Excitement & Terror of River Kayaking
On the weekend of June 23-24 a group of nine Southern Calif. ocean kayakers/surf kayakers met at
Kernville to learn about the challenges of white water instead of ocean swells and surf. All of
us were new to river kayaking, although some had rafting experience. Some of the paddlers were
very experienced in the surf. The class was a sort of advanced beginner version created by Sierra
South and Paddle Sports of Santa Barbara for ocean kayakers who could roll, but had no experience
kayaking rivers. We had two excellent instructors from S.S. and an assistant from P.S.
The first morning started out innocently enough in slower water with learning about edging,
ferrying across a stream, entering and exiting eddies, surfing standing waves, and rolling in the
current. It became quickly apparent that there were many more factors involved in river kayaking
than ocean paddling: current, waves(usually bunched together), holes/reversals(want to pull you
under), rocks and other obstacles(i.e.,trees), and eddy lines(like two conveyer belts going in
opposite directions).
We had a delicious catered lunch, and then headed for the "real deal" a few miles North of
Kernville. It was with great anticipation and some trepidation(for me, at least) that we began to
navigate class II and III rapids for the first time. Since the water level was low there were lots
of exposed rocks and barely submerged ones that made the rapids bumpy and challenging. I was
impressed by the abuse plastic boats can take! A highlight (besides getting through the rapids)
was learning to paddle back up alongside the rapids in the eddy and then ferrying out into the
rapid again to surf the biggest standing wave- it was like riding a bronco. Eventually you got
thrown off and you then went through the rapids again. I also learned my body could generate an
incredible amount of adrenaline in a short time. We were pretty exhausted after our first day on
the river, and we enjoyed a Mexican dinner together that evening as we speculated about what
awaited us the next day in even BIGGER and faster water!
So, on the second day we twice ran the lower Kern just West of Bakersfield. I defintely had
reservations about my ability to handle bigger and faster rapids and expressed that to an
instructor who assured me there were bailout points if it was too much. Feeling somewhat
reassured, I was ready(sort of) to try my skills and reflexes, knowing that with faster current
and bigger waves came stronger eddy lines and reduced decision time in the rapids. As on the
first day, the instructors split us into two groups before we entered each rapids. I remember
with some humor the admonition from the instructors to "ALWAYS keep your bow downstream". I found
that extremely challenging with waves all around turning me every which way except downstream (including upside down). I did get a lot of practice with my bracing skills and only got dumped twice in the rapids. Once, I chose to bail out as I saw rocks going past my head when I was trying to set up by bringing the paddle underneath the boat for a right side roll. Rolling in current is defintely more difficult than in the ocean, and I resolved to develope my offside roll(also useful in surf) since I most often seemed to capsize on my left side, and I had learned the right side roll. During the lulls between the rapids, we played by rolling and splashing each other. At one point we ganged up by splashing one hapless
paddler who was giving our outstanding female instructor a hard time. Someone removed his drain
plug and proceeded to push his stern underwater so his boat got a bit "heavy". It was all in good
fun(he survived). We also did more wave surfing in the bigger standing waves like the first day,
except these were much bigger and provided an even more exciting ride.
We finished in the middle of the afternoon and said our goodbyes as we loaded our boats and gear
for the trek home. All in all, it was a great weekend, and more exhilarating than I ever imagined.
The instructors were OUTSTANDING, and I thank them for their skill, knowledge, patience and
teaching skills. My fellow paddlers were a great group of fellow kayakers who often helped one
another. I was impressed by all of them(YOU)- from our 14 yr old to ah ah ...the older ones.
As a sidelight, not only did my overall skills improve, but I was finally able to surf in the
ocean without getting dumped so often, and I had more success catching waves.
John Ernst
Submitted on September 4, 2001