asci:It Rocked
Sorry, my asci description somehow got deleted last time, so here it is again. Just as a quick note: look out for the rafts and duckies. I was smashed sideways between a raft and a rock, causing a blade of my paddle to snap in half. Keep some distance from the rafst, and don’t be too mean to those doofy ducky paddlers. Have fun, and I hope my description helps.
The first drop is a horseshoe shaped slide onto a tongue between two shallow holes. The tongue is split by a half submerged triangular rock. If you go left you have a fast, fun ride back into the main current. However, if you go right, chances are you’ll be swept upstream of a large boulder protruding into the current, and into a large boiling eddy. I gotta say, the eddies, even though they’re fast, aren’t really as bad as I’d heard. It’s the eddylines you have to look out for. Anyways, let yourself get taken upstream a bit before punching out into the main current. Whichever side you go to, COMMIT! otherwise you risk getting pulled into a weird, somewhat threatening pourover/eddy behind the splitting rock. Continue down the main current through some small but fast wavetrains and drop over a small but playable hole. Below this is a large pool before the first Waveshaper. This drop is variable (kind of the point of Waveshapers) but I suggest punching one side or the other of the foam pilke at the bottom. (This waveshaper is very fun too play, definitely try it. Then drop over another waveshaper and eddy out to catch a break before the next drop. This drop gives you 2 options: either go left of the boulder in the middle current (low risk route) or go right (medium risk route). If you go right, I suggest riding on, and then boofing off of the boulder’s pillow over a fairly sticky hole below. Continue down through another ledge/hole, better than the first (good for cartweels, but don’t get to close to the rock on river left). Two more Waveshapers and your in the pool. The last waveshaper is lots of fun at the lower levels. In general, have a good time, watch out for radical rafter and doofy duckie paddlers, and work on your eddy hopping. At higher levels the lower section below the boof drop is washed out up to the Waveshapers.
Check out the link for vid and pics, taken by some people we met at the park. (the surfing is on the last waveshaper, and yes, that’s me in the blue/green boat with red helmet, way overpaddling.)
http://community.webshots.com/album/5605…
Final Note: Lots of people like to paddle rivers specifically for the wildlife, and have bagged on artificial courses for their lack thereof. IT’S AN ARTIFICIAL COURSE. That doesn’t mean it’s supposed to be as close to nature as possible. Artificial courses are great learning grounds. They provide a safe environment for novices to learn moving water skills or work on a combat roll, and for advanced paddlers to test their eddy hopping or boofing skills. asci has done a nicer job than USNWC of making a naturalistic course (I have paddled both the courses). The pools at asci are deep, and there are mid-stream boulders, as well as boulders lining the sides, instead of flat cement. But again, if you are on the river for the nature, don’t expect nature when you go to an artificial course. Whatever floats your boat (sorry for the pun 
), but don’t rain on everyone else’s parade.
Please leave a comment, and if you have a blog on worldkayakblogs, let me know. I’ll visit and leave a comment for you!
SYOTR