DESCENTS

FANTASY FLUSH, CALIFORNIA, JUNE 2018 (USA)

The Fantasy Falls section of the Mokelumne River in California is one of the most prestigious runs in the kayaking world, and for a good reason. It cuts through epic gorges and beautiful meadows and is one of the most stacked sections of whitewater in the world. The first descent was in 1981, and ever since, dozens of crews and many of the world’s best kayakers have paddled this legendary section. But even after all these years, one thing still hadn’t been done, which is run all three of the main rapids in one trip. Each of the three is super stout in its own way and is not to be messed with, especially out in the Cali wilderness. The first of the three, run by maybe a dozen people, is the “I Want My Mommy Gorge.” It starts off with a tricky 25-30-foot near-vertical drop with a shallow landing that shoves hard into rocks on the left. After the entrance drop, the rest of the gorge is full of gnar rocks, stout holes, and a few petons for good measure. Dane Jackson was stoked to pull off a clean line and make it to the bottom in one piece, though his day was far from finished. Not far downstream lies the “Untouchables” rapid, first descended by Sam Sutton back in 2012. It was here that Dane realized just how high the river was, and it was HIGH! The Untouchables has a super fast entrance off a 40-foot cascading drop, which is IMMEDIATELY followed up by three huge holes that are all different angles. If you don’t nail the bottom, you will end up pounded against the wall and rocks; no bueno. But it went