2008 ends with some fond memories....

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.blogspot.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

Big Splat

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

Rejected

Warming temps during the week, a bit of rain and a good bit of snowmelt had once again sent gauges high. Looked like some good creeks would be running. Thursday morning i arrive at work to find an email from Scott. "Maggie, call me when you get this". The time stamp reads 5:30am... Uh oh, i wondered, what is he up to. So i call and as i expected he was on his way to West Virginia, in hopes of catching Upper Seneca Creek, a rare catch. After hearing his plan (to either find people to run it with or else try to solo it) i made it quite clear that i did not approve of the idea (Soloing a 13 mile class V run that you'd never been on just did not seem like a wise idea). Nonetheless he went off on his little adventure and later reported having hiked up from the takeout and only run a bit of class III at the end.

So Thursday night, after already having heard Scott's story, i get a call from Matt. He hade Friday off and he and Jay wanted to try for Seneca. He warned that there would be a very good chance of rejection. Apparently Jay had tried 9 times and only actually got to paddle it twice. Matt had lucked out and gotten one run for one attempt. I called Scott back to check if he'd gotten to the put in at all. He had not gone the whole way but it sounded like it would be possible at least.

I got out to Western MD at about 11pm and we planned on getting up early. All night i could hear the freezing rain and rather dreaded the thought of getting up at the crack of dawn and driving the still 2 more hours to Seneca. Jay calls at about 7, it is on. So we pack up and head to the takeout. It had been sleeting a fair bit all morning and the trees along the way were covered in ice. We beat Jay there by a few minutes and looked around. Standing there in the middle of an ice storm neither of us were really feeling it. 13 miles in this weather? really? Conditions were going to be brutal. It was not going to get above freezing that day. It really didn't look like it was running anyway, but Matt didn't really remember (had been there 3 yrs ago) and what did i know...

Anyway Jay shows up and confirms that it is indeed not running. Shut out again. But probably a good thing as it is nasty out. 20ish degrees, freezing rain. According to Jay it pretty much needs to look like Dry Fork sized play waves at the takeout for Upper Seneca to have enough water. Entirely possible that it was running Thursday, bummer it was a day early or we would have gotten on it. We pretty much figured that that nights freeze is what did it. The headwaters of Seneca are at pretty high elevation (highest in WV) and with the cold it basically shut off.

Well it was pretty early. about 10am so we had plenty of time to seek out other alternatives. So we started looking at the map to see what the closest options were. Jay wanted to check out a creek called Flatrock, so we headed over there. After some looking around it did not appear to be running. Again, no dice. Okay so the next obvious choice was to head back to Canaan and see what was running there. We drove down the Dry Fork stopping at each creek. Red Creek might have been runnable but we'd already gotten beta that there was no way to get to the put in with the current snowpack. So that was out. Red Run looked low (not like i would have wanted to run it anyway). So we checked out Otter. It was funny to be back there, in daylight this time. lol. Upon initial inspection it appeared to be running. So we debated whether to try to run the whole thing (another long run, 14 miles or so), or just hike up and run the last few miles of Lower Otter. But as we headed a bit up the trail for a better look it turned out that there really wasn't as much water as it had first appeared. Plus i remembered walking DOWN that trail, there was now way i was going to hike UP it. That and after Jay and i both slipped and fell on our asses on the slick, wet rocks, the Otter Creek idea was quickly abandoned. The Dry Fork actually looked pretty good, lots of play. But we did not have playboats, and way too cold for it anyway.

Canaan options were quickly dropping out, but there was one more thing to check. The North Fork. With the Blackwater itself at round 1400 cfs, it was sure to be running. Question was, how high? So we headed up to Davis to find out. To be honest after all that driving around i really wasn't too pumped up to bite into the NF for the first time. Did not matter as it appeared to be rather on the high side for a first time run (1.8- 2 feet from the looks of it, we did not drive all the way down to the gauge. Matt did not want me to get on it above 1.6 or 1.7 for the first time, fine by me). I assured him that if they wanted to run it they were free to do so and that i would gladly wait. It is a short run after all. But he wouldn't really even entertain the idea so we continued on to find something all of us could do.

So the next option was to head a back towards Oakland and try Crabtree Creek (which btw is about 10 minutes from his house!!). So after about 8 hours of driving around to just about every creek in northern wv we were back in Maryland!!. At the takeout though it seemed that the level was a bit low and Jay and i were both somewhat skeptical. So the obvious choice... head BACK to west virginia!!!. The one sure thing that was running and at a good level at that! The Lower Big Sandy.

The LBS was at 7 feet. We set shuttle, and put on around 4:30. So yes, that is right we literally spent 9 hours (not to mention the 2 i'd already driven from home) to end up on the LBS (45 minutes away). But that is how things often turn out when trying to catch creeks like Seneca. It was still snowing a bit but the temp turned out not to be too bad. Yup that's three weeks in a row that i've gotten on the LBS, no complaints here though. :) The gauge read 7.1, highest i'd ever run it. I've always loved the LBS but not sure that i even want to run it below 6.5 again (well maybe so that i can run Big Splat at some point). Way more fun at higher water. at 7 feet the main line at Wonder is pretty ugly. Matt and i ran left while Jay went right. Big Splat looks thoroughly heinous and all the holes just keep getting bigger. I definitely plopped into a few that felt a little like hitting a wall! Really truly a tremendous run at that flow! I love Zume Floom, like a magic carpet ride!!

Since none of the smaller creeks seemed to be going (and no one else seemed to want to paddle, including Jay) we did a high water run on the Top Yough Saturday (about 1200 cfs, man there are some big holes!! Suck Hole looks more like Pillow Rock! Swallow Falls is just gigantic, and you'd better be going far left at Swallowtail or you WILL drown). Sunday Jay was off to the LBS again (and as much as i love the LBS too much of a good thing... well you know) so we debated between the NF, TY and UY. After checking the gauges at Friendsville and then Sang Run we decided the UY would be the best choice.It was running about 2.5, again higher than i'd gotten on it before (Little Niagara gets a little angry at that level, lol) . The weather was gorgeous as well. Very cold, about 25 degrees probably, but sunny. The trees were covered in snow, almost giving it an alpine feel. So at least i got to see some familiar runs with higher flow. All in all another fantastic boating weekend. :)

Swallow Falls 1100 cfs

We also did a quick trip to Ohiopyle and took a look at Meadow Run. See some more photos from the weekend here.

Another day on the Sandy

After two great runs on the Upper Yough and the Upper Blackwter, we finished off this weekend with another great run on the Lower Big Sandy (that is three this year for me already!). Perfect weather, a great level, and good friends. We had a nice group of 6 (me, Matt, Scott, Billy, Brett and Ben).

Freeze

After our trip on Drake Run, Scott and Bobby decided they did not want to deal with the cold on Sunday and opted to go skiing instead. It did not seem like anyone was all that interested in boating. I was conently curled up on the couch enjoying the warmth of the fire. Though I wanted to paddle it was damn cold outside (the thermometer was showing 22 degrees). I was thinking I'd be perfectly happy just staying in. But just as I am getting nice and cozy Jay calls. He'd been planning on running the Lower Big Sandy. I could still go if I wanted.

But the plan had changed a bit. Concerned about the conidtion of the takeout road, he had decided to skip the normal shuttle altogether. The plan was to put on on Laurel Run (an easy class I-II stream), paddle it into the Upper Big Sandy and then down through the LBS, continuing onto the Cheat and paddling 3 miles of Cheat Lake.... hmmm... So... stay nice and warm and comfy... or go paddle 16 miles in 20+ degree weather.....

The smart choice was pretty clear... but I decided to go paddle anyway!!

I met Jay, Brad, and Sam at the Laurel Run put in (up the road from Cooper's Rock). We put on and paddled a few miles of easy class I-II as it started to snow. It was a pretty stream with nice scenery. At the confluence with the Sandy there was one decent class III drop (see photo above). From here we continued on through and paddled the last mile or two of the Upper Big Sandy and reached the normal LBS put in. The gauge read 6.8. Higher than I'd ever run it before.

Jay at last drop of Laurel Run

The bigger water feel of the Sandy was quite the contrast from the previous day. The higher volume of cold water hitting you constantly was fairly shocking at first. But we kept up a fast pace and I was plenty warm. It was nice to see the river at higher flow, definitely a lot more fun this way. We ran most of the standard lines with a few exceptions. At Wonder Falls Jay showed me the right line. A straight forward boof off a narrow launch pad. But the line put you landing right between a big hole and a rock. I could easily have run the main line (which at this level definitely required a boof to clear the hole) but it was cool to do something new. The left side of second island proved to be a lot less manky with more water as well.

Jay at Wonder Falls

Overall I definitely liked the LBS at higher flow and look forward to running it with more water.

Sam at the Horseshoe

Jay and Sam at Big Splat



Sam running Big Splat

We continued on down past Jenkinsuburg onto the Cheat. It was running at around 5 feet but there really aren't many rapids below the normal takeout. A few big wave trains but mostly a lot of flatwater. The canyon opens up here some and is not very protected from wind. So on top of the 25 degree weather we also had a good wind going. This chilled me pretty quick and I began to dread the 6 miles we had to paddle to the takeout.

Along the way the guys found a boat someone had lost on the Sandy. It's bow was pretty well mangled but otherwise it was in okay shape. So they took some time to haul it up on the river left shore near the trail. After this we paddled on down into the lake and completed the three mile flatwater paddle. At least paddling hard warmed me up to where I could feel my fingers again!

By the time we got to the takeout my pfd was frozen solid, there was a layer of ice on my helmet and 2 inch long icicles hanging from the brim. Even my drysuit was frozen. I could hear it creeking with each stroke. Ice was forming on my paddle shaft between where my hands were. It took a few minutes of standign indoors before i could thaw everything out enough to undo the zippers. I wanted to get another photo but my camera was inside the frozen shut pocket of me pfd!! lol.

Here are the rest of the photos from this trip.

Me frozen

Do you want to see a Coyote?

Ben and I had a fun though ultimately fairly uneventful run on the Lower Big Sandy. The level was 6.2 when we put on and rose to about 6.8 while were were there. The Sandy is such a fun run. I had decided that the next time I ran it I would actually run Big Splat. But with only the two of us there and the level around 6.5 I realized it would have to wait for another time.

As we were setting shuttle at Jenkinsburg an old man walks up to us and starts chatting. Really friendly.

"You wanna see a coyote?" he asks.

I glance at him skeptically... "It's in the back of my truck"... I pause with mild interest... "It's dead..."

Helluva a pickup line don't ya think? :) "No sir, I don't want to see your dead coyote!" I though to myself. But oh man was he proud of it!

Summer Treat

The rain we got this past week was a genuine surprise considering that it came so soon after last weeks downpours. Once again the Sandy was running and this time we had already planned to take the day off. After our run of the TY we headed off to the LBS. It was running at about 5.8 when we put on. Truly a treat to get on this run in the middle of the summer. Two great runs in one day, couldn't ask for anything better!!

Wonder Falls:

I had fun trying out the high speed feature on my new camera. Here's a sequence of Margaret running Wonder Falls (and yes that is her going deep in the last frame!):

Zoom Flume:

Maggie

Mark

Mark H


Margaret

Little Splat:

Margaret

Big Splat:

Maggie

Mark

Mark H.

Margaret - going....

going....

going...

gone!!

And back up

First Island:

Left Side Second Island:

Wonder Falls Video

Mark boofs Wonder Falls, Lower Big Sandy Creek, WV

Oh Deer!

Another gorgeous day on the Lower Big Sandy. The five of us (Mark, Ben, Rex, Sam and myself) were having a nice run. I got out and took pictures of everyone running Wonder Falls (Video for Mark). It was a fairly typical run and it didn't seem like there would really be anything too exciting to report....

Rex

Ben

So there we were.... standing around at Big Splat, checking out the drop, each thinking our own thoughts regarding ever running it. As we stood there i glanced up stream. As i turned my head a saw a quick flash of something going through the horseshoe. At first i thought it was a boater coming down. But it didnt' seem right as it came straight through the meat of the hole and it was too small and not nearly brightly colored enough. Then someone yelled "a deer is going to swim Big Splat! ".

Sure enough the poor animal had just completed its swim of the horseshoe. I didn't see if it had gotten recirculated at all or if it just punched through. In any case the hole let it out. We watched in awe as it despearately (and impossibly) tried to claw (hoof?) its way up the river right wall (as we all wondered "how do you throw a rope to a deer?"). Of course in the process it swam directly behind the huge rock on the right of the main drop. We watched in horror as it disappeard. We were all quite sure it would get caught in the seive and that we'd never see it again. A few seconds went by. To our surprise it emerged on the other side of the rock and continued frantically trying to claw its way up on the right. I imagine that its desperate struggle to keep to the shore probably saved it from getting stuffed under the rock.

It managed to get itself into the little micro eddy at the top of the drop. Unfortunately there was no way it could claw its way out of there and eventually made the leap/fell to the bottom. It disappeared into the froth behind the splat rock and reappeared a short way downstream. It conitinued clawing its way along the shore till it managed to swim into an eddy and climbed up the bank, shaking. After a moment it seemed to get its wits together and stood there briefly. It took one look at us on the other side of the river and bolted up the bank and into the woods. It was truly a bizarre sight!

Bambi in the eddy before taking the final plunge

Bambi boofing out of the seive

Bambi eddying out

Note: Yes the picture is real!! I have absolutely zero photoshop skills. If you click on the photo and look at the large version you will see that the deer is indeed very wet and very scarred. You can also see its shadow on the water and the splash coming off its hooves. :)

Once the deer was out of sight we marveled over what we'd just seen and continued on. Got some good rock launches and finished our run. At Second Island Sam showed us the river left line, a fairly technical and fun rapid. I'll definitely be running that side from now on.

Mark

Sam