Big Boat Carnage Gallery

 

 

Welcome to California Creeks, an online whitewater guidebook to the Pacific Southwest.


The bigger the boat, the better the carnage! But for pictures of smaller boats messing up, see the original Carnage Gallery or the New Carnage Gallery. For an antidote, see our Safety Talk.

Forks of the Kern, Carson Falls, class V

This 12' cataraft didn't get up enough speed above Carson Falls, and just wallowed into the drop, where it flipped back-to-front towards the left.

Forks of Kern CA Forks of Kern CA
Load intact, but oarsman disappears underwater!
 
Bubba is back on top (bottom?) before the rapid ends
 

Middle Fork American, Tunnel Chute, class V

This chute, followed by a tunnel thru rock, was blasted by miners back in the late 1800s to short-circuit a section of river so they could pick up gold nuggets in the dewatered horseshoe bend. The first picture shows the easy section before it get really steep. The rough section of the chute is also extremely narrow, and raft guides don't want their boats sideways there! Oops.

Middle Fork American CA Middle Fork American CA
Oarless gear boat with guide front-paddling
 
Despite good posture, guide fails Ruddering 101
 
Middle Fork American CA Middle Fork American CA
Bouncing off one rock, raft bumps the other side
 
“This is a flip for sure,” Brian quietly surmises
 
Middle Fork American CA Middle Fork American CA
Relieved of heft, raft returns to upright position Near rescue, but Brian swims thru entire tunnel!

Rogue River, Blossom Bar, class IV

In the 1950s this rapid was blasted into runnability by Glen Wooldridge, driftboat fishing guide. The US Forest Service even gave him dynamite! So enjoy your government-subsidized eddy behind the big horn rock, which appears on the left side of the first photo. The backferry into this eddy is an easy move, even at high water, but some people fail to start ferrying soon enough. The proper route is down the right tongue, towards the bottom of the first picture.

Rogue River Blossom Bar OR Rogue River Blossom Bar OR
Plan A (backferrying) fails, as an oar pops
 
180° turn provides an opening for Plan B
 
Rogue River Blossom Bar OR Rogue River Blossom Bar OR
Oops, sideways into the undercut wrap rock!
 
Seems like a better tie-down job was needed
 
Rogue River Blossom Bar OR Rogue River Blossom Bar OR
Passenger saves the bow line and lunch bag An upright oar marks the burial spot

Rogue River, Rainie Falls, class V

Rated class VI in some guidebooks, this rapid's most dangerous spot is towards the center, where a monster recirculating hole could hold swimmers underwater for long enough to drown them. On extreme left, the current washes thru pretty quickly. Kayaks have a difficult time in the main falls of Rainie. Poster boy Andy seems to have this one nailed, but the big reversal at the base of the falls sends him flying in a huge tailstand.

Rogue River Rainie Falls OR Rogue River Rainie Falls OR Rogue River Rainie Falls OR

Almost as good as a roll
Nice left-side entry Flying lessons!

This cataraft tipped over backwards because it was improperly loaded (too much gear in the rear, according to the boatman).

Rogue River Rainie Falls OR Rogue River Rainie Falls OR Rogue River Rainie Falls OR
Turbulence pushes tubes down Upside down cat! Swimmer quickly surfaces

Trinity River, Hell Hole, class IV-

Because there is a nice recovery pool just below, most folks go for the gusto when running Hell Hole, rather than attempting any fancy-pants sneak routes. The hole has a tendency to turn boats clockwise and flip them left to right. Rather than force his companion to endure the ignominy of a flip, this guide thoughtfully fell out of the boat instead. He reports that it is an extraordinarily deep swim, but from down under, the bubbly water has a beautiful aquamarine color.

Trinity River CA Trinity River CA
In good position at the outset
 
Stuck in Hell with one helmet showing!
 
Trinity River CA Trinity River CA
The guide gets launched across the boat Surfacing well downstream

South Fork American, Satan's Cesspool, class III+

When our friend brought her friend, little did we know he would show up in the morning drunk. Before the curling wave in Satan's Cesspool, as in many other rapids that day, he lost his balance and fell into the boat, then sat back up onto the right tube just as our left tube hit that curling wave. The result was a beautiful, hard-to-duplicate, tube stand.

South Fork American CA Everybody lowsides left, while somebody - who could it be? - loses his paddle.
South Fork American CA Self-flipping Sotar refuses to flip. The boater with red baseball hat doesn't even get her scalp wet.
South Fork American CA One paddler practices swimming with her feet upstream. Fortunately our cooler full of lunch and non-alcoholic beverages is intact!

For pictures of smaller boats messing up, see the original Carnage Gallery. Here are some overflow small boat sequences.

Forks of the Kern, Confusion/Westwall, class V

SuperDave got his name for unbelievable death-defying exploits, and here is one of them! The undercut “Whale's Tail” rock is very hazardous, but SuperDave avoids it by foots-up swimming over some entrapment rocks.

Forks of Kern CA
In the less-turbulent far left chute
Forks of Kern CA Forks of Kern CA
Flipped by the continuous hydraulics! Scraping over rocks guarding the exit

Forks of the Kern, Carson Falls, class V

Oftentimes Andy can run things in his 2-person Lynx that flip everybody else's 1-person boats, but not this time!

Forks of Kern CA
Andy has a good line down the tongue
Forks of Kern CA Forks of Kern CA
Progress stalled by a huge hydraulic! Not much flotation in the aerated water

 

 Creeks Navigation

 Home
 Recommended Runs
 Map of Rivers
 Alphabetic Index
 Alphabetic Table
 Text Search

 Sponsored Links