Rafting the Upper American

The upper section of the South Fork of the American River gets often overlooked by many. The early morning meet time of 8 am many times scares off participants. But with the droopy eyed morning comes some benefits, such as solitude.

The participants showed up as planned and we loaded into our van for the short drive to the upper section known by many as "Chili Bar", named after the Chileans that were banished there (to their lucrative benefit) during the gold rush. Once we arrived we did our final checks on the gear and loaded up the rafts. At 9:30 am we put on and within minutes we hit "Meat Grinder" and, GOOD MORNING, the first splash yelled at us, and we all awake with adrenaline.

We picked our way through the rock garden and made our way through Race Horse Bend, Maya, African Queen before we even saw another boat on the water, pure solitude. After the three threats it was onto Troublemaker. Here we got to see our river faces as professional photographers snap pictures of us as we navigate through the double drops of the rapid.

We then got to relax and enjoy the sun the rest of the way as we made our way to our take out. We finished around 1 pm, and with enough time to check out photos, the local eateries (check out Starving Dog Pizza), and make our way home.
-Brian

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