We had a warm summer day here today. The air temperature was around 95 degrees, we had our shorty dry tops on, and the McKenzie was at a sweet level (2.86 ft). Life is good! Here’s a few pictures of Pete, myself, and a giant slug we found near the eddy:
Pete and I went down to 24/7 yesterday evening. It was just about as perfect as it gets. Unfortunately, there’s no sure shot way to look at the river gauge and determine whether 24/7 will be good or not. You really have to just go down and hope for the best. Anyway, I’ve been several times in the last couple of weeks and I’ve been able to get 2 ends consistently, four ends occasionally (nothing to write home about). But yesterday, it was tweaked just right. If you started your right cartwheels in the right spot you could get 8 ends or more. The trick is not to put too much of your boat in; otherwise, you end up getting pushed out. There’s a fine line between using the pour-over to help your ends through and getting too much help and getting spit out. Another thing I’ve been practicing is putting the paddle aside and practicing cartwheels with just my hands. This is an awesome exercise for your balance. I’m actually a little bit better at linking ends without the paddle for some reason. Anyway, it’s been a treat hitting 24/7 this early in the season. Usually it doesn’t come in until late June, I think. CUOTR!
P.S. Thanks to the kind person who made the nice wood blocks for the extra slots at 24/7! I think someone did this for the hometown throwdown in the last week or so. If you put them all the way down (to block the extra flow), or lift them up slightly (to divert water from the main pour-over) you can tweak the foam pile to get the best results.
While visiting friends and family down in the San Diego area, I’ve been able to sneak in a bunch of surfing sessions. Not kayak surfing, but that other kind. I’ve been surfing about a dozen times over the years, so I’m still pretty much a beginner, but I’ve had some great rides on this trip. Here are a few pictures from a spot called “Sevens”:
The Dave and I hit the Neils wave yesterday afternoon. The level was at ~2.8 on the Vida gauge and it was sweet! The wave is big and forgiving at this level. You can do clean 360’s either way and hit blunts to the right. If you back surf, you don’t have to worry about catching your stern and getting flipped. Anyone would look like a rock star at this level.
Here’s a few pictures of Dave and one of a little buddy we found on the shore:
I scoped out 24/7 today while walking the dogs. It looked a bit too low in my opinion. In one of the pictures below you can see how the water is below the embankment (usually, you want the water to be about even with it).
Here’s a few pictures of the dogs too (I couldn’t resist):
Pete and I had planned on heading up to the McKenzie today to hit Neils. Well, when I went to pick him up, he was doubled over in pain. Apparently he had eaten some bad rice and beans earlier in the day. Pepto-bismol to the rescue!
Pete slammed down some pepto, and by the time we got up to the put-in, he was ready to go.
This is an aside, but before we got on the water a guy from the sheriff’s department stopped by to talk with us. He mentioned that the plans for a white water park in Eugene are moving forward and that we could see something in place within three years! Pete and I are very keen on this idea and would really like to help push this through. Stay tuned.
It was a bit chilly out today, but we ended up having a great session on the river. Here’s a few photos:
Last week at the Echo Hollow pool session I was using the side of pool to get myself up into a bow stall. It’s such a cool feeling balanced up in the air like that. I was able to slip away from the side of the pool and keep it balanced for 5 seconds or so. The key for me was to keep the paddle, power face down, and under water. That way when you push or pull on either side you get immediate feedback to keep your balance. Leaning forward makes you fall back and leaning back makes you fall forward. I’m excited to get out there and work on it some more. The goal is to eventually be able to initiate up into the bow stall without cheating. One step at a time.
Two weekends ago Matt Mixer and I went to Lake Creek. The drive over was uneventful. It was raining and cold (what’s new?). When we reached Mapleton, though, it started snowing. Matt called his wife to see if she had heard anything about snow storms on the news. She hadn’t, so we proceeded to have a fabulous time playing at Grassy Lawn.
It was snowing the whole time we were on the river, but it didn’t seem to be sticking, as far as we could tell. When we got off the river a guy pulled over and told us that the tunnel on Highway 126 was closed. He suggested that we take Stagecoach road (a one-lane gravel road that would allow us to bypass the tunnel back to the 126). Neither of us had taken Stagecoach before, but we gave it a shot. Matt’s two wheel drive Acura isn’t the best snow vehicle in the world, but we made it through to the 126. I have never seen the coast range so white before.
To make a long story short, we sat through a few delays, slipped around in Matt’s car, but eventually made it over the second pass and back into Eugene. That was a close one — I thought we were going to end up spending the night in Matt’s car!
Pete and I went to Lake Creek Yesterday and it was sweet, as always. We park-and-played Grassy Lawn and then went down to Mill Wave. The highlights of the day for me was a solid front loop at Grassy and some great blunts at Mill Wave. It was an awesome session and I’m wiped out.
I’m a little embarrassed to admit it, but on my second to the last ride Yesterday, I swam. My roll has always been super solid (this is only the second swim of my entire kayaking career), but due to a mental let down (I freaked out) and exhaustion, it happened. Admittedly, the runout at the Mill Wave is a little gnarly, but that’s no excuse. I flushed off the top wave, tried to roll in the foam pile of the second wave (didn’t get any air), tried again to roll in the third wave/hole (didn’t get any air and my hip fell out of the boat), and then I pulled the spray skirt and swam to shore. I was able to get my boat and paddle to shore really fast (still within the long eddy) so it was pretty uneventful. Oh well, it happens. You move on. Next time (it’s not like you plan these things) my goal it to keep my composure and try rolling at least four or five times. Another thing I could’ve tried is the back-deck roll at the top — that might have prevented the whole ordeal.
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