If anyone is looking to do any kayaking on the klamath this summer give me a holler. I am working on a fire engine in Happy Camp and always looking for people to boat with.
Cheers,

what about the IKes or even ishi pishi, though I have never run the whole thing i know of a few guys that have. I'd say they are worth mentioning in the poll though, my vote for fun is caldera, but for watching on the bank of the river it's gotta be dragons tooth.

Hi Geordie,

I'm up for some of the mellower Klamath action at some point ... I'm a newbie/novice down in Eureka. I don't know the Klamath yet, but I have several kayaking and rafting guide friends who probably do, and I assume you know about the helpful http://creekin.net
I'll be on the Trinity mostly if you're interested in that occasionally, too, but Class II-III-ish on the Klamath at some point would be interesting -- any good 1-day runs you have in mind?

~ Shaun shaunotter@yahoo.com

[quote="revengley"]
"what about the IKes or even ishi pishi...."

Ikes are a lot of fun, and a great end to the class IV section of the Butler Creek run on the Cal-Salmon. You are right I should have included it in the survey. Unfortunately I don't know how to add new topics to the poll.

Ishi Pishi...I have seen pictures of it being rafted before, and broken kayakes of attempted runs. Good call, it is a bitching rapid to look at.

[quote="shaunotter"]
"I'm up for some of the mellower Klamath action at some point"

Hey Shaun,
I am still getting some boating in on the Klamath. Though now I am living in Etna California and I am working on the Salmon River Hotshots. We are gone a lot and work lots of hours over the summer. But I will definitely give you a call next time I am on the Trinity.

Geordie

I like that rapid that feels like I'm being mugged by a guy with cheese grater's for hands.

No seriously save money, I'll come to your house with a power sander and drill. Give you that real Klamath experience.

Hell's Corner and the Eddy Club

I boated the Chambers Flat to Oak Flat Creek section below Happy Camp yesterday. It is flowing awesome for being July (55mins to go 4 miles). The boof on the center rock of rattlesnake is now fair game. The cheat rout on the left is still there but going away and the chute on the right is a fun level. The Mixmaster, the Funnel and the Trench are all at fun levels with a couple of surfing possibilities.

Serious question here: Why do you guys love this stretch so much. I remember one or two big water class III-III+ with like a hundred miles of riffle between them.

Now Ishi when I saw it was righteous (50K+) and it filled my heart with joy to see an entire 16-18' self bailer surf it. With the legend Doug Stanley at the helm. From upstream the entire raft and crew would dissapear in the trough. Only to reapear a little lighter. Until that delicate balance was thrown off and it came free.
But that's just one drop and we did it after running the slammin' Salmon.
The Hell's Corner was fun in a raft, I have no desire to boat that pumice stone though, and who wants to wear a wet suit in July just to keep their skin.
Don't misunderstand, the Klamath is a beautiful river. Wothy of it's designation. But taking a kayak poll on this river seems kinda silly considering the drainages around it.
I was alway told to send beginners to the Pidgeon point run on the Trinity. What's your perspective? I did most of my learning on the Slow Fo. of the American so I'm not bagging your run. We all know the S.F. ain't the gnar.(well above 6K it gets pretty pushy in a play boat.)
Yet, the S.F. does offer some good III-III+ and excellant down river play in a much denser format. This keeps it exciting for more advance boaters.
Is there comparble to that in the Trinity/Marble drainage or is it all steep/flat with no in between.

Whites Bar to Hayden Flat, Big Flat to Whites or French bars are good Class II beginners runs on the Trinity, but Pigeon Point (solid III/III+) is better for people who have just become intermediate boaters. The relatively short rapids and mellow recovery pools do make it nice and fairly safe for agressive newbies like me and my two months experience. I started out on the SF Trinity, Class II and very beautiful and winding with more maneuvering needed than on the mellow main fork runs.

Do you have a fairly reliable combat roll?
If so I recommend you concentrate on Pidgeon Pt. and shine the main K. I've never run it but it's gotta have more drops than the K.
CA seems to have a dirth of good learning runs. the whole state screams go big or go home.

bone apetit

Started rolling in pool two weeks ago, had my first combat roll at the Pig Pt. play wave last week on first try, and then struggled the rest of the day (still needing to have more patience and focus while tucked underwater in Class IIIs) -- almost had another the first time down Hell Hole that day, after I accidentally backsurfed in the meat of the hole for a bit w/ nice corrections (fun!)
I swam more than previous two runs there (6 versus 3) but I was trying and paddlin' Ranger Brett said I was "like the best swimmer ever"(!!) since I was keeping my gear together and eddying out nicely ... I want to flip less and swim very little tomorrow, since damn dam release has gone from 1700cfs last Sun. to 750 tomorrow.

Dude I'm sorry I had no idea. I personally learned the School of Hard Knocks way and don't recommend it if your having problems with your roll as much as your saying. Six swims? Is this playboating or were you gettin' rolled in every drop.(Never paddled Pidgeon) With that said I do encourage you to get to a pool as often as possible and if you need more than practice than get help!! You should never get comfortable with nor accept swimming out of your boat. I know we joke about our buddies swimming but that is black humor to ward off the willies. Besides it's o.k. to laugh if their o.k. I know much better boaters than me who still have problems occasionally with their roll. With all that said I have no idea where you should paddle. I would recommend a club or try to find a group of paddlers stronger than you who are willing to watch your back. Don't be surprised if you keep swimming and they ditch you(don't want you paddling with them). Nobody wants to continuely be picking up your pieces, and it makes fellow beginners nervous. I also recommend I.K.'s and hard shell sit on tops especially. They help you learn to paddle with more confidence. I don't recommend them above class III.

Good luck. Bone apetit.

Today's Pigeon Point Score:

0 Swims

0 Bow rescues

2 Great Combat Rolls (and some nice practice rolls, too)

1 Hell of a good time, nice and confidence-boosting

Yes, it was a good paddling milestone day for me -- I would have been psyched just because it was my first no-swim day at Hell Hole (aside from past rafting days), but to have my first real/needed combat roll on the first attempt was simply SWEET! My smims last time were almost all in Class III's. River is mellower and slower now (aside from Hell Hole being a bigger drop and somewhat nastier) , I wish I had my roll down earlier when things were faster/bigger/funner, but I'm so glad I started getting out on Pigeon early and when it was that fun. With its almost all short rapids with good recovery pools, is actually pretty safe to swim in, near the bottom of rapids especially. I'm smilin' and looking forward to early winter and spring flows :)

Good to hear. Keep it up. You need a sensai. Someone with mucho experience who knows when and where to trash err...push your comfort levels. Playboating is the gateway to ninja paddle fu.

If your ever up north let me know, be happy to show a beginner the lines on S.F.

P.s. I repeat swimming out of your boat because you can't roll is never good, never fun, and should never make you happy. It should only make those watching happy.

Hmmmm.....interesting.....

Ahhhh! there's my favorite anonymous guest. I was beginning to miss you and your cryptic responses. Where ya been? What's new in the sanatarium? You still need the plastic sheet? How was the last electro shock therapy session? Hope your seeing results.

......interesting......

Re: Serious question here: Why do you guys love this stretch so much? I remember one or two big water class III-III+ with like a hundred miles of riffle between them.

All I can say is to try living in Happy Camp for a couple of years. The K is really peaceful; you usually see some good wildlife (e.g. Bears, Deer, Otters, and Bald Eagles). If you know what stretches to do it really doesn’t take that long unless you stop and play a lot. Another good aspect of the Klamath is that you can do it by yourself and not get too sketched out. Like when you suddenly get 2 hours to kill and your only chance of boating is to go. I would say about 5 people in the town are whitewater enthusiasts, and we all are a little jaded.

I created the Poll because I will see a couple hundred people go down the river a day during a summer weekend. They come in from out of town, with outside companies or to boat privately. They must see something that they like here. And I am always interested in meeting the new boaters in the area. I think the few amount of votes in the poll shows that people come to the K because it is mellow, pretty and good for the family, and not for the rapids.

But you do have a point, if I am looking for a little more adrenaline the Scott and Salmon Rivers are right near by and the Indian, Clear and Elk creeks are a lot of fun. The Trinity is a pretty far drive and only a little harder then the K. I have only been down it a couple of times. It is sad because the Smith River is only 25 miles away, but it is a 3 hr drive to get there from happy camp when it is flowing because of snow.

Why do I love the K so much? ...Because it is there.