We had recently run Maytag Falls on the North Fork of the Yuba. That was a short violent drop into a pool. We did not think the South Fork would offer anything so severe. This was intended as a training run. We would practice "eddying out". Rocks and irregularities along the bank cause the curent to circle back forming an "eddy". The idea is to swim into the eddy and driftback upstream a little, or just hang on the eddy line, and plan how to run the next rapid. Our "Churchill" fins were short and stubby, designed to give us the powerful kick needed to drive us into the eddy, as opposed to the long and limber fins used in diving, designed for efficiency.

Equipment is the key to safety. We wore a full wetsuit, sometimes a "farmer john" suit with a separate body and jacket, with at least 3 mils of neoprene. This provided high flotation. To this we added a life jacket, helmet, swim fins, gloves, knee pads or shin guards, and elbow guards. We were buoyant and well armored.

Our Party

Our group was entirely from the Bay Area. Bob Carlson was the expert and inventor with Jim Cassady of the riverboard. Bev and I had been on the Maytag Falls trip. Allen Steck, Gus Benner, and Emily Benner were complete novices.

In Training

The water moved slowly through pools and over ledges. We practised catching the eddies. This requires good positioning and timing. Follow the edge of the river above the eddy. When the eddy line appears along the bank, kick hard and catch the reverse current. This sounds easy, but if you are out in the main flow among the rocks and rapids, you can get swept right by. Bev missed the eddy a number of times; Carlson had to catch her. We felt like ducklings in training.

There were many rafts on the river with us, guided and private. They tended to go faster than our party as they were sliding on top of the water as opposed to being in the water at water speed. Several times rafts over-ran one of our party. Carlson showed us how to duck under the water and let the raft pass right over. This didn't bother him at all, but caused some consternation on the raft.

Troublemaker

The most difficult rapid "Troublemaker" occurred at the end of the run at the Coloma campground. There was a professional photograper positiond just below the rapid taking pictures.

The trick was to get aligned correctly at the top, go down through the upper part of the rapid, then move quickly to the left to avoid the boulder. The wave off the boulder tended to deflect the riverboard, unless you hit dead center.

Some of our group walked through the campground to avoid this rapid.