Stanislaus, Middle Fork

This spectacular granite canyon has many class 4 and 5 rapids with some class 5+ rapids at around 800 cfs.   In addition there are 8 rapids that flow into boulder sieves and must be portaged.   At lower flows, such as 350 cfs, even more rapids may need to be portaged.

First Descent account:

On June 11th, 2002, a team of boaters assembled below the stunning 450-foot spillway of Donnells Dam on the Middle Fork of the Stanislaus River in California. This stellar group was invited to help American Whitewater chart the boating opportunities on the Middle Stanislaus for the relicensing of 6 dams and powerhouses on the Middle and South Forks of the Stanislaus River. The stairway of hydropower dams and diversions divert water around this eight-mile reach of the Middle Stanislaus as well as five other whitewater reaches.

As a result of the dewatering, this reach of the Middle Stanislaus, known as Hell's Half Acre, had eluded many elite boaters looking for a first descent. The river averages a gradient of 183 feet over the eight-mile length with individual miles ranging from 220 to 150 feet per mile. The team of boaters included Dustin Knapp, Alex Nicks, Jared Noceti, Scott Collins, Lars Holbeck and John Gangemi.

The utility, TriDam, and numerous stakeholders in the hydropower relicensing proceeding felt American Whitewater's interest in this reach was foolhardy. Afterall, the chosen name for this reach, Hell's Half Acre, they felt was symbolic of the terrain. In their opinion this reach would certainly not be navigable. American Whitewater persisted in the relicense process advocating for a feasibility study to determine the following: 1) the navigability of the reach; 2) the whitewater difficulty; 3) if possible, identify appropriate flows for whitewater recreation; and 4) determine if further study (i.e., controlled flow study) was warranted. Furthermore, the new license would be granted for 30 to 50 years. Who knows what boaters

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