Todd Wells' Whitewater Blog

Little White Salmon Race 2011

2011-06-07T10:47:00.000-07:00

This year the World Class Academy launched the largest Little White Salmon Race on record. At the takeout 27 competitors in 13 different teams of two or more grouped together to discuss the race. The first heat would be through Gettin' Busy, the first and longest rapid on the L-Dub. The second would be from below wood choked Island Drop to the bottom of Wishbone. The team with the fastest combined times from the first and second heat would be pronounced winner. My race partner, Ryan Lucas of New Zealand, had only been down the Little White twice before but he was faster n' hell and I knew that as long as I led him down the correct lines he would keep up. Aside from my spinning out in one feature, Ryan and I did well in the first heat and finished within a few seconds of the top team. The second heat was more than twice as long as the first and brought light to a different style of race than that of the first heat. Instead of paddling the continuous Getting Busy style of whitewater to be had in the top stretch the second section focused on technical ledge drops and the longer sections of mellow water in-between. Feeling exhausted below Wishbone, we grouped up with the other competitors and lackadaisically paddled the final section of river. At the take-out Capo, the main race organizer, announced the results:

1st Place and $200 Cash Prize- Locals Louis Geltman & Lane Jacobs
2nd Place and $100 Cash Prize- Ryan Lucas & Todd Wells
3rd Place and $50 Cash Prize- Jure Poberaj & Jeff C.
4th Place - Trevor Sheehan & Drew Austell
5th Place- Todd Anderson and Ross

I was stoked to walk away with second place, but I've got my sights set on first for next year. Big shout out to everyone who helped make the Little White Race possible. If you couldn't make it out this year, we look forward to seeing you out there next year. It's only gonna get bigger

Photos by Jed Weingarten

The Milner Mile: Snake River

2011-05-04T20:39:00.000-07:00

A couple weekends back my brother and I, though forever in love with our backyard runs, were joanzin for some high water goods. There was little question over where we would go, and on Friday morning we packed up the suby for a five hour drive to Idaho, the whitewater state. On our way to Boise and at about 8:15 P.M. we arrived at the top of Jacobs Ladder. My brother, Brendan and I gazed down through the churning chaos of the 3,000cfs North Fork of the Payette and put on for one crazy ride. Brendan had never before paddled the North Fork, and I had only paddled it once before at about 600 cfs. Luckily I remembered enough of what Seth Stoenner had told me about the rapids a year ago to lead my brother down the much different river. As the night was growing darker we made out a figure on the side of the river, and pulled over to be greeted by Erik Boomer. Boomer, an Idaho native, gave us a ride back to the top of Jakes, and told us of some next day releases on the Snake River.

After a healthy sleep at our buddy Seth Stoenner's house we made our way to the Milner Mile of the Snake for the 10 A.M. to 3 P.M. release. Idaho Power let out something between 12,000 and 15,000cfs of water for us to enjoy through the afternoon. At the take-out we met with the kind folks from Idaho Power. Though thoughful, we did all have a chuckle as over his walkie talkie one Idaho Power representative declared, "Their okay. Everyone has safely made it to the boat ramp."

Seth approaching the edge of "The V-Hole"

Seth, Brendan, and me after "The V-Hole"

Boomer, Seth, Brendan, and me bobbing in and out of the scene

More goods...

Ryan Casey, another Idaho local who had requested the release, showed us all down the Milner. After a few very satisfying laps on the mile long stretch we drove a ways downstream to put in on the Murtaugh section to enjoy another 14 miles of classic Idaho high water. Though short, our weekend trip to Idaho was well worth the drive and I'm only looking forward to our next visit.

Photos by Erik Bird

Metlako Gets Topo-Duoed

2011-04-19T23:25:00.000-07:00

In recent years Metlako Falls on Eagle Creek has become the most frequently run 80+ ft. waterfall in the Pacific Northwest, if not the world. Metlako is about as close to a perfect waterfall as anyone could ever imagine. The calm current above slowly falls off the rolling lip to the deep pool below. After having claimed three descents on the spectacular drop, I knew that she was yearning for someone to take the next step. Yep, that's right Metlako was ready for its first descent in a two man kayak. The idea of running Metlako in a Topo-Duo had been running through my mind, and I'm sure the minds of many others, for a good while, but it wasn't until Sam Freihofer and the BDP boys showed up that the stars finally aligned. Sam and I discussed the idea for a good while, and we concluded that one way or another we were gonna make it happen.

Plans had been brewing for a crew of paddlers to meet up with Steve Fisher and friends for an outing at Metlako, so Sam and I figured we would make that our day to huck. As soon as our good friends at Next Adventure confirmed that they would not only let us use, but also deliver from Portland to Eagle Creek, a demo Topo-Duo, everything was in line ready to go.

In the crowded Eagle Creek Parking lot, Sam and I hoisted the awkward vessel onto our shoulders and made the most grueling mile long hike of our lives. What seemed like an eternity later we finally arrived at our put-in above Lower Punchbowl Falls. From there we paddled upstream to the base of Upper Punchbowl to practice a few roles. After some successful and not-so-successful roles, we determined that yes, we would be holding onto our paddles for this one.

Confident, Sam and I stomped Lower Punchbowl and paddled the last few rapids before Metlako. In the pool directly above the lip we met up with Andy Walker and Evan Garcia to discuss once more our plan. Evan was first to give it and from the lip we could tell he flew a bit over the bars. In the pool Evan struggled with a few hand rolls and eventually ended up swimming to shore.

Sam and I were up next. One final time we discussed our game plan, then peeled out into the current. We approached the lip slow and in control, made our last adjustments, then let gravity take over. From the back where I was positioned, I felt our entry angle couldn't have been any better. Upon impact we went incredibly deep. When we reached the surface I righted the kayak to find Sam missing from the front of the boat. Being in the front of the boat and having gone so deep Sam took a savage hit and was ejected from the boat. We had done it, we had just paddled the tallest waterfall ever before in a Topo-Duo. Soon I met up with Sam, my co-pilot, and shared with him the euphoric state of mind.

Safe and sound, Evan, Same and I watched Andy Walker style Metlako for his second time in a week. He threw his paddle at the lip and emerged from the pool upright and stoked. It had been a successful day. With only two paddles between the four of us we hurried down stream to find the rest of our equipment. Luckily before long we had gathered all of our paddles and at the portage drop were able relax some, taking in the spectacular surroundings. We had just completed yet another satisfying day of paddling one of the most amazing rivers in the Pacific Northwest.

-- Photography by Bryon Dorr
-- Video contributions by Andy Walker and myself

Outlet Falls 2011

2011-04-15T18:24:00.000-07:00

Outlet Falls is to myself a very special waterfall. I've spent all of my eighteen years growing up less than a half an hour away from this beautiful drop, and since before it had been run I fantasized what it would be like to one day paddle off of the 70ft. monster. After hearing about and watching footage of Erik Boomer first D Outlet Falls in 2009 my anticipation only grew. Finally, more than a decade after laying eyes on this drop for my first time, this year Outlet Creek had enough flow to safely paddle the falls. On day one at Outlet Falls my brother Brendan, Erik Johnson, and myself set off to attempt the drop. Along for support were a couple long time Trout Lake friends, Erik's buddy from Bozeman Cody Rapp, and photographer Bennett Barthelemy.

We were quick to set up in the marginal weather, and before I knew it my brother was hiking up to the put-in to be the first over 'er. Brendan came into the drop with total control and with one slow stroke on his way down the drop had one of the cleanest lines I had ever seen on a waterfall of that magnitude. Unfortunately his skirt imploded and his paddle broke upon impact with the violent boils. I was next up and decided to take a different line. As I neared the lip I drove hard left through the last few laterals and caught an eddy about 10 ft. from the lip. I chilled out there for a short bit to gaze over the horizon line and then slowly peeled out into the current and off the lip. With less speed than the water beneath me, I was quickly enveloped in the waterfall. I let my paddle go and melted into the pool. After some violent churning, the boils spat me out upright. I was stoked to again be with my brother at the bottom of a new big waterfall. Erik was last to fire her up and came through, like my brother, in complete control. Erik tossed his paddle and pulled off a solid double-hand stroke before he tucked up and went deep. One hand roll later Erik was upright and soon chillin with Brendan and me on the banks of the river.

Stout-scouting

Brendan

Myself

Erik

Radio Communications

Post-stout Euphoria

The following day Tyler Bradt rolled into town and without much question we returned to Outlet for round two. On the second day we decided to hike further upstream to paddle the lead in rapids to the falls. Tyler, Erik, and myself hopped in our boats and followed each other down the first easier double dropping falls. The next drop was a little more dynamic. In the lead-in we navigated between some large boulders and then lined up to hit the "moose-knuckle" boof. Directly after the moose knuckle we were thrown into a gnarly but flushy hole. All three of us flipped in this hole, but with one last large eddy before the final rapid we were able to chill out and get our shit together before complete commitment. Knowing how forgiving and rather mellow the drop had been the day before, we decided we would give 'er the old blue angle on day two. I lead the way and caught the lip eddy again to watch Tyler and Erik paddle past me. As soon as they had disappeared, I turned myself around and slowly peeled out into the current and off the lip. Tyler ended up breaking another paddle and I swam, but all in all it turned out being another successful day.

The Horsecock Himself: Day 2 Tyler Bradt leads the way off Outlet

With footage from both the first and second day, I was able to put together this short edit of Outlet Falls. Edited to "Flux for Life" by Mimosa, I hope this video gives an idea of the power this place presents. Not just in the waterfall, but in the towering cliffs, the thick rain, and the lush greenery that surrounds. Big shout out to Nate and Heather Herbeck for letting us borrow their camera for the couple days we were out at Outlet. Enjoy.

-- Photos by Bennett Barthelemy: Tandem Stock Photo and Reid Morth

-- Video contributions by: Cody Rapp, Brendan Wells, and Erik Johnson

Little White Salmon River at 5ft.

2011-03-24T10:33:00.000-07:00

Here's a GoPro video of what the Little White Salmon River in Washington looks like when it reaches flows of 5ft. Though for the most part the lines stay the same, the river becomes an entirely different beast. Each ledge hole becomes bigger and more turbulent, instead of a shallow river bed between drops, tall waves guide us from one rapid to the next, small rocks become covered with water and turn into keeper holes no paddler would have never imagined possible at 3.5 ft. That said, as long as you know where in the river you want to be and anticipate where features will change these flows are amazing.

Winter Life in the Gorge

2011-02-21T13:33:00.000-08:00

Life for a whitewater paddler here in the Columbia River Gorge is pretty impressive year round, but the Winter always dishes out our favorite flows. So far both the Little White and White Salmon have provided us with many quality days above 4 ft., and many surrounding creeks have finally filled in with enough water for us to navigate. A couple weekends back a crew of my friends from Montana showed up to throw down. Griff Griffith, Sam Freihofer, and Erik Johnson kept up with my brother and me during numerous laps on the Little White and Truss, then at the end of their stay we decided to check out Summit Creek. Summit Creek is one of the lowest volume creeks that I have ever paddled, but still has a solid collection of class V slides as well as two unique 50+ ft. drops. This particular mission turned into an epic when Griff landed flat off the first 50 footer and broke his back on impact. At the bottom of that 50 footer our mission quickly went from paddling both the first and second canyon to safely getting Griff to a hospital a.s.a.p. Griff was okay to walk so while Johnson ran up to find the car, Brendan, Sam, and I helped escort him to the top of a steep scree field. Fortunately we were able to get out of the canyon before dark, and Griff to the hospital shortly after.

CRG Paddling Winter 2011 from Wells Brother Productions on Vimeo.

15 year old up-and-comer Ethan McLeod at the lip of Bridal Veil Falls

Brendan charging Bridal Veil

All in all it was a tough situation, but we managed to get through it safely and at the end of the day we all came back having learned a thing or two.

Photos by: Paul Thomson

Cerro Chirripo & La Perla First Descent

2011-01-12T14:27:00.000-08:00

When I first laid my eyes on the Rio Chirripo Pacifico I was entranced by it's power and beauty. My original reason for visiting the Chirripo Pacifico was to scout out a few waterfalls I'd heard about and to climb Cerro Chirripo, Costa Rica's tallest mountain. I had planned to climb Chirripo with my buddy Nate Davis, and just before leaving for the trip Chris Baer, whom I had never met, got a hold of me to say that he was in the area and that he'd like to come along.

Once we arrived at the town of San Gerardo de Rivas, which is located base of Cerro Chirripo, we spent a day running around looking at all the incredible waterfalls of the Chirripo Pacifico. The next day we packed our bags and set off for the summit.

In our first day on the mountain we walked 14km through some of the most beautiful ecosystems I had ever seen, from the most dense cloud forests to barren tundra. During that night we slept at a park hostel to gain what little sleep we could before summiting the following morning. In the morning we woke up to heavy rains and winds, but non the less made our quick 5km push to the summit. This section of the trip was rather miserable, and my dream of being able to see both the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans from the summit was quickly replaced with dense clouds that allowed for a maximum visibility of 100 meters. After spending some time at the summit we turned around and made the equally beautiful walk back to San Gerardo.

The cloud forests were quick to engulf us...

... But the sun still shone through

Last pitch to la cima

Slightly frozen at the top of Costa Rica
Back in San Gerardo we planned to get back to paddling the drops we had just looked at right away, but the day after we got off the mountain I came down with a gnarly week long illness. As I had pre-arranged obligations for the week after getting of the mountain, my dream of spending time paddling on the Chirripo Pacifico was put on hold.

Luckily before too long I was able to return to San Gerardo in pursuit of stouts. When I got back, the majority of the river was looking low, but one drop still looked good to go. The drop was La Perla, a 50 footer with an off angle boof that led into steep slide below. I knew that as long as I was able to get up as far as possible on the right side boof flake that I would land comfortably on the slide and be in the clear. I also knew that if I didn't make it to the top of the flake and was pulled towards the center I would probably hit one of two boof flakes and possible land flat after a good 40ft. free fall. Confident I hopped in my boat and worked my way to the right. I came over the lip with a good stroke right where I was hoping and smoothly landed on the slide. The landing was soft, and in the pool I was stoked to have nailed the line. Chris, who had been shooting photos, quickly made his way upstream and paddled the drop without any problem as well.

Dropping in

Chris's line

The entire area surrounding the Rio Chirripo Pacifico and Cerro Chirripo are incredible and I only look forward to further exploring in this part of the world. La Perla in particular went super well and I'm amped to return and check out the rest of the drops on this steep river.

Photos by Chris Baer

First Descent: Upper Rio Savegre

2011-01-02T09:58:00.000-08:00

The Rio Savegre lies in the bottom of one of Costa Rica's most beautiful valleys and also has some incredibly fun class IV-V whitewater. Ferdinand Steinvorth, Chris Baer, and I had just got off the upper section of the Rio Division and were set on, after a good night's sleep, hiking 11 km. to paddle the un-run upper section of the Rio Savegre. Sure enough we were all able to sleep for a well deserved 10 hours, and woke up with the sun shining. We quickly ate some breakfast then loaded our boats on a couple horses. The hike up to the put-in was steep at times, but at every crest of a ridge we were rewarded with stunning views of the Savegre valley and at times the river far below.
Once we reached the put-in where our guide Felipe grew up we ate a hearty lunch then hit the river. Right off the bat there was some fun class V rapids, the magority of which we were able to boat scout. However, before too long we got to moving a little too fast and Chris dropped into a meaty hole. After a quick fight Chris ended up pulling his skirt and swimming to safety downstream. Luckily we were able to quickly gather his boat and other gear and proceed downstream. A couple bends in the river later we came across an attractive horizon line. Here Felipe, friends and family watched as we dropped over the 8ft. falls into a dynamic hole.

Ferdinand lining up for one of the bigger rapids on the run

After this drop we kept paddling downstream to find more and more fun and technical class V drops. All the rapids downstream were good to go and throughout the entire 11km. trip we didn't have to portage once. Unfortunately we didn't have the time to document any more of the drops, but there were some descent sized drops throughout the run. This was an amazing trip and I can't wait to get back on this awesome river.

Here's a quick edit that Chris put together from the Division and Savegre Rivers

Photos by: Chris Baer

Second Descent: Upper Rio Division

2010-12-27T08:09:00.000-08:00

Here in Costa Rica I haven't been getting after as much paddling as I had originally hoped. Luckily within the last couple weeks I was able to get on some beautiful rivers with some amazing drops. One of which was the upper section of the Rio Division. Ferdinand Steinvorth, a Tico paddler very interested in exploring the gems here in Costa Rica, called me up and said that himself and Chris Baer were headed to do the second descent of the Upper Rio Division. Of course I said I was all in, and a couple days later met up with Ferdinand in San Jose. From San Jose we woke up early, and drove for a few hours to the put in. Within the first quarter mile there was some fun class IV-V rapids, and one un-run 20ft. falls. The rapid had a technical lead-in, and instead of the falls dropping into a nice pool there was a boil about 20ft. downstream that created a difficult upstream current. Non the less, I saw my line and decided to give her a go. Everything went smoothly, and Chris and Ferdinand followed with similar lines.

Lining up at the lip of Backwash

Just a few hundred feet downstream was the entrance to the first of two un-run canyons. Our original goal was to run both the canyons, but after evaluating the time that we had and looking at the sieved out entrance to the canyon we decided to save that expedition for another day.

Looking into the gorge downstream

With night falling, we made our way up to the closest pueblo to decide what to do next. Eventually we decided to ride in the back of a pick-up to a town below both the first and second canyons of the Upper Division. Cold, tired, and hungry after a long drive we made camp in a generous local's garage and chowed down on some grub before going to sleep. I didn't sleep too well, but by the time the sun was up and I saw the view of the valley a couple thousand feet below where we had camped I was ready to go.

Our bivy on the Division. You have no idea how happy we were to find a roof to sleep under.

Hiking down to the river the next morning

Once we arrived at the river we began to make our way downstream, boat scouting almost the entire run. We didn't come across any big drops, but I had an amazing time paddling some of the most continuous class IV-V rapids I had ever seen. Once we got a good feel for the river and the type of rapids we were paddling be began to move faster and paddled about 14km before mid afternoon.

Ferdinand enjoying the "class fun" Rio Division

Boofing my way down the Division

When we got to the take out we were met by Felipe, the best shuttle driver in the area. We loaded up our boats, headed back to his house and prepared for our following day of paddling on the un-run Upper Rio Sevegre...

Felipe's 4X4 Shuttle Rig

Photos by: Chris Baer

Mexico 2010: The Rio Jalacingo

2010-11-20T06:38:00.000-08:00

To us kayakers, the Rio Alseseca is without a doubt the most popular class V river in Veracruz. However, for those of us who don't mind working a little more for the goods I think think that the Rio Jalacingo can dish out just as good of a time as the classic Alseseca. During our trip to Mexico we spent three very productive days on the Jalacingo. In our first day we drove about half an hour from Tlapacoyan to the end of the Jalacingo road. From here, we shouldered our boats and hiked another 20 minutes to the infamous Bukaki Slide. The Bukaki Slide, first paddled a couple years ago by Rafa, Iker, and some Canadian stoutmasters, is a dynamic slide that quickly pinballs you back and forth off a few tight walls before making a 90 degree turn to the left and freefalling 20 feet into a calm pool below. Evan, Rush, and Rafa all went first and had similar clean lines flying straight into and off the 20 footer. I took a little different approach trying to catch an eddy on river right after the slide, but before the 20 footer. However, the river had a different plan for me and I ended up spinning around and approaching the waterfall backwards. At the last minute as I began to fall off the drop I was able to kick my boat around in a backwards freewheel to land upright and forward in the pool below.

Rafa entering Bukaki

Myself at the crux of the drop, about to throw a back freewheel

Looking up at Bukaki from the pool below

Before ending the day we had one more thing to take care of. We paddled a short ways down from Bukaki and ran a few laps on a clean 20 footer. Afterwards Rush, or perhaps it was Rudy, decided it would be a good idea to have our filmer, Matt Baker, fire up the drop as well. Rush briefly described to Matt, who had been a kayak once or twice before, how to tuck forward and pull his skirt before throwing him into the current and over his first drop. Matt had a sick line and almost stuck his landing, but ended swimming in the calm pool below.

Matt Baker learning quick

During our second day on the Rio Jalacingo we put in slightly below where we had taken out the previous day with intentions of paddling all the way to the Alseseca confluence. However, we ended up spending the majority of the day scouting and preparing for a 60 footer right at the put-in. This drop's dynamic S curving lead in, and questionable depth below were enough to keep me from running it, but Rafa, who had run it once before, and Evan decided to fire it up. I waited patiently in the pool below, and watched Rafa give 'er first with a big ol' boof. After landing pretty flat I was worried that Rafa may have injured his back or ribs, but like always he paddled away without a scratch. Evan followed with a similar stroke off the lip, but was able to kick down his bow to nearly vertical before landing in the pool. Afterwards, we spend what little daylight we had left scouting a stout 40 footer less than 500ft. downstream. We left our boats at the lip of the waterfall, and planned on returning the next day to continue our journey downstream.

Rafa, the pioneer of this drop, claiming its second descent as well

Evan flying off the lip

The following day we returned as planned and got straight to business. We gave the 40 one last scout then all fired ‘er up. Rush, who went first, claimed hands down the best line of the day with a perfect 45 angle of entry right off the middle of the drop. Evan and Rafa both ended up getting pushed left against some gnarly rocks, but paddled away without too much trouble.

Next it was my turn. As I paddled towards the drop I scrapped over a rock and lost the majority of my speed and control. I did everything I could to regain my direction and to reach for one last power stroke off the lip, but as I set my blade in the current I didn’t seem to grab any water and wasn’t able to get my bow up as much as I had anticipated. When I connected with the pool below I felt my paddle go straight to my face and became disoriented. The next thing I knew I was in the river left cave behind the waterfall, struggling to find any room to roll. About ready to give up I let go of my paddle and reached for the grab loop on my skirt. At the very last moment I felt a shelf to my left and hand rolled back up in the turbulent waters. As I opened my eyes to find my paddle, I noticed a disturbing flow of blood running from my nose. “Well let’s get of here first, then we can deal with that,” I told myself. After I turned myself around, I squeezed my way between the waterfall and shelf on the right to emerge back into the calm pool. Once the adrenaline wore off I began to feel a throbbing pain through my nose, but as my friends assured me that it “still looked pretty straight” I proceeded downstream with the crew.

Final scout of the 40 footer

Rush over the horizon line

Midway down, struggling to get my bow up

Finally finished with the gnar 40 footer we paddled some fun slides and numerous clean boofs for a couple of miles. Afterwards, rather abruptly, we arrived at the entrance the only un-run (runnable) waterfall in the canyon. This particular 30 footer had a very unique and difficult lead in, but that wasn't our main concern. In the pool below there were three main hazards. The first was on river right where the falls landed within a few feet of the right side canyon wall and created a nasty pocket. The second was a huge cave on river left where the majority of the water seemed to be flowing. The third and final hazard of the waterfall was the 10ft. ledge immediately downstream with another nasty pocket on river right.Despite all the negative factors that played a roll in this drop, we all knew that there was a line. Rafa was especially confident, and again was the first to give 'er. He came flying off the 30 footer with lots of speed and a big boof to clear the pocket on river right. He then waited near the cave on river left above the 10 foot ledge for whoever would be next. After seeing Rafa stomp his line about as well as anyone could possibly stomp it, I was inspired to follow him up. Off the lip I didn't have as much speed as I was hoping, so in a last minute effort to avoid the pocket on river right I turned myself towards the left, landed in the pool below and joined Rafa in the cave. Next up was Evan. From the bottom I watched as Evan came off the lip with probably a similar speed to myself. He was able to pull off a good boof stroke, but upon landing in the pool the vail flipped him back into the river right pocket. Evan tried and tried to fight his way out of the pocket, but eventually had to pop his skirt and swim for it. Somehow, once he was swimming, he was able to hand of god some slippery rock on river right to avoid swimming the nasty 10 foot ledge. While Rafa chased Evans boat downstream, Rush threw a rope to Evan and pulled him across the current as to avoid swimming the ten footer. Before too long everything was back to normal. However, after paddling about 500 ft downstream Evan's boat was full of water and we discovered an inch wide crack in the back of his boat.Rafa claiming yet another first descent on the Rio JalacingoEvan decided to hike out through a banana field on the left in hopes of finding a ride down to the takeout downstream. We didn't know exactly where he would end up, but we figured that the Banana fields must lead to some sort of civilization. After bidding him fairwell, Rafa, Rush, and myself proceed downstream. Aside from a sieved out 100 footer that required an exciting portage through a steep canyon, there wasn't too much much more good whitewater to be had and before too long the river turned to a manky class II-III boulder garden. After a few miles of boogying our way downstream we arrived at the confluence of the Alseseca and just a few minutes later arrived at our take-out about Tomata Falls. At the truck we were relieved to find Evan safe and sound. After a descent hike he had managed to find a ride down to where our shuttle vehicle awaited.This day turned into quite an adventure, but was definately one of my favorite days of the trip. I'm glad to say that we have now explored (almost) every section of the Rio Jalacingo river, and wow it's one hell of place. Now all I can do is look for more beautiful gorges around the world, and look forward to coming back to this one.

Mexico 2010: The Rio Alseseca

2010-11-03T16:54:00.000-07:00

This year I was lucky enough to be invited on a trip to Mexico with paddlers Rush Sturges, Evan Garcia, Rafa Ortiz, and cinematographer Matt Baker for the filming of River Root's next film Frontier. So, on October 12^th I gathered what money remained from my summer of work at the Kayak Shed, and headed south. After some hours on the plane and a long night in the Dallas Airport I finally arrived in Mexico City. There I met up with the crew and spent a few days exploring the world biggest city, a city of 27 million people. After la tour de la ciudad we headed to Tlapacoyan, Mexico’s epicenter of steep rivers and clean waterfalls. Each one of us had been to Tlapacoyan before, and this year our goal was to paddle as many of the classic runs and as many of the big drops on those classic runs as possible.

My Dallas Airport bivouac

Of the many amazing rivers in the Tlapacoyan area, the Rio Alseseca is without a doubt my favorite. The most relaxed portion of the Alseseca is the Roadside section. The Roadside section, laden with continuous clean basalt rapids including the infamous “S-Turn”, is the perfect warm-up before hitting up the bigger stuff. The next step up from the Roadside Section is the Big Banana Section. This stretch of the Alseseca is longer than the Roadside and flows in and out of multiple deep gorges, which means countless clean drops. One particular drop on the Big Banana section, The Silencer, I had looked at last year, but neglected to run due to a hairy cave below on river left. This year I stepped it up and rolled off the 40 footer with a big 'ol boof stomp to steer clear of the river left cave. Evan followed with a similar line and a week later, once we had met up with a few other kayakers, Spanish paddler Aniol Serrasolses layed out a silky smooth line on her as well.

Myself on one of many sick drops on the Big Banana section

Rafa dishin' out mad steeze on Meatlocker

A must-make boof directly below Meatlocker

Aniol "La Cobra" styling the Silencer Drop

Heavy Rains on the Alseseca

Waiting in the rain for our ride back to town

Of course, a trip to Tlapacoyan could not be complete without an epic Tomata huckfest. Our first huckfest on Tomata resulted in mostly "not-so-clean" lines. However, when we returned for round two (in which I didn't participate due to a bum shoulder) everyone seemed to have pretty good lines. In that same day everyone proceeded to run Second Tomata as well. While Evan and Rafa endured some carnage on this stout, Rush, Aniol, and Iker Beristain Van Dusen "naturally stuck the piss out of it."

The full crew above Tomata. From Left to Right: Pancho, Aniol, Iker, myselft, Evan, Rafa, and Rush

Rafa Falling Off Tomata

Rush ridin' dirty on Tomata. More mount angles to be seen in Frontier

A view of Second Tomata From Below

Also on the Rio Alseseca River is the infamous Big Banana waterfall. For six year this 128.6 foot monster had been looked at by multiple paddlers, but it wasn't until this trip that finally Rafa and Aniol stepped up to give 'er a go. Our team spent a full day scouting this drop from every which angle, and by the end of the day Rafa and Aniol decided that they would give 'er the following day. The next day Rafa and Aniol repelled 70 feet down to the lip of the waterfall, looked at her once more, and paddled off the lip. As I waited in my boat for first Rafa and second Aniol to come off the lip of the waterfall I was full of mixed emotions, but as soon as they emerged from the turbulent pool below I was hit with a wave of relief and happiness. Congratulations boys.

Rafa Scouting Big Banana from the lip via 70ft. repel

Rafa and Aniol sharing the excitement of having cleanly dropping the second biggest waterfall in a kayak

Photos by Lucas Gilman, Rush Sturges, Evan Garcia, Matt Baker, and myself

The Stikine- A First Timer's Perspective

2010-09-16T13:47:00.000-07:00

When I open up my phone to see that I missed a call from Erik Boomer I know that something juicy is brewing and a wave of anxiety and excitement hits me. Three days ago when I opened my phone to see that Boomer had left me a message it was no different. In his message he said, "Todd we're going to the Stikine. Call me back if you can be in Portland in 3hrs."

Without much thought I called Boomer back and said "I'm in." Later of course reality struck and I remembered that I was supposed to work over the next few days and that I wasn't fully equiped for a trip into one of the most committing rivers in North America. Fortunately John H. the owner of the Kayak Shed, just happens to be one of the coolest bosses anyone could ever work for and encouraged me to get on the Stikine. In addition Jason Shroder at Outdoorplay stayed at work later than usual to make sure that I had everything I needed before heading North. With my last responsibilities taken care of I met Boomer in Portland and departed for the trip of a lifetime...

Journal Entry: Day 1- The Drive

It's funny that only now, 26 hours into our drive and about 3 hours from the put-in I've composed my thoughts enough to put them on paper. Throughout the hours of non-stop driving I've been hit with a variety of emotions. From excitement- "Wow, I'm finally here. About to put-in on what I've heard to be the adventure of a lifetime," to anxiety and second guessing- "Am I ready for a trip like this? Am I as mentally and physically prepared as one should be before such an endeavor?" But when such feelings of question come across me I remind myself that I've been preparing myself for this trip throughout my youth of travel, exploration, & paddling experiences. But what also calms my nerves is when I remind myself that I'm dropping into one of the most notorious rivers in the world with Boomer. Boomer's the fucking man. He, like myself, first paddled the Stikine as a teenager and since has paddled it an additional three times. I've only known Boomer for a couple years, but he's one of the very few people that I can trust is always watching my back and I think he know s that I'm always watching his. Also in the last 24 hours that I've spent getting to know Jeff West, our other paddling teammate, I feel like he's already gained a lot of my trust and become a close friend, which in a trip like this is necessary.

Journal Entry: Day 2- First River Day

Right now it's difficult to bring myself to write in my journal. I've never been this tired after a single day of paddling, but now my thoughts are fresh and if I wait till tomorrow to write them down they will have grown stale. Anyways, today was without a doubt the best day of paddling I've ever had. I've spent my entire youth on low volume creeks where it's easy to tell ow the water moves and how I must direct my body and my boat to get where I want. However, out here it's completely different. Here the river controls me as it so chooses, and I can never completely predict how it will react. One moment I could be exactly where I want and the next the river could swallow me in it's churning boils and spit me out where I least desire. That aside, I feel that I've done pretty well today. For the most part I've been able to stay on line and haven't had any close calls. Boomer and Jeff have also done incredibley well and have made paddling this river that much easier. Entry Falls, Wicked Wanda, Three Goat, Pass-Fail, Watson's, Site-Zed, AFP, The Wall, Garden of the Gods. These nine stand out rapids and everything in-between rocked my world today like never before. But, as Boomer told me just as we got off the river "Tomorrow the hits only get bigger."

Boomer, Myself and Jeff West at the Put-in

Site-Zed Portage

Myself in the bottom half of Site-Zed

Jeff West on the same rapid

Journal Entry: Day 3- Second and Final River Day

Today was amazing. We started of the morning leaving Wolf Track Camp. Wolf Track Cam, which I neglected to talk about last night, is an awesome oasis for the whitewater kayaker seeking refuge from the elements. A sandy beach on river left is the indicator to Wolf Track. And from the beach a nearby trail leads to the campsite. At the campsite a large conglomerate boulder towers over our heads to protect us from any rain, sleet or snow. We were able to dry gear cook food, and sleep with ease. On the river today Boomer was right, the hits only got bigger and bigger. The first major rapid we dropped into was Garden of the Gods 2 where once one is about halfway through the rapid and on the right side of the river they must paddle their ass off to ferry back to river left. An enormous house sized rock which separates the left side (where you want to be) and the right side (where you don't want to be) only adds to the extremity of this rapid. Later on the river tightens up and we reached The Wall 2, Scissors, The Hole That Ate Chicago, and V-Drive. We walked both Scissors which seemed to mostly flow into a couple ugly rocks in the middle of the river and The Hole That Ate Chicago which, living up to its name, looked like if one didn't hit their line right on they'd be in for one hell of a beat down. The final big rapid of the day was V-Drive, and let me assure you that scouting this thing from the high overlook on river-right does it no justice. This was quite possibly what I felt to be the most fun rapid on the river. In a short distance the river steepens and speeds up drastically, creating numerous huge waves that hit so quickly after one another that's it's difficult to prepare for the next. After V-Drive the river mellows out to some extend, and goats begin to litter the surrounding cliff walls. Boomer spent some time chasing down and photographing goats beside the river, and came home with some exceptional photos (hopefully soon you'll see these in a Nat-Geo Magazine). After enough flat water to take every ounce of energy out of my body, we arrived at the take-out. I don't think I've ever felt as accomplished as I did setting down my boat on the beach and looking back up the Stikine River. I love this place.

The Beach at Wolf Track

The Grand Canyon

A cool place to be

Boomer scouting V-Drive

The Tanzilla Slot- Here the entire river constricts to be about 4ft. wide

The paddle out

The Goats

Looking down river from the take-out

Hiking down to the Tuya River

The day after we took off the river we took a 'rest day' and hiked up and down a couple tributaries of the Stikine. But after our rest day we were ready for more. Back at the put-in the next morning we woke up at 5:30 A.M. and by 6:00 were back on the Stikine floating, in the dark, towards Entrance Falls. We took the day slowly, but with all the lines fresh in our heads, we arrived at Wolf Track within four and a half hours. Even with some lollygagging and a short hike during our run, we comfortably arrived at the take-out by 4:00 P.M. That night we ate a big ol' home-cooked meal of roast beef and mashed potatoes at the Tatooga Lake Resort, which is a must visit destination for any traveler in the area, and then proceed to drive the following 30 hours non-stop back to Seattle. This was for me the most epic trip I've ever been a part of and I look forward to seeing the Stikine again next year.

Photos by Erik Boomer and Jeff West

Annual Lower Lewis Huckfest

2010-09-06T10:43:00.000-07:00

Every year as water levels on the Little White and White Salmon River begin to fade from their optimal flows whitewater connoisseurs of the Columbia River Gorge head North in search of water. This year after doing some paddling in British Columbia, Griff Griffith showed up at our house with slalom friends Liam Malakoff, Rogan Brown, Nic Borst, and Luke Palko-Schraa for some quality summer paddling in the Columbia River Gorge. While I was busy at work at the Kayak Shed, Griff showed the boys down the truss, where they got their first taste of the CRG's kick-ass whitewater. As soon as I got off work we rallied up to the Lewis River for a camp 'n huck mission. We camped out at the Lower Lewis Campground, and the next morning awoke ready to huck. As everyone hauled their boats to the put-in I set up safety in case anyone ended up in the river left cave or behind the vail. Griff, a highly experienced stoutmaster, was first to fire 'er off and dialed a clean plug before hitting the pool below. Rogan, Luke, and Liam had never before run a waterfall of this height, but they all made hucking this stout look easy and steezy. Nic, who is also a developing stouter, fired off this bad boy and did a sideways stomp to finish 'er off. I was last to give 'er, and coming off the lip a little hot landed a little bit over-vert. Here's how we favored.

Griff

Luke & his phatty boof-stomp

Rogan

Nic

Liam at the lip

My line from the paddler's perspective

Taking it all in

Mt. Adams (the lifeblood of The Lewis River, White Salmon, Little White, and many more)

The Crew in our Chop-Top Suby (this thing can mob)

Photos by Liam Malakoff

All in all I had great time getting to take these homies up to Lower Falls, one of my local favorites. Everyone held their own on this drop, and we were all so amped that afterwards we rallied up to the Cispus River for a quick lap before heading home. This will probably be the last of my PNW hucking for this season, but worry not. Soon I'll be in Mexico, the land of countless stouts, tan ladies and good times, and you can count on many more in-depth blog posts with pictures to blow you pants off.

See you South of the border

-Todd

Rider of the Year Awards

2010-08-22T16:12:00.000-07:00

Rider of the Year Awards from Tribe Rider on Vimeo.

This year Tribe Riders produced the first annual Rider of the Year Awards. Anyone and everyone had the opportunity to video nominate a peer in a 9 different categories; Rider of the Year, Expedition of the Year, Photographer of the Year, Film of the Year, Best Trick, Best Line, Best Drop, Best Downriver Freestyle, and of course Best Carnage. Among the many stout entries, I was able to score second place in the Best Line category for my line over Second Tomata on the Rio Alseseca in Mexico last fall. As a nominee, judge, and viewer it was a pleasure to be a part of this year's Rider of the Year Awards, and I look forward to the fire from next years awards burning even hotter. I also want to send a shout out to Rush Sturges, Patrick Camblin, all the judges, and everyone else involved in making this year's Rider of the Year Awards happen. Cheers boys...

View the complete Rider of the Year Award submissions.

The Salmon River Gorge

2010-07-18T20:00:00.000-07:00

Breathtaking. If you're lucky enough to have ever been here you know. The Salmon River Gorge is without a doubt one of the most awing canyons I've ever had the pleasure of venturing through. With an unsuspectingly deep and waterfall ridden gorge in the middle of Mt. Hood's thick evergreen forest, this river will blow you away.

Virgin to the Salmon River Gorge, Joe Stumpfel, Bobby Miller, Ryan Young and myself joined experienced SRG paddlers Ryan Scott and Luke Spencer for an epic adventure. After some difficult navigation of un-marked forest service roads we arrived at a small campsite near the confluence of the Salmon River and Linney Creek. Here we geared up and hiked 2 miles to the put-in at Split Falls.

Ryan Young hiking to the put-in

Ryan Scot boofing Split Falls

Myself on Split Falls

Finally on the water, the following mile or so after Split Falls was relatively slow. Luckily my attention and interest could be directed towards the beautiful river banks painted with white, purple and pink rhododendrons. After the flat section and a few mellow 5-10ft. ledges we arrived at the second significant rapid Vanishing Falls. While my line on this tight and technical bad boy wasn't so hot and actually ended in a swim, Bobby and Joe both cleaned it with steeze.

Ryan Scott on a 10ft. ledge

Joe getting his bow up on Vanishing Falls

Bobby taking a must make boof directly after Vanishing Falls

Not too much further down stream we arrived at the most well known and what I believe to be the most fun drop on the run, Frustration Falls. With the top 20 footer now choked with logs, Frustration Falls is currently a semi-manky 10 footer into a vertical sliding 40footer. The crux of this drop is immediately after the first 10 footer where you must fight the currents that pull you towards the sketchy river left edge before lining up for the 40 footer immediately after. Luckily Ryan Young, Bobby, Joe, and I all managed to make it to the pool below each with pretty smooth lines.

Ryan Young at the lip of the 40 footer on Frustration Falls

Joe showing off his C1 boof stomp on Frustration

With euphoric vibes we all proceeded a few stokes downstream and arrived at the 20 footer before Final Falls. We quickly made it down the 20 footer to spent some time enjoying the beauty of Final Falls. Choosing not to run or jump the marginal 70-80 footer, we all let our boats ghost ride Final then rappelled off a small tree 80 feet down to the pool below. After we collected all of our gear and took our last mental photographs of Final Falls we proceed to paddle downstream through the couple miles of mank before arriving at the Salmon River Campground, our take out.

The 20 footer between Frustration and Final Falls

Myself, Ryan Scott, Bobby and Joe at the lip of Final Falls

Rappelling beside Final Falls (a very cool place to be)

Final from below

As the pictures illustrate, the Salmon River Gorge is yet another gem of the Pacific Northwest . If you have the skills, motivation, and crew to pursue the Salmon River Gorge I recommend that you get out there and take a look for yourself. Enjoy.

All photos by Luke Spencer

Silver Creek: Upper North Falls

2010-06-07T08:44:00.000-07:00

Among the countless beautiful roadside stouts of Oregon and Washington, Upper North Falls on Silver Creek has arguably received the least hype of them all. With that said, this easily accessible 55-60 footer with a super smooth left line is undoubtedly one of my favorites. Last weekend Nate and Heather Herbeck, Chuck Taylor and I ventured west to pursue this stout. We arrived with the uncommon but perfect water levels, and after a brief scout decided she was good to go. After we set up safety and some media I lugged my boat to the put-in just upstream of the drop. As soon as everyone was ready I made the ferry to river left and slowly approached the horizon line. At the lip I was able to set up along the right side of the river left tongue and slowly fade into a classic Oregon tuck. Towards the bottom of the drop I reconnected with the waterfall which provided for a surprisingly soft hit. After some downtime I resurfaced upright and was able to use the remaining half of my paddle to make my way to shore.

My sequence from Upper North

Heather was next up to give'r and came off the lip just left of where I had lined up. The banked lip twisted Heather a little to the right, but set her up for a sweet landing in the pool below. Heather ended up swimming and emerged from the boils with a second broken paddle in hand.

Heather lining up for the plug

Next up was Chuck who, on this day, set a new standard for stout running steeze... I'll let the pictures tell the story.

After witnessing Chuck's mind blowing front flip Nate fired it up and emerged at the bottom with the only intact paddle (we started the day with four). From here we drove back up the gorge where I got some rest and prepared myself for an upcoming week of paddling. Stay tuned for more photos and stories of the goods we pursued during this week of exclusive WCKA alumni stouting.

To check out some of Nate Herbeck's hi-res photos from this trip and other excursions visit liquidkayak.com

Kayak Session Cover: The Inside Story

2010-06-01T11:34:00.001-07:00

For anyone who has yet to read the most recent Kayak Session (2o10 Summer Issue #34) check it out. The cover shot is of myself on Summit Creek Falls on Summit Creek in WA, so I thought I might fill you in on the story of that particular shot. The day this shot was taken Evan Garcia, Erik Boomer, my brother and I were doing the first descent of the upper canyon on Summit Creek. After some exciting slides and a stout triple drop we came across this monster drop. The drop started off with a 20-30ft. chunky slide that steepened out and eventually, after hitting an auto-boof flake, free fell about 40ft. into a tight landing zone, then proceeded to flow into another series of 3 slides. Erik Boomer was first to fire up the beast and came off the flake with a fat boof stomp. Upon hitting the water his skirt exploded and he paddled the next 3 drops with his boat half full of water. After watching Boomer fire off the beast I decided I wanted to give'r a go. Instead of boofing as I went over the flake I decided to plug it and had a relatively soft landing. However my skirt imploded upon impact and I had to chase my boat down as it floated through the following triple slides. After I gathered everything together I hiked back up to the drop and watched Evan Garcia fire off the bad boy with classic E.G. steeze. He, similar to Boomer, boof stomped the shit out of the drop and ended with an exploded skirt. Luckily he was able to put his skirt back on before sliding down the next three drops. After the first, second and third descents of Summit Creek Falls we paddled further down stream and proceed to paddle more sick slides and the monster Skate Park drop which free falls 40+ ft. before reconnecting and launching into the pool below. So there you go... there's the inside scoop to the cover shot of Kayak Session #34. As a little bonus here's a couple other magazines where you may have seen/read about my brother and me.

Brendan and my first Claim to Fame: The whole family in Alaska on Canoe and Kayak Magazine's August 2002 issue

Brendan's 2 page spread in the 2009 August dispatch article for Outside Magazine. Erik Boomer captured this shot as well when my brother, at age 15, fell off 82ft. Metlako Falls.

WCKA: Idaho

2010-05-11T13:42:00.000-07:00

Just over a week ago we at World Class finally finished the last of our classes. To reward ourselves we decided to take it easy and travel to Idaho for some relaxation and good ol' paddling in the Whitewater State. We kicked off our Idaho escapade on the North Fork of the Payette River, basing ourselves out of Seth Stoenner's house in Boise. The NF Payette has always been a run that I've wanted to paddle and, though it was pretty low flows (800cfs), I was stoked to get out there and experience Idaho's most renowned class V run. For the short time that we had in Boise we were only able to paddle the Middle 5 section on the North Fork, but I look forward to coming back in the near future at higher flows and paddling the entire run.

Huddling up in classic Idaho spring weather

Seth Stoenner showing us the way down Jacob's Ladder

Olin Winberg punching through one of many holes on the North Fork

Getting in the boofing mood

Boise local Conner Jackson getting it done

Endless Idaho style whitewater

After a day of paddling on the North Fork and a couple nights of relaxing at Seth's house we headed north to the South Fork of the Clearwater. At the Clearwater we paddled the classic Golden Canyon stretch of whitewater for 3 days in a row. Each day, as I recognized the lines better and better, the run only got more exciting. This run had countless boofs, but the two stand out rapids were Chuck's Drop and Fish Jump. Chuck's had a few different lines, and we all had a good time picking our way down the rapid. There was a couple different options for the lead-in to Fish Jump, but by the end of the drop we were all funneled back to the center where a meaty hole awaited. Most of us were able to boof over the hole, but anyone who didn't was given a thorough beatdown before flushing or swimming out.

Brian Jamieson boofing a drop on the clearwater

Erik Parker boofin Fish Jump

Fish Jump Day 1: Boofing over Risto Beatty (he flushed out shortly after)

Fish Jump Day 2: No obstacles this time, just one monster boof

SF Clearwater video that Josh Larsen and I put together

Special thanks to the Stoenner family for letting World Class crash at their pad, and to Dustin and Seth for showing us the lines down the North Fork.

Photos by Matt Rusher, Jason Cohen, and Link Jackson

WCKA: Cali Livin

2010-05-04T23:40:00.000-07:00

Since the crash a little over six weeks ago my road to recovery has been incredibly smooth and forgiving. After 3 weeks of resting at home I re-grouped with the World Class crew in Northern California and slowly eased back into paddling. My first day back I took it easy, giving up the 49 to Bridgeport section of the Yuba River to paddle flatwater and get a feeling of how well my back would perform. With almost no soreness after the first day I started paddling class III-IV runs on the NF of the American (Giant and Generation Gap). Again I came away from these sections of river with little to no soreness in my back and continued to paddle nearly every day.

The crew putting on 49 to Bridgeport

Seth boofing big on the Yuba

One of the canyons on Generation Gap

After a few days in Nevada City we pushed on to the Trinity River and then into Eugene and to the Oregon Coast. Burnt Ranch Gorge on the Trinity, with it's numerous quality class IV-V drops, was definitely a stand out run and I look forward to spending more time on Cali's smooth granite wonders.

In Eugene we paddled the Miracle Mile section on the NF of the MF of the Willamette, and an addition mellow section of the McKenzie River. The Miracle Mile section felt like a class IV version of 'Gettin Busy' on the Little White and offers a good time for any progressing class IV boater.

At multiple locations on the Oregon Coast the crew enjoyed abundant blunts, pan-ams, and airscrews on all the big waves. Unfortunately after my first day of ocean surfing my back was more sore than it had been during the trip, so I decided to leave the next few days of ocean surfing up to everyone else and took over the position as cinematographer. After the coast we spent a couple days chilling out at our teacher Capo's house, enjoying an endless supply of homemade pizzas, then moved on to Hood River.

Back in Hood River, my home, the group paddled the Farmlands, Green Truss, and Middle sections of the White Salmon, upper section of the Wind River, and of course the classic Little White Salmon River. In Hood River evidence of everyone's progression over the semester became relevant as 8 of 10 students were able to paddle the Green Truss, a solid class V section of whitewater.

Left with only a couple runs in Idaho and a week of finals in Missoula school's quickly coming to an end. So far it's been an amazing semester to say the least, and I'm looking forward to the last couple weeks of being a WCKA student.

Here's a some photos from a few different runs throughout Cali

Maestro Capo

J.V.C.

Erik Parker

Olin Winberg

Seth Stoenner

Brian Jamieson

Another Cali seal launch

Capo Boof

Josh Larson

Seth Stoenner

Olin Winberg

Capo

A scouting session on Burnt Ranch

Straight from the Redwoods

All photos by Ben Kinsella

Broken Back at Home in the Gorge

2010-04-07T23:30:00.000-07:00

I believe that for every big waterfall hucker out there the fear of a broken back always lingers in the back of their mind. For me, a couple weeks ago this fear became a reality. I had just gotten back from spending two months in Chile, and back in the Columbia River Gorge for a week I was ambitious to paddle as much whitewater as possible in the short time I had home. Within an hour of being home I was back in my boat with my brother paddling the Green Truss section of the White Salmon. Over the next few days, joined by one of my fellow WCKA students Erik Parker, we split our time between paddling the Green Truss and the Little White. Parker enjoyed paddling both these runs for his first time, and even after paddling Chile’s world class rivers I was happy to come home to all that the Gorge has to offer.

Home sweet home - Mt. Adams from our house

Brendan on Big Brother

Finishing another perfect day on the Truss with BZ Falls

Parker on Boulder Sluice

A downriver pan-am?

Brendan greasin S-Turn

The bottom ledge on S-Turn

Spiritual Boofs

One of the Humboldt State paddlers we met up with

About halfway through my week-long vacation Parker, my brother and I headed out for another Little White run. We all enjoyed a longer day on the river stopping for a couple photo-ops along the way. After the run we decided to check out Money Drop. Money Drop is (currently) a 50ft. waterfall that has changed 3 times in the last decade due to unstable ground and landslides. The fast lead-in, abrupt lip, and small landing zone make for a drop that very rarely allows for clean lines.

My first lap

Parker cleaning it

We arrived at Money Drop to find that the flows were a little less than ideal, but still decided she was good to go. I was first to fire off the drop and was ejected from my boat after landing slightly over vert. My brother and Martin from Nor Cal followed with similar over vert landings that both resulted in swims. Parker, who hadn’t run anything higher than 30ft, also decided to fire up Money Drop and styled it with the plugger. Intent on a having a cleaner line, and a little jealous of Parker’s, I hiked back up to the top for my second lap of the day. Speeding towards the horizon line I knew I needed to get my bow up a little more than I did last time, and as I came to the lip I took a stroke then leaned forward. As soon as I felt myself freefalling I knew I was too flat. I have a very vivid memory of falling through the air completely disconnected from the waterfall with the front deck of my Nomad 8.5 blocking my view of the landing zone below. At this terrifying point in time I almost instinctively stomped my bow down in an attempt to land with a better entry angle. I was successful in getting my bow down a little more, but in turn hit the water with my back almost completely vertical (instead of tucked forward). This, in addition to my airing out past the landing zone and towards the green water, made for one hell of a heinous hit. I paddled away from the drop in incredible pain, then focused my efforts to safely getting downstream and out of my boat. Once I was out of my boat everyone helped in the timely process of getting me onto a stretcher made from paddles and straps, up a few small embankments, and finally into the back of an ambulance. Two hospitals and a couple ambulance rides later I found that I had a compression fracture in my L2 vertebrae. Luckily I walked away from this one with only a “light break” and 2-3 months of recovery.

The back breaking sequence

The Result - Fractured L2 Vertebrae

Humbled by the experience, I’d recommend to everyone who runs big drops to always consider the risk of landing flat. I think that stomping down my bow on Money Drop wasn’t the best idea and I’d encourage everyone on a drop upwards of 40ft. to only kick down your bow if you’re sure that you have enough time to re-tuck to the front of your boat. Earlier this year Lance Reif landed pretty flat off of Money Drop but was committed to staying tucked. He came away from the drop sore enough to stay out of his kayak for a while, but without any breaks. Erik Boomer, also earlier this year on Money Drop, was set up for a flat landing but was able to kick his bow down and re-connect to his tucked position before impact. He came away healthy enough to run the drop a couple more times in the same day. You have a few options; staying tucked forward is the most conservative but may still dish out a rough hit, and stomping down your bow could make things a lot better or a lot worse. So I encourage everyone to, before you huck, discuss with your friends all possible options and outcomes of running a drop, but remember that in the end you be the judge.

A short video update Parker put together

There's a lot of people to thank for all the help that was given to me during this experience. A big shout out goes to my brother Brendan, Parker, and all the Humboldt paddlers who kept me safe and warm at Money Drop with a makeshift stretcher and lots of warm layers. In addition a lot of thanks goes out to the Search and Rescue boys that showed up and all the EMTs and doctors along the way.

Photos by Erik Parker and Ben York

WCKA in Chile: Life Abroad

2010-03-28T12:26:00.001-07:00

When I first told my friends that I was going to the World Class Kayak Academy they didn’t know if I was attending high school, or just going on an extended kayaking vacation. At the time I didn’t know how to explain World Class to them, but now after two months of traveling, kayaking, and studying throughout Chile I know what it’s all about...

On a typical day we wake up at 8:00 A.M. to begin our morning workout. After either an hour of strength building or a competitive game of ultimate Frisbee we all meet for a breakfast prepared by our Chilean chef Israel. With breakfast and coffee digested we continue on to classes, and depending on the day either have five hour-long classes or three ninety minute classes. After lunch and with school out of the way we hit the water. What river or section of river we paddle depends on where we’re staying, but throughout the trip we hucked the waterfalls of the Palguin and Fuy, surfed the big waves of the Maipo and Futaleufu, and even navigated our way through the massive class V rapids of Inferno Canyon. Back from paddling we lay out our gear to dry and meet together at the dinner table. Over dinner we discuss events from day and plans for the upcoming ones. Then, following dinner, we finish what homework we still have, hang out for a while, and catch some shut-eye.

A typical scene at World ClassGovernment ClassLunch straight from the river
Huddling before getting on the water
Warming up in the flats

The majority of our time in Chile was spent living at campgrounds, but occasionally we’d bunk down for a night or two at a hostel. On days that we didn’t have school we’d either be paddling all day, exploring the cities and countrysides, or traveling between locations. Days off from school were always relaxing, but long consecutive days of traveling in our stuffy 17 passenger van could become somewhat stressful.

Loading up the van for a travel day

Broken Drive Shaft... this happened 5 times
One of many quick-fixes to our fail prone trailer
The ferry to Argentina

Though there was lots to get done each day we managed to find plenty of time to hang out, kick back and relax, and enjoy the culture surrounding us. Whether we were playing hacky sack between classes, rocking the discotecs into the wee hours of the night, or just shootin the shit around the campfire there was never a dull moment in Chile.

Here are some of my favorite photos from Chile (many documenting what we did when we weren't on the water)...

Kayak Pucon Headquarters

Stretching our legs after too many hours in the van

Risto Beatty on the Maipo

Luis our noble bus driver

Scouting a class V in Inferno Canyon

The Men of the Maipo

South American Sunsets

Another Chilean Asado

Bariloche, Argentina

Race Day at the Futa Fest

Photos by Jason Cohen, Eric Parker and Ben Kinsella

WCKA in Chile: El Rio Fuy

2010-03-21T09:36:00.000-07:00

This post is a little off chronologically but none the less sums up one of the better portions of WCKA's trip to Chile. On our way to the Futaleufu and after spending the last couple weeks in Pucon we decided to spend a few days paddling the Rio Fuy. We rolled into the town of Choshuenco in the afternoon, and after camping in tents for the past four weeks were surprised to find ourselves staying at a school close to the put-in with abundant beds, a full sized gym, and a fully functional kitchen. We all enjoyed a good night's sleep, then after school the next day headed out to paddle the Upper Section of the Fuy.

Putting in right below Lago Pirehueico we paddled a short section of flatwater before entering the first class III-IV rapids. To navigate our way down this stretch of water we were lucky enough to have one of the most renowned role models of world class students, Evan Garcia, fill in as temporary assistant coach. In the 5km Upper Section E.G. the Killah lead us down numerous thrilling class III-IV rapids before reaching the 25ft. Las Leonas Falls. On the first day only a handful of students ran Las Leonas, but by the end of the trip everyone had stepped up to huck 'er. On Las Leonas we chose between boofin' the auto-kicker on the right and pluggin' the green tongue in the center. The center line provided for some major beat downs, but Risto Beatty showed us up with his 30 seconds of down time before popping up 20ft. down stream.

One of the class IIIs on the Upper Fuy

E.G. boofin one of the many ledges of the Fuy

Capo taking the plugger line on Las Leonas

Seth Stoenner's steezy boof-to-plug

After Las Leonas begins the steeper and more technical Falls Section of the Upper Fuy. One particular ledge on this section with a technical lead-in creates a pretty burly hole and during our time at the Fuy dished out two gnarly swims. After 2 kilometers of non-stop adrenaline pumping whitewater the river flattened out and ended in a final kilometer or so of crystal clear flatwater.

Ben boofin a ledge directly below Las Leonas

Eric Parker on the burly ledge hole

Our soon to be asado dinner

In addition to paddling one of Chile's classics, one day during our stay at Choshuenco I was able to take part in preparing a sheep for an classic Chilean asado later that night. Though not appealing to everyone I was glad to have taken part in the entire butchering process, with the help of Israel our chef, to experience what goes into making each meat meal possible. After four hours of slow cooking aside a small outdoor fire the sheep was ready to feast on and we all enjoyed a seemingly endless supply of food.

Photos by Jason Cohen and Ben Kinsella

WCKA in Chile: The Futaleufu and 2010 Futa Fest

2010-03-13T13:52:00.000-08:00

As a sport and as a lifestyle kayaking has brought me to some amazing places, but the Futaleufu with its steep high volume persona and crystal clear water stands out as one of the best. We spent our first few days at the Futa getting familiar with the classic Bridge to Bridge section. This segment of the Futa was full of continuous class III-IV rapids where we spent our time riding to the top of monstrous waves and dodging turbulent holes. Once more familiear with the Bridge to Bridge our group spent more time surfing the dynamic waves Pistola and Magic Carpet and grew comfortable throwing big blunts, pan-ams, pistol flips and airscrews.

After some time on the Bridge to Bridge our group explored further down the river and enjoyed the more technical and violent Mas O Menos and Casa de Piedra rapids. Mas O Menos had some of the biggest standing waves on all of the Futa, and Casa de Piedra had some tight moves that led into a series of standing waves and munchy holes.

Entrada, the first rapid of Inferno Canyon

On a day off from school half the group spent the morning paddling Inferno Canyon and met up with the other half to complete the 55km. todos day on the Futa. Inferno Canyon had a series of technical and turbulent class IV-V rapids, my favorite definitely being Throne Room. Only our guide Jorge, our coach Ben Kinsella, Eric Parker, Seth Stoenner, and I decided to run this burly rapid. Throne Room started off with a steep lead-in where we kept ourselves busy dodging laterals pushing toward the consequential right side. After the last lateral we had one more stroke before flying into the massive pillow that split the river in two. The right side of the pillow flushes into ‘the toaster’ which pulls paddlers deep then spits them back up (like a toaster) for round two before finally flushing them out below, and the preferable left side flows into a munchy hole that, with a good surf on the pillow can be skirted far left. Each of us that decided to run Throne Room were able to flush off the left side of the pillow, but Seth gave us a scare when he flipped over in one of the lead-in laterals and rolled up in the pillow just before plugging the river left hole.

Jorge leading the way through Throne Room

My line through Throne Room

Seth Stoenner's line... narrowly avoiding the toaster

Shortly after Throne Room we met up with the rest of the group and paddled Terminator, another class V, before arriving at and paddling the Bridge-to-Bridge section. This was truly a sic day and I was glad to have had the chance to paddle Inferno Canyon and to have paddled so much of the Futa in one day.

Hannah Kertesz on the bottom half of Terminator

The group below Terminator

Towards the end of our ten day stay at the Futaleufu we were lucky enough to get to be a part of the 2010 Futa Fest. For the two days that we were at the Futa Fest we were able to compete in the Mundaca head-to-head sprint and the Bridge-to-Bridge mass start race. Competing were the local Chilean and Argentinan paddlers as well as students from New River Academy, WCKA’s rival kayak school. In the Mundaca sprint 25 paddlers competed in the playboat division and about 15 paddlers in the creekboat division. The playboat division, in which WCKA students competed, was split into five different heats of five with the winner from each division moving into the finals race. Risto Beatty and I representing WCKA were the only juniors who progressed onto the finals race, and in a close and physical competition I was able to grab first place with Risto close behind in fourth. The next day an impressive turnout of over 50 competitors in both creekboats and playboats raced head-to-head in an exhausting 7km. race from the put in bridge down to the take out bridge. In another tight competition all the way to the end I ended in seventh in the playboat division, but Eric Parker represented for WCKA with his third place finish.

Looking down on the Futa Fest registration

The downriver race on day 2 of the Futa Fest

My experiences at the Futaleufu were some of the best in my kayaking life, and I can see myself spending a lot more time on the high volume rivers of Southern Chile. For any and every kayaker I would recommend putting the Futa on your hit list, and if you’re down there at the right time of year plan on spending some time at the Futa Fest.

Photos by Erik Parker, Risto Beatty and the infamous Jason Cohen

The Futaleufu video update by Conner Jackson and Josh Larsun

WCKA in Chile: Cuando en Pucon

2010-02-21T19:13:00.000-08:00

Of all the places WCKA has visited down here in Chile Pucon stands out as having the best whitewater, most beautiful women, and some of the most amazing scenery. In Pucon we spent the majority of our time paddling the upper section of the Rio Palguin, and as many paddlers can attest to this short segment of whitewater is one of the best class IV runs in the area. Of all the drops on this section we decided that the third drop, a smooth 20ft. waterfall, was the most fun. After getting used to the sweet boofs this drop dished out some of us decided to step it up and started throwing freewheels, pan-ams, pistol flips, and hail maries off the falls. A lot of us were throwing down some sick moves off this drop, but Seth Stoenner’s airborne hail mary stands out as the best downriver move I’ve ever witnessed.

Volcan Villarrica

Capo boofing the first drop with steeze

Risto Beatty flying high off the second drop

Myself throwing a Pan-Am off the third drop

When our crew wasn’t paddling the Upper Palguin we spent time on the Trancura, Maichin and Liucura. These rivers didn’t quite compare to the whitewater of the Palguin, but they had some fun surf waves and offered us occasional views of the smoking Volcan Villarrica.

During one day towards the end of our stay in Pucon I took the day off from school and headed up to the Middle Palguin for a huckfest with some quality Pucon kayakers. Opting not to run the stout 10 footer that lead into the 70ft. waterfall, I seal launched in above the drop and freefell down to the deep pool below. Unfortunately my skirt imploded in the turbulent boils and I had to swim to shore. Keen on cleaning the drop I hiked to the top for a redemption attempt. On round two I cautiously repositioned my implosion bar toward the front of my deck before the drop and at the bottom rolled up with everything intact.

Dropping in above the 70 footer

Falling off the lip of Middle Palguin (Round 1)

Round 2...

From its world class creeks and crystal clear lakes to its beautiful beaches and happening discotecs Pucon is one of the coolest cities I’ve ever visited and I look forward to coming back in the next couple of years.

I'd like to throw out a big thanks to Rush Sturges for letting me use his Agent in Pucon... It provided for some sick downriver freestyle

All Photos by Candace Sanders and Eric Parker

Here's a short video Risto Beatty put together in cinematography class

WCKA in Chile: The Siete Tazas

2010-02-13T10:08:00.000-08:00

Though extremely short the Siete Tazas section of the Rio Claro is a very beautiful run with seven thrilling drops stacked consecutively after one another. After a good half hour of lowering our fourteen kayaks down to the river we put in on the first and most fun waterfall of the run. This 12 foot drop with a clean sliding lip and soft landing made for silky smooth boofs day after day. After the put-in drop were four easier ledge drops ranging in size from three to six feet. These smaller drops provided for good opportunities to throw freewheels, macho moves and pogo-loops, and the crystal clear pools between each drop allowed for good cartwheels and flat water loops. The next bigger drop of the run was a sliding 15 foot waterfall that because of its abrupt lip provided for some excellent carnage. Shortly afterward came the last and largest drop of the run. The uneven lip and green landing on this 17 foot drop made each boof more painful and also provided its fair share of carnage.

Coach K and myself stoked to be on the Siete Tazas

Capo boofing the first drop
During the first two days at the Rio Claro we had regular class days followed by casual runs down the Siete Tazas, but on the third and final day at the Claro we spent the morning picking up litter at swimming holes along the Claro and spent the afternoon racing down the Siete Tazas. Even if you don’t bring your kayak, the Siete Tazas on the Rio Claro is an excellent destination for anyone traveling to Chile.

Picking up trash along the Rio Claro

Miestro Capo throwing some disk with our freetime

WCKA in Chile: The Maipo

2010-02-02T06:17:00.000-08:00

Choosing to take the last semester of my senior year through World Class Kayak Academy is turning out to be one of the better decisions I’ve made. The crew of ten students, four teachers, two cooks and a driver has turned out to be a pretty cool group of people, and I’m stoked to be spending two months with them here in Chile. We’ve spent our first week about two hours north of Santiago enjoying the high volume and big waves of the Rio Maipo. We split our time on the Maipo equally between the steeper and more turbulent Upper Section and the more play friendly Lower Section. Both the Upper and Lower provided good times for everyone and for me, a devout creek boater, the Maipo was some of the highest volume whitewater I’d ever paddled in a hard shell kayak. For the Upper Section we put-in on a small tributary to the Maipo, the Yeso River, and quickly bounced our way down to the much higher volume Maipo. Once on the class III+ main run, we boofed our way through countless holes, rode some frothy waves, and even chased down a few swimmers. On the lower section we took it a little slower making sure to catch as many waves as possible. Here we were able have some sweet rides and throw wave wheels, kick flips, macho moves, loops, and blunts on a regular basis.

Eric Parker awaiting his surf

Myself surfing a wave on the Lower Maipo

An additional highlight off the river was during outdoor leadership class when we rode horses up an old mining road. Along the ride we were able to look up at the rugged Andes that divide Chile and Argentina then down at the deep Maipo river valley. On a day off from school we kept ourselves busy with a beautiful hike to the bottom of a glacial bowl and cooled ourselves off with a refreshing swim in a spring-fed lake. The eerie mineral deposits, abundant crystal clear springs, and assortment of wildlife at the glacial bowl made for an amazing hike. For any confident class III paddler traveling to Chile, I’d highly recommend a trip to the Maipo and to spend time on both the Upper and Lower sections of the river.

Eric Parker, Olin Winberg, and Risto Beatty- The Cowboys of Chile

The rewarding spring-fed lake after our long hike

Photos by Ben Kinsella, Hanna Kertez, and Jason Cohen

Costa Rican Winter

2010-01-05T17:43:00.000-08:00

Over winter vacation this year my family traveled to Costa Rica for some quality kayaking and tropical relaxation. Spending most of our time in Turrialba, Costa Rica we spent multiple days on the Rio Pacuare. The Pacuare is separated into 3 main sections: the lower (class III-IV where the raft trips take place), the upper (class IV-V), and the upper-upper (class II-III which requires a two hour hike with horses to the put-in). Early in the trip we took a couple trips down the beautiful lower Pacuare, my mom in a commercial raft, my dad in his NRS Bandit inflatable kayak, and my brother in me rental playboats. The rapids on the lower section of the Pacuare were pretty minor, but the amazing waterfalls cascading into the river and beautiful hikes along the way made the run entirely worth it.

In one of the gorges of the lower Pacuare

After time paddling the lower Pacuare and exploring different parts of Costa Rica, we returned to Turrialba to get ready for a trip on the Upper Upper Pacuare. My dad had paddled this section years before, and had a good relation with the Venegas family who has helped pack boats and gear to the put-in for a few other parties as well. So with some extra time on our hands we drove to the small town of Vereh a day before our trip and spent the afternoon playing soccer with the

locals. The game was more intense than one would think, and with rubber farm boots these guys killed.

A soccer game with the locals

Early the next morning we loaded our boats and gear on a few horses and began the two hour hike to the put-in. From the muddy trail were views of some of the most pristine jungles I'd ever seen. Before too long we reached the put-in and prepared to part from our helpful friends. The run was full of continuous class II-III rapids and again was surrounded by some of the most amazing scenery I'd ever seen. Paddling a run like this that gets run at most once a year by any private group was very special, and I look forward to doing it again.

On our way to the put-in

Brendan looking down towards the put-in

The Venegas family and our group at the put-in

One of the Venegas brothers and his nephew enjoying the ducky

Paddling one of the class III rapids of the run

My dad styling another one of the class IIIs

Repelling a waterfall in Turrialba with ExplorNatura

The mountains surrounding Turrialba

Costa Rica hosts some of the most beautiful whitewater rivers, genuine wilderness, and diverse wildlife in the world and is worthy of a vacation for any type of person. If your interested in paddling in Costa Rica I'd highly recommend staying in Turrialba and contacting ExplorNatura for help with boat rentals, guided river trips, or whatever other kind of adventure you hope to take.

Here's a slideshow of some of wildlife we saw along the way. Pura Vida.

Mexico Part 3: The Tomatas

2009-12-10T20:24:00.000-08:00

Coming to the end of our trip we decided to focus our efforts on running the Tomatas on the Rio Alseseca. On the first day, Iker, my brother and I all fired up 65ft. First Tomata. Iker went first and had a super clean line. Despite Iker cleaning it, I was a still intimidated by the stairstep style of First Tomata. When I paddled off the lip I thought everything was going well, but as soon as I tucked I felt myself go sideways, and when I hit with a powerful angle my skirt imploded making for a 'not-so-clean' line. My brother was next and styled the drop with steez. A few hundred feet downstream we arrived at the take out directly above Second Tomata. The take-out wasn't easy but after a while we had our boats back up to the road. As we were hauling our boats up we all spent some time scouting Second Tomata, a seldom run a 60-70ft. waterfall with a very narrow and technical lead in rapid. After analyzing the drop Iker and I decided that if we were feeling good the next day, we'd both fire it up.

Scouting First Tomata

My 'not-so-clean' line the first day

We woke up the next morning, spirits high, and drove back to the Tomatas. I wanted to redeam myself from the previous day so I joined Nate and Heather on First Tomata. I had a better line than the previous day and this time paddled out from the bottom. Nate and Heather went next and unfortunately both had imploded skirts. Before I knew it I was standing at the lip of Second Tomata with Iker ready to paddle one of the most technical and consequential drops I'd ever seen. Iker went first. He dropped into the entrance rapid, maintained good speed and angle until he hit one of the final waves which pushed him sideways and flipped him over. Iker rolled up just feet before the lip and slid backwards off the waterfall. Luckily he resurfaced at the bottom un-scathed. I was much more nervous after watching Iker's line, but I was still confident that I could safely paddle the drop. As I paddled through the entrance rapid, I was able to maintain forward momentum and keep my nose strait. At the lip I took a few adjustment strokes then fell into the boily pools below. Running Second Tomata clean, for possibly the first time, was the perfect ending to an amazing kayaking trip in one of the most beautiful parts of Mexico.

Firing Off Second Tomata

Mexico Part 2: Rio Alseseca

2009-12-05T09:18:00.000-08:00

Because Nate's foot still wasn't a 100% Iker, my brother and I spent the day after his injury paddling the Big Banana section of the Rio Alseseca. This section of whitewater was one of the best I had ever paddled and rates up there with the Little White. After a half mile hike down a lifestock trail we bounced our way down a manky creek and finaly arrived at Big Banana. Big Banana is an awing 100ft. waterfall that cascades out of the side of a mountain and marks the start of the run. After paddling through a couple manky boulder gardens we dropped into the first canyon. Right off the bat we followed Iker off a clean 25ft. waterfall and then strait into a fast 30ft. slide, each drop bringing us deeper into the canyon. Eventually the canyon walls were so tight that the river was about a boat length wide and no sunlight could reach the water. In and out of more similar canyons we paddled more class IV and V rapids until about halfway through the run we came up to a 45 footer. We spent a long time contemplating this drop, but the rapid above the drop and caves below were enough to turn us all away. We decided instead to throw and go off the 50ft. cliff below the drop. After this we paddled more class IV and V drops, including Meat Locker a fun double drop, until we reached the the take-out.

Throw n' go

Brendan on Meat Locker

Another drop on the Big Banana

The next morning, after a night of heavy rain, we woke up to high water levels. We knew this would be perfect for Truchas falls, a 60 footer on the Rio Alseseca that we had scouted a few days earlier. The difficulty in this waterfall wasn't so much running it, but rather getting to it. We spent a good three hours macheteing through thick jungle until we reached the cliff walls above Truchas. We then spent another hour repelling beside a huge waterfall 90 feet down to the river. Once we were all down at the river bank with our boats we portaged a manky slide and finally prepared to run the waterfall. Iker was first to paddle the 25ft. slide-to-boof that led directly into the 60ft. freefall. He had a sick line, and my brother and I were quick to run it after him. Truchas was a super fun drop especially at such high flows, and getting to the drop was equally exciting.

Scouting Truchas before the rain...

...And again after the rain

Photos by Sheer Madness Productions

Mexico Part 1: Opening Days

2009-12-01T19:45:00.000-08:00

International travel and whitewater kayaking are possibly the two most important aspects of my life, but until this trip I had never combined the two. Over our extended Thanksgiving vacation my brother and I joined Iker Dusen and Nate and Heather Herbeck for a kayaking vacation in Mexico. Upon arrival in Tlapacoyan, Mexico my brother and I met Iker, but found that Nate and Heather were paddling the Filobobos, a nearby class III-IV river. After some tacos and later realizing that it was getting dark the three of us met up with our driver Israel and drove to the take-out. We hiked as far as we safely could up the river, about three kilometers, with no sign of Nate or Heather. Unsuccessful, we drove back to Tlapacoyan to get some rest. Early the next morning Iker my brother and I put in on the Fliobobos to look for Nate and Heather. Again we were unsuccessful and went back to Tlapacoyan to form further plans. Luckily when we arrived in Tlapacoyan we found Israel, Nate and Heather alive and well. Hearing their story we found Nate and Heather took out in a small town halfway down the run because it was too dark. Apparently Nate and Heather had met a very kind family that housed, fed, and even clothed them for the night.

Our team and our truck

The next day our team went on a park n' huck mission. Our first stop was at a 30ft. waterfall on the Jalacingo River. With easy access we ran this clean drop each about four times before packing up and moving on.

Boofin a 30 footer on the Jalacingo

Our next stop was at San Pedro, a recently discovered 50ft. waterfall that had only been run by one team. A fast and narrow slide didn't allow for many strokes before the lip, but launched each of us through the air and into the pool below.

Paddle toss and tuck on San Pedro

After we all fired off San Pedro we had a quick, but action packed paddle to the take-out. The rapids between San Pedro and the take-out were all a little manky and we only ran a few of them, but as we learned the portages weren't much better. On one portage Nate seal launched in and pitoned his boat, injuring both of his ankles. As we were close to the take-out we decided to continue on. Nate had a tough time on the portages but we were able to get him safely to the take out and home to heal for a while. Our first few days in Mexico were sick and the rest of the trip only gets better...

Photos by Sheer Madness Productions

The Grays River

2009-11-17T15:06:00.000-08:00

The Grays River lies in the Coastal Range on the South- western tip of Washington. It's a seldom run river, but after paddling it this weekend I wonder why. On Sunday Nate and Heather Herbeck and I met up with some Portland paddlers to explore this amazing river. We arrived at the put-in with overcast weather, but the water levels were at a comfortable 700 cfs. Once on the river we paddled a couple class III rapids before dropping into the first gorge. The first gorge was filled with lots of thrilling class IV ledges, most of which we scouted but had no problem running.

Josh boofs the first ledge

Johnny navigating his way through the first gorge

As soon as the walls along the first gorge began to fade away we saw the first large horizon line. To scout Superbowl, the first class V rapid, we had to climb over a 30ft. tall log jam. Most of us decided to run this rapid and in the end we all ended up having relatively smooth lines.

Johnny on Superbowl

Nate Boofing Superbowl

Less than a quarter mile downstream we came to the second class V, picnic table. We spent much longer scouting this rapid, but after a while Justin Japs dropped into the rapid. After boofing his way through the first steep boulder garden and over the first significant drop Justin flipped over and rolled back up just before the final hole which led into a steep but short gorge. After Justin's line I dropped in and navigated my way through the tight rapid and into the deep gorge. From below Justin and I watched everyone else seal launch into the gorge, and paddle on to the next rapid.

Scouting the lower section of Picnic Table

Myself on the crux of Picnic Table

Heather in the Gorge after Picnic Table

Directly after the gorge the river banked to the left and we came across broken paddle. This rapid was similar to the ledges in the first gorge, and after it there were continuous read and run class III-IV rapids until the river finally leveled out. In the last part of the river we floated through a slow braided section, reminding me of Alaskan rivers, and took out on the river left bank. At the end of the run I was glad to have paddled a new and exciting river, and now I look forward to going back.

The Crew: Brian Youngs, Heather Herbeck, Me, Justin Japs, Nate Herbeck, Josh Armagost, and Johnny Ott

Photos by myself and Heather Herbeck

High Water Halloween

2009-11-01T22:26:00.000-08:00

This year Halloween brought crazy costumes and high water to the White Salmon River. Over a dozen local paddlers met in costume at the Green Truss section of the White Salmon for a Halloween paddle. And though the weather was pleasant, the previous days of rain had brought the water levels up to nearly 3.5 which provided for some of the best autumn flows I've seen. Everyone enjoyed the high flows in costumes of all varieties. Erik Boomer and Christie Glissmeyer stood out in their Power Puff Girl costumes, while others of us followed the "scary mask" trend. At the end of the day Greg Hoskins as Elvis took home first place for best mens costume, and Kim Russell in her Miss America costume took home first place for best womens costume. The participation, enthusiasm, and water levels were all great for this years' Halloween Truss Paddle.

Power Puff Girl Christie Glissmeyer on May Tag

Myself on May Tag... After some aging

She Devil Heather Herbeck
Greg Hoskins: The King... of the White Salmon

Photos: Ethan Smith and Heather Herbeck

Green Truss Freestyle

2009-09-27T09:32:00.001-07:00

No one likes to paddle the Truss when water levels fall below 2 feet, but switching your 80 gallon creekboat for a low volume playboat can really liven up the run. The majority of warm-up drops aren't too difficult, but in a playboat the class Vs offer a whole new challenge. Launching off 20ft. Big Brother in a 6ft. playboat is always thrilling and 10ft. Little Brother is a great waterfall to throw freewheels and kickflips. After a couple laps on Little Brother you'll paddle down a couple hundred yards and boof Double Drop (the second hole is stickier at low flows so be cautious in a playboat). After Double Drop the river flattens out for a while and the next class Vs you'll come up on are Upper and Lower Zig-Zag. If it's your first time in playboat on this run, or your first paddling the run at low flows the Zig-Zags are worth a quick scout (scout right for Upper Zig-Zag and left for Lower Zig-Zag). From here on out it's frothy class III and IV rapids with occasional play opportunities. A quarter mile before the take-out at BZ is BZ falls. Running this drop in a playboat at low flows is just of the dice. Get right and take a big boof stroke before you throw some ends in the hole below. Playboats can make the Truss much more exciting, but having a knowing the dynamics of each rapid is important before trading in your creekboat.

Freestylin' Little Brother

The little brother on Little Brother

September Sun

2009-09-21T17:51:00.000-07:00

For the 19th and 20th of September, my brother and I joined Nate and Heather Herbeck for a trip to the Tieton River. While Heather taught kayak lessons or guided rafts Nate, my brother and I ran laps on the upper section of the Tieton. The run is continuous with standing waves and catch on the go surf waves the whole way down. After throwing dozens of wavewheels and kickflips on the standing waves, we came up on the Bridge Wave. The Bridge Wave is a relatively slow river-wide wave with a sticky left side. After I figured out the dynamics of the wave I was able throw consistent blunts and spins and occasional loops. Because the river is dam controlled it only flows in September, which means large crowds show up each weekend. Watching cat-rafts, paddle rafts, and inflatable kayakers surf the bridge wave was always entertaining, and the bridge over the wave provided for a unique viewing angle.

WCKA Summer Session: Part 2

2009-08-15T09:47:00.000-07:00

After a week of paddling around Missoula the Summer Sessions crew finally started our journey to the Skookumchuck Narrows. Along the way we picked up our instructors girlfriend Blake and former WCKA student Adriane Levknecht. On our way to the wave we stopped at the Nahatlatch Creek in British Columbia for a quick class III run. Despite the long windy road to the put-in, the endless boulder gardens and occasional playspots made for a great break during the long drive.

Bluntin' Skook

As soon as we'd reserved a campsite at Brown Lake we drove 15 minutes to the Egmont boat launch and paddled another 15 minutes to the wave. Surrounded by 10-15 other paddlers we watched the wave build and shrink, and for three hours surfed the glassy surface. At the end of the day we locked up our boats and hiked the 2.5 miles back to Egmont. For the next four days we hiked back and forth to the wave, surfing it for 3-4 hours at a time between 12.8 and 14.4 knots. A couple days into our session at skook team Wave Sport showed up and showed off their quiver of aerial tricks. Brian Kirk and Kelsey Thompson held most of the attention throwing down helixes, airscrews, and huge pistol flips. Though I was far from being able to land any of these moves, by the end of the trip I was throwing consistent air blunts and occasional backstabs. Everyone in our group improved over this short session and without instruction from our coach or the helpful locals we still would have been straight surfing at the end of the trip. Skook was the biggest and best wave I'd ever surfed and I can't wait to surf it again in the near future.

WCKA Summer Session: Part 1

2009-08-07T19:14:00.000-07:00

After some time on the Clark Fork we decided to drive to Mesa Falls in Idaho for an overnight park and huck. As soon as we reached the parking lot we began the quick hike to the waterfall. One mile and 50 mosquito bites later, we arrived at the Mesa and thoroughly scouted the falls. I wasn't able to convince my coach to let me run the 65ft. drop on the right side, but the 10 and 30ft. consecutive waterfalls on the left side still got my adrenaline pumping. Along with my own thrill in running the drop, I was able to watch Karsten Thompson run Mesa, his first waterfall, with a clean line. After we hiked through a steep scree field and back up the trail we set up camp, ate a quick meal, and got some sleep. The next morning we headed back to Crystal Springs, and arrived with just enough time to load the boats and gear on the van before heading to the Skookumchuck Narrows...

My brother boofing the top drop...
... And launching off the second one

My brother and I looking downstream after a successful huck

Photo Credits: Mike Malament

Lewis River Falls '09

2009-07-09T16:08:00.001-07:00

For the 4th of July my brother and I joined Nate and Heather Herbeck for a Liquid Kayak mission to the Lower Falls on the Lewis River. We arrived at the drop at about noon, and within an hour had set up good media coverage and reliable safety. My brother and I were the only ones really keen on running the drop, and as usual I was made to go first. I approached the first 5ft. ledge in control and was able to stay right before boofing and dropping over the 35ft. waterfall. With everything in tact I rolled up and paddled through the turquoise waters to the take out below. Because of a not-so-perfect experience on this drop last year my brother was a little more nervous than I was. Fortunately right after I set safety I watched my brother fire off the drop with an incredibly clean line. He reserfaced soon and threw up a fist in satisfaction. Later we all jumped off the 30-50ft cliffs that surrounded the falls. - A killer 4th of July.

My brother's line last year... ---------- ...But he cleaned it this year

Heather Herbeck, my brother, and I taking a victory jump

Swift Water Rescue Class

2009-06-23T18:19:00.000-07:00

Over the last weekend my brother and I spent three days at Wet Planet in Husum, WA learning professional swiftwater rescue techniques. We spent our time in and out of the water understanding and practicing a variety of rescue techniques. I was already aware of and had used many of the rescue techniques, but methods such as the Z-Drag system and foot entrapment resolution were new to me. From learning how to tie proper knots for different situations to learning how to un-pin a raft or kayak I learned many skills at this course and feel confident to use each technique in real life situation. Instructors Jonathon Blum and Todd Collins not only knew the proper techniques for each situation but had executed almost every skill in their past experiences. I hope I don't have to be involved in too many rescue situations in the near future, but I know that with extreme kayaking comes these situations on a regular basis. Now I feel like I can resolve many dangerous whitewater situations safely and efficiently.

White Salmon and Little White Extreme Races

2009-06-01T21:29:00.000-07:00

This weekend was the best competitive weekend of kayaking I've ever had. It started with the White Salmon Extreme race and Orletta sprint on Saturday. In the extreme race teams of three had to safely bring each member of the race from the Green Truss Bridge to the Orletta put-in. My brother and I teamed up with Tao Berman to paddle the raging class V section. The levels were higher than I'd ever seen (nearly 5' on the Husum gauge) but because the Truss was a local favorite for all three of us we were able to take first place with time to spare. The next race was the Orletta Sprint. With only 5 second intervals each racer had to paddle about a mile of class IV rapids from the Orletta to Wet Planet North. Behind Tao and Max, I was able to take 3rd place in this event. The races were all part of the White Salmon Symposium, which ended with a rockin party at the Trailhead B&B in Trout Lake.

Saturday night we heard rumor of there being a race on the Little White the next morning, so as soon as we woke up my brother and I drove to Drano Lake. There were only six competitors in the race, but four others were there to set safety. In the first heat Tao Berman, Ryan Scott and I raced head to head from the Gettin Busy to Boulder Sluice. Tao took off far in front, but throughout the race Ryan Scott and I battled closely for the 2nd place slot. I was still ahead of him at Boulder Sluice, but in the last couple class II rapids Ryan passed me and beat me by less than a boat length. Because his boat was leaking badly before the next heat Ryan let me move on to the next heat in his place. In the final heat Tao, Lizzy English, Dan, and I raced head to head from below S-Turn to below Wishbone. I was able to maintain my distance on Dan throughout the race until I went over Bowey Hotel upside down. After a sketchy recovery at Bowey's I raced the rest of the way down and finished in 3rd place overall. The rest of the paddle down was really relaxing and a smooth line over Spirit Falls topped off an amazing race. Two races on my two favorite rivers and a great party all in one weekend... Who can ask for anything more?

Layin Treats on Spirit Falls

Photos by Tate Taylor and Stiv Wilson of Wend Magazine

Upper Clackamas Whitewater Festival

2009-05-30T12:34:00.000-07:00

The Upper Clackamas Whitewater Festival (May 16- 17) was an action packed weekend for paddlers of all ability. For me the fun began with the kayak mass start race. In this event 15-20 paddlers in playboats all sprinted through carter rapid and to the finish gate below. Throughout the race I was near the front of the group battling it out between 4 other paddlers for first place. I wasn't able to take first, but I was the third one to pass under the finish line. Shortly after this event was over my brother and I met up with two other paddlers who were interested in entering in the relay race. We took up the offer, and over the 4 part course our team took first place. To end the action packed day, my brother and I competed in the big air competition. This was hands down the most exciting event. Every athlete slide down a 30ft. ramp off a 5ft. jump in to the river below. I was able to throw down a variety of barrel roll tricks, and even attempted a few backflips. The highlight of this event was watching Steven Olsen fly down the ramp twice as fast as anyone else with a skateboard attached to the bottom of his kayak and throw huge tricks. Unfortunately I wasn't able to place in this event, but Todd Baker threw numerous stylish barrel roll tricks to take first and Steven Olsen came in a close second. I couldn't find many pictures of the event but these photos were shot by David Brigg.

Steven Olsen throws a huge kickflip for second place

Junior World Record: 82' Metlako Falls

2009-05-14T16:25:00.001-07:00

Christie Glissmeyer sets the new female record waterfall

For a while now, I've had it in my mind that it would be very possible to break Pat Keller's 75ft. Junior World Record Waterfall. And on Sunday that thought turned into a reality. Evan Garcia called me and said that Christie Glissmeyer and himself were itching to run 85ft. Metlako and that the flows were good to go. I knew this would be a great accomplishment in my kayaking and joined the two on their trip to Metlako. At the trailhead Christie, Evan, Erik Boomer, and some other buddies hiked the beautiful 2 miles to Metlako. We scouted the stout from each angle, and decided the flow was as perfect as it gets. Shortly after getting in our boats and boofing the 10ft. Lower Punchbowl as a warm up, we arrived at the lip of the beast. Evan and Christie were first to roll off the lip, and after excited shouts from below I knew it was my turn. I paddled toward the drop in total control and as I rolled over the lip I kissed my deck, let go of my paddle, and waited for impact. After 3 solid seconds of freefall, I penetrated the deep pool below with little force of impact. Surfacing in the massive boils, I hand paddled to a cove on the right, and got my first look back up at the 85ft. stout. Christie and I shared the excitement of having just broken the Female and Junior Record Waterfall with Evan. The photos of myself are still on hold, but before too long I'll have pictures to go along with this story. Also make sure to check out Christie Glissmeyer's interview with Paddling Life Magazine.

Summit Creek First Descent

2009-05-03T19:29:00.000-07:00

Earlier this year I had visited Summit Creek in hopes of big drops and good whitewater; when I arrived at the lower gorge I knew I had found just what I was looking for. As soon as I found the goods I called Cody Howard and the next Saturday my brother, Cody, Brett Adams and I left for the first descent. Highlights of this run were running some super smooth slides for the first time, and scouting the massive Skate Park Drop.
I was really satisfied with the First D of the lower canyon, but I also knew that there was an upper canyon likely to have drops of similar magnitude and style. After hearing Cody's positive report about the upper gorge Erik Boomer, Evan Garcia, my brother and I went out to get some for ourselves. The upper gorge started out with some gnarly log portages, but slowly turned into the most amazing 10-30ft. slides.

Sliding a smooth 20 footer
After boat scouting and running a number of these smooth drops, we came to what seemed to be the start of the first gorge. A quick scout revealed a sweet triple-tier slide as well as a stout 60 foot waterfall all within a beautiful deep gorge. Third in line to run the triple-tier drop I ended up running the last section backwards but was able to correct before landing in the pool below. We took out below the triple tier and spent about half an hour scouting the 60 foot Summit Falls. The waterfall had a pretty smooth lead-in but also a small landing zone and questionable runout into two 20-30ft slides. After much speculation, Boomer decided to give'er. He landed flat after a sweet boof, but with his imploded skirt was forced to run the two slides following with a boat full of water. After Boomer's sweet First Descent of Summit Falls I knew the stout was good to go and decided to give 'er. Instead of taking a boof at the end of the drop, I went for the plugger line and ended up resurfacing against a rock below with an imploded skirt and boat full of water. Luckily I was able to swim to shore before the slides, and my boat got caught in a nearby eddy below the slides. Stoked as hell, I got up on the shore to watch Evan huck a huge boof, and again end with an imploded skirt.

Scouting the Upper Gorge

Flying off Summit Falls

Summit Falls was the end of the first gorge, but before too many log lams we arrived at the second gorge. Already knowing our lines, we were able to run this section much quicker. Our only stop was at the 50 foot Skate Park Drop, where we all went big and stomped some huge autoboofs. With a 40 foot vertical drop leading into a smooth 15 foot horizontal kicker, this drop is like no other, and is one of the most unique I've ever run. After a couple more smooth slides we ended the run with huge smiles across our faces. With two of the most beautiful gorges in the Northwest and with its amazing whitewater, Summit creek has become one of my favorites.

Erik Boomer drops into the Skate Park

Photos- Erik Boomer

A Week with World Class

2009-05-03T19:11:00.000-07:00

Last week my brother and I were lucky enough to have the World Class Kayak Academy stop by for a week of paddling in The Gorge. The entire crew, staff and students, were very enjoyable to be around. I rarely get to paddle with kids my age, except for my brother, so this was a treat. Most the time I spent with World Class was on the White Salmon, and by the looks of their paddling I could tell they'd been instructed by the best. Paddling with World Class was a great experience, and I look forward to paddling with them again.

Two 50 footers in Two Hours

2009-04-19T19:40:00.000-07:00

My brother and I had been eying down Bridal Veil Falls (55ft.) and Money Drop on Rock Creek (58ft.) for quite some time, but it wasn't until this weekend that we finally fired up both drops. On Saturday Tate Taylor, my dad, my brother and I all piled in my dad's car to celebrate the warmest day of the year with an all out huckfest. Our first stop was Bridal Veil, and as soon as we decided the flow was good my brother and I started setting up safety and checking our lines. I was first off the stout and after a smooth line right down the middle, I punched through the soft hole at the bottom. As I resurfaced, I was able to look up at the drop in a state of euphoria and take in the feeling of a new personal record. My brother was also able to clean the drop with a smooth line, and paddle safely to the shore.

A short video of my run (filmed by spectator Larry Ellis)

Within an hour of having launched Bridal Veil we arrived at Money Drop only to hear the ecstatic yelling of boaters below. When I arrived at the lip I saw a couple paddlers in the pool below, and got to evaluate the lines of two more. My brother and I decided, that because this drop ------------------------------------------------------------------ had such a fast lead in Disconnecting from Money Drop ------------------- the key was to kiss the deck before even reaching the lip. After a quick evaluation we grabbed our boats and set up for our own runs. My brother was first to go and had a super clean line, airing out into the huge boils below. He was quick to roll up and give me "the go-ahead." As I flew off the lip in the perfect tuck I truly felt I was flying , until of course I smacked the bottom and felt my paddle snap in half. In the pool, I rolled up with my single bladed paddle and eddied out with my brother. We admired the 7 ft. boils for a while, then I C1ed my way through some class II rapids to the take out eddy. Overall it was an incredible day; I was glad my brother and I cleaned each drop, and again Tate Taylor came out with amazing photos.

Standing below my biggest drop-- Stoked

Northwest Creeking Competition

2009-04-14T16:18:00.000-07:00

This weekend was my first time at the Northwest Creeking Competition, and I don't think it could have gone any better. My brother, Tate Taylor, and I drove up the E. fork of the Lewis River and rolled into the Olsen's riverside property late Friday night to enjoy a night under the stars hanging in our hammocks. The next morning my brother and I woke up early so we'd have enough time to check out the course. The 2 mile class III-IV run was a lot of fun and had some entertaining drops, notably 15ft. Sunset Falls and Screaming Left. After getting a feel for the run we took a shuttle back to the put-in and watched the start of the race, right over Sunset Falls. When it came my turn to make the run I thought one last time about my lines down each rapid and remembered to set a steady pace. My line down Sunset Falls and nearly every other drop was smooth and, though I didn't see a time at the bottom, I felt I paced myself just about right for the 2 mile run. Later in the night after some delicious Olsen family burritos, the top three times for each division were announced. I was stoked when Luke Spencer announced my brother's second place and my own first place in the Junior division. The junior award was an awesome silver kayak necklace and Predator Helmet. The rest of Saturday night was fun with a campfire, music, and even more burritos. Then next day we all slept in a little later, and woke up to heavy rain. As most of the crowd dispersed we decided to stay for the Sunset Falls Huckfest. Around noon people gathered in all sorts of craft, from Sam Drevo's inflatable surfboard to 12ft. long boats of the past. Each competitor was given three attempts to impress the crowd with they're best trick over the drop. My first two lines were simple wavewheels over the left side, but on my last attempt I hit the the middle line and threw a donkey flip paddle toss and stuck it clean to take home first place overall. My brother also had some very sick lines, and took home second place using hand paddles with a reverse wavewheel. Sunday's first place prize was a beautiful Accent paddle. Thanks Next Adventure and all the sponsors who made the NWCC possible. Overall I had an amazing time this weekend, and look forward to more competitions to come.
-- For more on the NWCC read the front page article of Vancouver's 'The Columbian'--
Photos- Tate Taylor and Molly Elliott

Starting the 2 mile Downriver Race

Sunday's wining trick-- Donkey Flip Paddle Toss

E.F. Lewis Race 2009 from Sheer Madness Productions on Vimeo.

Wilderness Advanced First Aid

2009-03-22T08:36:00.000-07:00

Whether it results in a simple broken nose or severe case of hypothermia, everyone knows that accidents happen on the river. I've been involved in multiple situations like this, so I figured it was about time I get some professional instruction on Wilderness Medicine. Between Mar 16 and Mar 20 I took a Wilderness Advanced First Aid (WAFA) medical course through the Wilderness Medicine Institute. From treating the average fracture to performing CPR, I learned many medical skills from the course and feel far more confident about helping victims of whitewater accidents no matter how remote the location may be.

More Local Creekin

2009-03-02T18:47:00.000-08:00

Creeking seems to be taking up more and more of my life, of course for the better. My brother and I got out on the water 5 days last week and plan to keep our paddles wet throughout the rest of the year.
Two weeks ago my brother and I got out on the Little White Salmon for our first time and had a blast. Cody Howard of Huckin Huge not only showed us the lines down each rapid, but also got us involved in some crazy cinematography. The crew (of about 14) set up a zip-line on S-turn and got some amazing shots from a video camera in constant motion. The flow was pretty low but perfect for our first time down. After watching Keel Brightman launch Spirit Falls I knew I had to share the thrill. I had a pretty smooth line off Spirit and enjoyed the euphoric moments following. From the eddy below I watched my 14 year old brother contemplate the drop, but knew in the end he would go for it. As he had a little more of a rough line than me he ended up swimming below, but managed to pick up the pieces and enjoy the rest of the trip. The rest of the run went smoothly, and we were stoked to have safely paddled our first run down the Little White. (Pics and Vids soon to come)
This last weekend my brother and I got out on the Truss twice with Todd Anderson and Erik Boomer. Both trips went smoothly and I was glad to have Todd and Boomer giving me helpful pointers the whole way down- definately improving my paddling. I also got to see 14 year old Devin Morton huck Big Brother for his first time with a super clean line.
Last week my brother, Tate Taylor, and I also got a chance to shoot some still shots on a fun rapid we call Holsteins Falls right above the Farmlands put-in on the White Salmon. This rapid doesn't look too big but the tight slot and big waves allow for only a small margin of error. At the end of the day we were glad to have tackled a new rapid and have Tate come out with some sweet pics.

Paddling through Holsteins Falls

Kickin Off The '09 Season

2009-02-21T13:31:00.000-08:00

With consistent flows and new gear, paddling in the Gorge this year has been off to a great start. My brother and I are getting out on the Green Truss Section of the White Salmon at least 3 times a week as well as going to the Hood River pool each Tuesday for Kayak Polo.
My new M Burn has been treating me better than ever and after spending lots of time with it on the Green Truss and other local spots I've seen just how well it can perform on the steep creeks. The Burn's volume placement helps the boat punch through big holes while the smooth lines give lots of speed and provide for huge boofs.
My new skirt from SnapDragon has also been performing nicely and is keeping the cold water of the White Salmon out of my boat. The skirt snaps on easily but seals tighter than ever around the deck to keep any and all water out.
With Husum's gauge at 2' the water on the White Salmon has been pretty low, but not low enough to keep my brother and I off the Truss. Actually with the put-in only 10 minutes from our school creeking has become a routine after-school activity.
Prior to this year I'd never tried kayak polo and was ambivalent as to how fun it would be, but now nearly done with my first season I've fallen in love with the new sport and encouage anyone who's interested to drop by the Hood River pool on Tuesdays. Kayak Polo moves quickly and gets more physical than I had thought, which only adds to the intensity and fun of the game.

Staying on line through Upper Zig-Zag

Deep inside the White Salmon

Special Thanks to Pyranha Kayaks, Snap Dragon Design, and photographer Tate Taylor.

A Harsh End to the Season

2008-11-11T20:43:00.000-08:00

Last weekend my brother and I headed out to paddle the Green Truss Section of the White Salmon. Though the water was pretty low (1.7 @ Husum), the run had gone great, with clean lines over Big Brother, Double Drop, and through Zig-Zag Canyon... until we got to BZ falls. Scouting BZ, the flow looked just fine (nothing I hadn't paddled before). My brother went first and had a clean line, but once I got to the lip I didn't get a strong boof stoke and petoned into the left wall. After the impact I saw that there was a decent dent in the front of my boat, and I felt a throbbing pain at my ankle. After my brother and I rushed to the take out, I hobbled up to the parking lot using our paddles as crutches. Because of the swelling and pain in my foot, my brother drove me down to the Hospital in White Salmon. The X-rays at the hospital revealed a break in the bottom of my tibia. After telling me that I had to stay off my foot for two months, the doctors sent me home with a cast, crutches, and a bottle of Vicodine. Though my kayak season came to a harsh and unexpected end, I'm hoping my foot heels up quickly so I can get back on the water.

Big Brother

My broken foot all wrapped up.

The dent in the front of my H:3
Pyranha H:3 For Sale
Tough it does have a fold in the front it still paddles fine, and I'd offer a good price.
Email me: skibikekayakjunky@gmail.com

Nizina/Chinta Rivers, Alaska

2008-10-25T08:33:00.000-07:00

Along with my affection for hardshell kayaking, I've always loved extended trips via raft or inflatable kayak. For this particular trip my dad and I took our two AIRE inflatable kayaks and four dry bags through a series of planes, fairies and shuttles to McCarthy, AK. In McCarthy, a town of 42 people, we spent a few days organizing our food and gear and exploring the Kennicott copper mines. After some organization we loaded our gear into a Cessna 185 for a 30 min. trip to the Nizina River headwaters. Unloading our gear during a heavy downpour of Alaska rain, we decided to pack our essential gear a mile from the airport to a cabin until there was a break in the rain. From the previous days of rain, the trail to the cabin had been turned into muddy creek, so packing our 50+ lb. drybags wasn't easy. After chopping wood, starting a fire, and drying out all our wet gear we were able to relax inside our 14X14ft. gravel floor cabin.
The next morning we awoke to the sound of bears against our cabin door. When my dad got up to look through a crack in the door he could see the eyes of a 250lb. bear staring him down; we were glad to have a heavy duty lock on the door. Minutes later we heard the cries of cubs, and when we looked out the window we saw three young cubs roaming around right outside our cabin. After we decided the bears were far enough away, we walked out to the Nizina Lake for an afternoon paddle. Nizina Lake lies between the monstrous Nizina Glacier, and the start of the Nizina River. Paddling around the lake below icebergs towering hundreds of feet over my head was an unforgettable experience, and we came back with some beautiful pictures. Leaving the inflatable kayaks by the lake we hiked back to the cabin, only to find the three cubs from earlier in the day sitting on top of our precious drybags. Knowing that our entire trip relied on those drybags we started shouting to scare the bears away, and after enough noise the bears ran off into the woods.
After our last night in the cabin, we finally put in on the river. At the beginning of the whitewater the biggest challenge wasn't dodging rocks and holes, but avoiding the icebergs that would randomly surface around our boats. After we pulled out to our first campsite, a beautiful gravel bar under the Mile High Cliffs, at about 9:00 P.M. we set up our tent and cooked up some dinner. As I fell asleep I was thinking of how different that day of paddling was from a day of paddling at home. I went from paddling a light 8' pyranha H:3 to an 11' inflatable kayak loaded with 100lbs. of gear, from paddling in a 500 cfs creek to a 50,000 cfs mile wide river, and from being a few miles from civilization and a hospital to 30 miles from any civilization and hundreds of miles from any hospital.
The next morning we woke up to classic foggy overcast Alaskan weather, but after a quick breakfast we were back on the water. Halfway through this day's paddle we stopped at a small creek and hiked up to a luscious grass area directly under a 300+ waterfall. Feeling the mist blow all around me under such a massive waterfall was one of the most memorable moments during this trip. The same night we camped on a gravel bar below a washed out steel bridge, and watched full sized logs drift pass us with the rising water. (Later we learned that the bridge had once spanned the entire width of the river and that it was taken out in the 1964 Alaskan earthquake).
The next day we paddled through more of the Nizina River's classic winding braids until we reached the Kennicott River confluence. With a few buddies in the air (commercially flying small bush planes) and a hand held radio we asked why the Kennicott River seemed so high. After Bill McKinney, a commercial pilot friend of ours, told us that a glacial dam had broken and released tons of water into the Kennicott and that all the raft companies had canceled their trips on the Kennicott, we had to do some serious decision making as to whether or not no run the upcoming canyon. Because of the sharp s-turns and steep canyon walls, the Kennicott Canyon which starts right after the Kennicott Confluence, hosts the most dangerous whitewater of the whole run. Despite the raging flows from the Kennicott that could potentially make the rapids twice as powerful, we decided to run the canyon.
As the canyon walls started to loom over us and as the turns got sharper and sharper, I knew there was no turning back now. The rapids started out as large whirlpools and unreadable funny water, but grew to massive holes surrounded by strong eddies. We successfully punched through more and more of these holes until we met the last rapid of the canyon, a large class IV+ hole that spanned the whole width of the canyon. I barely managed to punch through this hole along the left edge, but as my dad came into the hole with less speed I didn't know if he was going to make it. Without enough momentum to climb over the pile my dad was pulled backward into the hole, but with power and finesse was able to stay upright and ride the wave to the middle of the river where he finally was forced out.
After this rapid was the abrupt end of the Kennicott Canyon, and with the end of the canyon was the Nizina's entrance to the Chitna River. On river right at the confluence was a small grass runway where we decided to spend the night. Our pilot friend, Bill McKinney, flew in to join us for dinner, so we sat down and watched the sun set behind the mountainous horizon.
The next day we enjoyed the faster waters of the Chitna, and more beautiful scenery. That night we camped on a sandy beach right across from a creek known for its numerous grizzly bears; unfortunately we didn't see any.
For the last day on the river we woke up earlier than usual, so that we could make it to the take out at reasonable hour. This section of the river seemed to get bigger and bigger the closer we got to the take out. Once we got to the Chitna/Copper River Confluence, we could see as easy take out about a quarter mile up the Copper. So with plenty of daylight life, we pulled our fully loaded kayaks up to the take out. At the take out my dad rolled up our boats, and packed up our other gear while I hitched into town, to find someone who'd bring our boats up to the Hotel Chitna. After shuttling our gear back to town in a local's truck we each took a well deserved shower and caught some shut eye.
From the bears around our cabin to the high water and breathtaking campsites throughout the trip, this was an amazing trip through some of the most pristine wilderness in Alaska.

Lewis River Lower Falls '08

2008-09-27T12:15:00.000-07:00

Lewis River's Lower Falls had always been an exciting spot to visit, but it wasn't until this year that I'd heard of people kayaking the falls. After a summer full of creeking I thought that running this waterfall would be a great "next step." So one Saturday afternoon in August my brother, Tate Taylor and I drove up to the falls with boats, cameras, and safety equipment. After lots of scouting, and putting together a bomber safety set up, it was time to run the falls. This falls was pretty straight forward, but paddling over the 6ft. drop right before the falls was a little tough, and the rock jutting out from river-right at the bottom was quite intimidating. After the first ledge I got one last boof stroke in befor sailing over the 40ft. waterfall. Hitting the bottom straight on I could feel myself go deep as well as my paddle bounce off my nose. After coming out and rolling up I paddled to the take out; everything went well except for my bloody nose. (Unfortunatly, towards the bottom of the drop I didn't tuck as much as I had hoped and upon the force of impact, my paddle hit my face giving me a pretty bad bloody nose.) Next it was my bro's turn, so I talked him through the line and strokes as best I could, then went to set up safety. Watching my brother go down was almost as scary as going down it myself. My brother's boof stroke wasn't perfect, and it resulted in his barrel role down the falls. Brendan was quick to come out of the hole at the bottom, but I noticed that his skirt had imploded, and his boat was half full of water. Luckily he was able to swim with boat and paddle to the take out. All in all this was a killer trip, and I'm looking forward to running it and its surrounding drops in the future.

My brother and I set safety below the falls.

The Green Truss '08

2008-09-06T14:02:00.000-07:00

This year was my first year paddling the Green Truss Section of the White Salmon, and now it's my favorite local run. With drops like the 28ft. Big Brother and Double Drop my adrenaline is always pumping, and with the run only fifteen minutes away from home access it's quick to access. I'm really looking forward to running this more and more next summer and maybe even a few times this winter. (In this video I'm the paddler in the green boat with the orange top.)

Deschutes Dam

2008-09-06T12:44:00.000-07:00

Sliding down the dam outside of Bend (side view)

Last spring break my dad, brother, and I went to Bend to paddle the Deschutes River. After a leasurely paddle down the Tumalo Section of the Deschutes we heard about a 30ft. dam right outside of Bend. So after a little bit of exploring around to find this dam, my brother and I took turns sliding down it. Because the dam flatens out at the bottom I ended up skipping over the flatwater at the bottom. I'd never done anything like this before and it was quite fun.

Same dam
(straight view)

Freewheelin' Husum Falls

2008-09-06T12:34:00.000-07:00

At lower flows Husum Falls doesn't have too much of a hole, so one day, after paddling the Orletta, my bro and I decided to give freewheels over Husum Falls a try. I'd never tried a freewheel over a waterfall before, but it ended up better than I had expected. And by quincidence a friend of ours was taking pictures for a local raft company and got a few shots of my brother and me as we wheeled over the falls.