24 Miles, Two Days
Put-in: 2,450’ Take-out: 1,050’ For a total gradient of 1,400’according to Google Earth.

McCloud River scenery.

Flowing south from Mount Shasta, the McCloud River is renowned for both scenery and fishing. With a natural base flow of over 700cfs, the McCloud could be the only year round multi-day run in California. The upper McCloud flows for seven miles until it is impounded in the McCloud Reservoir, where the majority of water is piped into the Iron Canyon Reservoir, which is a fore bay for the PG&E Pit 5 powerhouse on the Pit River.

Because of this diversion, the lower McCloud rarely has enough water to kayak, even in the spring. Curious of what the run contained, Dan Thurber, James Mitchell and myself decided to put in for two days on a “minimum” flow of 600cfs above Lake Shasta.

To shorten the shuttle and keep things interesting, we hoped to put-in on Squaw Valley Creek, which through word of mouth was a good class IV run with two smaller waterfalls. Unfortunately the creek looked too low, and taking the second shortest shuttle option we went for the Ash Creek put in. Normally PG&E maintains the road to the McCloud Reservoir Dam, but not this year.

And I thought I was done shoveling snow for the season….Dan and James get started.

Prospects of getting through the snow bank was looking bleak when we a local fisherman drove up in a Jeep, and after little begging, agreed to drive us to the put-in. Not wanting to waste his time, Dan and I got dropped off directly below the dam. Feeling sick, James wisely opted out of our adventure.

I sure hope we have everything we need….

Our initial flow was “30%”

Already getting into the afternoon, we set off with warm weather and cold water. They sure do release the water in style.

The first thing we noticed outside of the scenery was low flows. Most groups put-in lower down so tributaries raise the levels, but we didn’t have that option. Thankfully the boulder gardens all had routes, but we did do our fair share of gorilla boating. As tributaries trickled in, the water level slowly came up, although it was still low water at best.

Dan in a typical lower McCloud boulder bar drop, there are miles of these.

Ash Creek helped flows a bit more, but due to the nature of the river it wasn’t what I would call quality.

The boulder gardens would have been epic with flows of 800cfs, but we had far less then that, and it had less to do rock dodging, and too much to do with rock bouncing. Eventually we worked out way past Ah-di-na campground, the normal put-in. The gradient mellowed out, and character changed to class II for many miles. We hoped to push past the confluence with Squaw Valley Creek the first day, but wanted to camp in the last bit of sunlight too. Assuming we had not noticed the confluence, we choose a campsite and setup for the evening.

Looking upstream, the McCloud contains miles and miles of rapids like this above the Squaw Valley Creek confluence.

Dan gets into the zone.

Squaw Valley Creek is a major tributary of the McCloud River, and to our delight at the confluence the flow bumped up by a third. The riverbed also starts to get occasional sections of bedrock, and a few beautiful mini gorges reminiscent of the South Fork Smith.

Dan enjoys one of the better rapids on the lower McCloud.

The scenery on the lower McCloud is really what it’s all about.

This is a typical rapid in the lower section of the McCloud.

The wildlife is abundant too, we saw eagles, osprey, and one bear drinking out of the river.

Further into the run, rapids space out a lot more with one larger IV+ thrown into the mix, well described in California Creeks.

Eventually rapids peter out into the occasional class II with long sections of flatwater between rapids.

Dan having fun on one of the last good rapids.

The McCloud would be an epic run with flows around 1,500cfs, but at 600 we were both disappointed with the run. We hit rocks in every rapid minus two or three of the better ones. Without the diversion, the McCloud would be the perfect late summer two day event, but as it is, water comes into the run too late to justify slogging down to the Squaw Valley Creek confluence. There are really just a handful of good rapids in the twenty plus miles on the river, although I am sure it would pick up at high flows. For class III-IV boaters looking for an overnight to get started on, I’d recommend this run if flows are above 800cfs. California Creeks does a great job describing the long shuttle too.

Klamath River on a winter morning.

The majority of water in the South Fork Salmon comes from a glacier high in the Trinity Alps Wilderness. The rest of the water flows out of the Russian Wilderness, guaranteeing first rate water quality on the South Fork Salmon, even when it’s flooding.

All pictures from this trip with the Salmon gauge at 4’

Overlooked by guidebooks the Methodist Creek run on the South Fork is one of California’s best intermediate kayaking runs. It sees regular use by Otter Bar’s classes, and many people say that it is the best run to learn on because it has distinct moves, well defined features and strong eddy lines. At higher flows the South Fork Salmon also has tons of play, making it a good run for mixed abilities. The scenery is great even though the run is roadside, the road is out of view the majority of the time.

Great scenery combined with friendly rapids.

Good pool drop rapids continue for many miles.

You can take out at Forks of the Salmon, or continue downstream through class I-II for several miles to Nordheimer River Access.

There is parking and a trail to the river at Methodist Creek for immediate class III fulfillment, or you can put in further upstream at plentiful access spots for a class II warm up.

Look for 700-2,000cfs on Chris Shackelton’s Dreamflows Estimate for the South Fork Salmon.

The McCloud River flows off the southern side of Mt Shasta, and after dropping over two large waterfalls it flows through a beautiful class II-III (IV) run before being impounded in McCloud Reservoir. Springs supply year round flows in the McCloud, and the water is crystal clear and just above freezing.

Early morning fog at the McCloud Reservoir.

I had done the McCloud years ago as a beginning boater, and swore never to return due to boulder bar rapids and the cold water. I always knew I would have to go back and get photographs at some time though, and as December arrived without any precipitation, I started motivating to get on the McCloud.

I really enjoyed the run this time, I think having a drysuit and pogies made a large difference over my previous wetsuit experience. The first time we put on at Fowler Falls, and scraped down over a mile of rocky rapids before Little Springs came into the river. This time we drove as far downstream as possible and hiked another half mile or so to right above Little Springs, an ideal put in for base flows that eliminates all the scraping endured on our previous trip. The class IV rapid is above Little Springs, so even when water is up a class III boater could put in here and enjoy the McCloud.

Flows are still a little low but acceptable for another half mile, until Big Springs pours in doubling the flow in good fashion.

Nick runs the rapid at the base of Big Springs.

Normally this run is done mid summer, so the heat offsets the cold water. December wasn’t the same story, but it gave us scenery bonuses.

Right below Big Springs is one of the best rapids on the run, a long II+ rapid that stacks up to class III because it’s about two hundred yards long and fun. The general character of the run is very continuous class II with moving water in between. Nothing in particular stood out to me, but the river keeps you moving at a good pace downstream, dodging rocks and hopefully taking time to look up and enjoy the scenery.

James Mitchell splashing it up on the McCloud River.

Eventually after many miles of twists and turns the McCloud goes under a bridge and mellows out, flowing through the Hearst Estate, my largest motivation to return and get some pictures. Paddling through this fairy tale scenery has to be done at least once. Usually any sign of civilization on the river is a detraction from the scenery, but they know how to do it right.

This little one is my personal favorite.

Paddling three miles of flat water isn’t my idea of fun, but thanks to low lake levels the length of flat water paddling was significantly shortened.

The McCloud really is a scenic wonderland, and while the rapids aren’t particularly challenging, the current keeps you moving downstream and the views make it worthwhile as a novelty that I would recommend as a “must do once” kind of run. Bill Tuthill’s CaCreeks also has a great write-up with shuttle directions. While in the area, the rarely run Upper and Middle McCloud Falls are worth checking out for viewing pleasure.

Middle McCloud Falls

I’ve had the All-Star out at our local summer playspot, “Schoolhouse” on the Klamath River. The All-Star is the perfect boat for this wave/hole and helps make this mediocre spot really fun. Lots of folks have been trying the All-Star out and they all come out saying “I want one”.

Fantasy Falls of the Mokelumne is one of California’s classic High Sierra Multi-Day runs. None in our group had done the run so we packed for four days on the water, which was a lot of weight in food. Here we are packing up the boats. I was stoked about the new bulkhead in the Rocker, it let me put a lot of my food up front and balance out the weight of gear. The seat setup also allows easy access to store bulky items in the stern.

Chris Korbulic


Fantasy Falls proper.

Following photos of me enjoying Fantasy Falls and the Rocker are from Kevin Smith.

In the middle of the daily grind for the dollar during rafting season, an unexpected day off had me at the North Fork Rogue with a small group looking for a quick run. Behold my surprise when in rolled Ben Stookesberry, Jesse Coombs, Eric Seymour and Thayer Wallace, who was working on a piece for Canoe & Kayak.

Ben Stookesberry getting it on in some horrible lighting.

Ben, Jesse and Thayer discussing the fine art of seal launching.

Jesse Coombs checking out “Therapy”

Jesse takes the wise line with a nice seal launch.

Paddling the ‘07 Rocker through some of Cali’s classic High Sierra multi day goodness. This short video shows why California is the place to be in the spring, and the Rocker handling multi day weight like a champ.

Spring ‘07 promo.

South Silver is the run everyone thinks of when kayaking in California is mentioned, yet I had never made the trek down to get on it. A tributary of the South Fork American, South Silver has been well documented in both video and picture.

Another sunny California day found Chris Korbulic and I roaming around the state looking for the goods. Due to a serious lack of snowpack we were looking hard and moving fast. After a quick run down Love’s Falls we made some calls and found that the run we were looking at had already dropped out, but Kevin Smith thought South Silver would be at perfect to high flows. South Silver had been on both of our radars for a long time. Over the years I had also developed a vague impression that the run was over-rated and a bit played out for lack of better words. Chris had similar feelings but we were looking forward to finally getting on this classic.

We arrived the night before our run and hiked up from Ice House Reservoir to check flows, which we quickly deemed to be perfect and then we spent some time contemplating Skyscraper, an aptly named drop on South Silver.

The next morning while driving back up we met up with another boater coming down who informed us it was “way too high” which surprised us considering out scout with ideal flows the previous evening. Kevin arrived after a short wait and although it was higher than he had seen it before, he agreed it looked good to go so we were off to the put-in.

A ten minute hike found us at the top of Autobahn, and after quick verbal instructions I took off down one of the best starts to a day I have ever had.

Kevin Smith boofing the top of Autobahn.

Kevin finishing Autobahn on the right.

Next up were several more drops, many that I don’t know the name of, but they were all good fun.

Chris Korbulic running a set of ledges.

Kevin on boof, boof, slide.

Next up were the tea cups, which at these flows were really just a sweet lead in for Skyscraper. There was an eddy on the right and one last one on the left above Skyscraper.

Chris Korbulic boofing through one of the tea cups.

…and another with the big horizon line downstream.

Skyscraper is the largest and much photographed drop of South Silver, and it’s a clean slide that at these flows leads straight into Off-Ramp, another slide that has a sieve on the bottom right, necessitating left angle at the bottom.

Chris Korbulic probes away through Skyscraper and Off-Ramp.

Chris styling down through Off-Ramp.

Off-Ramp really isn’t as steep as it looks, here is the view from up above.

We took turns filming, setting safety and getting shots while Chris and I each took another lap through Skyscraper and Kevin had a good line his first time running Skyscraper. After a quick portage around the sieve below Off-Ramp we made quick time down through several more drops, not sure what this fun one is.

Chris having fun on South Silver.

We gave Plastic Surgery a good long look, because at these flows the holes get greedy and the pool above the final drop is just backwash into the hole, so speed is needed.
Chris trying to work his way into the center of the final drop on Plastic Surgery.

South Silver is an absolute classic, and I thought we had optimum flows for class V boaters. It’s pure fun with good coverage at these flows, and although some of the pools get short there are still enough eddys and the coverage is superb. South Silver is often run with a lot less water and mellows out quite a bit. It would get full on pretty quickly with much more water than we had. Dreamflows has a detailed write-up with shuttle directions and pictures.

Jefferson State Creeking