Packrafting Tip Top Silver Fork of the American River
This relatively obscure section on the Silver Fork of the American River drains Silver Lake, flowing through the Eldorado National Forest (and Caldor Fire burn scar) for 5.5 miles before intersecting with Silver Fork Road at Fitch-Ranz Bridge.
Seldom run due to unpredictable water releases, a long shuttle, and multiple unrunnable waterfalls in the first mile, this section makes an excellent paddle-in / hike-out run - it contains high-quality granite bedrock rapids for the first mile+, then transitions to log-filled meadows and boulder mank. Packrafters can run the good stuff, easily portage the waterfalls, and walk out when the quality diminishes.
https://www.americanwhitewater.org/co...
The first 3/4 mile of this run can be easily scouted from the Potholes Trail, across Hwy 88 from Silver Lake dam.
I had 50cfs at the Silver Fork below Oyster Creek gauge, which wasn't enough water to run many of the drops. Look for a minimum of 70cfs. https://www.dreamflows.com/graphs/day...
Shoutout to Dan Ransom at Sockdolager Equipment for making the best backpack I've ever worn - absolutely perfect for packrafting. https://sockdolagerequipment.com