Thank You Kenny Bloggins

"Kenny Bloggins", my trusty PowerBook G4 Bloggin' Machine which has created &/or edited so much TRL content over the years, has gotten to be very old & tired. It seems like I average a blog post every 4 months or so these days. But then I realized that's because 4 months is how long it takes Kenny Bloggins to power-up & launch the most basic applications. As a result, I've been avoiding Kenny & therefore have ended up with a bunch of photos from the summer & fall just collecting dust.

Sometimes, like today, I put the key in the ignition & Kenny fires right up. I don't get it. But when it happens, I know I just have to take advantage of the opportunity. So here's some stuff from as far back as June...which just occurred to me that in today's uber-up-to-the-minute online content environment, would make all this stuff "archival" & even "dated". Oh well, so it goes...


I. Another One Bites The Dust
We learned this last week that another world-class BC creek will be lost to the "clean energy revolution". Given the pace of hydro development in BC, this didn't come as much of a surprise:

"The 25 MW Mamquam project will utilize the flow of SKOOKUM CREEK to generate annual green energy for roughly 9,500 homes and will create 140 direct and indirect jobs for local and First Nation communities..."

Follow the above link for the full article & be rewarded with all sorts of self-congratulatory, flowery language about sustainability & jobs creation.


II. Dipper Creek Video!
Bryan got around to editing some of our footage of last year's Dipper Creek explorations. Follow the above link to Vimeo where you'll find a short compilation of Bryan's best shots from the as yet un-dammed Dipper Creek.


III. And speaking of creeks on the chopping block, Callaghan Creek on the municipal outskirts of Whistler is one of the region's most reliable & well known boating opportunities for locals & visitors alike. The 2010 Olympics development in the valley provided super nice new pavement up river-right (though most boaters still use the logging road on river-left to access the put-in) .. & last I heard, a run-of-river hydro project had been APPROVED but was under moratorium until after the circus had left town. Maybe Bryan or someone else up there can confirm that for me?

Anyway, here are some shots Bryan & I got from a fun day on the super awesome Callaghan this past summer.

My shots:



Make a mental note of this shot ...









Bryan's shots:

Ryan & Hale shot at the same instant as my shot above, but from other side of river.






IV. And, as for our favorite BC river that's currently being raped, Ye Olde Ashlu was the subject of one of Bryan's ever-growing list of film assignments from National Geographic. For this project, he assembled a team of kayakers, including Shane, Tretwold, Schertzl, Max K. & me .. & a land-based team of shooters, including Matt Maddaloni, Tim Loubier & Fitz Cahall, to capture the true essence of Commitment Canyon over the course of a weekend this past Fall. He & Maddaloni unveiled their wicked-cool new cable-cam contraption to get some unreal shots of Last Tango, 50/50 & Corner .. as well as river-level shots on multiple cameras throughout the rest of the run. The very talented Steve Rogers also came out for a day & got some incredible still images he generously shared with us (& these are his "B" shots!):


When I talk, people (pretend to) listen.






Max Kneiwasser rolling into 50/50


For 6 years, every time I ran the Box, I dutifully walked out to the big granite slab that forms the river-left of 50/50 & looked down at the seething mess of froth below. And for 6 years I always continued walking right on past that sumbitch saying "maybe next time". Well this year I finally accepted the inevitability, & dropped in & stomped it.

Daydreaming

Mid-November in Western Washington can be a bit of a drag. It's right around this time of year when most people around here seem to disappear completely. It's not that they leave town, but more that they just hunker down indoors with tons of coffee, heavy winter ales, boozes, blankets, movies, etc. It's like most of the population succumbs to a collective metabolic downturn similar to bear hibernation .. but more like a 5-month transformation into a state full of pale zombies. People actually refocus on their jobs once again. Lots of books get read. Weight is gained.

I'm a pretty active fella, but even still, it can sometimes be such a struggle to maintain my enthusiasm & motivation for activities & adventures when it's 45 degrees & drizzling all the time. On the other hand, it's this time of year when our mountains start to get hammered with the first winter storms of the year .. which also means the lowland rivers are full of water, & that our coastal zones light up with big swell from the North Pacific caused by the same storms that deliver so much snow to the Olympics & Cascades. Mt. Baker just opened up this week with a 70-inch base & reports of gagger pow turns in & out of bounds. I'm looking forward to some powder slashes & to reacquainting myself with my favorite whitewater paddleboating run, Robe Canyon, in the very near future. However, at the same time, I'm also looking back & reflecting on the warm, sunny, salty goodness that California offered up on a recent surf trip Matty G. & I did. Having just now come in from a cold wet dog walk, I'm really missing the shorts & flip-flops lifestyle we had for that week right about now. Here's some pics from our trip..














old-growth live oak grove on our buddy's property where we stayed on The Ranch


300 yr-old tree










Nothin' quite like a golden sunset szechuan with no one else out & screamin' rights & lefts




This is pretty much exactly what I'm talking about .. totally daydream-worthy


..yep...



###

So while I'm posting surf/beach pics, I might as well go ahead photo-dump some of my others from the PNW coast ..


In the NW, you often have to work a bit harder to find waves


But then you can end up at a place like this with no one else around ..



















###

Around here late fall, as harsh as it can be, is very much a season of possibilities. So as I'm daydreaming about warm sunny head-high glass, I definitely still have one foot planted firmly in the reality of my current situation .. I went out today & got my snow-shredding setup all dialed-in & am anxiously awaiting my first deep turn of the season!