7) Mouth of Canyon to Rancheria Road

The Kern is class 4 boulder slalom immediately below the mouth of the canyon and past the diversion dam. The Rio Bravo Slalom races were held here every year in the 1970's and 1980's, as it was a wonderful race course. The owner of the Rio Bravo ranched hoped to hold the Olympic competition here during the Los Angeles Olympics. It would have been a tremendous boost to Kern river running. However, the Los Angeles Olympic committee, or USA Olympics decided to drop kayak slalom that year in favor of syncronized swimming. Subsequent Olympics reinstated kayak slalom and it has become a permanent Olympic sport. The loss was a big disappointment at the time. Now, the Rio Bravo power project diverts up to 1200 cfs out of the river bed. FLows from Isabella will have to be quite a bit higher than that to provide good flows for boating. Even before this diversion, parts of this section were thick with trees. Tree hazards and strainers are probably worse now with lower regular flows. Put in: There is a large parking area on the side of the highway across from the PG&E power plant at the mouth of the canyon. Hike down the bluff on rough trails to the river. Take out: There is a river access parking area on the southwest side of Rancheria Road bridge. Float under the bridge and immediately look for landing spots on river left. Mile by Mile Guide: 0 mile- To put in park at mouth of canyon there is a trail that leads down to river above the Dam. Paddle down towards dam crossing to river right take out on right bank and portage dam. 0-1 mile-Continuous rock garden that can get more difficult at higher flows Class III-IV 1.1Boy Scout Rapid IV There is a big hole to avoid at the bottom 1.5 Fairly steep rock garden unnamed rapid III+IVStay left as the water kind of splits into two channels but the one on river left is the obvious choice 1.7 The river splits into three channels you want to stay river right and the river will seem to turn as though it is going back up stream this will be the channel you will want to take. 1.9 Long steep unnamed rapid littered with boulders that will make for a challenging rapid at higher flowsIV 2.0 Power house Diversion water will enter back into river on the left just 2.1 Learning curve small rapid often used to teach new kayakers Class I-II 2.5 Cottonwood Rapid Class II 2.6 small rapids with not much difficulty 2.7 Island Rapid Class II-III the river slits into two sections around a small island before coming back together some surf waves and holes in here (Mt. Whitney Wave) 2.8 Small Rapid just before Rancheria Bridge Can Take out at bridge or continue down river to take out of your choice