Black Owl Media

I think most athletes can relate the feeling of right before something big is going to go down, your reality is as “in the moment” as it can get, your adrenaline is pumping, all senses are super focused, and nothing else matters. Rafting the Forks of the Kern will give you this feeling all day long as you paddle a twenty-mile stretch of some of the most continuous and dangerous white water North America has to offer. Paddling the Forks can be a life changing experience because of how many times you feel your life is being threatened. When the day is over and you finally get your raft to the take out, you feel like you just survived a war

This would be my fourth time visiting this remote and spectacular part of Sequoia National Forest. Previous trips on this section of river provided lots of carnage and I spent a good deal of time swimming for my life. I was praying this trip would be different because I was fortunate to be partnered with Mike Welch, who I had heard stories about being a “Jedi River Mystic.”  Also along for the ride was Mike’s pup Porter. Our other team members consisted of Katy from Alaska, and couple Ian and Stephanie who I can’t remember where from.

Part of what makes this trip so gnarly is the hike into the canyon. It’s about a 2-mile hike down steep switchbacks carrying at least 200 pounds of raft and camping gear. When we started our hike it was about 100 degrees out, but within 20 minutes threatening thunderclouds rolled in, the temperature started to drop, and we received a heavy downpour. What an epic way to start a journey, I felt like I was in a movie. The hike was brutally tough and exhausting, it took us an hour or two to get all our gear down to the put in. By the time we had the boats pumped up and ready to go it was almost 7 pm so we decided to camp out and run the entire 20-mile section the next day. We ended up getting a little carried away with a bottle of good old Jameson, margaritas, and Pabst Blue Ribbon. Rafting expert level rapids while hung over is really fun as I found out….

Mike’s boat’s is rightly named “Smooth Like Butter.” This also became our mantra for the day. His response to just about every dangerous situation was to tell me, “Just be smooth like butter and we might make it through.” We ended up having one of the most stellar days of rafting I’ve ever had. Not once did we crash or fall out of the boat to my amazement.

I feel as though you grow as a person every time you go outside your comfort zone and overcome a fear. The Forks will definitely teach you something about your self because of how many emotions it will put you through. I recommend anyone who has a taste for adventure to add this trip to your bucket list, it’ll change your life. Thanks Mike, Ian, Katy, and Stephanie for the amazing trip.

~Sean

http://rtylergross.wordpress.com/2012/01/23/urbanclimber-mag-feb-2012/