Return to South Silver
a day in the California sun
That can’t be right. I rubbed my eyes, hoping the words would magically morph before me.
Frogs. Really???
And just like that, the Slab Creek releases were officially cancelled. No more waterfall rapid, no more motherlode, no more sunny days with predictable water, and most disappointing of all, no showing friends down this great piece of whitewater.
The timing of Slab releases have always made me scratch my head; why choose the height of snowmelt to schedule recreational flows? I don’t know that answer and won’t attempt it. I’m sure it has something to do with optimal power (revenue) generation or something of the sort. The priorities of boaters are likely low on the totem pole of the SMUD calculus. It sure would be nice to get some fall releases as a make up…
Though just as one door closes, another opens. With the next 6 release days now free of obligation, I could turn my sights to other equally appealing options, without the guilt of missing a day on Slab.
As the weekend approached, anticipated flows started to become more clear. The South Fork of Silver Creek seemed like it would be the ticket. After all, I had a score to settle with Off-Ramp…
After a few hurried texts and worries about a large group, we nailed out our plans, with a slim (for me) group of 6, four of which were first timers. Even better; one of the many pleasure of kayaking is showing people down runs. When this opportunity presented itself, I couldn’t turn it down. Flows just over 100 cfs and sun on the horizon? Sign me up.
We also somehow managed to wrangle Rick and Caitlin (wife) into hiking along and watching the spectacle. Such willing participants also helped haul boats out of the sieve portage after Skyscraper, and shot some amazing photos. Those photos marked with my watermark in the lower left corner are courtesy of either myself or Caitlin. Those without a watermark have been graciously provided by Rick Ross.
Our day began with a lengthy drive from Auburn to Ice House Reservoir, where we met Nigel, Justin, Jagger, and Vince to set shuttle. On the drive up to put in, I kept my mouth rather shut as to not sour the mood - there had been varying rates of success regarding the put-in road. Just a few weeks ago, a group was thwarted by snow and forced to hike in from the take out.
Luckily, the stars aligned and we were met with just a handful of downed trees accompanied by the occasional shallow snow drift. Thanks Lev for running the trees over with your truck a few days prior.
First up is the classic Autobahn, a lengthy slide that goes just about right down the middle. The key is keeping your nose pointed downstream. The group sets boats down and walks down to check out the rapid, many settling on running it.
Autobahn is followed shortly by a flake boof into a hallway that is stuffed to the brim with sieves. Luckily, with enough speed and an upright landing, a paddler can whisk their way through with minimal hang ups.
Hot on the heels of the sieve hallway is a shitty class II section to a high risk eddy catch. I relay the approximate beta (keep yourself upright and straight through the mank), then run the line, just squeezing into the eddy below a downed log with inches to spare. Straight downstream is a rapid seldom run, but easily portaged. I hop out and set safety below the high risk eddy then watch as the rest of the group makes their way down.
No photos of this rapid for obvious reasons (it’s shitty). Up next is a fairly clean double drop to slide with a retentive hole at the bottom. A quick look and the team decides its good to, so we fire away.
Onto the next, and an easy portage/weird rock convinces two thirds of the group to walk. Vince and I get our shit together, relay safety instructions to the team, and line up to run boof boof slide.
After boof boof, we’re onto the classic teacups, preambled by a short class II slide.
After a few laps on the teacups, we moved onto Skyscraper. Though ubiquitous, the Skyscraper-Off Ramp combo totals around 70 feet of vertical drop and though the line is fairly simple (straight), it still contains a significant amount of kinetic energy, capable of dishing out some serious damage. See example below:
With that in mind, many of the group (5/6) chose to walk on the right, with Vince kind enough to join me on river left and set safety.
With visions of a cracked boat racing through my mind, I snapped my skirt tight after discussing safety with Vince. He would start at the base of Skyscraper, then move to the base of offramp once I was safely through the first half.
Satisfied, three deep breaths help to quell the nerves. “Ain’t nothing to it, but to do it” helped to take the first few strokes over the rocky lip of Skyscraper.
Flailing my paddle, I manage to keep momentum up while sliding along to the right side of the final drop, disconnecting my boat and pulling a boof, keeping me away from plugging. Satisfied, I keep ‘er straight through Off Ramp much to my delight.
The below drone footage is courtesy of Rick.
A few small portages later led us to Funk Falls and Plastic Surgery, none of which I had run before (due to above’s carnage last year).
Details/Logistics
I think it’s worth it to discuss some of the details that get glossed over when the topic of South Silver arises.
For one, there’s definitely skill required to run this, despite what anyone says. I think a solid IV/IV+ paddler could step up and run most of the rapids no problem, with the right level and right headspace. With the right level, this run really just needs a bit of boat control and ability to stay upright and read water.
Speaking on flow, we had about 110-120 cfs on the gauge, which is my current personal minimum. During the spring diurnal, flows tend to crest and drop at midnight, starting their upward swing at around 5pm. This is perfect for daylight boating as flows slowly drop throughout the day.
A good group is also necessary, no more than 6 people preferably (small eddies). There is a lot of scouting and safety to be set, so it pays to have a group who understands what a recirculating pocket looks like, and where best to stand in consequential rapids. A small group also helps to communicate the safety needs of the individual.
I was impressed with everyone’s sensibilities on this trip; each member of the team set serious safety over the areas in which we deemed it was necessary. For example, no one sat around with a rope in their hands, twiddling their thumbs while folks ran rapids; ropes were out and ready to go. I felt that everyone on the team was concerned about the same areas of the river, and took safety seriously.
There is also a lot of hiking and physical labor involved in this run. If you’re used to putting in steps from your car, only to exit your boat at the end of the run, you’ll be in for a rude awakening. Be prepared for getting in and out of your boat a bunch of times, not only for scouting/safety, but also to take media for your friends. It is also worth it to mention that the traditional put in and take out involve hiking. While only 5 minutes of hiking downhill to the put in, many take out above the last manky section, necessitating 10-15 minutes of hilly hiking with your boat at the end of the day.
Last note, bring elbow pads. It’s rocky.
So is the juice worth the squeeze? I think so, yes. This is a California classic that everyone should check out at least once.
Incredible day! The black and white, slow shutter speed of Vince dropping into autobahn is superb.