The Great Whitewater Side Mission

Our rapids side mission was a success! Rascal’s friend picked us up at Lake Isabella Vons sometime after breakfast. We went straight to the lower Kern River to tackle the big five rapids. There was a great team of about 10 guides who floated with us on small rafts and kayaks on their day off.

The Big 5 is a series of 5 class IV rapids. Guides like this route because it hits good swimming spots, a cliff jump, and the rapids are a little noisy. We had a few brief moments that were a little close, but our guide was fearless. We were able to surf our raft on some rapids, paddle around tight horseshoe turns, and enjoy sailing the calm waters with beer and snacks.

After rafting we returned to the guide’s camp in Kernville. They have a sweet setup. Their campsite used to be an RV park, so it is equipped with a full kitchen, bathrooms, electricity, tents, and picnic tables. The guides have built it with hammocks, slack lines and a paracord net that they have been expanding over the past few months. I could have stayed there all afternoon.

We took our guides for an early dinner at the brewery before they took us back to the trail. It was very nice of them to take us on this little side mission. I’ve definitely hiked fewer days than I would have thought, but when a group of raft guides offer to take you up the Kern, you can’t pass it up.

We were taken to Walker Pass Campground to get back on the trail early in the morning. Unfortunately, this means I’ll have to make up more miles between Kelso Road and the campground, but that’s okay. I’m already making a plan to go back and patch up these miles of Tehachapi.

At Walker Pass we caught up with Turtle and Scratch! And trail magic!! A father and son stay at camp preparing dinner for the hikers. They have plenty of chairs, snacks and drinks for everyone. We’re cowboy camping nearby tonight and you may have heard a rumor about pancakes in the morning. As long as we survive the mice tonight.

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