{"id":5331,"date":"2012-08-24T09:17:33","date_gmt":"2012-08-24T16:17:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.aorafting.com\/blog\/?p=5331"},"modified":"2021-11-29T13:37:19","modified_gmt":"2021-11-29T21:37:19","slug":"hospital-bar-rapid-class-iii","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.aorafting.com\/blog\/hospital-bar-rapid-class-iii\/","title":{"rendered":"Hospital Bar Rapid: Class III"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The fan-favorite Hospital Bar Rapid is remembered by many as the highlight of their rafting trip on the Lower \u201cGorge\u201d Section<\/a> of the South Fork American River<\/a>. This splashy Class III+<\/a> rapid caps off an awesome day of whitewater, and, as people are quick to notice, it lives up to its reputation (and no, it doesn\u2019t send you to the hospital, it\u2019s just really, really fun).
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The Rapid Play-by-Play<\/h3>\n

Here is how it goes: After a calm pond, the pace of the current picks up steadily as the river takes a sweeping left turn. Waiting at the bottom, sitting just off the right bank, is a big curling wave. As you enter the rapid, your guide will likely have your crew forward paddling to gain momentum and charge the waves at the top of the rapid. <\/p>\n

By the time you hit the curler, you are at maximum speed. The raft takes a sudden dip and goes crashing through the big wave. A wall of water blankets the raft. Then you pull a right turn as the river takes a sharp right bend, and you coast by (or sometimes bump into) the \u201cparking garage\u201d aka the \u201ccatcher’s mitt\u201d… a rock that\u2019s looking to catch a hold of your raft. Looking back upstream once you are through, you can really notice the gradient and the quick loss of elevation that produces this fun, fast, bouncy rapid.
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