Beauties, bootie beers, boofs and bros - the SE Wrap-up

It's been one hellva great year and change.  True, I didn't complete my Southeast tick-list, but a lot of it got ticked.  And I still have a CO tick-list after 13 years of boating.  I guess I just never will get enough paddling done.  Well, I just wanted to post some of my favorite shots from the year and give a shout to the homies who made it awesome:

I gotta start with one of my OGs, Eric.  He was one of my original paddling partners from my first days.  Day one of his paddling career started off in Cataract Canyon where we told him that if he could knock-out 100 rolls in the four days of flat water, then he might survive the class IV rapids.  He made it without a swim!  His triumphant return to the Southeast from CO occurred right in the middle of my time here and it was a blessing to get out and charge with him again!

Eric toobin the Green!

Early on, I spent a lot of time scoping the Green putin for potential paddling partners.  I was lucky enough to find Katie in need as well one sunny day.  Her and Zac will make the next generation of River Gypsies.

Katie likes it Horsey-style

Speaking of the Gypsies, Leland and Andria are still living large.  It is so much fun to see what a life-long paddling career looks like.  Thanks for introducing me to the joys of Fall Dam Boating - I'm addicted.

Leland is still Climaxing

After my soft year in Texas, Jim Janney was so kind to help me back in hard-man's class V. It is hard to catch a good photo of him not because he doesn't fire huge, but rather because he's always rallying off to fast to focus the camera.  I still need more of the West Prong and Raven Fork, so I hope to find myself at his house in the rain again soon.

Jim: N. Chick

This year I was able to wet the appetite of my very favorite River Betty.  Her shuttling skills, while not quite professional like Justin's wife Lori, have become polished.  She's also paddled down the Gauley a handful of times and lit up Bayless' Boof.  Her tick list includes the forks of the Salmon, Rogue and Deschutes.  

Jess representing for the CO 

The 'rado boys showed up to the party as well.  Alex Clayton was first, but we took all the shots with his camera, so I don't have any.  Justin convinced Lori that they should 'vacation' in the SE this fall:

Justin redeeming his frequent flier miles

My other boys rolled out for Gauley season.  Joel just couldn't miss the Green while I was SE livin' and Mother Green didn't disappoint.  We got a spectacular 200% day and Joel got the joy of just rolling Hammer Factor - blind.  "You only get one shot to run it blind" - DD

Damn fine Mank Crew!

One amazing aspect of paddling in the Southeast is the quantity of stellar kayakers.  Meeting big names in the kayaking industry just requires showing up at the putin.  If you want to paddle with them, just pick up the phone and ask.  Toby MacDermontt started by bumming shuttles from me, but by the end he'd shown me the Linville, Horsepasture, and a 200% Gorilla.

Babelling

Having all of these phenomenal paddlers around also really opens your eyes to exactly what is possible in kayaking.  I watched Pat fire up a new line on Oceana, tail squirt the Triple Crown in pitch blackness, and launch a monster monkey boof backwards while 'racing' the Green.  Dane rock spun the left line at Sunshine.  Lil' A charges so hard that it's nearly impossible to keep up.  I'm just here trying to make the 'classic' class V lines look good.

I've got this shot of Pat at 1am as well.  It was a little to dark to post.

Snowy is the all-around funniest guy I met.  Who'd have thought that a Brit would know the best Mexican food in the Southeast?

Lil' A fighting Gravity

I met Scott Peaches while he was crankin' his Masters in Fort Collins.  He then moved to Disgusta, GA for med school and I followed for my program.  We were able to get out and get the charge!

Pinballin' around the nation

And in the end, there was the Green Race.  It is one of those pieces of paddling lore that I just had to play a part, even if minute.  You can catch the Huckin' Duckie Cape in its full glory here at 3:50 (filmed by Pilot Collective Media).

Cheers to all you boofers out there!  Looking forward to sharing an eddy with you soon!  The Mank Crew over-n-out to the Pacific Northwest via Kiwi land!

True to the 'hood

Get the Buzzz back!!!

It has been a rough year to be a Colorado kayaker.  I know. I was there back in 2001 or was it 2002?  I'm still trying to block it out of my memory.  Yet, I'm still heartened to see on the Buzz that people got out and crushed it anyway.

So this post is going to be for those of you who may have forgotten, just a touch, about how unbelievable kayaking is.

Remember the first time you stuck the hell out of a scary rapid or big trick?  John Pilson explains the physiology:



Nailing the left boof at Double Trouble gets me every time.

The Buzz is unreal.  Sometimes after a big day on the river, I'll be driving home just jittery with excitement.  I just can't wait to get back on the water.  Rapid lines will day-dream through my head all week.

Motivation can be lacking.  The Green is 3 hours from my house and the closest goods I've got.  But I have never regretted a single day on the river.  I wrote that last sentence on this very blog, years ago and it has held true every river day since (although I don't know if my wife would agree?).  Speaking of my wife, she has notices every week whether I've been kayaking or not.  I am more upbeat, positive and generally excited about all things when boatin' is part of my weekly routine.

What else can I say?  Some people like kayaking.  Joe looooves kayaking!

Enough of that sappy BS.  What you all need is some stoke to get you talking about your winter paddling trips!!!!  How about this shot of the original doublet, as in The Toby, finishing off Staircase on the Horsepasture:

I think you can call this a Grip of Waterfalls

Everyone in the kayaking community is discussing the treatment of our ladies.  Well, here are some photos of ladies laying Treats!

Lil A' slaying you Marginal Monsters

Taken on the class V Horsepasture... does it get any better?  Katie D

Shannon following Toby down the Stairway to Heaven

Some have suggested that I might be able to take the ladies division this year at the Green Race, which is a compete fallacy.  I couldn't beat her if I was in front of a Duo with her steering in the back.

Gravity cravin'

The prettiest Janney getting out of the Drunk Tank

And there you have it.  Some killer chicks from the SE!

'I love kayaking!!!!'

Rainbow Falls

If I'm gonna post photos of kayaking chicas, I better post shots of their husbands golden stroking:

Zac

Now, as you all know by now, any blog post originating in the Southeast must include gratuitous photos of the Grandaddy Green.  Has anyone ever told you that this diamond gemstone runs 300 days/year?  Get out here EVAN STAFFORD!!!!  I'm starting to consider the very real possibility that Evan's nerves have gotten the better of him?

A little 2hunge flow just Left of Death

Our boy Justin caught the plane flight:

That looks like an awkward feeling on the way to a first Triple Crown.  (Justin Merritt)

Parting Shot:

Justin riding the lightening!

What's in a Sunshine photo?

It finally happened.  I sacked up and ran Sunshine at a normal flow of 100%.  It's not even close to being the most difficult rapid I've run or the most dangerous.  Not the most remote, not the tallest, not even the most challenging of that day.

But Sunshine has a mystique.  Every hard paddler has seen a photo.  A 10 foot falls that crashes down on a rock shelf, which causes a claymore mine explosion of water into the air.  There is exactly one boat-width of salvation on the left or the right.  Either direction is a classic cross current move to the lip. Losing your angle risks losing your legs.

The stories are legendary and relentless.  Millions of tales from the first D to attempts at 'gapping' the shelf and onto the discovery of the left line.  Crashes have occurred backwards, hairy side down, and pancake flat onto the anvil.   Over the years, nearly imperceptively the pillow shrank, the little wave got bigger, and the right eddy became stronger - or so I've been told as I'm no local.  The left line became the new right line.  Legends echo up the gorge and through the foliage on a summer day.

I have seen scores of paddlers fire it.  Some slick, some grating.  Hack jobs and Olympians, kids and old-timers.  Three strokes in either direction and you're a hero or a zero.  I watched, watched, and watched.  Several times I tried to force myself into the boat, only to find myself clipping the rappel rope yet again.

Finally, one day the sun was shinning, which means nothing as the drop is named Sunshine for glaring reasons.  But rather, it was finally sunny in my mind; I was smiling on the inside.  The day had come.

Your's truly

Sure, it's not the best photo.  After years of dirt-bagging photos on the blog, my wife finally surprised me with a SLR camera.  I'm slowly discovering that this shot is a little over-exposed with two slow of a shutter speed causing motion blur.  Yet it is a really neat personal photo.  It places me into the legends of the water along with uncounted others.  It's one of those photos that never get old to the people who are in them like boof shots of Double Trouble, Entrance Falls or Oh-Be-Joyful.  The photo gives a moment of pride in accomplishment and reflection on a long successful journey with rivers.  

My skills have equaled this drop for a long time.  My first Gorilla spanking was in 2004.  I had boofed my way down the Green at midnight with just slivers of moonlight in the weeks before this photo. I have been paddling class V for 10 years on three continents, 5 countries and 17 states.  I guess all of the experience gave me the patience to wait for just the right day and I was able to truly savor the flavor.  Or maybe it just makes me a pansy?  That is a razor thin line that never gets clearer with age.

Single day perfection?

Which is the best kayak run in the country?  As a creeking aficionado, names like the Clarks Fork Box of the Yellowstone, Upper Cherry Creek, Black Canyon of the Gunnison and the Perth River come to mind.  Other big water trips like the Grand Canyon of the Colorado or Middle Fork of the Salmon definitely rank on the list.  But for me, the entire list involves multiple days on the water and nights in the wilderness.  So my thought today over a cold beer while playing with my kayak outfitting remains, which is the best single day run in the country?  It would have to have a perfect combination of these characters:

1. Wilderness - this is why mind blowing runs like the North Fork of the Payette will never top my list. I need wild animals and minimal people with epic vistas.
2. Quantity of rapids - Bailey Canyon on the North Fork of the South Platte is out.
3. Quality of rapids - Sorry Upper South Boulder Creek, but you are basically golden boofs found in a choss pile of rocks.  Minimal portages also counts in this category.
4. Full Day Length - The Green River Narrows has all of the above laid out in short coarse format.  The Raven Fork of the Oconaluftee drops 1,000+ feet in 2.6 miles.
5. Fun Factor - insanely subjective category that includes glory boofs, photogenic character, relatively limited danger score, and utterly variable things such as boating partners, weather and my own personal sense of zen.  Hence, everyone has their own set of favorite runs likely different from mine.

doublet to lighting it up

Up until last month if asked about the best single day run, I could easily fire off a single run: the Big South Fork of the Cache La Poudre.  It is a multitude of clean challenging oversized drops laid over 12 miles of crystal Wild and Scenic water that has nary a portage, but a multitude of moose, elk, trout and raptors roaming high alpine meadows.  The Big Steezy, no question.

Leif Emberton stomps Cool World at ridiculous flow while National Geographic Adventures of the Year stood by in amazement. 

Yours truly bringing pink back, double.

Mr. Steezy McStafford glory boofing perfectly slideways

Don't get me wrong.  West Prong, Vallecito, Robe Canyon, USB, Kokatai, Chirripo Pacifico and the Crystal Gorge among a lot of other runs will all blow your mind.  But the Steez just has the quan.  Then a curious thing happened.... it rained, on a Saturday, over the Linville River and a crew turned up after many inquires.  One of them you 'rado boaters may recognize:

Scotty Peaches, who once went GA to CSU but currently considers medicines in Augusta.

Our other member some people may remember from a kayaking video (or 20) sometime in the recent past:

The LVM smoothness, Toby MacDermott

The first legitimate challenge is getting into the gorge.  Options include a lengthy mellow float or 45 minutes straight downhill charging:

But the rewards are clear even before reaching the get-in.

Enjoying a moment of sunshine before the chaos ensues

Dropping!

The Linville has a ridiculous number of rapids and an overnight session is definitely a possibility for an unwary or over zealous group.  There certainly are more portages on the Linville that the Big South, but some of them lead to impressive places:

Toby demonstrates Cave Falls

One of those completely original drops

This is called the Bob Ross gorge and I suppose it is because he'd paint a happy little tree on top of a happy little gorge that contained a happy little boof session overlooked by a happy enormous table mountain.

So the Linville has plenty of rapids, a deep committed wilderness gorge feeling, and a multitude of glory boofs.  It also has a significant hike in and out, supremely dangerous sieve drops and a fair number of portages.  Just as I started to sense the Linville might be one of the uber-classics, the river really kicked it up a notch.

Peering in

The Cathedral Gorge is one of those committed, tight, dangerous, adrenaline fests that just keeps calling me back over and over again.  It truly kicks the Linville into the creme de la creme of kayak days.

The Ducky feeling minute but basking in South East glory

The hike out keeps you honest.  No overweight off the couch boaters allowed.  The Green does not qualify you.  Vallecito is a warm-up.  1,100 feet of vertical in 1.2 miles.  

Good friends know how to provide good rally motivation!  Col Cold PBR represent!

Better than the Big South?  It's got gobs more rapids.  It's more scenic, deeper in the woods and more committed.  It has some beautiful drops and some classics unlike anything else.  A superb guide and bluebird spring day combined with smooth lines to create the perfect vibe.  The dual hike is a blessing and a suffer-fest.  There's more portages and more danger, but less mank.  In the end, it's hard sayin' not knowin'.  I guess I'll just have to keep on going in 'till I'm sure....

Things you see in the Southeast

It's time for you Colorado brothas to come visit me here in the Southeast!  TJ and ACC came out to visit and had nothing but a plethora of 5-star days and kayaking.  Lament low water no more!

Here's what early January looks like in the Little River Canyon:

The one, the only, Peaches still knows how to make it look good in Pinball:

The LRC provides for an awesome deep canyon feel, especially after the hike out!  It is one of the most sieved out rivers I've ever seen, but if you stay away from the left or right bank, it'll be FINE.

I don't think Dirk would've approved of this rigging job.  Unfortunately, in the dirty south everyone has ropes and no idea about the proper art of strappage:  http://www.mountainbuzz.com/forums/f11/the-art-of-strappage-11465.html

Do I hear banjo music?

I don't always camp for the entire month of April, but when I do, I prefer my sports car to get there:

The little known true putin to the Green River Narrows:

A little Where's Waldo kayaking.  Yes, I'm wearing a Kokatat shorty dry top in April and yes, it's soooo good.

After that bit of creeking, we knocked off 5 laps of goodness on Cheoah in the same day.

Toby McD boofs so hard that sometimes I worry he might hit his own head?

 Hard to beat disappearing before falling:

Eric Stalovich gittin sum!  In a kayak?

But when it goes like this all you can do is smile!