Middle Kings - the "Bottom Nine"

So the next morning we woke up to the same awesome views of Tehipite Dome that we fell asleep with. After breakfast we were ready for the Bottom Nine, the stretch of this river that is supposedly the crux when you talk with people that have run MFK.
So after a short Class II boogie start to warm up the first horizon line marked the start into the steepest section of this trip.



A short portage followed, and then it just kept on going. We ran some rapids out of the boat, with the ocational scout and also some portages. Most drops are stacked up to each other, but its possible to stop inbetween and boatscout a lot. 



Manuel and I liked this section a lot, for us it was less stressful then the day before, maybe because we just took our time and scouted more also due to the steepnes of the rapids. Also the character of the river had changed to a little more pool and drop style.

steep bouldergardens as far as you can see - Rok and Manu

Some spots are pretty sieved out and its awesome to have guys with you that know the run and know most places where to portage or scout. This just saves so much time and energy on a long class V day like this.

cool rocksplat boof in the second half of the day - Rok and Manu

Darin and Rok on one of the countless moves down the Bottom Nine

We had a long lunchbreak before one of the portages, and it took us almost 7 hours to get to the confluence with the South Kings which left us happy, relieved, very tired and also a little sad that the Middle Kings was over. We put up camp a little before the confluence and went to bed pretty early and pretty exhausted.

The crew tired after we`ve completed Middle Fork Kings -
Manuel Köhler, myself, Darin McQuoid, Rok Sribar

So the next day we paddled out Garlic Falls, a true Californian classic that has some very good whitewater on its own. Even though it was much lower than the last time I`ve done it, like my brother showed us four years ago, that first rapid wants to show you who`s the boss and dialed out some whitewater mikado again. After a beautiful last day on the river we finished our trip at the parking lot and went out to get some eatin`and lovin`....

Darin leading Rok on Garlic Falls

This trip had some of the best scenery I´ve ever witnessed out of a kayak. Adding that to the hike and 4 days of hard, continous and superb whitewater this is truely a trip to remember. Thanks to Bri, Jason, Kevin and Paul for the help with logistics, and Rok, Darin and Manu for the company and the very save trip on the water. MFK is a true adventure and a trip you`ll never forget.

the beautiful views everywhere will stick with me forever -
LeConte Canyon on the hike in before the switchbacks start

Additional Info: we had 1350cfs at Rodgers Crossing when we started hiking and the river was dropping pretty fast. For my feel it was a perfect level. The first part of the river is probably always very bony. Bottom Nine was pushy but perfect. Appearently we had a little too much water for the gorges after Devils Washbowl.

Big shoutout to Shane Benedict, Obie and the whole Liquidlogic crew for their huge support!!

cheers, Reiner