Hot Damn!  These past two weekends have been absolutely amazing.  Last weekend, saturated grounds, snow melt, and rains provided epic playboating conditions on my favorite local spot.  The Root River was raging at 2,500 CFS when I pulled up friday morning.  With levels this good, I was astonished to only see Adrian, Jon, and I to be the only ones out there early on but I wasn’t about to complain about having a private river. 

Jon headed straight down to All Evil while Adrian and I carried up to an amazing Upper Pipeline.  As we got down to All Evil, I noticed a humbled Jon sitting on the banks gripping his throw bag tightly.  His only words where “wow.”  Without a hesitation, I rode the curler out to the massive standing wave on surfers right and quickly (without my consent) spun left and was engulfed by the white wall of water named All Evil.  Without much warm up and not having been in a feature this big since the mid summer floods, I quickly wanted out!  With a wall of water to my right and a potential “working” to my left…I figured the only way out would be to windowshade or ender…I chose the later and Backstabbed out.  Rolling up with dinner plates for eyes…I could only mutter “wow.”  Informing Adrian that the longer he waited and looked at this feature, the less chance he would attempt to conquer it.  Needless to say, a 5 minute staring contest resulted in All Evil telling him to stay in the eddy. 

Levels on Saturday and Sunday offered much more fun with a max reading of 2,800 CFS and 2,100-2,300 CFS respectively.  With 3 solid days on amazing levels, I could feel my level of playboating advancing.  I established myself in the features, learned them and where I was in them, and felt like I could attempt other moves then spins.

This past weekend provided an entirely different experience then the high water levels on my favorite playspot.  MPG, Justice Jake, and Jeff headed up to the Upper Peninsula, Michigan.  Arriving in L’Anse around 5:30 am, we places our bags on a comfy concrete slab at the takeout of the Falls River and fell fast asleep.  Alon and Steve where nice enough to take us UP Newbies down the Falls.  Jeff quickly realized he was in the wrong boat and halfway through and after spending most of the time upside down, he hiked out as we continued down.  We took two runs down the Falls that day and had a blast running ledges and slides.  It was quite the rush.  We even got to rename a drop.  The broken out damn (last drop of the Falls) is now aptly named Money Shot due to MPG(now aka Hand Job) breaking his paddle and requiring a pricey hospital visit.

Tommy decided joined up with us later that night and Saturday we decided to head to the Rock River.  This seldom run stretch started and ended with more flatwater and marshes then we preferred provided Jeff with a run appropriate for his boat and gave Tommy a warm up in his rarely used creeker.  We had a great time running the continuous whitewater section and everyone enjoyed dodging the rediculous amount of timber in the river.  It was a beautiful remote run but provided little challenge.

Sunday we woke early for a quick run on the Falls and to give Tommy the creeking he had been looking for.  We had a quick, clean run and hit the road for the Peshtigo which was raging at 30 inches (previously only hit at Summer flows and around 12 inches).  This was an awesome run with big water, high volume drops, and above all else, warm weather.

As you may be able to tell…my weekends keep getting better and better and no two weekend is the same.

Red Baron

River Junky

Well after much deliberation and closely watching the radar….I hopped in the Crush Mobile with MPG, Blue, and of course Orange Crush to take on West Virginia.  Although water levels were questionable at the time, rain was in the forecast and we knew the weather would pull through for the Hoosiers and Rapid Renegades.  12 hours after my departure from the Chicago area…we pulled into Camp Ceaser and the crew hit the hay immediately.  I for one, was not down for the count.  The White Castle I threw down earlier in the night decided to hassle me so I was forced to wrestle it down.

Friday called for rain all day…the weather man was wrong.  It trickled here and there but didn’t give us what we wanted.  The Upper Meadow did though.  After a tricky put in and approximately 12 scrapes of the Crush Mobile’s hitch…we finally made it down to the river and had an amazing time running conintuous III, -IV rapids.  We had a very successfull run and everyone had a blast.  The group consisted of MPG, Blue(he got his name on this trip), Orange Crush, Big Drop, Scarecrow, Big Chief, Anny, and myself.

After a little partying and lots of talk that night, we decided to check the levels in the morning but the Cranberry was the probable choice.  Sure enough…come next morning…we ate at the Hill Top Diner and headed for some technical creeking.  As the group ran shuttle, we figured the 15-20 people we had ready to run the river would be way too big so MPG, Blue, Scarecrow, and myself decided to head down.  None of us had run or much less seen this river before so we had little idea of what to expect.  To say we were pleasantly suprised would be a gross understatement.  We boat scouted everything and picked our way down this technical, fairly steep creek. 

Our first run went pretty fast so we loaded up the Crush Mobile and headed back up for another run.  We were more then willing to leave the Crush Mobile at the put in since it was loaded with beer…and we knew it would aggrivate Orange Crush.  However, on the way up, we ran into FooFoo who was more then willing to drive the Crush Mobile back down…we were hesitant, but we accepted.  About half way down our second run, we ran into the rest of our group…chuggin away in a group of 15, like little lemmings blindly following the colorful object in front of them.  Astonished they hadn’t split up into smaller groups, we messhed with them and led them down Cranberry Twist, a fairly technical rapid with a blind turn and a couple seams to punch through.  We decided to run this rapid twice and break it down as much as possible http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IKjruJxHJ_s .  For the rest of the run, we decided to take matters into our own hands and split the group up and led people down the remaining class III boulder gardens.

If you have ever paddled or been to a festival with the HCC, you know they take over the scene…and Webster was no different.  Much bigger then last year, the camp grounds were packed and the party hut was jumpin.  Blue and Orange Crush took the party by storm and danced their heart out while the rest of us boozed and did whatever other vices we chose to indulge in. 

Perhaps the higlight of this trip would be the crowning of two new champions,  SPONGEBOB and I(RED BARON) OUTLASTED THE ORANGE CRUSH.  We taunted him and egged him to stay up, and a couple times he came out on the porch in his orange underwear, but the bed got the best of him and he crashed hard.

In addition to the hard partying and crowning of two new champs…the weather finally cooperated and it rained all night.  Although everyone wanted a quick run Sunday morning, the Back Fork of the Elk http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eah58UiE3g4was on the rise and nobody could turn it down.  We put on Sugar Creek that was nearly busting at the seams.  Nobody in our group of 20 had seen this level before so we knew we were in for an epic run.  We split into two groups and made our way down.  The first few ledges went fine aside from a miscommunication and a terrible line on the first ledge but all was well.  I will spare you the juicy details of the debacle but we had yard sale on the third ledge and face smash on the second to last drop.  To say the least…we were ready to get off the river. 

All in all, everyone was ok, MPG drove the whole way home(thanks), and I got home at 4 am but it was worth it.

Here are a couple things we all learned on this trip: The trailer on the Crush Mobile needs to be fixed, everyone should carry a rope with them on the river, and WV is always an awesome time.

River Junky

It’s springtime and you don’t have to travel far to find phenominal playboating.  Going on weekend trips are fun and all, but so is an hour drive to park and play.  Standing waves are sometimes hard to find  on rivers…but not on the Root.  Waves are a plentiful feature on this river. 

MPG and I rolled in during the afternoon on Friday and paddled till we could no more.  We knew Saturday would be a big day on the Root so we called it a little earlier then normal and headed back to Chicago.

Saturday proved to be an excellent day.  There was a pretty good interest in our first Rapid Renegade Boater X.   The levels were excellent…every feature was in.  Malted Milk provided an awesome Surfer X impromptu. 

Sunday is when I had the most fun though.  Getting to Racine around noon, the water levels had dropped but there was still plenty of play to be had.  Friday and Saturday were moderate days for me.  I had a tough time getting comfortable on the waves and wasn’t feeling 100%.  Today proved much different.  From Upper Pipepline down to All Evil, I dialed in every feature.  Spins on Upper Pipeline and Tundra came easy and I even got a few spins on All Evil.  Sunday was tons of fun with a good and easy level, and moderate air temps.  The icing on the cake would have to be the 10 min surf on a standing green wave just above All Evil. 

Hopefully  WV will be my destination next weekend.

Red Baron

After spending a weekend in our creekboats last week, MPG and I were ready to get back in our playboats and hit some waves.  A local favorite spot was running at a good level so we decided to head up for the day.  MPG pulled into Chicago to see a little snow on the ground and blue skys.  After a quick stop at my place, we loaded up and hit the road.  The further north we got, the more snow was coming down(or going sideways).  Not only were the weather conditions for paddling questionable, but it didn’t take long into our trip where the weather was now questionable for safe driving. 

Arriving at the parking lot for the Root River, we anxiously got down to the bottom only to realize the snow down here was much deeper then we anticipated.  This wasn’t the first “Oh, shit.” moments we’ve ever had on a river trip so we did what any respected, or disrespected paddler would do…we put on the river. 

Not only was the river at a beautiful level where just about every feature was in, but the scenery was beautiful.  For those not familar with the Root River, below a dam are several perfect features.  Standing waves are at attention with every drop of the riverbed.  Our first run was a blast and we quickly forgot about our stuck car. 

On our way back up to the top of the run, we decided we should try to turn the car around and were successfull up to 100°.  Now, the only thing left to do was paddle!  After another great run (about another hour), we figured it would be best to work our way out of the parking lot. 

While I changed, MPG  went shovel/plow hunting.  As quickly as he disappeared into the storm, he emerged victorious.  We worked hard to to shovel a runway for us to bust out.  After about 2-3 hours, our hero Tom and his dad, came to our aid.  Armed with shovels, sand, and man power, we were out in about 45 minutes. 

While most people were huddled in their houses, we had a very memorable park and play experience and I’d do it again….just choose a better parking spot.

Red Baron

Well as any whitewater paddler knows, the destination you have when you leave, is not always where you end up.  Earlier last week, WV seemed like the place to be.  By the end of the week however, TN had enough water and was forecasted to have more, we immediately turned our sights down south.

After picking MPG and Jake up in South Bend, Indiana, we hit the road hard.  Stopping only for provisions and petrol, we arrived at the top of Baby Falls on the Tellico river a little past midnight.  I set up my hammock and fell asleep to the roar of the water. 

Waking to rain around sunrise, we dressed and put on with Orange Crush and Big Drop.  This was the first time Big Drop attempted to stride Baby Falls as well as the first time MPG, Jake, and I would run the Tellico.  We were all jacked up to say the least.  Our first run down past Jared’s Knee went fairly smooth so we didn’t hesitate to take back up and run the entire section.  The top section provided awesome boat scouting practice and amazing boof practice.   The rain was on and off all day while we ran laps.   All in all, we ran the top half 3 times, the bottom half 4 times, and Baby Falls 5 times.  I even got to practice a pin extraction on a fellow boater a couple drops above Jared’s Knee.

After an exhausting day on the Tellico and an even more exhausting decision making proccess on what to paddle Sunday, we got shady directions to the take-out of Daddy’s Creek and off we went.  We are still unsure if the boars’ heads hanging from the fence by our campsite were meant to keep us or the boars off private property.  Sunrise proved a good alarm clock again on Sunday morning and after much deliberation on who’s going to paddle what, Jordan, MPG, Jake, and I put on Daddy’s Creek with little to no knowledge on what lay ahead.  We boat scouted what we could and got out to take a look at Rattle Snake since the bottom half of the rapid(top half of the snake and Fang) are completely hidden.  We had an awesome time running this creek since it was not only an awesome level at 2 ft, but a new creek to us all. 

With only 2 years of paddling under our belts, creeking is a pretty new thing to MPG and I.  We both got to put a lot of our skills to the test, worked on getting used to our new or previously seldom used creekboats, got hands on practice with safety, and got to pick the brains of some veteran creekboaters.

River Junky @ Baby Falls: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UJlAnY5paJA

MPG @ Baby Falls: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3JoBT8IyZSI

River Junky

Kayaking in a pool?  Most people think this may sound pretty lame and down right silly.  I think the exact opposite.  Pool sessions have done wonders for my paddling.  Over the past two years, I have solidified my roll and worked on countless other techniques and useless moves. 

For most, pool sessions are a way to just get in your boat and socialize.  For a few Chicago area paddlers, pool sessions means a rigorous workout where we leave everything in the pool.  These are exciting times for relatively newbie paddlers with hopes of rising in the ranks.  Adrian, Buffalo Bill, and I have been working together to make the most of our time in the pool.  We have mastered the cartwheel and bow stall http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ra5R3Nca7t8 and Adrian has just dialed in the front loop http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wPAPSTR_QyQ and Cody and I are scrambling to catch up.

What’s next on my plate?   WEST VA

River Junky