The Middle Middle is the middle run on the Middle Fork Snoqualmie River. This is a nice class III-IV run near my home, so it's the run I do the most (20-25 times a year). Recent storms caused several landslides on the road, so my friend and I decided to put in at First Island Drop. This required a bit of a hike to get from where the vehicle was safe to the river. We had a nice medium flow (1600 cfs), and the water was silty, but not too cold. The skies were clear, and we could see the remaining snow on the mountains. Just after I put in, a river otter slid off a rock into the water beside me.
Everything went great until I flipped halfway through House Rocks rapid. I wasn't able to get back to my boat, so I swam the entire bottom half of the rapid. I had trouble getting my paddle out of the water, and I made the dumb mistake of letting go of it. At the bottom, I went through the slot just right of the big rock (this is for the benefit of readers who know the rapid). I ended up on river right. I watched as my friend got my boat, and then I saw my paddle float by. I tried to get my friend's attention, and I thought he was going after the paddle, but he went back and got my boat. By the time he got to me, my paddle was well into the next rapid. We got out the spare paddle and continued the run. I never saw my paddle again.
I hate losing gear like this, though after almost 20 years and 600 days on rivers, I've come to expect it. This is not the first time I've lost a paddle (I believe I'm up to 4), and it probably won't be the last.
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