Whitewater Sup'ing...

[Sup44]

I've been watching some white water river SUPing and it looks insanely fun. My question: Have any of you guys done it? And..... Are there any spots near OC to do it for a San Clemente local?

[Biggreen]

Been a WW paddler for many years. Ran a lot of difficult stuff for years. Originally thought I wanted to SUP whitewater.  I was in the eddy above Iron Ring (a rapid with definite consequences) on the Gauley River in W. Virginia about to peel out and drop into the maelstrom. Saw a sweeper coming and thought, "This should be interesting." I waited and got a position so I could see the action. Well I did...and it was ugly. I'll run Class II and III and would run tougher, but I don't really have a desire to wear full body armor to have fun. I mean, I'd rather get hammered to the bottom, drug through the sea urchins, and held down for a couple minutes...now that's fun!

Pono is good buddies with Dan Gavere. I'll be interested to hear his thoughts. WW is definitely fun, and I've a spring WW sup trip in NM planned that I'm looking forward to. 

Running WW on a SUP is a different skill set in a lot of ways. Fun to learn and good to learn IMO. Give it a go and let us know!

[cnski]

Whitewater SUPing is a lot of fun and very challenging. I'm with BigGreen and really only SUP class II to III but will run harder stuff depending on the river or rapid. I would avoid shallow rivers. Lots of protective gear is necessary. I'm not sure where is good close to SoCal? Tahoe? Make friends with Corran(San Clemente resident) and get him to take you ha. He also makes some very fun, stable, and reasonably priced WW SUPS. Lots of info on this forum about WW SUPing. I've been friends with Dan G. since preschool and spent a week paddling with him in Wyoming this last summer. He is crazy good and I learned a ton. There are a lot of guys who are really pushing the limits of WW SUP. The Gauley is a beautiful river and I'm sure some great paddlers are honing their skills on that river.

[Sup44]

Whitewater SUPing is a lot of fun and very challenging. I'm with BigGreen and really only SUP class II to III but will run harder stuff depending on the river or rapid. I would avoid shallow rivers. Lots of protective gear is necessary. I'm not sure where is good close to SoCal? Tahoe? Make friends with Corran(San Clemente resident) and get him to take you ha. He also makes some very fun, stable, and reasonably priced WW SUPS. Lots of info on this forum about WW SUPing. I've been friends with Dan G. since preschool and spent a week paddling with him in Wyoming this last summer. He is crazy good and I learned a ton. There are a lot of guys who are really pushing the limits of WW SUP. The Gauley is a beautiful river and I'm sure some great paddlers are honing their skills on that river.

Wow thanks for the great replies so far. I think Coran is my neighbor...I see his car in my neighborhood.

Sounds like so far no supping in so-cal?

[madmax]

Yehttp://i905.photobucket.com/albums/ac252/madmaxx3/SUPTailstandatNFalls_zpsef50544c.jpgs,  love it.  Most of my wwsup'n is in the southern Appalachians.
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[capobeachboy]

Kernville is probably the closest - the whitewater park is a lot of fun and the area is home to some serious paddlers.  John at Mountain & River Adventures can provide lots of info and has all the gear and a campground.  Stop by Kern Brewing Co for lunch too - the owners Eric & Rebecca are former Olympic kayakers that compete on SUP now.  Corran is a great source of info & gear and the Kern River Festival has a few WW SUP events on the 3rd week of April.  ULI, Corran & others usually have demos available on site during the event.

If you go up the 395 and cut across the 178 it's a really nice drive.  Post up if you go cause there's a few of us around the area that would go along for a day trip (or two).

[capobeachboy]

Riverside Park in Kernville was the the first whitewater recreational park built in the US.  If you surf at Dogpatch you probably know Mike Johnson who rides a wave ski.  His dad Tom started paddling there over 50 yrs ago and was instrumental on getting it built along with designing some of the early ww kayaks & paddles.  He went on to train paddlers up there and was an official at three Olympic games. 

You can launch at the 495 bridge and hit some fun class II & III rapids and at the end of the park get out and do it all over again.  If you want a longer run you can drop in at the powerhouse but make sure you're with some experienced paddlers.