Paddle Humboldt

New Blog Site!! mtwhitewater.blogspot.com

2012-01-13T10:53:00.000-08:00

When it was decided that we would be moving back to Montana, after an epic fail at trying to relocate to Portland, I began to worry that this would put a serious damper on my kayaking over the next few years while I finish school. However, after a little research, I now believe that being here is in fact a great opportunity to explore the untapped rivers and creeks of my home state.

Check out the new blog site where we will be chronicling our paddling adventures in the Big Sky state. Enjoy!!

http://mtwhitewater.blogspot.com

Rio Claro

2011-12-20T17:02:00.000-08:00

The Rio Claro runs clear and cold, streaming off the flanks of snow covered peaks surrounding the canyon. Perched high in the mountains, away from prying industrialization, the small Parque Radal Siete Tazas protects the precious Claro, and its maze of twisting gorges. The Rio Claro is truly an amazing place, and lived up to everything I had heard. The crystal clear water, and clean drops make for a unique river experience unlike anything I had seen before. With sections suitable to a range of abilities, it was the ideal location for our group to spend several days camping, and enjoying the great weather.

"Oh ****!" The first thought to pass through my brain, as I watch, as if in slow motion, our borrowed Jefe Grande slip from its precarious perch and fall, careening off the cliff, into the pool below. We had been lining boats across at the take-out of the Siete Tazas, and growing careless near the end of the seven boat string, had attempted to stack two boats on top of each other while roping the one remaining across the slick rock. This, as we found out all too soon, was quite a mistake, as the Jefe squirted out from under Frenchy's boat like a stick o' butter. At the far end of the pool was a particularly heinous looking rapid, made up of a six foot ledge dropping into a wall that looked like it could very well work you until another earthquake either dewatered the river once more, or else swallowed you whole and spit you out in China. Without having time think, I buckled my helmet, and followed Orion who was already mid leap off the canyon wall, and into the water below. We managed to snag the boat, and clinging onto the cliff for support, we hacked out a plan. It turned out that Orion had a breakdown paddle stashed in that boat, and with a little finesse, we were able to get it out of the back, drain some of the water from the boat, and I scurried up the stern, and into the seat. With Orion holding on to the stern, and me paddling for dear life, we made it to the opposite shore and pulled the boat into a small nook in the rock. After a few more minutes of sporty free climbing out of the gorge, I made it out, no worse for wear. Much to my surprise, The rest of the group was waiting at the top of the cliff with a triple backed up equalizing anchor in place, and a prussik loop ready to roll onto the 2-1 system they had in place. Talk about being prepared. These guys were A+ dirtbag rescue team. All it took from there was a quick minute of pulling, and Orion, complete with our deviant Jefe were back in action.

We had a relatively juicy flow during our time at the Rio Claro, which made the boofs nice and cushy, without the threat of man-eating holes lurking around every turn.

Nice photo by Orion Meredith of Gabriel styling the second to last drop in the Siete Tazas.

This is the first drop below put-in on the 22 Saltos, and really sets the tone for the run, Just plain FUN. The first day that we paddled this section, we had about 12 people, most of which had never been on the run, and some of whom had never been creeking before. Needless to say, it was a rather sporty day, but without any serious carnage.

Another great photo from Orion Meredith.

Orion Meredith on the silky smooth entrance to the 22 Saltos.

Rosalynn Belden running the first drop of the Siete Tazas.

Orion looking fresher than a spring chicken, and getting ready to cash in some international sky miles.

Rosalynn getting a crash course in boofing.

Here we are, just as happy as can be, at the take-out for Siete Tazas. This is the spot where our unfortunate kayak companion decided to play humpty-dumpty, and take a great fall, prompting a speedy dirtbag rescue.

Ah yes. The token booty beer shot. And not without a good story to back it either. But before we get started on that, I just want to draw attention to the perfect form with which these two are downing their hard earned beverage. Orion's story begins just earlier this same day, after a nice jaunt down through the 22 Saltos with Gabriel and Myself. Gabriel had dropped into the Entre Saltos the day before, and been forced to hike out at the Garganta del Diablo (Twirly Bird Slide) due to the fact that no one had a break down paddle. After that, he was very keen on going back into the gorge, this time prepared for anything. Finding the gate to the take out locked, we had a momentary setback in plans, but decided to drop in anyways, having found another potential exit further downstream. Feeling good after the 22 Saltos, we carried on into the Entre Saltos, made a few quick portages on the shores of the campground that borders the creek, and headed for the goods.

Gabriel, having run the portion above the Twirly Bird the previous day was able to route us into the first rapids without too much trouble, or so we thought. Above a longer looking rapid with a sneaky little entrance, we were informed that this had been the location of a swim the previous day by one of the group. Apparently, the bottom hole was quite retentive, and as Gabriel was struggling to free himself from the boil, Isidro had come swimming past, from somewhere upstream. It had ended without incident, but just the same, Gabriel wanted us to know, so as to be on good form. A few fist bumps later, we were off, Gabriel in the lead, me following, and Orion bringing up the rear.

The beta we had was simple, boof the crack and charge left. Once you got left, keep going left, and get your nose up. I made the move, and ended up high and dry at the bottom of the rapid, which was much larger than expected, and caught the eddy, thinking Orion would be hot on my heels. Looking upstream, we could just see the tips of paddle blades spasming through the air. Pretty soon, I was out of my boat, scrambling upstream as Orion's paddle came cruising into the hole at the bottom, where it wold stay for about 15 minutes, spinning carelessly in the backed up hydraulic. Once I made it to where I could see the top drop, Orion was standing in ankle deep water near shore, looking less than fresh, and his boat was still doing ends in a sort of hole-cave-undercut-boil thing.

Once all was said and done, it took some creative rope work, and feisty little hip belay, and all three of us present to pull the boat out of its gurgling trap. Surprisingly, the boat was not at all damaged, still had its outfitting intact and Orion's camera was safe and dry. Having had enough adventure for one day, we elected to hike back to camp, tails tucked between our legs. Much to our chagrin, it turned out we had not even made it past the furthest downstream camps in the park area, and after a few minutes the girls turned up with the truck, having heard of our misadventure from Gabriel. The booty beers turned into Pisco sours, and by the end of the night we were all laughing around the fire about swims and past carnage.

Meredith Family Portrait. There is still some debate over whether or not Emily can boof bigger than her bro, but it is clear from this instant replay freeze frame, that Orion has the upper hand on the vertical paddle strokes.

Until next time....

Buenas Lineas.

2011 Chile Kayaking Video

2011-11-28T19:15:00.001-08:00

Rio Nevados GoPro Video

2011-11-25T18:47:00.000-08:00

It was great to be able to return to the Nevados this year, and be able to run the entire creek, from the bridge down. The upper canyon is a great section of water, with awesome drops in a tight, mossy gorge. This video shows all the major drops of the Nevados in order from top to bottom, excluding the Demshitz Drop and the Lower section, which were too high during the time we were in Pucon. Enjoy!

Rio Maipo, Cascadas de las Animas

2011-11-23T09:20:00.000-08:00

Running one of the fun rapids on the upper section.

The Rio Maipo lies to the south east of Santiago, a short drive from the bustling metropolis of Chile’s largest city. The river is high volume and continuously chocolate colored due to the arid landscape and sediment found in the water. The upper section of the river flows from the confluence with the Rio Yeso until the take-out at Cascadas de las Animas, the family owned tourism business that we were fortunate enough to stay with during our time in the region. The upper section of the run is characterized by continuous class III-IV+ boulder gardens and wave trains through a beautiful desert canyon.The road runs along the path of the river for the entire run, but because of the canyon walls, is not accessible and is out of sight for the majority of the time. La Curva Frances, the “French Curve” is the largest rapid (V) on the run, and is conveniently located just off the road shoulder. Below this is a long rapid that finishes with a constricted wave train in a narrow canyon, and was definitely the most fun we had on this section. The lower Maipo runs from the foot bridge at Cascadas de las Animas for several kilometers downstream to another bridge across the river. The lower section is fun class III, with a similar continuous feel as the upper section.Currently, The Maipo is under threat from yet another proposed hydroelectric project that would dam the river in the upper section and effectively dewater the entire section downstream. The project is not yet underway, but has been approved to move forward. If this dam is put in place, it would displace the many companies that use the river as a source of income from tourism and rafting trips, as well as disrupt the lives of the people who live along its shores. Many of the plants that thrive in the area are dependent on the river for their source of water, a it is otherwise an arid desert climate. The riparian zone along the river becomes quite apparent once you climb up onto the canyon walls.

For more information on the Rio Maipo, visit the Cascadas de las Animas website at www.cascada.net.

Classic "Disco" dish cooked up by the Astorga family.

View of the Maipo Valley from high on the canyon walls.

Beautiful scenery rounds out the amazing whitewater the Rio Maipo has to offer.

Team Casi-Semi-Pro, Chilean Style

2011-11-22T07:34:00.000-08:00

Orion Meredith Photo.

So here we are, on back streets of Santiago, and there is a preist, a rabbi and a talking squirrel...

ok, no. But seriously, it could have happened, given the random events that took place on our trip to Chile with the Meredith's, Orion and Emily. Our Gringo posse consisted of the two of them, plus Rosie and myself as we did our Tour de Semi-Stout/Eat as many Empanadas as possible in a three week time span.

Team Gringo at the Rio Claro Camp. Orion Meredith Photo.

The country of Chile welcomed us graciously into its midst, complete with a Chilean shuttle bunny sent to sweep us off our feet, and into the beautiful Maipo Canyon. Once in the Cajon del Maipo we stayed with Emily's friends, the Astorgas, who own and operate Las Cascadas de las Animas, an amazing adventure tourism company based on the shores of the Maipo River.

Maipo River Valley. Orion Meredith Photo.

Blue angels on the Upper Maipo. This rapid had a sweet constriction around the corner with some nice big waves. Orion Meredith Photo.

After about a week of paddling and lounging in the warm valley, we packed up, and headed south to Pucon, were we stayed at Dave Hughes's awesome Pucon Kayak Hostel. I highly recommend this as an option for anyone planning on traveling in the area, especially if you are looking to be able to have a boat rental, and a nice bed to sleep in.

visit http://puconkayakhostel.com for more information. During our stay in Pucon, we rallied to hit the classics in the valley, such as the Nevados, Palguin, upper and lower Trancura, and Liacura, as well as lucked out with some rain and managed to get a run, albeit a very shallow run, down the Turbio.

Gabriel on the Nevados Slide. It was great to go back to this classic run this year and be able to run the entire creek from the bridge down, now that the wood in the upper canyon has moved. Running the upper section almost doubles the length creek and adds some incredible gorged in boofs. Orion Meredith Photo.

Orion Meredith boofing the last drop of the Turbio put-in slide. Such an awesome creek with great scenery and some really nice drops. Martin Belden Photo.

Martin Belden dropping into the Medio Palguin. We had a great flow this day, and the landing was so nice and fluffy. It just doesn't get any better than this for a big falls. Orion ended up boofing huge off the curler at the lip and was looking like he was coming in for a hard landing, but managed to put his bow down, and had a great line. Emily Meredith Photo.

Hanging out at the put-in for the Upper Palguin. The owner of the property, Ben (owner of Kayak Chile) loves beer and BBQ, just so ya'll know if you stop by...

Orion Meredith Photo.

One week later found us on the road again, this time heading back North, to the Rio Claro. The Claro is a river I had known about since I first started kayaking, and along with Upper Cherry creek, was one of the rivers I always wanted to go to. The Claro was everything I hoped for, and more. With a nice juicy flow, we ran a few laps on the 22 saltos and the 7 tazas, as well as an aborted mission into the entre saltos, but more on that later. Clean waterfalls, spectacular scenery, and a canyon whittled away by an artisan creek, the Rio Claro has everything you could ever want, in an unspoiled setting.

Rosalynn Belden dropping into the first of the 7 Tazas. This was her first real waterfall run, and she killed it. Emily Meredith Photo.

Martin Belden running the last of the 7 Tazas, and boofing way bigger than Orion...

Emily Meredith Photo.

After five days on the Rio Claro, we made our way back to Santiago to return our rental truck, and then made for the coast, were we visited Vina del Mar and Valparaiso. Good food, great wine and sunny times on the beach made up the next few days until we returned to the Maipo for a final visit before our return flights Stateside.

And now its over. Another trip logged in the memory books, and photo albums, never to be forgotten, and yet, never to be repeated. Funny how it works out like that.

I owe a big thanks to Orion Meredith for taking the majority of the photos from this trip, as well as Dave Hughes who hooked up a great spot to stay during our trip. Also, to Emily Meredith for making so much of this trip possible with her great connections, and of course to Rosie, who always helps keep me pointed downstream and productive in this crazy world.

Check back soon for more trip reports and video edits from Chile!!

Summer 2011 Wrap-Up

2011-10-05T20:00:00.000-07:00

The Montana summer is fading into fall. Leaves slowly are changing colors while the crisp mornings herald the cold weather, hidden just around the corner. Fortunately, we are heading south, chasing the summer into the southern hemisphere where the water will be running cold and clear, beckoning to wandering souls such as ourselves.

The last few months have been a whirlwind of activity for me and my new wife. Yup, I said it. The "W" word. This September 10, we (Rosalynn and I) were married out at the Montana River Guides Ranch, under a warm sun and big Montana sky. The summer itself was busy enough, with having to keep a rafting company afloat, but on top of that we had a wedding to plan and a ranch to clean. Fortunately, everything went off without a hitch, and good times were had by all. The dance party after the wedding was one for the record books, rivaling even the infamous Thunder Storm part in Banks last year. Those of you who were there know what I'm talking about. Those of you who weren't, well I guess you missed out.

Since the wedding, we did a week on the Wild and Scenic Salmon River, and are now road tripping down to Cali for the BRG Race, some more boating, and then to Phoenix to catch a flight to Santiago, where we are meeting up with Orion and Emily Meredith for some good springtime kayaking action in Chile.

Not the best lighting, but still a sweet drop on Boulder Creek, North Idaho.

The First big drop on Boulder Creek.

Nick Bandy, North Idaho local, about to get some goods on Boulder Creek.

Summertime Lochsa fun.

Grim-Reaper rapid on the Lochsa. My friend Drew and I went over to the Lochsa this past weekend and ran the Fish creek to Split creek section at a stomping 410 cfs! Haha. It was pretty neat to see the river at such a low level, with crystal clear water and huge fish swirling in the shadows.

Drunken South Fork Payette Bachelor Party Debauchery.

Apparently this is a good idea...

Searching for the hot-springs near our camp on the S.F.

Emily Meredith, Houndstooth on the N.F. Payette.

Will Parham, Orion Meredith and Myself, giggling somewhere on the North Fork.

Boulder Creek Video

2011-07-26T19:31:00.001-07:00

Here is a short clip that I put together from last weekend on Boulder creek in Northern Idaho. Boulder creek is an awesome, and often overlooked classic in the panhandle, featuring beautiful deep gorges, fun boulder gardens and two nice drops in the 20-25 foot range. This creek is currently under threat from a proposed hydro-electric project that would wipe this great run off the maps. Head to American Whitewater for a trip report on this run, and good shuttle options.

Unfortunately, youtube disabled my audio track, so I had to replace it with a less appropriate song. Regardless, it is still an awesome creek, and the video does not quite do it justice.

Photos of the run to come soon!!

Big thanks to Nick Bandy for the beta on the run, and for leading the charge.

The Long Over-Due Update

2011-06-23T13:50:00.000-07:00

This spring has been a whirlwind of driving and paddling, camping in the snow, and teaching Swiftwater Rescue classes in frozen drysuits. Since leaving the balmy northwest in mid May, I have been on the road constantly. Most of the drives have been to and from rescue courses on various rivers around Montana, with one common theme, floods and snow.

I have been working with WRI (Whitewater Rescue Institute) to help put on these courses for raft companies, search and rescue teams, local agencies such as fire and police, and private boaters. WRI started up a few years back, headed up by Cody Harris, formerly my manager at Montana River Guides, and Mike Johnston, the owner of MRG. Since forming the company, it has become quite successful, with course offerings across Montana, the Northwest, and even Costa Rica. For information on classes and scheduling please visit www.whitewaterrescue.com.

The flows across the state have been the highest in years, and the snow just keeps lingering, clinging onto the last threads of its frozen life. Finally, on the official first day of summer, we had our nice weather delivered. Hopefully soon, the snow will recede and the glistening creeks of western Montana will be in their prime. With flows being so high, the rivers of the area have been surging beyond their banks and creating some of the best big water paddling I have seen. We were able to run the Alberton Gorge section of the Clark Fork River at 50,000 cfs, and the Lochsa in northern Idaho at a sweet 10 feet.

This one's for you Parham... I learned everything I know about blunts from you, the master. Maybe next time I will actually be looking at the camera, or showing a nipple...

Possible side effects of surfing Lochsa's Pipeline wave may include uncontrollable giggling, and wetting your pants.

Running some big water Lochsa. Grim Reaper rapid.

Clark Fork River, just upstream of the gorge at around 40,000 cfs. Definitely some of the hardest to read water I have ever been in. Some of the eddy lines in the gorge were 5-6 feet tall, and at one point a 10 foot wave surged out of a seemingly calm area and munched me and my Jefe in one swoop.

Feeling very, very small...

Sunshine and Big Water, one of the worlds most glorious offerings.

Drew Hossel finding his mojo on the Lochsa.

Rosalynn and Martin. Lochsa River, 9 feet. As you might have noticed by this point, we have logged many a day in Northern Idaho. Absolutely one of my favorite stretches of river.

Getting buried somewhere on the Lower Lochsa.

Evening surf session at Brennan's Wave in Downtown Missoula.

Brennan's Wave cartwheels.

And some more surfing. I really love the lighting in these shots.

Wrangler dog likes surfing too... It's unfortunate that he is a little big to sit on my sprayskirt.

Running the put-in falls on the E.F. Lewis.

Rosalynn running her first waterfall! Sick line.

Orion Meredith on the Cal-Salmon during race weekend. I wish I had some more shots From

our Cali Trip. The North Trinity and Salmon drainages were beautiful and as fun as ever.

Soon, I think, I will be returning to the land of endless boating, and rid myself of this silly

snowy bs.

Stay posted for more updates from the now sunny northern latitudes, and good lines!!

Little White Salmon Goodies!!!

2011-05-04T09:31:00.000-07:00

It had been four months to the day since I had sat in a kayak. My last time paddling had been in Chile, on the Rio Palguin, drunk as a skunk, and soaking up the summer sun. I was now in a drysuit, frantically stuffing makeshift hip pads into a broken Jefe which had been graciously given to me by my good friend Orion Meredith. The clouds overhead threatened rain, and a cool breeze rustled the trees. The Green Truss, the site of our evening paddle, was running at a juicy 4 feet, the highest I had seen it. Putting the butterflies aside, I strapped on my balls, and headed for put-in. All I could think about on the way down was, "What if I forgot how to kayak?". Four months is a long time, plenty of time to forget. I slowly tightened my backband and slid on my skirt, then pushed off into the silky green water. Immediately, I felt great. We rallied on downstream, Orion calling out beta over his shoulder, and routing me through the run. Two days later, we found ourselves at the put-in for the Little White Salmon, a juicy 3.8 on the gauge. Once again, Orion led the charge, bombing away through the goods. It was a perfect sunny day, with the perfect flow. Enjoy the pics of Boulder Sluice and Wishbone.

Orion Meredith portaging around an all to scary looking Spirit Falls.

O-Face, Boulder Sluice boofin.

Martin Belden Boulder Sluice.

Wishbone falls.

Martin hittin the boof at Wishbone.

Tomorrow we leave for Northern California on what promises to be another epic trip. Three people, one dog, enough margaritas for an entire Mexican village, and all the shit talking a person could ever hope for. Hope to see you all out there!

Rio Nevados

2011-01-08T17:29:00.000-08:00

With its crystal clear waters, clean granite bedrock, and steep gorges, the Rio Nevados, near Pucon, Chile, is reminiscent of California creeking in the Sierra Nevada range. The glaring difference between the two however, is the lack of any sort of hike-in, and the fact that you can lap the Nevados in about 20 minutes once you know the lines. Hell, even if someone doesn't know the lines, it is possible to bomb through them in less than half an hour, with minimal amounts of carnage.

During the month I spent in Chile, we ran the Nevados at a variety of water levels, from boat breaking low, to hold onto your balls high water. The guidebook, which by the way, contains very marginal, at best, shuttle directions and information, says that the rapid above the put-in bridge should appear barely runnable and bony for an optimal flow downstream. At our highest water level, the rapid above the bridge looked juicy, and the normally dry protrusions of rock were lost underwater. Undaunted by the sight, our fearless leader, Xavier, told us to sack up and headed back to the truck, drysuit in tow, and an ear to ear grin plastered on his face. Even at this high flow, the run downstream was all good to go, with the exception of one spot, where the move is to ferry from an eddy on river left, into the curtain/hydraulic of the previous drop and then turn and burn into a mini gorge containing two drops, the latter of which has a rather sticky hole. At the high flow, the move from the eddy became an all out charge into the falls, only to be rejected harder than a nerd at a middle school dance. Eventually, we all decided to tuck tail and strike out overland in true team semi-marginal fashion.

The Rio Nevados is also home to the notorious Demshitz Drop, one of the rowdier drops I have run, and also maybe one of the most beautiful. (I have a video of the drop on the blog, but unfortunately, no photos.)

Xavier the Grizzly Man dropping into the Slide lead-in. That, by the way, is "Mr. Steve's" boat. Seriously, it says so on the sticker. It is also rumored to have super powers, and if you don't believe it then, well, you betta jus watch yaself bru.

Max Fisher running the first slide.

Mike Kobzik droppin into the must run at good juicy flow.

Frenchie gettin some steez on the wall boof.

Martin about to go deep off the must run during a low water run.

The Nevados is a must run creek for anyone spending time in the Pucon area, and with its proximity to town, and ease of access, lends itself readily to multiple laps during the day. Just remember your elbow pads.

2011-01-02T15:53:00.000-08:00

Here is a short trailer I put together from the last month in Chile. It features the Rio Palguin and Rio Nevados. Stay tuned for more updates and video from the Salto Palguin!!!

Demshitz Drop Video

2011-01-02T15:21:00.000-08:00

This is a short clip from the Demshitz drop on the Rio Nevados near Pucon, Chile.

Christmas Stout

2010-12-28T19:28:00.000-08:00

Well, here we are, sitting in the Santiago airport as the days in Chile draw to a close. My goal of paddling until my gear, and myself fell to pieces has been met, and I am left with a feeling of immense satisfaction, and a slightly sore back.

Christmas Day dawned bright and sunny, promising to hold some stouts in the near future, and we greeted the sun with a huge breakfast and a round of Bochi ball. Afterwards it was time to roll up to the Palguin, for my most anticipated day of the trip. Two weeks previously, we had scouted out the Salto Palguin and spent about 3 hours pulling out a massive log that blocked the entire falls. That day, lacking proper safety, and with the day growing late, we bagged out and decided that we would return. It turned out that on Christmas would be just that day. This time we returned, boats on shoulders, and tromped up to the put in. After a quick scout, I decided it looked good to go, and with safety and cameras in place, I hopped in my boat, and ferried into the river left eddy. Looking downstream, I felt surprisingly calm, maybe a bit naively, as I stared into the chaos downstream. I peeled out, charged the pillow, took the scariest boof stroke of my life, and began my plunge down 90 feet of whiteout. The hit at the bottom was somewhere between Muhammud Ali in his prime, and a speeding freight train. I basically exploded in the base of the falls, having my helmet and both elbow pads ripped off, as I simultaneously ejected from my boat, nearly losing my sprayskirt in the process. I went straight to the bottom of the river, where I had time to contemplate the immense pressure of the falls, as well as the very smooth stones that made up the river bed. It was in this moment that I knew my shit talking karma from weeks previous had finally caught up to bite me in the ass, and set things right in the world once again. But, all is well that ends well, and I would say despite the miniature Chernobyl incident at the base of the falls, that everything went pretty damn well. I owe a huge thanks to Mike and Ben at the bottom of the falls for pulling my gear out of the water, and Dave for a hand up onto shore, as well as Dave Hughes for the photos. After witnessing the meltdown, Seth decided to hold off, and wait for another day to run this drop. I can't say I blame him either...

We paddled down from the Salto to enjoy a nice lap on the upper Palguin, and then headed off to the Medio for some more Christmas treats. Seth fired off the stout ten, and then stuck the smoothest line I have seen off the 70, and Dusty fired off the stout for his first time since his arrival in Pucon. Good lines were had by all, well mostly good lines, as Kiwi Ben boofed the living hell out of the 70 and gave his back some grief. Fortunately, no serious damage.

Now, what everyone is waiting for...

Thanks to Emily Meredith and Dave Hughes for the photography!

Martin Belden and Seth Stoenner contemplating the lead in to Salto Palguin.

Salto Palguin.

Martin gettin ready to boof the right pillow.

A nice post-carnage shot. If you look close, you will notice that I am not wearing a helmet... but hey, who wears helmets anyways? It's more of just a fashion thing right?

Seth givin' 'er on the stout 10.

...And rollin off the 70 footer. Props to Emily on this photo angle.

Dustin Stoenner running the 70 footer for his first time, and of course, styling it.

Boofing the second drop of the first rapid on the upper Palguin.

Emily and Martin above the second drop, upper Palguin.

Coming soon...

Chile Video Teasers!

Huckin...

2010-12-07T07:42:00.000-08:00

I thought that I would, in the spirit of kayak porn lovers worldwide, post some more pics from the first week of the Huck-Fest here in Pucon. Enjoy!

The boys celebrating another lap on the Middle Palguin stout.

Tzak the kangaroo master about to blow his skirt off...

...and the fist pump with a boat full of water.

Looking downstream from the 70 footer, into the lower section. Ya, it's paradise.

Xavier about to go deep. The day before he fired up the stout 10 above the 70, and stuck it beautifully, then decided to go with the seal launch on this lap, and flipped right above the big one. Haha. go figure.

Tzak running the park-n-huck on the Rio Coilaco.

Until next time...

Buenas Lineas!

Chile Update #1

2010-12-06T14:47:00.000-08:00

They say a picture is worth a thousand words, and I think that this is the perfect illustration of that quote. This is what Chile is all about... Sunshine, clear water, and big waterfalls with fluffy landings. I have now been in Pucon for around a week and in that time have been lucky enough to paddle the upper and middle Rio Palguin, the Rio Nevados, Rio Coilaco, and today, the Rio Llancahue.

Upon arriving in Pucon, I found myself in the midst of gringolandia, as kayakers from the states, England and Australia descended upon me as I sat at Kayak Chile in downtown. That afternoon, Ben, the owner, took us all up to his house where we lapped the upper Palguin, and then had a nice asado in the sun, accompanied by copious amounts of drinking. Welcome to Chile.

Melting into the oh-so-sweet stout on the Middle Palguin. The next day we went back and ran it again after a few laps on the upper. Ya, it's just that good.

Park-n-huck wonderland. After a few laps on the Nevados, we decided to stop and run this beautiful 30 footer near the road on the way home.

Stay tuned for more updates from the land of endless whitewater...

Truss Tales: Show me your O-Face!

2010-10-30T17:14:00.001-07:00

Due to the lack of water, and steadily dropping temperatures in the beautiful state of Montana, I made my way over to the kayaker's mecca of Hood River this past weekend with my good friend Rosalynn West to meet up with the famous, and rougishly handsome, Orion Meredith. I don't know if Orion really is famous, but I think he's a good candidate for star studded glory. And besides, anyone who can muster the confidence to sport the nickname O-Face, deserves an applause, even if he had no choice in the matter. Haha, Thanks Crissler. You are sorely missed out here on the left coast.

Orion Stompin Big Brother

After leaving Missoula around 9:30, we drove staight through to the outskirts of Hood, rolling into a rest area 10 miles out of town around 5 in the a.m. Luckily, I got to ride shotty the entire way as Rosalynn made the marathon drive. Friday dawned bright and sunny, and the water running under the Green Truss bridge was sparkly, and suprisingly low. Fortunately, the run downstream was still of the highest quality, and Big Bro was boof-alicious. Also, with the lower water came the opportunity for some Little Brother freewheelin, with partial success. This was Rosalynn's first trip down the Truss, and she styled her way down, portaging only the biggest bits, and making some highly amusing seal-launches, one of which was right in the middle of Upper Zig-Zag. Orion's first run off Big Brother was an amazing boof-to-melt-to-almost flip in the cave-and finish with a nice eddy catch in the pocket. Trying to stop the fits of giggles that overtook me at that point, I hopped in my boat and fired away. Good lines all the way through, and saweeet boofs over BZ was the name of the game for Friday and Saturday, and a quick hike up Eagle Creek on Sunday to drool over Metlako, which was too low to run, rounded out a great weekend in the partially sunny Northwest.

Rosalynn and Orion scoutin it up. Is Rosie throwin a shocker?!

Rosalynn running a drop somewhere in the gorge.

Big Bro self portrait.

Martin hittin the boof-o-matic flake.

Cali-Rally: Burn Fest 2010

2010-10-18T12:47:00.000-07:00

4 a.m. pacific standard time, and the dilapidated red subaru rolls into Arcata, fully loaded with creek boats and enough caffeine to kill a horse. Out of the doors roll two stinky, and redbull powered souls, buzzing with excitement.

Now rewind 16 hours.

It is just after noon, in Coeur d'Alene Idaho, I'm done pounding nails for the weekend, and its off to Portland to pick up Orion and rally down to Trinity county for the Cali-Burn Fest! Upon nearing Portland, I get a call from Orion that went something like this:

"Hello"

"Yee haw BRG baby!!"

"F*ck ya dude, I'm almost to Portland, where you at?"

"Dude, I backed a f*ckin bus into my car at the Green Truss put-in!"

"......."

"Wanna meet us in Hood River? I think I blew my radiator."

So, I stopped in Hood, waited for the limping Nissan to show up, and after deciding that it was just the AC crushed, and thankfully not the radiator, we made it to Portland.

After leaving Portland, I semi blacked-out into a caffeine and ecstasy induced haze. (Ecstasy here meaning the feeling of euphoria due to huge amounts of excitement, not the drug.) Next thing i knew, we rolled into Arcata.

Friday: Big Air Comp, Camel Rock.

Well, just as was to be expected from past expereince, the surf at high noon, day of the surf comp, was dismal at best when viewed from the road. However, not to be deterred after so much driving, we geared up and grabbed out creekers for some surfing. As the afternoon wore on, the surf started to build and we made the move south to Moonstone in search of better rides. As usual, Mr. Will Parham was throwing down mad tricks, and Dan Menten caught some nice barrels as Orion and I proceeded to get trounced by the growing waves. In a unanimous vote, Will was named king of the surf.

Hennessy Free-wheel

Burnt Ranch Race:

Saturday dawned sunny and warm, with ample servings of shit-talking for all. I believe I told Orion I was going to boof on his head, which is ironic considering that I ended up being the one getting landed. Rolling into the finish line, I was stoked to be in third place out of the creek boats, and got a little trigger happy when boofing the flake at number 2. I flipped into the right wall, was landed on a few times, rolled up off the wall with no paddle, and after clinging desperately to the light and fresh air, was sucked stern first into the hole.

Thanks to Daniel Brasuel for capturing this moment.

During the next few moments, I had some profoundly clear thought on the topic of Karma, such as, "huh, the kid talking the most shit, is now the one entering that wonderful playland of rodeo swimming". Funny how life works sometimes. But out of it I learned a good lesson, the swim was totally worth it. Out bodies are made up mostly of water, and sometimes that full immersion is just plain good for the soul. As always, the after party was ragin, and the hangover lap the next morning sealed a great weekend on the water.

Big Thanks to Paul Gamache for all his hard work in making this event happen!! And remember, second weekend of October, Burnt Ranch Gorge. Bring your race face, and a cup. You're gonna need it for the kegs at the finish.

Orion Comin' in hot. Notice how the bow is angled for maximum stompage of Martin's face.

(Wes Shrek photo)

Martin about to f it all up. (Wes Shrek photo)

The Crew, post beer slalom, at Hennessy Rapid.

2009-2010 Creeking Compilation

2010-09-09T16:04:00.000-07:00

South Branch Kayaking

2010-07-05T13:10:00.000-07:00

Here is a short video, real short, I put together from this spring on the South Branch of the Middle Feather. Unfortunately the audio track did not pan out once uploaded, but I have been too busy, or maybe just too lazy to fix the issue. Anyways, hope you enjoy.

North Fork Trinity IV-V

2010-05-28T13:41:00.000-07:00

The North Trin, as it is fondly referred to by North coast locals, is a spectacular 14 miles of whitewater in a secluded wilderness setting. The rapids are mostly class 3 and 4 with the occasional spicier section to keep things entertaining. We had a flow of around 750 cfs with sunny skies and temperatures near the 80s. Not bad for Northern Cali in April. Unfortunately, after a devastating computer crash, I was left with only two photos from the trip, both of myself. I know, completely narcissistic, but good pics anyways by the always oh so crisp, Ben York.

Typical boogie mank on the North Fork.

This is what the N.F. is all about! Good rocks, and Great Boofs!

Hood River Huxtables

2010-03-23T20:08:00.001-07:00

Melissa DeMarie styling Celestial Falls

If Mother Nature hooked up with Disneyland, their love child would most likely resemble the Columbia River Gorge, with its slick views, and ample fodder for lusting huckers. That said, the Little White, a.k.a. L-Dub, and the Green Truss section of the White Salmon, are two outstanding sections of whitewater to be found in this area, and due to dismal water flows this spring, were also the only creeks running for the week we were there. Along with a quick lap on Sweet Creek (near Eugene), some carnage at the Money Drop, and one sweet line on Celestial, we managed to round out a week of paddling, partying, and escaping arrest.

A note on this last bit:

Money Drop on Rock creek is apparently illegal to run, as it lays on designated no trespassing property. We found this out the hard way... next time I think we'll dress as ninjas.

Trip Stats:

-5 People, 5 Swimmers

-2 Broken Boats

-1 person jumped on outside the Pub

-25+ Carbombs consumed on St. Patty's night

-5 pounds of Gummy bears consumed

-1 Spelunking adventure at Big Brother

Enjoy the Photos By Ben York

Martin Belden boofing Spirit falls on the Little White.

Famous Leif.

Peter running left at S-Turn on the Little White.

Orion Meredith stomping the line at Wishbone.

"Big Brother" on the Green Truss, White Salmon.

Ben York running Big Brother. (the notorious cave is visible on river right)

Melissa DeMarie at Little Brother after battling out of the cave at Big Bro.

Orion Blasting into Boulder Sluice, L Dub.

Martin running the center of Stovepipe, L Dub.

Double Drop, Green Truss.

This trip was made possible by the support of Adventure's Edge, the best place to find all your outdoor supplies in Arcata, and the new Adventure's Edge store opening in Eureka on April 15. Also, we wanna give a big thanks to the boys at the Beaver Lodge, for letting us crash their couches and drying lines for the week.

For Photo Information contact Ben York at benyorkovich@gmail.com

Sweet Creek, OR Video

2010-03-04T18:17:00.000-08:00

Clear Creek (IV-V, P)

2010-02-14T17:35:00.000-08:00

Clear Creek flows into the Klamath River just downstream from the town of Happy Camp on Hwy. 96. This is maybe the best class 4-5 creek in the area, and certainly one of my favorites. The entire run is chock full of high quality rapids consisting of good boofs, bedrock, and tight gorges.

The first mile of the run is the most difficult and continuous, and the first big rapid, although visible from the trail on the hike in, has a tendency to sneak up on groups, causing its fair share of carnage. Downstream from the bridge over Clear Creek is the one mandatory portage of the run. Portage on the right. Also, note that the eddy for the portage is right at the lip of the drop, and at higher flows (over 900 cfs on the Indian Creek guage) it may be necessary to eddy out up higher to avoid rolling backwards into the portage. Below the portage are a few small rapids, and then the final gorge of the run. The final rapid is a must run and one of the best on the creek.

Will Parham stoked to be hiking in the sunshine.

Peter Malkin boofing the right side of the first large rapid.

Will about to boof, and get chundered, in the entrance of the first big one.

Will with a nice rock slide.

Melissa DeMarie lining up the boof in the second rapid.

Martin Belden boofing away...

Will making the move through the curler, which feeds to the left into less friendly waters.

Martin in another classic Clear Creek rapid.

Melissa running right in the same drop.

Peter boofing big in the entrance of one of the larger rapids on the creek.

Take-out:

From Hwy. 96, turn west onto Clear Creek road, about 10 miles south of the town of Happy

Camp, just north of the Clear Creek bridge. Follow signs that lead to the Clear Creek trailhead.

After driving 5-6 miles, look for a Forest Service river access sign on the left side of the road.

Park here, and make sure to scout the take-out, as the trail leading back to the road can be easy

to miss.

Put-in:

Continue driving up the road until it ends at the trailhead. Hike about one mile upstream and

put in where the trail meets the creek.

New River Gorge Photo Update

2010-02-12T17:36:00.001-08:00

Here are some photos from a trip last weekend (2/6) on the lower New. We had flows of around 1000 cfs... nice and fluffy.

Dan Menten running the first rapid of the Gorge.

Peter Malkin a.k.a "The Russian" with a stylie boof in the numero uno.

Martin Belden running the top double drop of the second gorge rapid.

The final move in the second rapid... move right! The spray in the background is the surging mass we like to call the Penalty Box, a nasty backed up hole on river left.

Dan boofing the first 6 foot ledge in the third big rapid.

Dan about to go deep into the throat of Crack in the Rock.

Tombstone rapid, with another good drop in the background. This run has a consistently steep gradient for the length of the gorge.

The tombstone pillow dishing out a nice pirouette stern squirt combo.

Looking downstream from below Tombstone. The final half mile of the gorge is some of the best.... enjoy!

Thanks to Ben York for the Photos.

Upper New River (IV)

2010-02-12T09:14:00.000-08:00

The Upper New River flows through a beautiful canyon upstream of the small town of Denny. During the late 1970s, Denny earned its notoriety during a standoff between the townsfolk and the National Guard, who had been sent with orders to disperse the small mining town that had cropped up on government land. The people of Denny asserted their claim to the land, and although it is nearly a ghost town these days, there are still many small ranches and homes set in this pristine valley.

This section of the New is full of bedrock mini gorges, good boofs, and fun boulder gardens. The largest two rapids come in the final mile before the take-out. The first of these, dubbed "Hand of God", contains a hole that can pack some punch at higher flows, and would be moderately difficult to portage.

Dan Menten running one of the first good rapids on the Upper New.

Melissa DeMarie lining up a nice boof.

Martin Belden running the first hole in "Hand of God".

Melissa in the run out from H.o.G.

Dan Menten coming up from the melt.

Matt Porter running the bottom of H.o.G.

A nice rainbow, and leprechaun crossing sign finish out the day...

Take-Out: From Hwy. 101, head west on Hwy. 299 about 40 miles to the town of Hawkin's Bar.

Turn North on the signed road to Denny, and drive about 18 miles to Denny. On the far side of

Town, there is a small dirt road on the right that leads to small grassy flat visible from the road.

Follow this road until it ends at the old dump.

Put-In: Continue driving upstream on the main road until a bridge crosses the New River. Put-

in just above the bridge for maximum fun rating.

Thanks to Ben York for taking Photos.

Burnt Ranch Gorge Video

2010-02-10T21:37:00.000-08:00

Fordyce Creek Video (With Sound)

2010-02-05T22:31:00.000-08:00

South Silver Video

2009-09-18T17:41:00.000-07:00

Cherries: the Upper and the West

2009-08-19T16:50:00.000-07:00

Upper Cherry and West Cherry are two of the greatest overnight trips on the face of planet earth. The glacial gutters carved into the solid granite bedrock of the Sierra Nevada range provide more than enough stimulation for the eyes and adrenal glands during the time spent careening down mother nature's handmade waterslides. Since there are already numerous descriptions of the runs, and the hikes, I will spare you the details, and get right down to the porn. Enjoy the pics.

Martin enjoying some sunshine on Upper Cherry.

Josh on the put-in slide. Upper Cherry.

World Class scenery.

The famous Cherry Bomb Gorge.

Looking upstream at the confluence of Upper and West Cherry.

West Cherry.

Kiwi Nick. West Cherry.

Martin in the goods.

South Branch Middle Feather V

2009-06-18T17:25:00.000-07:00

South Branch has earned the distinction of being perhaps the cleanest run in the Sierras. the first few miles consist of some easy class 2 boogie that gives way to some fun class 4. Soon, there is a mandatory gorge rapid that marks the beginning of the goods. From here down it is one perfect drop after another, until the perfect 50 at the take-out.

Megan running a fun kicker before the main goods.

Martin earning some sky miles on the first 20 footer of the Disney land section.

Kiwi Blue with a steezy boof.

Martin stompin a fun drop on the SB.

Nick on the same drop.

Nick running the mandatory melter above a 100 + foot portage.

Jim cleans the 50 footer.

Martin gettin ready for the buttery smooth hit on the big one.

The view downstream from the take-out. More than words can describe, so I am not going to even try.

Upper Middle Cosumnes V-V+

2009-05-15T18:42:00.000-07:00

The UMC is a great high quality low Sierras run that has water for a short amount of time due to its low elevation and relatively small watershed. We ran this in late May on its way out, but caught it at a good flow, around 300 cfs on the gauge at Mt. Akum.

The hike in. Unfortunately we got lost and had to tromp our way through poison oak forests and down this little tributary creek to the put-in.

Martin running one of the first quality drops that the UMC has to offer.

Jim running a sweet boof-to-melt that leads into a longer rapid.

Martin boofin into Lars Holbeck. This drop has a nasty little rock at the bottom that has caused more than one ankle injury, so get that bow up.

High Water Burnt Ranch Gorge

2009-05-06T14:28:00.000-07:00

Crissler scoutin up Numero Uno.

Having paddled the BRG almost every weekend since September due to its proximity and reliable flows, we almost jumped out of our pants when the spring dam releases began, and our backyard run began spiking. Thursday afternoon found Crissler and myself standing at the put-in, staring into the chocolate milk that was the BRG. Rolling into the first rapid, China Slide, our hearts leapt with joy as we saw a surging wave train rolling as far as we could see, over what is normally a bumpy boulder garden. This style of blown out waves was standard until we reached the last rapid above the falls. As the gradient increased, and the gorge narrowed, the features became bigger and rowdier.

Crissler running the bottom of Number 1.

Crissler in the run-out of the first falls. Big waves. Big eddy lines. Awesome!

Lead in to Falls 2. Just to the lookers right of the sieve pile is a nice whirl pool sucking down into the mess, just big enough for a boat. The hole on the right is much more stout than it appears as well.

Martin squirtin through the bottom of Number 2.

Falls 3 was one of the most fun big water rapids I have ever run, and the pace kept up below the falls. Rolling into Table Rock rapid, I heard Crissler comment from behind me, "shit, table rock is gone". Scrambling left, I attempted to skirt the huge hole that had formed on the right corner of where the rock normally would be. Unfortunately, I did not make the move in time, and found myself attempting to punch the beast. After getting beat down for around 25 - 30 seconds, I swam. I stayed deep for a good while and finally popped up next to Crissler, grabbed onto his stern, and started kickin my ass off for the eddy. Crissler was awesome and managed to get my boat once it came out of the hole, and we carried on downstream with no further carnage.

Our flow on this day was around 3600 cfs and we both thought it was a sick flow. The rapids are long and pushy, and as I found, not a great place to swim. I would be stoked to run the BRG at this flow again and think that it is a great run for any solid paddler who is confident running big water.

Dry Meadow Creek (Teacups) IV-V

2009-05-05T21:03:00.000-07:00

Melissa DeMarie running the nasty crack drop. This was the standard line, flying off sideways and backwards.

Dry Meadow creek is a tributary of the North Fork Kern, about 45 minutes outside the town of Kernville. The day starts with a pleasant two mile hike in to the creek through mostly open meadow, hence the name Dry Meadow creek. Our day started off nice and mellow with a lap through the Brush Creek waterpark. After meeting up with the rest of our group, 12 of us in all, we rallied to the trailhead for the Teacups. We made it to the creek and found a trickle of water flowing through bushes and over manky bed rock drops. After scraping and portaging through the first mile or so, we caught our first sight of the goods. Staring around the corner we saw creek make its way under a water level land bridge, and then fall off the face of the planet. Dry Meadow drops nearly 300 feet in .2 miles, over 1200 feet per mile, in its final plummet towards the NF Kern. There are 6 drops that are typically run, mostly in the 10-20 foot range.

Martin watching while Kyle Hull runs the first drop.

Melissa boofin the second teacup.

Martin on the drop after the crack. This is a sweet 18ish foot ledge.

Dustin rollin into the pothole drop above a nice slide to vert.

Our day, which had so far been running buttery smooth, turned slightly epic on us after Dustin's dad pitoned off the second drop and broke his lower back. This necessitated a helicopter evacuation that would last around 7 hours, and require everyone to be on their top game. Fortunately, Craig is recovering nicely, having sustained a broken vertebrae in his lower back.

Dry Meadow Creek is a place of unparalleled beauty, and is definitely worth paddling for the experience. However, it is a fair amount of work for a relatively short section of good drops. The paddle out on the NF Kern has some fun class IV rapids, and also Carson Falls, a larger rapid with some consequence. The day before our run down Dry Meadow, Carson Falls was the site of a tragic drowning. My heart goes out to the family and friends of this man, and I hope his last day of paddling with friends was the best ever.

North Fork Trinity River IV-V

2009-04-14T18:40:00.001-07:00

The North Fork of the Trinity begins high in the Trinity Alps Wilderness and flows south, dropping 3600 feet before its confluence with the main stem of the Trinity near Pigeon Point. The section that is most frequently paddled is a fourteen mile stretch that ends just above the confluence with the main stem, at an old homestead site.
The Goods:
The North Fork starts off fast and fun with many class 4 and 4+ boulder gardens. The first rapid is maybe 100 yards downstream from the put-in and it keeps up a continuous nature for the first two miles before mellowing out a bit. The majority of drops in this section are boat scoutable, but there are a few places that have some bad wood and would be not so fun. One drop in particular is within the first mile and can be recognized as the river splits around a boulder island in the center of the channel. After the first two continuous miles, the nature changes to more pool drop rapids, and several distinct bedrock gorges. Somewhere in this section, we came to a fun looking drop with a boof flake on river left. As a routed into the drop, I noticed that the left side of the boof fed into a nasty backed up hole, complete with and undercut and sieve. Charging right, I watched as Paul Fritze fell off the left side and into the hole. I eddied out below and proceeded to watch Miguel and Orion fall into the same nasty pit. About the time Miguel went into the hole, Paul swam out, followed shortly after by Miguel. Orion, however was nowhere to be seen. About the time I started getting really worried, Orion popped out downstream of the undercut. In the process of getting beat down, Orion had pinned upside down between the left wall and undercut, and even after swimming his boat needed to be pulled out with a rope. Thankfully, everyone was fine, and we even had a breakdown to replace Orion's paddle which we found in two pieces.
*Note: Orion was heard to say in the morning before putting on that it had been a while since he had swam, and it was about time to pay his dues. This was exceptionally funny at the take-out, and even more so once the booty drinking commenced.
The best rapid on the run comes in the lower half of the stretch and is called Mister Sqiggles. The drop entails boofing off a nice ramp into a pillow, and then a short gorge that is more fun than peein' in your pants. Below Sqiggles the North Fork makes one last plunge through its final gorge above the confluence. This final gorge contains the infamous Leap of Faith. Although this ledge is not tall, the hydraulic at the bottom, especially the left pocket is notorious for causing swims. The best part: it is a must run, and the largest portage of the run is just downstream. However, there is plenty of time to recover in the pool below, as I found out after a nice free rodeo lesson. Below the portage rapid, which I believe is called Arndt's Falls, there are more fun class four rapids until the take-out.

And now for the pics...

Crissler Torrence running a drop in the first canyon.

Orion with his boat. The sieve is visible on the left in the pocket. Nasty.

Dan Menten running Mister Sqiggles.

Martin running Squiggles.

This is the view looking back up at the portage. We ran the bottom two drops seen from here, but the top of the rapid is choked with wood.

When we paddled this run, it took around 5 hours. We scouted maybe 3-4 times and routed everything else, following NF veteran Dan Menten through most of the goods. Plan on taking a full day for a first time run. Also, this section of river is fairly remote, and hiking out is not an option at most points. To Conclude this banter, I might add that the NF is a beautiful wilderness run that maintains a serious, but fun nature throughout its entirety, and is a must-do for any class 5 paddler, and strong class 4 boaters, with the possible addition of a few portages.

Where the Hell is This?

To access the NF Trinity, follow Highway 299 until the turn for Helena, which is located around 5 miles east of Big Flat. Follow the Helena road north until crossing a bridge. Take the road on the right just past the bridge. This is the take-out, and also makes a killer campsite. To reach the put-in, follow the original road upstream until a fork after a few miles. Follow the signs towards Hobo Gulch Trailhead, which should be about 12 miles up the road at this point. This road in good condition, but there are a few large rocks to watch out for, as we found out with Dustin's Subaru.

Silver Creek, OR.

2009-03-31T21:47:00.000-07:00

Dustin Stoner and Crisler Torrence below Silver Creek Falls.

Our crew (Dustin Stoner, Chris Shehab, Martin Belden, Crisler Torrence, and myself) arrived at silver Creek campground after a long day of driving, highway accidents, unexpected surprises on Sweet Creek, and just as it was about to rain.

After a night of off-and-on downpours the team was ready for another day of waterfalls! Because of the fact that I forgot our guide books we had to drive to an area of cell service to get directions to put-in and take-out. As we were getting directions via Ryan Scott, a Christmas tree farmer was nice enough to show us to the put-in and explain that just upstream was a massive waterfall.

The drop up stream ended up being a clean 65 footer that both Martin and Chris fired up! Due to low flows however, Martin and Chris Both were slowed down and at the lip and as they went vert. there sterns drug over the grabby volcanic basalt sending them over the bars and head first from top of the impressive drop. This ended up with Martins paddle breaking, Chris being ejected from his boat “Like a bar of butter” and making for the most impressive and comical photos of our trip!

Martin Beldin about to Land on his dome from 65 ft! What a savage!

From this drop the river meanders for about ¾ of a mile before plunging over the 126 ft. Silver Falls. The portage around Silver Falls is really easy but takes a little time since you have to walk on a well defined hiking trail that traverses back and forth and eventually goes back behind the waterfall.

Once we were put-on after the portage our team rolled up to a blind class 2 corner, about 2 miles from silver falls, which turned out to be an awesome 15 foot slide to vert drop. When running this there are two options, at least at low flow, run right or portage the top and run the left slide.

Crisler Torrence running first.

Martin Beldin draw stroking to perfection.

This turned out to be the best drop on our trip since we had low flows and there was wood and axis problems for all the nicer drops. None the less this trip still revealed it’s epicness in the form of us missing the take-out and eventually getting lost. Since we missed take-out, which is supposedly the south fork confluence, our group floated farther and farther downstream until we finally came to an old logging road. Beings that this was the first sign of anything remotely resembling a trail or axis point we decided to hike out instead of paddle further.

The hike consisted of about 1 mile uphill and during which Dusty and I found a sweet cart to push our boat in. Once at the top of the climb a friendly Mexican tree farmer gave us a three mile ride back to Silver Creek campground were Chris, who had decided to hike out early, was driving around looking for us. Once back at the campground everyone enjoyed the complementary warm showers and heated bathroom that Silver Creek Campground offers!

Orion Meredith in the "Were the hell is take-out section"

It should be known that paddling Silver Creek is Illegal. We got lucky and when a ranger asked us soaked to the bone, covered in paddling gear kayakers weather we had been paddling Silver Creek, we simply replied “no” and drove away with a kayak on the roof and everyone inside without problems : )

Note: Silver Creek has several benign looking class 2 rapids that lead into either huge-ass drops or rapids that are well worth a scout. Many of these drops have wood in very un-ideal places, which results in a bit of a portage fest on the manicured trail system that stays just far enough away from the creek to make axis a real bitch at times. Still this run is worth doing once to see the massive waterfalls. Out of state Boaters should know that Liquor Stores in Oregon Close at 7 pm!

-Photos and write-up by Orion Meredith

Sweet Creek, OR.

2009-03-31T19:51:00.000-07:00

Martin Beldin Looking longingly at the upper falls

After Loading all our gear and 5 Kayaks onto Dustin Stoners Subaru, Crisler Torrence, Martin Beldin, Chris Shehab , and myself were on our way to huck ourselves off some of Oregon’s finest waterfalls for our 2009 spring break!

Sweet Creek was the first stop of our paddling extravaganza. Our day started out with a 65 mph I-5 accident that left our car unharmed and the other on its side adjacent to the freeway. As we left the accident unscathed all we could think about was getting off the road and into our boats.

During our drive up Sweet Creek road we noticed fields of standing water, which we all took to be a good sign since we knew that sweet creek only flowed after a significant rain event. With that being said we were in for a surprise!

As we rolled up to the put-in the team began to realize that this manageable class 4/5 creek would likely be a torrent on eddy-less class 5 whitewater.

After giving a quick look at the brown flowing mass in front of the take-out everyone suited up and walked the wonderfully built trail system that consists of metal bridges anchored to the gorge wall.

Now, usually sweet Creek is known as a short but “Sweet” chunk of steep creek with dozens of clean ledges and ample sized eddies. Not for this trip however! Due to heavy rains there wasn’t an eddy in sight and the upper gorge was completely out of the question since it would lead directly into an unfriendly ledge hole in the beginning of the bottom gorge.

This made for an easy team decision to run only the lower gorge which still had many fun fast drops. Martin in true character wanted to get every last vertical foot possible and decided on the tricky seal-launch half way down the bottom gorge. Once safety was set I let go of Martins stern and anxiously watched him pencil-in. After fighting with the wall and a funny boil for a minute, Martin made his way down through a series of holes and stout slides to arrive happily at the bottom.

Crisler went next from a lower spot and managed to get strong surf in a nasty retentive hole giving way to his first swim in close to a year!

Matin Beldin about to get the seal-launch of his life!

Martin Beldin in the Top drop of the bottom gorge

Chris Shehab in the middle drop of the bottom gorge

Once all the gear was picked up, Dusty, Chris and I decided on only running the last three drops which had plenty to offer with easier access and slightly less consequence. Because the access is so easy and the run short but action packed, we all ran the creek three times before downing a booty beer and hitting the road in search of our next waterfall destination, Silver Creek

Crisler Torrence and his first delicious booty-beer in over a year!

-Photos and write-up by Orion Meredith

White Salmon River, Green Truss IV-V

2009-03-25T18:47:00.000-07:00

This Section of the White Salmon is a great run, and especially good for groups of various paddling levels. Most of the rapids are read and run class 4, with a few spicier drops thrown in to keep it exciting. Some of the best drops include Big Brother, a fun 25 foot falls, BZ falls, also known as the best swim in the Northwest, and the zig-zag rapids in the lower part of the gorge. We had flows of around 2.7 on the gauge below Husum falls when we ran this in mid March.

Crissler making the steep hike to put-in while Chris laughs at him from below.

Orion Meredith stompin the Big Bro.

Martin Belden gettin his boof face on.

Chris Shehab providing more paddle porn.

Crissler stomps.

Dustin Stoenner

BZ falls. This drop lived up to its reputation for beat downs...

The product of a BZ beating.

Orion styling his way down the BZ.

Crissler firing away.

Thanks to Chris Baer for the trip photos.

Money Drop, Rock Creek WA

2009-03-24T20:33:00.000-07:00

This drop is tucked away in a neighborhood in the town of Stevenson, just down the road from the Little White take-out. After a fun lap down the el dub, Evan Garcia mentioned that we should go check out this drop. We showed up to find a sick 45 footer with a nascar fast lead-in. Evan and Martin were both feeling fired up about the drop and decided to give 'er.

Evan Garcia, about stomp a sick line. photo: Chris Baer

Martin Belden enjoying a delicious rock creek melt. photo: Chris Baer

Eagle Creek V-V+

2009-03-23T17:25:00.000-07:00

Eagle Creek is located in the Columbia river gorge, about 40 minutes east of Portland. The trail is a popular destination for hikers and waterfall gazers, as well as kayakers looking to huck. The hike-in is 4 miles on a well maintained and fairly mellow trail that in some places runs beneath miniature waterfalls coming off the canyon walls. After a mile or so, you will catch a glimpse of 90 foot Metlako Falls. Just past this is Punchbowl Falls, a 30 foot drop that proved to pack a good punch. After several more miles we crossed a bridge in the narrowest part of the gorge and then saw Skoonichuck Falls around the bend. This drop is the put-in for the run and consists of a 35-40 foot drop followed immediately by a nice 15 foot ledge.

Punchbowl Falls as seen from the trail.

Megan Harpham on the hike-in. Photo courtesy of Chris Baer

Orion Meredith and Crisler Torrence demonstrate the mystery carry.

Crisler Torrence probing Skoonichuck Falls on his birthday bash. photo: Chris Baer

Dustin Stoenner rolling into the same drop. photo: Chris Baer

Dustin hitting a sweet boof on the second tier of the double drop. photo: Chris Baer

Martin Belden melting into Skoonichuck Falls. photo: Chris Baer

Chris Baer on the same drop.

Martin on a nice boof somewhere in the gorge.

The crew in the Eagle Creek gorge. photo: Chris Baer

Chris Baer goin for the log grind.

Martin boofin away at Punchbowl Falls, and getting ready for a hard hit. photo: Chris Baer

Orion Meredith going for the sweet melt. photo: Chris Baer

Megan Harpham. Swimming? Nope, just a white boat. photo: Chris Baer

Dustin Stoenner comin in hot. photo: Chris Baer

Eagle Creek trailhead is located at exit 41 on I-84 heading east. There is no west-bound exit, as we found out only too late, and drove 20 miles past the off ramp. This run is a fun hike and huck mission, but a bit of a novelty run as well. Between the put-in drop and Punchbowl there are a handful of fun slides and boofs as well as one cool mini gorge, but mostly the rapids are shallow class 2 boogie water. Even so, this run is awesome and definitely worth the hike all the way in to the upper double drop. I highly recommend this run to anyone lookin to huck some of Oregon's finest.

Steinacher Falls

2009-03-02T21:10:00.001-08:00

Peter

Martin

Chris

Crisler

Steinacher Creek is a small tributary of Wooley Creek, which is itself a tributary of the main stem Cal-Salmon.

New River Gorge

2009-03-01T18:01:00.000-08:00

The New River in northern California is one of the best class 4-5 runs in the state. It starts out with several miles of mellow, scenic paddling before dropping into a committing gorge, chock full of fun and stout rapids. Once you have entered the main gorge the only exit is out the bottom, at the confluence with the Trinity River in Burnt Ranch Gorge. This run sees very little attention, which is surprising given the quality whitewater that lies within its walls.

The view from Highway 299 of the last part of the gorge, just downstream out of the picture is the confluence with the Trinity.

Orion and Crisler scouting the first rapid of the gorge.

Matt Porter running the first drop.

Damon Goodman runs the second gorge rapid. This is the entrance move in a larger rapid.

Chris Shehab running the second part of the previous drop.

Looking back upstream from the top of the third rapid.

Orion Meredith runs a nice boof to start out the third drop.

Paul Fritze coming in hot at the bottom of the same drop.

O-face on a nice in-between boogie rapid.

Martin Belden running the bottom drop of the portage. This angle does not do the drop justice. It starts off up around the corner with a 7-8 foot sloper into a tight boxed-in hole. This bottom drop has to be run just left of center to avoid a nasty kicker flake on the right, but not too far left because of the bottom hole which feeds into an undercut.

Crisler buried in the same drop.

Blind Faith. This drop lies just below the portage and gets its name from the fact that it would be very difficult, bordering on impossible to scout or portage. Run left and enjoy.

The crew below Blind Faith, deep in the goods.

Tombstone rapid. Crisler is just visible in the center of the photo probing the undercut. Yeehaw.

Matt Porter going for a mystery move in Tombstone.

Paul Fritze also enjoying the upstream view of the rapid. There was a nasty little f-u rock somewhere on the right side of the drop that was giving people a free back-paddling clinic.

Martin Belden dropping in to the top part of Tombstone.

The Russian (Peter) with a sick flake boof. Unfortunately it landed on rock, but looked steezy anyways.

O-dizzle, Tombstone.

Final Falls money boof. Orion Meredith.

Crisler cashing in some sky miles on the New.

Chris Shehab. Boofin away.

Damon Goodman styling Final Falls.

The final drop to the confluence with the Trinity consists of a semi-continuous section of class 4+ drops that is too much fun to even describe.

To reach the New River, follow Hwy. 299 to Hawkins Bar, just east of Willow Creek. Turn North on the Denny road and follow it for around 16 miles until there is a small dirt road that branches off on the right, and drops down a steep hill. At the bottom of the road there is an old campsite. Follow the trail from the parking area downhill to the river, and enjoy the ride.

We had flows of around 800-1000 cfs, which was perfect. This drainage is prone to rising very rapidly during and after heavy rainfall, and would become scary as hell with too much water. Avoid putting on during heavy rains or when the river looks like chocolate milk, and have fun.

Van Duzen Race Series

2009-02-25T13:22:00.000-08:00

It wouldn't feel like a race without at least a little carnage.

Well, it's about damn time the rain started coming down, and with it came the first Van Duzen race. We had 16 boaters turn out for the first race last Sunday, with a flow of around 8500 on the gauge at Bridgeville. After the success of this first race, we decided to turn it in to more of a race series. There will be multiple races held throughout the spring every time the Duzen peaks over 6000 cfs. This means on days when the gauge hits 6 grand, get your boats and butts to the takeout by 4 p.m. and the race will begin at 4:20, which seems appropriate given our location.

The results from last weeks race are as follows:

1st place: Crisler

2nd place: Martin Belden

3rd place: Orion Meredith

4th place: Dustin Stoenner

Other participants included (and I am sorry if I get last names wrong, or if they are lacking all together):

Ben York, Lou Jacobsen, Melissa Demarie, Paul Gillingham, John Hyland, Paul from Adventure's Edge, Megan Harpham, Lila Owen, Chris Shehab, Byron, Casey, Matt Titre.

Thank you all for coming out and making this race happen. Also, a big thanks to Wes Schrecongost for taking some great photos and to Will Parham for facilitating the start and finish.

The Columbia Experience

2009-01-27T18:24:00.000-08:00

Check out this link to the Columbia Experience website. Paul Gamache, organizer of the Cali-Burn Fest and the Cal-Salmon Nordheimer race, is back at it. This time, he has put together a crew with the intent of running the Columbia river from source to sea. The trip will cover over 1200 miles, 14 dam portages, and over 50 days.

http://www.thecolumbiaexperience.com

"Grand Canyon of the Mad" IV-V(P) Photo dump

2009-01-22T20:32:00.000-08:00

Dustin enjoying one of the rare deep spots on day one.

View of the beginning of the canyon below Pilot Creek.

Our first portage. You can see the sieve on the right side of the photo that scared us away.

Mad River Canyon

Upper portion of one of our first big rapids on day two.

Looking back upstream at the same rapid. Most of the drops we ran were like this.

Dustin lining up a nice boof in the gorge.

Downstream view of the canyon.

This is one of the burliest looking sieved out rapids that we saw. Both drops to the left of the rock dropped onto rocks with sieves below, and the right side of the rapid flushed through a sieve and then down a 20-25 foot cascading drop.

Dustin enjoying a beautiful canyon vista, and wondering if it ever ends.

Looking downstream above a nice drop in the canyon.

Upstream view of the canyon.

Dustin styling a sticky ledge drop.

Martin running another good rapid in the canyon.

Dustin scouting up a fun drop with a nice set of ledges upstream.

Tired, hungry, and covered in mud. Cheap salami never tasted so good.

Dustin in the final flatwater stretch before the take-out.

"Grand Canyon of the Mad" IV-V(P) write-up

2009-01-21T20:16:00.000-08:00

As with all good plans, this one hatched in the midst of grand frivolities, and as such, was guaranteed to be exciting and potentially epic. The plan was formulated around bits of beta gathered a few weeks earlier from Ben Wartburg, Alex Wolfgram, and Charlie Center who had tried to run the stretch in a day, but were forced to hike out in the dark, through thickets of poison oak. Not wanting to repeat this experience, Dustin and I planned on bringing overnight gear and doing a two day run down this same section. The plan was to put-in at the bridge in the town of Mad River on Highway 36. We would then paddle around 10 miles of flatwater and small gravel bar rapids, until the beginning of the main gorge below the confluence with Pilot Creek. Our second day would consist of paddling the middle and lower parts of the gorge and the 3-4 miles of flatwater before the take-out at the put-in for the Swinging Bridge run on the Mad.

How it really happened:

We put on early Friday morning, sun shining and warm. Perfect, or so we thought. The flows when we checked them before leaving on Thursday afternoon had been holding around 1200 c.f.s. at Arcata, which we thought would be adequate water. By the time we put on the flow had dropped to around 900 c.f.s., which in the upper region of the watershed, meant trouble for us. instead of paddling through nice deep pools and splashing down ripples, we were dragging our boats and getting stuck on every rock in every ripple for around 8 miles and 5 hours. Finally with the confluence of Pilot Creek doubling our flow, we were able to make good time for the remainder of the day. After entering the beginning of the gorge and paddling several sweet, but sievy rapids, we came to our first big horizon line. We started to bomb this one like all the rest, but found ourselves scrambling for an eddy after making the first drop of the rapid. Downstream was a sick looking boof, followed by 90 percent of the flow slurping down one of the largest sieves I have ever seen. We decided that this one might be worth looking at. After giving her a good look, we also decided that our balls felt really small all of a sudden, and neither one of us wanted anything to do with the drop. By this point it was late in the afternoon, and feeling that we had made adequate progress for the day, we decided to camp in a nice meadow above the river. As we found out the next day, we should have kept paddling.

The next morning we were stoked heading around the corner from camp and running some fun class 3-4 boulder gardens in a beauty of a canyon. Pretty soon we started getting into some of the goods and the pace and difficulty began to pick up. Both of us were thrilled that after paddling so much flatwater and scraping the day before, we were finally getting into the shit. We expected that the main part of the gorge, with the majority of the stout rapids, would be about 4 miles with maybe another 3 miles after that of mellow class 3-4. We quickly began to realize that this was not gonna be the case as we came to successively larger horizon lines, with bigger and more numerous sieves. In some rapids the entire flow would dump under several large house sized boulders, and then pour down a jagged pile of boulders, with no real line through, unless you have a scuba tank and some hockey pads. Our takeaway thoughts from this second day in the gorge can be summarized in the list below.

1. Portages suck

2. Portaging up near vertical mudslide walls sucks even more, especially when the mud is knee deep.

3. Really big sieves, everywhere.

4. Unfortunately placed rocks in almost every good looking boof.

5. The rapids last way longer than we expected.

By around 5:30 in the evening of the second day, with no end to the rapids in sight, and darkness closing in we decided we would have to spend an extra night. We found a nice little clearing some dry wood, and got a nice fire going to dry our sweat soaked gear after the brutal portages.

The next morning we put on the river cold and hungry, and dreading more portages. Luckily for us, we had just one more little walk, and then after a few more read-and-run rapids we came to the flats that marked our home stretch to the take-out.

Although there are some fun rapids, and the canyon is one of the most pristine and beautiful I have ever seen, I don't think that we will be making another trip down this section. With additional flow, some of the rapids that looked unrunnable on our trip might fill in and go, but it would make most of the rapids we did run pretty sporty.

To get to this run follow Hwy. 101 the junction with Hwy. 36. Take the 36 east until the bridge in the town of Mad River. Put in next to the bridge and have fun.

Some saweet pics of the canyon coming soon...

VAN DUZEN RACE

2008-11-25T12:29:00.000-08:00

When: The first day that the Duzen peaks over 7,000 cfs. Meet up at 4 p.m. Race starts at 4:20.

*Due to the fact that almost everyone is out of town these days for the holiday season, we are postponing the race until after January 5. Hope this does not disappoint anyone, but with the late rain this season, the Duzen has not cooperated with our original intent of having the race at a time when all can attend. See you all there, same time, same place.

Where: Grizzly Creek parking area, the normal put-in for the lower Duzen run.

Bring your playboats and your great attitudes. The race will be a mass start form the put-in, so elbow pads might be nice as well.

Prizes will be awarded for top finishers in the men's and women's categories. Beers will be awarded to anyone with a pulse and a kayak.

Directions: From Arcata, take the Hwy. 101 south until you reach the junction with Hwy. 36. Turn on East on Hwy. 36 and drive 17 miles until you reach Grizzly Creek Redwood State Park. The parking lot is on the right. Drive time from Arcata to put-in is around 45 minutes.

Hope to see all you Humboldt paddlers out there!

South Fork Feather

2008-11-17T17:24:00.000-08:00

The South Fork Feather is a great piece of water that winds its way through a beautiful canyon in the foothill country of central California. There are several distinct parts to the run which starts at the base of Little Grass Valley dam. The first gorge contains several fun drops in the 10-15 foot range, as well as a shallow 30 footer and numerous other rapids.

Looking into the first gorge

Ben York on the Put-in Drop

The shallow 30

Martin Belden on a nice sloping 10 footer

Ben boofing into another fun mini-gorge

There are numerous class 4 gorges and rapids along the length of the run, interspersed with many fun class 5 drops. Towards the end of the run, the nature of the drops turns to clean bedrock, with some fun ledges and slides. This section also contains a sick looking drop that we portaged at our low flows, but looks like it would be good to go with more flow.

This run keeps up a nice pace for eight miles, and feels much longer.

Looking up one of the cruisy boulder gardens

JR soaking up some sun on the S.F. Feather

South Fork Falls. Little more water, and it's goin down.

After the bedrock section, the run turns to cruisy class 3-4 boulder gardens, and then turns into a shallow class 2 paddle to the take-out.

The shuttle for this run is somewhat complicated, so be prepared with a map and directions. The best directions we found were on Jefferson State Creeking (http://www.jscreekin.blogspot.com/). Good luck and have fun. YEEHAW!!!

Cali-Burn Fest, Burnt Ranch Gorge

2008-10-19T14:12:00.000-07:00

The day broke sunny with a fall chill in the air. Pulling up to the put-in, we expected to see carloads of people standing around waiting for the third annual Burnt Ranch Gorge race to begin. We pulled down the road only to realize that in standard fashion, the pre-race party had obviously raged a little harder than expected. Again. We stood alone in the dirt, soaking up the sun, and slowly, the haggard crowds rolled in. An hour and a half later, we hit the water.
Dustin and I paddled down before the racers to set safety at the finish line, Falls 2. We waited around for a bit, wondering how many people would get beat down this year at the finish line, and then began to see the racers coming though Falls 1, and headed our way.

Charlie Center styling the finish line boof in first place.
Alex Wolfgram, Brandon, and Nugs - 3,4,5.
Orion Meredith, getting ready for a wall-check face grind, 8th place.

Matt Porter on the left side of Numero Dos.Event Organizer, and all-around great guy, Paul Gamache.
View of the canyon downstream of the finish.
Upstream view of BRG with Falls 2 in foreground.
Party Time. All you can drink buffet, thanks to generous keg donations.

The BRG race has the potential to become the next big whitewater race event. The run down BRG is like a playground, courtesy of mother nature. Combined with the surf comp on Friday afternoon, this makes for a killer weekend. The surf this year was unfortunately small, but still fun. Will Parham through down hard, as usual ,and took first place out in the ocean. Hopefully this event will continue to grow more in the future. Thanks to Paul Gamache and Cali Product for putting on this race, and to Rita, Rocky and Rush for a rockin' party. Also, props to all the people and businesses who donated raffle prizes and of course, kegs.

Anyone interested in solar power in Africa? if so, check out the Sun Catchers Project at http://www.suncatchersproject.org/. This is a great non-profit organization that i working to bring solar power to many poverty stricken areas of Africa, many of which are paddling destianations as well. Thanks also goes out to the to Sun Catchers Project for helping put on this year's Cali Burn Fest.

Fordyce Creek IV-V

2008-09-04T15:38:00.000-07:00

Fordyce Creek, in the Northern Sierras, is a truly classic California creek. Its mix of challenging bedrock rapids, good gradient, and beautiful alpine scenery makes for one sweet little creek. According to Stanley and Holbeck, who we all know are very familiar with California, Fordyce creek is the best warm-up for the bigger, more well known, high Sierras runs. Unfortunately, Fordyce creek is released from Fordyce lake at insufficient flows for kayaking most of the year, except on special release occasions. The rest of the year, the creek is kept flowing at minimal amounts, to make way for the hordes of off-roaders that descend on the area, determined to crawl over bigger, badder rocks. To help get more water in Fordyce, please fill out the boater survey at http://www.americanwhitewater.org/content/River_detail_id_199_. We should work to get more releases throughout the summer, and potentially more flow.

The crew before the put-in drive.

Dustin in the first rapid, Eraserhead.

Orion, about to get his erased on Eraserhead.

Our first portage. "Insanity Falls". Insane? Maybe. Rocky? Definitely.

Looking back up at Insanity.

Will McBoofingham. Doing his thing.

Dustin Stoenner, about to get some on Roatator Cuff.

You mean, you forgot the coffee?

Martin Belden, throwing his dyce on Fordyce Falls.

Orion Meredith, Fordizzle.

Dustin Stoenner signature wall grind.

Seth Dow, melting like butter. Split Falls.

Will Parham on Split Falls.

write up coming soon...

Bridge Creek

2008-06-24T21:53:00.000-07:00

Bridge creek is a tributary to Wooley Creek which dumps into the Cal-Salmon. The rumors that circulate about this precocious low volume jewel are all true. Multiple ten to twenty footers, several slides, lots of mank, lots of wood, and one hell of a two mile hike in.

The night before the Bridge trip New School (Dan Menton), Damon Goodman, Seth Mamon, and myself camped out at Wooley camp located on the Cal-Salmon. This is a good way to go when taking on Bridge due to the necessity for an early start in anticipation of a tough day on the creeks. We all woke up around sunrise, ate a quick breakfast and were speeding down the road in Damon’s truck boats loaded and myself trapped in the bed sealed in by the camper shell with three dogs, one of which was a Labrador with incredibly bad gas.
The shuttle road is the first left on the salmon road after leaving the 96. After about 45 minutes of being gas chambered by Willow (lab) and spectacular views of the Marble Mountain Wilderness we turned left at the fork in the road that leads to the decommissioned road which is the being of the hike. The hike down the road is very easy but is countered by a tremendously hard hike straight down the hillside. This class V hike begins once the rock cairns are encountered on the left side of the decommissioned road.
Due to the large amounts of low snow in the Marbles many trees and bushes had fallen across what was already barely a trail. This made it hard to stay on the right path but with veteran Bridge creekers Damon and New School we managed to make it down to the correct creek within an hour and a half. (don’t wander too far left because this could result in finding a tributary to Bridge making for an even longer hike).
Once at Bridge we were confronted with about 5 woody portages right off the bat. New School mentioned that this year the creek was unusually woody from the low winter snows. Eventually we paddled up to Blue toe gorge/Mullet power (either name is a go from Leif Anderson running the portage last year and petoning hard!). After this semi hairy portage the mank/wood begins to clear out a bit (except for one log I managed to get swept under : )
From here on the run gets better and better! The first set of falls are called medicine upper, and lower. The upper being clean 10-15 and the bottom a booferific 20 footer. The run literally has too many waterfalls to write about without creating a small book but the ones that aren’t an obvious portage were good-to-go! Some of the names include Toilet boil (we all portaged), Magic Carpet, pearl necklace, rooster, kicker, and many others.

Myself in Lower Medicine Falls
Damin Goodman in Rooster Falls
Damin in top drop of the Tea Cups
Damin again in the lower drop of the Tea Cups
Seth Maman in Pearl Necklace

Things to consider: I found this run to be very long and strenuous. To tell the truth it was definitely at the top of my ability level since I have literally never run a true waterfall before and made for one of the most physically and emotionally challenging days I have had on the river. This year was extra woody (6.8.08 and probably after a large winter flood, will clean up, cutting down on the portages). None the less, plan on a full day and don’t rule out the possibility of spending the night. This run should done with someone who knows the way. We arrived at woolly at around 5:30 after putting on Bridge at 11:00, ate a quick snack and paddled the remaining nine miles in about 1 ½ hours with New School leading/probing the way.

A special thanks to Both New School and Damon for leading the way and introducing me to such a great run! This is a definite must do on any Nor-cal boaters list of places to huck! I plan on making several trips back in the future. Hopefully next time with the Humboldt boys! (Martin, Dustin, and Will)

Photos By Dam Mentin

Bear Creek

2008-05-13T10:15:00.001-07:00

Bear Creek is reputed to be the best creek on the Montana side of the Bitterroot Mountains. Set in a beautiful granite filled canyon, this creek packs in a full range of slides and fun drops in its short but sweet run. Yesterday, Cody Harris, Chris Ennis, and myself went to run this montana gem. After a two mile hike in, you are deposited at the top of a long, clean slide that sets the tone for most of the rest of the run. Below this, the creek continues to drop at a steady pace (340 ft/mile) through a mix of wood infested boulder gardens, and the money slides. Below some woody rapids, we came to the top of a fun slide with a sweet, banking left turn. After this were more fun rapids, and then the notorious Tijuana Crack Whore, a low angle slide where most of the water falls into a crack between two shelves, and the paddlers in question have their elbows abused. With the low water on our run, the option of trying to miss the crack on the sides was not an option, and the three of us tucked tail and walked this one. Next up was the Hotel California... you can check in, but you can never leave. This drop consists of a slide into a sticky hole that has been the site of more than one carnage episode. More fun drops follow this, and lead to the climax of the run, Brave Bear Falls. Brave Bear is a sweet drop that consists of slide-ledge-slide-pillow-slide-ledge. After this is another small slide, boof combo, and finishes with another slide. All three of us ran the falls and all three came out with ear to ear grins, accompanied by more shouting and cheering than a thirteen year old girl at a Leonardo Dicaprio movie.

Cody and Chris on the hike in.
Brave Bear Falls, upper two-thirds.
Myself on one of the fun slides.

Here is a video of Cody running the main falls. Sorry about the low quality.

The Missoula Chronicals

2008-04-23T08:50:00.000-07:00

As is illustrated by the fresh ice clinging to my car, there still is not much running in the Missoula area. So, its back to the old standby of the Alberton Gorge and surfing downtown at Brennan's Wave. The weather went from nice sunny 60 degree days last week, to 30 degree days with snow flurries this week. No big suprises there. Fortunately for us Missoulians, we have a nice play run that has water year round, even if it means that you have to avoid the undercut ice ledges on the banks during the colder days.
Brennan's wave is a fun feature built right smack in the middle of downtown, making for some great party surfing involving a full variety of hole moves, as well as skirt popping, paddle knocking, and if all goes well, your buddy swimming to the old folks home. I know what you are all thinking now, and yes, booty beers are still considered mandatory.

Local paddlers enjoying Brennan's during a sunny, cold afternoon.

Pauley Creek

2008-04-15T16:31:00.000-07:00

Pauley creek was another hit on our list of "creeks to run again, but only when they have substantially more water". I did this run twice this spring, both occasions with a juicy flow of around 80 cfs. For those of you that don't know, I believe the minimum recommended flow for Pauley is around maybe 200 cfs. For those of you who already knew this, you probably already think I am a fool. especially to have done it twice. But, in its defense, this creek is actually quite fun, even at marginal flows, if you are looking for a fun time consisiting of clean bedrock drops, seperated by large amounts of not so clean rock vs. boat bumper car action.

Don't ever trust your friends with scissors...

Leif Andersen Boofing the first ledge of the day. Good form.

Dustin Stoenner, droppin' into a fun 10 footer.

Yours truly on the Split Rock super-boof.

Dustin, showing some tongue on Pauley creek.

Pauley Falls. Exceptionally bony, yet suprisingly clean.

Pauley Creek, good to the last drop.

If you get a chance to do this run, make sure you stop in at the pizza joint in Downieville. You can't miss it, as there are only about five buildings in downtown, and only one of them serves pizza.

Brandy Creek

2008-04-15T11:11:00.000-07:00

Several weeks ago, under the delusion that there would be water flowing from the hills around Whiskeytown Lake, Dustin Stoenner, Orion Meredith, Leif Andersen (the Mullet), and myself made a trip up Brandy Creek. To our immense suprise, we found water, not much, but definitely liquid, flowing down some of the beautiful bedrock slides that Brandy has to offer. We put in at the confluence of Brandy and some other small side creek, right at the top of a small slide. Below this, we ran some manky boulder gardens that consisted of ricocheting from rock to rock, usually pinning or broaching in annoying places. Fortunately, the water was only ankle deep in most places, so the stress level was pretty much non-existant. More water than we had on this run is key, but even at our meager flows, we had a good time running the clean drops.

Orion Meredith living the dream.

Dustin Stoenner, lookin' good.

Myself on the same slide.

Below this lay more mank, with one small bedrock section, that at legitimate flows, would not even be recognizable as such, and then a fun section consisting of two 10-15 foot slides, followed by a 10 foot drop through a narrow slot. This section was probably the most fun, as you could run laps on it until you puke.

Triple-drop section.

Myself, rockin' the purple top in the crack.

Enjoying some of the "in-between" stuff.

One of these days, we'll make it back to Brandy, this time with more water, and go charge the upper drops in the gorge. Thanks goes out to Leif for all the great shots, and advice on kayak induced foot bunion care.

Spring! (Almost)

2008-04-14T22:18:00.000-07:00

Just got back to Montucky for the guiding season to begin on the Alberton Gorge. Unfortunately, I had to leave beautiful, warm northern California somewhat prematurely, but with the copious amounts of snow here in the north, it seems that this summer might just be the best yet. As the snow continues to fall this evening, I am dreaming of creeks that soon will be running with ample amounts of recently departed snowpack, at the tropical temperatures of water that is only degrees from being ice. Patience is the name of the game right now, and since I cracked both of my boats before leaving sunny humboldt, this might be a good time to finally start working again, before I break something else. Speaking of broken boats, kinda sucks that you can't weld Jacksons. But, enough of that. I will have some photos up soon from our recent trips...

Happy Paddling!