Written by Will Volpert. With flows falling quickly, Kyle and I got out on the Thunder Run (Upper Kern River, CA) on July 1st. We took two oar rigs and had an absolute blast in the super-technical water. It was running 900 CFS but they were diverting 200+ so it was somewhere around 700. The total run was only about 4 or 5 miles but we took our time and finished after about 2 hours.
The three class V rapids – Sockem Dog, the Flume, and Fender Bender – were more like class IVish rapids with class V consequences… bad swims in sivvy water. We got through unscathed and enjoyed frosty beers at the take-out!
Here are a few shots:
