This is the time of year when we start doing the Thursday evening Middle Middle runs. A day earlier, the flow was a low 800 cfs, but steady rain brought the flow up to over 1700 cfs with lots of creeks adding to that. A couple of us met at 5PM to do a quick run. The water level was excellent and despite the rain it was fairly warm. We splashed our way through the run and did the whole thing in under 2 hours.
15 runs by the end of March is a bit of a record for me, especially without any extended trips so far this year. I hope this pace continues and I can get a little bit ahead on my 2014 goal.
Thursday, March 29, 2012
Saturday, March 17, 2012
14 - 3/17/2012 - Middle Middle
I had thought we would run the Green, but it was a little too high for one of my friends and we figured it would be nice to run something close to home. We just had 3 people on the trip, but the flow and the weather were good, so it was a fun run. Just below Cable Drop, I wasn't paying attention and got flipped by a little rock and a wave. It was no big deal, and it was good flip practice.
Sunday, March 11, 2012
13 - 3/11/2012 - Green River Gorge
A couple of us decided to run the Green Gorge after we heard reports that the problem logs had been cleared out with the recent high water.
The flow was around 1100 cfs when I left my house for this run, but we got lucky and the flow came up to around 1400 cfs before we got on the river. We put in just above Ledge Drop 1, and got ourselves into the flow. There was a log on the left of Ledge Drop 2, which forced me to go right of my usual run. I smacked into a rock and ended up swimming the tail end of the rapid, but that was no big deal.
We made our way down through the early class III section. Just before Mercury, my paddling partner said he wanted to see my run through Mercury. This resulted in me getting a bit self-conscious about it, and I went too far left. Before I could get back over, I got very friendly with another rock. In this swim, I let go of my paddle. When I got to the side and was ready to hop back in my boat, we saw the paddle going downstream. My friend got out the spare paddle, and we headed through the Nozzle. As I ran the next section, I started thinking about whether I would replace the paddle now, or just use one of my backup paddles. I also thought it would be a good idea for me to get back into the habit of carrying my own spare. Luckily, my friend found my paddle, so I didn't need to worry about the first part.
The rest of the run was easy, though we were wary of new wood. It was also considerably colder as we exited the gorge. Such is the way of the Green.
The flow was around 1100 cfs when I left my house for this run, but we got lucky and the flow came up to around 1400 cfs before we got on the river. We put in just above Ledge Drop 1, and got ourselves into the flow. There was a log on the left of Ledge Drop 2, which forced me to go right of my usual run. I smacked into a rock and ended up swimming the tail end of the rapid, but that was no big deal.
We made our way down through the early class III section. Just before Mercury, my paddling partner said he wanted to see my run through Mercury. This resulted in me getting a bit self-conscious about it, and I went too far left. Before I could get back over, I got very friendly with another rock. In this swim, I let go of my paddle. When I got to the side and was ready to hop back in my boat, we saw the paddle going downstream. My friend got out the spare paddle, and we headed through the Nozzle. As I ran the next section, I started thinking about whether I would replace the paddle now, or just use one of my backup paddles. I also thought it would be a good idea for me to get back into the habit of carrying my own spare. Luckily, my friend found my paddle, so I didn't need to worry about the first part.
The rest of the run was easy, though we were wary of new wood. It was also considerably colder as we exited the gorge. Such is the way of the Green.
Saturday, March 10, 2012
12 - 3/10/2012 - SF Stillaguamish
Not many people wanted to boat, but we put together a quick trip on the SF Stilly. The flow was in the high 6' range that morning and was still climbing, so I decided to take my 11' cat boat (Cubby). In the end, we had over 7', but it was pretty easy in the cataraft. The hardest part was the put-in, where we had to lift the boat over a snowbank and then lower it down to the bank.
The rapids were a lot of fun. This run used to scare me, but I've gotten more used to it over the years and I enjoy going up to do this run.
The rapids were a lot of fun. This run used to scare me, but I've gotten more used to it over the years and I enjoy going up to do this run.
Sunday, March 4, 2012
11 - 3/4/2012 - Middle Middle
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| Hanging out below A-Frame Drop (courtesy Mike Curtis) |
A little bit of early snowmelt brought the Middle Middle up to around 1280 for the day, so a group of us did a quick mid-day run. The weather was nice - some clouds, but a lot of sun. We had 3 rafts and I ran my IK. At that level, everything is pretty straightforward, so it was just a fun time.
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