Gauge Conditions
Approximate - nearest available gauge. Use as general reference only.
Photo
Description
Next (and the second rapid below Tumblehome) is a long wide rapid marked by a long flat rock blocking the river at the bottom. It is a huge rock in the middle of the river. This one is more a danger to rafters than to kayakers. Swimmers can be swept into the upstream face of the rock, which is terribly undercut. If you swim, stroke aggressively for the riverbank. It's your life that's at stake.
The rock itself is severely undercut. The left end is known as the Orange Juice Squeezer. There have been many near misses here, some requiring emergency breathing. There have been at least two rafting passenger deaths. The problem is that there is an eddy under the undercut that catches swimmers and keeps them from being swept out to safety. While paddlers have run this side, precision is of utmost importance and anything that might compromise precision is enough to seriously consider paddling the other, safer, right side.
While there is a cheat route all the way down the right side, most people start in a narrow left bank channel through the first half of the rapids and then cut across the wide, turbulent waves back to the right side. For most paddlers, there is plenty of time to make this move.
Location
Other Rapids on This Run (20)
Rapid
N/A
Hazard
IV
Rapid
III
Rapid
N/A
Rapid
III+
Rapid
V
Rapid
III+
Rapid
IV
Rapid
IV+
Rapid
IV-
Rapid
III+
Rapid
V
Rapid
IV+
Rapid
IV+
Rapid
III
Waterfall
IV
Rapid
N/A
Rapid
N/A
Rapid
III
Rapid
IV
Current Conditions
5-Day Forecast
American Whitewater