I Kayak 2 Live

Learning to Tele Ski

2011-12-03T20:56:00.000-08:00

This year Christina and I decided, with the help of Kellie and Tyler, that it was finally time to learn how to Tele Ski. For those who do not know, here is a little history...

From Skiing Day 3 and 4

Christina learned to Alpine Ski at the early age of 9 years old. Ranging from mountains in good old New Mexico all the way to our beloved Mt. Bachelor. Once she moved to Sunriver Oregon the skiing life took off for her during the winter months with Alpine Racing, Training, Lessons, and more hours than you could count on skis. Anyone could watch Christina on the slope and know she should be somewhere in the Backcountry finding a run that challenged her skill. With such a rich background in Alpine Christina knew that Tele Skiing would be a hard but fun change.

For me it was entirely a different upbringing in terms of skiing. I found my way to the Alpine slopes thanks to my mom. Throwing me on some skis at age of 2 I cried and whined my way down those good old bunny hills of Mt. Bachelor. As time progressed and my Step Dad entered my life we moved to the other side of the parking lot, THE NORDIC SIDE, Dun Dun Dun. Here is where I raced my way through life all over the West Coast until the fun age of 16 years old. At that point in my life I found other "more interesting" things to do and left that part of my life behind.

So, now that everyone is caught up on our fun filled life back to learning that fun thing we call Tele Skiing. This new challenging sport Christina and I have chosen to take on his started to kick our butt. Those good old blue runs don't look so flat anymore to say the least. Our legs never stop burning down the hill as we try to hold proper form. And most of all our back leg never seems to stop wobbling.

Well enough typing and back story... I will let a few photos from Ski day 3 and 4 fill in the rest. (Kind of a lack of "Action Shots" due to us just focusing on learning, but next week we will get more!)

From Skiing Day 3 and 4

Foggy!

From Skiing Day 3 and 4

Trying to Learn

From Skiing Day 3 and 4

Christina's Mom and Dad enjoying the Moutain

From Skiing Day 3 and 4

Makita and Tyler Joining us on Marshmellow!

From Skiing Day 3 and 4

My sister and I on the lift

From Skiing Day 3 and 4

Sliding in with Poor Form

From Skiing Day 3 and 4

Rescue Dog Makita and Tyler!

From Skiing Day 3 and 4

The Fam!

From Skiing Day 3 and 4

Parting Shot

Skiing with the Family!!

2011-11-29T17:16:00.000-08:00

This year Christina and I got some Mid-Week Ski passes. With being back in Bend it was important to find some fun stuff to do in Bend during the winter. As we all know Skiing is the best thing to do in the winter! Check out the 2nd day of skiing we had with everyone.

From 2nd day of skiing with mom and debbie

The Mountains!

From 2nd day of skiing with mom and debbie

Sharon and I one lift at 9:30am!

From 2nd day of skiing with mom and debbie

Ski's Up!

From 2nd day of skiing with mom and debbie

Top of the Skyliner

From 2nd day of skiing with mom and debbie

Christina and Her Mom!

From 2nd day of skiing with mom and debbie

We are Nerds...

From 2nd day of skiing with mom and debbie

Pose for the Picture!

From 2nd day of skiing with mom and debbie

All Smiles!

From 2nd day of skiing with mom and debbie

Resting and feeling tired :)

From 2nd day of skiing with mom and debbie

Parting Shot

Rogue River Engagement

2011-10-25T19:32:00.000-07:00

So below is just a few of the pictures that Christina and I took on our 5 Day trip. I need to get some of the better photos that we took with our other camera uploaded. But for now you can enjoy the few I took with my Phone Camera. The first night on the Rogue was when I proposed to Christina. My idea (thanks to some encouragement) was to make sure to sum up the courage to do it on the first night so that we could enjoy the next 4 days by ourselves being newly engaged. Thankfully everything worked out perfect! It was a very special and amazing trip for both of us in many different ways!

From Rogue River Engagement

The Ring!

From Rogue River Engagement

The Rogue Day 2

From Rogue River Engagement

Our Campsite Day 2/3

From Rogue River Engagement

Aire Raft! The Best!

From Rogue River Engagement

Looking for a hike!

From Rogue River Engagement

Camp 2/3

From Rogue River Engagement

Camp 4 :D

From Rogue River Engagement

Pretty Night

From Rogue River Engagement

Christina!

From Rogue River Engagement

Pretty Night!

Copper Creek, WA

2010-12-18T16:47:00.000-08:00

With Christina on break from Nursing School we have been able to get out 2 days this week to paddle on some fun Class 5 runs. Hagen earlier this week and now Copper Creek. Thankfully we have had a good amount of rain to bring both in for an entire week. This time around we meet up with Adam and Susan to do our second run down Copper Creek ever (it has been over 2 1/2 years since our last visit). Enjoy the Video and Photos will be posted later!

Hagen Gorge

2010-12-15T21:24:00.000-08:00

Hagen Gorge is located in Washington is a fun Class 4/5 creek. Here is a video showing off the crew running down the section at a medium flow around 3200cfs. The video is a mixture of headcam and HD Camcorder showing off all of the falls on the run.

Paddlers: Josh McKeown, Christina Russell, Nate Herbeck, Heather Herbeck, Adam Elliot, Nick Jacob, and Seth Swallen.

Filming/Editing: Josh McKeown & Christina Russell

Stay Tuned for an extended write-up and PHOTOS!

East Fork Lewis River, Washington

2010-12-02T22:45:00.000-08:00

So a few friends and I got out today to do a little kayaking on a fun Class 4+ Run. The EF Lewis really has mostly class 2/3 except for; Sunset Falls, The Gorge, and Horseshoe Falls. The drops (depending on the flow) are mostly class 4 to 4+. At really high flow they can dip into class 5. Check out the video below to see some good old video of the action!

Canyon Creek Head Cam! Long Overdue!

2010-10-29T19:49:00.001-07:00

Last spring-ish Chris Bench, Paul Kuthe, and myself went and did Canyon Creek when it was a medium/high flow. It was a great time! Although it was a little nerving for me due to my near death experience last time that I had been there. So.. at the beginning of the video I had a lot of hesitation and lack of confidence that I normally do with boating. But once I got used to the run again and saw how enjoyable it was I started to relax and have more fun. Enjoy the video and remember to come back soon!

My New Daily Blog... In Photos

2010-10-09T23:03:00.000-07:00

www.thedailygrindinphotos.blogspot.com

So tonight I had an idea. I am going to start a blog in photos (with a daily quote at the top). In this blog will consist of 10 pictures from my day to day life. It is just a fun new way to look at life. This blog/website will continue! Just updated with more exciting things that I am doing! So check both out! Click the Link Below or above to see my new blog!

www.thedailygrindinphotos.blogspot.com

The Ocean... We Love Oregon Coast

2010-09-21T22:48:00.002-07:00

Awhile back, Christina and I got the chance to go visit the Oregon Coast again. One of our favorite places to visit is the Coast. It provides everything that we both enjoy. Camping, kayaking, surfing, longboarding, sand, flying kites, and much more. With that said, this particular time we decided to bring some new items to try out.

1. Stand up paddle boards
2. Sit on top surf kayak

For #1 all I have to say is that we need calmer water and more experience. Christina and I have both surfed now for a couple weeks and have done a far amount of SUPing (Stand Up Paddling). But wow... When it comes to SUPing in a crazy surf it is insanely hard. We literally spent 20 minutes trying to get it down and decided it was better idea and more fun to go back to kayaking.

For #2 it was a lot more fun than I was expecting. Christina and I always choose places to kayak that are far away from any Surfer. As I am sure many people may or may not know, surfers are the most rude and hateful people you will come across in any sport. To avoid these kind of people we try to kayak in places that would NEVER have any surfer. We tried out a "beginner" sit on top surf kayak and found it very enjoyable. It was easy to get out of the breaking waves and a lot faster to catch waves than our playboats. One aspect I found limiting is the lack of dynamic features and "tricks" possible with the sit on top kayak I took out. To me it was very limiting and "slow" making rides boring most of the time (unless it was a 12+ footer).

Here are a few photos from our enjoyable three days at the coast.

From Oregon Coast August 2010

Getting ready for Day #1

From Oregon Coast August 2010

Attacking the surf

From Oregon Coast August 2010

Coming in for a bit...

From Oregon Coast August 2010

Nice Day... Heading back out

From Oregon Coast August 2010

Our Camp

From Oregon Coast August 2010

Kayakers... Always a lot of stuff at camp drying

From Oregon Coast August 2010

Christina and I enjoying Camp

From Oregon Coast August 2010

From Drop Box

Our Evening Hike to the beach

From Drop Box

A nice evening

From Drop Box

The Land Cruiser Ready to Go for another Mission

From this trip Christina and I learned a lot again about what to do next time.

1. SUPing is pretty lame and we will stick with surfing (only in warm places).
2. If we bring a sit on top surf kayak, it needs to be a real fiberglass one with performance features.
3. Avoid the crazy summertime state camp grounds with Million dollar RVs
4. Plan for 4+ days because the coast is to much fun to leave! (instead of our 3)

Check back soon for new updated info and trips!

Swimming in the Columbia!

2010-07-26T21:24:00.000-07:00

So yeah. I have not updated for a long time. And No. It is not because I have not been doing anything. I have been doing a lot. And I do have a TON of pictures and videos of what I have been doing. I just have not been in the mood to post everything. Maybe this is another "turning point" for me to start posting again? Or maybe not. Lets hope it is because everyone can enjoy a little fun filled photos every now and then.

Here is myself and Christina having an enjoyable evening swimming off our houseboat in the Columbia River. What else would you do on a HOT summer Day!?!? Enjoy the photos and post a comment or two?

Check Out the Full Album at the Link: Swimming in the Columbia!

From Swimming in the Columbia

Christina Watering our Plants

From Swimming in the Columbia

Our Spinach

From Swimming in the Columbia

Diving IN~!

From Swimming in the Columbia

Front Flip and Slipping on the Deck

From Swimming in the Columbia

Trying a Front Flip on the Log.. Leg Out?

From Swimming in the Columbia

Starting a Backflip

From Swimming in the Columbia

Middle

From Swimming in the Columbia

End.

From Swimming in the Columbia

Who Knows what im doing?

From Swimming in the Columbia

Christina Cannon Ball!!!!!

From Swimming in the Columbia

BOOOOOMMMM!!!!!

From Swimming in the Columbia

Christinas Flying Skills

From Swimming in the Columbia

And Diving Skills

From Swimming in the Columbia

Pretty!

SUPing... A Good Workout... About it

2010-05-21T18:30:00.002-07:00

So as much as I have always made fun of the Stand Up Paddle boarders and the whole idea of the sport, I decided to give it a try (technically this is about my 4th time doing it). The idea of the sport to me is pretty lame unless your truly doing it in the ocean and while surfing. But that being said, it does give you a good core workout which was what Christina and I were going for. In true honesty it is fun enough, for a workout, to do now and then for variety. So anyway here are a few photos of Christina and I at Vancouver Lake, just 15 minutes from our boathouse, doing a little SUPing.

From SUP Vancover Lake

Im Cool Right? Nope!

From SUP Vancover Lake

Christina Enjoying the weather and the outdoors with her white legs!

From SUP Vancover Lake

Christina and I at Vancouver Island, About a Mile Paddle to get there

From SUP Vancover Lake

The Beautiful View

Rogue River Self Support

2010-05-12T14:46:00.000-07:00

So Christina and I were able to squeeze out 3 day and 2 night trip on the Rogue River Wild and Scenic section. We were both itching to get on the Rogue River again and knew this would be one of few times that could happen in the near future. Christina is dealing with good old nursing school (Insanely Busy!), and I am continuing my work at Alder Creek Kayak and Canoe in Portland. That said, it was difficult to get our schedules to match up to be able to take a vacation, but it happened. We drove many hours to get on by 1:00 PM on Tuesday afternoon, and take off by 12:30PM to do the LOoooong drive back to P-Town on Thursday(7 Hours home). Enjoy the photos and check out the full album at the bottom of the page!!

PS: We ended up taking the Liquidlogic Remix XP 10 and 9 to be able to carry more equipment. At first I was hesitant, due to wanting to take my Liquidlogic Jefe, but boy did I enjoy the XP 10 and 9. It allowed us to be able to have all the luxuries of a raft. With my experience with the Recreational/Whitewater Remix XP 10 I will end up buying one for all my self supports for the future! Enjoy the Photos!!

From Rogue River Self Support

Christina at the Put-In with our fully loaded Liqidlogic Remix's

From Rogue River Self Support

Action Shot... Check out our Dry Bags for the chairs... Good Old Black Garbage Bags :)

From Rogue River Self Support

Christina and I

From Rogue River Self Support

Me being Dumb

From Rogue River Self Support

The First Pit Stop, Whiskey Creek Cabin

From Rogue River Self Support

Day 1; Beautiful Weather

From Rogue River Self Support

Camp Site Day 1... We like small spots

From Rogue River Self Support

Cooking Annies Mac and Cheese. Mmmmm

From Rogue River Self Support

The Fire!

From Rogue River Self Support

Our Creative entertainment for the night...

From Rogue River Self Support

Rio!

From Rogue River Self Support

Morning Day 2

From Rogue River Self Support

Christina and I Day 2

From Rogue River Self Support

Christina Enjoying her water!

From Rogue River Self Support

Mule Creek Canyon

From Rogue River Self Support

Lunch Spot... Day 2

From Rogue River Self Support

Scouting Creeks... at Lunch...

From Rogue River Self Support

Camp Site night 2

From Rogue River Self Support

FIRE!!! UPDATED fire pan idea coming soon (to be Posted)!

From Rogue River Self Support

Our Camp High Up (hiking) night 2...

From Rogue River Self Support

Christina roasting marshmallows for s'mores...

From Rogue River Self Support

Morning of at Camp 2... Beautiful

From Rogue River Self Support

Parting Shot of Christina and I!!

Check Out the FULL ALBUM at this LINK!!! Rogue River Self Support Album!

Busy... Yes you can say that...

2010-04-01T22:08:00.000-07:00

So yeah, I have not been posting that much recently because of life, work, and of course kayaking! I have been trying to get out every chance I get to kayak and thankfully with some good rain stuff is slowly coming in. These are a little older photos of Bob's Hole on the Clackamas River (is 3 weeks old?) but it was an awesome time. Christina and I had a blast and got the ability to have a great time enjoying another epic river! Lets hope I will post More!!! I have been a lot more places the last Month or two that I need to post on.. I will get to them...

Bob's Hole from a Side Profile.

Blunting....

Eddy Service... With another good boater and his cool dog (Buddy).

Christina Showing off her skill!

Felixing... And working on them. Aren't we always working on something?

Re-catching the wave... Wow I love the Jackson Super Star and how it stay's on waves!

Christina going for a Round House! And Owning it...

Keep yourself warm out there paddling! Or whatever your having fun doing!

Ridgefeild Paddle

2010-03-02T17:26:00.000-08:00

Dan and I decided it would be a great day to get out and do a little paddling around Portland. We got some boats from Alder Creek Kayak and Canoe and headed up to Ridgeline along the Columbia River. It turned out to be a great day with warm weather and peferct conditions for March. Enjoy the Photos!

From Ridgefield Paddle

The Boats!

From Ridgefield Paddle

Dan Attacking me like usual

From Ridgefield Paddle

The Put In

From Ridgefield Paddle

Dan Paddling

From Ridgefield Paddle

Paddling Down another channel

From Ridgefield Paddle

Happy Boats!

From Ridgefield Paddle

Me in a Sea Kayak... Never would have thought!

From Ridgefield Paddle

Bald Eagle

From Ridgefield Paddle

Cloudy but beautiful!

From Ridgefield Paddle

Dan Getting Ready after Lunch

From Ridgefield Paddle

Lots of Flat Water!

From Ridgefield Paddle

Dan Showing off his Speed!

From Ridgefield Paddle

Parting Shot! End of the Trip!

Bob's Hole Video

2010-02-07T22:44:00.000-08:00

Here is some video from our little trip to Bob's Hole on the Clackasmas River. Its an ever changing play spot that seems to come in every now and then thanks to shifting rocks in the riverbed. The flow that we had was around 2000 CFS on the Clackamas and the play feature was pretty good. All of this was shot with my GoPro Headcam from a few different angles. Check back soon to see my Posted photos from the day too.

Second Wild and Scenic Rogue River Trip

2010-02-03T18:30:00.000-08:00

After the Rafting season was over with Sun Country Tours, a bunch of the guides decided it would be a lot of fun to do a 4 day 3 night trip down the Wild and Scenic section of the Rogue River. This is the same thing that I did at the beginning of the summer with my family but this time with a bunch of crazy guides. So right around the beginning of September we all got our stuff together and met at the put-in. The trip worked out with 1 Cataraft, 3 rafts, and 2 kayakers totaling 9 people. This particular time I decided it would be more fun to row my sister/brother in laws 11 foot Aire Puma instead of kayaking. After just a few rapids I knew that I made the right choice. The little class 2/3s became a whole new fun and different challenge compared to kayaking. Anyway, the trip was absolutely great and everything worked out perfect, even the weather! Check out the photos below of our trip.

From Rogue River Sep

The Put-In Above Graves Creek... and me being dumb as usual

From Rogue River Sep

Christina taking her Queen lounge chair!

From Rogue River Sep

Our HUGE tent... It was nice

From Rogue River Sep

Camp Site 1

From Rogue River Sep

Camp Site 1

From Rogue River Sep

The Jump Rock... One of many creeks that flow into the Rogue

From Rogue River Sep

Christina is Crazy! Or just having fun :D

From Rogue River Sep

Rogue River at its best... Flat water!

From Rogue River Sep

Christina and I

From Rogue River Sep

Yet another beautiful night on the River

From Rogue River Sep

Cooking in the morning at Camp Site 2... Mmmm Eggs

From Rogue River Sep

Christina experiencing Newts for the first time.

From Rogue River Sep

Brian Storey and hits awesome Cataraft... I'm Jealous

From Rogue River Sep

Above Mule Creek Canyon at the Ranch.. Eating lunch and talking away for our fellow rafters

From Rogue River Sep

Mule Creek Cayon.. The one and only

From Rogue River Sep

More of the Canyon

From Rogue River Sep

Christina Showing us how its done on the oars!

From Rogue River Sep

Final Camp Site 3... Amazing!

From Rogue River Sep

Tate Creek Waterslide... It is really awesome and all Natural!

From Rogue River Sep

Eli in the water below Tate Creek

From Rogue River Sep

Newts our yet another reason we love the Rogue

My Life with Nala, No Joke!

2010-01-31T20:53:00.003-08:00

So here is a awesome video of what it is like to live my life with Nala (My Russian Blue Cat). Pretty much what she will do spot on. Enjoy a little bit of comedy...

The Cabin!

2010-01-30T20:55:00.000-08:00

Christina and I got the chance to catch up with Tyler and my Sister at the Cabin this weekend. This cabin is located near Detroit Lake in Oregon alongside the wonderful Breitenbush River. Here are a few breif pictures from our fun weekend at the Cabin!

From The Cabin Jan 2010

My Sister and her Puppies!

From The Cabin Jan 2010

Tyler is so buff!

From The Cabin Jan 2010

Ogie and I having a Stare OfF!... I won

From The Cabin Jan 2010

The Cabin... Really Smokey from the Fire as you can see

Our "Floating Home"

2010-01-27T20:29:00.001-08:00

So Christina and I finally made the trek to Portland, OR for her Nursing school at University of Portland. With this step into the "Big City" of Oregon we were both uncomfortable and unhappy in a few ways about the transfer. But thankfully we found a place that made the transition much much easier than we expected. This comes mainly from our living situation which consists of a "floating home" or boat house located on the Columbia River between Oregon and Washington. It is truly a awesome place that provides an environment that feels like a small city that is really in the middle of it all. Check out our few pictures to see the place for yourselves!

From Boat House

The outside of the House

From Boat House

The Side of the House

From Boat House

The Roof and View!

From Boat House

More view!

From Boat House

Our Kayaks Stored on the Roof

From Boat House

Paddling around the Floating Homes... A mile away

From Boat House

Good Old Portland and its storms

From Boat House

Christina enjoying the water near the Dock

From Boat House

Our Ducks... And they are Hungry!

From Boat House

Dining room...

From Boat House

Kitchen... little Messy

From Boat House

Office/Living Room

From Boat House

Another Angle with Chritina making a funny face.

From Boat House

and Finally the Bedroom...

If you want to see the whole Album check out the Link below!

Boat House Full Album/Photos

One Rapid of the Wind River! Woohoo!

2010-01-25T18:43:00.000-08:00

So yeah, got out on the Wind River yesterday with some good flows and plenty of rain/snow. Christina, Cory, and myself were all set with the Headcam to have a great run down! Unforturnatly right after the first Class 4 rapid the headcam batteries decided to die on me. But the important part is that we still had a great day paddling! Check out all of one rapid I caught on the Wind River with my headcam :D

Here are a few pictures too... Not much but a few!

From Upper Wind River

Rainy!

From Upper Wind River

The Put-In!~

From Upper Wind River

Looking up some of the fun Class 4

From Upper Wind River

Christina all Smiles as usual :D

Skiing with Dan

2010-01-24T18:27:00.001-08:00

So Dan and I headed up to Mt. Hood to do a little skiing/snowboarding. It was a snowy day but we still had a great time. Unfortunately Meadows only had 52 inch's of snow so the quality and level was a little lacking. Check out the Photos and Video of our enjoyable day on the mountain below! If you want to see the full album click the link below.

Skiing with Dan Album Link

From Skiing with Dan

The Ride up before it turned bad...

From Skiing with Dan

One thing I always like about skiing... Is the Views!

From Skiing with Dan

What is looked like later in the day... Oh how I love snow

Skiing... Instead of Kayaking in the Snow

2009-12-04T17:52:00.000-08:00

So I finally got up on the mountain to do some good old downhill skiing. Over the years I have focused more on Kayaking during the winter instead of skiing, but realized this year I need to mix it up a little more. That, and the fact that nothing is really running so there is nothing else to really do. Here are some photos from the day of myself, Christina, my Sister, and Brother in Law enjoying a beautiful day on the mountain.

From Skiing December 09

Getting ready... Yeah it was not that cold...

From Skiing December 09

My sister and I waiting for Tyler to get Ready

From Skiing December 09

The Skis

From Skiing December 09

Christina and I riding up the lift

From Skiing December 09

Not a lot of snow but a NICE Day!

From Skiing December 09

Me being dumb

From Skiing December 09

Kellie and Tyler

From Skiing December 09

C and T!

From Skiing December 09

Christina yet again! :)

Costa Rica!

2009-11-22T19:11:00.000-08:00

So Yeah, I have not updated my website in a long, long, long time! I know... I have been busy traveling and dealing with other stuff. Also, I just got tired of always updating something. But don't worry, I am on another phase of updating my website and making some great new posts of what I have been doing... Over the past 2 months I have been all over the place, not kayaking, but rafting, surfing, and visiting family.

One of the best new adventures that I have been able to do in the past 2 months is spend two weeks in Costa Rica with Christina. Normally we would spend these two weeks kayaking in Coast Rica but decided to keep the cost down and surf instead. This was an awesome trip that turned out to be amazing with developing on a new sport for both of us. Check out all the pictures we caught along the way at the link below. Also know that we didn't get any real surf pictures because we both were to focused on surfing together and a little to lazy on getting out the cameras... Check out a few photos below... and to see a lot more photos Click the Link Below! Enjoy!

Costa Rica Web Album!

From Costa Rica

Meadow Camp 1840cfs from Christinas View!

2009-08-14T21:55:00.000-07:00

Here is a fun video of Christina Russell and myself kayaking down meadow camp again with the headcam. A little different viewpoint to see some different lines and how the water reacts to different people. Enjoy!

Lava Island Falls 2160cfs Headcam

2009-07-30T21:15:00.000-07:00

So Christina and I did a good old Lava Island Falls the other day and got some headcam footage. Check out the Video below to see some good fun Class 5 big water in the Bend Oregon Area! Enjoy!

Deshutes River Multi-Day: Day 1

2009-07-21T22:54:00.000-07:00

After some planning and organization, I was able to get on a good old Multi-Day rafting trip with some good friends down Warm Springs to Maupin on the Deshutes River. It was an awesome trip that had a slow but fun flat water day 1. Dan Jones got a lot of photos from the trip... Here are a few to check out from Day 1 and if you want to see more click the Album Link Below:

Deschutes River Album Link

From Deschutes River Trip 2009

Loading the Raft

From Deschutes River Trip 2009

Some local Warm Spring Horses

From Deschutes River Trip 2009

On the water with the Loaded Raft

From Deschutes River Trip 2009

A View of the crew from one of the inflatable kayaks

From Deschutes River Trip 2009

Me playing around in my Kayak on some flat water

From Deschutes River Trip 2009

Ben and Brent Bromansing

From Deschutes River Trip 2009

Wow we need to retie this!

From Deschutes River Trip 2009

Ben and Brent paddling together

From Deschutes River Trip 2009

Trying out a Back flip off the cat

From Deschutes River Trip 2009

What Multi-Days are all about... Relaxing!

From Deschutes River Trip 2009

Christina Rowing for a bit...

From Deschutes River Trip 2009

Brent Showing off his Skill

From Deschutes River Trip 2009

The Group having fun in Camp!

From Deschutes River Trip 2009

Horse Shoes in Camp... Is Fun!

From Deschutes River Trip 2009

Stay tuned for Day 2 and 3 to come in the next few days!

Upper Upper North Fork Tumalo Hike

2009-07-06T20:33:00.000-07:00

Last year Scotty and I ran the Upper North Fork Tumalo for the first time and were able to find a sweet 1/4 mile section of 5 different drops in a row. This year Christina and I decided to do a little hiking to see if we could find some more drops above that section. We hiked about 3-4 miles, in the snow mainly, to find no runable drops. Much like all of the drops on Tumalo Creek... Here are some of the pictures that we got from the long but enjoyable hike.

From Upper North Fork Tumalo

Most of the Creek is still under Snow

From Upper North Fork Tumalo

Christina Likes my Truck :D

Check back soon for when we do our Happy Vally Gorge run.

July 4th! Oh Yeah!

2009-07-04T23:29:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures of our July 4th BBQ at my Sister and Brother and Laws House. It was a another Awesome evening with great fireworks. Enjoy!
Check Out the Full Album at the Link below:

July 4th Album

From July 4th!

Christina and Tyler talking and serving up Green Tea Ice Cream

From July 4th!

Christina Enjoying her Green Tea Ice Cream

From July 4th!

Everyone Enjoying the Evening

From July 4th!

Oggie Attacking the Fireworks

From July 4th!

Bend Firework Show...

From July 4th!

Main Tumalo

2009-06-29T17:24:00.000-07:00

Scotty and I decided to hike up 4 miles to try and get a few of the Main Fork Tumalo drops we have heard a lot about. As we found out, all of the drops are on the upper main fork and north fork of Tumalo Creek. Lots of hiking was spent for little to no drops but we learned how to do it next time. Here are a few pictures of some of the drops that have wood in them (if cleaned out, amazing drops). Then one of Scotty running a 20 footer. If you want to see the whole Album Click the Link Below:

Main Fork Tumalo Creek Album

From Main Tumalo

Scotty Checking out Tumalo Falls

From Main Tumalo

One of the two Tiered Drops that needs more water and the Log Removed in the Middle

From Main Tumalo

Top Drop (25-30 footer)

From Main Tumalo

Bottom Drop (25-30 footer)

From Main Tumalo

Cali Style Slide? Oh yeah

From Main Tumalo

With Logs.... Time to get a Chainsaw

From Main Tumalo

Scotty Scouting a 50+ Footer (Shallow Landing)

From Main Tumalo

Scotty on a 20 Footer

Grandma's 90th Birthday!

2009-06-28T10:15:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I headed back down to southern Oregon to attend my Grandma's 90th Birthday and a family reunion. It was a quick one day event due to everyone having to work the next day but it turned out to be a fun entertaining party. Here are a few pictures to check out plus a link to the Album of photos: Grandma's 90th Birthday Album

From Grandmas 90th Birthday

Rogue River

2009-06-26T09:20:00.001-07:00

The Wild and Scenic Section of the Rogue River is a fun multi-day rafting and kayaking trip that can take the average group 3-4 days to complete peacefully. Our family used to do a 5 day 4 night trip down, but came to the conclusion years later that a 4 day 3 night trip was truly the best way to go. Like I mentioned before in other posts, I have been going down the Rogue River since I was 4 years old. My Mom has been rafting for over 30 years and this was her first trip solo down this section of river at the age of 57. She, like always, had perfect lines and showed everyone how to row down the river with her old Avon Pro Bucket boat! As decided on the trip, it might be finally time to retire the Avon Pro raft and move into a new self bailer... If you want to check out all the photos in my album for the trip click here: Wild and Scenic Rogue River Album.

So the Trip started with everyone deciding to meet at my Grandmas on Tuesday night and get up early for an hour driver to the put-in. The next day brought a smooth system that got us all on the water around Noon. Overall, the first day was pretty chill and relaxing with only a few rapids. That night was filled with relaxing, talking, and good food. Here are a few pictures from Day 1.

From Rogue River

The Put In, Kellie and Tyler all ready to go in the Green Bean

From Rogue River

Got flat water? Work on flat water Tricks

From Rogue River

Rainy Falls

From Rogue River

Rainy Falls

From Rogue River

Christina and Everyone in the background

From Rogue River

Camp Number 1

From Rogue River

Christina and I's Humble Abode

From Rogue River

Tyler Showing off his Awesome Air Puma Raft in Traditional Style

After everyone had setup camp one, relaxed, and then made a little food, Christina and I headed over to check out Whisky Creek Cabin. Here are a few photos from our short hike.

From Rogue River

The Next day we woke up early and got a good start to the day. Each day on the river, except the first day usually entails about 8-12 miles of river time. So on Day 2 we managed to bust out 8-9 miles.

From Rogue River

Some Young Ducks Warming themselves next to our camp

From Rogue River

Christina next to one of many Creeks to play in

From Rogue River

Camp 2

From Rogue River

After a really good night sleep at Camp 2 we woke up to some major weather changes. Instead of the 90 degree weather as promised we ended up getting a cool windy day. Overall it was still a great day but by the time we got to camp after 13 miles of river, everyone was tired and ready for food. Here are some pictures from day 3.

From Rogue River

Helping Row through the flat water sections... I was really tired

From Rogue River

Tyler Enjoying Himself while Kellie Works

From Rogue River

One of Many Lodges on Day 3

With Day 3 coming to a close we cooked a good meal and all relaxed and told stories. After a good evening everyone headed to bed early from such a long day. Early the next morning everyone was up and about ready for the day. We packed up and were on the water around 10am. With lots of flat water to cover and a long drive home on Day 4, everyone decided to push through the last 7 miles.

From Rogue River

My Mom and her very very Old Raft!

From Rogue River

Kellie All ready for the Cold Day

We got to the Take-Out in good time and made the Drive over the many different passes. The Trip was awesome and even with a litlle bad weather everyone had a ton of fun. Hopefully Next year everyone will be able to get down there agian! If you want to check out more photos in my album click here: Wild and Scenic Rogue River Album.

Stay Tuned for the little bit of Video that Christina and got. I am in still editing and working on putting it all together.

Oh Nala and Her Food

2009-06-23T10:23:00.000-07:00

So I thought these were funny pictures of Nala enjoying some more food... Out of the bag! She is always begging for more food even if she just ate her breakfast/dinner. And when she has not been feed, she will make sure that you know. I posted a video to show everyone what my morning is like everyday at 5am. Enjoy!

From Nala

Leinman Rapids

2009-06-22T10:55:00.000-07:00

Every year Christina and I always head over to the Wenatchee River to do some playboating. This particular year we decided to mix it up a little bit and head down to Southern Oregon. We planned to spend two days kayaking around on the Rogue River and to visit my Grandma. Then after 2 days of playboating, we were to meet up with my family to head down the Wild and Scenic section of the Rogue River.

The Rogue was at a higher flow and I figured that Leinman Playhole would be good, but it ended up being really flushy. Even so, Christina and I had a great time and entertained ourselves well. Here are some photos of Christina and I enjoying Leinman rapids and visiting with family.

Christina at Leinman Rapids

Me at the Top Wave/Hole

Trying to Throw something, but just getting flushed

Christina doing what the hole was only good for, side surfing!

Christina working on Bow Stalls in her new Liquidlogic Biscuit

Our Humble Abode

And of Course, Mac and Cheese!

Christina was Excited :D

After Camping and boating we headed into Eagle Point to visit my Grandma. Of course we also did some swimming in her pool.

Grandmas Pool and our Drying Gear

Grandmas House with her Many Rose bushes

Me and my Grandma Visiting

Stay tuned for our Wild and Scenic Rogue River post!

The Wild and Scenic Rogue River

2009-06-12T19:56:00.000-07:00

So ever since I was a very little kid my family and I have gone down the Wild and Scenic section of the Rogue River. Every year we planned one or two trips and it became an annual event for our family. As we grew older it became harder to get everyone on the trip and only my Mom and myself were able to keep up the tradition. Until the past two years I was unable to make things work out to get on the Rogue due to work at Sun Country Tours. Thankfully this year everything magically came together and everyones schedules lined up. So Back to the family Tradition! Come next week I'm headed off with a good crew of Christina, my brother in law, my sister, my Dad, and my Mom down for a awesome trip.

When I was younger it was really the first time I got to see a hardshell whitewater kayak up close and it created a new motive for me in the coming years. The following year that I went down I found myself in an inflatable kayak at the age of 8 paddling solo. From there things grew for me into the whitewater kayaking world you now see on my site now.

In spirit of the Rouge I found a old pictures from previous trips taken. Enjoy the few that I found! Stay tuned for Video and photos from our trip coming up soon!

Me on Tate Creek Natural Water slide

Pepper Riding in her Favorite Spot on the Gear

One Tired Morning

Fishing at Camp One

One of Many Tributary Creeks to Play In

Pepper Guarding the Raft

Parting Shot!

In Spirit of Learning to Roll

2009-06-05T12:41:00.000-07:00

In the spirit of Dan learning to roll a whitewater kayak, I figured it would be fun to post some Old pictures of me learning too. This was at my Grandmas pool in Eagle Point Oregon when I was 13 years old. My Uncle John was my faithful teacher who got me truly into the sport of whitewater kayaking. With his help I got my roll in a few hours and headed to the river that same day to paddle at a Class 3 play spot. Thankfully it had lots of deep flat water after the rapid so I didn't have to bad of an experience. Although I did swim one or two times! Enjoy the old Photos!

Uncle John Helping me Learn

My Cousin Rob Helping me fine tune the Roll

Here is another old photo of Max Holden, Ryan Hackbarth, and myself paddling down a Class 3 rapid on the last day of our Wild and Scenic Rogue River trip. We acutely did really well through the rapid this way, but I Made us swim at the bottom for fun!

Collage of Photos: Learning to Roll

2009-06-03T17:45:00.000-07:00

Here is a collage of Photos of Dan Jones Learning how to Roll a whitewater kayak. He was much different than the average person learning how to roll, and got it within 30-45 mins. He now has a solid roll and soon we will be hitting the whitewater with me! Enjoy!

Learning to Roll

2009-05-29T21:43:00.000-07:00

Dan Jones came home to do some visiting and we decided with the 90 Degree weather it would be a good time to learn how to roll a kayak. Here is some headcam footage of Dan learning to roll a kayak. Enjoy!

Learning to Roll from Josh Mckeown on Vimeo.

Big Brother and a Swim

2009-05-25T16:23:00.000-07:00

About a month and a half ago Christina Russell, John Cramp, and myself got away for a day mission to the Green Truss on the White Salmon, WA. It was a rainy day and the flows were a little high and as we found out that evening, Much higher than we thought. Anyway, Below is the story that Christina Russell Wrote up about her Experience with Running and then Swimming into the cave at 3.75. Every good/bad/average boater always has days better than others and reading stories such as Christina's helps everyone to remember we are only human and situations turn bad very quickly. What we take from those experiences is what makes us who we are and hopefully it will make us better, smarter, and more effective rescuers/boaters for future situations. Always something new to Learn!

:::Again the Article Below is written by Christina Russell:::

Scary Day-
by: Christina Russell

This is more of a personal write-up to help me think about the events of today. This was a scary trip for me but I would like to have others learn from my experience if nothing else.

Today, Josh Mckeown, John Cramp, Tim Thorton, and Zach joined us for a day mission down the Green Truss. It was rainy and 60 degrees but way better than being inside. We put on and all of us were having a great time. Our paddling felt really good and we were happy to be spending Easter on the river. We were told it was 2.9/3.0 feet at the bottom so we figured it was about 3.4 up top...ish. We were super stoked.

A freshie to the Green Truss, Zach, styled all the drops. It's always fun to be a part of a first-time-down. :)

Anyways, things were peachy when we got to Big Brother and Josh fired it up. Stuck his landing and paddled away after a stall behind the falls.

After scouting from shore, I walked out to the point to spot my line. I knew the flow was 3.4 feet. OK, talked to locals about the flow and no one said it was unusual to run it now. OK.
I felt comfortable in my skills that I could hit my line but was wanting to be safe. I wrestled with not running it but I know that I am very good at holding myself back TOO much. Despite my internal struggle, I saw my line and knew I could hit it. I climbed back in my boat and gave the signal that I was going to run it. Safety was set on river left and river right at the cave so I felt that if the worst happened, safety WAS there.

Here I am coming in for the flake...photos by Zach of Sundance River Center

I didnt want to boof this drop because of my tailbone and I was happy that I got my 45 degree entree...

Incidentally my line wasa carbon copy of Josh's. We both landed and stalled a bit behind the falls. The only difference was I flipped over coming out of the falls. Im guessing I was hit by a boil and as I went over, I inhaled a bunch of water. Apparently, had I not flipped, I would have paddled right by the cave no problem....but I didn't. Instead, I felt myself get pinned on the corner of the cave and couldn't roll. I slipped backwards into the cave and pulled my skirt. Josh guessed that I was in the cave for more than five minutes. Having inhaled water when I went over, I couldnt catch my breath and couldnt rest. Instead of floating over to my boat and just resting, I grabbed the bag thrown at me and didnt want to let go. Iwas afraid that if I did, I wouldnt hav ethe energy to stay afloat, next to my boat. My hands fell asleep as well and i couldnt grab anything. The problem with this was that josh couldnt pull me out with so little rope in his hands. I was stuck and I knew it.

Eventually, Tim from the river left side tossed his throwbag right at my head. With his torque from directly across the river and josh pulling from the side, they were able to pull me out of the cave. What a relief it was to be floating downstream! This feeling ended quickly when I realized the rope that was floating in the cave with me had slowly but surely looped itself around my right ankle and tightened. As they let the rope out to the full extent, I was held under by the force of the water. Head downstream, feet upstream. No one knew what was going on. Thankfully, Josh, seeing me disappear, let go of the rope and I swam to shore. I have never been that exhausted in my life and I have never felt so close to death. It seems so surreal.

I just found out that the flow was WAY higher than we thought. Our paddling buddies said the flow was sitting at about 3.00 feet at the bottom, however, (according to flow specialist ;) Jesse Becker) the actual flow at the top of the run was roughly 3.75. WOW. We had no idea. Had we known no one runs it at this flow, we wouldnt have run it.

What I learned-

This was a more than humbling experience. It certainly taught me the incredible importance of setting appropriate safety and not banking on things going well. It also taught me the importance of staying calm. Josh kept his voice calm and all I can say is that I can't imagine having anyone else there.

The people I was paddling with saved my a**. If just one of them had not been willing ot help, I might have been dead. DONT paddle with people that aren't willing to help.

In the end, I know the incident is not one I ever want to repeat but I dont know that I would take it back. I learned more than I can verbalize here today. I just want to say thank you to everyone who pulled me out. Most of you probably feel I need to be scolded for this one....all I can say is that is a legitimate reaction but rather than judging, let's learn from this. I am.

24 and Pushing On

2009-05-25T16:13:00.000-07:00

So a few weeks ago now I had my 24th Birthday. It was a create birthday and had the nice chance to have family come into town for it! We had lots of food, cake, and entertainment to go around for the entire weekend. On that entertainment list of course is some good old whitewater kayaking. And if your going to have a lot of people come watch you there is no better place than Dillon Falls in Bend! Unless your willing to run the scary 1300 CFS flow of Benham (It gets really sticky at that middle flow). Anyway, here are a few photos that Kellie and Tyler shot of us doing some good old Birthday Kayaking. Enjoy!

Christina Enjoying a good old Sandwich before some paddling

Me Makin the Move

Chistina in the Canyon

Me in the Canyon

Tyler...

Meadow Camp Headcam 2126 CFS

2009-05-23T19:42:00.000-07:00

Got out today again with some bright sunny weather and 75% temp. It is time for summer and I could not be happier! As most people know Bend, OR is awesome for summers due to nothing but sunshine and good kayaking soooo close. As few people know about the Deschutes, especially out of town boaters, is the High water flows we get that makes all the runs Class 5+ to Class 4+. We are working on getting www.oregonkayaking.net updated! The run today with the headcam is a solid Class 4+ Pushy whitewater section known as Meadow Camp. Stay tuned for Lava Island, Dillon Falls, and Benham Falls Headcam and Full HD at Summer Flow! Trust me, its WAY bigger.

Meadow Camp Headcam from Josh Mckeown on Vimeo.

Oregon Coast Stunt Kite Flying

2009-04-22T12:30:00.001-07:00

Christina and I having a little fun stunt kite flying.... Enjoy

Trying out some HD video with Headcam

2009-03-18T18:50:00.000-07:00

Did some editing and put the HD video with the Headcam footage. Hard part is few sites allow for HD embedding unless you pay a lot of money. Also the quality once uploaded seems to decrease a lot, but hey it still looks better. Note you have to Click the HD icon in the lower left corner of the Video frame. Enjoy!

Dillon/Lava Head Cam

2009-03-13T21:12:00.000-07:00

Here is some footage of Christina and I doing Dillon/Lava with my Head cam and new camcorder. Enjoy!

Dillon/Lava Falls Head Cam from Josh Mckeown on Vimeo.

Riverhouse headcam Footage

2009-03-12T22:48:00.000-07:00

This was my first run down Riverhouse at 850cfs with a Head Cam I just got. After reviewing the footage I learned I need a good coat of RainX to get rid of the water droplets on the screen housing. Besides that it turned out pretty good so enjoy my view of running the good old local run of Riverhouse. By the way this a class 4 kayak run during winter months in Bend, OR. Stay tuned for more footage of other runs...

Riverhouse Headcam from Josh Mckeown on Vimeo

Dillon/Lava Falls Low Winter Flow 1000 cfs

2009-02-28T21:54:00.000-08:00

Christina Russell, John Cramp, and Myself went out and got some footage of Dillon and Lava Island Falls during Winter Flow. This is a little higher flow than normal during winter flows at 1000 cfs. During summer time it jumps up to 1800-2300cfs... Much More fun but we still had a great day. Enjoy!

Dillon and Lava Island Falls from Josh Mckeown on Vimeo.

The Year 2008 in Photos

2009-02-16T20:09:00.000-08:00

Here are a collection of photos to show a little of my kayaking through the year 2008... Most of these have been in posts on my Blog already, but it never hurts to refresh old pictures for the end of the year. Ended up bing a lot of photos, aka photo dump.... Enjoy!

Author on The Final Five: Copper Creek, WA

Author on The Log Drop: Callaghan Creek, BC

Author on Big Brother: White Salmon, WA

Author on Bladder Wave: Horseshoe Bend, ID

Christina Russell on the Last Tango: Ashlu River, BC

Author on Granny's Wave: Wenatchee River, WA

Author on the Coast: Florance, OR

Author on Celestial Falls: White River, OR

Boaters on the final boatercross during flood: Clackamas River, OR

The 10 Footer on Upper North Fork Tumalo Creek: Bend, OR

Author on Dillon Falls Summer Flow: Bend, OR

Ferry Ride for Van Island, BC

Author Hiking through Takilma Gorge: North Fork Rouge River, OR

Christina Russell on The Big Falls: Copper Creek, WA

Christina and I at Clackamas River Festival

Author Aerial Looping at Area 51 (before destroyed): Bend, OR

Author on Lava Island Falls Summer Flow: Bend, OR

Air Screw off the Big air ramp: Clackamas River Festival, OR

Donkey Flop at Skook: BC

Author on The Last Tango: Ashlu River, BC

Florance Oregon

Entrance drop: Van Island, BC

Author on Riverhouse Dam: Bend, OR

The desperate play wave named Area 53: Bend, OR

Area 51 Destroyed by the Farmer: Bend, OR

The 30 Footer on Upper North Fork Tumalo: Bend, OR

Christina and I!

The Good Old Truck: Bend, OR

30 Footer: Callaghan Creek, BC

Author Running Lava Island Falls Winter Flow backwards (on Purpose): Bend, OR

Author on Gordon River: Van Island, BC

Christina Russell on Granny's Wave: Wennatchee River, WA

12 footer on Upper North Fork Tumalo Creek: Bend, OR

Parting Shot!

Celestial Falls Photos

2009-02-07T13:44:00.000-08:00

Here are the photos of Celestial Falls from Tyler Roemer last weekend. If you want to see more of his work visit http://tylerroemer.blogspot.com. Enjoy!

The No Fun sign...

The Hike down to get to the put-in... It got really sketchy further down with an inch of ice over everything

The bad seal launch due to using a different spot because of all the ice!

My sequence shot

Christina with the perfect tuck

More Christina...

At the Bottom... Makes it look a little bigger

Christie sequence!

Scouting the lower Drop further below Celestial Falls

Christina

Celestial Falls 50-55 Feet

2009-02-05T21:50:00.000-08:00

Last weekend Christina and I went and ran Celestial Falls at around 50-55 feet and had a great day. I ended up taking a line off the drop with a left to right angle that didn't turn out to be the best line of the day. This caused me to fall to my left side when going off the drop, and when I tucked on my left side it ended up over inverting me to land close to upside down. This in turn ejected me out of my boat and caused me to partially tare my PCL in my knee. I was lucky enough to only receive a minor injury that will heal in 2 weeks and I will hopefully return Celestial to claim my perfect line off the drop soon! Here is the video to enjoy...

Upper North Fork Tumalo Video

2009-02-03T20:10:00.000-08:00

Video from our First and Second decent of Upper North Fork Tumalo also known as Happy Valley Gorge. Enjoy!

Benham Falls Short Video

2009-01-31T18:30:00.000-08:00

Wintertime Dillon

2009-01-27T14:52:00.000-08:00

Here are a few shots of when Christina and I went out last week to do a little boating in good old Wintertime. Tyler Roemer brought out his camera to capture the moments. If you want to see more of Tyler Roemers work you can visit his site at http://tylerroemer.blogspot.com

Me Boofing the right side of Dillon 750cfs

Pondering the left side line at 750cfs

Decided to go for it... And the line went pretty well (You only have a 4 foot wide landing zone at this flow: 750cfs

Landing in the spot I wanted on the left side line...

Christina running right side of Dillon

Christina right side again different angel

Christina happy to be boating!

Me again on the right side of Dillon at a different angel

Driving for my Line

Christina making her way through Dill Hole

Lava Falls/Meadow Camp... Low Low Water

2009-01-12T19:33:00.000-08:00

Christina and I got out to kayak today with some good 50 degree weather and pure blue skys. We were both very tired of doing the same old Riverhouse run and decided to change it up a little bit. We finally concluded on doing a Lava Island Falls run and connecting a low low water Meadow camp. How low? Well with the diversion dam on, it was around 400-500cfs which is uber low for this run (Think its the lowest its ever been run from my knowledge). Even with such low flows it still was all runable and made it feel more like a creek. Anyway, here are a few pictures from the day. Enjoy!

Me on the S-Turn/Airplane Move: Lava Island Falls

Christina on Lava Island Falls enjoying the Day

Me about to drop down Lava 1 right side 850cfs

Christina entering into Lava 2: Lava Island Falls

Christina in the Middle of Lava 2

Me on Meadow Camp Low Low Water

Me on 100%: Meadow Camp!

Can we Say Canada?

2008-12-19T23:19:00.000-08:00

Pictures from my Canada Adventures... Yeah. Much needed for my blog

50/50 on the Ashlu... Scouting....

Christina on the Drop above 50/50

Me on the Drop Above 50/50, Ashlu River

Me on a Drop during our run down the Ashlu River, Canada

Some of the most amazing camping I have done in Canada....

Christina dropping of the 18 foot log falls

The Crew chilling bellow another drop

Christina Seal launching on another creek in Canada

The Log Drop

The drop below the drop... Every class 5 follows with another class 5....

Christina on the 30 footer...

Christina on the drop that "Makes so many people swim because of the sticky hole at the bottom"

Im Not happy with my line look... even though it worked...

Scouting.... Portaging... I really should have ran that... Right?

I'm serious, the rock is so slippery!

Whistler

Paddling through another canyon on the Ashlu

The Class 5++ Boulder garden on the Ashlu only run during low low water... Wish it was low low water

Running safety above the 30 footer

This feeling is why i Kayak

Checking my phone for service and wonder where is Scotty Baker???? Who really knows!!?!?

One of many views from our campsite...

Ashlu River

50/50...

50/50... Christina Scouting

Me Scouting "The Box"

The Box Canyon, Ashlu

Ferry ride to Skook...

Our Skook Campsite...

Some more of the Skook campsite

Skook? Trying to backstap? yeah

Green Truss Action!

2008-12-06T20:27:00.000-08:00

Big Brother again! Enjoy

Skooook!

2008-11-30T19:53:00.000-08:00

Been awhile since I have posted... Been busy with life and needed a little break from all the blogging. Anyway here are some pictures of skook from Christina and I's trip up to Canada. We had some good flows at Skook, but not "The Best" Flows possible for skook. We hit it around 12-13 knots, which didn't give up for the best big air tricks... But still FUN! Stay tuned for more photos on other parts of the Canada trip and others...

SKook... Before it forms...

Me Blunting

Me Donkey Flopping

Christina doing a little blunt/roundhouse action

One thing Skook is never short of... Lines...

Me working on Air Blunts

Christina doing an Air Roundhouse (Skook was not giving up much air tricks due to the flow)

Blunting some more...

Lots of Sea Life at skook!

BC in September

2008-09-14T21:49:00.001-07:00

Here are a few shots from the recent BC trip.... A Write up along with more photos will come when I get the chance...

Off to BC

2008-09-03T21:54:00.001-07:00

Im off to BC for two weeks to hit up some of the classics agian and get a little time on Skook! So stay tuned for Pictures when I return!

Somewhere in BC

Muddy Meadow

2008-08-28T10:09:00.000-07:00

Here are some photos from a rainy day down Meadow camp with some good old muddy water. This is our quick in town run that has some good old class 4+ whitewater... Paddler is Christina Russell... Author on Photos... Enjoy!

North Fork Rogue Photos

2008-08-24T19:59:00.000-07:00

Here are a few Photos from the North Fork Rogue that Christina and I went and did a couple of weekends ago. The levels were perfect for Takilma Gorge... Here are a few photos... I put a few old photos from last year in to get an idea for the run... Christina and I put on late in the afternoon so we did a bomb down mission... Enjoy!

Area 53

2008-07-22T09:31:00.000-07:00

With the canal people pushing rocks into our play spot, which was called Area 51, there has been no play in Bend. Recently I caught wind of a new spot that someone had found. Christina and I went to check this new spot out and see if it was any good. To our suprise, the wave/hole was not to bad (We went between 600-700CFS).... It is a great little wave/hole that is both fun and good practice. I spent a good 3 hours pushing rocks in on both sides to improve the feature. With a little more work I think Area 53 will become a sweet little play spot for Bend until the Play park is built a few years down the line. Here are some pictures from the evening paddle/rock pushing.

First Descent of the Upper North Fork Tumalo

2008-07-14T10:12:00.001-07:00

Scott Baker, Brian Lee, and I went up searching for the first descent of the Upper North Fork Tumalo. Scott Baker and I were the only ones to run this small gorged up section. This sweet little run ended up being named "Happy Valley Gorge." This gorge consisted of 5 different drops which were a 12 footer, into a 10 footer, into a 30 footer, into a 8 footer, into a 5 footer.

The 12 footer was super shallow at the top with a nice little slide feel to it. It was an ok drop that really could use a little more water to help the lead in become more fun. After the 12 footer it led directly into the 10 foot ledge. The ledge was an easy move at the top but proved hard to boof due to the low volume. After two runs Scott and I concluded that it should be run center right, which was the deepest part of the landing (Scott Hit bottom running Center Left). After the 10 footer there is about 50 feet before the 30 footer. There is a micro eddy on the left below the 10 footer backed up by a log. The 30 footer is slanting left that requires you to make a line to the right side to avoid the shallow pool at the bottom on the left. This basiclly ment a good right angle with your boat and a strong left stroke for us to run this one clean. After this you run into a little 2 foot ledge that leads into the final two drops. The 6 footer was an easy boof lip that lands on soft water and helps launch you into the 5 footer. The 5 footer was a little difficult in the fact that it ran into a wall/underwater cave. Overall it was a sweet park and huck gorge to hit up around the Central Oregon area....

Here are some shots from the day... In random order...

Scott on the entrance 12 Footer
Photo: Author

Scott on the 10 Footer
Photo: Author

Scott Scouting the 30 Footer
Photo: Author

Scott Running the 30 footer
Photo: Author

Author on the Entrance 12 Footer
Photo: Brian Lee

Author Running the 10 Footer
Photo: Brian Lee

Author Running the 30 Footer
Photo: Brian Lee

Author Running the 30 Footer
Photo: Brian Lee

Author Running 30 footer... Different run different angle...
Photo: Brian Lee

Author on the 6 footer
Photo: Brian Lee

Author on 5 Footer
Photo: Brian Lee

Scott Baker running the 30 Footer Agian
Photo: Brian Lee

Scott on the 6 Footer
Photo: Brian Lee

Scott on the last 5 foot ledge
Photo: Brian Lee

Few Photos from Wenatchee Trip

2008-07-11T10:37:00.000-07:00

Here are some photos from Christinas and I Wenatchee Trip we took a couple of weeks ago. A write up about the trip will follow soon so stay posted. Enjoy!

Icicle Creek Scouting...
Photo: Christina Russell

Photos Below are of Grannys Wave Action and camping up on Icicle Creek

Womans West Coast Paddle Fest: White Salmon, Washington!

Check out the Blog Site for more details on the Event!!
http://wcwomenspaddlefest.blogspot.com/

Bladder Wave in Idaho

2008-06-17T19:23:00.000-07:00

About three weeks ago Christina and I got a chance to head over to Bosie, ID to get some playboating action in. We got a chance to spend two full days on the wave with some good flows thanks to the big winter snow pack. Friday night we camped out at the bladder wave after a 7 hour drive from Bend, and woke up early the next morning to jump onto the wave.

The Gutter wave sits on river left of the Payette and the Bladder wave sits on river right. Gutter is normally in at lower flows while the bladder is in at higher flows. We both jumped in and tried out the Gutter before heading over to the Bladder. FYI the gutter was a little to shallow to throw anything good.

The Gutter at high water... Was shallow...
Photo: Christina Russell

Trying to Blunt in the shallow water at the Gutter
Photo: Christina Russell

After a few rides on the Gutter we headed over to the bladder wave.
The Bladder!
Photo: Christina Russell

Overall View of the Bladder Wave
Photo: Christina Russell

Here are some shots from the two full days we went on the wave.

Looking for some Air
Photo: Christina Russell

Christina trying out the wave
Photo: Josh McKeown

Me Finding an Air Blunt
Photo: Christina Russell

Christina Clean Blunting
Photo: Josh McKeown

The Warning of playing on Bladder Wave
Photo: Josh McKeown

Landing another Air Blunt
Photo: Christina Russell

Christina round housing...
Photo: Josh McKeown

Air Blunting
Photo: Christina Russell

Christina Making the wave look that much bigger!
Photo: Josh McKeown

During the Evenings we spent some good time with my family in Boise and had an awesome weekend. Next year if the Bladder Wave comes in, Christina and I will be There! Here is a picture of Lisas cat.

Lisas Cat
Photo: Christina Russell

Stay Tuned for our Pictures from the Wenatchee River Trip and Womens West Coast Paddeling Fest!

Clackamas River Festival

2008-05-22T09:15:00.000-07:00

Last weekend Christina and I went over to the Clackamas River Festival. We railed over after Christina’s Micro Biology class on Friday and arrived to a hot evening on the Clackamas. We drove up Fish Creek and found a nice turn off for the night to get some much needed rest for the evening. Early the next morning we cooked some good breakfast for a big day in store on the Clack.

Early Morning Breakfast on Fish Creek
Photo: Christina Russell

We got to the festival around 9:15am and registered for the mass start hard shell kayak race, and the big air ramp. The flow was at record high for the Clackamas at around 9,500CFS and created interesting starting points for the race. We were unable to get any photos of the mass start race due to both of us being in the same race. Lets just say that it was pretty crazy to run a huge rapid with 25 other people around you. After this race we had a little bit of time until the big air ramp competition, so Christina and I decided to make a quick run down the Upper Clackamas. It went by super fast due to the flood level of the Clackamas and we were back just in time for warm up runs down the big air ramp. Here are some shots of Christina and I throwing huge off the ramp. Both Christina and I got into the finals and did pretty good. Ryan Scott ended up taking home the win!

Me Throwing Down
Photo: Christina Russell

Christina Going Down the Ramp
Photo: Josh McKeown

Christina Showing All the Guys How its done!
Photo: Josh McKeown

After the comp we headed back to the car and cooked some dinner for the night on the road side before the Northwest Video Scrapbook VI premiere. With some full stomachs we headed over to the premiere which was in a camp site on the Clackamas. It was an awesome movie and a well done production by Ryan Scott.

Cooking by the Roadside
Photo: Christina Russell

Hehehe
Photo: Josh McKeown

We found our camping site again on Fish Creek after a fun and late night at the NVS VI Premiere. On Sunday Christina and I tried to rally some people to go creeking but didn’t find anyone ready to go due to a big night before. So we hung out and took some pictures of the Boatercross action and made a few more runs on the Big Air Ramp. After all the events from Sunday we made a quick run down the Upper Clackamas before going home. Here are a few shots from the day…

Keel Brightman Showing off his Elbow Pads for Boatercross
Photo: Christina Russell

Some Boatercross Carnage
Photo: Christina Russell

Some rafters taking a run down on the course
Photo: Christina Russell

Ryan Scott Leading heat 3 of the Boatercross
Photo: Christina Russell

The Finals of Boatercross
Photo: Christina Russell

Sequence Shots by Christina Russell

Christina Killing it yet agian...
Photo: Josh McKeown

My Last Run down
Photo: Christina Russell

A Sad Summer

2008-05-15T22:21:00.000-07:00

Our So to say "Epic" play spot for Bend has been ruined by the Canal people this summer.... Sadly I spent many days out at Area 51 solo and with friends enjoying play session after play session... Looks like we will have our hands full during the winter time clearing out the rocks from our play spot.... Until then my solo sessions will be on our local runs of Dillon, Lava, and Meadow camp....

Before!

After the Canal People Pushed Rocks into the Hole....

Copper Creek!

2008-05-01T10:57:00.001-07:00

After our Canyon Creek adventure on Saturday, Christina and I joined forces with a few others to do a run down Copper Creek on Sunday morning. The place we camped the night before put us a quick 15 minute dive to the put in. So why wouldn’t we try and hit another great creek? When 9am rolled around the group all rallied up to the put in for a quick run down.

Christina Getting ready at the Put In
Photo: Josh McKeown

The first rapid that you come to on Copper Creek is known as Certain Death. Usually there are one or two people out of the group that will fire up this drop. Today Todd Baker was our lucky number one. Like usual, he made the drop look easy.

Looking Down the Main part of Certain Death
Photo: Christina Russell

Christina Scouting Certain Death... And taking Pictures
Photo: Josh McKeown

Todd Baker in the middle of Certain Death
Photo: Josh McKeown

Ryan Scott Putting in Below Certain Death
Photo: Christina Russell

After Certain Death the water is pretty calm for the next mile with class 2/3 rapids. This section of the creek is beautiful and is worth seeing even if you don’t run the main drops. After the mile is over you come to the next section of rapids/falls known as “The Big Falls.” This consists of a small slide into an 8 footer, then into a 18 footer. Everyone in the group fired off this drop perfectly.

Me scouting the drop with a fellow boater
Photo: Christina Russell

Christina Scouting/Filming People Running The Big Falls
Photo: Josh McKeown

Ryan Scott Boofing the 8 Footer
Photo: Josh McKeown

Christina about to Boof off the 8 footer on The Big Falls
Photo: Josh McKeown

Christina boofing off the 18 footer
Photo: Josh McKeown

The Crew Looking back upstream at The Big Falls
Photo: Conner

Once The Big Falls are done with, the next mile or so consists of some more class 2/3 rapids. All of this is fun read and run rapids that is continuous over the whole mile. This leads into the final rapids for Copper Creek known as The Final 5. It sounds exactly how it plays out with 5 different drops stacked on top of each other. The first drop is a small ledge boof that can be run in a number of different spots (Just make sure to boof, one of our crew got a nice beat down in this first drop). The second drop is a sloping hole that requires a nice delayed boof stroke to skim over the recirculation. After this you drop directly into number three which has a steep gradient into a hole backed up by a wall that turns left. Finally you get 50 feet of flat water before the last two drops. These two are pretty much one drop that has a sloping 6 footer into a 8-10 footer with a hole on the right side. Overall the drops or pretty straight forward and it is easy to scout or portage if needed. Just fyi, if portage or scout, be quiet because the side you do this on is private land. Anyway, everyone that decided to run these drops had great lines and concluded the run gracefully.

Ryan Scott on the First Drop of The Final 5
Photo: Christina Russell

Todd Baker and Ryan Scott Below Number two and in Number 3
Photo: Christina Russell

Me Dropping into Number 3
Photo: Keel Brightman

Some of the Crew below Number 4 and 5
Photo: Christina Russell

Christina and I below Number 4 and 5
Photo: Christina Russell

The Take Out for Copper Creek
Photo: Christina Russell

The Take Out!
Photo: Christina Russell

From The Final 5 you have a few hundred yards to the take out. Copper Creek runs into the East Fork of the Lewis and many people like to continue down that section to run Horseshoe Falls. On this particular day we took out at the bottom of Copper Creek due to some people wanting to get back for the Huck Fest at Sunset Falls. Christina and I decided to hit up the full run on the East Fork of the Lewis with a few other people.

So Stay tuned for the next post on the East Fork of the Lewis!

Little White Salmon Race

2008-04-21T10:12:00.000-07:00

Christina and I headed out yet again this weekend to hit up the Little White Salmon (LWS) Race put on by Austin Rathmann. Neither of us were ready to race on the LWS due only seeing it one time before. So again we headed out after Christina’s classes on Friday and took the three hour drive to Hood River. Unfortunately we caught the cold front coming down from Canada and were in the middle of a huge snow storm over the pass. We ended up reaching the take out of the LWS around 9:30 and set up camp in the back of my pick up for the night. It was nice and cozy especially with our friend Pepper joining us for the trip! (Pepper is Christina’s dog) The next morning consisted of a late and relaxing pace waiting for everyone to reach the take out. Around 9:30am people started to arrive.

Christina happened to get the worst part of her sickness the day before and the day of the LWS race and decided to hike in and take pictures instead of going down the run. I got the chance to head down the LWS with a few people who were running safety and doing finish line times (I ended up doing all the finish line times). John Cramp also joined us from Bend to do his first run down the LWS.

Christina getting ready for the Hike in
Photo: Josh McKeown

Some of the Crew racing the LWS
Photo: Josh McKeown

From the take out we all rallied up to the put in to get the race underway. I joined forces with John Grace, Toby, and John Cramp to make a very quick run down to keep ahead of the racers who were about to start. This caused our group to do a bombing run down with only catching 2-3 eddies. Unfortunately John Cramp had never seen the run and had to get the down and dirty version of it, but he did bomber! Let me just say that this is a very tiring experience and I learned that I was not as in shape as I thought I was. I managed to reach the finish line with plenty of time to setup and wait for racers to come down.

The race started at Getting Busy (3/4 of a mile long Class 5+ Bolder garden) and finished at Wishbone Falls (20 foot waterfall). It took racers 15-25 minutes to get down the run. The LWS is 238 feet per mile gradient run which consists of many class 5/5+ rapids stacked on top of each other.

Christina decided to hike down with Scott, and Charles to try and capture some pictures of the event. The beta from Charles was that the hike was easy and the trail nice all the way down to the creek. This was far from the truth and it turned out to be an exhausting hike! Pepper, who is 13 years old, had a hard time on many of the cliffs edges and Christina ended up carrying her a lot of the time. There were even a few times that Christina almost fell in with Pepper! But luckily she didn’t!! Unfortunately the place where they hiked in was a little to far down from the race and they missed the boaters.

Jay Gifford (Not racing) Coming through the Squeeze
Photo: Christina Russell

The ledge below the Squeeze
Photo: Christina Russell

Fellow Boater making the move through the ledge
Photo: Christina Russell

Looking at the top of Stovepipe (One of many Class 5 Drops) Below the Squeeze and the Ledge
Photo: Christina Russell

Charles Capturing the moments
Photo: Christina Russell

Pepper Happy to be Alive after the nasty hike down
Photo: Christina Russell

After the race we all meet at the take out of the LWS and told stories from the day. After this we all headed up to the Wind River Winery to eat and drink. Lets just say that it was a good evening with lots of people, but the weather was quite cold. Christina and I ended up crashing early, like many other people, for the night in the back of my truck at the Winery.

The next freezing cold morning we decided that it would be best to take it easy. Christina still felt nasty from her sickness and John Cramp was going to meet up with a few people on the Wind River. So Christina and I decided to call it a relaxing day and head home at a good hour. This turned out to be a very good decision especially with the nasty storm over the pass. So with another weekend in Hood River down, we are stoked for next years race and hopefully have the ability to compete.

Stay Tuned for more photos from the weekend events when I start to get them from other people!

Canyon Creek Carnage

2008-04-16T16:14:00.001-07:00

So Christina Russell and I got the chance to head over to the Canyon Creek race this past weekend. The race had about 85+ people to show up and compete in R2, IK, and K1 events. We had some gorgeous weather that made the day that much better along with some good flows on Canyon Creek. Christina and I left Friday night after classes and drove up to the take out of Canyon Creek to camp for the night. Arriving at the take out we found around 35 other boaters doing the same thing. Both of us called it a night due to having an early start the next morning. Waking up at around 7am we got some breakfast and headed up stream for a quick warm up run down. This was only the second time Christina had seen Canyon Creek and my first. So it was in the best interest for both of us to get a quick lap on it before we decided to race down it. With a few other people, we got on the water at about 10am and started to bomb down the run.

Arriving on the first real rapids for the day, everyone made there way through with good lines. At this point we came to the rapid known as Prelude Thrasher. Unfortunately someone put the beta out there that it was Thrasher instead of Prelude. Todd and Conner went first followed by me. In my mind I was visualizing thrasher and the move that I needed to make for the rapid that I had seen in pictures.

Let me say real quick to I brought a new boat for the race, a Liquidlogic Remix 69, to get a little more length and speed for the race. This proved to be a bad idea due to the boat handling much different than my Liquidlogic Jefe that I have been paddling for the past two years.

The Picture Above is Prelude. I was stuck in the hole on the right side of the Picture.

Anyway, I dropped into Prelude Center Left/Left with a right angle which ended up putting me perfectly sideways into the worst part. Note that this rapid is supposed to be run center Right/far right! The left side of Prelude consists of a nasty ledge hole that is backed up by a rock wall creating a pocket hole that is nearly impossible to get out of without help. I ended up in a side surfing position with my head down stream against the rock wall. I could mange to hold my head above water with a solid brace and tried this for about 30 seconds or more. I tried to throw my bow/stern into the ledge hole to work myself free. Every time that I tried this, it pretty much did nothing to help my situation anymore due to the angle of the hole and rock wall. During this side surfing action Todd Baker was paddling up stream to try and give me his bow to pull me out. I saw him coming up and decided that it might be the best time to swim and try to grab onto his boat to get out. In my mind that process that would take place when I swam was that I would fall/push myself out down stream towards Todd’s boat and be able to grab onto it and escape the hole. The actual event was MUCH different than I expected!

When I pulled my skirt and pushed myself out of my boat I instantly got sucked underwater and lost all direction. I was caught extremely off guard and began to get recycled in the hole. The ledge hole began to push me down deep and let me up every 8 seconds or so to get a very very small breath of air before I would go under water again. After about 30 seconds of being recirculated I realized that I was not coming out of this hole by myself. I tried to go deep to escape the recirculating water but only hit the wall. The pillows of water coming off the wall push me back into the hole again. Getting another small breath of air I went deep again and I tried grabbing the wall to pull myself out, but only found smooth slippery rock. At this point I began to lose my energy due to not getting enough air. I kept trying different positions to get myself flushed out of the hole but nothing proved to work. A minute passed by and I came to the realization that this might be the place where I was going to die. Everything started to become a little more peaceful and I began to accept my fate. I lost almost all strength and things started go become black.

During my time in the hole Todd Baker was paddling like crazy below trying to get his boat in the position for me to grab when I was both in and out of my boat. He literally paddled back into the hole more than once to try and get me. The last time that I resurfaced, after the long struggle in the hole, he managed to be in the right place when I came up. His boat bumped me in the head (I don’t remember this) and I somehow got the strength to grab his boat. Todd paddled like hell backwards and pulled me free from the hole.

I know when dramatic things happen to you it is much different when your watching it vs. experiencing it. But I know for a fact that I was one recirculation away from drowning and Todd Baker truly did save my life.

After getting myself on shore I took awhile to recuperate before figuring out where all my gear had gone. Conner had managed to rescue my paddle but lost the boat down stream. Hiking down the side for a little while, I decided that I should head up and out of the canyon. Kim and Christina were both shaken up by the event and offered to hike out with me. We all started the bush whacking process up the hill until we came to a old 4 wheel drive road. We hiked along this road for an hour or so and managed to reach the main highway. Sitting along the highway a little while, we got a ride from a fellow boater down to the take out.
The next few hours were spent recuperating and talking with fellow boaters. I got some beta from people at the take out that my boat had been pulled out by Nate and Heather Herbeck and was sitting on shore above Champaign. We all sat around for the next few hours trying to find a ride back upstream with one of the motor boats taking spectators to the finish line.

With no luck, I decided to take my playboat and paddle the hour flat water to the finish line to try and rescue my boat. An hour or so later I reached the finish line of Canyon Creek which consists of a rapid called Toby’s. When I was paddling up, all the racers were coming down for the day. I got different beta about the hike up from Toby’s to Champaign, from one person saying it wasn’t to bad of a hike, and many others saying it would be an adventure trying to get up stream along the bank. The majority of the people were right, for when I got myself up there, it proved to be a lot more than I was expecting. Stashing my playboat at the bottom of Toby’s rapid, I started my hike up along the cliffs of Canyon Creek. Of course with the luck of the day, I ended up being by myself with no support if something went wrong.

Above is Champaign and Hammering Spot. I hiked up the left side of the picture along the cliffs.

Above is Toby's Rapid

All I can say is that the hike back up stream is possible but has some scary parts that require rock climbing above a class 5 rapid. Climbing on vertical walls and bouldering my way through small cracks, I finally reach my boat above Champaign. All in all the hike back up stream took me 30-45 minutes. My boat was in good shape and I knew the only way to get it out was to paddle the last three rapids on Canyon Creek. Luckily I thought of this before my hike up and ended up wearing all my gear. So I jumped into my boat and paddled down to the lip of Champaign. I had talked with a few people about the lines you needed to take on all the rapids earlier that day, and remembered I wanted to go center right at Champaign, Right at Hammering Spot, and a center right boof at Toby’s. Feeling really nervous about being solo and just escaping death earlier that morning, I managed to fire off all the drops perfectly. I grabbed my playboat below Toby’s and towed it behind me for the 45 minute paddle across the lake water to the take out.

I reached the take out for the day thankful to be alive and exhausted from the events of the day. Everyone was in a good mood and ready to go party at Oly’s house. Unfortunately I did not share this same joyous mood due to a hard day and being extremely exhausted... But at least I was alive.

Another Day in Bend

2008-04-04T14:27:00.000-07:00

Drew, Jay, and I got out on a nice 50 degree weather day to get some paddling in on our local run. I got the chance to jump out and snap a few pictures of the crew. The flow was pretty low at around 675CFS so the run was overall calm and relaxing.

Jay Boofing Dillon Falls
Photo: Josh McKeown

Jay Boofing Dillon Falls
Photo: Josh McKeown

Drew Not paddling down Dillon Falls
Photo: Josh McKeown

Drew Showing off his New way to Run Dillon
Photo: Josh McKeown

Drew Running the Canyon
Photo: Josh McKeown

Drew on the S-Turn in Lava Island Falls
Photo: Josh McKeown

Jay Making the move Through the S-Turn in Lava Island Falls
Photo: Josh McKeown

What a perfect Day
Photo: Josh McKeown

Drew Dropping into Lava 1
Photo: Josh McKeown

Drew on Lava 2
Photo: Josh McKeown

Jay in the Middle of Lava 2
Photo: Josh McKeown

Vancouver Island BC: Part 2

2008-03-31T21:21:00.000-07:00

Point Renfrew Cabins
Photo: Christina Russell

So the next day we all woke up to a lot of snow... Then it started to rain and we all felt a little better that flows would go up. At this point we found out that Austin had a total flat tire and Ryans car also had an almost flat. This became our priority over any creeking and took up most of the morning. By the time we got the tires fixed it was getting late to put onto other creeks, so we all decided to hit up the Middle Gordon agian.

Austin Fixing his Flat
Photo: Kim Russell

When we reached the put in it was snowing really really hard and made a few people drop out for running the middle section. It was like boating back in Oregon agian and all the wonderful snow we get here during the winter months. Thankfully we had seen all the drops the day before which made the scouting and portaging a lot easier in the snow.

Put In for Middle Gordon Creek
Photo: Kim Russell

Put In for Middle Gordon Creek
Photo: Kim Russell

Crew Paddling down a Tributary into Gordon Creek
Photo: Kim Russell

Here are a few more Pictures from the first Drop of Middle Gordon. I really didnt get any pictures this day due to the crew trying to keep a good pace and it being so cold.

Me on Drop 1 Middle Gordon
Photo: Kim Russell

Me on Drop 1 Middle Gordon
Photo: Kim Russell

Me on Drop 1 Middle Gordon
Photo: Kim Russell

When we all reached the take out the worst news of the entire trip came to pass. Austins clutch had burnt out on the shuttle and was completely immobile. The girls (Kim, Christina, and Laura) doing the shuttle pushed the car a couple hundred yards up the hill to get it out of the way and safly parked! Yeah, they are bomber!

The FJ with no more Clutch
Photo: Kim Russell

At this point some of the group went up to the FJ and figured out a solution and everyone else finished the planned run for the day. My truck was still at the take out for the Lower Gordon. The game plan ended up being that half of us would ride in my truck back to the cabins and the other half would deal with the FJ problem. Overall it worked out well and we all were back at the Cabins by 6pm. The FJ was still up on the logging road and proved later to become a big problem in getting a tow truck to get it out. That evening some of us decided to go on a drive to find some surfing spots on the coast to hopefully do some playboating. Kim, Christina, Todd, and myself jumped into Todds subu and headed down the road. About 20 minutes into the drive Todds rear left tire got a nasty flat. This became flat number 3 for the trip.... Thanks to Kim and Christina, the spare tire was put on in a matter of minutes and with an excited attiude.

Pumping up the Spare Tire
Photo: Kim Russell

Still Pumping up the Spare Tire
Photo: Kim Russell

After the flat number 3 was fixed we headed back to he cabins for he night to get some food and relax. We had to figure out a game plan for the next day, and it was not looking to be a good one. 2 cars were working off of flat tires with basic repairs and 1 car was completely immobile. With much discussion we all decided that fixing the cars was the number 1 task for the next day.