Classic Cred
The North Fork of the Mokelumne River’s Fantasy Falls is one of California’s treasured High Sierra multi-day runs. From its source in the Sierras’ Mokelumne Wilderness, the river flows between plunging slabs of pink granite and through towering old growth forests. Twenty-six miles of steep whitewater offer three days of class V+ creeking. Some of it is very clean, with tight boofs and complex drops. Some of it is not, and requires heinously long portages around entire gorges. Paddlers who are up to the remote whitewater are rewarded with surreal scenery and some of the finest riverside camping imaginable.
The bare granite slabs hold the day’s warmth long after sunset, firewood is never in short supply and trekking to bald domes reveals sublime views of river and rock that stretch for miles.
Beta
The take-out on Salt Spring Reservoir is two and a half hours east of Sacramento. The putin is 85 miles further into the mountains on Route 4.
Season depends on the snow pack, but early- to mid-June is a good bet for fine weather and levels. Keep in mind that the put-in is at an elevation of nearly 7,000 feet and you’ll spend the next three days above 4,000 feet snowstorms are not out of the question even in June. If time constraints, season or skills are limitations, daytrips on several class II-IV stretches below Salt Spring Reservoir have dependable flows throughout spring and summer due to dam control.
Planning
The Bible of California creeking is Holbeck & Stanley’s The Best Whitewater in California (Watershed Books, 1988). Inspect levels on the Fantasy Falls section visually—the first few miles should be bumpy but manageable, around 150- 250 cfs.
This article originally appeared in Rapid magazine, Early Summer 2010. Download our free iPad/iPhone/iPod Touch App or Android App or read it here.
