Plunge Pool

Mtn Biking, east side of Lake Padden, Bellingham

2009-07-15T22:28:00.000-07:00

Still figuring out this helmet cam... bad batteries cut it short this time...

The return to Clearwater.

2009-06-14T22:17:00.000-07:00

On Saturday I returned to Clearwater Creek with Hale and Leif. It has been more than a year and a half since I ran this creek, but the memory of popping my shoulder out here was plenty fresh, and I had many demons to wrestle. Saturday was definitely a jump up in difficulty and consequence for me as well, as I've probably boated fewer than 20 time since my injury.

But, demons be damned, I had a new helmet cam to try out (in fitting with my new ultra-tool look). I've thrown the footage together and included it below. A few caveats. I've missed most of the harder rapids, either because I did not run them (Slippery slit has turned into an incredibly nasty ferry-to-hole move in front of a gaping undercut), or because I messed up the on-off sequence (below orange slice to ski jump).

Also, the level is about 0.2 feet lower than anyone recommends.

Low Water Bend, Fall 2008

2008-09-29T21:18:00.000-07:00

A trip from the Nooksack in September. Amy wanted to try out her new 85mm f1.8 lens, so here are her pictures from that day--just at Bench Drop--she also wrote the captions.

Hillary shows Amanda the line for airplane turn.

Owen scouting center line over Bench Drop, amidst flashbacks to Owen's Ouchie on Clearwater around the same time last year.

Owen paddling toward greatness when, mysteriously, Amy's memory card filled up.

Hillary coming in for airplane turn.

Amanda peeling out! First time on airplane turn (right?)

Chris on center line...

...trying real hard to keep that little bow up.

Mediocre Photo Dump

2008-09-01T08:50:00.001-07:00

These are a few pictures from this past summer. No giant trips or epics, but some great backyard biking, warm rocks, cold surf, and steamy days in the south east.

LEAVENWORTH/ICICLE CREEK

Amy psyched about the two pitch 5.6-5.9+, the second was a scary lead.

Crags at sunset.

Icicle Creek, fast, cold, and full.

VISITING MY SISTER IN NC

Smoky Mountains.

Snacks.

Empty trail, Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

Falls at Dupont State Forest.

Me, Nantahala, typical river level fog.

Shredding Hard Core!

Maeve floating on the Nanny.

(Shouldn't she have a helmet?)

Helmet-less rafters, hot summer day. Cold lazy river.

Nantahala "Falls". I first ran this in the spring of '97 (?)

Me running the "Falls" ten years later, still making it look hard.

Maeve making it look easy. She got typewritered across the hole, paddled out to big cheers from shore.

Casualty on the Nanny.

RIDING AT GALBRAITH

Big group of B'hamster locals Eric, Joanna, Andy, on Galbraith, Sean's (not pictured) going away ride.

Amy, second time out, shell-shocked after dropping into SST.

Amy, glad to be done.

Joanna, out of the woods.

Me, sticking the log roll. Fell off the first time.

Me, falling off the ladder bridge, Cedar Dust.

Me, second attempt at stunt on Evolution. Fell off the first time.

Me, same thing. Think I broke me ribs on the first attempt.

Mo and BoBo, looking over B'ham Bay from Ridge Trail.

Lunch at the summit, halfway through a 5 hour ride.

Mo, Cedar Dust ladder bridges.

Mo, big ladder bridge on bigger down tree, Evolution.

Mo, coming down Miranda at dusk.

Bo, sticking the entrance trick on Cheech and Chong's Wild Ride.

Bo, dropping a big stump on Evolution.

Bo, an even bigger drop on Evolution.

Bo, flying off the ladder bridge on Evolution.

Bo, Cedar Dust.

Bo, bike, Baker.

Da Baker.

SURFING AT TOFINO, BC

This is pretty self explanatory.

Dropping in.

Having failed.

Amy, seriously shredding.

Robe Race oh eight

2008-04-27T12:17:00.000-07:00

Here are a few pictures from the first annual unofficial Robe Race this past weekend. It was a great day, with a big turnout, brilliant sun, and low carnage factor. Thanks to Todd Gillman of The Range Life for hosting and organizing. All photos by Amy Keeling, compressed and poorly white balanced by myself. We will be passing these and many other originals on to Todd. If you see any misinformation or unnamed boaters that you recognise, let me know.

Hale in T1, first rapid below start line. Safety crew.

Hale Hanaway, T2, safety boater.

Devin Smith, T2 glory boof, safety.

The man himself, racer, race organizer, and beer provider Todd Gillman.

Shane Robinson. Part of 3rd place duo.

Ryan, right side.

Ryan and Chris. Second place duo.

Matt, mediocre racer.

Unknown racer.

Unknown racer.

Unknown racer.

Unknown racer.

Unknown racer.

Unknown racer.

Jon Dufay, racer.

Brad X., racer.

Jon and Brad.

Andrew Oberhardt, racer.

Unknown racers.

Unknown racer

Eric Schertzl, sneaking through the right line.

Bryan Smith, racer.

Bryan and Schertzl, racers.

Hilary Neevel, safety crew.

Jenni Pelc, safety crew.

Travis Lee, safety boater.

Lone boater coming into the take out.

New Zealand 2003: The Arahura

2008-01-20T20:21:00.000-08:00

***Update...video clip at the bottom.***

Continuing on with my procrastinatory efforts to remember beautiful lines while I tug repetitively on the Therabands tied to random objects around my house...

The crown jewel...the Arahura River.

I have no idea what kind of shape this river is in now, some five years later, but when we were there, it truly was a remarkable run. All told, there are some 9-12 miles of class IV-V, with gradients somewhere between 200-400 fpm. Lots of read and run boogie water, some stout drops, tons of boofs, water the color of the Bombay Gin bottle, and giant boulders of jade lining the banks.

The run starts with a heli trip up the three main canyons, to a small gravel bar immediately above some class IV drops.

Owen Callahan, about two rapids into the Arahura.

Andy Hinton from Tennessee (?), crushing the same ledge.

Ned from Colorado, Arahura River.

These great early ledges eventually settle down above the classic drop Curtain Call, which looks much cooler from the other side of the river, where you can actually see the curtain formed by the drop.

Zach Miller, the classic Curtain Call, Arahura River.

Shortly after Curtain Call the horizon drops away and you get to Dent Falls, named, I presume for the bedrock ledge hidden in the landing zone, and not some paddler named Dent. An Australian fellow we bumped into down there basically broke his ankles on this ledge a few weeks prior to our trip. The lip can be a bit tricky at low water, when a curling pillow wants to grab bows and direct them straight down toward the ledge...

I only ran this drop at medium flows. I still remember very clearly standing at the bank scouting, and hearing Dave tell me that "If you run it first, you know you'll feel like you sacked up." So I walked back up and nervously ran the drop, two small ledges into this 10-12 footer, and did feel pretty damn good. Peer pressure at its best. I gotta say, it does not often happen when you are boating with someone with superior skill that they purposefully stand down so you can stand up and push yourself that much more. A good lesson there.

Owen Callahan, Dent Falls, Arahura River. Sacking up.

Zach Miller, low water Dent Falls. Note that curler just upstream of the lip, enough to really screw you up.

Zach Miller, Dent Falls.

Dave Scavullo, Dent Falls, pulling it off with half a paddle...

Dave Scavullo, boogie water.

Dave Scavullo, more boogie water.

Somewhere later in the run, you get to one of the meatiest drops, Billiards. I'm not sure if this drop is named for the giant stack of boulders that you thread, or the sensation of a bad line. I never ran it, because what I saw was not always pretty.
The entrance consists of two ledges, the second of which you can see in the photo below. Both will screw with you. After the second ledge, a quick sluice leads you toward the boulder I was standing on when I took the video. To viewers right is an 8' slot/drop, and a long run out. To viewers left, was a large tree wedged in a sieve.

I think there is a shot of me with throw bag ready at Billiards in some old LVM.

Ivan (?) half-way through Billiards, Arahura River.

A less successful run on Billiards. Still one more ~8' ledge just out of view below the lower right corner of this shot...better get straightened out...

I saw one of the sketchier messes just above Billiards on my first run down the Arahura. We had a big group, including 4 fellows from the UK that, we found out later, were running the hardest thing they had ever been on that day...Before we got to Billiards there was a broken paddle (first drop of the day), a severly injured shoulder, and multiple swims. One swim resulted in a boater on river left above Billiards, and a boat on river right. One of the pommies decided he would clip into his buddies boat, and ferry it across the river. He instead ferried into a ledge hole, executed approximately 35 power roles, and swam out of his boat, with a boat attached to his PFD, about 30 feet above the entrance ledge on Billiards. When we got to him he was literally hanging on to the wall/boulder with his fingernails, with the boat straining in the current at the lip of the first ledge...

More boogie water and you get to the Cess Pit, which you can run, or easily portage, which most of us did. I only ever saw John Grace run the ledge. The portage includes a fifteen foot seal launch into the top of this canyon...

Dave Scavullo, dropping into the Final Gorge, Arahura River.

Final Gorge, Arahura River.

...which has no obvious way out, and lots of busy water. But it does end in a great high speed boof that, if lucky, launches you over a small pile of rocks.

It is a long day, but utterly amazing. Our first time, with the bunch of UK paddlers, took 8 or 9 hours. The second time took some 4 hours, following John Grace, who had not yet run the Arahura. We told him we'd show him the way down. Yeah, right. We shelled out the bucks to run it three times while I was there.

Zach and Andy.

It's That Good. Dave.

Not to mention, and I'll keep this short, when the run is a bit too high, there is this thing called a "playspot" just downstream, that seemed to keep people entertained.

Dave Scavullo, Arahura play wave.

Zach, blue water.

Zach, Arahura wave.

A bony Nooksack fix

2008-01-13T11:31:00.001-08:00

Some pictures from last weekend's bony trip done the Horseshoe Bend section of the Nooksack River. I was not in the water, but I dispensed plenty of beta from the banks. Everybody got out and looked anyway...must have been the sight of Erik's line through bench drop...

Forgive the fuzziness.

300 cfs looks like a lot less than 2ooo...

Eric, Bench.

Melting the middle line on bench...

Bounce, or boof, you decide.

The entrance to SAT, slightly re-arranged.

Mid-SAT, about the same...

Lower SAT, about the same.

New Zealand 2003: South Island

2008-01-06T13:50:00.000-08:00

Well, my recovery is still slow, and since neither TRL or Bellingham Whitewater seem to be updating their posts that frequently, I've decided to entertain myself by remembering better days. My last post was a hacked introduction to an international boating trip to New Zealand, but I saved the South Island for this one.

Geologically speaking, the North Island and South Island are quite different places. The North Island is dominated by volcanic activity and hence deep smooth canyons through tuff, floating rocks and hot springs. South Island rivers actually remind me of northern WA and BC rivers: polished granite, schist, phyllite and landslides, jade and giant seives. Steep, ever changing creeks and big storms blowing in off the oceans. Generally scary and beautiful places.

Zach Miller, Hokitika River

Zach and I made the journal south of Rotorua, to Wellington and the ferry, on to Murchison and the west coast of the South Island in our seemingly undestructable van, with two 99 cent tapes in the boom box we bought as a sound system. I don't know why we never improved the musical selection. Meanwhile, fellow Hampshire alum Dave Scavullo slowly made his way south, meeting up with us a few weeks later since he had to avoid high spots in the road on the way down...

Dave Scavullo's rig. Super sketchy, super low.

Our destination, and the destination of just about every other boater, was Lake Mahinapua, south of Hokitika on the wet West Coast. The field west of the lake was a defacto paddling community, where international paddlers took advantage of the unwatched facilities, camped for free, planned and logistisized every evening at the Mahinapua Tavern (can you say tool?) or over breakfast at the cafe in Hokitika. We met Mickey Abbot and Allan Ellard (and I told them they could not join us on our heli trip...we were full and I didn't know who they were, then.). We ran the Arahura with John Grace, and I'm featured prominently holding a throw bag in LVM issue 11(?) Yes, times were good.

Lake Mahinapua, home base for a few weeks on the South Island.

One of the big draws to the West Coast are, of course, the heli runs. Bruce Dando flew relatively cheap (~US$50) shuttles up otherwise poorly accessible runs like the Hokitika, Whitcombe, Arahura... And usually all of your stuff made it to the put in too.

Helicopter shuttle courtesy Bruce Dando. Insurance sold separately.

Steve a.k.a. Captain America, and Zach Miller, lower Hokitika put-in.

Eventually your money runs out, or the weather sucks, or the helicopter has crashed, and you get to start hiking in to runs. But the gem of the Kakapotahi is still relatively easy, and even driveable...

Hiking into the Styx, which was too low to paddle anyway.

Owen Callahan, Airmail, Kakapotahi River.

Stef, Kakapotahi River.

Zach Miller, Postman's Falls, Kakapotahi River.

We ran the Kakapotahi a few days after I got out of the hospital, after experiencing my first of several gall stones attacks on the trip.

Owen Callahan on drugs, after one-too-many meat pies, which were really cheap, but not that good.

Eventually our van began a steady and inevitable decline, prompting an even more inevitable and much slower retreat back to the North Island. The black flies also prompted our decision to tuck tail. Along the way we stopped at Mauria Falls outside of Murchison, and I somehow mustered the courage to drop my first 30 foot falls. Since we had stopped by this drop on the way south, and since we knew we were going to stop there on the way back, I was literally kept awake with the thought of the falls weeks before hand.

Zach Miller, with bug net.

Dave Scavullo and Zach Miller discussing how not to boof Mauria Falls.

Dave Scavullo stepping up first, Mauria Falls.

Owen Callahan, moments before learning the importance of paddle placement on bigger waterfalls

Zach Miller stomping Mauria falls.

Next post, stills from the stunning Arahura River...

New Zealand 2003: North Island

2008-01-06T13:30:00.000-08:00

I recently had breakfast with a friend who recently landed a job doing geology in New Zealand. After suppressing my extreme jealousy, I decided to take action. Seeing as how I'm currently laid up with a slowly recovering right shoulder, I've got lots of time to daydream and reminisce about better boating days. And often I'm brought back to my trip to New Zealand in 2003. So, instead of leaving the same blog post up about my little accident, I thought I'd post some photos and stills from better days, a little trip down memory lane.

This is the first installment of my nostalgic/inspirational (for me) journey (yes, I did once have a functioning right arm...).

New Zealand:

I finished my undergrad degree in December, 2002. Two summers prior, I met Zach Miller on a geology project in Colorado, and somehow we stayed in touch enough to realize 1: we were both graduating at the same time and 2: we had no immediate job prospects (imagine that). So we "planned" a trip to New Zealand. All told we spent over two months traveling around the islands and boating.

I drove cross country to meet up with Zach in LA, and after a mad dash to the airport that involved packing on the sidewalk outside of the car storage facility in south central LA, we began an incredibly long flight, that included an even longer layover in Fiji, which we both hated.

Within 24 hours of landing in Aukland we had purchased a van. It was beautiful, to us, and relatively cheap. The lack of back seats translated into optimum gear storage, even after we built bunk beds. We learned later that the key would not open the doors, so we always had to leave the van doors ajar to avoid getting locked out. Surprisingly, we never had anything stolen. Except for one of my sandals. Which disappeared while we were sleeping. Actually, I think Zach jettisoned one of them so I'd have to get better smelling shoes.

The apartment that I shared with Zach for two months in New Zealand...

Zach Miller building the bunk bed in the back of our van.

We cruised down to Rotarua, where we met up with kayaker extraordinaire and fellow Hampshire College alum Douglas McCormick, who unfortunately was recovering from a badly broken ankle acquired while on a steep first descent.

Rotarua, or more precisely, Douglas's front yard, was our base camp for a few weeks while we built the bunk beds and got settled in (I don't think his girlfriend approved...). Not a bad place to stay, considering we had incredibly easy access to the Kaituna River, a famed North Island run with a great play hole, and a play-boatable 18 foot falls. A flat water paddle from Douglas's front yard brought us to the put in, and we could walk the shuttle in under ten minutes.

Zach Miller waiting for the late lefty boof as he drops over Tutea Falls on the Kaituna River.

Zach Miller, same as above, from below.

Owen Callahan, dropping onto the pillow below Tutea Falls, Kaituna River.

Zach Miller, bottom hole, Kaituna River. Photo by Owen Callahan.

To tell you the truth, the Kaituna kind of weirded me out. The walls are super smooth and slimy volcanic tuff that rise straight out of the water, and you couldn't scout anything. The still of Zach running Tutea from above was shot while I sat in my boat in the staging eddy above the drop, holding onto the wall with one hand, waiting for a whistle once he was clear. Plus, there are freshwater eels.

On a few weekends we made it up to the Wairoa River, a great Class IV+ run with easy shuttle access and fun, technical rapids.

Owen Callahan, early on the Wairoa River.

Roller Coaster, Wairoa River. Photo provided by Douglas McCormick, unknown source.

Owen Callahan, the bottom of Roller Coaster, Wairoa River.

Zach Miller, bedroom stroke, Roller Coaster, Wairoa River.

Zach Miller, flying off the last ledge, Wairoa River.

After a while in Rotarua, we started south. On the way we made the typical stops at Huka Falls (too much water for me) and Full James wave, paddling a few rivers along the way with peculiar floating rocks. Eventually we wound our way to Wellington and the ferry to the South Island, where lots of steep creeks and (relatively) cheap helicopter shuttles awaited.

Which I'll get to next post.

Zach Miller, Full James wave

New Zealand, where the rocks float. This Basque fellow, who we think was named "Juice" constantly referred to Zach as "Sack," which in fact was a pretty good nickname.

Medical Leave

2007-11-06T10:53:00.000-08:00

Due to a shoulder dislocation on beloved Clearwater Creek, I will not be writing about first hand, paddle to water, boating experiences for a while.

Thanks to Ryan for bagging me off of that mid-stream boulder while my right arm dangled limply into the creek. And for driving me to the hospital so they could put it back in...And for dealing with my screaming. Also, thanks to Jamie for dragging my boat out of the woods later that week. And John, though I was totally hopped up on morphine I appreciated you stopping by the hospital as well. And Amy for dealing with a one-armed-me for a few weeks.

Boaters are good people. Solid partners are worth their weight in gold. Maybe someday I'll be one again.

I'll update the blog with my physical therapy progress...

I guess I'm not as bad off as this guy.

More Cascade Potential

2007-09-27T21:39:00.000-07:00

Some photos from a little canyon I've had my eye on.
Last time I dragged folks into some canyon we ended up portaging for five hours.
Thought I'd better walk this one out if I'm ever going to get anyone to paddle this...not sure if it would be worth it, who knows what it will look like with water...except for that sweet 30 footer...I call 1st D dibs.

The start of the really steep stuff.

Photo from the same spot as above, looking downstream. Drops 10-15 feet into the pothole, undercut on the right...

Big landslide a hundred yards downstream.

Can you say perfect 30 footer? Clean lead in, tight landing. A rock ledge sticks into the river right side of the landing zone at these flows. Higher flows might pad things out and help push you away from the wall at the bottom.

Funky 10 foot ledge just downstream of the 30 footer.

Typical intermediate rapids.

Another funky slide/drop into a pothole.

Funky log-choked drop. The 15 foot drop falls over another stump, creating a nasty cave behind the curtain, and a sieve above that I nearly fell into...

Top of a funky bedrock island. Bottom goes on the right, top goes on the left.

Bottom of the island.

Lead in to the super scary 30+ footer.

Part of the lead in...

Top of a technical and marginal (unrunable?) drp.

Top half of the 30+ footer. Landing is good, if you don't bounce off the rock walls on the way down.

Last drop, ~10 feet, as you leave the canyon and enter the gravel bars.

Skunked in BC

2007-08-02T14:27:00.000-07:00

Same story as below, thought I'd add these two shots from Devin of me on Rutherford Creek. Turns out there used to be a clean 20 foot waterfall somewhere on Rutherford Creek...We never saw it...anyone know when it disappeared?

Me on ledges two and three in the big triple drop...

Went to BC with Chris, Hilary and Devin, with the knowledge that the rivers were still high. Got skunked on Rogers, Ryan, Birkenhead, Snowcap, Upper Upper Ashlu... though not for want of trying...and I was too spent to even get on a healthy flow at Callaghan.

We did manage to hop on Rutherford, Upper Cheakamus, Soo, and the Tuwasus/Lillooet.

A good way to spend my first weekend "free" of graduate school. Here are a few pictures...

Chris taking a look at Rutherford Creek, medium low flows?

Devin on Rutherford.

Big nasty falls.

Devin in the canyon below the falls.

Chris in the first drop in the big Triple Drop.

Chris coming out the bottom.

Devin in the canyon below the falls.

Hilary, the lake, and the mountains in the Lillooet zone.

Scrabble while waiting for the road to open.

Lillooet "lake" looking a lot like a river.

Camping at Saint Agnes Hot Springs and the take out on the Lillooet, Class III, 400 cms.

Chris discussing the finer points of hot wiring Devin's truck, after Devin left the keys an hour up the road.

All the important bits.

Hilary on the best boof on the Tuwasus, and maybe the whole trip, continuous class III-IV, 3 km into the Lillooet.

...and some different cropping options.

Some stuff

2007-07-23T09:00:00.001-07:00

Some photos from recent boating on the Cascade River at 1300-1500 cfs, 1 1/4 screens showing, good fun.

And some aftermath from the rain on snow we had yesterday...

Jon Dufay, Premium on Cascade

Brad X, Premium

Brad X, swallowed by Premium

Middle Fork Nooksack Canyon, ~1600 cfs ?

Middle Fork Nooksack, it looks scary because it is.

Starts right out of the box...put-in eddie upper right... Middle Fork Canyon.

Bench Drop on the North Fork Nooksack, flattened out.

Second drop after Bench...

Entrance to SAT, NF Nooksack

Good play spot above the bridge, NF Nooksack, at 3500 cfs?

2007-07-10T12:53:00.001-07:00

Kayak, it's a palindrome

2007-04-12T15:02:00.000-07:00

Lots of stuff going on and not enough free time to waste writing.

Big Events:

Hotel Charley 2 Screening, along with Ashlu vids, 6pm, Broadway Hall, Bellingham, April 16th.

Trifecta for Brent on the 21st.

Also, a first (?) descent (?) of sorts on Swift Creek, Baker Lake area. 8 hours in the woods, but only two spent paddling...the rest spent portaging a big ol' gorge.

I'll get a write up posted soon...

The bottom of the gorge on a previous scouting mission.

A great view of one of the last rapids.

One of the only drops we ran in the gorge. Me about to mess up on the easy stuff. Video still from Chris Tretwold.

One of the mandatory portages. Waterfall under the logs is about 35' tall. Video still from Chris Tretwold.

One of Whatcom County's best looking waterfalls, still unrun (?), and the start of the big portage... Video still from Chris Tretwold.

Clearwater, Revisited

2007-03-18T15:01:00.000-07:00

Saturday was warm, the Middle Fork of the Nooksack was peculiarly holding steady at 900cfs, and a big crew was heading up from Seattle. While there was some worry that Clearwater would miss the majority of the rain heading our way, we drove up to the put-in anyway in hopes of finding water. When Hale and I pulled in, not only did we find the creek was at a respectable level, but there were about 12 guys ready to go (let's see, me, Hale, Chris, Tim, Tony, Jamie, Todd, Andrew, Marty, Shertzl, Ammen...). We had a veritable interstate collection of boaters, ranging from as far away as Colorado and Arkansas. And I can safely say that I was the most mediocre of the bunch.

The seldom run Rocky Road at a good level, as seen from the bridge over Clearwater at the bottom of the run.

Clearwater put-in. As crowded as we've ever seen it.

The character of Clearwater is a little unusual as far as local creeks go. A great many rapids are carved out of Chuckanut Sandstone, forming fun shutes, ledges, and slides in several mini-gorges. Other rapids are the more typical boulder filled style (including giant, orange weathering dunite boulders, shweet!). The first few times I swam, er, paddled Clearwater, we didn't get out to scout anything. It was 400 fpm of "Boof left, eddy right. Ready?" Things have changed. Island Drop, in the middle of the run, has changed and is now a manky boulder pile, which goes poorly on the left and has wood on the right. The best line will probably be over a hard left boof in the middle while avoiding the boulder which backs up the landing on the center right. There was a fun rapid after Island Drop that has changed, and then you get to the lead in to Orange Slice. The right side will probably go, banging over bedrock and then through the narrowing (?) slot called Door Number 2. Most folks didn't run this one due to the wood issues in the ledges just downstream.

The new and unimproved Orange Slice.

Downstream consequences that kept most folks form running the right sneak on Orange Slice.

Shertzl and Hale, mourning the loss of Orange Slice.

Most things after Orange Slice are similar to the old lines. Continuous and steep. The one notable exception is Ski Jump, which is taller, and you now run down the far right.

All in all a great day and it felt excellent to be on the water again. I had a very mediocre day, including, yes, a swim into a recirculating eddy below Slide for Life that somehow worked itself out (after I swam over the next ledge and got out, my boat followed suit and beached itself at my feet) and I plugged the hell out of both ledges in Bark No Bite. However, most things went well, not bad given all this grad school sitting and a steadily climbing water level.

When we finally finished many hours later the Middle Fork was on its way to spiking over 2000 cfs. The correlation remains a little funny, but Clearwater seems good between 1000-1500 cfs on the MF Nooksack gauge, depending on whether its rising or falling.

I think the rest of the crew had a great day as well. It felt nice to be on a backyard classic with so many phyched boaters.

Chris T. calling the boys home. The crew was stretched a few hundred yards upstream in little eddies, waiting for the take-out to clear.

Downstream from the take out...the lead-in to the pinny, woody Rocky Road.

Tim guarding against the consequences of a blown finishing move.

Shertzl bringing it home.

Andrew doing the same.

Slightly worse for wear crew at the take-out, 1.5 miles and 4 hours later.

Clearwater Creek, almost

2007-03-14T10:31:00.000-07:00

Tuesday Clearwater Creek dropped into range. And I almost ran it, twice.

Everyone in Bellingham has been keen on getting back on this creek after the heavy floods last November altered the river bed. Winter rains have been moving wood around, alternatively plugging up and blowing out key drops. Rumors abound of freshly opened undercuts and gravel filled eddies, a less than pleasant combination at 400 fpm.

Ryan and I waited patiently while the Middle Fork Nooksack gauge dropped from 3500 cfs to 1500 cfs, and headed up mid morning on Tuesday to check it out.

Since the actual gauge on Clearwater blew out in the big floods, we had a hard time telling what the level was. I thought it looked pushy, Ryan agreed, but half heartedly, and we backed down.

We rallied again for a post-work attempt, giving us time to gather backup and wait for the river to drop a bit more. By 5 pm Hale, Jon, Ryan and myself were standing at the take-out, while the skies dumped freezing rain and snow on the only slightly lower creek.

Don't ever boat with Hale, he brings horrible weather.

Did I mention that it was snowing? That North Cascades terrestrial lapse rate can be a real bitch. Fifty in Bellingham, and 32 at the put-in.

I quickly assessed my lack of recent boating (an excuse that will soon run dry), the heightened hypothermia risk, and backed down for the second time in one day. While I could cite all sorts of logical, obvious reasons not to run a steep, recently flooded creek at 5 pm in March with snow accumulating at your feet, I think I really just need to wait for my testicles to drop back in after such a long cold winter.

Jon and I waited for a while at Slippery Slit and watched those clad in drysuits make their bold descent. Then we headed to the take out and waited in warm trucks with beer while Hale and Ryan did all the work of assessing the Clearwater situation.

When they finally joined us slightly after dark they reported that:

The river was actually a little low (MF Gauge at ~1000-1100)
Most things were pretty similar, but at least a handful of drops (island drop, orange slice) are different, and orange slice was portaged.
Not too many wood issues.

We recon that the level we saw earlier in the day when the MF was ~1400 was equivalent to ~3.9 on the old gage. For now, MF between 1100-1200 seems like a good level.

Maybe a little later in the season...

Hale Hanaway in the slightly more undercut Slippery Slit.

Ryan Bradley in the rejumbled Tony's Tumble.

Jon Dufay, warm and dry at the take out.

Waiting in the snow as night falls on Clearwater Creek.

Weekend High Water: Chickening out on Class III

2007-03-12T11:20:00.000-07:00

If you live in the Northwest, you know that we were pounded with rain this past weekend. The big rains were coupled with rising freezing levels and rapidly melting snow, which translated into big rivers throughout most of Cascadia. Our backyard runs went from way too low on Saturday morning, to way too high by Sunday afternoon. Last I checked the Middle Fork of the Nooksack was running ~3500 cfs, about 4 times the recommended flows...

So, a few of us from Bellingham went searching for Big Water Class III fun up in Canada, which sounded like a nice way to warm up for the season and enjoy some of the water. The crew consisted of myself, Jon Dufay, Chris Tretwold, Ryan Bradley and Dirk Fabian.

Rallying through the rain in the Fraser River valley.

The plan was to hit the Chehalis River, which we paddled at high water last November. The run is long, the canyon is scenic, and the river itself is usually not that intimidating. However, when we arrived at the take out we found full sized trees floating out of the canyon and the water was about a meter higher than our November trip. We estimated flows were between 5,000-7,000 cfs, a good bit higher than the recommended 2,000. We quickly assessed our lack of recent boating missions, the continuing heavy rains, and the mobile strainers and high tailed it to more familiar territory.

Chehalis take out, a full meter higher than our last high water descent, with full sized trees floating out of the canyon.

Tucking tails and running away from the high water Chehalis option.

The Chilliwack River is just about due south from the Chehalis across the Fraser River. However, when we got to the take out we found that the Chilliwack was actually on the low side of medium. Slesse Creek was dumping in tons of mud which made the run look threatening, but there really wasn't that much water.

Chilliwack take out. Brown water and the smell of earth in the air, but flowing on the low end of medium. ???

We cruised up to the alternate put in on Foley Creek, which had been devastated in the last big winter floods, and proceeded to bash our way down the low, tree filled brook and then on to the Chilliwack proper. The Chilliwack itself has changed quite a bit since I last boated it. The last mile or so is deeply incised into the river bed, and there is lots of new wood in the lower gravel bars, but most are easy to see from above.

All in all, a satisfying day of early season boating. Now we just need to wait for Clearwater to come back in so we can go assess the much talked about changes since the storms this past winter.

Heading up to the alternate put-in on Foley Creek, which was likewise a bit low. Check out the channel on the right side of the picture left by the winter 06-07 floods.

Dirk bashing his way down a typical bony Foley drop. Plenty of wood in there now.

NF Nooksack Wood Update

2007-03-07T20:31:00.000-08:00

I'm not going to take the time to go into detail about the new wood on the NF Nooksack, and will instead refer to the write up here.

However, I did want to put up this picture. This was the only mandatory portage at BONY flows (~300 cfs?), and it sneaks up on you quick. It is at the bottom of the long rapid above Bench Drop, and it is very hard to see until you punch the last hole, at which point you're better off heading to river left and fast.

Ashlu Call Out

2007-02-22T09:37:00.000-08:00

Former Bellinghamster and Costa Rica cohort Ethan Smith just forwarded this e-mail to me from Bryan Smith with The Range Life. I thought it was worth posting. Sounds like I'll be heading up to BC tonight for the paddling film fest, and back again on Monday:

"I realize this comes late and it would be very difficult for some of you, but it is REALLY important in the scheme of things here in the Sea to Sky corridor. If you care about rivers or kayaking in BC and want to have rivers to paddle in August, you really have no excuse for not coming up here on Monday. In fact you should come ski on Sunday, because it is looking epic! Monday Feb 26 at 10:30 there is a public hearing in Pemberton on the Ashlu. This is a very interesting turn of events and many feel it will set big precedent with the SLRD and local government. I will try to explain.

Bill 30 was enacted to allow Ledcor to start construction on the Ashlu despite being denied zoning by the SLRD (local government) by an 8-1 vote. As many of you know they are well underway with construction. BUT...Ledcor has been taking a lot of bad PR and many in the community have tagged them as "operating without permits". Their future in this corridor and on other projects (they own the water license for Callaghan) depends on them manufacturing local public consent. Well guess what is happening. They have gone back to the SLRD after the fact and applied for the permits. The same permits that they were denied after all the public hearings. If no one shows up in Pemberton on Monday and supports the local government, it will be very easy for this to turn into another back door deal, where Ledcor walks away with permits and ultimately permission from the local government. We have to stand behind the SLRD on this issue. I can't explain how critical it is.

I'm starting to uncover a lot on this issue working on a documentary of the Ashlu and micro hydro in the Sea to Sky. Hopefully there will be some funding to keep efforts moving forward. So many people have dropped off the fight. We can't give in.

Thanks for your help. I will have a lot more coming at you soon, but I have been swamped in trying to get things done locally as well. Pass this email along. A good showing is really important.

Bryan"

Some Video Stills from 2005:

Chris Tretwold, Callaghan Creek

Ethan Smith, Callaghan Creek

Shane Robinson, Tatlow Creek, Ashlu watershed

Shane Robinson, Tatlow Creek, Ashlu watershed

Canyon Creek (SF Stilly) and Sauk

2007-02-18T16:25:00.000-08:00

Saturday was spring in the Northwest. 66 degrees and sunny and the rivers, they were up. I joined up with Bellingham boaters Jon and Tim, and headed to Canyon Creek, a super short and fun run about an hour south, running at a healthy 6'. The class IVish run seemed like a good candidate given our early-season rustiness, and the Bellingham crew had a score to settle with this little run. Unfortunately, few that experienced the earlier epic wanted to join us this time.

We met up with several Seattlites, including a trio that (mostly) successfully rafted the creek, which was impressive to watch given some of the tighter drops on this run. Though the prospect of paddling along with a floating undercut is never that appealing.

Poogies and excess insulating layers were shed with abandon, and we started the run.

The run begins with a good sized rapid with hungry ledge holes, but quickly tapers into a scenic canyon with clean, aesthetic drops. Tim probed his way down most of the drops while the less intrepid among us scampered about along the canyon walls, debating lines, all of which went well. And then we were done (it is pretty darn short).

We put on for a second lap, which involved 4 swimmers in a prolonged spin cycle in the top drop, including all three rafters (I still feel a little bad about boofing onto the first swimmer, but the raft was hot on my tail), and then we proceeded to cruise the lines in under 45 minutes.

Beer and chips and salsa awaited us at the take-out thanks to the foresight of the Seattle contingent.

Tim in the first ledges. The right side of this one goes smooth.

First ledges.

Seattlites in Headwall Rapid (?)

Jon Dufay, Headwall Rapid (?)

Last larger drop.

Tim, last munchy hole.

On Sunday, Hale, Jon and myself headed out for some early season playboating on the Sauk. Unfortunately, the evil Northwest weather gods had returned from their Saturday reprieve, and we were greeted at the put-in with giant snowflakes that muffled our quick descent.

Spring Training

2007-01-30T11:05:00.000-08:00

Winter lab work in AZ has seriously increased my paddling handicap, due to

A) long hours spent at the microscope looking at very small rocks,

(Apatite grain, 2/10 of a mm long.)

and B) a profound lack of navigable waters...

However, with the gut of my thesis now well underway, it is nearly time to cast my thoughts towards the waters of the Northwest, were I will *soon* be back in action, standing vigilante on the shores with throwbag in hand, watching while friends with bigger guns lay it on some unsuspected creeks.

-Chris Tretwold getting fired up in BC.

In premature anticipation of said adventures, I've added a link to TRIP REPORTS where we will document all of the drops that we scout and walk.

Parting thoughts:

Why doesn't Toyota sell a hybrid biodiesel HiLux in the US?

Costa Rica Part 3: Surfing and Wildlife

2007-01-12T09:37:00.000-08:00

Los Rios de Costa Rica

2007-01-09T21:32:00.000-08:00

Here are some additional paddling photos, taken from Amy's lens (for a much larger selection, check out her site here).

The put-in on Rio Toro (Recreo Verde hot springs
near La Virgen) on New Year's Day. Note the
on-lookers behind the gate.

Ethan and Owen on Rio Toro. A gorgeous canyon.

Near the "put-out" as Amy called it,
next to the pig farm by the bridge on Rio Toro.

Ashley, waiting with Amy on the bridge in the pouring rain.

Ethan and Owen escaping the odor
(and other byproducts) of the pig
farm just below the bridge.

Owen gets caught in the fence while
the squeals of hogs echo through the
canyon of Rio Toro.
"They must be having a birthday party," we said through grimaces.

The next day, Cody and Morgan,
paddlers from California and Washington,
came along to run Pozo Azul. Bumpy dirt
roads and slick muddy trails lead to the 30 foot falls.

Note how Owen's booties are covered in mud and sinking further in.

The Falls are scouted...

And then run. (Morgan with her nice line here.)

Ethan, photo by Owen Callahan

The group (from left to right): Ethan, Morgan, Cody, Owen.

Me Gustaria Rios Con Cataratas

2007-01-09T11:26:00.000-08:00

COSTA RICA, DECEMBER 2006 - JANUARY 2007
This past Holiday Season, my family finally made good on a few years of talking with a quick trip to Costa Rica. The tropics were a welcome respite from the crummy weather that has settled in over the Northwest (Paddling in a T-shirt!). We managed to visit most of the hot spots around the country, with hoards of other tourists, such as Volcan Arenal, Monteverde, and Manuel Antonio. After my mom and sister headed back north, my girlfriend the dedicated photographer and skilled translator, Amy Keeling, and I met up with fellow Northwesterners Ethan and Ashley for a few more days of boating and surfing.

It may take a few days to gather all of the images from folks on the trip, but here are a few travel pointers we thought we would share:

RECOMMENDED ACCOMMODATIONS:

Cortez Azul, Alajuela, ~$10/p/n
If you fly into San Jose, you'll want to stay in Alajuela (much closer to the airport, and more fun to say). If you stay in Alajuela, Cortez Azul is a clean, cheap, funky little oasis for the weary traveler. The owner Eduardo is kind and helpful, and his dog, Milagro, has a great smile.

Hotel Interamericano, Turrialba, ~$20/d
Turrialba is a great basecamp for paddling the Rio Pacuare and Reventazon in eastern Costa Rica, and the Hotel Interamericano seems to be the preferred paddling bunk. The place is pretty cheap, the owner Patricia is blunt and cooks a great breakfast, and there is an open-air, secure basement for storing wet gear and boats.

Rancho Leona, La Virgen de Sarapiqui, ~$10/p/n
La Virgen is another great kayaking destination, with easy access to the Rio Sarapiqui, Rio Toro, and La Catarata Pozo Azul (waterfall on cover of the guide book). Local guide Miti has boats for rent and is super cool. Rancho Leona is an organic, rambling structure that is simultaneously open to the jungle and comfortably cozy. You can walk to the river from the back porch/sauna, and super friendly Leona will make you breakfast (~$4) and dinner(~$7). Plus, the water is magic.

Gringo Pete's, La Fortuna, ~$4/p/n
Fortuna isn't really a paddling destination, but active volcanoes are pretty cool. Gringo Pete's is cheap, clean, and informative. Lots of those backpacker types. Ask around for the cheaper hot springs; places like Tabacon look like Disneyland and charge ~$45/p to use their tubs. We found a nice little place with hot mineral water for $6/p.

SOME RANDOM RECOMMENDATIONS:

Work on your Spanish, so you can avoid saying embarrassing things, such as "Tiene usted dos damas para quatro personas?," when inquiring at the hotel.

Support Fair Trade cooperative coffee growers in Monteverde and learn tons by joining in on one of the tours of the Cafe Monteverde operation.

Be wary at the ferry on the way to the Nicoya Peninsula.

Banco Nacional ATMs probably won't accept your debit card.

Don't leave ANYTHING in your car, even wet paddling clothes and muddy tennis shoes.

Inspect the bathroom BEFORE deciding to order the sketchier items on the menu.

Enjoy the monkeys, and pics.

On the way to the lower Rio Pacuare (III-IV).

Family rafting on the Rio Pacuare.

Amy, and a much too bony 30 footer near Volcan Arenal.

My sister and Volcan Arenal.

View near Monteverde.

Ethan, Ashley, and a very comfortable coatimundi, Rincon de la Vieja National Park (a good reason not to feed the animals).

Ethan, Recreo Verde section Rio Toro (III-IV).

Amy and Fluffy, Artemis Cafe, Mal Pais.