Wrapped above The Nozzle - photo courtesy Brian Vogt
The recent rains brought many of the local rivers up. The Green only came up to the 800 range, but that was enough to make it worth the trip. While I was on the Rogue, I had my IK thigh straps repaired, so they were nice and tight, making it easier to control the boat (or at least stay in it when things start to go wrong).
The weather for the trip was... variable. It was relatively warm (high 50s) and cloudy most of the day, though we did have patches of sun. There were a number of sections where it was foggy. As we floated through the eddy above Secret Class IV, the rain started to come down hard. At first, we wondered if it wasn't hail because the drops were so big, but it was warm rain.
There were spawning salmon everywhere. Some were still jumping over rocks, but many were just slowly swimming in the shallow eddys, waiting to die.
The only real excitement of the day involved me wrapping just above The Nozzle. About 10 feet before The Nozzle rocks, there is a rock that usually makes a hole. At low water, the best routes are around the rock, but it looked like there was enough water to get over it. I didn't quite make it, and the next thing I knew I was sideways and sinking. I tried leaning the boat up, but that didn't work. I then climbed onto the rock and tried pulling up, but that didn't help. I finally stepped into the hole below the rock, which turned out to be shallow, stowed the paddle in the boat, and then worked the boat off the rock. During this part, my footbrace (a block of foam that is friction-fitted in the boat) came out, and I tossed it to one of the kayakers watching from below. After the boat was free, I was able to hop back in and paddle through The Nozzle and retrieve my footbrace.
The rest of the day was fun, but I did have one more short wrap. For this one, I didn't even get out of the boat. A friend tried to pull me one way, and I slid around the other way. It pays to be calm and get your paddle in the water.
It was great to be back on the Green after a few months. I hope to get a few more runs on this section during the fall and winter.
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