Early season begins in rain-soaked California

The California whitewater rafting season kicks off this Saturday, March 19th -- a full two weeks ahead of last year’s opening date. All-Outdoors California Whitewater Rafting, one of the largest California rafting outfitters, is taking advantage of Califo

On March 19th, All-Outdoors will offer trips on five of the ten rivers they raft (the three forks of American River, the Merced, and the Tuolumne). Beginning in mid-April, three other rivers, the North Stanislaus, Cal Salmon, and the Kaweah, will open as well.

Gregg Armstrong, co-owner of All-Outdoors, has high hopes for this season. “Water levels look great already. And this next round of storms will help even more,” says Armstrong.

For those who love whitewater rafting, California can be a fickle partner. During years of droughts and hot weather, California Rivers have flowed with less-than-ideal water levels during the rafting season. That won’t be the case this year. The California Department of Water Resources reports statewide snowpack water content levels of 135% of average. That’s 10% higher than last year’s totals at this time.

For some, going rafting this early in the season is a hard concept to fathom. But for others, like Jeff Linder, a teacher from Thousand Oaks, Calif., this is the perfect time. Not only does the early season coincide with his school’s spring break, but, says Linder, “The rapids are often bigger in the spring … and it’s easier to book a date.”

It appears as if Linder will be well compensated for his early booking. Levels on the Tuolumne, the river he’ll be rafting in early April, stand at a healthy 3,000 cubic feet per second as of this writing.

All-Outdoors California Whitewater Rafting is one of California's leading outfitters, with a "family" of more than 175 trained and dedicated guides. All-Outdoors offers trips for beginning, intermediate, and expert rafters on ten of California's best rivers.

For more information about whitewater rafting in California, contact:

Gregg Armstrong

All-Outdoors California Whitewater Rafting

1-800-247-2387

http://www.aorafting.com