The Final Excursion - The Klamath Middle Fork
After all our preparation the moment was here.
We drove five hours north to the Oregon/California border. We got up early on Saturday morning after our night at the Tree of Heaven Campground. We ditched our car, blew up the kayaks, pushed off and settled in for an all day float.
My wife did endless research on the river to make sure we wouldn’t hit any rapids. She seemed much less concerned than me. I was sure that around every turn was a Class III or Class IV waiting to tip our nose and tip us out. We never met the Class III or Class IV, but we did push our way through a couple Class IIs. Even though the Sunny is only rated for Class I rapids, the little boat pulled through at every stop. With water splashing our faces, the dog cuddled in the middle cubby, and every piece of equipment clipped into the raft we made it through 11 miles of river unscathed.
We put in just below Iron Gate Dam and took out at the I5 bridge. Everything was easy to find and it was a great way to step up the kayaking level without going as extreme as I feared.
Kayakers can also keep going past I5 and pull out at the Tree of Heaven, but after 11 miles we were ready for dinner.
Keep an eye out for the gold dredgers, although you’ll probably hear them before you see them.
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