Rapids fire

The water coursing through the north fork of the American River is muddy and brown – exactly how Justin Orban likes it.

"It's just like chocolate milk," shouts the veteran whitewater raft guide. "It feels like Christmas morning!"

It's 6 a.m. on a recent Monday, and the sun's warmth has yet to enfold the crisp air at the Mineral Bar campground where Orban and 10 other raft guides with W.E.T. River Trips are about to launch a record-setting expedition. The goal: To raft the three forks of the American River in less than 12 hours, a total of 36 miles.

"It's sort of like climbing a mountain for the first time," says Stephen Liles, president of W.E.T. and organizer of the challenge. "Whether it's the first descent or first ascent, a first in an outdoor activity is getting harder and harder to do, so you have to be creative."

Plus, to raft the three forks of the American River, the water flows have to cooperate. And cooperate they did, with warm weather melting enough snow in the Sierra to have the free-flowing north fork running high and fast.

The guides climb into rafts as well as two kayaks, included for safety purposes and for mobility in shooting pictures and video. At 6:32 a.m., with much hooting and hollering, the boats head downriver.

"Forward paddle!" all are ordered.

The testosterone level jumps almost instantly when the all-male crew hits the popular 9-mile whitewater run's namesake, Chamberlain Falls, a gurgling rapid that jolts like a double shot of espresso. There are more ominous rapids to come – Slaughter's Sluice, Bogus Thunder and Staircase – to feed the group of adrenaline-dependent guides.

W.E.T., known as the only Sacramento-based whitewater company to guide down all three forks of the American River, has been in business since 1978. Part of its longevity is due to intensive guide training. And while the main goal of this outing is to hit all three forks, training exercises got the guides out of bed and into their wet suits on what was supposed to be a day off.

North fork needs snowmelt

"Rivers are powerful, spiritual places. Moving water is dangerous and it can bite you at any time with a lapse of judgment," Liles says. "Having a group of guides that are respectful of the river is really important."

For the chocolate-milk loving Orban, that means spending his 28th birthday on the river.

"I've never met a river that I don't like," says Orban, who is in his eighth season as a commercial guide. "My favorite thing is the feeling in your stomach when you don't know what the exact outcome is going to be. It's when you're challenged to the point that you're acting on instinct."

The north fork of the American River is a favorite of many guides because of its short two-month season – it usually runs from sometime in March to sometime in May since it's dependent on melted snow. Plus, it's predominantly a narrow river sandwiched between cascading sheets of rock, meaning errors are difficult to rectify.

There are soft moments peppering the morning – when the first rays of sunlight stretch past the guides, when they notice a field glowing with purple wildflowers, when they paddle past a large turtle resting on a rock.

But setting a record means speed, and as soon as the group sees the 15-passenger W.E.T. van near Ponderosa Way at 8:03 a.m., everyone gets busy. Rafts are stacked atop one another on the trailer, gear is lashed down, bananas are scarfed and Red Bull is pounded now that the crew has completed the 9-mile first leg.

A cold wake-up call

It's 9:30 a.m. when the rafts hit water again, this time on the middle fork of the American River at Oxbow Reservoir. During the first 30 seconds of the trip, the crew hits what's known as Good Morning, a churning rapid that gives everyone a cold splash of wake-up.

Then there's Tunnel Chute, perhaps the sole reason the middle fork is such a popular intermediate run. During the Gold Rush, miners blasted a tunnel through a mountain and diverted the river to trap gold in a bend. The engineering was profitable for gold seekers and left whitewater enthusiasts with a 70-foot-long rapid that drops down 18 feet.

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• Call The Bee's Gina Kim, (916) 321-1228.