Ran the upper Wind River today with Alex D., Mike G., Neal F., and Tony S. The gauge rock at the takeout had water consistenly sloshing over it between the horns. This was a lot higher level than my one prior run on this section, and the boogie water through the boulder gardens was fast and entertaining. I flipped a couple of times early on, then tightened it up and had a solid run. We broke with tradition and had Hamm's and Rainier at the takeout. Fun group, beautiful day, and bitchin' technical whitewater...nothing else is needed!
Looking forward to providing safety for the Oregon Rafting Team on Canyon Creek tomorrow. Watching those cats R2 (two-man raft) all of those stout drops should be quite entertaining indeed. I might even get to practice throwing my rope bag! Hehe.
Friday, February 29, 2008
better footage from sunday's truss run
Erik Weiseth was kind enough to bring CDs to Pint Night with high-resolution video of the Truss from weekend before last. I uploaded them to Google video, before I saw how much better they look on Vimeo:
me on Big Brother (the goods start at 00:24, when I leave the eddy):
view full screen
me on Double Drop (should have paddled forward right instead of back left after the first drop):
view full screen
me on Big Brother (the goods start at 00:24, when I leave the eddy):
view full screen
me on Double Drop (should have paddled forward right instead of back left after the first drop):
view full screen
up 'til now
Prior to February 29th, 2008, I've run (roughly in order):
OR Rogue— 1. Lost Creek Reservoir to Gold Ray Dam - Class II
OR Rogue— 5. Grave Creek (Galice) to Foster Bar (Agness) - Class II-III
OR Deschutes— K. US 26 (Warm Springs) to Sherars Falls - Class III
OR McKenzie— 3. Olallie Campground to Leaburg Dam - Class II-III
OR Sandy— 4. Revenue Bridge to Oxbow Park (Columbia River) - Class II
OR Clackamas— 5. River Mill Dam to Willamette River - Class II
OR Clackamas— 3. Three Lynx Power Station to North Fork Reservoir - Class III-IV
WA White Salmon— 4 - BZ Corner to Buck Creek - Class III+(V)
OR Santiam, N.— 3. Packsaddle Park to Mill City - Class II-III+
OR Deschutes— G. Bend to Tumalo State Park - Class IV
OR Deschutes— H. Tumalo State Park to Cline Falls State Park - Class III
OR Deschutes— I. Cline Falls State Park to Lower Bridge - Class III
OR Santiam, N.— 2. Big Cliff Dam to Packsaddle Park - Class III-V
WA Wind— 4. High Bridge to Columbia River (Lower) - Class IV-V(V+)
OR Kilchis, N. Fork— Headwaters to Little S.F. Kilchis River - Class II-III
OR Clackamas— 1. June Creek Br. to Collawash River - Class III-IV
OR Wilson— Jones Creek Forest Camp to Boatramp - Class II-IV
WA Lewis, E. Fork— 2 - Sunset Falls to bl. Horshoe Falls (Falls Section) - Class IV(V)
OR Breitenbush— Cleator Bend Campground to Detroit Reservoir - Class IV
WA Lewis, E. Fork— 1 - Green Fork to Sunset Falls (Upper) - Class IV-V
WA Wind— 1. ab. Falls Creek to Mineral Springs Rd. (Upper) - Class III+
OR Molalla— Table Rock Fork to Glen Avon Bridge - Class II-IV
WA Canyon Creek (Lewis River Trib.)— 2 - Fly Creek to Merwin Reservoir - Class IV+
WA Copper Creek— road's end to E. Fork Lewis - Class IV-V
WA Hagen Creek— gorge then NF Washougal - Class IV+(V) <--my best guess
WA Toutle— Highway 504 Bridge to Tower Rd. Bridge - Class III+(IV)
WA Washougal— 2 - Doc's Drop to Dougan Falls (Falls Section) - Class V
WA Washougal— 4 - Highway 140 to Washougal (Big Eddy Section) - Class III-IV
WA White Salmon— 3 - Green Truss Bridge to BZ Corners - Class V
OR Rogue— 1. Lost Creek Reservoir to Gold Ray Dam - Class II
OR Rogue— 5. Grave Creek (Galice) to Foster Bar (Agness) - Class II-III
OR Deschutes— K. US 26 (Warm Springs) to Sherars Falls - Class III
OR McKenzie— 3. Olallie Campground to Leaburg Dam - Class II-III
OR Sandy— 4. Revenue Bridge to Oxbow Park (Columbia River) - Class II
OR Clackamas— 5. River Mill Dam to Willamette River - Class II
OR Clackamas— 3. Three Lynx Power Station to North Fork Reservoir - Class III-IV
WA White Salmon— 4 - BZ Corner to Buck Creek - Class III+(V)
OR Santiam, N.— 3. Packsaddle Park to Mill City - Class II-III+
OR Deschutes— G. Bend to Tumalo State Park - Class IV
OR Deschutes— H. Tumalo State Park to Cline Falls State Park - Class III
OR Deschutes— I. Cline Falls State Park to Lower Bridge - Class III
OR Santiam, N.— 2. Big Cliff Dam to Packsaddle Park - Class III-V
WA Wind— 4. High Bridge to Columbia River (Lower) - Class IV-V(V+)
OR Kilchis, N. Fork— Headwaters to Little S.F. Kilchis River - Class II-III
OR Clackamas— 1. June Creek Br. to Collawash River - Class III-IV
OR Wilson— Jones Creek Forest Camp to Boatramp - Class II-IV
WA Lewis, E. Fork— 2 - Sunset Falls to bl. Horshoe Falls (Falls Section) - Class IV(V)
OR Breitenbush— Cleator Bend Campground to Detroit Reservoir - Class IV
WA Lewis, E. Fork— 1 - Green Fork to Sunset Falls (Upper) - Class IV-V
WA Wind— 1. ab. Falls Creek to Mineral Springs Rd. (Upper) - Class III+
OR Molalla— Table Rock Fork to Glen Avon Bridge - Class II-IV
WA Canyon Creek (Lewis River Trib.)— 2 - Fly Creek to Merwin Reservoir - Class IV+
WA Copper Creek— road's end to E. Fork Lewis - Class IV-V
WA Hagen Creek— gorge then NF Washougal - Class IV+(V) <--my best guess
WA Toutle— Highway 504 Bridge to Tower Rd. Bridge - Class III+(IV)
WA Washougal— 2 - Doc's Drop to Dougan Falls (Falls Section) - Class V
WA Washougal— 4 - Highway 140 to Washougal (Big Eddy Section) - Class III-IV
WA White Salmon— 3 - Green Truss Bridge to BZ Corners - Class V
japanese guy's backyard practices on youtube
This guy is fo sho using video to improve his flatwater playboating skills, which are already quite good (see clip below). I wish I had a lake in my backyard. His YouTube channel has almost daily clips. What an animal!
Thursday, February 28, 2008
with no further ado...
Well...it's been 7.5 months, 125 river days, and a no-portage personal first descent of the Green Truss since I started kayaking, and I have finally created a paddling journal (this blog). Here's video of that Truss run, with me (red boat, blue top, black helmet) appearing at 0:17 and 2:07:
I'll be trying to document my exploits here for the benefit of friends, family, and my ego. ;)
I'll be trying to document my exploits here for the benefit of friends, family, and my ego. ;)
Thursday, February 21, 2008
return of the MAC-1, a.k.a. Das Frankenboot
Well, I received my creekboat back from Ernie, The Plastic Mechanic. It looks scary. Ernie took the time to find every deep gouge and bitemark, and they have all been laid in with black plastic that I have been assured is of a strength superior to that of the existing plastic.He also repaired a bite taken out of the very end of the stern, with a rock lodged deep in the plastic. I suspect this may have happened in early summer 2007 when my unattended boat was taking a wild ride in Fish Creek eddy while full of water. It seems my Clackster past haunts me.
I will take it down Canyon Creek tomorrow to test it's newfound durability and watertightness. That is, if I can get it re-rigged in a timely fashion (outfitting was removed prior to repair, and many screws will need resealing. I'm looking forward to seeing how this all works out.
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
boat repair and rigging
This past weekend, I spent some time outfitting my playboat (RAD 195), with the help of Oly's plasma cutting torch. I decreased the foot foam, moved the seat forward, and shimmed the back of the seat padding with some minicell wedges. Once I'm happy with the existing rigging, I will add knee blocks and possibly shaped hip foam instead of the Bliss-Stick "pouch" hip padding system. Taking off the Easy Fork of the Lewis after a test run, I joked with group member Joe that I'm evolving into a C1-er: forward in the boat, raised seat, and increased reliance on J-strokes. I do have an interest in C1, but I'm thinking I'll probably be exploring burlier Class V runs and checking out squirt boating before I go that route. Need to come up with a spare boat hull to outfit for C1 first, anyhow.
Today, I'm sending off the beloved MAC-1 (planing creeker) to The Plastic Mechanic (a.k.a. Ernie) for repair of a crack that formed beneath my left heel on a Canyon Creek WA run last month. I'll be needing a higher-volume creekboat for the impending true burl and for self-support, but I do like the MAC, and I figure it's worth half what I paid for it to repair it...especially given that I paid so little. I'm hoping Ernie's expertise and warranty will have me paddling the MAC for a while to come. I'll be adding foam to the bulkhead when I get it back, to try to avoid the downward heel pressure that seems to have caused it to crack. Ernie says he can also install something to stiffen/reinforce that area of the hull, which sounds promising.
Today, I'm sending off the beloved MAC-1 (planing creeker) to The Plastic Mechanic (a.k.a. Ernie) for repair of a crack that formed beneath my left heel on a Canyon Creek WA run last month. I'll be needing a higher-volume creekboat for the impending true burl and for self-support, but I do like the MAC, and I figure it's worth half what I paid for it to repair it...especially given that I paid so little. I'm hoping Ernie's expertise and warranty will have me paddling the MAC for a while to come. I'll be adding foam to the bulkhead when I get it back, to try to avoid the downward heel pressure that seems to have caused it to crack. Ernie says he can also install something to stiffen/reinforce that area of the hull, which sounds promising.
Saturday, February 16, 2008
East Fork Lewis headcam video
Ran the East Fork Lewis on this day with Oly, Weaver, and Andy S. Weaver edited up a short video from his helmet cam footage. I appear to do something akin to a wavewheel at 1:30:
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