Rafting paradise

---

Today is my second day on the Tuolumne.

I got up pretty early; the sun shone in the canyon in the morning and woke me up.

Our guides had coffee and hot chocolate waiting.

I appreciated the heat in the relatively cold morning air.

Breakfast was as fantastic as dinner: omelets and beef hash, washed down with more lemonade.

Sierra Mac realizes that great food will get people to come back, and prepares it accordingly.





While wandering around the site after breakfast, I found myself in alder trees, completely surrounded by a spreading vine with small green leaves.

Really familiar serrated waxy leaves found in groups of three.

I remembered from Eastern hiking that the oil that causes the reaction requires some time to absorb into the skin, so I took a quick swim in the river.

It must have worked, because I didn’t have a reaction later.





After packing up, we got back on the river.

The first few rapids illustrated one of the hazards of multi-day trips, having to paddle while still full from breakfast.

Thankfully, the first rapids were pretty easy, dropping through little chutes between big rocks.

Grey's Grindstone

We then encountered Grey’s Grindstone, the toughest rapid of the day.

This rapid is a less nasty version of Ram’s Head, a long technical rock garden requiring precise maneuvering.

The overall drop is less, making this the upper limit of Class III.

We first dropped over a two inch ledge and then twisted through seemingly endless rocks.

I found it easier than much of yesterday, a good sign.





We had lunch just below a Class II rapid.

The river runs over a bunch of little rocks, creating a set of standing waves.

Rafters can safely swim something like this in a life jacket, so many of us hiked up the shore and jumped in.

The trickiest part is getting away from the rocks near shore; then just put up the feet and ride the waves.

I was hesitant at first thanks to my experience on the Ocoee (see Stress, Danger and Discovery) but finally took the plunge.

The water was cold and fast, with a beautifully choppy ride.

At the bottom of the rapid I had to quickly swim to shore before washing right into the next one, which I handled with surprising ease.





Our last difficult rapid on the river was Hell’s Kitchen.

This rock garden features a narrow slot in the middle with absolutely no margin for error.

Any raft that misses it will hit a big rock sideways, get stuck, and possibly flip.

A hole waits below the slot.

We had to paddle hard and precise to get through this one.

By this point we had enough experience together that it felt normal, and we got through clean.





The last part of the canyon passes through an area that was heavily mined during the California gold rush.

A small cabin sits on a ledge, looking like it was built a few decades ago.

In reality, it has been there for a hundred and fifty years, perfectly preserved in the dry climate.

Further down sits the remains of another cabin, underneath a huge boulder.

The boulder split off the rim of the canyon and fell on the cabin.

Don Pedro Reservoir

The rafts eventually hit an area where trees no longer appeared along the river bank, just big groups of rocks.

We were now in the upper reaches of the Don Pedro Reservoir, created by the state of California in 1923.

This late in the year, the Reservoir was low, so we still had current.

The scenery was pretty lousy, though.

Eventually, the current disappeared and we found ourselves sitting dead in the water.

Raft companies usually hire power boaters to haul groups across the reservoir, but ours was nowhere to be seen.

The only solution is the one we took, rope all the rafts together and start paddling.

In practice, the guides did most of the work since they had the oars.

Finally, a passing power boater took pity on us and towed us to the takeout.





The takeout was under a bridge called Wards Ferry.

It’s named for a man who set up a ferry here during the gold rush.

He was killed by bandits.

The two people who replaced him were also killed.

Since the reservoir was low, the bridge soared high above the water.

We disembarked on a set of slippery rock ledges.

From here, a narrow and steep trail led up the hillside to the bridge.

Hauling out the boats and gear on this trail would be really painful, so Sierra Mac rented a mobile crane!

Guides strapped the rafts to the crane hook which then lifted them to the bridge, one at a time.

Ward's Ferry Road

Raft companies hire a bus service to get people back to Groveland.

We shared our bus with another company.

Once on it, we had what may be the scariest part of the trip, the ride back!

The road went straight up a ravine, with a sharp drop right next to the road.

From there it twisted through valleys with tight turns.

Dirt cliffs passed less than an inch from the sides at certain points.

I’ve had to deal with nastier roads in the Black Hills (see Sacred Peaks) but there I was driving, and in a much smaller vehicle.

We finally reached the main highway and things got easier.





At the end of the raft trip, I drove to Yosemite Rose.

This bed and breakfast sits on a back road a distance from Groveland.

The area feels like a forested version of the middle of nowhere.

The road there passed a great overlook of the Tuolumne canyon I had rafted through.

I chose it because I wanted a place that was peaceful and comfortable to recover from the trip and prepare for Burning Man.

The first thing I did after checking in was pass out.





Tonight, I had the best stargazing since the Badlands (see Welcome to the Geology Freakshow).

Groveland is located far from major cities, and the air has little pollution.

Tiny lights appeared across the sky.

The view did not match the Badland’s glory, but it came close.

---