting to other fellow paddlers and river lovers across the world follow some these post too. @dbpmagazineonline, @adventuretechnology, @aquabound, @adventurekayakmag, @nsrweb @rapidmagazine,@daggerkayaks

"WHAT FALLS THERE ARE"... A GUIDE TO RIVER SCOUTING

We call upon the waters that rim the earth, horizon to horizon, that flow in our rivers and streams, that fall upon our gardens and fields, and we ask that they teach us and show us the way. -- Chinook Blessing

In 1869, ten men and four boats embarked on a journey through almost 1,000 miles of uncharted canyons trying to map one of the West's last great wildernesses and forever changing our view of it.

"We have an unknown distance yet to run, an unknown river to explore," said one-armed Civil War hero leader John Wesley Powell, "What falls there are, we know not; what rocks beset the channel, we know not; what walls ride over the river, we know not. Ah, well! we may conjecture many things."

The party experienced calamity after calamity. One of the boats sank in a rapid, taking with it all their scientific instruments and a quarter of the party’s provisions. Another near-sinking of a second boat took the remaining food through spoilage. Morale disappeared as party members gave up and abandoned the expedition. After three months, only five of the original company would emerge from the depths of the Grand Canyon. Although hailed a hero, Powell's first trip into the unknown was a disaster.

"The relief from danger, and the joy of success, are great." wrote Powell in Down the Colorado: Diary of the First Trip Through the Grand Canyon, describing the perils of the trip, "The first hour of convalescent freedom seems rich recompense for all—pain, gloom, terror.”

Photo by Roger Peka

There is an old whitewater kayaking adage that says, "When in doubt, scout." If Powell's trip down the Colorado River teaches us anything, it's that the party didn't know anything about what they were likely to face. Today's whitewater paddling experts give us several reasons why you might want to scout a rapid first before running it.

"The first is just to make sure it has an exit. If I’m paddling on an unfamiliar stretch of river and no one in the crew knows it then it’s crucial that there is a way out of a rapid before you commit to dropping in." said Current Adventures Kayak School & Trips instructor Pete Delosa, "In California it’s not uncommon for the river to run into and under a pile of boulders. In the Northwest, it might end in a pile of trees. If you can’t see the exit from the top, you don’t really know."

The California-based kayaker Delosa sponsored by Immersion Research and member of Team Pyranha, recommends that if you know it’s going to be a hard rapid to paddle, to study the flow and get an understanding of what the water is doing. Look for hazards you want to avoid and the line you want to make. See how much of the water is going into the hazards versus where you want to go.

"Are there certain features that are going to flip me?" said Delosa, "Maybe there is a feature like a small eddy that I can use to get to where I want to go, or maybe there’s a really big hole that I need to avoid because it feeds into a sieve."

Rafa Ortiz via Facebook

Red Bull athlete Rafa Ortiz never runs anything too stout or dangerous without a proper scout. Ortiz is one of whitewater kayaking's superstars and the focus of “Chasing Niagara," a film produced by Red Bull chronicling his pursuit of being the first person ever to go over Niagara Falls in a kayak. However, he says, when he is guiding someone down a river they've never paddled, he finds it tricky choosing when to get them and scout it.

"I often find that too much information doesn't necessarily result in them having a good line, " Ortiz wrote on Facebook Messenger, "When you scout a rapid, for example, with a bad hole on the left, as you get in your boat and paddle into it, all that is in your mind is the dimension and apparent stickiness of the monster on river left. Your mind is often blurred by fear."

On the other hand, he warns, not to make someone drop into a rapid their first time without enough information. He says it would be neglectful on his part if they ended up in the gnarly hole on the left, swim and get body recirculated just because he didn't emphasize its dimension.

"What I do nowadays is an in between," wrote Ortiz, "I suggest people scout a rapid that in my opinion does have a life-threat in it and even something that could result in a negative enough experience for them to want to quit kayaking. Otherwise, let them enjoy the pleasure of the one chance they have to run it blind."

Photo by Ethan Howard

After you've made the decision to run the rapid, start at the bottom and work your way back up to your boat, suggested DeLosa. He says to find landmarks that you will be able to spot from the water.

"Landmarks are really helpful for knowing where you are in a rapid when you can’t see the entire thing from the entrance." said Delosa,  "A good example is Skyscraper (rapid) on South Silver Creek in California. There are two really tiny standing waves right at the lip of the drop. From the pool above you can’t see anything past the horizon line, but if you go off between those two little waves with a slight left angle you’re in good shape to start."


Sacramento paddler Gavin Rieser agrees and thinks the biggest reason, is being able to see a pool at the bottom of the drop. 
"If I can't see what looks like a pool below," said Rieser,  "I have no idea if what I'm about to run is a huge monster drop or not."
Rieser also does his homework by reading up on the rivers he will be running and checking in with area boaters on what to expect.
"Another big factor is how much I've heard about the run or not." said Rieser, "If I know it's supposed to be a Class III to IV run, then I'm not likely to scout it much. If it's a Class V run, I will be scouting a lot more"

If you’re on a longer mission day to save time, a good habit to develop is to always take your rope with you whenever you get out to scout. Delosa says by doing this you won't have to go back to your boat and then back downstream if someone in your crew asks you to set as the safety.
"Also, while you’re scouting," said Delosa, "Another crew might come along and paddle into the rapid without scouting and you’ll be well positioned to help them should someone get in trouble."

In 1871–1872, Powell again retraced part of his ill-fated expedition down the Colorado River. This time, he would be fortified by knowledge instead of folklore. His scientific expedition filled in the blanks left behind on the previous trip and produced the first reliable maps of the Colorado River and the Grand Canyon. Wanting to be more comfortable, Powell acquired a sturdy armchair and tied it to the middle bulkhead of the pilot-boat. From there, he could view the river ahead of him, but this time, he had seen it before.

If you want to learn more and practice some advanced skills contact us at Current Adventures Kayaking School and Trips and ask about private advanced classes.
PHONE: 530-333-9115 or Toll-Free: 888-452-9254
FAX: 530-333-1291
USPS:Current Adventures, P.O. Box 828, Lotus, CA 95651
info@currentadventures.com
owner Dan Crandall dan@kayaking.com