Sierra South Mountain Sports — Attraction in Porterville

Yesterday our group went rafting on the half day IV rapids. Our whole boat was thrown out in the middle of the second rapid. I am traumatized. Not only was I thrown out and had to battle for every breath of air, but my foot was initially trapped in the foot hold at the front of the boat. I couldn’t get out in time and I was dunked under the boat and had to figure out how to pull out my foot, how to get out from under the boat, and how to get oxygen. Our video shows that I was only under for three seconds but it felt like minutes.

Personally, I think this situation could have been avoided, but I am not an expert so you be the judge. Every guide brings their own unique experiences to the table. I think our guide is knowledgeable, I just don’t know if he was fully focused on the job yesterday and that can be life threatening and dangerous.

Our guide showed up late to the event. As all the other guides were giving instructions to their individual groups on dry land, our guide was putting on his oars and checking the boat. The other guides, who had arrived on time, had done this by the time the groups were split up.

Our guide told us that he would give us instructions while in the water. In the water, if I am not mistaken, he talked about his three commands (stop, forward, back), trying to find and swim towards your boat or another boat if thrown out, not standing while in the river, staying close to the middle of the river if thrown out, how the front paddlers need to listen to his rafting commands right away and the other people need to paddle according to the person in the front of them, and how the front paddlers need to be synchronous with each other.

Other than that, no other paddle training was discussed (lean forward, lean back, how to back paddle, the proper mechanics of paddling, etc). I think it would have been very helpful if we practiced paddling while on dry land. Paddling in synchronicity and back paddling is not something that comes naturally for some.

Foot holds were also not discussed. Being in the front, my butt would constantly come off of the boat. There are two footholds in the front for the front two paddlers. With the lack of instruction, instinctively, I slid my foot in all the way on one of those footholds. And, I believe this is why I got trapped. I couldn’t quickly release my foot as the boat flipped over. Being trapped could have ended my life.

When hitting the second rapid, we hit it straight on. No brace command was given prior to the wave crashing. The boat tipped after that wave hit. Personally, I think bracing before the wave hit might have helped, but I also think it comes down to the steering. At some point during the trip, one of the blades on the guide’s steering oars became bent. It didn’t fully break off, but it was severely bent. I am also wondering if this possibly contributed to the the raft flipping. Oars being out of the water contributes to rafts flipping.

Additionally, more conversation needed to occur about what to do if being thrown out. I feel our boat was underprepared for this event. Offensive/aggressive swimming wasn’t discussed. Defensive swimming was lightly discussed-be on your back, feet facing downstream. What to do if a wave is coming at you while defensive swimming wasn’t discussed (try to take a breath as you see the wave approaching, butt needs to be pushed up).

In regards to the other boats that went out with us that day, one boat didn’t have any of their people thrown out. All the other 3/4 boats did. Our boat was the only boat that flipped.

I am very grateful and thankful that I didn’t die. I am grateful to the other guides who picked me up and let me cough and sputter on them after they dragged me into their boat. And I am grateful that our guide safely got us down the other rapids. After that incident, no one else in our raft was...

If you are not a white bread under the age of 30, and if you speak English with any accent (beside the redneck accent of course), you are not welcomed here. Me and a group of 11 people had booked an all day rafting trip with Sierra South. we all are above 40, Iranian background but all professionals (doctors, engineers etc.). Our trip cut short, why? Here is the excuse they loaded us with: "There's a language barrier and we don't understand" what safety means!!! I am a woman just over 50 and going through some hormonal imbalance. With wearing a wetsuit and a jacket and a helmet in a 95 degree whether under the sun, while the guide was speaking to us, I experienced a hot flash and for a second I turned my head looking for the shade under a tree a few steps away. I promise, less than 5 feet away. Our guide got upset because I wasn't looking at him to pay attention so therefore, I didn't listen. Wow! He had to embarrassed me repeatedly that I wasn't listening! Nonetheless, he took us to the first part of the trip but he had already made up his mind that we won't be going to the second part. At our lunch break, the owner Tom, pulled us to the side with a and said we can't continue the trip because the entire group wasn't listening. He kept repeating that the guides don't want to take us because there's a language barrier and we don't understand the him!!! I can't believe the things I heard and experienced with an owner who dealt with many people for past 30 something years of his business. BTW, I've been rafting at least for 35 years of my life on yearly basis in the United States, in the east coast, and have been rafting almost every year and at least for the past 5 years in Kern River. The audacity this owner and his son have and just cut our trip short. All we were was just a group of very jolly people singing and being a bit louder than the white people are. I guess we should be sorry for not being boring :| Not sure which part of us they hated more, Being older? Being Iranian and speaking English with an accent? Or being a fun group? You be the judge... On top of it, they returned our money as if that compensates for the time we planned months in advance managing a weekend. How shameful and disguising. There's many other things involved and happened that I am currently working with a lawyer to see my options. There are other companies. I strongly suggest go with...

So much fun!!! We did the two day trip with our church youth group and we had a blast. We had 21 people in our group and were assigned 6 guides. (I hope I don't misspell names, but sorry if I do). Khari was our group leader and he is awesome! He made sure we were well prepared and informed on safety protocols and did it all in a fun way. Everyone on his boat loved him. I was with Jack most of the time and also did one run with Bryson. Jack clearly has a love of nature and animals and we appreciated him pointing things out for us to see. Jack had us all paddling like pros by the end and led us through some gnarly class 4 rapids. Jack also has a fun talent he shared at night in camp twirling these glow balls on ropes. Not sure the proper name for them, but he kindly let everyone else try them out and they were quite a hit. I think several kids now have them on their wish lists. The way the guides went above on beyond to make our trip extra fun was greatly appreciated! Bryson also is very knowledgeable in rafting and my daughters who were with him the entire time absolutely loved him. They swear he knows everything about everything with all the random facts he taught them. Our other guides were JP, Jose, and Axel. Axel was our safety Kayaker and he is amazing on his kayak. Watching him do tricks in the rapids made the trip even better. We all loved Axel! JP and Jose were also amazing. Those that rode with them only sang their praises. Everyone argued about how their guide was the best! We really did have the best guide team ever and they are all phenomenal! The food also needs mentioning. Not only do these guides raft like pros, they also are great cooks. Lunches were good with fresh fruit and cold cut sandwiches, but the dinner and breakfast were extra delicious! The food was so much better than we had even hoped for. Our guides were also just super fun both on and off the river. We played several games and laughed a ton. I cannot sing their praises enough. Our guides rocked!! Thank you Sierra South for making this trip one that we will never forget and for providing such an excellent guide crew! Oh, and a shout out to our bus driver Jo! She can back up a bus and trailer like nobody's business! She's a beast behind the wheel! One last thanks to our rockstar crew Khari, Jack, Bryson, JP, Jose, Axel, and Jo.... you guys are the best!! Love, Baseline...