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Middle Fork American
The crystal clear waters of this river run through a deep wilderness canyon of exceptional beauty. The lower run is suitable for second time rafters with some familiarity with rivers & rapids. Drivers Flat Rd to
Mammoth Bar: Class 2 about 7 miles. This class 2+ dirt
road runs from Foresthill Rd down into the canyon.
(Camping is available) This is a nice, uncrowded intermediate run with
lots of fun, splashy rapids. The canyon had extensive placer mining operations
in the 1800s but you can hardly tell. In summer the flows from the upstream
power release arrive around 2:00PM making this a nice afternoon run. The run takes about 3 hours.
Takeout is at the Mammoth Bar OHV (motorcycle) area. Most people take
out here to avoid a knarly class 5
rapid
Oxbow Reservoir to
Drivers Flat:
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Class 4-5 with a mandatory portage. 17
miles. This run requires an expert guide. This is the Tunnel Chute run where rafts flush
through a chute blasted out by miners and float through a
large tunnel at the bottom. Near the end of the run is
a mandatory portage around Rucka-Chucky rapid, a class 6. This is
followed by several class 4 drops. You'd want to see this run as a passenger
one or two times and have a few seasons guide experience before attempting it.