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Rafting at Merced River
Merced River just outside Yosemite provides clss III-IV whitewater rafting opportunities! Shreya and I were looking forward to a whitewater rafting trip for a few weeks now. For some reason or other, it was getting postponed. Finally, this weekend we had a rafting trip in Merced river near Yosemite National Park. We drove down to El Portal on Saturday morning as our rafting trip was scheduled for 2 pm.
I have been to rafting before in Truckee river near Lake Tahoe. It was class III-III+. This time we chose class III-IV run of the Merced river. Being spring-time rafting, water was icy cold. However, thanks to the past few days’ warm weather, water level had come up significantly. Good thing, they provided us wet suits for rafting.
We were supposed to check-in at Indian Flat RV resort for rafting. Following some safety and general instruction, we set out for 12 miles of rafting adventure! Our guide Rob was really nice. He has been guiding raft trips for the last 10 years.
Nirav and I got to sit in the front considering we had some rafting experience. Shreya decided to sit at the back near the guide as she doesn’t know swimming. However, during the later half of the trip,
she checked her bravery and sat in the front!
Great thing about this run is, it starts with a class 4 rapid as soon as you start! Our raft somehow got on a rock just after the rapid, causing Ajay fall out of the raft! This was the first rapid and first man was down! Within seconds we got Ajay back on the raft… he was quite happy to be back… but, mentioned that it was really really exciting getting popped out the raft! I take his word for that...
This run has 5-6 class IV rapids and number of class III rapids. Its class IV rapids are not so bad, as there are fewer obstacles, making it a really enjoyable rafting trip to both experienced and beginners.
This first rapid was followed by number of other rapids back to back. Gushing water really made us excited! This is considered a really wild and scenic run. It is surrounded by some spectacular rocky mountains. In 2006, there was a major rock slide in this area, closing down highway 140. One can see this highway getting cut off and buried under rocks during this rafting trip.
After
a while, Nirav popped out of the raft following a rapid! We all could see his legs only. Rob had to wait for a few seconds before he could see nirav’s face and help him get back in the raft! It was kind of funny because he never fell down while sitting on the front sit, this happened when he switched places with Pranav! Soon, Pranav also followed Ajay and Nirav to taste the water!
Last couple of miles in this run is quite mellow. It had a few class II rapids I believe. However, nobody really complained, as it gave us a chance to relax and enjoy the surrounding. Just before the take out near a bridge over the highway 140, we had last couple of class III rapids to remind us the fun we had on this trip!
This was definitely one of the most exciting trip we had so far! I feel I don’t have enough words to describe the fun level. Better you guess it from the pictures!
Some useful information:
How to get there:
Our run started at Indian Flat RV Resort & Camp Ground, which is few miles from the
Yosemite entrance on Hwy 140.
Where to stay:
There are number of motels outside Yosemite on Hwy 140; I have stayed in Yosemite View Lodge and I would definitely recommend it.
Number of campgrounds outside and inside Yosemite; this time we stayed at Housekeeping Camp in Yosemite Valley.
Links:
Zephyr Whitewater Rafting Yosemite National Park Yosemite National Park Accommodation Rivers in California for Rafting
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