tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-198159892024-03-06T20:52:12.116-08:00Mediocre KayakingChronicles of a weekend warrior.h2othomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07826301316383941645noreply@blogger.comBlogger21125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19815989.post-58262991066268053232008-07-15T08:19:00.000-07:002008-12-11T06:44:18.514-08:00South Branch of the Middle Fork of the FeatherThe South Branch is hands down one of the best 1-day runs I have ever done. I would say it's a knotch up in quality to Tatlow Creek or maybe it's California's Tatlow Creek. Different character and geology then Tatlow, but super high quality steep creeking that leaves an ear to ear grin for the whole next week.<br /><br /><div>Anyways, this has been a very well documented stretch of river this year so I won't bore you with details. I took a few pics and <a href="http://darinm.blogspot.com/2008/04/south-branch-middle-fork-feather-river.html">Darin McQuoid </a>did an excellent write up on the run.</div><div></div><div></div><br />Matt Thomas enjoying some air time<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg69MwPe2J7GyxdVwDIo4iah0FQxqkaVL6gQv3Iaba30qSJsurp5n9EoZGFLSIW45TZ9oRNdune1ZUpYmzVrM3hsi2SvRyqCS84Ue4-0zPnsRJjSQbpg-texAmt931wr9XAC66aNg/s1600-h/CAL_3257.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5223263504394700498" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg69MwPe2J7GyxdVwDIo4iah0FQxqkaVL6gQv3Iaba30qSJsurp5n9EoZGFLSIW45TZ9oRNdune1ZUpYmzVrM3hsi2SvRyqCS84Ue4-0zPnsRJjSQbpg-texAmt931wr9XAC66aNg/s400/CAL_3257.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Photo by Darin McQuoid<br /><br />The first time I did this run I pretty much got routed off every drop with only verbal beta except for a high pressure twenty footer above a portage and the last big one. So the beta I got on the drop shown above was go left and follow me. So I peeled out of the eddy onto a 30 degree slide then the next thing I know I'm completely airborne dropping about 20 feet. Wasn't expecting that at all!<br /><br />Devin Knight on the same drop as above.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEFrie-E1JMZFpAzA2NfJqSXlnccaDRR6PhHZjU9QnnPLTsSgOzRrszxF5vkH03vsLKh6gRuZbJuVPkXaOF2amQiG4zWWkVRjZfg68CdqSTJM0aCD8rfzqoKoKZfgTLyMBeSd56Q/s1600-h/DEVIN.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5223263961211308050" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEFrie-E1JMZFpAzA2NfJqSXlnccaDRR6PhHZjU9QnnPLTsSgOzRrszxF5vkH03vsLKh6gRuZbJuVPkXaOF2amQiG4zWWkVRjZfg68CdqSTJM0aCD8rfzqoKoKZfgTLyMBeSd56Q/s400/DEVIN.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br />There's a portage around about 150 foot water-fall. The portage itself is pretty easy, but putting back in is a little less than ideal. The river pounds into a vertical wall less than 50 feet from the base of the falls. So when you seal launch back in you're sitting right next to the curtain and you have decide do I go for the micro eddy on the right then try and ferry between the boil and the wall...OR do I just launch directly into the curtain and hope it shoots me out the other side?<br /><br />Darin McQuoid about to do the bold and zesty portage line<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIxaj62fEAo-26k-QRlDTosM2vg-eImBjaotNhZ0QCeRiKg0wmktn0mWbYKoNcER6g23cUCt1lYPa-UkUo95Yk09M8vqqCoqhb0g4gne5gU7bRWQuNAw6bN7GXjF9-n2mKbd6Pkw/s1600-h/SEAL+LAUNCH.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5223264187558834562" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIxaj62fEAo-26k-QRlDTosM2vg-eImBjaotNhZ0QCeRiKg0wmktn0mWbYKoNcER6g23cUCt1lYPa-UkUo95Yk09M8vqqCoqhb0g4gne5gU7bRWQuNAw6bN7GXjF9-n2mKbd6Pkw/s400/SEAL+LAUNCH.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Unfortunately you can't see the wall from this picture, but it is literally right out of the frame. The curtain option goes slick and is kind of fun in a way. It's a little intimidating sitting there because the sound is deafening and you're constantly getting sprayed from the curtain. It definitely gets you attention.<br /><br />Directly after the portage is a fun little slide then it's the final biggie, which needs no description just take a look at the pics.<br /><br />Ryan Knight taking the plunge<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkzuYsMhP63Q43P-eVRjVnOiQ0kP4gfyEgJCPeR0gj9p8TDqSE9RGhj6JHO9c0imcPCr8bqQnkJBO9Z3TK3G82ZLgw7MCrZhz1rq9nVFaRS9-mgfX8BtJoTlJQWp43DKOWZka2UA/s1600-h/RYAN+BIGGIE.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5223267902683029842" style="CURSOR: hand" height="393" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkzuYsMhP63Q43P-eVRjVnOiQ0kP4gfyEgJCPeR0gj9p8TDqSE9RGhj6JHO9c0imcPCr8bqQnkJBO9Z3TK3G82ZLgw7MCrZhz1rq9nVFaRS9-mgfX8BtJoTlJQWp43DKOWZka2UA/s400/RYAN+BIGGIE.JPG" width="242" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br />Darin McQuoid probing the final biggie<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNxFtGC8Wh_oa8egkEXWlYFYnxbydb1dRDJgcvTWL5s4bzr8DjusYkvlbRR3sTSV0cvQZtY55UUuBZ7E7wVZ0mf6QG6LkwKOp6ocKnhLD1Bz9FIxI5vJCJpnYf-aL-mLSn5V7mUw/s1600-h/DARIN+BIGGIE.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5223267896027119458" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNxFtGC8Wh_oa8egkEXWlYFYnxbydb1dRDJgcvTWL5s4bzr8DjusYkvlbRR3sTSV0cvQZtY55UUuBZ7E7wVZ0mf6QG6LkwKOp6ocKnhLD1Bz9FIxI5vJCJpnYf-aL-mLSn5V7mUw/s400/DARIN+BIGGIE.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Darin doesn't get a lot of pictures taken of him because he's pretty committed to taking photos you usaully probes the drop and then sets up to take some pretty sick pictures. If you haven't checked out his site you should do so at <a href="http://jscreekin.blogspot.com/">Jefferson State Creeking</a>.<br /><br />I've said it before and I'll say it again the best thing about Southern Oregon is that it's close to California whitewater!!h2othomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07826301316383941645noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19815989.post-56019201271543582392008-06-12T15:28:00.000-07:002008-12-11T06:44:20.223-08:00Yet another White Salmon PostSo my blog will be deviating from the chronological nature and following a more random approach based on...well purely based on convenience. Nothing scientifitic just lazy. Actually just way more busy enjoying stuff outside instead fo being inside.<br /><br />We ran the White Salmon over the first weekend in April 2008. The level was about 3 ft and I'm not even going to tell you how to get there or anything else because if you don't already know or can't find out on your own then stay home. Ha Ha Ha!<br /><br />Ricky Shurdle firing up Lava Falls<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYCgjzgdmSipWz8HvrZO04zjQu9X_VVaWlEIh4y6rgB1N33m0Rvpw70A7SbrI-gBr89QlsgwIadOFvssPoHEmVlZb8pPLbVjNeO2mw43YBBe4rklXWapah0iSJb-MA-FczYxFD7w/s1600-h/P1050492_JPG.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5211129320267721922" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYCgjzgdmSipWz8HvrZO04zjQu9X_VVaWlEIh4y6rgB1N33m0Rvpw70A7SbrI-gBr89QlsgwIadOFvssPoHEmVlZb8pPLbVjNeO2mw43YBBe4rklXWapah0iSJb-MA-FczYxFD7w/s400/P1050492_JPG.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Photo by RT<br /><br />The next drop scares the crap out of me. It has nothing to do with the height, but more to do with the cave. I don't like CAVES especially while kayaking. I ran this last summer and got a beat down at the bottom of the falls and swam. Luckily this time Ricky and RT showed me the proper way to handle big bro and fired it up without too much incident.<br /><br />RT at Big Bro<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW_vf-LGb6UCdhaCY07MzvrI8DsEQVPFy-IP1MIhw9IEaeI9QsqbdKCJLUjlbHuj62nKjezPH5GVEzeoSLtNsHKTSyFbEgxqKfNLPU3kCN2uYE04lN_UKK5gXMWLHQnkdb7PgdzQ/s1600-h/RT+on+Big+Bro.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5211126572342281346" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW_vf-LGb6UCdhaCY07MzvrI8DsEQVPFy-IP1MIhw9IEaeI9QsqbdKCJLUjlbHuj62nKjezPH5GVEzeoSLtNsHKTSyFbEgxqKfNLPU3kCN2uYE04lN_UKK5gXMWLHQnkdb7PgdzQ/s400/RT+on+Big+Bro.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Photo by Matt Thomas<br /><br />Matt at Big Bro<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6Vte3E0OHReblLeZ9RHIjXLJ3wyj4jpGzwclEHtW1IILA42iaXZ7n_XVtZALLbGq5HXKmFinvGl-qC0wCUlIcOH9TVVONoUAA4aJ5Hp84EWcgldviZHSWHF_O07atxSLq_Ye20A/s1600-h/Matt+on+Big+Bro.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5211127814237958194" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6Vte3E0OHReblLeZ9RHIjXLJ3wyj4jpGzwclEHtW1IILA42iaXZ7n_XVtZALLbGq5HXKmFinvGl-qC0wCUlIcOH9TVVONoUAA4aJ5Hp84EWcgldviZHSWHF_O07atxSLq_Ye20A/s400/Matt+on+Big+Bro.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Photo by RT<br /><br />Ricky was on a rampage that day. Prolly due to the fact that there's going to be a little schurdl running around here real soon.<br /><br />Well anyways, he fired up BZ and made it look fun. I still walked. That is a big, mean looking hydraulic!<br /><br />Ricky at BZ falls<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimP2GLuQdGJnL6dpw2bN195LRS5SVBKOHrb-rCgxXZkG_4AbhEPg8irunu-0WEEjWpFK7oggyp5DdYsWCe8OJVHh_FTrM3fT2TAmLZZACDN_ZG-I78jDSsOLMEdk53SCPwxDVAFg/s1600-h/Schertl+at+BZ.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5211127924661091394" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimP2GLuQdGJnL6dpw2bN195LRS5SVBKOHrb-rCgxXZkG_4AbhEPg8irunu-0WEEjWpFK7oggyp5DdYsWCe8OJVHh_FTrM3fT2TAmLZZACDN_ZG-I78jDSsOLMEdk53SCPwxDVAFg/s400/Schertl+at+BZ.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Photo by RT<br /><br />Hood River is an outdoor playground with many multisport opportunities. We ended up running the Framlands stretch on the White Salmon staight on through the Truss section then went mountain biking up by the Hospital.<br /><br />Then on Sunday we did a ride just East of White Salmon that was pretty fun. The trail ran along the edge of about 200 foot cliff. It was little challenging mentally not look at the edge, but it was kinda cool too.<br /><br />Boy that's a long ways down!<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZtyZR1al2JWe6d7POPiJnVmom787Pw18GB2YlJl370MIdqokLisKCTrPI5529y3SP_Di6MZ0i_Mi_pzthOboVAtOvrD5pT_qm-2rVHetA9IY8f-CTNhIS7L6qXf7hHCZ0hHOjjQ/s1600-h/MT+Biking+1.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5211128072917887010" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZtyZR1al2JWe6d7POPiJnVmom787Pw18GB2YlJl370MIdqokLisKCTrPI5529y3SP_Di6MZ0i_Mi_pzthOboVAtOvrD5pT_qm-2rVHetA9IY8f-CTNhIS7L6qXf7hHCZ0hHOjjQ/s400/MT+Biking+1.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Photo by RT<br /><br />Brian aka 420 shredding the trail<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhACC2OAHcyAiZbbrzXb_3Fv-aiG-USf24srhbz5EXIl3bk-KLiPlaxmFtxynkoGNbg_RxnD4a7yR3Q8Z-1mByVQioM42GDSmW4SZDe4dQPJTKD_mUb1729MDiqUhwU1my9bkP7Wg/s1600-h/mt+bikgin+2.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5211128064145820578" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhACC2OAHcyAiZbbrzXb_3Fv-aiG-USf24srhbz5EXIl3bk-KLiPlaxmFtxynkoGNbg_RxnD4a7yR3Q8Z-1mByVQioM42GDSmW4SZDe4dQPJTKD_mUb1729MDiqUhwU1my9bkP7Wg/s400/mt+bikgin+2.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Photo by RTh2othomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07826301316383941645noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19815989.post-86296590714955362502008-06-06T08:33:00.001-07:002008-12-11T06:44:21.044-08:00Finally...something newI know...I know it's been a really long time since I actually posted to this site. So here you go. I hope to try and keep this thing somewhat updated, but we'll see. No promises.<br /><br />Since my last post I have moved from Seattle to Southern Oregon. I'm now living in Jacksonville, Oregon. And you know what the best part of living in Southern Oregon is? It's that you're close to California kayaking. So now on to the good stuff.<br /><br />Autobahn<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdfVp5lWnIhikQSyn4AZcb24McVO5rG6k_gLHE385EKZPus1-vaSSBQ4UtQMt7L2L2mabALkl5pGGm7C6yK0MY5CJvXkOthUiWvZStD2WXAhgF7rAc_Rc7ozQQQk0k5jA1RDgYlw/s1600-h/Auto+Bahn.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5208794516235913186" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdfVp5lWnIhikQSyn4AZcb24McVO5rG6k_gLHE385EKZPus1-vaSSBQ4UtQMt7L2L2mabALkl5pGGm7C6yK0MY5CJvXkOthUiWvZStD2WXAhgF7rAc_Rc7ozQQQk0k5jA1RDgYlw/s400/Auto+Bahn.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br />South Silver might be described as Disney Land for kayaking. It's ridiculously steep and super fun. I did a solo mission down there with hopes of meeting up with the <a href="http://jscreekin.blogspot.com/">Jefferson State Creeking Crew</a> , but they didn't get there until later on Sunday. I ended up meeting some pretty cool local people that were camping at the put-in on Saturday night and we did the run the next morning.<br /><br />Tea Cups<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFPybf0xfVVyDjOA9cwFHB8422VBSBYUrQt87mDOE4nQYegtm6DR3EuBq1rZt5aUDCWxLJRISQ5azXqM9odODzECJJ1cqB-dCW5ZHz3Z-c1jgKubQc95p4EpovejdfBTzgpi0FkA/s1600-h/Tea+Cups.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5208798728465289186" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFPybf0xfVVyDjOA9cwFHB8422VBSBYUrQt87mDOE4nQYegtm6DR3EuBq1rZt5aUDCWxLJRISQ5azXqM9odODzECJJ1cqB-dCW5ZHz3Z-c1jgKubQc95p4EpovejdfBTzgpi0FkA/s400/Tea+Cups.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Like I said Disney Land! Once you get to the Tea Cups the river seems to drop off the face of earth. They Tea Cups run right into Skyscraper, which leads immediately into Offramp.<br /><br />Final Tea Cup<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcjuvqLDIMa2cObggdLEWWjhITkPzS3xZ6pdeiLTod3Ty7T0p5fE5HSPrUSm7TIY8hitwpp7fpV5Sl1J_SzqHSl7c4dG69T1wYgqiA6aMls0RBlKGE6DIXfxMKm4_K6RirQ7KnWA/s1600-h/Final+Tea+Cup.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5208797758601419842" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcjuvqLDIMa2cObggdLEWWjhITkPzS3xZ6pdeiLTod3Ty7T0p5fE5HSPrUSm7TIY8hitwpp7fpV5Sl1J_SzqHSl7c4dG69T1wYgqiA6aMls0RBlKGE6DIXfxMKm4_K6RirQ7KnWA/s400/Final+Tea+Cup.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br />And yes that's a Necky Blunt...rocking it old school...not super old school...maybe more like middle school. It was a little nostalgic to see that boat. My first creeker was a Blunt.<br /><br />Skyscraper looking down...way down<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd4WOrvau-biTIhX3_RwASfvzEhhLKmchfuy43qK2kjRzKlTE2IAhkxegEOa378GwRoC5glDjMQRSwPnkGn5CK0th1Y_L_m7g4WE4YLNQ0ZJhrVGdYwoUL_tqVdzLo9JJxFqO-gA/s1600-h/Sky+scraper.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5208798365380032002" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd4WOrvau-biTIhX3_RwASfvzEhhLKmchfuy43qK2kjRzKlTE2IAhkxegEOa378GwRoC5glDjMQRSwPnkGn5CK0th1Y_L_m7g4WE4YLNQ0ZJhrVGdYwoUL_tqVdzLo9JJxFqO-gA/s400/Sky+scraper.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br />After we got done doing the run Darin, Devin, and Ryan were waiting at the take-out. We sat in the sun and drank and ate and BSed, while crew after crew of boaters were coming and going. It was quite a scene. Never seen so many people in one spot for a creek. After a few hours we decided to put-on for my second lap, but only their first lap of the day.<br /><br />We put on and didn't catch one eddy or stop until the bottom of Offramp. What took me 2-3 hours to do earlier that day took us 20 minutes....not joking. It was AWESOME!!! I highly recommend at least on your second lap doing the Tea Cups straight through to the bottom of Offramp without stopping. It's a whole nother experience. I think we did the whole run in about 45 minutes, which included a boat recovery (for another group) and a portage.<br /><br />Sierra kayaking rocks. Big, clean drops and sunshine. I'm absolutely loving it. If you're ever in the Sac area take the time to drive an hour and half to check this run out. Even if it's not going it would be a cool hike and good swimming in the late summer. If it is going make it a priority and do mulitiple laps. It's worth it!<br /><br /><a href="http://darinm.blogspot.com/2007/05/south-silver-south-fork-silver-creek-v.html">Darin McQuoid</a> has an excellent write up on this run, and <a href="http://www.dreamflows.com/guides/SilverCreek/SouthSilver/index.php">Dreamflows</a> has a great description on how to get there.h2othomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07826301316383941645noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19815989.post-70556217665559067082006-12-20T18:05:00.000-08:002008-12-11T06:44:21.638-08:00SF Snoqualmie River - Franklin SectionI think this might be the first trip report ever for the Franklin section on the SF Snoqualmie River. Many people know about the Fall-In-The-Wall section, but below that there's a section of high quality whitewater. You put in below Franklin Falls and take-out about 1/2 mile or so above the Denny Creek campground. This run is definitely more committing and more difficult than FITW because it is mostly in a box canyon that would be very difficult to exit from.<br /><br />Put-in with Franklin Falls in the background<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvyfAnwmk0QQ4ZhcI3EOpMC86XtsN0mY-jmQpefA14oWOZmP7IW78vJJL8DMUiRWm4dpmqnYKT0coJ9Yd_TWmviXDP_M9fqi3P6Yvmd29N6T7zR14IvROxW7jOOrlCx62rHgN1lw/s1600-h/DSC_2426.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5010797582462977394" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvyfAnwmk0QQ4ZhcI3EOpMC86XtsN0mY-jmQpefA14oWOZmP7IW78vJJL8DMUiRWm4dpmqnYKT0coJ9Yd_TWmviXDP_M9fqi3P6Yvmd29N6T7zR14IvROxW7jOOrlCx62rHgN1lw/s400/DSC_2426.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Photo by Andrew Oberhardt<br /><br />Super Boof is probably one of the funnest drops on the entire SF. It starts with a 4' ledge the leads into a twisting slide followed by a 10' falls and if you do it right you get the boof of your life. It's not a hard line, but it's not straightforward either so do yourself a favor and look at it. The entrance is a little tricky and if you don't do it just right you end up on the river right corner of the hole. If you end in the hole you'll proceed to get the beat down of your life and you may even see Elvis hanging out there. If you don't believe me just ask Seth Warren about his no scout to epic beat down to nasty swim at this spot.<br /><br />RT showing how it's done at Super Boof<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2xba3G5bzwdfUMh7RNyB5rD1RS5x8xKtEGE-nWCmZx8_l4F652myb8K8899N8PWnsIoK12R5WQ7apenIA2fc6cODeJPXMIhb-4gJ200uXVCm8ed5V42zH5zZvzvkX0wjI5HQKdQ/s1600-h/DSC_2449.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5010797685542192514" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2xba3G5bzwdfUMh7RNyB5rD1RS5x8xKtEGE-nWCmZx8_l4F652myb8K8899N8PWnsIoK12R5WQ7apenIA2fc6cODeJPXMIhb-4gJ200uXVCm8ed5V42zH5zZvzvkX0wjI5HQKdQ/s400/DSC_2449.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Photo by Andrew Oberhardt<br /><br />Right below Super Boof is the 2nd and final water-fall on this section. It's about a 20 footer and it's pretty straight forward. The rest of the run mainly consists of ledges varying in size from 4' to 8'.<br /><br />Matt approaching the 2nd falls<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZo8BPS6y5RJc21qwHPRYr50HK1aZMwwd1-WtSqLG1AVsY2WE4xZg7G3hJ5CzZK-cC_NoT8jouCKNCq5o6TB2COWC5y06x1t7MzgqeZ9B_MHf60rUYcMMNQeYGKOfju5vvdPmHGQ/s1600-h/DSC_2454.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5010797780031473042" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZo8BPS6y5RJc21qwHPRYr50HK1aZMwwd1-WtSqLG1AVsY2WE4xZg7G3hJ5CzZK-cC_NoT8jouCKNCq5o6TB2COWC5y06x1t7MzgqeZ9B_MHf60rUYcMMNQeYGKOfju5vvdPmHGQ/s400/DSC_2454.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Photo by Andrew Oberhardt<br /><br />It's a really good idea to scout the entire run from the top of the canyon. There's a trail that runs along the river left side of the run. Scout every drop and make sure there's no wood. One misplaced log could seriously ruin your day. There are a few drops that are near impossible to scout from river level, but make sure you scout Super Boof at river level.h2othomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07826301316383941645noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19815989.post-1165977368182008772006-12-12T18:10:00.000-08:002008-12-11T06:44:22.068-08:00NF Quinault - Olympic Peninsula - WA<span style="color:#ff0000;">UPDATED:</span> Here's a video from the trip courtesy of Erik Schertzl.<br /><br /><a href="http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-6162979133135162480">http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-6162979133135162480</a><br /><br />Last August a group of us hiked into and did the NF of Quinault on the Olympic Peninsula. This run is hands down one of the prettiest runs ever. Definitely higher quality scenery then even Norrish Creek. Andrew has already posted a trip report at <a href="http://therangelife.blogspot.com/2006_12_01_therangelife_archive.html">The Range Life</a>. Check it out. I'm just going to post a few pics of my own.<br /><br />The first pic is of our camp site, which is one of the more unique places I've camped for sure. And 0f course it rained, but what do you expect from the Rain Forest?<br /><br />The Camp Site<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj89EzcO2k4djt9li1xkNXPERMykBeg3Kiy3Zeg5FhIWk0ci6wdGlBwdvZTX1jH6864uNW1wDu61hLwskiiBlqIo4zXAuHZYsomtd3RBDbmZlQ5_IIPuxJxETfg6YHxUq3QEVFw_Q/s1600-h/Camp+Site.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5007836626416618354" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj89EzcO2k4djt9li1xkNXPERMykBeg3Kiy3Zeg5FhIWk0ci6wdGlBwdvZTX1jH6864uNW1wDu61hLwskiiBlqIo4zXAuHZYsomtd3RBDbmZlQ5_IIPuxJxETfg6YHxUq3QEVFw_Q/s400/Camp+Site.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Photo by Matt Thomas<br /><br />Matt (Effigy) running the water-fall.<br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/8107/1393/1600/681858/IMG_0019.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/8107/1393/400/700170/IMG_0019.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Photo by Ethan Smith<br /><br />The next pic is of one of the most impressive places I've ever been. This right below the glowing wall and is the end of a carved out room where at water-level it's probably about 100 feet in diameter and then at the top of the canyon it's only about 50 feet wide.<br /><br />Coolest place on earth<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9V5IpibzLa4xr22mbyFIcNh_2hrzc-GYLEJ7WJ3qKQTYIBHKjpeAPeF4ORTJPmwQ7bydqYT1hYhVWlFyMD8Rq_wP9wIUz3nqGOA21vheFEBNMYy0OHPpxa54Mr-lBf_t7z5mrng/s1600-h/NF+Quinalt+019.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5007837000078773122" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9V5IpibzLa4xr22mbyFIcNh_2hrzc-GYLEJ7WJ3qKQTYIBHKjpeAPeF4ORTJPmwQ7bydqYT1hYhVWlFyMD8Rq_wP9wIUz3nqGOA21vheFEBNMYy0OHPpxa54Mr-lBf_t7z5mrng/s400/NF+Quinalt+019.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Photo by Matt Thomas<br /><br />Remember to check out the trip report on <a href="http://therangelife.blogspot.com/2006_12_01_therangelife_archive.html">The Range Life</a>.h2othomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07826301316383941645noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19815989.post-1164854722437616222006-11-29T18:21:00.000-08:002006-11-30T08:19:48.123-08:00Ernies after the floodsWell the rain has let up a bit and now it's snowing, which is good for the hills and then good for the cricks come spring time!<br /><br />Shortly after the flood waters subsided I hiked into Ernies Canyon on the NF of the Snoqualmie to get some comparison pics. So here they are, and they pretty much speak for themselves. The first set of pictures are of Jacuzzi and the next set were taken at the bridge near the take-out.<br /><br />Jacuzzi at 13,000 cfs<br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/8107/1393/1600/706649/PB060978.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/8107/1393/400/743917/PB060978.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Photo by Matt Thomas<br /><br />Notice the willows in the upper left corner of the picture and now look at the following picture. Notice a difference.<br /><br />Jacuzzi at 1300 cfs<br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/8107/1393/1600/191417/Picture%20041.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/8107/1393/400/682958/Picture%20041.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Photo by Matt Thomas<br /><br />Now here are some pictures that were taken at the bridge near the take-out.<br /><br />Ernies take-out at 13,000 cfs<br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/8107/1393/1600/989789/PB060967.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/8107/1393/400/315740/PB060967.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Photo by Matt Thomas<br /><br /><br />Ernies take-out at 1300 cfs<br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/8107/1393/1600/618132/Picture%20021.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/8107/1393/400/424801/Picture%20021.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Photo by Matt Thomas<br /><br />This is probably a needless statement, but it's an important one. Just remember to treat every run like a first descent and scout everything. We learned the hard way when a few us went and fired up Robe Canyon after the floods and we were the first group to do so. We ended up above a drop that we couldn't scout very well, we couldn't portage, and the normal line looked very different from what it did on previous trips. After 2 hours, some creative rope work, and some sketchy rock climbing we ended up making it high enough upstream to portage around the drop. That particular drop used to be 3 separate rapids and now it's one big drop that looks marginally runneable. Furthermore, every drop on that run has changed, some only little, but others have changed a lot. So be careful out there!<br /><br />I'll be posting some trip reports from last spring and summer. Sorry for the delay, but there's going to be some good ones. So stay tuned!h2othomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07826301316383941645noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19815989.post-1163028822763455902006-11-08T15:11:00.000-08:002006-11-09T10:09:07.296-08:00Flooding in WAHere comes the Rain!<br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/8107/1393/1600/200611061804.0.jpg"></a><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/8107/1393/1600/200611061528.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/8107/1393/400/200611061528.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />November 6, 2006 at 3:28 pm<br /><br />Snohomish River, WA November 8, 2006<br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/8107/1393/1600/Snohomish%20River.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/8107/1393/400/Snohomish%20River.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Photo from Seattletimes.com<br /><br />It rained for 40 days and 40 nights! Well, alright it didn't rain that much, but I can imagine what it would be like if it had. We've had some record breaking rain these last couple days in Seattle. Between Last Thursday (11/2/06) and Tuesday (11/7/06) we got 7.57 inches of rain, which breaks the record for a 5-day period set in 1979 of 6.69 inches. Furthermore that is for the rain gage located at Sea-Tac International Airport, which historically gets less rain then anywhere else. This equates to about a once in a 100 years kind of storm.<br /><br />Stampede Pass, which is located south of Snoqualmie Pass got 8 inches of rain in 24 hour period between Monday and Tuesday. Snoqualmie Pass got around 7 inches in the same 24-hour period. What does all this mean well take a look at the pictures.<br /><br />Snoqualmie River, WA November 7, 2006<br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/8107/1393/1600/Snoqualmie%20River%20Fall%20City%20Road.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/8107/1393/400/Snoqualmie%20River%20Fall%20City%20Road.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Photo from Seattletimes.com<br /><br />Check out this article from the Seattle Times and look at the pictures from the last several days. It's pretty incredible. I posted some pictures that I got from their web-site, but it's only a few. You'll need copy and paste the link into your browser.<br /><br /><a href="http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2003365622_flood08m.html">seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2003365622_flood08m.html</a><br /><br />Snoqualmie River Valley Near Carnation, WA November 7, 2006<br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/8107/1393/1600/Snoqualmie%20River.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/8107/1393/400/Snoqualmie%20River.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Photo from Seattle times<br /><br />It's simply amazing to witness the power of water.<br /><br />House going rafting down the Cowlitz River<br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/8107/1393/1600/Cowlitz%20River.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/8107/1393/400/Cowlitz%20River.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Photo from Seattletimes.com<br /><br />The next picture is an actual road project that my firm is currently working on the design right now. Think there might be a drainage problem? Just for a reference the water is close 5' deep directly under the bridge.<br /><br />Hardie Avenue, Renton, WA<br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/8107/1393/1600/Hardie%20Ave%20Bridge.4.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/8107/1393/400/Hardie%20Ave%20Bridge.4.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Photo by Derek Akesson<br /><br />Skykomish River more than tripled it's flood stage and it was only one a of many river to reach flood levels. The Skykomish River, for those who don't know, is the local class III run close to Seattle that runs all year. It is also the main tributary for the Snohomish River, which has been in the news a lot lately.<br /><br />Check out the graph below and the red horizontal line is the flood stage for the Skykomish.<br /><br />Skykomish River River Stage<br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/8107/1393/1600/sky%20stage.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/8107/1393/400/sky%20stage.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />From USGS<br /><br />If you're not a kayaker the next pictures won't mean much. This next picture is taken as if you're heading east on highway 2 and looking left going over the steel truss bridge just before the town of Index, WA. This is the confluence of the north and south forks of the Skykomish River. Normally you would see about 15-20 feet of river bank even during moderate winter flows.<br /><br />Skykomish Confluence near Index, WA<br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/8107/1393/1600/Sky%20Confluence.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/8107/1393/400/Sky%20Confluence.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Photo from professorpaddle.com<br /><br />You can also check out more kayaking related flood pictures at the following link including some guy that tried to kayak the Sky and ended up swimming through boulder drop.<br /><br />For pictures check out:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.professorpaddle.com/mediaupdates.asp">http://www.professorpaddle.com/mediaupdates.asp</a><br /><br />For a description of the swim through boulder drop check out:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.professorpaddle.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=1531&PN=1">http://www.professorpaddle.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=1531&PN=1</a><br /><br />Pretty entertaining stuff for sure.<br /><br />One last picture and graph. Here's a picture of Snoqualmie Falls taken on November 6 sometime in the afternoon. At about the same time as the Satellite photo shown at the top of this post. I also included the USGS real-time flow graph for the last week. When the picture was taken of the falls the river at exceded it's flood level.<br /><br />Snoqualmie Falls<br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/8107/1393/1600/Snoqualmie%20Falls.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/8107/1393/400/Snoqualmie%20Falls.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Photo from Seattletimes.com<br /><br />USGS Flow Graph for week of Nov 1 through Nov 8, 2006<br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/8107/1393/1600/Snoqualmie%20River.0.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/8107/1393/400/Snoqualmie%20River.0.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />From USGS.gov<br /><br />More trip reports from the summer to come in the next few weeks.h2othomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07826301316383941645noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19815989.post-1162926288184691662006-11-07T10:24:00.000-08:002006-11-07T13:20:57.260-08:00NF Ernies at 13KI was checking the USGS river levels on 11/6/06 and saw that Ernies Canyon on the NF Snoqulmie River was at 8,000 and rising. You can see from the graph that it peaked at about 13,000 cfs at about the same time that we were there.<br /><br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/8107/1393/1600/NF%20Snoqualmie%20Gage.3.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/8107/1393/400/NF%20Snoqualmie%20Gage.3.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br />So I called Andrew and we played hookie from work and headed out there. We knew things were going to be big when we got to the take-out bridge.<br /><br />Ernies take-out bridge<br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/8107/1393/1600/PB060965.jpg"></a><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/8107/1393/1600/PB060965.0.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/8107/1393/400/PB060965.0.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Photo by Matt Thomas<br /><br />By the time we were done hiking there was 3 feet of water going over the road where you would normally hike-out at the take-out. With fear of over-stating the obvious, we had to find alternative means of exiting the NF Snoqualmie road. Luckily some locals gave us some directions on how to get out of there.<br /><br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/8107/1393/1600/PB060972.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/8107/1393/400/PB060972.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Photo by Matt Thomas<br /><br />After shlogging through the PNW jungle we were rewarded with the site shown in the picture below. You could actually feel the rumble of water as it plunged through the canyon. You could also hear boulders bouncing and rolling down the stream bed. At first we thought that this was Raft Catch, but after hiking downstream we realized that it wasn't. We think this is probably Jacuzzi, but it's hard to tell for sure.<br /><br />Click the link for a video the Andrew put together.<br /><br /> <a href="http://www.kayakingsucks.com/vid/ErniesFlood.wmv">http://www.kayakingsucks.com/vid/ErniesFlood.wmv</a><br /><br />Ernies at 13,000 cfs<br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/8107/1393/1600/PB060976.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/8107/1393/400/PB060976.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Photo by Matt Thomas<br /><br />This isn't the same drop, but a lot of the rapids on this run have this character. Notice the big boulders that aren't noticeable in the above picture. I couldn't find a picture of Jacuzzi at normal flows, and when the water subsides I'll add some more pics.<br /><br />Paul Heffernan at Gotta Want it at 750 cfs<br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/8107/1393/1600/8776.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/8107/1393/400/8776.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Photo by Joey Baranski<br /><br />It's amazing to witness the power of water and to think that it all starts with a few million rain drops.h2othomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07826301316383941645noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19815989.post-1153258736412102672006-07-18T14:15:00.000-07:002006-07-18T14:55:23.056-07:00Little Wenatchee River - WashingtonThe Little Wenatchee is a fun class IV creek located upstream of Lake Wenatchee. The following pictures were taken on May 27, 2006 at a flow of about 1000 cfs. This run is kind of hard to get when it's in and the road is either clear of snow or the gate is unlocked.<br /><br />It's a fun run that's nice and scenic. It's also a great run if you're newbie or are taking newbies. It's relatively easy to sort out, but has all the key ingredients to any good creek run.<br /><br />John Fuqua on the first drop<br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/8107/1393/1600/John%20F.0.jpg"></a><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/8107/1393/1600/John%20F.3.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/8107/1393/400/John%20F.1.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Photo by Matt Thomas<br /><br />The only problem with this run is that you have to now portage one of the better drops, which detracts from the run significantly. Without this log you could bomb this run and never have to get out of your boat, which would be really fun. Now you have to portage around a potentially great drop.<br /><br />Wood Portage<br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/8107/1393/1600/portage.0.jpg"></a><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/8107/1393/1600/portage.2.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/8107/1393/400/portage.0.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Photo by Matt Thomas<br /><br />The group newbie Kenney McChesney (Brett) had a good day in his recently purchased H3.<br /><br />Kenney McChesney group newbie<br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/8107/1393/1600/Kenney.0.jpg"></a><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/8107/1393/1600/Kenney.3.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/8107/1393/400/Kenney.1.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Photo by Matt Thomas<br /><br />Let's a make a deal is a one of the better drops on this run. It's a two part rapid that wraps around a blind corner. It's a good idea to scout around the corner for wood. You can run the entry then eddy out on river right just above the what's shown in the following picture. You could potentially portage from there if you had too. However, that eddy is a small one or two boat eddy.<br /><br />Schertzl at let's make a deal<br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/8107/1393/1600/Ricky%20Looking%20Good.0.jpg"></a><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/8107/1393/1600/Ricky%20Looking%20Good.2.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/8107/1393/400/Ricky%20Looking%20Good.0.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Photo by Matt Thomas<br /><br />The final drop is probably the funnest drop on the whole run. I'll let the pictures speak for themselves, but you just basically give'er right down the gut just watch out for the left wall.<br /><br />RT lining up the last drop<br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/8107/1393/1600/RT.0.jpg"></a><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/8107/1393/1600/RT.1.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/8107/1393/400/RT.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Photo by Matt Thomas<br /><br /><br />Drew at the bottom of the last drop<br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/8107/1393/1600/Drew.0.jpg"></a><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/8107/1393/1600/Drew.3.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/8107/1393/400/Drew.1.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Photo by Matt Thomash2othomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07826301316383941645noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19815989.post-1151602449635946112006-06-29T10:19:00.000-07:002006-06-29T12:15:38.796-07:00Norrish Creek - BCOn May 20, 2006 Erik, Drew, and myself (matt) met up with some B-hamsters Chris and Ethan to go and run Norrish Creek. Norrish Creek is located about 20 minutes from the US border just north of Sumas. The whitewater on this run isn't necessarily epic, but the scenery is top notch. The day we were there was a medium to medium high flow, and the visual gauge at the take-out was reading about 7.8 and internet gauge was reading about 6.2. The upper end to the run is 6.4 and the low end is in the high 5's on the internet gage. You can view the gage at this link <a href="http://scitech.pyr.ec.gc.ca/waterweb/formnav.asp?lang=0">http://scitech.pyr.ec.gc.ca/waterweb/formnav.asp?lang=0</a> then go to the Norrish Creek above Rose Creek gage.<br /><br />We put-in at a higher put-in then what I guess is the normal put-in just so we could run a 5' boof drop. The only down side is that you have to portage right after it, and the portage is a little sketchy. I would have to say that it wasn't worth it just to run one drop.<br /><br />Put-in portage<br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/8107/1393/1600/Portage.3.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/8107/1393/320/Portage.2.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Photo by Matt Thomas<br /><br />Character of the run ranges from granite boulder gardens to BC bed rock gorges with ledge drops. This is one of the first substantial ledge drops with a convenient log for scouting.<br /><br />Log scout<br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/8107/1393/1600/Convenient%20Scout.4.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/8107/1393/320/Convenient%20Scout.3.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Photo by Matt Thomas<br /><br />Ricky lining up the drop below the log scout<br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/8107/1393/1600/Ricky%20Lining%20it%20up.10.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/8107/1393/320/Ricky%20Lining%20it%20up.9.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Photo by Matt Thomas<br /><br />There are a couple of must run rapids on this run. The first one we portaged the entry then the ran last half, which is not portageable, that consists of river wide hole followed by another slightly more sticky hole. The main issue is that whoever runs it first runs it without safety. Tretwold went first managed to make it to safety after a close encounter with the hole and a near beat down.<br /><br />Ricky running the first must-run rapid<br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/8107/1393/1600/Ricky%20must%20run.10.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/8107/1393/320/Ricky%20must%20run.4.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Photo by Matt Thomas<br /><br />The next must-run is ledge drop that then goes around a blind corner. The first picture is from the top, and the next one is from the bottom looking back up the corner. Nice scenery uh? or should I say eh?<br /><br />Andrew running the second must-run drop<br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/8107/1393/1600/Andrew%20must%20run.5.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/8107/1393/320/Andrew%20must%20run.3.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Photo by Matt Thomas<br /><br />You can just make me out in the background of this picture.<br /><br />Matt at the bottom of the same drop<br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/8107/1393/1600/IMGP0889.1.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/8107/1393/320/IMGP0889.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Photo by Chris Tretwold<br /><br />The final drop on this run is definitely the most difficult. It's called the squeeze and it's a lot of fun. You can portage this run on the river right or just give'er right down the middle.<br /><br />Chris Tretwold making the squeeze look easy<br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/8107/1393/1600/Chris%20T(2).5.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/8107/1393/320/Chris%20T%282%29.3.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Photo by Matt Thomas<br /><br />Matt about to take the plunge<br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/8107/1393/1600/Matt%20Squeeze.4.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/8107/1393/320/Matt%20Squeeze.3.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Photo by Erik Schertzl<br /><br />After this drop you have about a mile or so of class II runout then you're at the bridge where the visual gauge is.<br /><br />You definitely don't want to do this too high or that would the first must-run drop pretty burly. The level we did it at was a great level that made everything filled in enough to not be too manky but was still manageable.h2othomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07826301316383941645noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19815989.post-1144199897995469812006-04-04T17:46:00.000-07:002006-04-05T14:21:36.423-07:00EF Lewis River - WashingtonOut of absolute desperation and the need to get on some water a group of us headed down from Seattle to run the EF Lewis April 1, 2006. The EF Lewis is located in southern Washington near the town Battleground. The group included myself(Matt Thomas), Erik Schertzl, Ryan Terry, and Brian Maier. None of us had been boating in a couple of months due to the great ski season so this run seemed a like a good fit. We were there for two reasons 1) to dust off the cob webs and 2) to get footage of some carnage that was bound to happen.<br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/8107/1393/1600/Ricky%20IBS.jpg"></a><br />Brian checking out the boats<br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/8107/1393/1600/EF%20Lewis%20005.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/8107/1393/400/EF%20Lewis%20005.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Photo by Matt Thomas<br /><br />Sunset Falls kicks off the run and is a waterfall that gets run more than any other except for maybe Husum Falls on the White Salmon River.<br /><br />Brian digging the new boat<br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/8107/1393/1600/Brian%20Sunset.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/8107/1393/400/Brian%20Sunset.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Photo by Matt Thomas<br /><br />RT getting back into the groove<br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/8107/1393/1600/RT%20Sunset.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/8107/1393/400/RT%20Sunset.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Photo by Matt Thomas<br /><br />The run is mostly Class IV and has another fun waterfall towards the end called Horseshoe Falls. You can also hike up Copper Creek and run the final 5 on that run, which we did. Just a word of caution be wery wery quiet when you're hiking up Copper Creek. The local property owners don't really like kayakers so just be quiet and respectful.<br /><br />Once we got to Horseshoe Falls we decided to have a little fun. Schertzl and I both tried to do 360's coming down the falls with varying degrees of success.<br /><br />Ricky going for the rock spin (1)<br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/8107/1393/1600/Ricky%20Horseshoe%201.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/8107/1393/400/Ricky%20Horseshoe%201.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Photo by Matt Thomas<br /><br />Ricky rock spin (2)<br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/8107/1393/1600/Ricky%20Horseshoe%202.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/8107/1393/400/Ricky%20Horseshoe%202.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Photo by Matt Thomas<br /><br />Ricky rock spin (3)<br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/8107/1393/1600/Ricky%20Horseshoe%203.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/8107/1393/400/Ricky%20Horseshoe%203.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Photo by Matt Thomas<br /><br />Unfortunately I wasn't able to get the final picture of Ricky landing stern first, but he turned it into a back stab type thing and paddled away nice and smooth.<br /><br />So for the Carnage that day: I ended up having the worst line ever over Sunset Falls, somebody else swam on the final drop on Copper Creek, and Schertzl dented his boat somewhere above Horseshoe Falls. Most of it was captured on video so be looking for a video soon to come.h2othomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07826301316383941645noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19815989.post-1143585442275607972006-03-28T14:20:00.000-08:002006-04-03T18:31:55.983-07:00Tatlow Creek - Squamish, BCI didn't sleep at all the night before. None of us could get out of work early on Friday and then we got stuck in that dreaded north bound traffic on I-5 so we didn't get until late. When we arrived at the Ashlu River festival I realized that I'd forgotten a tent, and we were camping in a field with tall grass with about million bugs flying around. I laid out a tarp, but only lasted for about 30 minutes before the bugs drove me to sleep in Ricky's car on the back seat in the fetal position. I was also nervous about the run we were going to do the next day...Tatlow Creek. After watching every scrap of footage on the world wide web I was fired up to get on this run. I couldn't have asked for a better crew to do this run with, which consisted of Andrew Oberhardt, Erik Schertzl, Myself (Matt Thomas), and Chris Tretwold. Fortunately for us Chris had done the run just a short time prior and his memory of this run would prove to be invaluable. I couldn't imagine trying to do this run without someone who had done it before.<br /><br />Saturday morning, August 19, 2005, I woke up early partly because I was so uncomfortable in the back of Ricky's rig, and partly because the anticipation of what the day would bring was almost unbearable. Once everyone else got up we loaded up Ricky's rig piled and in and drove in silence until we reached the point where the fun would begin. That point turned about to be where we turned off the Ashlu River Road to head up to Tatlow Creek.<br /><br />The picture below is the turn off for Tatlow Creek, which you reach after driving for a 1/2 hour or more up a marginally passable dirt road.<br /><br />The turn off for Tatlow Creek<br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/8107/1393/1600/IMG_2650.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/8107/1393/400/IMG_2650.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Photo by Matt Thomas<br /><br />This is where the fun begins. Chris brought some lumber to help build a ramp to get our shuttle over this spot. If you can't get through here it is a long walk to the put-in.<br /><br />Ricky expertly negotiates the crux for the put-in<br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/8107/1393/1600/IMG_2661.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/8107/1393/400/IMG_2661.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Photo by Matt Thomas<br /><br />The action does not let up on this run until you make it to this pool. Right around the corner just out of sight is one of the best boofs on the run, which lands in the pool right above this. Notice the rock inbetween the notch, this is the gauge rock. The level here is a low flow, and I wouldn't want to do this run any lower than the level we had. You'll have to consult someone else on what is too high for this run, I would think that if that rock is creating a hole then it's probably too high.<br /><br />The take-out pool<br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/8107/1393/1600/IMG_2655.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/8107/1393/400/IMG_2655.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Photo by Matt Thomas<br /><br />The Crew: Andrew(Kramer), Ricky, Chris, and Matt (from left to right)<br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/8107/1393/1600/IMG_2671.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/8107/1393/400/IMG_2671.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Photo by Matt Thomas<br /><br />The first series of drops involves a long sketchy scout where you have to crab walk across a log over a crack in the canyon wall that's about 30 feet deep. I'm not much of a climber so I found it terrifying, which is a little unnerving when it's the first scout of the day. Just so you know the scouting and portaging on this run is one of the scariest things about doing this run. I just have to say that blue berry bushes saved my life countless times during scouts and portages.<br /><br />The first series of drops involves 2 slides that were pretty straightforward that then lead into a 20 footer. Just after the 20 footer is the first of 3 rather large slides. This is smallest of the 3 and it's in the 30 foot range. The line looked like you might drive your left shoulder into the rock wall so it took some time looking at it to see if it would actually go. Andrew stepped up and probed it and then we all ran it.<br /><br />Looking for some courage<br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/8107/1393/1600/IMG_2672.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/8107/1393/400/IMG_2672.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Photo by Matt Thomas<br /><br /><br />Andrew probing the first biggie<br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/8107/1393/1600/IMG_2674.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/8107/1393/400/IMG_2674.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Photo by Matt Thomas<br /><br />Matt lining it up<br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/8107/1393/1600/DSC_2306.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/8107/1393/400/DSC_2306.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Photo by Andrew Oberhardt<br /><br />Chris looking good<br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/8107/1393/1600/DSC_2311.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/8107/1393/400/DSC_2311.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Photo by Andrew Oberhardt<br /><br />The picture below is one of the only stretches on this run that doesn't have a significant horizon line. Just around the corner is the big portage that involves some rope work and rock scrambling. This is where Chris's memory of the run really came in handy, thanks Chris. I couldn't imagine running this run without someone who knows it. The portages and scouts are plentiful, and are not straightforward at all. There are some must make eddies on this run and knowing the location of those eddies are is critical.<br /><br />Chris and Andrew on the only boogie water on Tatlow<br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/8107/1393/1600/IMG_2682.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/8107/1393/400/IMG_2682.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Photo by Matt Thomas<br /><br />The next picture is looking upstream from just above the scariest drop on this run.<br /><br />Ricky admiring the scenery<br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/8107/1393/1600/IMG_2686.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/8107/1393/400/IMG_2686.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Photo by Matt Thomas<br /><br />The next series of picture are of the crux of the run, or at least the mental crux. This drop scares the crap out of you when you first look at it. It's called wall drug. If you look closely at the next picture you can see a rock wall in the distance. That wall comes straight up from the river about 35 feet below the horizon line.<br /><br />The look on Ricky's face here pretty much sums up what everyone else was feeling at this moment. Chris had just done this run so he wasn't quite as nervous as the rest of us. The scout is kind of scary as well, you have to rock climb up the wall just to the right of where Ricky is standing in the next picture and if you fall in you're swimming Wall Drug.<br /><br />Ricky getting nervous<br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/8107/1393/1600/IMG_2692.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/8107/1393/400/IMG_2692.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Photo by Matt Thomas<br /><br />Chris had just done this run so he probed it, thanks again Chris.<br /><br />Chris givin'er at wall drug<br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/8107/1393/1600/DSC_2320.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/8107/1393/400/DSC_2320.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Photo by Andrew Oberhardt<br /><br />I went next because I just couldn't stand waiting any longer.<br /><br />Matt dropping in<br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/8107/1393/1600/DSC_2327.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/8107/1393/400/DSC_2327.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Photo by Andrew Oberhardt<br /><br />Then Ricky.<br /><br />Ricky...wait for it...wait for it...<br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/8107/1393/1600/IMG_2695.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/8107/1393/400/IMG_2695.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Photo by Matt Thomas<br /><br />Andrew had the best line on this drop. BTW, Andrew had a clean run on Tatlow Creek that day. He didn't flip over once all day...nice work Drew. I hate that guy!<br /><br />Andrew showing how it's done<br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/8107/1393/1600/IMG_2698.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/8107/1393/400/IMG_2698.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Photo by Matt Thomas<br /><br />There are a few more ledges below here and I ended up swimming in one of them, but self rescued myself and my gear. There's also another portage in there somewhere.<br /><br />The last biggie is a 45 foot not so near vertical slide (~45 degrees). The drop above this had a suspicious looking hole, and we knew that one of our friends swam out of that hole at higher water and was barely able to rescue himself before swimming over this one. Needless to say we portage that drop and seal launched just above this.<br /><br />Notice Chris at the top of the next picture and notice how small he looks.<br /><br />Andrew spotting his landing<br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/8107/1393/1600/IMG_2709.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/8107/1393/400/IMG_2709.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Photo by Matt Thomas<br /><br />I went last which made the seal launch extremely difficult. I nearly fell in several times and had just sealed up my skirt when I started to slide in and luckily I was able to grab my paddle. I was way too close to running this drop without a paddle. Oh yeah, and the river left side of this drop that is just barely visible in the next picture is ugly. I don't know if you'd die if you went over there, but it would be bad...real bad.<br /><br />Matt getting airborned<br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/8107/1393/1600/DSC_2341.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/8107/1393/400/DSC_2341.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Photo by Andrew Oberhardt<br /><br />Parting shot<br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/8107/1393/1600/IMG_2711.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/8107/1393/400/IMG_2711.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Photo by Matt Thomas<br /><br />The picture above is a portage or a recommended portage. I didn't get any more pictures of the rest of the run because, frankly, I was too tired. This is a big day, but I didn't stop grinning about how fun it was until...well actually I haven't yet. I can't wait until next Aug/Sept to get this one again.<br /><br />Be looking for a video that should be posted in the next month or so.h2othomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07826301316383941645noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19815989.post-1143135528523283522006-03-23T09:14:00.000-08:002006-05-09T11:56:11.720-07:00Buckin' the ChuckAh, Skookumchuck, where to start? Skooks is an amazing place, and if you don't already know that then start planning a trip there and DO IT NOW! I won't go into detail about the phenomenon that creates the wave, but you can find more information here <a href="http://www.paddleguides.com/rivers/bc/skook/skook.html">http://www.paddleguides.com/rivers/bc/skook/skook.html</a>. I've found that the best flows are between 13-16. I know that it goes higher and lower than that, but at lower flows the wave is not nearly as steep and at higher flows it greens out at peak. With that said I've noticed some other nuances with the flows at skooks, and I'll give you my theory at the bottom of this page so if you're not interested don't bother reading it.<br /><br />Skooks can be quite cold, and sometimes it's a challenge to stay warm between sessions!<br /><br />Ben Glahn staying warm<br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/8107/1393/1600/Picture%20007.0.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/8107/1393/400/Picture%20007.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Photo by Matt Thomas<br /><br />The right blunt is pretty the standard procedure on this wave, but you can throw whatever you've got in your bag tricks. If you're able to do it then you can throw it here.<br /><br />Ben throwing down while Drew waits for the wave to green out<br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/8107/1393/1600/Picture%20013.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/8107/1393/400/Picture%20013.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Photo by Matt Thomas<br /><br />The following pictures are what happens at higher flows and the wave greens out. If you have a fast boat then you can surf this thing when it greens out, which is a pretty incredible feeling who the water is rushing underneath your boat at 16 knots.<br /><br />Andrew rocking the Session+<br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/8107/1393/1600/Picture%20006.0.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/8107/1393/400/Picture%20006.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Photo by Matt Thomas<br /><br />Andrew again<br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/8107/1393/1600/Picture%20015.0.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/8107/1393/400/Picture%20015.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Photo by Matt Thomas<br /><br />The following picture is the same wave has the first picture just a couple hours later. It's crazy to watch this wave build from nothing and then completely disappear during a four hour period.<br /><br />Smittie carving it up<br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/8107/1393/1600/Brian%20carving%20it%20up.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/8107/1393/400/Brian%20carving%20it%20up.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Photo by Matt Thomas<br /><br />So as far as the flows go at Skooks. The flows are giving in knots, which is calculated by the volume of water that goes in and out during the tidal exchange. Another factor that seems to have an impact on the wave shape is the overall tide height. It seems that at higher tide heights the wave is subtly different then at lower tide heights. At higher tide heights the wave builds faster and then greens out for longer compared to the equivalent flow at a lower tide height.h2othomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07826301316383941645noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19815989.post-1142908633355259722006-03-20T17:47:00.000-08:002006-03-28T14:41:42.460-08:00Fear Canyon - Elaho River, BCIn September of 2005 a group of us decided to try and do the Clendenning River is BC, but we got shut down due to weather. After much deliberating and watching Ricky crash on the skateboard we decided to go do Fear Canyon on the Elaho River.<br /><br />Erik and Chris talking over plans<br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/8107/1393/1600/Standing%20around.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/8107/1393/400/Standing%20around.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Photo by Matt Thomas<br /><br />Ricky demonstrating his skating skills<br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/8107/1393/1600/IMG_2748.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/8107/1393/400/IMG_2748.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Photo by Matt Thomas<br /><br />The Elaho River is some of the biggest water I've ever run. The level was about 110 cms (~4000 cfs), which I gather is medium-high level.<br /><br />We put-in just below the drop shown in the picture below for obvious reasons.<br /><br />Ugly Sieve just above the put-in<br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/8107/1393/1600/IMG_2721.0.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/8107/1393/400/IMG_2721.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Photo by Matt Thomas<br /><br />The character of this run is pool drop, but there are some long complex rapids. There are 2 rapids that are distinctly harder then the rest, but if you don't want to do the 2 hardest ones then I would say the run isn't really worth it. Unless you like long portages, but if you're into running some big water then this is a great run!<br /><br />The next few pictures are of a typical drop on the Elaho, not counting the two big ones. Unfortunately I didn't get any pictures of the first big one because the lighting was too low.<br /><br />Andrew peeling out<br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/8107/1393/1600/IMG_2728.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/8107/1393/400/IMG_2728.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Photo by Matt Thomas<br /><br />Andrew Givin'er<br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/8107/1393/1600/IMG_2729.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/8107/1393/400/IMG_2729.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Photo by Matt Thomas<br /><br />Ricky showing his boating skills<br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/8107/1393/1600/Ricky%20Charging.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/8107/1393/400/Ricky%20Charging.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Photo by Matt Thomas<br /><br />The next picture is of the last significant drop on this run, which is the second of the two most difficult rapids. It's called the squeeze. Chris is standing on some rocks about 2/3 of the way through the rapid on river left to give you some perspective. Only two of us ran it, and the first run is shown in the latest LVM (#18) movie. The second run through it was a bit cleaner, but not perfect by any means. <br /><br />The squeeze<br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/8107/1393/1600/IMG_2739.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/8107/1393/400/IMG_2739.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Photo by Matt Thomas<br /><br />Here's a pic from Kato's run through the Squeeze that can be seen LVM #18.<br /><br />Kato at the Entrance to the Squeeze<br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/8107/1393/1600/Brian%20at%20the%20Squeeze.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/8107/1393/400/Brian%20at%20the%20Squeeze.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Photo by Matt Thomas<br /><br />We ran this run on September 4, 2005.<br /><br />Fear Canyon should definitely be on your to do list if you like big water creeking. It's a cool run in a scenic canyon. Logistics are relatively easy especially for BC. Easy put-in and take-out, and the only hard part is getting to the take-out once you put-in.h2othomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07826301316383941645noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19815989.post-1142879526803810502006-03-20T10:09:00.000-08:002006-03-20T10:32:06.830-08:00SF Yuba from 49 to Bridgeport - CaliforniaOn 6/19/05 we ran the SF Yuba from 49 to Bridgeport. This was the second day of a 2-day weekend in California for me. I hooked up with Erik, Justin and Ethan from Seattle area and a few others from California. The level was right at 1000 cfs, which I guess is a lower flow for this run. The whitewater is great and the scenery is spectacular. I would highly recommend this run if you find yourself in the area and it's running.<br /><br />The following pictures are of Schertzl running a low angle slide with a semi meaty hole at the bottom called Eat the Meat.<br /><br />Erik Schertzl at Eat the Meat<br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/8107/1393/1600/IMG_0479.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/8107/1393/400/IMG_0479.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Photo by Ben Naylor<br /><br />Erik Schertzl at the bottom of Eat the Meat<br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/8107/1393/1600/eat%20the%20meat.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/8107/1393/400/eat%20the%20meat.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Photo by Ben Naylor<br /><br />The following picture is of one of the bigger ledges we ran.<br /><br />Ethan Smith airing it out<br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/8107/1393/1600/IMG_0466.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/8107/1393/400/IMG_0466.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Photo by Ben Naylor<br /><br />Most of the run consist of drops similar to the ones shown in this picture. None of the drops are that big, but some of the rapids are long and complex. There are only a couple of portages, and the logistics are pretty easy. I would say that this run gives you quite a bit of bang for your buck.h2othomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07826301316383941645noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19815989.post-1142525752393725562006-03-16T07:26:00.000-08:002006-03-16T08:15:52.440-08:00Canyon Creek - Trib of SF Yuba - CaliforniaI was only able to take a weekend trip down to California to enjoy their unusually high snow pack last summer, which wasn't ideal. I met up with Erik Schertzl who was able to smoosh a month off from work to go play in the High Sierras. On the weekend of June 18-19 I met up with Schertzl and ran the Canyon Creek, which is a trib of the SF Yuba and we ran the SF Yuba from 49 to Bridgeport. For only having two days to paddle I definitely felt like I got money's worth with these two runs.<br /><br />Canyon Creek is normally done as a two day run and you put in higher up, but the logistics are challenging and it's hard to know the water-level without first looking at the take-out. The other way to run it is to hike-in for about 30 minutes +/- and run the last half, which is what we did.<br /><br />On June 18th, 2005 Erik, Matt, John, Ben and John's girlfriend set out to run Canyon Creek. After looking at the water-level at the take-out we determined that the level was a medium to medium low flow. John had done this run earlier at high water and not very many of their group actually finished the run. I guess it gets a little crazy at high water.<br /><br />View upstream from the Take-out<br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/8107/1393/1600/IMG_0456.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/8107/1393/400/IMG_0456.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Photo by Ben Naylor<br /><br />The run starts off with a long Class IV-V boulder garden without any warm-up. However, the boulder gardens quickly dissipate and the run is more pool drop in character. The scenery on this run is incredible. You definitely have the feel of a wilderness run. The gradient stays pretty constant and there's pretty much no flat-water until you're right at the take-out.<br /><br />This is one of the final boulder gardens before the ledges start.<br /><br />Erik Schertzl Charging.<br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/8107/1393/1600/IMG_0400.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/8107/1393/400/IMG_0400.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Photo by Ben Naylor<br /><br />This is the second substantial ledge/slide, and was one of the best rapids on this run. The entry is a manky shallow boulder garden then you turn the corner and drop over the horizon line and pick up a lot of speed in an instant.<br /><br />Matt Thomas Givin-er'<br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/8107/1393/1600/IMG_0418.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/8107/1393/400/IMG_0418.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Photo by Ben Naylor<br /><br />Here's another pic from a slightly different angle.<br /><br />Erik Schertzl with the money line<br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/8107/1393/1600/IMG_0427.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/8107/1393/400/IMG_0427.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Photo by Ben Naylor<br /><br />This is one of the most difficult rapids on the run. It's a funky lead in that's a little tricky and you definitely don't want to plug it on the river right side or you might be swimming.<br /><br />Matt Thomas stickin' it<br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/8107/1393/1600/canyon%20creek.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/8107/1393/400/canyon%20creek.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Photo by Ben Naylor<br /><br />Thanks Ben for all the great pics.h2othomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07826301316383941645noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19815989.post-1142472055085481602006-03-15T17:12:00.000-08:002006-03-16T08:17:39.660-08:00SF Snoqualmie - FITWFITW, if you don't know already, stands for Fall In The Wall named after the first drop on this section. This run is the go to backyard run for Seattle boaters. It's about 1 hour from downtown Seattle, and it's steep class IV creeking. Many boater's have had their introduction to creeking on this run... I know that I have. Here are a couple of picks of FITW falls.<br /><br />Matt at FITW<br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/8107/1393/1600/DSC_0018b.jpg"></a><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/8107/1393/1600/FITW%20Zoomed%20In.0.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/8107/1393/400/FITW%20Zoomed%20In.0.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Photo by Peter Aiken<br /><br />Matt in the run out from FITW<br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/8107/1393/1600/DSC_0019.0.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/8107/1393/400/DSC_0019.0.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Photo by Peter Aiken<br /><br /><br />Here's another pic from a different angle.<br /><br />Matt at FITW falls<br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/8107/1393/1600/Fall%20in%20The%20Wall%20.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/8107/1393/400/Fall%20in%20The%20Wall%20.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Photo by Shane Robinson<br /><br />I hope to have more pics of the entire run this spring and hopefully some pics of the section below FITW that is called the Franklin section. The Franklin Section is definitely a step up in difficulty and it's a bit more committing.h2othomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07826301316383941645noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19815989.post-1139363004983450902006-02-07T17:21:00.000-08:002006-03-21T13:40:47.286-08:00Clear Fork of CowlitzThis is one of the few runs that lives up to all of the hype!! This is definitely one of the best creeks in the State of Washington! These pictures were taken in the Spring of 2005 and this was a medium low level. This run is a full day that demands respect every second that you're on it. <br /><br />Ben Glahn at Entrance Exam<br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/8107/1393/1600/DSC_1873.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/8107/1393/400/DSC_1873.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Photo by Andrew Oberhardt<br /><br />I'd recommend running it with someone who knows it or leave yourself plenty of daylight or preferrably have both. We had both. Shane Robinson of the The Range Life crew led a the group, and he knows the river as well as anyone can. You can see a video of our day at <a href="http://therangelife.blogspot.com/">http://therangelife.blogspot.com/</a>. Thanks Shane!<br /><br />Matt in the background with Brian in foreground<br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/8107/1393/1600/DSC_1885-cropped.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/8107/1393/400/DSC_1885-cropped.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Photo by Andrew Oberhardt<br /><br />Matt at B*&%h Slap Falls<br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/8107/1393/1600/DSC_1893.1.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/8107/1393/400/DSC_1893.1.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Photo by Andrew Oberhardth2othomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07826301316383941645noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19815989.post-1139340602159504302006-02-07T11:17:00.000-08:002006-02-07T17:47:39.996-08:002004 Turkey Weekend Canyon CreekThe Sunday after Thanksgiving of 2004 Ricky, Brian, RT and I met up at Canyon Creek in SW Washington to try and work off some of the overeating. This run is a classic and many kayakers have cut their creeking teeth on this run.<br /><br />Ricky, Brian, Matt, RT (clockwise from upper left) at the put-in:<br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/8107/1393/1600/IMG_1845.1.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/8107/1393/400/IMG_1845.0.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Photo by Stephanie Thomas<br /><br /><br />Matt at Double Drop aka "The Drop Zone"<br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/8107/1393/1600/Matt%20Drop%20Zone.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/8107/1393/400/Matt%20Drop%20Zone.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Photo by Erik Schertzlh2othomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07826301316383941645noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19815989.post-1134450714683735102005-12-12T20:53:00.000-08:002005-12-12T21:11:54.696-08:00Clearwater River, BC<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/8107/1393/1600/2004-07-11%20002.jpg"></a><br />July of 2004 Erik Schertzl, Eric Bissette and myself drove up to the Clearwater in BC. The clearwater is about an hour north of Kamloops, and is a trib of the Thompson River. From what I gathered there are several runnable sections of this river, and some mention of some park and huck waterfalls. The stretch that we did is located just outside of Well's Grey Provincial Park. You put-in just few miles of upriver from the town of Clearwater and then float down to the town.<br /><br />The run starts off with a couple of big water class III-IV rapids that are very fun. The river then mellows out and has some fun catch on the fly waves. Then you arrive at the main attraction - Pink Mountain. We were there when it was at 3.25 and 3.0 on the Bridge in Clearwater. 3.0 was a nice level for Pink Mountain.<br /><br /><br /><p><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/8107/1393/400/2004-07-11%20024.jpg" border="0" /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">Matt on Pink Mountain at 3.0</span><br /><br />The camping was pretty sweet, but it was a little out of the way like 30 km up a dirt road out of the way. Although it was scenic and secluded.<br /><br /><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/8107/1393/400/2004-07-11%20027.jpg" border="0" />Camp site on the Clearwater</p><p>Here's a pic of another spot that was roadside upriver from the put-in of the main run. I think this is called the whiteroom. It was fun, but I'd like to see it at a higher water-level. It may have some serious potential.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/8107/1393/400/2004-07-11%20030.jpg" border="0" />Bissette at the whiteroom</p><p>The Clearwater is definitely worthy of a mission, and some future exploration. Note to self don't leave the Clearwater at a prime level to go run the Nahatlatch at low-water...it's not worth it.<br /><br /><br /><br /></p>h2othomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07826301316383941645noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19815989.post-1134438441395100952005-12-12T17:44:00.000-08:002005-12-12T18:00:16.850-08:00Welcome<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/8107/1393/1600/DSC_0018.1.jpg"><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/8107/1393/400/DSC_0018.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><p><span style="font-size:85%;">Photo by Peter Aiken - Fall in the Wall Falls</span></p><p>This is just another blog documenting a group of middled aged desk jockey's kayaking throughout the Northwest including some trips to Canada and California.<br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/8107/1393/1600/DSC_0018.jpg"></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></p>h2othomashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07826301316383941645noreply@blogger.com0