Last day of the EddyFlower VC........we decided on the Royal Gorge at Med-high water.
It was great. A beautiful gorge. Huge waves + narrow canyon = super fun!!!
I want to thank everyone for the e-mails and support. I will write a wrap up entry in the coming days.
Jason
Sunday, June 15, 2008
Saturday, June 14, 2008
Day #30 and #31, Browns Canyon, Numbers and Fractions
Friday I took another easy day (off) and paddled Brown's Canyon with some boaters from our campground. I heard it was a must paddle because it was so scenic. Brown's was a very fun run. It had a lot of boogie water and a handful of cool rapids with nice wave trains. Zoom Flume was probably my favorite. Toward the end of the run I saw a rattle snake floating in the cold water. I felt bad for for it and decided to try to save it. After about a 1/2 mile and a bazillion bushes I eventually got it to shore and it VERY slowly started to slither away. Does that count towards my river karma points even though it was a rattle snake?
Saturday I ended up hooking up with some Colorado natives to run the Numbers and Fractions sections of the Arkansas. It was really fun. The Numbers section was very similar to the Cheoah except a little bigger and more continuous in places. The Fractions was just plain fun. It has a lot of really fun wave trains. It was similar to that wave just before Flipper on the Ocoee except a tad bigger and like 7-8 of them in a row like 4 or 5 times! I actually starting giggling a bit as I was running them!
At the end of the day I ran into Lanie at the put in and ended up running another lap of the Numbers with her. It felt bigger than the morning and even more fun! The Numbers is a great run and is super fun at 2400 cfs. It is a definite must paddle in CO.
Jason
Saturday I ended up hooking up with some Colorado natives to run the Numbers and Fractions sections of the Arkansas. It was really fun. The Numbers section was very similar to the Cheoah except a little bigger and more continuous in places. The Fractions was just plain fun. It has a lot of really fun wave trains. It was similar to that wave just before Flipper on the Ocoee except a tad bigger and like 7-8 of them in a row like 4 or 5 times! I actually starting giggling a bit as I was running them!
At the end of the day I ran into Lanie at the put in and ended up running another lap of the Numbers with her. It felt bigger than the morning and even more fun! The Numbers is a great run and is super fun at 2400 cfs. It is a definite must paddle in CO.
Jason
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Day #28 and #29, East River
Well first let me say 32 days of kayaking will now be 31 days of kayaking. After my spill on OBJ I took it easy and let my back heal. Wednesday was a very nice and much needed day of rest.
I felt better Thursday morning and decided to giver 'er a go. We went over to the East River, which is part of the Crested Butte Quadruple Crown. It is a short steep run with a handful of slides and a few fun boofs. It was just what the doctored ordered. It was fun, but not over exerting. After the run we decided to go into Created Butte to shower and eat. Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, the shower at the hostel was awesome!!!!! I feel SO much better. We are going to head over to Buena Vista for FibArk and much more paddling.
Make sure to check out the slide show below................you don't want to miss the last picture!!! ;)
Jason
I felt better Thursday morning and decided to giver 'er a go. We went over to the East River, which is part of the Crested Butte Quadruple Crown. It is a short steep run with a handful of slides and a few fun boofs. It was just what the doctored ordered. It was fun, but not over exerting. After the run we decided to go into Created Butte to shower and eat. Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, the shower at the hostel was awesome!!!!! I feel SO much better. We are going to head over to Buena Vista for FibArk and much more paddling.
Make sure to check out the slide show below................you don't want to miss the last picture!!! ;)
Jason
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Day #27, Oh Be Joyful!!!
WOW. Oh Be Joyful was everything it has been hyped up to be......it is SOOOOO steep. It is 1mile long and drops a total of 400 feet! Holy cow!!
We got to Crestted Butte about 2:00 am and camped right down from OBJ. We waited until noon for our friend Ian to drive up and then proceeded to hike up to scout everything. It was a pleasant surprise to see alot of SE boaters out at OBJ. Will and Alex from NC, Keith Yell and crew from AL, Jeff West and his TVF crew and a guy Nick who I met at the Ocoee were all there. Ian and I were super excited so we headed up ahead of Edgar to scout and talk to Jeff West and his crew. Jeff and crew were on lap 10 by the time we met up with them! We were told by Jeff and others (Will) that the river was at a medium -low level and was good to go, but was dishing out some boat abuse. I think we saw three or four broken boats at the campground from different folks. Ian and I scouted it and got some more beta from other folks but couldn't find Edgar. In the interest of brevity we ended up putting on at 5:00 pm, which was good and sort of bad. It was good because Jeff West and his crew offered to take us down. Bad because now the water was higher and it was everyone's (Edgar, Ian and myself) first time. All the rapids were A LOT bigger than what we saw earlier during our scouting. All the waiting around about killed me. I was already nervous, but excited as well. The sitting around all day looking at a big steep river can play games with your head. ;) We were ready, so off we went..........
We divided into two groups. David Levitt, Ian and myself were the first group and Jeff West, Edgar and Nick were the second group. David by the way was awesome. I had bumped into him a few times at the Green and at the Ocoee, but never really got a chance to talk with him. He is a super awesome guy and was really glad I finally got to paddle with him. The river started off with a bang. I peeled out of an eddy and 10 feet later I was dropping off an 18 foot water fall. It was super sweet. All the drops on OBJ have flakes at the lip, which makes for great boofs. After the 18 footer there was some boogie water with a couple of small boofs and then a 15 footer into a funky hole, which flipped me! Ugh! After the 15 footer we had more boogie water, small slides and boofs and then the bottom drops out! The river takes an S-turn into a 25 foot water fall. I boofed it like no other. Wow, it felt so good. I landed nice and solid and was totally pumped up. After the 25 footer there were more steep slides and boofs. Then the bottom drops out again! The big slide is Avalanche, which is huge and long! I dropped into the left side and had a great line all the way down. Unfortunately one person in our group pitoned at the end and now has a basketball size dent in the front of his boat. Ouch! We went through a couple of log jams.......very sketchy. We made our way down to the last two drops. The first one was center left line, but the last one we were told to go left. The center and right line go, but not very well. Oh, and Jeff told us he flipped there earlier in the day and tore up his hand. If Jeff West gets flipped by a rapid then it has my attention more than normal! Everything was going well until I got a little off line on the second to last drop and went into the bottom hole sideways. Not good. I surfed my butt off for a couple of minutes (literally) and almost got out three times. On that third "almost out move" I got window-shaded like no other and my left leg came out of my thigh brace. I was out of the hole......I thouht....I went for a roll, but was getting pounded by rocks and water and couldn't get up and over. I reached for my grab loop but could not get to it and hit something else and then I was able to pull my skirt and get out of my boat. I went down the entire last drop on my back and butt and then fell into a big hole. Ouch! I was exhausted and hurting. I have never taking a beating like that before. Everyone was able to get my gear and get me to shore. My back was really soar as well as my butt. I paddled to the take out and went to camp to lick my wounds.
My back and butt now have a huge bruise and a bunch of swelling. It felt worse in the morning. I was having trouble walking, so to be safe I went get x-rays. Nothing is broken. Thank goodness. Doctor said no kayaking for a few days. We'll see how that goes. ;)
I am a bit miffed about swimming. I think everyone who knows me knows that I am very competitive and very serious about my kayaking. I am doing my best not to be too hard on myself. I am trying to remind myself of something that a very good kayaker once told me, that "everyone is in between swims".
All in all it was a great river. Two HUGE thumbs up. I have never done something so big and so steep. I had a ton of fun despite the swim and would LOVE to go back and do OBJ again. We may head to Salida to take it easy and heal, so maybe next week. We'll see how the back feels.
Jason
We got to Crestted Butte about 2:00 am and camped right down from OBJ. We waited until noon for our friend Ian to drive up and then proceeded to hike up to scout everything. It was a pleasant surprise to see alot of SE boaters out at OBJ. Will and Alex from NC, Keith Yell and crew from AL, Jeff West and his TVF crew and a guy Nick who I met at the Ocoee were all there. Ian and I were super excited so we headed up ahead of Edgar to scout and talk to Jeff West and his crew. Jeff and crew were on lap 10 by the time we met up with them! We were told by Jeff and others (Will) that the river was at a medium -low level and was good to go, but was dishing out some boat abuse. I think we saw three or four broken boats at the campground from different folks. Ian and I scouted it and got some more beta from other folks but couldn't find Edgar. In the interest of brevity we ended up putting on at 5:00 pm, which was good and sort of bad. It was good because Jeff West and his crew offered to take us down. Bad because now the water was higher and it was everyone's (Edgar, Ian and myself) first time. All the rapids were A LOT bigger than what we saw earlier during our scouting. All the waiting around about killed me. I was already nervous, but excited as well. The sitting around all day looking at a big steep river can play games with your head. ;) We were ready, so off we went..........
We divided into two groups. David Levitt, Ian and myself were the first group and Jeff West, Edgar and Nick were the second group. David by the way was awesome. I had bumped into him a few times at the Green and at the Ocoee, but never really got a chance to talk with him. He is a super awesome guy and was really glad I finally got to paddle with him. The river started off with a bang. I peeled out of an eddy and 10 feet later I was dropping off an 18 foot water fall. It was super sweet. All the drops on OBJ have flakes at the lip, which makes for great boofs. After the 18 footer there was some boogie water with a couple of small boofs and then a 15 footer into a funky hole, which flipped me! Ugh! After the 15 footer we had more boogie water, small slides and boofs and then the bottom drops out! The river takes an S-turn into a 25 foot water fall. I boofed it like no other. Wow, it felt so good. I landed nice and solid and was totally pumped up. After the 25 footer there were more steep slides and boofs. Then the bottom drops out again! The big slide is Avalanche, which is huge and long! I dropped into the left side and had a great line all the way down. Unfortunately one person in our group pitoned at the end and now has a basketball size dent in the front of his boat. Ouch! We went through a couple of log jams.......very sketchy. We made our way down to the last two drops. The first one was center left line, but the last one we were told to go left. The center and right line go, but not very well. Oh, and Jeff told us he flipped there earlier in the day and tore up his hand. If Jeff West gets flipped by a rapid then it has my attention more than normal! Everything was going well until I got a little off line on the second to last drop and went into the bottom hole sideways. Not good. I surfed my butt off for a couple of minutes (literally) and almost got out three times. On that third "almost out move" I got window-shaded like no other and my left leg came out of my thigh brace. I was out of the hole......I thouht....I went for a roll, but was getting pounded by rocks and water and couldn't get up and over. I reached for my grab loop but could not get to it and hit something else and then I was able to pull my skirt and get out of my boat. I went down the entire last drop on my back and butt and then fell into a big hole. Ouch! I was exhausted and hurting. I have never taking a beating like that before. Everyone was able to get my gear and get me to shore. My back was really soar as well as my butt. I paddled to the take out and went to camp to lick my wounds.
My back and butt now have a huge bruise and a bunch of swelling. It felt worse in the morning. I was having trouble walking, so to be safe I went get x-rays. Nothing is broken. Thank goodness. Doctor said no kayaking for a few days. We'll see how that goes. ;)
I am a bit miffed about swimming. I think everyone who knows me knows that I am very competitive and very serious about my kayaking. I am doing my best not to be too hard on myself. I am trying to remind myself of something that a very good kayaker once told me, that "everyone is in between swims".
All in all it was a great river. Two HUGE thumbs up. I have never done something so big and so steep. I had a ton of fun despite the swim and would LOVE to go back and do OBJ again. We may head to Salida to take it easy and heal, so maybe next week. We'll see how the back feels.
Jason
Monday, June 9, 2008
Day #26, Dumont, Idaho Springs and Upper Clear Creek
Today we decided to take a "day off" and do a light run. We got in very late last night and this morning we felt very worn out. We thought it would be better to wait and do Baily, which is at high water, when we were feeling 100%. Unfortunately our light day ended up being a 15 mile paddle through class IV read and run water. Ugh! I thought we were doing a short section, but must have remembered wrong. We ended up hooking up with Ian again and paddling all three sections of the "Upper" Clear Creek. It was a fun day. I really like the Upper Clear Creek Section a lot. Not much to note other than....IT WAS 15 MILES!!!!!!!
Before we put on today we got word that Oh Be Joyful was running at a good medium level and the roads were open. Ian, Edgar and I spoke on the river and decided to head to Crested Butte to paddle tomorrow. Ian will have to leave Wednesday, but I think Edgar and I will stay for a week or so and hit some other runs as well.
I am super tired and worn out so I am going to finish my laundry, try to get a good night's sleep and rest up for a big day tomorrow!!!
Jason
Before we put on today we got word that Oh Be Joyful was running at a good medium level and the roads were open. Ian, Edgar and I spoke on the river and decided to head to Crested Butte to paddle tomorrow. Ian will have to leave Wednesday, but I think Edgar and I will stay for a week or so and hit some other runs as well.
I am super tired and worn out so I am going to finish my laundry, try to get a good night's sleep and rest up for a big day tomorrow!!!
Jason
Sunday, June 8, 2008
Day #23, #24 and #25. 6 rivers in 3 days!
All I can say is WOW! What a three day stretch.
It all started Friday when we received word from Ian that Big Thompson was running high and we were invited to come join him. We weren't leaving until 1:00, so Edgar and I got a quick lap on Lower Clear Creek. We ended up doing the Clear Creek run with our friend Lanie. I actually met Lanie back in the fall on the Cheoah river in NC. She was visiting from CO and didn't have anyone to paddle with and joined our group. Here we are paddling together again.....what a small world!
After our quick lap of LCC we headed north of Denver to meet Ian. We arrived at Big Thompson about an hour or so later. Now, before I get into the river I have to preface this river with the a few facts. First, this is a special run because it normally doesn't run or only runs a couple of times a year. Second, this is a Colorado "must run" river. Third, it hasn't run as high as it was running the day we ran it since 2002.
Now the river....................wow. wow. wow. It was non stop ninja fighting action. I have never paddled in so much chaos in my life. Back to back to back to back, etc 5+ foot waves with drops, boulders and holes sprinkled all over for good measures. It was out of control. I think we stopped at about 4 eddys the entire 5.5 mile run......why?.......because there weren't anymore!!!!! It was big, and SO MUCH FUN! We had a group of seven and EVERYONE was basking in the afterglow of the craziness we just experienced. Truly a must run and I am VERY glad we ran it. Although, we did have a bit of a debate later about this run. Some locals said the Big Thompson was class IV or IV+ at the high level we did it at..............."yeah right", I said. Edgar and I both agree it is a V in our book. The run is (as all the runs so far in CO) VERY continuous like nothing.......I repeat NOTHING in the SE that I have paddled and mistakes can compound very quickly. Swimming is not an option. If you do you are going to take a beating and be swimming for while.........with a very real possibly of flush drowning. Superman would be your only hope for getting your gear. Anyways....I digress...............
Saturday, we met nice and early at Brian's house to paddle some more CO rivers that don't run very often. Oh, if I didn't mention it earlier we have been told that this was a spectacular time to come to CO and paddle because of the great snow pack they received this year. Now back to the river.........specifically......The Eagle, Source.............sounds cools right? Well it was. Lot of class IV boogie water and a couple of fun drops (two fat chicks). We have video. I'll try to post it soon. We had a great day until one of our CO friends got pinned in the last big rapid. It was a bit scary. After all the chaos we lost two paddles (the person who was pinned and Edgar). Edgar dropped his paddle as he was trying to get back into the river (after unpinning the boat). Long story short...it is gone. CO steepness is no joke. After a long day of driving and a long day on the river we stopped to get dinner and then drove to camp in Aspen near the rivers we are planning on running tomorrow. Oh, I forgot to mention that at the take out when we arrived some hikers told us that there were a bunch of trees in the river. Because this is a rarely run river we decided to hike up and scout some of the river. We thought the river would eventually meet with the road again before the put in.........especially since the a guide book mentioned "road scouting". Well the river never made it back to the river and Brian, Kevin and I hike the ENTIRE stretch if river!
Sunday after the snow................that's right I said after the snow. IT SNOWED last night!!!! Anyway after the snow the Upper Frying pan was our first river and wow it was fun. Big boulder gardens with pushy water. Very similar to rivers in the SE. Edgar and I finally felt at home. ;) We boofed our way down 5+ miles of beautiful river and had a blast. We quickly packed up, ate lunch and headed over to Castle Creek, which runs into the Slaughter House section of the Roaring River. We planned on paddling them both. When we arrived Brian was greeted by some of his paddling buddies who were nice enough to drive our car down to the take out in exchange for a ride up.....................nice. Castle Creek was very cool as well. It was mostly more fun boulder gardens and class IV boogie water. The first rapid however felt like the longest technical boulder garden rapid EVER! I was literally winded after running it and for the first time that I can remember I had to ask everyone to wait a few minutes for me to catch my breath! lol. There were a couple more technical rapids, but they all went well.
We boogied our way down some class IV read and run rapids and quickly came to the Slaughter House confluence. Slaughter House was a fun class IV boogie water run with two big rapids. The first rapid was Entrance Exam, which everyone passed! lol. The other big rapid was Slaughter House. The Slaughter House rapid is 5 or 6 foot boof on the left that you have to hit to avoid a really nasty hole. We all ran it fine and we were on our way down the river with visions of food and rest in our eyes. We still had about 3 miles or so of class IV boogie water left before the take out and as well as things were going things were about to get epic again. We are all just boofing along down the river when all of the sudden I heard someone yell swimmer! "Us?" I replied. "Yes!" was yelled back at me. I am not sure what happened, but everyone was on top of it and we got the paddle and boat to shore very quickly. Unfortunately, the swimmer was on the other side of the river. Next thing I know one of our paddlers is ferrying across the river with a rope attached to their safety vest. The thought was to avoid a bazillion throws trying to get the rope across the river for the swimmer. Well things went from bad to worse. The rope wasn't long enough or the water pulled it out too much. Well now the rope was pulling the paddler backwards and then upside down and backwards into a rapid. The release of the safety vest didn't release for some reason. I was the only one in their boat and quickly paddled out to try to assist. By the time I got there we had our second swimmer. Long story short (again) we got the person to shore safely and I was off on the longest most epic boat chase of my life! Over a mile of river and countless non-stop rapids later I finally got the boat to shore. I was joined shortly by two other members of our group. We then ferried the boat to the other side of the river and hiked back up to the others.
We were able to get everyone to the right side of the river safely and hike back down to the boats to finish the run. We finished the run without incident and quickly made our way to subway! lol.
I am very worn out as I write this, but looking forward to day #26 and the last week of the Vertical Challenge. So far our team has raised over $1,200 for First Descent and paddled over 25,000 vertical feet.
Tomorrow we are paddling Baily at high water with Ian!!!
Whoo hoo!
Jason
It all started Friday when we received word from Ian that Big Thompson was running high and we were invited to come join him. We weren't leaving until 1:00, so Edgar and I got a quick lap on Lower Clear Creek. We ended up doing the Clear Creek run with our friend Lanie. I actually met Lanie back in the fall on the Cheoah river in NC. She was visiting from CO and didn't have anyone to paddle with and joined our group. Here we are paddling together again.....what a small world!
After our quick lap of LCC we headed north of Denver to meet Ian. We arrived at Big Thompson about an hour or so later. Now, before I get into the river I have to preface this river with the a few facts. First, this is a special run because it normally doesn't run or only runs a couple of times a year. Second, this is a Colorado "must run" river. Third, it hasn't run as high as it was running the day we ran it since 2002.
Now the river....................wow. wow. wow. It was non stop ninja fighting action. I have never paddled in so much chaos in my life. Back to back to back to back, etc 5+ foot waves with drops, boulders and holes sprinkled all over for good measures. It was out of control. I think we stopped at about 4 eddys the entire 5.5 mile run......why?.......because there weren't anymore!!!!! It was big, and SO MUCH FUN! We had a group of seven and EVERYONE was basking in the afterglow of the craziness we just experienced. Truly a must run and I am VERY glad we ran it. Although, we did have a bit of a debate later about this run. Some locals said the Big Thompson was class IV or IV+ at the high level we did it at..............."yeah right", I said. Edgar and I both agree it is a V in our book. The run is (as all the runs so far in CO) VERY continuous like nothing.......I repeat NOTHING in the SE that I have paddled and mistakes can compound very quickly. Swimming is not an option. If you do you are going to take a beating and be swimming for while.........with a very real possibly of flush drowning. Superman would be your only hope for getting your gear. Anyways....I digress...............
Saturday, we met nice and early at Brian's house to paddle some more CO rivers that don't run very often. Oh, if I didn't mention it earlier we have been told that this was a spectacular time to come to CO and paddle because of the great snow pack they received this year. Now back to the river.........specifically......The Eagle, Source.............sounds cools right? Well it was. Lot of class IV boogie water and a couple of fun drops (two fat chicks). We have video. I'll try to post it soon. We had a great day until one of our CO friends got pinned in the last big rapid. It was a bit scary. After all the chaos we lost two paddles (the person who was pinned and Edgar). Edgar dropped his paddle as he was trying to get back into the river (after unpinning the boat). Long story short...it is gone. CO steepness is no joke. After a long day of driving and a long day on the river we stopped to get dinner and then drove to camp in Aspen near the rivers we are planning on running tomorrow. Oh, I forgot to mention that at the take out when we arrived some hikers told us that there were a bunch of trees in the river. Because this is a rarely run river we decided to hike up and scout some of the river. We thought the river would eventually meet with the road again before the put in.........especially since the a guide book mentioned "road scouting". Well the river never made it back to the river and Brian, Kevin and I hike the ENTIRE stretch if river!
Sunday after the snow................that's right I said after the snow. IT SNOWED last night!!!! Anyway after the snow the Upper Frying pan was our first river and wow it was fun. Big boulder gardens with pushy water. Very similar to rivers in the SE. Edgar and I finally felt at home. ;) We boofed our way down 5+ miles of beautiful river and had a blast. We quickly packed up, ate lunch and headed over to Castle Creek, which runs into the Slaughter House section of the Roaring River. We planned on paddling them both. When we arrived Brian was greeted by some of his paddling buddies who were nice enough to drive our car down to the take out in exchange for a ride up.....................nice. Castle Creek was very cool as well. It was mostly more fun boulder gardens and class IV boogie water. The first rapid however felt like the longest technical boulder garden rapid EVER! I was literally winded after running it and for the first time that I can remember I had to ask everyone to wait a few minutes for me to catch my breath! lol. There were a couple more technical rapids, but they all went well.
We boogied our way down some class IV read and run rapids and quickly came to the Slaughter House confluence. Slaughter House was a fun class IV boogie water run with two big rapids. The first rapid was Entrance Exam, which everyone passed! lol. The other big rapid was Slaughter House. The Slaughter House rapid is 5 or 6 foot boof on the left that you have to hit to avoid a really nasty hole. We all ran it fine and we were on our way down the river with visions of food and rest in our eyes. We still had about 3 miles or so of class IV boogie water left before the take out and as well as things were going things were about to get epic again. We are all just boofing along down the river when all of the sudden I heard someone yell swimmer! "Us?" I replied. "Yes!" was yelled back at me. I am not sure what happened, but everyone was on top of it and we got the paddle and boat to shore very quickly. Unfortunately, the swimmer was on the other side of the river. Next thing I know one of our paddlers is ferrying across the river with a rope attached to their safety vest. The thought was to avoid a bazillion throws trying to get the rope across the river for the swimmer. Well things went from bad to worse. The rope wasn't long enough or the water pulled it out too much. Well now the rope was pulling the paddler backwards and then upside down and backwards into a rapid. The release of the safety vest didn't release for some reason. I was the only one in their boat and quickly paddled out to try to assist. By the time I got there we had our second swimmer. Long story short (again) we got the person to shore safely and I was off on the longest most epic boat chase of my life! Over a mile of river and countless non-stop rapids later I finally got the boat to shore. I was joined shortly by two other members of our group. We then ferried the boat to the other side of the river and hiked back up to the others.
We were able to get everyone to the right side of the river safely and hike back down to the boats to finish the run. We finished the run without incident and quickly made our way to subway! lol.
I am very worn out as I write this, but looking forward to day #26 and the last week of the Vertical Challenge. So far our team has raised over $1,200 for First Descent and paddled over 25,000 vertical feet.
Tomorrow we are paddling Baily at high water with Ian!!!
Whoo hoo!
Jason
Friday, June 6, 2008
Day #22, Lower Clear Creek and Lower Boulder Creek
Today started off kind of slow. It rained all night and all of our gear was wet. In addition, it was very cold out (40s in the am). We decided to find a laundry mat to dry our gear and maybe do a load of clothes. While the clothes were going I went to Wal-mart to get food and supplies. We finally got done with our errands at about 11:00ish and headed up to Dumont and the Upper Clear Creek section to scout/paddle. Everything looked good to go, but there was no one around to paddle with/set shuttle. With the cold and lack of shuttle opportunities we decided to go paddle Lower Clear Creek again and hook up with Brian and his crew for an afternoon run.
We got to Lower Clear Creek about 1:00 and it was super fun............as it was the first time. We bombed down pretty quickly and were ready for a lunch break. We went to downtown Golden and checked out the local paddle shop and ate. I was feeling a bit scruffy, so I went to a barber shop for a hair cut and shave...............that is right a shave!!! It was my first barber shave. It was very relaxing.............with the hot towels and warm shaving cream. If I were a rich man I might do it more often although I don't know if I even could back in the South. I tried to get a shave in a barber shop in North Carolina once and the barber said "We stopped doing that a while back because of the AIDS". lol. I guess the Colorado shops didn't get the memo. ;)
After the barber shop I took my dog Logan for a walk. As I was finishing up Edgar came walking down the street very excited telling me it was time to go and meet everyone to go paddle.
We met up with Brian, Trent (Brain's cousin), Mike, Shawn and Kevin. Their plan was to paddle either Left Hand Creek or Lower Boulder. We found out that Left Hand was too low, so off to Lower Boulder.
Lower Boulder was a fun run. It was very continuous like Lower Clear Creek with very few eddys. It was about a six mile run that went very quickly. It was great to paddle with Brian and his crew. They were all super cool. I hope we can paddle with them more.
Tomorrow we are hoping to hook up with another one of Brian's friends, Ian, to go paddle Big Thompson. My fingers are crossed! :)
Jason
We got to Lower Clear Creek about 1:00 and it was super fun............as it was the first time. We bombed down pretty quickly and were ready for a lunch break. We went to downtown Golden and checked out the local paddle shop and ate. I was feeling a bit scruffy, so I went to a barber shop for a hair cut and shave...............that is right a shave!!! It was my first barber shave. It was very relaxing.............with the hot towels and warm shaving cream. If I were a rich man I might do it more often although I don't know if I even could back in the South. I tried to get a shave in a barber shop in North Carolina once and the barber said "We stopped doing that a while back because of the AIDS". lol. I guess the Colorado shops didn't get the memo. ;)
After the barber shop I took my dog Logan for a walk. As I was finishing up Edgar came walking down the street very excited telling me it was time to go and meet everyone to go paddle.
We met up with Brian, Trent (Brain's cousin), Mike, Shawn and Kevin. Their plan was to paddle either Left Hand Creek or Lower Boulder. We found out that Left Hand was too low, so off to Lower Boulder.
Lower Boulder was a fun run. It was very continuous like Lower Clear Creek with very few eddys. It was about a six mile run that went very quickly. It was great to paddle with Brian and his crew. They were all super cool. I hope we can paddle with them more.
Tomorrow we are hoping to hook up with another one of Brian's friends, Ian, to go paddle Big Thompson. My fingers are crossed! :)
Jason
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
Day #21, Lower Clear Creek (CO)
We finally made it to Colorado! We arrived in Denver about 7:00 am. We drove around a bit trying to find a paddle shop, camp ground, etc. Brian Copanas from EddyFlower came to the rescue! Thanks again Brian. Brain told us about a great camping spot (Bear Creek Lake) and showed us some more of the great links at www.EddyFlower.com. We went to set up camp and then to the paddle shop. We decided to do a modest warm up in CO and paddled Lower Clear Creek. We found out it was 750ish cfs, which some folks said was juicy. The internet said medium so we went, lol. ;) We looked at a few things that the guide book suggested. Over all the river looked like a much more continuous Cheoah (and a little bigger). We took our chances and put on with no shuttle in hopes of getting a ride at the Golden Whitewater Park (Lower Clear Creeks turns into the park).
The river was great. Very continuous like I said above and big waves, lots of big waves. I don't remember any big holes, but Edgar says there were a bunch. I guess the river was moving too fast for me, lol ;)
We got to the Golden Whitewater Park and didn't have much luck finding a ride back up. We ended up getting an offer from a family of kayakers who said that they would give us a ride after they were done paddling, but then Corey Volt came rolling up in his Dagger Subaru. He offered to give us a ride. Of course we took it and thanked him, but Corey wasn't done. After giving us a ride Corey was nice enough to check out my Nomad and Agent and perform a little check up. It is the second time Corey has gone out of his way to do a seemingly unnecessary thing. Thanks a lot Corey!
After getting changed we went to get something to eat and went back to watch the Golden Rodeo series at the whitewater park. It was a great time. A bunch of people came out to watch and compete. It was a really fun place to be hanging out. Hobie from Dagger showed up and was MCing, which was very entertaining and he was giving out prizes. I won a gift certificate to Steuben's! Whoo hoo!
We are now back in camp and have decided not to go to Vail tomorrow. It is suppose to be in the 30s with a high of 40. I left my dry suit at home like an idiot, so it looks like I am going to miss out on the Teva games this year. :(
Tomorrow should still be fun. We received some rain here and Brian is going to hook us up with some cool local runs. We can't wait!!
Jason
The river was great. Very continuous like I said above and big waves, lots of big waves. I don't remember any big holes, but Edgar says there were a bunch. I guess the river was moving too fast for me, lol ;)
We got to the Golden Whitewater Park and didn't have much luck finding a ride back up. We ended up getting an offer from a family of kayakers who said that they would give us a ride after they were done paddling, but then Corey Volt came rolling up in his Dagger Subaru. He offered to give us a ride. Of course we took it and thanked him, but Corey wasn't done. After giving us a ride Corey was nice enough to check out my Nomad and Agent and perform a little check up. It is the second time Corey has gone out of his way to do a seemingly unnecessary thing. Thanks a lot Corey!
After getting changed we went to get something to eat and went back to watch the Golden Rodeo series at the whitewater park. It was a great time. A bunch of people came out to watch and compete. It was a really fun place to be hanging out. Hobie from Dagger showed up and was MCing, which was very entertaining and he was giving out prizes. I won a gift certificate to Steuben's! Whoo hoo!
We are now back in camp and have decided not to go to Vail tomorrow. It is suppose to be in the 30s with a high of 40. I left my dry suit at home like an idiot, so it looks like I am going to miss out on the Teva games this year. :(
Tomorrow should still be fun. We received some rain here and Brian is going to hook us up with some cool local runs. We can't wait!!
Jason
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
Day #20, St. Francis (MO)
Wow! What a pleasant surprise! We were 50/50 on stopping in MO, but now we are very glad we did! Here is why...................
The day started off nice and early. We wanted to break camp and get on the river (and to CO) as soon as possible. We were able to get help from the camp manager setting shuttle and we were off.............................
The river started out very slow and we thought we might have made a mistake (also is was on the low side). After a couple of turns we realized that we had not made a mistake. The river turned into beautiful boulder gardens. It reminded me of the Watagua a bit (a much smaller, younger brother maybe). The run didn't have any push, but there were some cool slot moves and more than a few good boofs. I really had a great time. I can't get over how nice of a view we had. I am REALLY glad we stopped and paddled it. I would like to paddle it with more water. I think a lot more stuff would open up and make the rapids very interesting. :)
I am posting a few pictures Edgar took today. Towards the end of the slide show you will see an old dam. The camp manager told me about it during our shuttle ride. It is made out of nothing but rock/boulders from the river. He told me it was constructed back in the 1930s and that there was a big argument about it. Well, the argument was settled when someone went down and blew the left part of the dam out! You'll see the blown left side in the pictures.
Overall a great time. I could have gone without some of the pig farm smell, but still the river was absolutely beautiful.
Very happy.
Jason
The day started off nice and early. We wanted to break camp and get on the river (and to CO) as soon as possible. We were able to get help from the camp manager setting shuttle and we were off.............................
The river started out very slow and we thought we might have made a mistake (also is was on the low side). After a couple of turns we realized that we had not made a mistake. The river turned into beautiful boulder gardens. It reminded me of the Watagua a bit (a much smaller, younger brother maybe). The run didn't have any push, but there were some cool slot moves and more than a few good boofs. I really had a great time. I can't get over how nice of a view we had. I am REALLY glad we stopped and paddled it. I would like to paddle it with more water. I think a lot more stuff would open up and make the rapids very interesting. :)
I am posting a few pictures Edgar took today. Towards the end of the slide show you will see an old dam. The camp manager told me about it during our shuttle ride. It is made out of nothing but rock/boulders from the river. He told me it was constructed back in the 1930s and that there was a big argument about it. Well, the argument was settled when someone went down and blew the left part of the dam out! You'll see the blown left side in the pictures.
Overall a great time. I could have gone without some of the pig farm smell, but still the river was absolutely beautiful.
Very happy.
Jason
Monday, June 2, 2008
Day #19, Rock Island
Edgar and I had planned on driving to Missouri and paddling the St. Francis today, but after driving a few hours and some talking our plans changed. Edgar had never been to Rock Island (famous Jackson Kayak playhole/training spot) and wanted to check it out. I had not been there in a while and agreed it would be a great idea to stop and get some playboating in.
We set up camp and then watched the new LVM on my laptop. The LVM was really cool (SE edition of the Regional Series). Neat footage of Raven and Road Prong among other things.
The next morning we got up early and did a little PT (physical training) and headed to the river. The normal road was blocked, so we had to go around to Power House Road. We sessioned at the hole for a bit and got some video. We felt rushed to get on the road and try to make it to the Teva Mountain Games (Thursday), so we finished up and headed out.
We are on the road and not sure if we want to push through to Denver or stop off at the St. Francis. It is going to be a last minute decision I think. :) We'll see. Stay tuned...............
Jason
We set up camp and then watched the new LVM on my laptop. The LVM was really cool (SE edition of the Regional Series). Neat footage of Raven and Road Prong among other things.
The next morning we got up early and did a little PT (physical training) and headed to the river. The normal road was blocked, so we had to go around to Power House Road. We sessioned at the hole for a bit and got some video. We felt rushed to get on the road and try to make it to the Teva Mountain Games (Thursday), so we finished up and headed out.
We are on the road and not sure if we want to push through to Denver or stop off at the St. Francis. It is going to be a last minute decision I think. :) We'll see. Stay tuned...............
Jason
Day #17 and #18, The Ocoee
Saturday I hooked up with Edgar, Trevin and Robbie and other random paddlers/raft groups to knock out 5 laps on the Upper Ocoee. We also got one lap of the middle in. It was a great day and a nice warm up for CO...............I think anyway. :)
A cool part of Saturday was Edgar's friend, Robbie. He was only paddling his 5th river, which was also only his 5th time paddling! He was doing awesome. He has a solid roll and if he missed it he tried again and usually got it. He never swam and had an awesome time on the Upper and Middle Ocoee. It is great to see a new paddler excelling and enjoying the river.
I got home late Saturday and spent the evening packing and snuggling with my girlfriend, Laura. She was very sad (as I am) that I am leaving on vacation without her. :(
I hate leaving her because she is so awesome. Did I mention she shuttled everyone (including random people) all day Saturday?! It is great to have loving and supportive people in your life. She really is great.
I finally got everything packed and ready for CO. I had plans to get up early and hit the Ocoee twice with Edgar before we left for CO. I ended up sleeping in and only paddling it once. :) ...oopsy. The one run was very fun though. It was VERY nice to get back in my playboat and get some surfing/playing in. It seems like I have been in my creekboat forever! I am going to bring my playboat to CO and hopefully hook up the M-wave and some of CO's awesome waterparks.
Jason
A cool part of Saturday was Edgar's friend, Robbie. He was only paddling his 5th river, which was also only his 5th time paddling! He was doing awesome. He has a solid roll and if he missed it he tried again and usually got it. He never swam and had an awesome time on the Upper and Middle Ocoee. It is great to see a new paddler excelling and enjoying the river.
I got home late Saturday and spent the evening packing and snuggling with my girlfriend, Laura. She was very sad (as I am) that I am leaving on vacation without her. :(
I hate leaving her because she is so awesome. Did I mention she shuttled everyone (including random people) all day Saturday?! It is great to have loving and supportive people in your life. She really is great.
I finally got everything packed and ready for CO. I had plans to get up early and hit the Ocoee twice with Edgar before we left for CO. I ended up sleeping in and only paddling it once. :) ...oopsy. The one run was very fun though. It was VERY nice to get back in my playboat and get some surfing/playing in. It seems like I have been in my creekboat forever! I am going to bring my playboat to CO and hopefully hook up the M-wave and some of CO's awesome waterparks.
Jason
Day #16, Metro Hooch
This is for sure the last time. Again not a lot of options and with gas prices so high a day trip to a far away place is not such a good idea. I did get a good workout in. We are going to head to the Ocoee Saturday and Sunday, but then it is WEST!!!!!
Jason
Jason
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Day #15, Upper Hooch
Again with few options, Bret and I looked hard to find another run. Bret's shoulder was still hurting (Doctor appointment on Monday), so we took it easy on the Upper Hooch.
We left around 10:30 and found out gas is officially $4.00 in Duluth. :(
However, we can report good news that happened on the way up! We stopped at Jeager farms, which has the best apple fitters ever! That is right...EVER!!! If you haven't had them you don't know........you don't even know................you don't know...................you don't know.
They are the best ever!
Anyway after that HUGE "pick me up" we stopped at Subway to get lunch for later (on the river). I love Subway, but holy cow!..............the girl making our subs was CRAZY! I would like to tell you the whole dialogue, but I'll spare you. It was VERY entertaining though. The good thing is they have to make the food in front of you! ;) I'll always go back to Subway, but maybe just not that one......or I'll look in and see if "Cathy Bates" is working.
We finally arrived at the Hooch and had a nice paddle down to Wilde Wood Outfitters. Nothing to note other than Bret's shoulder is still hurting like crazy and I hand paddled again, but this time with actual hand paddles! lol. ........................Oh, and we saw like 50 turtles.
Unfortunately it looks like Bret is done for the rest of the VC. The Hooch was supposed to be easy on his shoulder, but it looks like it is more serious than we thought. I hope everything goes as well as possible on Monday (Doctor). Oh, and for Laura as well. Laura was also supposed to paddle on Team Eagle Ray, but broke her foot 4/10 on the Green. She also has a doctor's appointment next week at the same place as Bret. They are both in good hands and I hope the best for both of them.
Tomorrow maybe a Section IV day. I am thinking maybe the Ocoee for Saturday and Sunday before I leave with Edgar for CO.
Jason
We left around 10:30 and found out gas is officially $4.00 in Duluth. :(
However, we can report good news that happened on the way up! We stopped at Jeager farms, which has the best apple fitters ever! That is right...EVER!!! If you haven't had them you don't know........you don't even know................you don't know...................you don't know.
They are the best ever!
Anyway after that HUGE "pick me up" we stopped at Subway to get lunch for later (on the river). I love Subway, but holy cow!..............the girl making our subs was CRAZY! I would like to tell you the whole dialogue, but I'll spare you. It was VERY entertaining though. The good thing is they have to make the food in front of you! ;) I'll always go back to Subway, but maybe just not that one......or I'll look in and see if "Cathy Bates" is working.
We finally arrived at the Hooch and had a nice paddle down to Wilde Wood Outfitters. Nothing to note other than Bret's shoulder is still hurting like crazy and I hand paddled again, but this time with actual hand paddles! lol. ........................Oh, and we saw like 50 turtles.
Unfortunately it looks like Bret is done for the rest of the VC. The Hooch was supposed to be easy on his shoulder, but it looks like it is more serious than we thought. I hope everything goes as well as possible on Monday (Doctor). Oh, and for Laura as well. Laura was also supposed to paddle on Team Eagle Ray, but broke her foot 4/10 on the Green. She also has a doctor's appointment next week at the same place as Bret. They are both in good hands and I hope the best for both of them.
Tomorrow maybe a Section IV day. I am thinking maybe the Ocoee for Saturday and Sunday before I leave with Edgar for CO.
Jason
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Day #14, Back to the Grind.....
Well, again the rain didn't show up like it was forecast. Ugh! I ended up running some errands to help prepare for the CO trip and got in a late Metro Hooch run. Even though it is not a lot of feet it is actually nice to hit the hooch every so often. It is easier on my shoulders, but a nice workout at the same time.
I am not sure what I am going to paddle tomorrow.............probably section IV. I though the Ocoee would be running, but was mistaken. I am SOOOOOOOOOOO itching to leave for CO. I would leave tomorrow, but Laura said I can't. :( She did say she has a going away present for me, so................................. :)
Anyway, someone do a rain dance for the SE? Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeease.
Jason
p.s. Good news our team has now raised over $1100.00!!!!
I am not sure what I am going to paddle tomorrow.............probably section IV. I though the Ocoee would be running, but was mistaken. I am SOOOOOOOOOOO itching to leave for CO. I would leave tomorrow, but Laura said I can't. :( She did say she has a going away present for me, so................................. :)
Anyway, someone do a rain dance for the SE? Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeease.
Jason
p.s. Good news our team has now raised over $1100.00!!!!
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Day #13, Green................again. :)
Today Bret and I woke up happy after all the BBQ and a restful sleep at the Cramers. Thanks again..............oh and if anyone is every up in Asheville ask Rich to show you his wrist watch. It is one of a kind and your jaw will drop!
Bret being the gamer that he is wanted to get back on the Green and test out his shoulder. We put in on the Upper Green, which was a nice warm up and a great run. I am actually surprised more people don't talk about the Upper Green. It is a really fun stretch of river with two really fun drops and boofs everywhere, but I guess the Narrows cast a pretty big shadow. ;)
Anyway, Bret and I had a very fun warm up on the "Upper" and within an hour we were at Bride. Everything went well. We both had a great time today. The weather was great and we only saw one other person on the river today (for about two minutes), so we basically had the river to ourselves. We took our time resting in eddys, talking it up and enjoying each rapid. Bret did end up "stressing" his shoulder some more so he is going to take tomorrow off and with the rain heading for GA and not WV we decided to head home for a short break and to our own beds.
Tomorrow looks good for some GA paddling. I am keeping my fingers crossed and reminding myself we are leaving for the water filled lands of CO this weekend! :)
Jason
Bret being the gamer that he is wanted to get back on the Green and test out his shoulder. We put in on the Upper Green, which was a nice warm up and a great run. I am actually surprised more people don't talk about the Upper Green. It is a really fun stretch of river with two really fun drops and boofs everywhere, but I guess the Narrows cast a pretty big shadow. ;)
Anyway, Bret and I had a very fun warm up on the "Upper" and within an hour we were at Bride. Everything went well. We both had a great time today. The weather was great and we only saw one other person on the river today (for about two minutes), so we basically had the river to ourselves. We took our time resting in eddys, talking it up and enjoying each rapid. Bret did end up "stressing" his shoulder some more so he is going to take tomorrow off and with the rain heading for GA and not WV we decided to head home for a short break and to our own beds.
Tomorrow looks good for some GA paddling. I am keeping my fingers crossed and reminding myself we are leaving for the water filled lands of CO this weekend! :)
Jason
Monday, May 26, 2008
Day #12 1/2, Beers & Que
The beers were cold and the grub was delicious at The Cramer's estate. I'd like to thank Rich & Beth for the generous hospitality shown to Jason and I today. After not paddling due to a tweaked shoulder, the smoked salamon, chicken and ribs were just as good as running hammer factor without a swim. The folks in Asheville are good people. Tommorw we'll try for another Green run,....I hope the shoulder holds. If not I just might consider squatting in Cramer's unfinished bathroom.
P.S. Thanks to JB for the solid lines on the Narrows
P.S. Thanks to JB for the solid lines on the Narrows
Day #12, The Green
Today we hit the green again. We were already in NC so it was nice to sleep in AND we had time to hit the upper green. Unfortunately Bret was still sore from yesterday, so I had to hook up with some local upper green and green narrow boaters.
It was another great sunny day. I am looking forward to tomorrow and hopefully paddling with Bret for our last lap on the green. After tomorrow we are going to follow the rain to WV. I can't wait.
Jason
It was another great sunny day. I am looking forward to tomorrow and hopefully paddling with Bret for our last lap on the green. After tomorrow we are going to follow the rain to WV. I can't wait.
Jason
Sunday, May 25, 2008
Day #11, The Green.....finally
Today, we headed to the Green. It was a short 7-12 release, but I knew we could get in two laps and three if we push hard. It was a beautiful day.......all sunshine, which was great for Bret's first time down. Bret ended up doing great. We got out to look at Frank and Zwicks. Brent ran everything well, but did decided to run Zwicks another day along with the big three (Go Left, Gorilla and Sunshine). He did do something very rare. He walked Zwicks, but ran Chief, lol. All the folks I have ever seen that walk Zwicks also walk Chief.......but hey........Bret is everybody else! lol :)
Bret did end up tweeking his shoulder on Scream Machine (high brace). He is taking it easy tonight with some ice and hopefully will be good to go for more laps tomorrow and some video!!
All and all it was a GREAT day on an AWESOME SE creek!!!! I LOVE the green!!
Jason
p.s. Bret rules!!!! He has a ton of travel points on his VISA that he never uses, so we are styling in a hotel in Henersonville right now!!! lol. :)
Bret did end up tweeking his shoulder on Scream Machine (high brace). He is taking it easy tonight with some ice and hopefully will be good to go for more laps tomorrow and some video!!
All and all it was a GREAT day on an AWESOME SE creek!!!! I LOVE the green!!
Jason
p.s. Bret rules!!!! He has a ton of travel points on his VISA that he never uses, so we are styling in a hotel in Henersonville right now!!! lol. :)
Saturday, May 24, 2008
Day#10, Tellico Ledges and the Middle Ocoee
Day 10, what feels like the beginning of the VC challenge for Bret and I. Bret finally has time off from work (all next week), so we are all set to start hitting some rivers. There has been little rain here in the SE, so there weren't that many options for today. Our best option was to knock out the Tellico Ledges and then with whatever time we had left we would paddle the Upper and Middle Ocoee. We woke up bright and early at 5:45 a.m. to make the 3 hour drive up to Tellico Plains. We finally arrived and put in around 10 a.m. The river was at 1.2 feet, which is a low level but its still very doable. We were able to knock out 5 laps by 1:30. We burned more time than we would have liked eating and filling up with gas. By the time we arrived at the Ocoee we had missed the Upper release. We managed to get 2 full laps on the Middle Ocoee. It was a very fun and productive day. We are already looking forward to tomorrow, Bret has decided to run the Green for the first time. We hope to get a couple laps on the 7-12 release Tomorrow and Monday before heading north to West Virginia on Tuesday.
Day #9, Marsh and Rottenwood Creek
WOW!........is all I can say. Today Atlanta received a nice afternoon shower that brought up the local microcreeks. I had never paddled any of the metro creeks (Rottenwood, Marsh or Sope). I had always assumed that the water quality was bad and there wouldn't be enough gradient to create anything really fun to paddle. I could not have been more wrong........well about the river quality not the water quality. :) I was shocked at how big and pushy Marsh and Rottenwood were today. I met up with local "metro creek" expert Bryce and his buddy Kirk. We hit Marsh first and it had two nice ledge/drops and big wave trains. We were able to do a second run, but the water had already dropped a foot and a half. After the second run we decided to go check out Rottenwood. Bryce thought Sope might be too high; it has a reputation for having some horrible hydraulics. We got to Rottenwood and it was high (over 7 feet) as well, but Bryce, who hadn't really paddled it much, didn't think much of the level. Once on the river, we were shocked by a huge slide that fed into a giant hydraulic. Bryce got caught in it and eventually was able to surf his way out. I barley punched though it. I had to dig (paddle) my way out after the hole stood my Nomad 8.5 straight up! Kirk came down into the hole and almost ran Bryce over, but made it out. After the big hole we had non stop wave trains and reactionaries for about 1/2 mile. It calmed down for a short time and as we were about to turn a corner some folks walking along the trail warned us to see what was coming up. Not being too prideful we took their advice and we're glad we did. It was a huge rapid. Starting left going over a ledge punching two holes/hydraulics then make a quick ferry to the right into two 10 foot standing waves that led to a wave train run out. It looked big and pushy, but doable. I led the way making all the moves, but did not realize how big those two waves were. After the first wave I found myself nearly vertical and then dropping straight down and quickly climbing up the second wave, which I did not make up. I got typewritered to the left and then ferried back to the middle to run the rest of the rapid. The creek continued for another mile of non stop class IV boogie water. We eventually made it to the Metro Hooch confluence where we were met by another nice size hole which Bryce decided to surf and ...........................well.............I'll let him tell you. ;)
All in all the best day so far during the VC. I am in LOVE with Rottenwood. I am looking forward to more fun tomorrow and hitting some rivers with Bret. Oh yeah, the second best part of the runs was that my girlfriend was waiting for us at the takeout with double cheeseburgers.
Jason
All in all the best day so far during the VC. I am in LOVE with Rottenwood. I am looking forward to more fun tomorrow and hitting some rivers with Bret. Oh yeah, the second best part of the runs was that my girlfriend was waiting for us at the takeout with double cheeseburgers.
Jason
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Day #8, Metro Hooch..........last time
After a hectic day at work I wasn't able to break away early and get to North, GA as we planned. We ended up having to go to the metro hooch again. Hopefully this was the last time. Bret is off for all next week and I am officially off for the summer, so we are looking to hit it hard starting tomorrow. It has been a very rough week watching many of the teams out west gaining feet and our team not really being able to do much. North, GA tomorrow!!!
Jason
Jason
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Day #7, Metro Hooch....again.
Well, I really didn't have many options, so to complete Day #7, We went back to the Metro Hooch. There was water....more water than Monday!!! Thunderstorms are forecasted for the Atlanta area tomorrow, which will hopefully bring up a local creek. I'd like to hit Sope or Rottenwood and gain some VF! All in all, I added some feet and have stayed on track with my goal. I shouldn't really complain, it was beautiful outside and as of today "school" is out! I am REALLY looking forward to the weekend and being able to hit the rivers full on!!
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Day #6, Upper Hooch
Today I ventured off to the mighty Upper Hooch. Again, we had Laura to help us run shuttle, which made life a lot easier. We arrived at the put in after barely escaping the onslaught of Atlanta rush hour traffic. I got out.........got the boat off the car................got geared up and then I realized I never got my paddle into the car. Ugh! So.......with no paddle, no hand paddles I had no choice, but to do it with just my hands. We were already up there, so really what was I supposed to do? Not paddle?
It took me a bit longer to finish the river, but all in all we had a great time. I hadn't paddled the Upper Hooch in a long time and I forgot how beautiful and scenic this stretch of river can be during the Spring. It honestly was one of the best times I have had on a river.........very peaceful.
It took me a bit longer to finish the river, but all in all we had a great time. I hadn't paddled the Upper Hooch in a long time and I forgot how beautiful and scenic this stretch of river can be during the Spring. It honestly was one of the best times I have had on a river.........very peaceful.
Monday, May 19, 2008
Day #5, The Metro Hooch
AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!! Our biggest day yet! 35 feet!!! lol. It isn't much, but I really want to make my goal of paddling for 32 straight days. There wasn't many other options with myself and Bret getting out of work at 4:00, so off we went down 285W. Oh, yeah Bret. Bret and I finally paddled together!! Oh and he is no longer tied with 20 other people for last place! :) Just joking, Bret has been busy and will be throwing up some big numbers in the coming weeks.
We really had a good time today. We floated down the river surfing a bit and enjoying good conversation. We did one lap then attained back up to the 75 bridge, which was a great work out. After the attainment work out we headed for shore and some much deserved dinner.
We have rain in the forecast for tomorrow. Hopefully we can hit Rottenwood, Sope or Marsh Creek.......if not it is on to the Upper Hooch!! :)
We really had a good time today. We floated down the river surfing a bit and enjoying good conversation. We did one lap then attained back up to the 75 bridge, which was a great work out. After the attainment work out we headed for shore and some much deserved dinner.
We have rain in the forecast for tomorrow. Hopefully we can hit Rottenwood, Sope or Marsh Creek.......if not it is on to the Upper Hooch!! :)
Day #3 and #4, Cheoah
We arrived nice and early Saturday morning to beautiful sunny skies in Robinsville, North Carolina. We met up with my friend Greg and had my lovely girlfriend Laura there to run shuttle for us, which was a tremendous help. Greg and I moved at a surprisingly quick pace and had completed 3 full laps by 4:30. We had time to do a fourth, but thought better of it with the five lap limit. We figured we would two on Sunday and possibly hit the Cascades on the way home. Sunday was just as good, although a bit overcast and rainy. We ran our first lap with a large group: myself, Edgar, Eric, Ken and Greg. Everything went well but unfortunately on the "west prong" line after Bear Creek Falls, Ken flipped and hit his face hard enough to blow his eardrum. Ken was a real trooper about it, as he had blown an ear drum before and took it in stride. He is doing well now and went to see a doctor first thing Monday morning. We should thank the NOC for always being a class act. One of their raft guides helped get Ken to safety at the Topoco Lodge. We ran our second lap in the rain, went back and broke camp and gorged ourselves on some Sweetwater BBQ. All in all a great weekend, with great friends and great paddling. Make sure to check out the few video clips below.
Friday, May 16, 2008
Day #2, Sweetwater Creek
Well..................
The rain that came didn't fill up the rivers very well. We found out the Green would be 100% from 7-12 and 60% for the entire weekend. Ugh!
Again we have found ourselves with few options and though we could have paddled 16 miles again (lol, yeah right) we chose to go to Sweetwater State Park. It was over 3.5 feet which is an ok level. We set off and did our maximum allowance of 5 laps. We looked at possibly going to Big Creek (Rowsell, Ga), which was running. Unfortunately it barely drops any feet (20 feet over 2 miles). We chose to pass and call it a day. We will try to get some MEGA-feet tomorrow at the Cheoah (NC) and hopefully the Cascades (NC). :)
Jason
Sweetwater:
http://www.americanwhitewater.org/content/River_detail_id_502_
Big Creek (Roswell, GA)
http://www.americanwhitewater.org/content/River_detail_id_466_
Cheoah:
http://www.americanwhitewater.org/content/River_detail_id_3146_
Cascades:
http://www.americanwhitewater.org/content/River_detail_id_1100_
The rain that came didn't fill up the rivers very well. We found out the Green would be 100% from 7-12 and 60% for the entire weekend. Ugh!
Again we have found ourselves with few options and though we could have paddled 16 miles again (lol, yeah right) we chose to go to Sweetwater State Park. It was over 3.5 feet which is an ok level. We set off and did our maximum allowance of 5 laps. We looked at possibly going to Big Creek (Rowsell, Ga), which was running. Unfortunately it barely drops any feet (20 feet over 2 miles). We chose to pass and call it a day. We will try to get some MEGA-feet tomorrow at the Cheoah (NC) and hopefully the Cascades (NC). :)
Jason
Sweetwater:
http://www.americanwhitewater.org/content/River_detail_id_502_
Big Creek (Roswell, GA)
http://www.americanwhitewater.org/content/River_detail_id_466_
Cheoah:
http://www.americanwhitewater.org/content/River_detail_id_3146_
Cascades:
http://www.americanwhitewater.org/content/River_detail_id_1100_
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Day #1, Chattooga
Today was our first day of kayaking for the First Descents Fund Raiser/EddyFlower Competition. I woke up nice and early to head to North Carolina, but learned at the last minute that the Green River release schedule had changed and water would not be released. In addition, the rain that was forecast did not materialize. With few options available my friend Allen and I headed to the reliable Chattooga. We planned on doing sections III and IV and hoped that some rain would fall in the mean time. It ended up being a nice day. I had not boated section III before. There were some pretty cool rapids, rock formations and fauna to see, so I ended up being very happy that I finally got to paddled it. We paddled a total of 16 miles all the way through section IV to Lake Tugaloo. Not much rain fell throughout the day, so with no other rivers to paddle plus the dwindling amount of daylight, we called it a day.
Good news came on the way home. It was raining like crazy. Looking forward to tomorrow!!!!
Jason
Green:
http://www.americanwhitewater.org/content/River_detail_id_1080_
Chattooga Section III and IV:
http://www.americanwhitewater.org/content/River_detail_id_475_
http://www.americanwhitewater.org/content/River_detail_id_476_
Good news came on the way home. It was raining like crazy. Looking forward to tomorrow!!!!
Jason
Green:
http://www.americanwhitewater.org/content/River_detail_id_1080_
Chattooga Section III and IV:
http://www.americanwhitewater.org/content/River_detail_id_475_
http://www.americanwhitewater.org/content/River_detail_id_476_
Monday, May 5, 2008
Practice Weekend on the Cheoah in North Carolina
This weekend we went up to North Carolina and practiced some TVF (Total Vertical Feet) lapping.
It was a great weekend. Saturday started off rainy, but ended great with the sun coming out and warming up all the kayakers. Sunday was the best with clear skies and the sun shining throughout the day. We were able to get in a full 9 mile lap as well as two "bridge down" laps on both days. You'll see a nice video of Bret running the double drop line at Bear Creek Falls below.
I also wanted to post a few links that might be helpful to everyone:
http://www.firstdescents.org/cms/
http://www.eddyflower.com/
Donor Letter: http://burtonbiology.com/eddyflowerletter.doc
Thanks again to everyone who has already sent donations and please feel free to forward this on. :)
Jason
It was a great weekend. Saturday started off rainy, but ended great with the sun coming out and warming up all the kayakers. Sunday was the best with clear skies and the sun shining throughout the day. We were able to get in a full 9 mile lap as well as two "bridge down" laps on both days. You'll see a nice video of Bret running the double drop line at Bear Creek Falls below.
I also wanted to post a few links that might be helpful to everyone:
http://www.firstdescents.org/cms/
http://www.eddyflower.com/
Donor Letter: http://burtonbiology.com/eddyflowerletter.doc
Thanks again to everyone who has already sent donations and please feel free to forward this on. :)
Jason
Friday, May 2, 2008
It begins.........
Today we created this blog to keep everyone updated on the fund raising activities and what rivers our team has paddled.
Our team name is "Team Eagle Ray". It is named after my best friend Ray who passed away due to brain cancer on January 19, 1999. "Eagle" for the obvious symbolic reasons and that it was our college mascot. Also, Ray and I grew up swimming with and catching eagle rays along the south western coast of Florida. They are very captivating the way they glide through the water and we'll be doing alot of "gliding" on the water for this fund raising effort. :)
This blog will serve as a way for donors, family and friends to keep up with our travels and fund raising. The official start date is May 15th at dawn, so everyone can expect daily updates from then on. Our daily post will include river trip reports, pictures, the amount of feet we have accumulated and of of course the amount of money we have raised.
Yesterday we send out donor letters to family and friends. We have already started to receive donations and we thank everyone for jumping on board so quickly.
I am really looking forward to the next month and a half. It should be very special.
Jason
Our team name is "Team Eagle Ray". It is named after my best friend Ray who passed away due to brain cancer on January 19, 1999. "Eagle" for the obvious symbolic reasons and that it was our college mascot. Also, Ray and I grew up swimming with and catching eagle rays along the south western coast of Florida. They are very captivating the way they glide through the water and we'll be doing alot of "gliding" on the water for this fund raising effort. :)
This blog will serve as a way for donors, family and friends to keep up with our travels and fund raising. The official start date is May 15th at dawn, so everyone can expect daily updates from then on. Our daily post will include river trip reports, pictures, the amount of feet we have accumulated and of of course the amount of money we have raised.
Yesterday we send out donor letters to family and friends. We have already started to receive donations and we thank everyone for jumping on board so quickly.
I am really looking forward to the next month and a half. It should be very special.
Jason
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