Playtime at the Water Park!

On a recent trip to the South Fork of the American I encountered a situation that was totally unexpected and completely unacceptable.  No water!  The nerve of SMUD!  Damn!   What to do?

Deciding that it's better to find a little water to play in rather than risk no water I decided to head up to Reno to check out the water park on the Truckee River.  I had heard about this place but really didn't know what to expect.  My buddy Dan lives just over the hill in Truckee and says he spends quite a bit of time at the park.  Judging by his skills on the river I think it's worth checking out!

So I loaded up the van beast with my toys and zoomed on up the hill.  Turns out that Zoom Zoom was having a track day up at Reno-Fernley Raceway that weekend so I could enjoy a full weekend of fun.  Go here to see what that's all about.

So after a full morning of driving up the hill, out to the track to drop Laurel off and then back to Reno to find the river I was more than ready to get out and play.  I found Dan twirling around on a nice little play wave with his partner Denise shooting photos from up top.  Cool!  Just down the river I saw my buddy Rick and his friend Brody pull up in their own personal watercraft transport vehicle.  Yee ha!  The gang's all here!

Soon we were all on the river working our way up and down the two channels looking for challenges.  I must say the South channel was nice but not super exciting.  The North channel was where it's at!  Don't ask me which rapid because I'm not sure the naming/numbering sequences but we did find a nice spot right in the middle of the river.  Soon we were swirling, twirling and flipping with complete abandon!

Can't really say what the flow rate was but I'm estimating around 200-400 cfs.  Nothing to write home about and yet perfect for practicing side surfing and spins.  There is plenty of room on the river so if you make a mistake and swim you're guaranteed a short walk back to the rapid.  All in all a safe place to play.

Three hours later we were starting feel pretty pooped.  I have to say it was totally worth the drive up and I plan to return again before it gets too damn cold up there.  For future reference there's a water festival in May that promises a lot of action and fun.  Go here for the info.

Thanks to Dan, Rick and Brody for another great day on the water.  Thanks to Denise for shooting a few pics of the fun.  Check them out here.

See ya!

Craig