Bob Bruns' Home Page

Rafting with Sue and Bob

Hello rafting fans! Due to the dam license at Chili Bar, the water on the South Fork has been just fine.

Here is the link to get current flows: https://cdec.water.ca.gov/jspplot/jspPlotServlet.jsp?sensor_no=7638&end=&geom=&interval=&cookies=

We can do either the Chili Bar run or the Gorge run. See details below. For more information just call Sue’s cell phone at 916-390-XXXX, or Bob’s cell phone at 916-801-7640.

Details:

For maps please go to Google maps: www.maps.google.com.  Input locations as shown below in quotes.

Chili bar run:

Chili Bar is a fun 7 mile trip for the morning. We raft past the old mining claims from Placerville down to Coloma. We will see Sutter’s mill, where gold was discovered in California, from the water.  The first five and a half miles have six Class III rapids and a bunch of Class IIs.
Here is a great link with some photos:
http://www.americanwhitewater.org/content/River/detail/id/148
Meet at “Henningsen Lotus Park” at 9am for 10:30 am put-in at “Chili Bar” The trips will end about 3 pm.

Don’t pay for parking until we have the shuttle figured out! Tell the booth person that you are “shuttling cars.”

Gorge run:

We need to make this trip late morning, as we wait for the flow to arrive at the put in from the Chili Bar dam. The first eight miles are pretty benign Class IIs, but when we get into the gorge there are some big waves and some long wave trains. Check out these links:
http://www.americanwhitewater.org/content/River/detail/id/5117/
http://www.americanwhitewater.org/content/River/detail/id/4068
Meet at “take out Salmon Falls Bridge parking lot” or “Skunk Hollow parking lot” at 9:30 am for 11:00 am put-in at Henningsen. The trip will end about 5:30 pm.

Don’t pay for parking until we have the shuttle figured out! Tell the booth person that you are “shuttling cars.”

Cost:

It’s free, but we do ask you to pay for your own parking. That is usually $3 to $6, depending on where your car ends up. We even bring lunch. It’s healthy so if you want something else make sure it either gets on the boat or in the take out cooler. We met on the river in 1992 and bought a raft the next year. In that time we’ve taken down a lot of our friends, family and co-workers, from age 6 to 80, and at flows from 800 to over 5000 cubic feet per second. It’s a really fun way to spend the day and for a family it’s a lot cheaper to raft with us than pay a commercial group. The raft is the only boat we own where we absolutely need people to join us with paddles to navigate. It is a big boat, 14 feet long, and is made for just this kind of trip.

Who to bring:

You can bring whoever you want! Just let us know. It’s a real river with Class III rapids, big waves and the occasional yard sale (that’s when a boat flips or capsizes, sending equipment and people into the water), so we would like everyone to be comfortable in and around water. If your child wants to bring a friend under 18 years of age that’s fine, but we need to talk with the friend’s parents by telephone to make sure they know what we are doing with their offspring. We rig the boat a little differently for anyone who needs extra handholds and for young children so they won’t need to paddle “the big stuff.” The raft holds eight comfortably, and there is always two of us, so if you can get a party of four to six people together that would be perfect.

What to wear:

Your clothing should be comfortable. For footwear, we recommend sneakers or water sandals, a hat and sunglasses. Remember the sunscreen! We will stop at a rocky beach for lunch so those shoes or sandals will definitely come in handy.  The air will be hot and the river will be refreshing. Everything you wear will get wet. If you choose shorts and short sleeves make sure that you avail yourself of sunscreen before we start the day. If you need to avoid too much sun exposure you can wear long sleeves and pants, but make sure the material is light weight as once heavy clothing is wet (e.g. jeans) you could get and stay very cold. Wear something on your feet that will let you secure yourself in the boat and will protect your feet if you take a planned or unplanned swim. Do not wear flip-flops: you will lose them. If you decide to take layers off during the trip they can go into a dry bag we carry with us. We also have extra paddle jackets and windbreakers for people who might get cold. Do not wear expensive jewelry that could come off during the trip. If it goes in the river you will never see it again. Bring croakies for sun glasses, especially if they are expensive.  Hats are a good idea to protect you from sun.  We have a dry box for car keys and wallets. Cell phone coverage on the river is non-existent. Towels and dry clothes are nice to have at the take-out.

What to bring:

We supply the raft, paddles and personal flotation devices (lifejackets) and a healthy lunch with sandwiches, fruit and granola bars. We will also have safety equipment including a first aid kit and a throw rope.  We also have some sunscreen available, but the selection is somewhat limited. Bring a pair of croakies to hold your sunglasses to your head. We have lots of water bottles with clean, fresh, filtered water on the boat, but if you want something else bring it. If you want it at lunch you can put it in either our cooler or a dry bag. Cold beer is really good to bring for the end of the day and is allowed at Lotus-Henningsen park, but is no longer allowed at the takeout for the Gorge which is on Folsom Lake (state park). If you bring cold drinks please bring cans, no glass bottles.

Granola bars/snack bars/cookies:

These are always great to have along, both at lunch and during breaks. If you bring chips, many will end up smaller at the end of the day. Whatever you choose, it will get crushed and broken. Don’t be alarmed, it will still taste good. We’ll fit it all into a small cooler that we will provide.
If you want anything else on your sandwich, please bring it. Also, although we usually have some snack bars along, if you want to bring snacks or cold drinks for the river or the take-out bring them along. We always have room and extra ice.

Lunch:

We usually find some shade about half way down the run and make a picnic lunch. We like to provide a filling and healthy lunch. Lunch is an important part of the trip, as paddlers need energy and the food provides warmth.

Sandwiches (provided):

Mayonnaise and mustard in plastic squirt bottles, paper plates, napkins and a trash bag.

Water and Fruit:

We provide water in plastic water bottles.  If you want to bring you own, make sure it can be attached to one of our carabiners.  We also provide apples and oranges, cut up. Rafters will not touch fruit unless it is cut into wedges. This is a scientifically proven fact.

Other:

In addition to our car, the paddlers need to bring a combined total of at least 2 vehicles that can carry multiple passengers, so we can efficiently run shuttle.  Make sure you have a near full gas tank as the shuttle is fairly lengthy.  

For the pdf version of this guide click here.

We’ve started to boat with a GoPro attached to Bob’s head so we make a high definition movie of the highlights which is usually available on a private Internet site for you to access after a few days. We’ve been doing this for 27 years now. It is really one of our passions and we have a great time. We are looking forward to having you join us this year!

 

 All the high definition videos are will be posted here. Please contact Bob (bobbruns117@comcast.net) if you need the link. Otherwise you should have got the link by email.

 

Raw GoPro Videos

Note: all of these files are huge and high definition. Unless your download link is very high speed download the file to your computer.

Your specific link is unsearchable, If you can't find it call Sue or Bob: 916-801-7640