San Joaquin, S. Fork, California, US |
|
| Usual Difficulty | V+ (for normal flows) |
|---|---|
| Length | 31 Miles |
| Avg. Gradient | 136 fpm |
| Max Gradient | 320 fpm |
This section was finally boated in late August of 2008, by Darin Mcquoid, Kevin Smith, Ben
Stookesbury and Matt Thomas. They took 4 days to travel about 40 miles. They actually put in on
Mono Creek below Mono diversion, because SCE was releasing 500 cfs from Edison reservoir down
Mono Creek to the SF San Joaquin and then to Mammoth Pool. SCE had to transfer water for
downstream farmers despite having several critical powerhouses down for maintanence.
Darin has a trip report with photos at JeffersonStateCreeking.
Ben has a trip report with video at: August 30th,
2008: South Fork San Joaquin
To our knowledge, up until 2008 there had been no descents of the SF San Joaquin past the Mt. Tom
heliport and perhaps no descents since the early trips reported in Holbeck & Stanley. Lack of
flow information and lack of dependable flows are big reasons for this. The scenery is fantastic
and much of the boating is excellent. The boating that lies past Mt Tom to the middle fork
confluence is steep and committing. Many difficult and challanging portages must also be
overcome. 500 cfs is an optimum flow according to the first descent team.
After one reaches the Middle Fork confluence, additional issues arise as one must deal with the
combination of flows and the remaining serious rapids and portages down to Mammoth Pool. During a
spring or early summer run, flows in the middle fork will be high. Even side creeks in the SF
will add more flow over the course of the run. The 2008 team reported that the 650 cfs flow
(approximate) was an excellent level for the middle fork between the south fork confluence and
Mammoth Pool.
There are a few situations in which boatable flows may be found in the SF San Joaquin.
Spring sills from Florence can provide moderate flows but usually provide flows that are high to
much too high for boating. Even when moderate flows are released from Florence, the natural flows
in the middle fork will be very high during any spring releases. These flows are good if boaters
are willing to take out at Mt. Tom Heliport or at the Rattlesnake Crossing trail. Both options
involve very long hikes.
Releases into Mono
Creek from Edison reservoir sometimes occur in the summer. The timing and amount of these
releases may provide the best potential for boating all the way down to the middle fork and on to
Mammoth Pool.
Mono Hot Springs; 6560' elevation,
topozone map,
google map.
Middlie Fork confluence, 3700' elevation.
Mammoth Pool, is around 3400' elevation.
Average gradient from Mono Hot Springs to the middle fork is 136 feet per mile, but the first
half is low gradient and the second half is high gradient. There are several sections of 300 +
feet per mile.
Other information sources:
JeffersonStateCreeking
2008 trip report with photos
No photos found. The first descent team felt that 500 cfs was a good flow for the steepest sections of the run and was an adequate flow for all of the run.
Flows are a combination of flow in the S.F. San Joaquin River Blw Hooper Crk ( below Florence Reservoir) and Mono Creek below Mono diversion (unreported as of 2008). Mono Creek Below Lake T. A. Edison Ca, above the diversion is reported. The diversion has an approximate capacity of 400 cfs. Flows from unregulated and unmonitored side streams will be significant in the spring and early summer.
Southern California Edison monitors flows in the SF San Joaquin and in Mono Creek and has promised to make flow information publicly available. See the SCE River Flow and Reservoir Levels page.
Edison also calculates the daily average inflow to Mammoth Pool from midnight to midnight, but so far they have been unwilling to make that information publicly available, for current dates when it would help with trip planning. However, AW can usually obtain this information for past dates for study purposes or for confirming flow estimates. If you wish to know the 24 hour average inflow to Mammoth Pool for specific past dates, please leave a comment or contact the stream team person. We will forward the request on to the appropriate contacts at SCE.
The Millerton DailyReport - pdf shows reservoir storage as of midnight, including percent of capacity, for all of the reservoirs in the basin.
Historical flow information for this reach is available at USGS.
11230215 SF SAN JOAQUIN R BL HOOPER C NR FLORENCE LAKE CA
11230540 SF SAN JOAQUIN R A MONO HOT SPRINGS CA
11231600 MONO C BL DIV DAM NR MONO HOT SPRINGS CA
11232000 SF SAN JOAQUIN R NR HOFFMAN MDW CA
USGS gauge list for historical records of all gauges past and present in the upper San Joaquin drainage.
No Comments
Users can submit comments.| Mile | Rapid Name | Class | Features (Legend) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4.0 | Mono Creek confluence | ||
| 6.6 | Rattlesnake Crossing trail |  | |
| 21.0 | Middle Fork confluence |
During certain release events, Mono Creek may provide almost the entire boatable flow into this reach. When that is the case, boaters will have to either hike in to the SF on one of several trails or hike a trail that follows Mono Creek, or descend Mono Creek itself.
A trail bridge crosses the river, offering potential access to or from the river.
reach
state
reachlink
Mono Hot Springs to Middle Fork, to Mammoth Pool, San Joaquin, S. Fork California, US (mobile)
