Bloomer Falls

Bloomer Falls is the first drop below the Nordheimer put-in, and it's distinctly different from every other drop on the river. This is because the rapid was formed during the 1964 Christmas Flood when the Bloomer Landslide broke loose from the mountainside on river left and dammed the river here. The river, which was flowing over 100,000 cfs, backed up behind the landslide deposit for several hours, briefly forming Lake Nordheimer which flooded the flat where Nordheimer Campground is now located. When the landslide dam broke loose, the river carved a new canyon and formed Bloomer Falls. In the early 1980s, the California Department of Fish and Game blasted the falls more than once, reducing it from a more vertical falls to a large rapid full of sharp rock. It frequently changes form but retains a double-ledge character.

The rapid still changes very frequently and last did so in the winter of 2020/2021, becoming easier and less steep as the boulders emptied from the large pool above the rapid and were deposited in the pool below the rapid. Additional changes took place in December 2022.

No matter, Bloomer is still a significant drop at most flows and it's a bit of a roll of the dice as to how it goes each time. But, all in all, it isn't the fearsome rapid it once was. That said, its old-time rafter name of "50/50" still applies today.

Scout on the left. The drop can be portaged by kayaks and small inflatable craft, but it's not fun and requires carrying up, along, and back down into the microcanyon below the rapid. There is no reasonable way to portage a raft around the falls.

It's also possible for kayakers to put in just above the drop. Take the brushed in dirt road from Salmon River Road to a small parking area then walk on a rough trail to the pool by the falls to get in. This access is mostly used by local paddlers interested in getting straight into the whitewater without delay or warm-up.

Photo courtesy of All-Outdoors Whitewater Rafting