Tuolumne

This was a one day trip on the Tuolumne River from Meral's Pool to Ward's Ferry Bridge. Flow was about 1300 cfs which is low but adequate for rafts. For kayakers the flow is very forgiving, though with lots and lots of manuvering. It was relatively easy to eddy hop down almost all of the rapids.
In the morning the air was thick with the smoke from the Foresta Fire in Yosemite. The smoke kept the air temperature cool, till late afternoon when hot upstream winds blew the smoke eastward.
The water temperature was cold even in late summer. The water travels through tunnels from the high elevation reservoirs and does not get much chance to warm up. Paddling a kayak with only shorty wetsuit over a rash guard shirt, I got cold fairly quickly. Once I put a splash jacket on, I was comfortable again. The rafters were not wearing much of anything. As the air got hotter late in the day, the rafters jumped in the water to cool off.
I took just a few pictures to show some rapids and give a sense of the scenery. The cliffs along the river are very pretty and impressive boulders litter many of the rapids. most of the rapids are very busy and many rapids are very long. I did not get any pictures of the really long rapids.