The American River originates in the high Sierra Nevada just west of Lake Tahoe, in the Tahoe and El Dorado National Forests. Its three main forks—the South, Middle and North—flow through the Sierra foothills and ultimately down through Sacramento.
Last week we white water rafted the south fork, today was a milder trip just a couple of miles downstream.
The North, Middle and South forks converge upstream of Folsom Reservoir. Below the dam, the main stem of the American River is often referred to as the "Lower American."
This area of the river is a main recreation area and provides many hours of pleasure to local Yakkers. It even has a couple of class II rapids to play in.
We put in at Howe ave which has a nice easy launch ramp around 5:30. We headed up the shore toward Watt Ave and traveled through several "rooms". We have come to call these little side areas off the rivers we travel rooms as in many cases you enter through a smaller water way and suddenly you are in a big lake, or small pond.
These are the areas where we see the most wild life. Although on this trip we saw several beavers along the river banks.
I love to paddle a lot of diverse places all year, but during the hot, hot summer days it is particularly cooling and relaxing to glide through the lush green rooms along the rivers.
This peaceful, quiet paddle, watching the sunset, was a perfect end to the working day. Oh..and I had a hitchhiker the whole trip, I named him Howie...on my boat below...you have to look closely.
Next weekend, Stumpy Meadows.
Paddling On!
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