San Joaquin

This is the portage around the damn

Photo is from 2010

Taylor Cavin at 'Stairway to Heaven'

300 cfs is coming down Stevenson Creek to the halfway point in the gorge. This flow will continue till the middle of September.

280 is low but still good. Spring of 2010 -- SCE maintance providing sporadic day to day flows. We started w/ ~280 and ended w/ ~420 CFS. 280 was low but we all agreed well worth doing. Great mix of bedrock and boulder gardens. Similarities to SF Yuba, Tobin, MF Feather, Rubicon. Easy Class V. Expect 450-500 to be ideal first time class V flows. I expect I would be gripped at 1000. We hit the run twice in 2 days -- Day 1 was ~6 hours w/ lots of scouting. Day 2 was down to 3-4 hours. ~4 portages including (in order) 'Taylors Tumble', Dragon's Back, Trilogy, and 'No Doors'. Scenery was outstanding! This run is a true classic (a big statement in CA). Predictable flows would cause an amazing transformation into a true whitewater destination.

Thomas M reported on Boof.com:
'I got in there with two other friends on Saturday the 20th. According to DF we started with 600 and had a high spike of 1000 towards the end of the day. We all felt that the flows that day were great. I would guess that 600-900 is ideal. There were some big holes but there were many possible routes from super big to nice little sneak lines. In my opinion at our flow this is one of the best one day class V runs in Cali for sure! It felt like a combination of Purdons, Golden Gate, and Bald Rock. The character of this run is very consistent. You get to run awesome rapids all day.'

Members of the flow study team paddle away from the put-in on Dam #6 reservoir. They had to paddle about a mile to the dam where they portaged and downclimbed to the river. There was a good current coming from the powerhouse and upstream river, but it slowed as they paddled further onto the reservoir. The road which is visible on the left goes around the reservoir but it is gated against public vehicles. The public can walk or bicycle on this road along the whole Chawanakee Gorge.

One kayaker approaches the dam while two others have already started the portage around the edge of the dam. Southern Cal. Edison really hopes that you will do some other river reach rather than risk this portage, since if you screw up here you will likely perish. On the other hand, if you want to paddle Chawanakee Gorge, then this portage better be easy for you.

Another rapid early in the run. Most of the team has run, while a blue kayak is halfway through the right side channel.
Somewhere early in the run.
Looking downstream from near the bottom of the stairs.

The study team early in the run, during an AW flow study.

A typical view from the canyon road down into Chawanakee Gorge. There are some sections where the canyon is not easily viewable from the road and towards the end, the river drops farther and farther away from the road.
Observers watch and film the study team from the Canyon Road on river left. This road is gated at both ends and is restricted to Edison autos. The public can walk or bicycle on this road.
A stairway drops from Canyon Road, to an old gauge site at the river. It afforded some exercise and allowed me to get some pictures from near river level.

The last of the study team have finished the portage and are entering the first rapid below Dam #6. The portaged required scrambling down through the trees and ropework to lower boats.

This is the final drop of a long rapid at the base of the stairs. The team had been making good time, but had lunch before running this rapid and they took a long time moving again. Everybody ran the drop fine.

This is Edison's dam #6 at the entrance to Chawanakee Gorge. Note that there are no gates on this dam. The water is spilling evenly over the whole width of the dam. The higher the flow, the higher the risk of being swept over. To portage the dam, paddlers must cross the warning buoys in the far background and hug the river right shore till near the dam. Then take out and scramble the last distance to the dam and cross into the trees. Downclimb, rappel, and lower boats as needed to reach the river.