Tubing on the Kern River

We just got back from a four-day trip (without the Caboose) to the Upper Kern River. We stayed at a USFS campground called Hospital Flat. The campground was essentially just a wide spot in the road with some pit toilets and the most poison oak I've ever seen in one spot. In this first photo, the plants surrounding our tent are 16' tall poison oak bushes.

We went with our friends Todd, Jodie and their clan. The primary reason to stay at this campground was to ride the rapids on inner-tubes.

Andrew was a mad man, doing flips off a ten-foot boulder into the flowing river below. The kids spent hours running up the road and then floating over rapids and waterfalls. Those of us with less of a need for adventure were content to wade in the river while the trout swam between our legs.

If we were to go again, we would want to stay in site 35, which was far enough from the river to avoid hearing the screams, shrieks and roar of the river, but still close enough to get to the action. There was also a fire ring, stand-up barbecue and plenty of parking for the truck and Caboose. Most importantly - no poison oak! As on all our trips, food played a major role in our entertainment with chorizo, potatoes and eggs for breakfast, and an apple-berry cobbler in the dutch oven after the campfire.