Los Angeles pack rafting

[kellymoe]

Spent Thursday afternoon rafting the East Fork of the San Gabriel River with a friend of mine. The water was crystal clear and flowing good. Hard to believe this river/creek is less than an hour from downtown Los Angeles. I will try and post some pictures soon. The water has a glacial blue hue to it and with the snow covered Mt. Baldy in the background it feels like boating in another country. The river is not to be taken lightly, while it really never gets harder than class III it's constant gradient means the action hardly lets up and you have to be on your toes. We ran everything but had to get out and scout two or three drops. I highly recommend doing it.

 

[refried]

Sounds like fun.

 

[kellymoe]

Since I cant download pictures I'll add a link to another forum i posted on about my little adventure.
http://www.supertopo.com/climbers-forum/1437181/45-minutes-from-Los-Angeles-kind-of-OT

 

[Fireman78]

OK... you've just got me interested in Southern Cali again... Do you have a coords/for put in/take out?

Very nice BTW.

 

[kellymoe]

OK... you've just got me interested in Southern Cali again... Do you have a coords/for put in/take out?

Very nice BTW.

Just follow the East Fork road to the end and start hiking, put in at any point that looks good. If you parked at the end of the road and ran into the resivoir it would be about a 7 mile run. If you hike in like we did you can extend the run by several miles and also increase the difficulty.
Don't have the coords, just google East Fork San Gabriel River. Also google Bridge to Nowhere for some great pictures.

Come on over to So Cal and I'll go with you.

 

[kellymoe]

Just curious, why have you switched from kayak to raft?

The photos look like it was fantastic, BTW!

Weight was the main reason, I spent several years lugging kayaks and large rafts up and down canyons in remote areas and my back has paid the price for it. Another reason is that my head just isn't "in the game" so to speak. When kayaking steep rivers and creeks you have to be on it and not distracted by fear. In a hardshell kayak the risk of a vertical or upside down pin was and is always a factor that really isn't there in a packraft. I also don't plan on pushing myself like I did kayaking. The packraft weighs 5 pounds, is tough as nails, rolls up small and fits easily in a pack and can be carried on backpacking trips to remote areas and used as another means of travel on a trip. I'm really looking forward to getting out and doing some great trips with it.

 

[blupaddler]

Kevin,
That was cool!
I need another hobby, like I need a hole in my head. But that looks really tempting...
:sombrero:

 

[AeroNautiCal]

Excellent!

The Packraft in its natural habitat!

Looks like you had a great trip.

I have a couple of Alpacka's and love 'em!

 

[Fireman78]

Just curious, why have you switched from kayak to raft?

The photos look like it was fantastic, BTW!

Rafts that can pack down into your lunch box! That's why!

 

[AeroNautiCal]

Rafts that can pack down into your lunch box! That's why!

Like so...

Alpacka Raft Denali Llama, Bic Pen for scale.

 

[idahocartel]

when does the east fork of the San Gaberail run? or is it dam feed? I live in Atwater and never knew of this place. so stoked now