Guests meet at 8am where their Trip Leader will check them in. Once all guests have arrived they will be given their personal gear for the day and board the transportation vehicle. The drive to the put-in at the Nugget Campground in Kelsey, CA takes approximately 25 mins.
Once there the TL will give a Safety Talk to the group, before dividing everyone up and assigning them to a guide. Your guide will make sure that each guest has a paddle and check to see that your PFD and helmet fit properly; after which they will give a short paddle talk and ask guests to help carry the raft to the water.
After a couple of minutes of paddle practice in the eddy at put-in your guide will point the boat downstream and your river adventure will begin with a trip under the Chili Bar Bridge and through Chili Bar Hole (I+). A few bends and a short stretch of calm-ish water later leads into the longest, most technical, rapid on the river Meat Grinder (III+). Most of the rapid is shallow and requires moving the raft around partially exposed (or barely covered) rocks, before finally dropping through a series of holes and waves. Meat Grinder is followed almost immediately by Racehorse Bend (III) a sweeping left turn where the water is pushed against a sloping rock wall and Maya (II/III) a shallow riffle with a small wave in normal flows or a monster boat eating hole above 3500 cfs. After Maya you’ll ease into Rock Garden (II), a shallow stretch of choose your own adventure rock dodging. A short pool later you’ll find the entrance to African Queen (II) a fast dip and turn to move across the river and down a rolling washboard to finish with a big splashy hole.
Next you’ll float through the first long pool of the trip surrounded by steep sloping hills (early spring trips may be lucky enough to be treated to a carpet of California Poppy blooms). About a mile downstream you’ll pass the partially exposed Frog Rock (looks like a frog’s eyes just sticking above the waterline) and enter Triple Threat (III). The rapid is made up of 3 features back to back, most significant of which is a nearly river wide hole at the entrance of the rapid called First Threat (III). Second and Third Threat (both II) are the wave train and a wave train at the end. Shortly after Triple Threat is a narrow channel of roiling water cut into the rocks and, after swirling and bumping your way through, a very small pool leads to the little riffle known as Seventh Inning Stretch. This marks the beginning of the Quiet Zone, a residential area covering the next 7 miles of river where excessive loud noises are prohibited.
