Big South '08 - Waiting for the Gate

By Evan Stafford

Photography by all the homies

ES Double Trouble - Photo By Leif Embertson

When the Gate Opens

Has it all melted out, the snow from the road

The meadows of gold, the moose in their home

The call of the water that might soon be gone

Bureaucracies stand still while we only long

For Long Draw to open, the gate to swing wide

To allow us to access our river of pride

We’ll show you the lines, the wilderness prime

It will open your mind, is it open this time

We circle like vultures our eyes on the prize

We want clean lines through Cool World and Fantasy Flights

We want so many moves by the end of the day

That some will be scared and will move to their legs

Will pick up their paddle and head for some ale

Before the last rush some will just hit the trail

Some will walk everything some will run it all

But the grins are the same and they’ll last until fall

For sure there is whitewater all over this state

But when that gate swings open you best not be late

Rick (ter) Starter Fluid - photo by Adam Mayo

Dan Piano Fantasy Flight - photo by Adam Mayo

Dan Piano Fantasy Flight run-out - photo by Adam Mayo


Alex Kilyk Fantasy Flight - photo by Alex Clayden


Andy Blakeslee Fantasy Flight - photo by Alex Clayden



Dan Piano Cool World - photo by Adam Mayo

Barrett Burke Cool World - photo by Alex Clayden

Planning stages Double Trouble log removal - photo by Holley Gardel


Working on the extraction - photo by Holley Gardel


DT is clean! Key'mon n'git sum - photo by Holley Gardel


Alex Clayden Double Trouble - photo by Barrett Burke


Alex's line was almost as good as mine - photo by Adrian Matthew


Jacob from South Cackalacka stoked as hell on Double Trouble - photo by Leif Embertson

And now... RAFTING

R2 w/Keith Pearen and Sean Davis cleaning it up Double Trouble - photo by Adrian Matthew

Rafting Double Trouble? Wow. - photo by Barrett Burke

Slideways... not so wow - photo by Carrie Wallace

But much props for givener! See you at the bottom when you get unpinned - photo by Carrie Wallace