Looking for likeminded people in the Inland Empire or SoCal region. I’m still newish, but not super-new, to both packrafting and this area. Working to bring my boat experience up to par with other adventure skills & ambitions. I’ve done a few runs up to class III+ in Alaska (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7F2U2A19K1LopZy9YGdtVQ) but was playing above my experience at the high end of that spectrum. Near here, I spent this spring exploring the Santa Ana (Heart Bar → Redlands), Whitewater, and Deep Creek (had many adventures but found few boatable miles, and blind corners and sweepers kept me off some better looking stretches). Have heard good things about the East Fork of the San Gabriel but didn’t make it out there. I’m hoping to check out the easier stretches of the Kern within the next month or so.
My goals are to log more hours in the boat and have fun along the way. I know flowing water is scarce now that it’s August, but to anyone who reads this, I would love to collaborate either farther afield (Kern, etc.) or at a wetter time of year.
-Julian