ConstantLearner

24/7 is a little pour-over at a canal next to the Willamette River (right down the path from Knickerboker Bridge). It’s a great place to practice cartwheels. In the spring, when the Willamette is running a bit high, it is too low. When the river level drops in the summer, it starts to come in. At some point during late summer there is actually too much water flowing through it, and it’s not that great. I was hoping that it would come back in sometime this fall, before dropping down too low, and it has.

Last weekend I went down there to check it out. Some well intentioned souls had put wood into the slots next to the pour over (this can be quite helpful in the beginning of the summer when the level is not quite high enough) and the water level was too high. You can tell that it’s too high because there isn’t much of a foam pile at the bottom of the pour-over and the water is covering the cement at the bottom of the embankment. A couple of kayakers dropped by (sorry that I can’t remember your names), just after I had arrived, and suggested that we should lift the wood blocks out a bit. We did so, and I couldn’t believe how much it changed the feature. It went from being extremely mediocre to being pretty good. It’s still a tiny bit too high, but it’s definitely worth dropping by. Obviously, for this to make such a difference, this spot has a pretty narrow window where it’s really good.

I was stoked because I was getting four ends consistently. I went again with Pete, on Wednesday, and the same trick worked (lifting the blocks of wood out). While the rain has disappeared (hopefully, only a short term trend) it’s good to have this little spot to practice at. See you out there!

We got a ton of rain last week! A lot of the rivers were swelling up on Friday and we were keeping our eyes on the river levels. On Saturday, Pete and I headed out for our first session on Neils this Fall. The river level was at 2.8ft on the Vida gauge. It was SWEET! This was the first time I was able to do multiple roundhouses in the same session. I really felt like I was dialing it in. A roundhouse is really just a blunt where you’re not as vertical. The key for me was to hop, edge hard, and quickly transition to the other edge with a strong reverse sweep. Throwing in a back stroke after the roundhouse to keep myself from flushing off was key too. The wave was super forgiving and really furn. I can’t wait to get back and work on my blunts!

I went on a playboating skill builder trip this weekend with the WKCC. Kate led and organized the trip. It was a really great event. Kudos to Kate and the WKCC.

We spent the day on the N. Santiam at the Dead Cow Wave (between Mehama and Stayton). The sun was out and we had a little barbecue. There were 15 of us in the group (very nice folks), but we all had plenty of time on the wave. It was a really great day.

This was my first time on this particular wave and I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of this spot. There is great eddy service, a rock beach, and the wave is really fun to play on. You can spin both ways pretty easily, and there were a few guys who could pull off blunts. There are actually two waves right next to each other with a little lull in between. It’s possible to surf between them.

At the end of our session we started surfing two at a time (one on the inside feature and one on the outside feature). We probably should have started doing this earlier, because it would have moved the line along a little faster, but it really didn’t matter. I think everyone was getting enough time on the wave.

The Dead Cow Wave is on river right (~3 miles in) and according to folks in the group it is best between 2300 and 3300 cfs (conservatively 2600 - 3000 cfs). You can check the gauge at Mehema here. I think the run is about 9 miles long (check Soggy Sneakers for the facts). There isn’t much worth mentioning before and after the wave, but there are a few spots where you can stern squirt and front surf. It’s mostly class 2 with some flat water sections. Be prepared for the paddle in and out (it’s definitely worth it, though). The last thing worth mentioning is that there is dam after the wave (maybe 7 miles in). The river splits right before the dam and you’ll want to go left. There is a boat ramp on the right side of the dam that is easy to slide down.

I wasn’t really able to blunt at this spot, but I was close on a few occasions. The water is a bit faster on the outside and it seems like it’s a little bit easier to blunt there (for the folks that could). There were a few guys that were doing enders in the wave and kind of cartwheeling off the back. I’d like to try that next time. I’m definitely excited to go back!

If you google “swing thought” you’ll get a bunch of hits related to golf swings. A swing thought is just a mental image that helps you perform better, whether it’s golf, tennis, or whatever. I played a bit of tennis in college, so I’m familiar with it’s usage in that context. I’ve found that swing thoughts can sometimes make all of the difference when it comes to boosting your confidence and getting closer to feeling in the “zone”.

Not too long ago, on jacksonkayak.com Stephen Wright posted a story on How to Clean Cartwheel. It contains some great “jedi mind tricks” (just another form of swing thought). For me, the key was this:

Angle your boat slightly to the left (11:00 o’clock) as you reach back for your reverse sweep on the right and lift your left knee.

In particular, the bit about 11:00 o’clock really gave me an image to work with. Not long after I read the article I went down near the weir, just above the I-5 rapids (Willamette River, Eugene, OR), to practice. I was consistently able to throw the bow followed by the stern, just like in the article. Way cool. Afterwards, I went down to Cotton Candy (just above Knickerbocker Bridge) to practice some ballerina spins. What a great way to end the day!

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One of the things EJ taught us about on the Ottawa is trying to maintain a “broad external focus” when we kayak. What does this mean? Well, it means that we should try to look at the entire river while we’re kayaking and not just the bow of our boat (what most nervous kayakers do). This helps us to not only be more aware of our surroundings, but it’s also a mental trick to keep nerves at bay. When we were going through Phil’s Hole, EJ wanted us to take in the whole rapid, glance downstream at him, and then execute our move to get over the rapid. I, for one, completely forgot to do this when I was paddling through, but I want to keep working on it.

In the September edition of Outside magazine there’s an article about EJ called “The Alpha Geek”. I believe it was this article that described how EJ won the 2007 World Championships. The article’s author sketched the scene of EJ’s final ride and how, when he ferried out onto to the wave, he gave a purposeful glance at the judges and smiled. To some, this might have smacked of bravado and showmanship, but I think it was really broad external focus in action. EJ was calming his nerves and focusing on the task at hand. Given that he ended up winning the title, it just goes to show you that it really works.

The rest of us, mere mortals that we may be, can use broad external focus to our advantage too. When I’ve been up at Spencer’s Hole the last couple of times I’ve tried this trick out and it really helps. When I get on the wave/hole I try to look over in the eddy at the other kayakers before I try a spin. And when I’m back surfing I look down at the runout to see who is trying to make the attainment. I notice a big difference in my balance and control when I do this. Give it a try!