Fall on the Kern River

After a long season, even the Kern River requires a rest from the annual whitewater run off that allows us to play all spring and summer. The river mellows, the cottonwoods, alders, and willows all swap their green foliage for bright colors and eventually relinquish their leaves altogether in preparation for a long winter nap. A brief time of reflection and regeneration in preparation for the Spring of 2010. Kern River rafting is California rafting at it's best. We suppose the river deserves some down time, as do we all. Kern River Outfitters wishes all of you a wonderful Thanksgiving and we look forward to seeing all of you next spring, when the river and Kern River Outfitters, renewed, will again provide the most exciting whitewater action in California.

National Geographic Adventure Magazine Dubs the Kern a Must Do Rafting Trip

National Geographic Adventure Magazine just listed Kern River Outfitters and our Upper Kern River as a must-do rafting trip. The August/September edition highlights the Class Five Thunder Run stretch on the Upper Kern in this list of six Wild and Scenic river trips that should not be missed.

Our sister companies, Rogue River Journeys and Idaho River Journeys, round out the list offering trips on the Rogue River in Oregon and the Middle Fork of the Salmon River in Idaho.

We feel lucky to be able to offer trips on three of the six Wild and Scenic Rivers listed in this piece. If you would like further information on any of these fantastic trips, feel free to give our office a call at 1-800-323-4234. We would be happy to help you organize your visit to any one of these fabulous rivers.

Friend of KRO: Dave Derr

This is a time of transition for Dave. On Monday after 30 years of service he retired from the fire department. Dave is married to Dawn Jordan, KRO’s top notch Office Manager.

Dave was 21 years old and working as a union carpenter in Los Angeles when his family moved to the Kern Valley. He’d come up and visit them on weekends and enjoy the outdoor activities and natural beauty of the area. When the weekends kept getting longer, he realized it was time to get a job in the area and move to the Kern River. Firefighting appealed to him because you have the opportunity on your calls to make a bad situation better for people.

Over the years Dave has boated the different sections of the Kern River many times. His favorite trip is the 2 -Day Lower Kern because it has a little bit of everything. As Dave says "You have your “woohoo time” interspersed with quiet sections. And then of course there is the KRO Lower Camp which is set up with a buffed out river kitchen." And it is tough to keep Dave out of the kitchen.

After seeing him at work in the kitchen and tasting his dishes at a couple of bbq’s he was recruited to make the ribs for our Annual Pub & Grub trip. These mouthwatering morsels have just the right combo of heat and sweet and unbelievably he has offered to share the recipe with us. Of course if you’d like to stay out of the kitchen just sign up for next year’s Pub & Grub on July 8-9, 2010 where Dave’s Ribs are paired with cold steins of frosty brew!

In a recent intra-company Rib Cookoff, Dave’s ribs were the clear winner over Jim Ritter of Rogue River Journeys. While accepting his 1st Place Ribbon, Dave graciously commented “I just want to say that Jim’s recipe was excellent. It’s too bad that his long drive to the cook-off put time constraints on his preparation and he had to use canned sauce.” Dawn, Dave’s assistant rib maker, sighed and added “Jim had to use Larrapins”.

Dave’s summary of life:

Favorite rapid on the Kern River: “Pinball, I enjoy its technical aspects”.
Favorite part of the rafting company: “Socializing and meeting new people”
Dave’s favorite person in the world: “ I am married to her, Dawn Jordan”.
Quote from Dave: “When Dawn is happy, I am happy.”

Everyone at KRO congratulates Dave on his retirement!



Dave's Ribs

Heat oven to 350 degrees.
Wash ribs and pat dry. Season well with black pepper and garlic powder. Roast uncovered for 1 hour.
Remove from oven. Mix 2 parts soy to 1 part worcestershire sauce and pour liberally all over ribs, making sure that liquid comes up at least _” on sides of roasting pan. Seal pan with aluminum foil and return to oven for 1 hour and 5 minutes.
Remove from oven and cut into chunks of 2 or 3 ribs. Brush on your favorite sauce and finish on the barbecue.

Lower Kern Whitewater Rafting

Water levels on the Lower Kern are perfect for rafting. On July 25th, we sent a video camera down to Sundown Falls and Powerful Possum to capture some whitewater footage. With warm temperatures and great water flows, a rafting trip on the Lower Kern River is the perfect way to escape the heat. Give us a call at 1-800-323-4234 to book your trip today!

Perfect rafting flows on the Lower Kern River

Southern California's Lower Kern River, which offers-up some of the best whitewater rafting in the west, has been flowing at a perfect level for over a month and continues to release great rafting flows from Lake Isabella. Lake Isabella is the dividing feature between the Kern River's Upper and Lower stretches.

The Lower Kern River is well known for exhilarating rapids ranging from Class II to Class IV, warm water, and a spectacular canyon that twists and turns on its way downstream. Most two-day rafting trips launch near the town of Lake Isabella and rafters are treated to a few warm-up rapids before dropping into the more serious Class III and IV drops.

Teamwork is a key ingredient for success on the Lower Kern River's rapids!

At our camp, which is approximately half-way through the stretch, visitors are treated to spectacular meals prepared by our guides... or should we say chefs? We are the only outfitter that has sleeping decks and thick sleeping pads (commonly referred to as "Paco Pads" - the industry leader in outdoor sleeping pads) for our guest's comfort.

As night falls on the Lower Kern River canyon, our camp comes to life!

The second day of the two-day Lower Kern rafting trip starts with a delicious breakfast and then it's back to the rafts for more Lower Kern whitewater. After five miles of class III and IV rapids, we pull over for lunch to enjoy yet another tasty river-side meal. Upon reaching take-out at Democrat, you'll be thoroughly soaked (and maybe a little tired).

Whitewater, sun, and the fact that you don't have to worry about logistics, meals... or anything. What could make this trip better?

We'll be running the Lower Kern through mid-August and would love to prove to you how wonderful an experience it is. Call us at 1-800-323-4234 to begin planning the most excellent of summer get-aways!

Sundown Falls on the Lower Kern River

The Lower Kern has some great class III and IV rapids. One of the largest drops on the river is a rapid known simply "Sundown" and it is also one of the most photogenic rapids on the entire stretch. Today I hiked down to snap a few photos and test out a new video camera. The photos turned out pretty well and video turned out fairly good as well. Thought I'd share them with you here, enjoy!

Here's the video of Gary, Matt P, and Travis dropping into Sundown:



A few photos:

Powerful Possum on the Lower Kern River

The first day of our two-day rafting trip on the Lower Kern River ends with a bang. Powerful Possum, a class IV rapid approximately 200 yards above our private Kern River Camp, is the largest drop on the Lower Kern. Check out this video of some of our runs today: