THINK RAIN

River Gypsies Guide to North America

2010-06-18T09:19:00.003-04:00

I wanted to take moment to help promote the latest guidebook from Leland and Andria Davis: The River Gypsies Guide to North America. I received my copy a few weeks ago (thanks for getting them out so fast guys!) and am super impressed with its quality. As usual the book has tons of awesome photos, great descriptions, and beta. I was very pleased to have a number of my photos included (check out the Mid Atlantic section!).

Make sure to pick up a copy:

http://www.brushymountainpublishing.com/rivergypsies/rivergypsies_guide.html

From the River Gypsies Site:

“This guide to the top 20-40 day runs from class III to V+ in each of 9 highlighted regions across the continent is packed with information helping you to have the perfect paddling road trip - with information on a whopping total of 294 rivers! We've filtered out all of the marginal runs and left enough classic whitewater from each region to keep you occupied for a 1-2 week trip, with detailed info on when the best time is to travel to each region. We've also loaded the book down with info on finding shuttles, camping spots, where to get a shower, internet, or a cold beer. Our hope is that this book will redefine the way that whitewater guidebooks can help paddlers enjoy a region that is not their home area.

The River Gypsies' Guide is 408 pages packed with detailed descriptions of 294 rivers, gauge info, scale maps, shuttle directions, and of course, high quality color photos - and lots of 'em. It also has tons of tables to help you compare the difficulty of the streams, nearby camping options, paddling seasons, and other nearby services so that you can plan the paddling trip of your dreams!”

The River of Lost Souls

2010-06-14T17:31:00.012-04:00

It had been two years since I had paddled in Colorado and I was itching to get back. With family to visit, great boating, and lots of other fun things to do, we picked Durango as our destination. I’d had my sights set on the Upper Animas for some time and hoped to finally get on a trip. We arrived in town to find the river at a rather high level. But as the week progressed things were starting to drop with peak daily flow only reaching around 3,000 cfs on the Durango gauge, a good medium level according to the New Testament. But the weather forecast showed high temps for the weekend....

The Upper Animas starts just below the town of Silverton, CO at an elevation of about 9,300 ft and flows at a rate of 80 feet per mile over 24 miles as it winds its way through the San Juan National Forest to the Tacoma power station (with the option of running the Rockwood Box or hiking out along the tracks to the Rockwood rail stop). The river flows in a deep canyon between the 13,000+ ft Vestal, Snowdon, and Twilight peaks. The run can be done in a day or as an overnighter with camping at the Needleton train stop about half way down. We chose the latter.

I had planned to meet up with my good friend Chris Menges, from Crested Butte. The plan came together quickly: We were meeting local paddler Eric Parker (our TL), Ryan and Cari from Telluride, and Cameron and Marcia from Taos, NM for a train assisted overnighter on the Upper A. It was starting to get hot and the gauge was rising... I was starting to get a bit nervous.

Day 1:

I checked the town gauge first thing Saturday morning (It had risen to 4,000 cfs) and headed to the train station to meet Chris and load our camping gear onto the historic Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge train. It would be dropped off at the Needleton train stop, half way down the run, where we were planning to camp. After meeting the crew and a leisurely breakfast (cooked by Eric’s mom, thanks so much!) we started off on the 50 mile drive to the put in at Silverton. Our gear was on the train and Jeff and Lisa (Eric’s wife) ran shuttle for us, simplifying logistics greatly and allowing for a crack-of-noon start with plenty of daylight to spare.

The put in

Coming down the hill into Silverton you get the first glimpse of the river (and the last flatwater we would see). It was not the light green we’d seen just 2 days before but was now running significantly higher and very much brown. I don’t tend to get all that nervous on new runs but the continuous nature of Colorado streams was definitely on my mind. We were up against potentially very high water with likely little place to stop. (The level when we put on was about 1700 cfs on the Silverton Gauge, peaking at 2800 cfs later that day)

Flow at the put-in

After a quick safety talk (“if you swim, you are swimming for your life”) we quickly pulled on drysuits in the summer heat and slid into the cold water of the Animas. Being no stranger to cold water and cold weather paddling I wasn’t worried about the temperature of the water, just its speed. Once we pealed out of the eddy below the put in and ducked under the railroad bridge downstream things started picking up fast. The big water characteristics of the run developed quickly as big class III wavetrains quickly turned into even bigger class IV wavetrains. The gradient picked up fast with numerous constrictions and large holes. The general character was definitely fast and furious. For us East-Coasters I would compare it to running the 2^nd drop of Lost Paddle (but not shallow) , or Little Falls at 6.5 ft for DC people... over and over for miles. Eddying out often involved cramming into some micro eddy against the shore and grabbing onto whatever shrubbery was available.

Maggie, Cari, and Cameron in one of few larger eddies

Although very fast and definitely continuous (very few eddies big enough to fit the whole group) it boats quite easily. With few distinct features, and only a few named rapids the overall nature of the run is fast big water with few required moves so long as you keep an eye ahead for big holes. The danger in the run arises not so much from the difficulty but from the consequences of a swim. A swim on the Upper Animas has great potential for being extremely long (with class IV wavetrains that go on for miles and no eddies in sight) and flush drownings are not uncommon here. The loss of paddles, gear, and boats is also very likely in the event of a swim. The railroad tracks and ultimately the train itself do allow for escape in the event of an emergency.

Not long into the run we came across the first named rapid, Snowshed (class IV) which required navigating between two large holes. Everyone followed through blue angel style and we continued on through more big water fun to scout the first major rapid, Tenmile (Class V). Everyone climbed out of their boats for a quick lunch break and a long scout of the rapid. I forced down my PB&J and hiked along the tracks to view the action: a very long rapid with about 3-4 large holes lined up on center but easily avoidable on the left, followed by diagonal flow requiring a strong right to left move to avoid a large pourover on the bottom right. Seemed doable, but with continuous class IV wavetrains that continued for miles I decided it wasn’t worth the risk. Had this been one of our Eastern rivers with a big pool at the bottom I would not have hesitated but there was much less room for error here. Only Eric, Chris, and Cameron chose to run the rapid.

Some confusion ensued as the rest of us set out hiking down the railroad tracks with the intent of setting safety for the others. Marcia and I experienced some separation anxiety from the rest of the group as we walked too far down the tracks and weren’t sure where the rest of the group was. Meanwhile another member of the group had come across a paddle snake in one of the few shallow sections of the run out and was subsequently separated from their craft. Thankfully the swim was relatively short with effective self rescue and other members of the group were able to retrieve the paddle and corral the boat into some logs from where it was eventually extracted and ferried across the river to its owner. We all reunited and continued a short distance before reaching the next, and most significant Class V; No Name.

Cameron and Eric scouting No Name

No Name ( a lot bigger than it looks!)

Eric, Chris, and Cameron set about scouting the drop while the rest of us immediately shouldered our boats and set down the tracks once again. I must admit that one of the most challenging aspects of Colorado boating for me is the elevation. Though I feel perfectly at home in the water, on land I definitely feel the extra thousands of feet. Portaging in the intense summer sun wearing a drysuit drained my energy quickly and the extra heavy boat was a considerable burden. Luckily this would be the last (and least) of the portages for me. We positioned ourselves to set safety for the guys running the drop: a complex combination of ledges and holes with another long Class IV run out. All three cleaned the drop and we continued on towards camp. The last rapids before Needleton contained no real distinct features but continued on for miles of class IV wavetrains with absolutely no where to eddy out to take a break. After a while I started getting slightly dizzy from the constant bobbing. We reached Needleton late afternoon and I was happy for the break.

The Needleton train stop/camp is a combination of private and national forest service land. It is set in a wonderful wooded area with hiking trails, natural springs, and awesome riverside camping. A number of A-frame shelters provide cover and a footbridge across the river provides access and an amazing view. We set up camp and enjoyed a relaxing evening. Eric whipped up an awesome dutch oven enchilada dinner and we roasted marshmallows over the fire, couldn’t have asked for a better ending to an awesome day.

Needleton camp

When we'd arrived at camp I noted the water level using visual gauges (some trees and a rock near the bridge). The flow was definitely getting higher and as the water lapped closer to the previous night’s high we wondered just how high it would get and what we were in store for the next day. The color of the water was darkening and picking up speed as large trees began to float down. Everyone crashed early and fell asleep to the sound of a raging river and the thunder of rolling boulders. Things were definitely getting rowdy.

Maggie, Cari, and Marcia at the Needleton bridge

The camp kitchen

Day 2

The next day we woke to a much quieter river. The level had dropped back down to what it had been when we took out the day before alleviating some concerns. We dined on another great dutch oven meal: egg, potato, cheese frittata with guac and bacon. Yum. After returning all of our camping gear to the train stop we waited for some time. The convenience of not having to haul all our gear with us included the price of a long wait, but well worth it. Once the train arrived we quickly loaded up our camping gear, pulled on drysuits and hit the water. Everyone was anxious to do some more boating.

Cari getting read to load the train

The second half of the run has a very similar feel to the first but is generally more mellow and boats easier. After a few miles of fun class III-IV wavetrains we arrived at the final class V of the run; Broken Bridge. Everyone got out to check out this long, complex rapid; a series of huge class V holes (5-6 I lost count) blocking most of the width of the river. Conveniently they are all on one side allowing the rapid to be run entirely on the far left. This time I was confident I could run it successfully so I joined the guys while the other set safety. Pealing out from the eddy below the actual broken bridge I knew this was going to be big. Although avoiding the largest holes there were still plenty of huge waves and wave-holes to punch. We ran down the far left, ducking tree branches along the way. I managed to find an eddy along the way and though this wasn’t part of the plan it worked out fine. This was way bigger than anything I’d run thus far and quite possibly one of the largest big water rapids I’d seen. I had a good run through the bulk of the rapid with only one quick delay for some quick playboating in a hole near the bottom. Overall a great time!

Eric heading back up to run Broken Bridge

After Broken Bridge we regrouped and continued on through more huge wavetrains and amazing scenery. After a quick lunch break with paddled through two awesome mini gorges, the Lunch and Dinner gorges. Although the run through the gorges did not increase in gradient significantly, the constriction of the flow and elevated walls gave a moderately boxed in feel. Each had some unique features including massive holes and boily eddy lines that definitely wanted to play. Overall the lines were straightforward and we bombed through with few stops reaching the takeout after only about two and a half hours on the river (not bad for 12 miles and scouting/portaging).

From Tacoma you have the option to continue on through the Rockwood Box (Class V) or hike out along the tracks to the Rockwood train stop. We had paid extra to be able to put our boats on the train and no one had the interest/motivation to continue through the more challenging box run. We had two hours to kill before the train arrived so after hanging up gear it was nap time. We waited for the first train to pass (the second was the one with the freight car with our gear). Four of us started down the tracks so we could meet the second train to unload gear, the rest stayed behind to load boats.

Nap time

The hike out along the tracks is by no means difficult, nonetheless I was happy not to have to carry my boat for the 2.5 length of the Rockwood Box. Hiking out along the tracks is technically trespassing but as long as you stay out of the way of the train they generally look the other way.Though completely flat, the hike out on the tracks did provide a bit of additional adventure. Shortly into the hike we had to cross over a railroad bridge. Everyone took their time as the railroad ties posed a good tripping hazard. The bridge is narrow and there is no place to escape to should a train come through (jumping off the bridge could likely result in a swim of the Rockwood Box…yipes). We weren’t worried about the train but rather the small follow-cars that come whizzing by fast and quiet. Sure enough , just as we got across the bridge, the power station caretaker came flying by. Just a little added excitement.

Crossing the railroad bridge

As we walked we got to view a few glimpses of the Rockwood Box below. Here the walls close in and significantly constrict the flow. There is no escape once you enter the box. The first major rapid, Mandatory Thrashing, didn’t look too bad from above but I imagined how enormous it likely was given our elevated view (a few hundred feet above the river). Perhaps another time.

Rockwood Box

Mandatory Thrashing

Once past the box we hustled along as narrow passages would have required getting plastered up against a wall should a train come along . The tracks are very exposed to the strong summer sun and we all wished we had more water with us (luckily there was a large jug of it waiting for us on the train). I was happy that I had packed hiking clothes and shoes in my boat and put on lots of sunscreen. We arrived at Rockwood a bit dehydrated but with time to spare. The train arrived shortly with our gear. At this point we had to pack up and part ways as everyone headed home. I made it back to town in time to make a dinner reservation with Jeff, David, and Carolyn at Cyprus, a great Mediterranean place. How could ask for more?

The train delivers our boats and gear

This was one of the best paddling trips I have had in a long time and it was wonderful to make new friends and experience such an amazing river. I hope to return again soon! (See the Animas Gallery for more photos)

The Crew

2009 Summary and 2010 Update

2010-05-25T19:34:00.006-04:00

Hello all. I am glad that you are still (or again) checking out my blog. I know I have been terrible about updating it this past year. A lot of things have kept me away including work, school, travel, buying a house... etc. 2009 was a busy year and unfortunately blogging (and boating) had to take a back seat. I am hoping to improve on that this year.

Highlights from the past year:

- Another great trip to Oregon and other Pacific Northwest adventures.

- I was asked to join the Pyranha regional team

- My third Great Falls Race (not my best run but once again the only chick!)

- I spent three weeks in Poland with my mom visiting family I hadn’t seen in over 8 years. No boating but definitely one of the best trips. Also got to spend a week there with my best friend from high school. Good times.

- I got a number of photos published in The River Gypsies Guide to North America

- Made it back down to the Russell Fork (I added a post for this trip, yes very late)

In store for 2010:

- Ten day trip to Durango, Colorado in June for some R-n-R, sight seeing, hiking, and hopefully some boating.

- Potomac Fest , July 10-11

- Grand Canyon, Launch Dec. 30, 2010 (still have a few spots open!)

The Spout, July 2009, photo: Craig Campbell

Russell Fork 2009

2010-01-25T21:09:00.007-05:00

Back in October Grayson and I headed down to Elkhorn City, Kentucky to run the Russell Fork. We had great flow, great lines, great scenery, and great company. Looking foward to returning again this fall.

Triple Drop

El Horendo

View below El Horendo

Box move at Climax

Race line at Climax

Climax

For more photos see the full Russell Fork Gallery

Pacifc Northwest 2009

2009-06-21T19:33:00.015-04:00

Me running last drop of Thor's Playroom, Opal Creek, OR

It’s official. I am in love with Hood River. No doubt about it. Jeff and I spent a fabulous 3 weeks in Oregon in May, 2/3 of it in The Hood. May is an amazing month in the Pacific Northwest. We had warm sunny weather for most of our trip (barely a cloud in the sky for the last 2 weeks) but still plenty of water. With so much to do out there we split our time between boating, hiking, caving, beach combing, and generally enjoying the wonders of the region. After a couple of days of paddling and hiking the Columbia Gorge we headed out to the Oregon Coast and made our way down into California to see the Redwoods. From there we headed back north stopping at Crater Lake.

Paddling Highlights:

I didn’t do much difficult paddling on this trip. Not having paddled much this year do to a broken foot I didn’t feel in shape for any epic adventures. Nonetheless I got on some old favorites and a few new runs as well:

Upper East Fork, Hood River: With good water this year, the East Fork was a wild, adrenaline packed ride. Some have likened it to a miniature version of the North Fork Payette. Not having run it I’ll have to take their word for it. Sweet run (despite some hideous wood).

Me on the Upper East Fork, Hood River

West Fork, Hood River: Great fun with good water!

Hood River, Dee to Tucker: This run was surprisingly more exciting than I expected! Besides, what’s better than having a pie store at the takeout? The Huckleberry Peach pie was our favorite!

Joe and Jeff on the Hood

Opal Creek: The level was low but the scenery was spectacular and still had some fun rapids. Also the clearest water I’ve ever seen!

Joe with Thor's Hammer

Eddy checking out Thor's Playroom

Joe running "Big Fluffy"

Maggie, Joe, and Rachel hiking in

Wind River: Awesome run, for us East coasters: reminds me of a combination of the Upper Gauley and Upper Yough

Middle White Salmon: It was too high to run the Farmlands or the Truss this year unfortunately but that meant there was good water in the Middle. Awesome relaxing run, full of big fun waves.

Unfortunately not many boating photos from this trip. Most of the runs were fast and continuous with not much time to stop.

Me running bottom of Maytag

Hiking Highlights:

Hood River Mountain: This was our favorite hike. Just 10 minutes outside of town, Hood River Mtn provides some of the most spectacular views with very little effort. We did this one about four times. An easy 30 minute hike brings you out to a gorgeous meadow full of lupine, balsamroot (a small sunflower like plant) and Indian paintbrush. The Wildflowers were just spectacular. From here you also get amazing views of Mt. Hood, Mt. Adams and on a clear day Mt. St. Helens and even Mt. Rainier in the distance.

Me amongst the wildflowers on Hood River Mountain

Dog Mountain: This is another fabulous hike on the Washington side. Seven miles round trip once again provided fields of spectacular wildflowers, views of the Columbia River, Mt. Hood, Mt. Adams and Mt. St. Helens. I felt a little like I should have had a dog along, most people on this hike did!

Gorge view from Dog Mountain

Ape Cave: Ape Cave lies at the base of Mt. St. Helens and is the longest lave cave in the Western Hemisphere. The longer chamber is approximately 1.4 miles long and the hike requires some scrambling over boulders, scaling an 8 foot wall. No lighting is available in the cave so you have to carry your own. Temperatures are in the 40s and the above ground trail is still packed with snow.

Eagle Creek: A fantastic hike that takes you past the fabled Metlako and Punchbowl Falls as well as Tunnel Falls.

Me at Punchbowl Falls, Eagle Creek

Misc. Gorge Hikes: Louterell Falls, Multnomah Falls, Horsetail and Ponytail Falls.

Redwoods Hikes: We did a few short hikes in the Redwoods parks. Waking thru the old growth forests was just amazing. The trees tower overhead, seeming to have to end as they reach up to the sky.

Me with some little trees

Oregon Coastal Hikes: We did several great hikes along the Oregon Coast. Cape Perpetua had some fantastic old growth forest hikes, the Oregon Dunes had beautiful white sands, and no coastal trip could be complete without plenty of Tide Pool fun!

Rouge River: On our way to Crater Lake we stopped to check out the Natural Bridge on the Rouge and the Rouge Gorge. The Natural Bridge is actually a lava tube thru which the river flows. At low flows the whole river disappears underground. We arrived to find quite high flow with a good portion of the water flowing over the top of the tube. The massive outflow of the lava cave was impressive.

Crater Lake: Even in mid May Crater Lake is packed with snow. We arrived to find only the first mile of the Rim Drive open. Nonetheless it afforded a spectacular view of Wizard Island, the Lake, and its deep blue waters.

Crater Lake

check out the full galleries with tons of great moments from the trip:

Pacific Northwest 2009 Galleries

Impacts and Remediation Methods of Acid Mine Drainage

2009-03-01T14:53:00.010-05:00

AMD in Red Mountain Creek, CO

At some point, most paddlers have come across one of the greatest threats to our nation's streams: Acid Mine Drainage. Paddling on many of West Virginia's creeks and rivers the effects become quite evident. The Cheat River watershed is especially affected.Acid Mine Drainage is a mixture of sulfuric acid, ferric compounds, and other heavy metals. It degrades water quality tremendously, posing severe threats to aquatic life, surrounding ecosystems, and humans. It results from the oxidation of pyrite during the mining process. I did a research paper on AMD for one of my first Environmental Management classes. The abstract is below followed by a link to the full text of the paper for those interested in learning more about this devastating phenomenon. A synopsis of AMD in the Cheat watershed follows.

ABSTRACT: One of the most significant land management issues facing the U.S today deals with hundreds of years of abandoned mines. Prospecting for coal, gold, silver, nickel, and other precious metals has left many regions of the nation literally littered with abandoned mines. These sites that once held the riches of a thriving nation now leave behind a legacy of destruction. Thousands of miles of streams are polluted with acidic mine waters that drain from these mines, bringing with them high levels of heavy metals and acids. These substances are highly toxic to aquatic life leaving many streams entirely devoid of life. Surrounding ecosystems are thus also highly affected; acid mine waters can leave behind tree-less, lifeless moonscapes. The ecological and public health impacts of acid mine drainage and its affect on recreational activities are discussed here. An overview of historic mining practices, legislation, and remediation methods are also studied. Successful remediation projects on key river reaches are examined.

Click here for a link to the full text:

Impacts and Remediation Methods of Acid Mine Drainage

(If you'd prefer a pdf version let me know and I'll email it)

2009-02-09T19:32:00.003-05:00

Think Rain - A Video for Maggie from Craig Campbell

For my birthday Craig put this great video together for me. Seeing as how all i'll be doing for the next couple of weeks (I broke a bone in my foot) is watching it rather than actually paddling, i thought ya'll may as well too! Enjoy.

~Maggie

Durango

2009-01-14T22:55:00.017-05:00

In September Jeff and I headed out to Durango to visit family and take in the amazing sights of Colorado in the fall. While this was not a paddling trip, it did afford some spectacular scenery in one of Colorado's premier paddling destinations. The aspens were just turning their brilliant yellow when we arrived. We spent the first day driving out from Albequerque, NM and taking the scenic route through Santa Fe and Pagosa Springs.

On our first day we drove up the San Juan Skyway through the towns of Silverton and Ouray on our way to the Black Canyon of the Gunnison. The weather was beautiful and we had a fantastic time taking in the sights. The next day we played tourists and climbed aboard the Durango & Sliverton Narrow Gauge Railroad. The train winds its way up the Animas River and though we got some cold rainy weather the ride was still quite beatiful. Jeff's brother David and his wife Carolyn picked us up in Silverton and we continued on through Telluride.

The rest of our time was spent hiking Durango, including another trip up Vallecito Creek and enjoying the scene in Durango. On the way back to the airport we stopped to see Aztec Ruins National Monument and Petroglyph National Monument in New Mexico. See the full gallery here.



	Red Mountain
Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Train heads into the San Juan National Forest	The train along the Animas River
The mighty Animas (low water)
Black Canyon of the Gunnison

Carolyn on the Telluride gondola
Telluride, CO	Ouray, CO
	Critter!!
	Silverton, CO
Hiking up Vallecito
	At the rim of the creek.
	This is about the most we saw of the creek, at the takeout.
Admiring pretty scenery from the shelter of the Jeep.	Telluride

2008 Review

2009-01-11T19:29:00.015-05:00

Happy New Year all! I thought i'd start off 2009 by quickly reminiscing on 2008, boy what a great year! Here's a quick recap of what I did this past year, some favorite moments, and associated trips (click on the photos) by season.

This past fall i started grad school: MS in Environmental Management. Yes i am hoping to save the world for a change of career pace! So expect to see some posts on topics such as Acid Mine Drainage in the near future. I'm definitely looking forward to what 2009 will bring. So far in the mix: Another trip to Oregon coming up in May.

Winter: Icy days on the Upper Yough
(photo: Jeff Macklin)

Spring: Scouting on Canyon Creek, WA; Part of a great Pacific Northwest Trip

Boofing with Pinky on Little Antietam Creek
(photo: Jeff Smith)

Summer: Boofing off Grace Under Pressure during the Great Falls Race
(photo: Jeff Smith)

Hiking the Zion Narrows as part of a great Southwest adventure
(photo: Jeff Smith)

Fall: Launching off Pummel (with cat ears) for Halloween.
(photo: Craig Campbell)

2008 ends with some fond memories....

2008-12-14T18:22:00.007-05:00

Having used up all my time off on various trips throughout the year i've been staying closer to home. Finished off the year with some trips on Big Sandy Creek and had the pleasure of leading Craig down on his first LBS trip (i think he had some better lines than me!).

In other NEWS, Sunny has asked me to take over as Team Manager for the Potomac Paddlesports Team. We've just added some great new members and i'm very excited to get things going for the 2009 season. Check out the Team Blog @ http://potomacpaddlesportsteam.blogs pot.com and look for the cool things we'll be doing in the upcoming months!

Snowy bridge at Rockville

Craig running Wonder Falls

Maggie running Zoom Flume

Craig running Zoom Flume

All photos by Jeff Macklin

Great Falls: Halloween Edition

2008-11-01T20:48:00.012-04:00

Well it took some time but i finally started running the Falls more again. Chris came "home" all the way from Colorado and needed a guide, and i needed someone to motivate me. We got some great runs in on the MD and VA lines... and yes those are cat ears! Happy Halloween!

Chris on Pummel

Hiking up for another lap on Pummel

Scouting U-Hole

Middle line on U-Hole

Maggie on Pummel

Now this is really the scary part, paddling the most unstable boat... ever!!

Sweet boof off first drop of S-Turn

Spout

Chris and Maggie

(all photos by Craig Campbell)

Also check out the great posts Chris put up on the Pyranha and CKS blogs:

Pyranha team blog

CKS blog

Here is a great video Craig put together:

Great Falls - MD Lines 22 & 24 October 2008 by Craig Campbell

Gauley 2008

2008-10-12T12:58:00.009-04:00

Some photos from this years Gauley trip. Fun times as always.

Maggie at pillow	Craig at Pillow
Craig taking the plunge	Maggie taking the plunge

All photos by Jeff Smith

Here is also a time lapse video i did at the campfire:

Gauley Campfire 10.04.08

Southwest

2008-09-04T12:23:00.005-04:00

After getting a taste of Colorado boating and just how generally gorgeous it is there in the summer, I was excited to head back again this year. Though I’d intended to only go out for a quick week long trip, it quickly turned into a much longer adventure once Jeff and I started planning everything we each wanted to do. I wanted to head to the mountains, he wanted to see the desert.

“You’ve turned my boating trip into a desert trip!” I joked. “You turned my desert trip into a boating trip” was the response. Of course it turned into a wonderful compromise of both. We packed up the car and headed west on Friday of Memorial Day weekend for an awesome three week adventure.

Great Sand Dunes

We arrived at the Great Sand Dunes National Park, just west of Colorado Springs, mid day on Saturday. The dunes are the largest in North America, rising up to 800 feet tall. I is basically the country’s largest sand box! Despite rather windy conditions we had a great time hiking up the steep sand. The wind was so bad that despite not having rolled up my cotton jeans high enough while crossing the creek and getting them quite wet... I was completely dry by the time we reached the top. At moments it felt a bit like being sand blasted but the scenery was more than worthwhile.

Great Sand Dunes: photos

Wolf Creek

We made our way to Durango driving through Wolf Creek pass. Jeff insisted that a trip through Wolf Creek was not complete without getting snowed on... and of course it did. We were surprised to see just how much snow was at the top and the fresh snow on the trees. Though quite scenic we both agreed that Wolf Creek itself was mankier than either of us cared to take on so we continued on toward Durango stopping in Pagosa Springs. We took a few minutes to check out the San Juan River and the hot springs.

Snow on Wolf Creek pass

Fresh powder

Wolf Creek

Cute

Even cuter

Jay

The view from Wolf Creek Pass

Treasure Falls

Wolf Creek

Jeff checks out the cliffs at Wolf Creek Pass

phew.... sulfur

San Juan River in Pagosa Springs

Wolf Creek photos

Mesa Verde

Upon arrival in Durango we started off by checking out Mesa Verde NP just outside of town. Jeff’s brother David and his wife Carolyn proved to be excellent hosts, taking us on a great tour of the ancient ruins.

Messa Verde: photos

Lower Piedra / Vallecito

After getting settled somewhat it was time to get some boating in. We chose the Lower Piedra as our first run, a lovely class III/IV run in a gorgeous deep gorge. David and Carolyn kindly ran shuttle for us. Afterwards we drove up the Valecito Creek.... just to look. The creek flows through such narrow walls and is so deep that we weren’t actually able to see any of it as the trail lay far above. Nonetheless it was a beautiful hike.

Boofing to the confluence	Putting on on the west fork	Jeff on the West Fork

Piedra: photos

Vallecito is down there.... somewhere : photos

Lower Animas / Durango

The next day I decided to check out the local playpark in town on the Lower Animas. I demoed a playboat from the local shop and floated down. Though surprisingly scenic for a play run, it lacked more than a few easy rapids and my dislike for playboating was once again reconfirmed. But a nice sunny day made for a nice float.

Me in a playboat. *gasp*: photos

We spent the rest of the day hanging out in town. Durango is definitely a super cool place with lots to do and see. We’re both looking forward to heading back for another visit in September.

David and Carolyn's kitty: Quatt

Glen Canyon

Though we were having a blast in Durango it was time to head on. First stop: North Rim of the Grand Canyon. Aside from our drive out from the east coast, this was the longest time spent in the car. We were both surprised to find it incredibly interesting. Along the way we saw amazing scenery and stopped at the Glen Canyon Dam (the monstrosity that dewaters the Grand Canyon).

Grand Canyon

We spent that evening and part of the next day checking out the breath taking overlooks and doing some light hiking down into the canyon. Words cannot describe and photos cannot convey the true beauty of the Grand Canyon. You just have to go and see it for yourself.

Grand Canyon: photos

Snow in Arizona, in June. Who would have thunk it?

Zion

Next we headed to what would be one of the main highlights for me, Zion National Park. The geology, animal and plant life in Zion’s canyon is amazing. The variety here is just incredible. We started off with an eight mile round trip hike to Observation Point at the rim of the canyon (the panorama at the top is the view from here). The scenery along the way, animals and plant life were wonderful. The next day we donned our drysuits and did the best hike I think I’ve ever done... into the heart of the Zion Narrows.

Zion: photos and more photos

The North Fork of the Virgin River carves its way through the soft sandstone of Zion, forming a deep and narrow canyon. In the Narrows the walls are scarcely 20 feet apart in places and 1500 feet high. The sights are simply stunning. We spent most of the day making our way up the river. At flows above 140 cfs you are allowed to paddle it, but unfortunately it was only in the 80’s. Just the same, the hike was fantastic. You spend about half the time wading through very cold water and it amazed me to see so many people doing it in shorts. I was quite happy to have my drysuit on as the water was usually above my knees and several times came up above my waist. Well worth the time for sure!

Narrows: photos

Bryce Canyon

From there we headed on to Bryce Canyon which provided still more spectacular scenery and photos.

Jeff makes friends with the locals

Sunset

My tree throne

Capital Reef

Capital Reef was next on our way to Moab and we spent some time here admiring the scenery. It is kind of a combination of Zion and Bryce geologically, making for some amazing sights. This was probably the most visually stunning of the parks to me. The geology was fantastic and though we only spent a short time there it certainly made an impact. We checked out some Indian petroglyphs along the Freemont River. See more photos

whatcha looking at?

Sego Canyon

Our last stop before Moab was at Sego Canyon. Here ancient people had painted stunning pictographs on the cliffs.

Arches / Moab

Fun with cottonwood

We arrived in Moab to 90+ degree heat. The harsh dessert sun was simply unbearable mid day so we spent our time hanging out in town and decided that since we’d only have a few hours in the mornings and evenings to go hiking that we should spend the hot parts of the day paddling. The Colorado River flows through Moab and it was running at about 38,000 cfs. Mostly fast moving flatwater with a few class II-III rapids it is more than worth the trip. We stopped in at the local kayak shop and asked around for beta. They were kind enough to provide us with a map of the river and suggested best put in / take out options. We chose a five mile section just on the boundary with Arches NP called the Lower Fisher Towers section.

The next day we were surprised to find that the temperature had dropped into the 50’s and it was very overcast and threatening to rain. Since the lighting in the park would be very uninteresting without some sunlight, we chose to save this for later. Jeff quickly biked the shuttle for us and we put on the might Colorado River. Okay so it’s not the Grand Canyon. But it was wonderful anyway and we got to combine the two main objectives of our trip: boating IN the desert! Who could ask for anything more?

From the put in you see several tall red mesas and various other rock formations. The first rapid was a legitimate class III wave train followed by some smaller rapids. The water moved so fast that the five miles took us only about an hour. We took some time to explore a wash that was backed up by the river and had fun playing in the whirlpools near the takeout. That evening we were able to catch a nice sunset at Balanced Rock in Arches NP.

The next day we were once again greeted by rainy (this time pouring rain) weather and chose to spend the morning in town. We also drove around some looking at more petroglyphs. Thankfully though the sun finally came out and we were able to do a fantastic hike through the park including catching Delicate Arch during a beautiful sunset.

Sunset at Delicate Arch

Fire in the sky

The biggest window i've ever seen

another window

Hanging out at camp

Delicate Arch thru the window, Photo: Jeff Smith

After the sun set the lighting was spectacular.
These are actual colors!

Double-O Arch
.

Our awesome campsite
.

Cute mini arch in the back of our campsite

No shortage of pretty out here

Turret Arch at sunrise

Vail

Finally it was time to say goodbye to the desert and head back to Colorado. Our first stop was Vail where we met up with Ryan who was hanging out at the Teva booth giving out ear exams. We paddled Dowd chute the first day and checked out some of the Teva Mountain Games events. Josh drove out from Denver to join us for a Gore Creek run.

My ears are in good shape!

8 ball boater cross - teva mtn games: photos

Arkansas Valley

After a few days in the Vail / Silverthorne area Ryan joined us for a trip down to the Arkansas valley. We set up our campsite at the takeout of Clear Creek (which has some of the most incredible free camping I’ve ever seen). I ended up getting in three laps on Clear Creek, the Numbers and we did a great run on the Brown’s Canyon section of the Arkansas. Clear Creek is a great class V- run. Short but very sweet it flows through a gorgeous valley surrounded by 14ers. Brown’s and the Numbers were both great big water runs. We also spent some time doing great hikes, making smores, and watching carnage at the Pine Creek Boater X (check out some shots of the start).

Clear Creek

Ryan relaxing at camp

Getting ready for some high altitude kayak sledding

Jeff cooks a mean breakfast

Old mining town

The most perfect beaver dam

... and the most perfect beaver lodge

Maggie on Clear Creek

First Gorge, Clear Creek

Maggie on Clear Creek

Lake Creek

	I really don't want to run anything called Paralyzer

What does it take to live in THIS house?

Brown's Canyon

Staying at Clear Creek provided some of the most diverse scenery we’d seen in any one are on our trip. Our campsite was at approximately 9500 feet, with several 14ers surrounding the valley. Jeff and I did a hike up to about 11k feet and though we weren’t quite able to get above the tree line we got some amazing views. The lush green aspens and tall pines were amazing. We spent some time exploring the old mining towns just up the road. In great contrast, heading back into town and to the Arkansas was very much like being in the dessert again. It was much more arid here and the vegetation changed drastically. Quite amazing!

After a few wonderful days out trip was starting to come to an end. I met up with Hector and Tyler who’d just arrived for a run on the Numbers and then we made our way to Denver. Josh and Sylvia made our last evening in Colorado quite pleasant as we made the long trek back east. We arrived home with many wonderful memories, thousands of great photos, and numerous plans for future trips.

The Numbers

Alternate river craft

2008-09-03T12:25:00.016-04:00

Sarah, Jeff, Maggie, Craig

Many of you have been wondering where I've been this summer. No i haven't spent every day at the Falls like last summer. Between various trips, injuries, school, climbing (hey i can do 5.11s now!) and a general lack of motivation I have been out paddling less. But that doesn't mean i haven't made it out to the Potomac or had a blast!

Along with a few requisite Falls runs and some attaining, what would the summer be without some general tom-foolery? When i couldn't paddle too well due to some injuries i decided it was time to break out my fins and boogie board again. Craig, Sarah, Jeff, and I had a great time negotiating the treacherous Mather Gorge on our bargain store craft! Craig even came up with the perfect solution to rafting.

Sarah headed home to the UK this week but not before showing us just how it's done on the Fishladder Boof. It was wonderful having her around this summer. I think we all made some great friends this summer and hope to meet up again soon.

Craig in his alligator raft	Craig let's the chicks do all the work	I can make mine go higher!
Sarah fires up the boof, showing us how	Jeff and Craig, wishing the flatwater would move just a little faster	The alligator raft is hard to roll. But at least it is stable... no issue,

2008-08-31T21:49:00.003-04:00

Great Falls Race : The Ledges

Great Falls Race 2008: "Grace Under Pressure"

2008-07-13T20:21:00.010-04:00

Maggie running Grace Under Pressure, race run

Photo: Jeff Smith

Aptly named, Grace Under Pressure is perhaps the most intimidating of the standard lines on Great Falls. Sitting poised majestically at the top of the Center Lines, "Grace" is both breathtaking and terrifying. Mistakes on this drop can bare dire consequences as the deadly sieved drop of Subway lies below. Nonetheless, good lines will provide one of the best and cleanest boofs around, launching you far into the air and landing softly in the aerated pool below.

I'd run Grace for the first time a few weeks before this year's Great Falls Race. I'd only gotten a few runs in before the level dropped back down. I was surprised to find relative ease in the drop and had a great time. Though it had previously made me quite nervous, I found that I now enjoyed it very much.

Unfortunately as the race approached and the level rose, I found myself with a badly damaged boat and a badly bruised hip. So much so that taking even the most basic strokes was very painful. I couldn't carry my boat, much less paddle anything hard in it. After a week I tried getting out on the Falls but found the entrance rapid to be challenging enough. I was greatly disappointed as I watched everyone taking many fun practice runs from a safe perch above Grace, my now patched up Burn safely carried down below. It was three days before the race.

I registered anyway thinking that there might be some chance I could do it. The night before the race I spent all night visualizing the lines. I thought back to my own good lines and those of others. I must have run Grace in my head a dozen times (i hadn't run it for real in a month).

Arriving at the Falls Saturday morning I was somewhat sleep deprived and very nervous. But I was actually feeling significantly better and with some ibuprofen and a lot of adrenaline I pulled on my race bib. Paddling down to the Flake proved to be far easier than i expected and i felt minimal pain. So I literally decided that I would actually race about 30 minutes before my run. I didn't do a practice run.

Though terribly nervous, I put on with confidence that I could do well. The race start this year was quite interesting in that it was from the cove that is located at the top of the Flake, just a few feet above Grace. There was no warm-up. But there was also no time to get tired and everyone got to launch off Grace with full energy.

I made the quick attainment out of the cove and pealed out, quickly making the move around the overhanging rock and making my way to the lip. I set up with surprisingly good angle and launched a great boof, landing right in the middle of the flow and avoiding getting pushed into the right wall and the dreaded eddy that will kill a race run. What great luck!

I had intended to paddle slowly and cautiously but as I landed I suddenly got quite motivated, quickly realizing I’d aced the race line on Grace, I knew I was set up to do pretty well on the rest.

Maggie's Race Run on Grace Under Pressure

The Center Lines are really quite fun and relatively easy to race in that if you do things well it is mostly a straight shot down. The adrenaline was pumping hard and I wasn’t feeling any pain at this point so I immediately started paddling hard and took off down the Ledges. I didn’t even hesitate as I dropped off the Fingers. Having finally figured out the correct way to run the final drop I had no problems landing and continuing on to the finish. At this point I already felt great about my run.

Heading down the Ledges

Photo : Jim & Monique Hubshman

The Fingers

Photo : Jim & Monique Hubshman

The race finish was also quite interesting in that it required paddling through the flat water in the pool below the Fingers and making ferries across the two streams of current coming out of Subway and Twist and Shout. I had gotten to the bottom of the Falls in approximately 30 seconds and it took once again that time to make it to the finish at the flake of rock next to Horseshoe wave. My final time was 64 seconds, beating my competition by over 10 seconds (it was nice not to just come in first by default of being the only woman). I came in 16th overall out of 23 men and 2 women, accomplishing my single goal for this year: not to come in last again! Not bad for a cripple with two successful runs on Grace and no practice runs! ;-)

There were a lot of great runs and for the most part everyone had good safe lines. Excellent safety was set up which was as always great to see.

Looking forward to more Falls fun and next years race!

Check out more great photos people sent me : Great Falls Race photos

Jim and Monique also have tons of awesome photos of everyone: www.potomacpaddlers.com

Fishladder

2008-06-29T19:21:00.006-04:00

After years of unrunable log jams the Great Falls Fishladder was finally cleared out this past spring by high water. Finally for the first time i got to do some top to bottom runs through all the slides. What a blast. Check out the video Craig put together.

I also finally got on Center Lines again and fired up Grace for the first time. Unfortunately no photos yet.

Maggie, Ryan, Sean, and Mark running the Fishladder (click for HD)

2008-06-22T09:19:00.003-04:00

Hello all, well i know there haven't been any updates on here for a while. I had a pretty mellow spring, mostly just playing on all the great high water we had on the Potomac. The summer has gotten off to a great start. I just got back from a fantastic three week trip to the southwest and Colorado. I did lot's of great hiking and boating and have tons of photos and stories to share. I know many of you have been asking when the trip report will be out. Soon... i hope... it'll take a while to get all these photos sorted!

In the meantime i have some exciting news! I'm very excited to announce that i've been asked to join the Potomac Paddlesports team! It has been wonderful being a part of the community here on the Potomac and i look forward to the future.

Cheat Fest 2008

2008-05-17T18:41:00.013-04:00

Me on Big Splat, Lower Big Sandy

(photo: Clive Williamson)

After weeks of hard training on the Potomac i was very excited to get to the Cheat Race this year. I was determined to do well. But of course i couldn't help myself but to join in on some extra fun before the race. Friday morning Sean, Drew, Jeff and I we met up with the Brits (Sarah, Andy, Ali and Clive) for a run down the Big Sandy. Levels were low so we decided to do the whole Upper section from Bruceton Mills down. Never knew how much flat water there is up there! I'd somewhat misjudged just how much time this would all take and barely made it to the Cheat Race in time. It was somewhat exhausting and i had no time to rest before the race but still managed to make it to the finish. The level was a sweet 3.5 feet making for some exciting lines and a fair bit of carnage. Paddling nearly 20 miles in one day including doing a 10 mile race is quite a lot! Pinky and i did well. Coming in 3rd in the women's long boat class and much improving my overall results from last year.

Andy firing up the dam

Sarah and Andy on the UBS

Maggie on Wonder Falls (photo: Clive Williamson)	Andy on Wonder Falls (photo: Clive Williamson)
Ali on Wonder Falls	Clive had more fun playing behind the waterfall then on it. Low enough flow makes it easy to paddle behind the curtain without getting hammered.

Sean running the horseshoe

Andy running the horseshoe

Me and Pinky at the race start.

(photo: Clive Williamson)

Cheat Race Mass Start

(photo: Jeff Smith)

The race was a lot of fun but man i don't like mass starts. Paddles flailing everywhere, people running into you from every direction. Topo duo's running you over! Lol. fun times though.

We all throughly enjoyed our time with our new European friends and look forward to meeting up again in the future.

Cheat Fest 2008

(photo: Helene Scalliet)

Cheat Race and Big Sandy photos

Sweet Spring Creeking

2008-05-12T20:36:00.013-04:00

Alden checkin out the goods	Sean launching a sweet boof	Seth

Epic Sharpsburg Hairboating

2008-04-27T19:57:00.005-04:00

After having spent a fun day on the Shenandoah at Harper's Ferry with the gang, I suggested to Jeff that we conserve some time and gas money and allow me to get in my personal first descent on the mighty Antietam. Only about 10 minutes to the put in from Jeff's house in Sharpsburg, it would be a quick easy float in the park.

Since most of Antietam is pretty flat we chose to take long boats. I'd been training with Pinky for the Cheat Race which was just a few days away. Jeff as usual wanted to get a bike ride in so we opted to just take one car. Rain the night before had brought the creek up a good bit so we decided we'd also go ahead and check out Little Antietam which would add a bit more whitewater to the trip.

We drove on to Keedysville to check out the creek. Sure enough it was running well. We pulled up to the normal put in just off the bridge on Main Street. To our disappointment we found "No Trespassing" signs all around the bridge. Not too keen on putting on in someone's backyard we decided to head farther upstream in search of a more public access point.

Unfortunately, it seemed that every bridge we came to was fenced or otherwise posted. Even the headwaters stretch well upstream had a fence around it. We continued driving around town, trying every street and were about to give up hope when we finally came across a nice clear area, free of "keep out" signs. This seemed like a good place to put in and i felt comfortable with having to wait there for a while.

We checked out the creek. It was much narrower than at the normal put in but we didn't think much of it. A low-water bridge was covered in debris and the grass around the banks was bent down. Clearly the creek had gotten quite high the night before. We wondered if we'd encounter many strainers to portage. We got our gear ready and Jeff took off to set shuttle.

As I waited the 45 minutes it took him to drive down to the Potomac and ride back I watched as a guy drove up and started working on pulling logs off the bridge. Clearly this was an access road to people's homes. Getting a bit cold from sit around i got up and offered to help. In just a few minutes we were able to clear the smaller logs off and push the large ones to the side enough that he could drive his truck over the bridge. Though it did not seem like anyone minded that we were putting on there i felt like i'd earned our passage by helping out.

Jeff arrived shortly after and we put in. The stream was very narrow (narrower then the length of my boat, which made taking some sharp turns in the creek a bit challenging). We floated on down, dodging a few trees here and there, but no portages. We passed by a few backyards but no one was around to notice or care. Seemed like a quiet little town. Not long after we put on we were surprised to join up with a larger stream: Little Antietam Creek. We had actually put on one of its smaller tributaries!! First descent perhaps?

We continued on to the Keedysville Crusher and I jumped out for a quick scout. Jeff had noticed that there was a tree down when passed by on the road. Luckily the tree was enough out of the way not to be much of an issue so long as you boofed the left side. I gave Jeff the okay and he quickly fired it up. Launching a sweet boof in the Outburst. We had a great time taking turns hiking back up (very easy walk up a few rocks) and running it again. Would be worthy of a quick park-n-huck for those so inclined.

Maggie dropping the "Keedysville Crusher"

Jeffy launching a Siky

We continued on down, meeting up with the main Antietam Creek which was moving fast as the water rose. As we paddled by Burnside Bridge through historic Antietam Battlefield the gauge read 5.4 feet. A nice level. Jeff assured me that some of the usual rapids were rather washed out but at least the flatwater was moving the whole way.

Maggie at Burnside Bridge

We'd already spent almost 2 hours on the water at this point (after spending over an hour just to get there and put on) and had gotten quite hungry. So as we arrived at the bend where the creek flowed by Jeff's parents house, we hopped out. We pulled the boats up to a safe spot where they wouldn't be touched by the rising water and scrambled up the steep goat path so that we could raid their kitchen!! After filling up and chatting for a bit we scrambled back down to the boats. We were rather surprised to run across some Baltimore boaters we knew!

We hopped in and paddled pretty hard as it was only around 60 degrees out and we were pretty well chilled. We were quite surprised not only to take 15 minutes to get to the takeout at the Potomac (a trip that at normal levels takes at least an hour according to Jeff), but to find a sizeable class III rapid just before the takeout. It actually had some decent sized breaking waves. A nice treat to finish off the run!

Breaking waves on Antietam!

Overall our short little local float had turned into quite the fun little adventure and we arrived home almost 6 hours after we'd headed out!!

Approaching the old grist mill

Jeff

Jeff checking out an untapped resource

Antietam Gallery

Think Rain Bumper Stickers For Sale

2008-04-21T20:46:00.004-04:00

The Think Rain bumper sticker is now available for sale. They look basically just like the main blog banner and are full color. The stickers measure 11” x 3” and are weather proof and high quality. Each sticker is $3.95. Check out the link below to purchase one. Thanks for your support and as always... think rain!!

Buy the Think Rain sticker here

I'll likely be adding other items as well so check back.

Big Splat

2008-04-12T08:08:00.003-04:00

After almost four years of running the Lower Big Sandy and walking around Big Splat the opportunity and motivation finally presented itself to skip the portage. The level was 5.7 and I figured that if I didn’t run it then, then I probably never would. Sean, Jeff and I enjoyed a leisurely lower water paddle down and got out to scout. The Horseshoe certainly looked a lot friendlier at this level and after watching Sean’s line I was nervous but ready. The approach provided some challenge in setting up at the right angle but ultimately didn’t posse much difficulty. I rode up high on the left bank and came off the final ledge of the Horseshoe with ease. I was surprised though just how much the flow pushes to the right and had to paddle hard to get back into the left eddy. The final drop went smoothly and was a lot of fun. I had a great line, landing in what felt like a fluffy pile of kittens. Definitely a great drop!

It felt great to finally have the skill and confidence to run this rapid, even if at fairly low flow. I don’t see myself wanting to run the Horseshoe much higher but the second drop certainly adds a lot to an already amazing creek.

Maggie running Big Splat

Maggie and Jeff's Awesome Pacific Northwest Adventure

2008-03-26T15:10:00.005-04:00

Ever since Joe and Rachel moved to Oregon I’d been planning to come out and visit. I’d never been farther west than Colorado so this was definitely very exciting. I looked forward to seeing the Columbia River Gorge, the Cascades and the Pacific Coast. When I suggested to Jeff that we go somewhere together this was the first thing that came to mind. We’d spent the last three months planning our trip and daydreaming about the great runs and beautiful sights. Finally the day had come and we were heading west for two weeks. Below are short trip reports for each day. I put up a selection of the best photos and videos. Click on the links below for lots more photos and more details of our trip (There are a lot so if you want the quicker version check out my Best of the Pacific Northwest gallery).

Mount Hood and Hood River

Day 1: Columbia River Gorge, OR

We arrived in Portland, OR early in the afternoon and headed toward Hood River. We got a great view of Mount Hood as we flew over it and couldn’t wait to get our adventure started. Along the way we took the Columbia River Gorge Scenic Highway to do some sight seeing. Within an hour of getting off the plane we were hiking to gorgeous waterfalls and exploring fabulous lush forests. The fantastic green moss covering everything was an amazing and the lush green ferns growing everywhere made it seem more like late spring than winter. I had worried that since we were heading there in late winter that everything would be gray and dreary as it is in MD. Not so! This day also happened to be Jeff’s 30^th birthday. What a great way to spend it!!

Columbia River Gorge Waterfalls Gallery

Vista House, Columbia River Gorge	Wahkeena Falls
Latourell Falls	Multnomah Falls

We arrived in Hood River that evening in time to grab dinner at the Taqueria (best Mexican food I’ve had in a long time, we ate there a lot during our trip) and head to the pool to watch Joe play kayak polo.

Hood River Kayak Polo Gallery

Day 2: Wind River, WA

Jeff, Maggie and Joe

The next day we were eager to get a taste of Pacific Northwest paddling. Rachel suggested the Wind River in Washington as a good warm-up. It turned out to be a great choice. Good water level, fun continuous class III-IV rapids and amazing scenery. We were also blessed with gorgeous sunny weather.

Rachel was unable to paddle for a few days but this did not deter her from being a wonderful hostess. She not only came up with the perfect first day run, let me borrow her Solo and also ran shuttle for us!

Wind River Photo Gallery

After our run Joe and Rachel took us on a quick sight seeing tour (into prime Big Foot country). We checked out the crazy landslide at Rock Creek. Unstable earth around the falls known as the Money Drop had caused the waterfall to change in height. Originally starting at around 80 feet it had dropped to 30 feet as the earth filled in the pool below and rose once again to around 60 feet as the creek eroded through the landslide. It was rather frightening standing on the edge to look over at the drop knowing how unstable the bank was. After snapping a few photos we hurried back up to safer ground.

The Money Drop

Joe close to the edge (too close for my comfort!)

Rock Creek Landslide Photo Gallery

We finished up our day with a trip to view Mount Saint Helens. I’ve always had a fascination with the volcano and it really was a highlight for me to get a personal view.

Mt. Saint Helens Photo Gallery

Day 3: West Fork Hood River, OR

On the third day Joe had to work so we decided on the West Fork of the Hood River just outside town. It was running on the low side and was an easy class II-III run but as Jeff and I had not done much boating in the past few months we were glad for a nice relaxing run to do on our own. The scenery was great and we had a good time. Along the run we came across one portage: A fishladder made up of a series of deadly low head dams. Why anyone would replace what once used to be a 13 foot waterfall with a bunch of drowning machines was beyond us. Since the level was low I decided to go ahead a run a few of the drops on the scrapey left side just for the heck of it.

Rachel played shuttle bunny once again, going above and beyond by stopping at various spots along the run on her way to the takeout to get photos of us coming down. She was so sneaky that there were various places we never even saw her!

Maggie, West Fork Hood River	Jeff, West Fork Hood River
Maggie	Maggie at the fishladder
Maggie and Jeff	Setting out

West Fork Hood River Photo Gallery

That evening we headed into Portland for a little culture. Rachel and I had made plans to take the guys to see Cirque du Soleil for their birthdays (since they were only 2 days apart). The show was amazing!

Day 4: Canyon Creek, WA

Now that we’d gotten a good warm-up Joe took us out to Canyon Creek in Washington. It was a fabulous secluded class IV+ run with incredible scenery and quality whitewater. The rapids started out in a narrow gorge and then opened up to more pool – drop character. We were greeted with a nice surprise of seeing a bald eagle along the run. The bird watched us as we paddled by and did not move from its high perch in the trees. We had a fabulous run, taking our time to get lots of photos. Rachel patiently waited for us at the takeout once again.

Joe running Big Falls	Joe and Jeff at Big Falls
Joe running The Hammering Spot	Maggie running Champagne
How to run Thrasher: by Maggie	How NOT to run Thrasher: by Jeff
Jeff and Joe	Maggie and Joe
How to run Thrasher Prelude: by Jeff	How NOT to run Thrasher Prelude: by Maggie
Maggie running slot	Volcano
Jeff and the bald eagle (top right corner)	Lake paddle

Maggie running Thrasher

Jeff running Big Falls

Canyon Creek Photo Gallery

Day 5: White Salmon River, Farmlands Section, WA

Finally we were getting on the Pacific Northwest classic: the White Salmon River. We started off on the Farmlands section. Driving to the put in you wouldn’t imagine that you were about to drop into a gorged canyon. The White Salmon winds its way through flat fields but nonetheless has plenty of gradient as it drops deep into the ground. We had yet another atypically sunny day (we really had fabulous luck with weather on this trip!) and a wonderful run with lots of fun drops, long narrow rapids and incredible scenery. The hike out was tough, involving roping boats out and a steep scramble up a muddy dirt wall. I was rather concerned about how I was going to get back in there to run the Truss Section the next day.

Mount Adams	Farmlands put in
Maggie	Farmlands gorge
Joe and Jeff	Jeff at Doorbell
Scouting Lava Falls	Joe and Jeff

Farmlands Photo Gallery

Day 6: White Salmon River, Green Truss Section, WA

The Green Truss section of the White Salmon of was at the top of my must do list for this trip. To alleviate my fear of heights I packed my climbing harness and belay device and had Jeff lower me in at the takeout. I was nervous enough doing this and was not about to free climb down to the put in. This worked out well. The run was just as, if not even more beautiful than the Farmlands section. The weather remained quite beautiful and the run was awesome. Jeff and I watched Joe run Big Brother who of course made it look easy but both decided it was not a drop for us. We all portaged BZ Falls.

Lowering boats	Green Truss bridge
Zig Zag	Joe at Lower Zig Zag
Jeff and Maggie at BZ Falls	Maggie running Little Brother
Joe on Big Brother	Jeff at the put in

Maggie at Green Truss put in

Joe running Big Brother

Joe running Double Drop

Truss Photo Gallery

Day 7: White Salmon River, Middle Section, WA

The next day Jeff decided to take a break and took over shuttle bunny duties for Rachel (who was finally able to paddle again). I felt up to an easy paddle so I joined Rachel and her friends for a relaxing run on the Middle Salmon. I decided to give Joe’s Magnum a try on this run for a little variety.

Maggie and Rachel

Maggie running Hussum Falls

Middle White Salmon Photo Gallery

After the run we headed back to Oregon for a hike up Eagle Creek to see Metlako and Punchbowl Falls. The trail followed high above the creek which flowed through a deep narrow gorge. We had a great time checking out the flowers and other plants of the surrounding forest as well as the falls themselves. I had some hopes of getting to run Punchbowl Falls, a clean 30 foot drop. But the two mile hike in quickly lowered my motivation especially since getting back down would require portaging xx ft Metlako (which I have no aspirations of every running) or else hiking back out on the trail. Perhaps one day when I have more time I’ll make this expedition happen.

Maggie on the trail	Maggie at Punchbowl Falls
Moss	Punchbowl Falls
Jeff rock hoping	More moss
Jeff and Maggie	Jeff and Maggie at Metlako Falls
Metlako Falls	Punchbowl Falls
Pretty	Metlako Falls, photo by Jeff

Eagle Creek Photo Gallery

Day 8: Cannon Beach, OR

After six straight days of paddling even I needed a break. So Jeff and I headed to the Oregon Coast. Neither of us had seen the Pacific and looked forward to something new. We drove out to the mouth of the Columbia and headed south along the Pacific Coast Highway. We spent our first night in Cannon Beach at a lovely bed and breakfast. We spent the afternoon exploring the beaches and incredible trees in the coastal forests and enjoyed a nice meal at a seaside restaurant. We got a great close up view of the world’s third tallest monolith, Haystack Rock just off of Cannon Beach. There was a high surf advisory that day so we got to see huge crashing waves. It was really beautiful.

Mouth of the Columbia at Astoria	High surf
Maggie at Cannon Beach	Cannon Beach at high tide
Cool tree	Black sand beach
Coastal rocks	Another cool tree

Cannon Beach Photo Gallery

Day 9: Oregon Coast

The next morning we woke up to gorgeous sunny weather and low tide. This was extremely exciting as this meant we would be able to explore some tide pools. We hurried out to the beach and were joyously surprised to find an amazing abundance of big starfish, sea anemones, muscles and other sea critters. We spent several hours playing in the tide pools around Haystack Rock. That afternoon we headed down the coast stopping along various beaches and viewpoints. More typical Pacific Northwest weather had finally caught up to us and we were faced with periods of showers and bitter winds. We made the best of it nonetheless and saw many incredible sights

Haystack Rock	Octopus Tree
Maggie with starfish	Tide pool starfish

Haystack Rock Tide Pools	Devil's Punchbowl
Oregon Coast	Cormorant

Haystack Rock Tide Pools Photo Gallery

Oregon Coast Photo Gallery

Day 10: Newport, OR

We arrived in Newport in the evening and headed to the historic bay front. As we sat in the car making hotel reservations I heard a familiar barking. Sea lions!! We excitedly grabbed our cameras and headed for the pier to check out the majestic creatures basking there.

We enjoyed a fabulous seafood dinner at a local fish market restaurant and enjoyed chatting with the chef as we watched our food being cooked from our seats at the bar. Newport turned out to be a very charming fishing town with much to see and do.

Newport pier	Crab traps
Sea Lions	Newport marina
Sea Lions	Sea Lions
Bacon wrapped tuna steak	Sand dunes

Newport Photo Gallery

The next morning we headed for the beach at Seal Rocks State Park to check out more tide pools. It was a cold rainy day so we donned waterproof pants and jackets. Despite the wet conditions we had a fabulous time playing in the tide pools looking at critters. The sea creatures here were similar to those at Cannon Beach. Lots of starfish and sea anemones. However the pools here were deeper so the anemones were a lot bigger and we were also able to find some awesome purple sea urchins.

When the rain became to heavy to keep our cameras out we put them away and pulled out the waterproof ones. Although we were getting rather cold and wet we had a great time taking underwater photos of the tide pools:

As we were getting ready to leave Jeff pointed out to a rock a short ways from the shore exclaiming : “It IS a seal!”. Sure enough a gray harbor seal had sat up, making its presence more obvious. When we’d first arrived we’d both looked at the rock and the first though that had come to mind was: “Seals!”. But upon further examination we’d both decided that was just wishful thinking and that it was actually just a piece of gray driftwood. We’d gone about our tide pool fun and not given it a second though. Now though it was clear that there was indeed a seal sitting next to the log. Oh wait! No it was actually three seals all lined up!! We both had a good laugh and happily took photos of our “seal log”.

Pink anemone	Green anemone
Starfish	Sea urchin
Awesome tide pool critters	Jeff: very wet, but very happy
The "log", aka harbor seals	Sea urchin

Seal Rocks Tide Pools Photo Gallery

Having gotten thoroughly cold and wet we decided we’d had enough outdoor fun for one day so we headed to the Oregon Coast Aquarium. We got to view more exciting critters including more starfish, anemones, sea urchins, as well as various aquatic birds, sea otters, sharks and other wildlife. It was a wonderful way to finish off our trip to the coast.

"Passages of the Deep"	Puffin
Starfish	Jellyfish
Starfish	Jellyfish
Giant octopus	"Passages of the Deep"

Oregon Coast Aquarium Photo Gallery

Day 11: East Fork Hood River, OR

After three days at the coast we returned to Hood River to find that the mountains had gotten some fresh snow. Not wanting to miss a powder day, Joe and Rachel headed off to Mount Hood for some skiing. Meanwhile Jeff and I stopped at a snow park for some kayak sledding. We took turns hiking our boats up the hill. It was great fun (though somewhat scary as the hill was quite steep and sent you flying fast!). The Magnum proved to make the best kayak sled, going much faster than the Micro. After a few runs each we took some time to play in the snow.

Getting some air	Rolling snowballs is hard work!
Powder day	Jeff airborne
Maggie	Snow angel fun
The biggest snowman i've built since I was ten!	Now this is what I call steep creeking!
Snow pack at Mount Hood	Jeff carving a turn

Jeff kayak sledding at Mount Hood

Kayak Sledding Photo Gallery

After we had our fill of kayak sledding we met back up with Joe and Rachel for a run on the East Fork of the Hood River. The put in required trudging through knee-deep snow but the fresh sprinkling on the trees made for another beautiful run. This was a narrow boulder garden style run with continuous class IV drops. The level was a touch on the low side making some of the drops rather manky and reminiscent of West Virginia creeks (making us look around for groves of rhododendron). I was somewhat fearful of pinning or pitoning throughout the run but luckily it went fine with no major incident. We did have to portage one very large and heinous looking log jam and got a fresh layer of snow sprinkled on us along the way.

East Fork Hood	Joe and Jeff snowy

East Fork Hood River Photo Gallery

Day 12: East Fork Lewis River, WA

For our last day of paddling Joe and Rachel picked out the East Fork of the Lewis River in Washington. It was a low stress class III-IV run with some nice waterfalls and as usual gorgeous scenery. The trip was made more exiting by the five (yes five!!!) swims taken by the person we met up with. Nonetheless it was a great final run.

Joe and Maggie	Jeff running Horseshoe Falls
Maggie running Sunset Falls	Maggie and Joe
Rachel in a sticky hole	Rachel running Sunset Falls
Scouting	I didn't realize this was going to be a fishing trip

East Fork Lewis Photo Gallery

Day 13: Goodbye to the Pacific Northwest

On the way home from the Lewis, our last paddling day of the trip, we saw an amazing rainbow. The Pacific Northwest's way of reminding us to come back soon. We sure will!!

Hood River Photo Gallery

It was a wonderful two weeks of boating and sightseeing. Thanks so much to Joe and Rachel for giving us a place to stay, showing us great places and taking us down awesome rivers. Special thanks to Rachel for being the best shuttle bunny EVER!!! We can’t wait to go back!

Sunset over the Columbia River Gorge

River Gypsies Photo Contest

2008-03-01T22:42:00.004-05:00

I'm heading to Oregon on Tuesday! Woo-hoo! In the meantime check out the River Gypsies Photo Contest.

I entered a bunch of photos and two got chosen. One from the New River Gorge at high water and one from Bailey Canyon in Colorado. Take a look and vote! (preferably for one of mine :)

(contest photos)

24-7

2008-01-27T20:26:00.000-05:00

A little splash of color in an otherwise black and white world

"Deep Creek Hydro is scheduled to generate for 24 hours a day until further notice."

So what if its only supposed to be in the high 20's? Music to our ears on a nice cold winter day. Jeff and i met up with Jeff Macklin (JMac) and Jason for a quick run on the Upper Yough. A light sprinkling of fresh snow covered everything in a delicate blanket. The wind made the paddle in (and out) chilling but the rapids were great fun as always and the scenery was fantastic. Snow capped rocks, crystal clear blue-green water, and fabulous blue ice draping the banks like a curtain on the stage of winter.

Jason and Maggie admiring the ice

JMac, Jason and Jeff at the put in

JMac at Trap Run

Jeff at Heinzerling

Jeff and Maggie by the ice curtain

Maggie and Jeff on the very cold paddle out

Maggie at Cheeseburger

Upper Yough 1.27.08 Photos

2007 Paddling Year Summary

2008-01-14T16:37:00.000-05:00

Well things are still kinda slow here. I'm sure i'll have lots of interesting new trip reports up soon but for now i thought i'd reflect on this past year. If you haven't been keeping up with the blog here's a chance to catch the highlights of what i've been up to in the past twelve months:

January

2007 started off with a decent step up for me. In the month of January I ran the Upper Blackwater and the Russell Fork for the first time and got my first taste of wilderness adventuring out in West Virginia.

February

February as usual was good and freezing but nonetheless brought a fair amount of enjoyment. Some cold weather play time on the Fishladder, an amazing spectacle of seeing the frozen 50 ft Muddy Creek Falls, followed by a sudden thaw and an awesome day on the Top Yough.

March

I spent much of the winter out in Western MD running the Lower Big Sandy, Upper and Top Yough a lot. The month of March continued with lots more usual runs on the Yough and another descent of the Upper B. Good water also brought along some more personal first descents: Drake Run and Fike's Run in PA. Continuing sub-freezing temperatures made me realize that my tolerance is quite high so long as i can paddle hard and continuously. A long 16 mile paddle from Laurel Run to Cheat Lake (Upper and Lower Big Sandy along the way) in 25 degree weather actually turned out to be quite enjoyable as did a 22 degree day on the Upper Yough. I ended the winter with a record 20 paddling days during this month despite the cold conditions.

April

Spring brought heavy rains and an opportunity to get on the crown jewel of northern West Virginia whitewater: Upper Seneca Creek

May

In May i made my first trip to paddle out west to paddle in Colorado. Personal first descents included Clear Creek of the Arkansas, Gillman Gorge of the Eagle, Lower Clear Creek, Bailey section of the NF South Platte, and Oh-Be-Joyful.

June

June saw my return to my local stomping grounds. Having been gone every weekend all winter and spring it was high time to return to my first love: The Potomac. Long days, low water levels and warm weather had me and my crew out on daily Great Falls runs after work. One trip to the New River Gorge provided some variety but otherwise it was good to just be home.

July

Of course i couldn't stay put for long and by the second week of July i was hitting the road again to head the the boating mecca of western North Carolina. Unfortunately drought conditions limited our options though we still had a good time on the dam release Cheaoh and a personal first descent of the Lower Santeetlah and some exploring of the Lower Whitewater and Triple Falls.

The summer continued with many more runs on Great Falls and my first time participating in the Great Falls race (the only woman to do so this year).

Finally, after a two month hiatus, i was ready to head back to Western MD again to get back on the Yough and was lucky enough to to catch a surprise run on the North Fork of the Blackwater, another new run for me.
August

August turned out to be surprisingly wet allowing for some more runs on the Upper Blackwater along with the usual Upper Yough releases (the increase of which i was very thankful for).
But the best trip by far (and one of the best all year) was another return to the Southeast on which i was finally granted the chance to run the fabled Green Narrows. I had a great crew of good friends and we lucked out to be able to not only get on the run at a usual low summer 100% but to also catch it the following day at an awesome 200% along with a run on Big Hungary creek, both first descents for me.

September

As summer wound down the month of September brought along the usual dam release season. This year i was determined to get on as many as possible. Over Labor Day i headed up to run the Beaver and Raquette (pfd) rivers in upstate New York and of course spent two great weekends at the Gauley. This year i also had some great Gauley firsts: The Marathon, jumping off Pillow Rock, seeing the Wavesport Open, and participating in the Animal Upper Gauley race. I also took part in the Ohiopyle Falls race for the first time and got to do one run on the falls in a Topo Duo (of which i just recently actually got a video of) What an awesome way to finish of the summer.

October

The fall continued the dam release tradition with my first trip to Moose Fest to run the Bottom Moose as well as a return to the Russell Fork (at release level). Some good rain at the end of the month brought us out to Canaan again to get in a run on Red Creek (yet another great pfd for the year).

November / December

The last two months of the year brought low water levels and of course short days. After work runs were no longer a viable option and i started to get back into my indoor winter sport of climbing again. I got in a few more runs on the Falls and started doing some attainments at Harper's Ferry with Jeff. We finished off the year with two great runs on the TY and Sandy. It's been good to get a bit of a rest from paddling continously but never fear, i will back at it with a vengence!

Overall it really was a fun and exciting year. It brought many challenges and many more triumphs. I paddled more than i ever have before, got on lots of new runs, saw amazing places and made some great new friends. In summary:

Total gradient paddled: ~48,500 ft (over 2 and a half times that of the pervious year, 86k feet total to date, that's over 16 vertical miles, dang!)

Miles paddled: ~ 600 (twice what i ran last year, 1400 miles total to date)

Personal First Descents: 22

Total days paddled: 186 (that is over half the year)

Days spent running rivers/creeking : 84 (almost twice as much as last year, almost all class IV or higher with very few exceptions)

Days playboating: 21 (i should really sell my playboat)

Days running Great Falls: 69

Great Falls runs: 136 (MD and VA lines)

Dry conditions throughout the summer and fall allowed for 7 straight months of running the MD and VA lines of the Falls. Thanks to the Falls i was able to paddle class V just about every day during the summer averaging 24 days a month from June to September. It is really wonderful having such reliable and challenging whitewater so close by and makes me very happy to call the Potomac home.

The regulars at Horseshoe, Great Falls

January first was my 655 th day of paddling since i started in 2002. If all goes well by next summer i will have spent 2 years of my life paddling.

The new year is already getting off to a good start with some runs on the Sandy and Yough as well as a personal first descent of Meadow Run in PA. 2008 should certainly be another exciting year with several trips already planned. Check back for great trip reports from my adventures in Oregon in March, hopefully a great spring season in WV/MD and hopefully a return to Colorado come May/June.

SYOTR

Jeff at 7 Foot Falls, Meadow Run

Same old dog, new tricks

2007-12-13T20:16:00.000-05:00

This weekend marked my 183rd day of paddling for the year. In case the significance of this number doesn't immediately stand out; it makes half the year. It has certainly been a fun and busy time. Sorry for the lack of posts recently but the past month has primarily been spent doing some attainments and flatwater paddles with Pinky (my new T-Slalom), a few runs on the Falls, some "nature" walks in Canaan, and a little pool practice:

Maggie's C1 roll
Yes, you can teach an old dog new tricks!! Check back soon for more adventures to come. I'm sure there will not be a shortage in the new year!

(Who knows, maybe you'll get to see me do a z-drag..."for real" )

*grin*

In Between Swims

2007-11-11T09:33:00.000-05:00

Episode 7 of InBetween Swims:The Whitewater Kayakers Podcast is online... Wildwater World Cup, Outdoor Alliance, Think Rain, and Freestyle Nationals

http://media.libsyn.com/media/inbetweenswims/Ep7_Final_program.mp3

Mike Hipsher swims....

U.S. Wildwater team member, Hollie Noble, talks about wildwater racing and the Wildwater World Cup in Ivrea, Italy;

Emily Jackson reviews her late summer travel and competitions;

The Outdoor Alliance gets busy defending our land and waters through human-powered recreation;

Think Rain blogger, Maggie Snowel, talks about taking her paddling to the next level;

Amateur Freestyle Champion, Paige Teegarden, reviews the recent Freestyle National Championships.

InBetween Swims:The WhiteWater Kayaker's Podcast
http://inbetweenswims.libsyn.com/

2007-11-01T19:06:00.002-04:00

Think Rain goes international!

Some time ago a friend suggested that I submit my blog to Kayak Session's "Best of Blogs". Well I just found out that Think Rain has been chosen along with such well known blogs as The Range Life and River Angels. I must say I feel quite honored.

Check it out here: Kayak Session

Over the past two years the blog has certainly played a big role in my paddling and in my life. I've gotten to meet quite a few people through it and have made some good friends.

Thanks to all my loyal readers for your continued encouragement and support. Thanks to all contributing writers and photographers. But mostly thanks to all my friends and paddling buddies, without you none of the great adventures you read about here would have been possible.

Keep reading, there's lots more good stuff to come... and as always... Think Rain!!!