The snow has officially started to melt out here in California and its not going to last long so get it while you can! Last weekend I took to the water and kicked off my Spring kayaking season on two local classics- South Silver and Golden Gate.
I had not been on South Silver since my inaugural California season back in 2009, so it was great to get a chance to get back out there. While it may be short, South Silver is filled with one fun drop after the next and set in such a beautiful location, its the perfect way to spend a warm spring day.
After a great day on South Silver, we decided to stay in the American drainage and spent the following day enjoying the wonderful rapids of Golden Gate. Golden Gate is another run I had not been on in a few years and was excited to revisit. My previous runs on Golden Gate had gone well with the exception of one rapid- AFU (I'll leave it to you to figure out what that stands for). The first time I ran it I got, well, AFU and that memory left me taking the dry line around the rapid on my subsequent visits. Last weekend I decided it was time to face my fears and give the rapid another go. I am happy to report it went great this time around. It felt so good to replace that bad memory with a good one!
What a great weekend with great friends to start off my California melt season. Time to start watching dreamflows and chasing that melt!