Middle Fork of the American River Whitewater Rafting


	[Full Image]

The Middle Fork of the American River rushes through a lovely, secluded canyon where a melee of pounding whitewater, Old West gold-mining lore, and the beauty of the Sierra Nevada foothills combine to offer an incomparable river trip. In the California Gold Rush of the mid 1800s, prospectors from around the globe flocked to the Middle Fork American, seeking their fortune in and around the river. Every tool and trick of the trade was employed as the miners tore into the ground with a vengeance, searching for the Mother Lode.

Today, the miners’ mark on the river is hardly noticed by the rafters who plunge through the exciting waves and drops of the Middle Fork – with one major exception. In an effort to divert the flow of the river in search of gold in its bed, miners blasted a tunnel through the side of a cliff, creating a new channel for the Middle Fork. The dried-up riverbed, called Horseshoe Bend, was reported to be one of the “richest diggins” in the Gold Country – but that’s not all the miners produced with their explosion. They also unknowingly created one of the most unique whitewater features anywhere – Tunnel Chute, a long, roiling rapid that concludes in a stretch of river flowing underground.

Why the Middle Fork American?

Besides the subterranean Tunnel Chute, numerous Class III-IV rapids crash down between calmer pools of glassy water on the Middle Fork, challenging rafters with constant technical maneuvering and aggressive paddling in both raging whitewater and flatter stretches. The river even boasts a 35-foot, Class VI waterfall that we’ll portage.

Details

Price Includes

(WR-24885-E)

Skilled professional guide service

Transfers from the meeting place to the river and back

A delicious picnic lunch and snacks

High quality inflatable rafts and related river equipment including paddle and helmet and personal flotation device, waterproof dry bag for small personal items

Price Excludes

Pre and post trip accommodations and meals

Wetsuits (available for rent on early season and cold weather trips)

Insurance of any kind, including travel insurance

Items of personal nature (see suggested packing list)

Gratuities

Rivers

'Luva River

Suitability / Level

Class IV-V (Intermediate / Advanced)

Minimum Age

Itinerary & Highlights

Sample Itinerary

We pride ourselves in running a relaxed and always flexible schedule. Every trip is different depending upon the group, other trips on the water and sometimes the weather. The following is a sample of what your trip might be like.

We’ll meet at 8:00 AM at the Driver’s Flat turn-out in Auburn. Please be prompt. Once everyone’s arrived, we’ll take a 45-minute shuttle ride to our put-in at Oxbow, where our boats and the rest of our O.A.R.S. crew await us. Our guides will present a thorough safety talk, and then our adventure begins.

Not a minute from our launch point, we encounter our first whitewater. Aptly named Good Morning, this big-wave Class III rapid will get our blood flowing and our hearts pumping, eliminating any remaining sleepiness from the early morning. The next mile and a half brings several Class II-III rapids in quick succession, giving us a chance to sharpen our paddling skills for the mother rapid of the Middle Fork: Tunnel Chute, which is fast approaching.

We hear the ominous roar as we approach Last Chance, a thrilling Class IV drop that positions us for entry into Tunnel Chute. We paddle hard, lining up our raft to go flying down the falls and into Tunnel Chute, a long, growling stretch of whitewater that paws us back and forth through its frothing channel and, as we emerge with laughter and cheers, down through the famous underground stretch of river. 100 yards later we float back into the sunlight, with our hearts still pounding like miners’ tools breaking the rocks for gold. For the next mile and a half, we happily negotiate more adrenaline-pumping Class II-IV rapids with highlights like First Flip and Kanaka Falls.

After plummeting through Kanaka, the river changes considerably, meandering over several miles of calm water. This is a great chance for us to rest our arms momentarily and gaze up at the beautiful scenery around us. We are now in the heart of Auburn State Recreation Area in the American River Canyon, where steep walls covered in pine forests plunge down into the boulder-strewn river. Springtime rafting offers green hills blanketed with colorful wildflowers; later in the season, the hills turn a golden yellow that contrasts sharply with the green woods that cover them.

Lunchtime comes and we pull off the water for a delicious picnic. Knowing that a morning of hard paddling inspires a very hearty appetite, we make sure that our lunches are always abundant and satisfying. Lounge in the shade of an oak tree with a deli sandwich piled high with fresh cold cuts, cheese and veggies or perhaps tasty taco salad, plus icy lemonade, water, fresh fruit and cookies. After feasting and relaxing on the beach, we resume our journey.

Back in our boats, we’ll finish paddling through the flat-water section, then prepare for another long stretch of continuous whitewater action. An intense Class IV drop, Chunder gets us back in the swing of things just before we make a hard right and pull off the river above the roaring Ruck-A-Chucky Falls. This 35-foot waterfall is classified an un-runnable VI, which means that we must get out of the boats and portage the rapid. We’ll walk down the side of the pounding falls, then look back up to see our guides “ghost boating” the empty rafts – pushing them over the falls – for an idea of what happens to boats in Class VI whitewater! Back on the river, we finish our day with another mile and a half of great whitewater like Parallel Parking, Texas Chainsaw Mama and Final Exam.

As we reach flat water and our take-out, our river trip draws to a close. An O.A.R.S. shuttle will be waiting at the take-out point to return us to our vehicles by approximately 5:00 PM.

Accommodation & Centre Details

Reservations and Deposits
Full payment is due at the time of reservation.

Cancellations and Refunds
If you find it necessary to cancel your trip, notify us as soon as possible. All payments are nonrefundable and we regret that we cannot make exceptions for personal emergencies. For this reason, we strongly urge our participants to investigate trip cancellation insurance (see Insurance).

Medical
Under most circumstances, if you are of an adventurous spirit and in reasonably good health, you should have no problem enjoying a Travel Outdoors trip. People with heart trouble and pregnant women should have their physician’s approval before taking an adventure travel trip.

Insurance
Although every effort is made to insure a safe trip for all, we strongly recommend that you protect yourself, your belongings, and your vacation through the purchase of a short-term traveler’s policy. A trip cancellation policy covers your non-refundable payments in most cases, should you have to cancel your trip at the last minute due to illness or injury. Trip participants should realize that in the event of illness or injury on an adventure travel trip, evacuation can be prolonged, difficult and expensive. Personal belongings and cameras are carried entirely at the owner’s risk, and Travel accepts no responsibility for lost, damaged, delayed or stolen property.

Liability Waiver (OR Acknowledgement of Risk)
Everyone is required to sign a standard release (Acknowledgement of Risk) form before the trip, acknowledging awareness that some risks are associated with the trip. Safety is of the utmost concern on our trips. However, due to the nature of the activities, a condition of your participation is that you will sign this form and return it to our office before the trip begins. Anyone who refuses to sign the form will not be allowed to participate, and consistent with Travel Outdoors cancellation policy, there will be no refund of the trip fees at that time.