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.
Saturday, February 25, 2012
10 - 2/25/2012 - SF Snoqualmie
The plan was to run the Middle Middle, but then the snow came and we didn't want to have a vehicle stuck at the put-in, so the plan morphed into running the SF Snoqualmie. I took my Stiletto out for the first time in nearly a year. The flow was around 800 cfs, possibly higher due to the creeks, and there was just two of us kayaking. We met a couple of people rowing a 16' raft down the river to practice for the Grand Canyon, though the SF is so small and steep that it's not really relevant practice.
Near the end, I decided to do a practice flip, so I went and surfed the rapid that I usually flip in, and helped it flip me. (Or is that just my excuse... LOL!)
Near the end, I decided to do a practice flip, so I went and surfed the rapid that I usually flip in, and helped it flip me. (Or is that just my excuse... LOL!)
Saturday, February 18, 2012
9 - 2/18/2012 - Butte Creek (OR)
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| Preparing to flip in Splitting Hairs (Brian Vogt photo) |
A group of us went down to the Molalla drainage for the weekend, and the rain brought Butte Creek up to a point where we thought we'd have a chance to run it. On the way to the put-in, we saw a group of people scouting Splitting Hairs, which is one of the harder rapids on the run. We followed these people to the put-in (after getting a little lost) and figured out where to get in the river.
Right away we realized that it was going to be boney. We had just barely enough water for most rapids, and not enough for some. At Butte Creek Falls, it took me over a minute to slide sideways down the main drop, still upright. A couple of rapids below, I got stuck and had to get out of my boat. When I put the boat back in, I had to jump a ways to get in. When I hit the boat, the boat pushed down onto a rock and stopped, but I didn't. I grabbed onto the boat and swam below it until I could get back in. Almost immediately, I ran into more rocks and fell out, so I had to get in again.
About a mile downstream, we came to Splitting Hairs. I had already decided to run the left slot, but I thought there would be more water. I entered too far left and ended up stuck in a crease in the rocks. As I pushed through, I flipped and then ended up face down on top of a rock in the river. I got out of the boat, reflipped it, and then went back upstream to help direct the others.
After this, there were lots of little class II+ and III rapids until we came to a steep blind drop. We checked it out and decided to walk around. This brought us to the middle of the biggest rapid of the day. We paddled across and then decided to walk around most of the rest of the rapid. There just weren't any good lines that weren't risky because of the low water. We had a hot lunch (tomato soup, courtesy of Brian) and finished the portage. Just before getting down to the river, I slipped and landed hard on my bottom.
We continued down the river, finding another easy class IV rapid and several nice class III ledges. The scenery was fantastic right through the end of the trip. I look forward to running this again someday with a bit more water.
Right away we realized that it was going to be boney. We had just barely enough water for most rapids, and not enough for some. At Butte Creek Falls, it took me over a minute to slide sideways down the main drop, still upright. A couple of rapids below, I got stuck and had to get out of my boat. When I put the boat back in, I had to jump a ways to get in. When I hit the boat, the boat pushed down onto a rock and stopped, but I didn't. I grabbed onto the boat and swam below it until I could get back in. Almost immediately, I ran into more rocks and fell out, so I had to get in again.
About a mile downstream, we came to Splitting Hairs. I had already decided to run the left slot, but I thought there would be more water. I entered too far left and ended up stuck in a crease in the rocks. As I pushed through, I flipped and then ended up face down on top of a rock in the river. I got out of the boat, reflipped it, and then went back upstream to help direct the others.
After this, there were lots of little class II+ and III rapids until we came to a steep blind drop. We checked it out and decided to walk around. This brought us to the middle of the biggest rapid of the day. We paddled across and then decided to walk around most of the rest of the rapid. There just weren't any good lines that weren't risky because of the low water. We had a hot lunch (tomato soup, courtesy of Brian) and finished the portage. Just before getting down to the river, I slipped and landed hard on my bottom.
We continued down the river, finding another easy class IV rapid and several nice class III ledges. The scenery was fantastic right through the end of the trip. I look forward to running this again someday with a bit more water.
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