Yuba Gap

[charlie center]

I guess the 6th time is the charm...After being shut down for years trying to do this fickle run, word of a reliable flow release filtered down through the boating community. Still skeptical, I decided to drive up to put-in off of Bowman road which is a few miles below the well-known Spaulding reservoir (Fordyce take-out). I met up with Thomas Moore, Scott Lindgren, Little Dave, and Lane Jacobs and we were all stoked to see a perfect flow in the canyon. Scott had done the run once a year ago and helped give general beta, and we were soon on the water. The run starts off full-on, with a entrance gorge of 4 committing drops, and never lets up from there on. After driving the long shuttle, we didn't put-in until around 11. We were confronted with an amazing rapid after amazing rapid, and would find this would continue for 7 miles. Most rapids were surprisingly runnable, one rapid stands out which Lane fired up. It consisted of a 10 foot boof into a sketchy pothole before dropping off a 20 ft falls, the left landing on a rock shelf. After becoming somewhat worried as the day turned to afternoon with no signs of mellowing gradient, we finally arrived to an old mine which Scott recognized as nearing the bottom. We pulled into take-out at around 7, completely stoked and exhausted. The next morning we were all pretty sore, but Dave, myself, and Lane decided to go in for another lap. Paddling down with another group of 7 people, the run went way quicker and we were off the river in about 4-5 hours. Everyone was stoked once again to arrive at take-out, amazed at the quality of whitewater the run offered, and hoping for a chance to get on again. The video of this run will be posted shortly.

[David Farkas]

Looks fantastic. Are flows going to stay for a while?

[charlie center]

I think the lower flow of 200, which I heard was still good, should be flowing for awhile. The flow here was 330...