The Great 2011 Lower Camp Wash Out

The storms of 2011 have deposited one of the best snow packs in recent memory, but they left a bit of carnage in their wake. Pictured above is a wash out at our Lower Kern camp. Guide Gary "Firestarter" Thornbrugh gives a little scale to the ditch the torrent of water carved. Word has it that the road leading to the Forks of the Kern also suffered the same fate and won't be open until the first week of June, at best. Good news though: our camp road is being repaired as we type this. This little memory of the winter storms' fury will soon be smoothed over. It is now time to play on the melting snow for the next four or five months. Get ready to have some serious fun.

Forbes Magazine Lists Kern River As One Of The Ten Best Rivers In the Country

Forbes Magazine recently ran an article on the ten best places to go whitewater rafting in the country and the Kern River made the top of the list.

If you’d like to see the notation click here.

Kern River rafting has never been more popular and the 2009 season is expected to be another great year. Southern California rafting enthusiasts have always held the Kern in high regard as one of the best places to enjoy a California rafting trip.

If your looking to run the Lower, Upper, or Forks of the Kern we are ready to help put your trip together. Just give us a call at 1-800-323-4234 and we will have you in a raft enjoying the Kern whitewater in no time.

2009 Guide Training is Fast Approaching

Kern River Outfitters 2009 Guide Training is scheduled to launch on April 18th and run consecutively through April 23rd this year. With California rafting summer outings becoming more and more popular every year, increasing numbers of intrepid folks look to our guide training course to either improve their existing skills, or develop new ones from scratch. If you have an inclination to become a competent Southern California rafting guide, you still have an opportunity to sign up. In short order, you’ll be rafting the Kern River in style. Learn about Kern River rafting on the Lower Kern, Upper Kern and Forks of the Kern with the best in the business. Give our office a call at 1-800-323-4234 if you have any questions or would like more information.

Dwight and Trudy Pascoe

Dwight and Trudy Pascoe are two treasures whose contributions help make Kern River Outfitters one of the best whitewater rafting outfits in the business.

Dwight is a genuine Kern River native. He was born in Bakersfield (by the way, yesterday just happens to be Dwights birthday) and raised in the Kern River Valley. He spent a good portion of his formative years on a cattle ranch in the South Fork country.

He attended high school in Bakersfield. In those days, the bus ride to high school was a little more complicated that it is today. In fact, he would leave Sunday evening and return Friday evening, spending the entire school week in Bakersfield. When he wasn't in school, he was busy fishing, hiking, riding horses and punching cattle all throughout the Southern Sierra Nevada and Owens Valley. In the midst of all of this, Dwight managed to log in 30 years with Cal Trans. He still operates snow plows in the winter keeping the roads open and safe for all of us here in the Kern Valley. Dwight is a fountain of local and regional historical knowledge. Ask him about the days prior to the Isabella Dam or driving cattle to market on horseback and he will gladly dispense all kinds of fun historical tidbits.

Trudy hails from Tulare, California and has operated a number of successful businesses including a busy photography studio. Here at Kern River Outfitters, she manages our Rafting Center making sure our guests arrive with a smile on their face, have a hot cup of coffee in their hands, and questions and last minute concerns addressed. She also looks after the guides offering sage advice when the need arises.

Trudy found Dwight 22 years ago and they've been happily riding the range ever since. We all hope they will be saddling up with Kern River Outfitters for many years to come.

Lower Kern Camp Bliss

Two day Kern River rafting trips are a wonderful bundle of adventure, fun, and great food wrapped up in the plush warmth of our Lower Kern Camp. There is no better place to watch a summer evening unfold and enjoy the warmth of a campfire surrounded by great friends sharing tall tales of the day just experienced rafting the Kern River.

On August 11th and 12th the sky opened up and offered an extra special treat. It just so happened to be the peak of the Perseid Meteor Showers . On any given evening spent alongside the Lower Kern, shooting stars and satellites abound in the heavens but this time of the year the stars can seem to rain from the sky.

Our Lower Kern campsite is designed to provide a truly blissful ending to a magical day and the perfect setting for the anticipation of the next day spent having the time of your life running the warm rapids of the Lower Kern River.

2008 Green Bag Sighting Winners!

Emmy and Steve Scarano at Ellis Island National Monument

Our August 2008 eNewsletter might have prematurely named a bunch of give-away green bag sightings in Idaho as "Winners".

Prematurely, because Steve and Emmy Scarano recently submitted these two photos of the happy couple posing at the Statue of Liberty National Monument.

Steve and Emmy usually bring a large group of friends every year and run a two day trip on the Lower Kern. Their last trip was this past June. We look forward to hosting them again in 2009 for another celebration of fun and whitewater on the mighty Kern River.

Steve advises that he may soon have more photos from Canyon de Chelly in Arizona. Those photos could be really cool.

Thanks Steve and Emmy. Safe Travels!


























Emmy at the Statue of Liberty

Stay tuned not only for more shots of the "Travels of the Green Bag", but of tempting tidbits of photographic memories from our 2008 photo archive.

Forks of the Kern Guide Trip Summary

Kern River Outfitters completed its annual guide training trip on the Forks of the Kern this past week. The trip had its usual mixture of beauty and adrenaline and many lessons were well received by all of our guide staff. The trip is a great refresher for our Forks guides and also an excellent learning tool for training Forks guides or just any of our guides who want to see big water.

Oops. Catching some air on class V Carson Falls, Forks of the Kern:




The Forks season will be short this year, but we hope to get up there at least a couple of times before we switch our focus to the Lower Kern for the duration of the summer. So... if you want to do a Forks trip reserve your spot ASAP!

-Posted by Luth

The "Pub and Grub"

Introducing... "Pub and Grub". What do you think of this for a 2007 theme trip: A two day Lower Kern trip along the lines of a wine pairing trip dedicated to the fine art of brewing quality micro beer? This might be one of the best ideas the Kern’s seen in some time.

After a full day on the water, what could be better than arriving at camp and spending the evening being educated on the nuances of micro beer by a pro? Complete with a couple reps from the brewery, icy cold samples, and a specially prepared barbeque?

I suspect this trip is bound to become a Kern tradition.

Any guides request working this trip?


Posted by Luth