{"id":3453,"date":"2012-03-16T07:56:51","date_gmt":"2012-03-16T14:56:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/community.nrs.com-2\/souls-and-water\/?p=916"},"modified":"2017-10-16T15:44:57","modified_gmt":"2017-10-16T22:44:57","slug":"middle-kings-solo-part-ii","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/community.nrs.com\/duct-tape\/2012\/03\/16\/middle-kings-solo-part-ii\/","title":{"rendered":"Middle Kings Solo: Part II"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Catch the exciting finish of Dan Simenc’s epic solo trip down California’s notorious Middle Kings River, captured in words and video. You can read Part I of the story here<\/a>.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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I wrapped the rope around my hands for a better grip and yelled out in desperation as I repeatedly attempted to lift my kayak up above the rim. The slope I was standing on was loose, and the throw rope was thin and hard to grip. After a short but intense battle to hoist the loaded kayak up and over the cliff, I realized this effort was futile. I began searching for something to wrap the rope around while the boat hung dangerously over fast moving water.<\/p>\n

With the day fading, I proceeded to mob downstream in a scoutless flurry of routing.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

A large but loose rock was the best anchor I could find. I untangled the rope from my hands to release slack, letting the boat slip even closer to the river. I wrapped the rope around the rock several times and then tied the line off to a tree root.<\/p>\n

Hurrying down to the river, I found my boat hanging partway in the water at the top of the portage rapid. I was just able to reach the stern. I pulled the kayak toward the shore, unclipped it from the rope and found a less precarious place upstream to haul it up.<\/p>\n

I was hot and tired after retrieving my boat, but I still had a long hike ahead of me to complete the portage. There were several portages in the next mile of the river, so I opted to stay high on the trail and portage the whole stretch at once. Finally, I put in directly above a cascading Class V rapid. It felt like I\u2019d already completed a full day of kayaking; I\u2019d navigated about 2,000 vertical feet of whitewater in around ten miles, but another ten to fifteen miles of Class IV and V still remained before my planned camp near Tehipite Dome.<\/p>\n

With the day fading, I proceeded to mob downstream in a scoutless flurry of routing. Fortunately, the river mellows slightly during this stretch, but there were still plenty of stout Class V rapids for me to blindly paddle through. After an action-packed evening, I made it to Tehipite Valley just in time to chase away the darkness with a warming campfire.<\/p>\n

I\u2019d paddled most of the river that day, and I was exhausted. My evening camp was 4,000 feet lower than the one I\u2019d woken up in that morning, and the tiny stream I\u2019d launched on was now a river several times larger. As hard and long as that day was, I knew the next one would be even more difficult; I\u2019d have to face the infamous \u201cBottom Nine\u201d section of the Middle Kings. This steep, continuous, sieve-ridden, nine-mile stretch of Class V boulder gardens would demand all my remaining focus and energy.<\/p>\n