Friday 13 May 2005 - Tem, Nick H., Stephen, John T. and Mike met at the Methodist Church at 5:30 PM for a 6:00 PM departure. Clyde Turner, Pete Smithson and Dan Greer were adult leaders. Clyde and Pete drove their trucks and we made good time through light northbound traffic and stopped at an In-N-Out Burger at the first Lake Elsinore exit on I-15 for dinner around 7:30 or 8:00 PM. Items were ordered from the "secret" In-N-Out menu - stuff that isn't posted but you can order if you know about.

From there it was a long haul up the I-15 to near Victorville where we took US-395 up to Ridgecrest and crossed over to the 178 into the Kern River Valley. We pulled into Frandy’s Campground just before midnight. Frandy’s is in Kernville where the road crosses the river, just south of the bridge on the east bank. This was perfect because the Whitewater Voyages company raft trip departed from their facility on the property. We found our designated site and set up camp a good 40 yards from the River. We soon set up our tents and got to sleep with the sound of the river rushing by.

Saturday 14 May 2005 - We were up around 6:00 AM and the Scouts cooked Antelope Sausage and eggs for breakfast, while the leaders ate sausage, egg, and bell pepper pita bread breakfast sandwiches with coffee.

We met at the rafting office at 8:00 AM and rented our wet suits. The sign said that the Lower Kern was running at 850 cubic feet per second and the Upper Kern at 2552 cfs. We were signed up for a Class IV full-day trip on the Upper Kern. We were assigned to a three-raft group of eighteen people with a guide for each boat: Roger with shaved headed and lots of enthusiasm, Red-haired Kevin, and milder-mannered John. 5 Scouts and Pete Smithson in one raft with guide Kevin. Clyde and Dan went with four others and guide John.

We Loaded up and went up to the powerhouse on the river and had a safety briefing while the guides were inflating the boats and then did a practice run through the Class II/III rapids between powerhouse and town to learn the strokes, etc.

We took out just below the bridge in Frandy park and then headed up the river on the bus again for a 25 minute bus trip to Limestone where the Class III/IV rapids are located. The put-in required us to carry our rafts down a long, cobble filled path to the water. We discovered lots of cool names for the rapids including: Limestone, Joe's Diner, Betty's Bakery on the Limestone Run; The Wall, Tombstone, Pepsi Challenge/Tequila Chute on the Camp 3 Run; Powerhouse Rapid on the River Kern Run; Ewings and Big Daddy on the Lickety Run.

We had lunch at a park where Brush Creek meets the Kern near Limestone. After lunch we ran Limestone again and then tackles Cables and Camp –3 and finally took out at the powerhouse. We arrived back at the outfitters around 3:00.

All along our trip we were accompanied by a video kayaker, named Wade, who shot video of each raft as it went through the rapids. They set up a TV and we all sat to watch the video. Cool.

THe rest of the afternoon was for relaxing and having a good dinner. A game of Eagle’s Eye was organized and some water balloons appeared.