tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-126648982024-03-06T22:00:00.808-08:00T h e R a n g e L i f eBryan Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12224511473765962245noreply@blogger.comBlogger207125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12664898.post-59934808106985758532011-05-05T21:09:00.004-07:002011-05-05T21:39:11.944-07:00Apres Robe Race FestivitesBatch Two. Beer Drinkin' and Award Announcin'<br /><br />Whatcha all doin' this weekend? <br /><br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/RobeRace11/20110430-IMG_5058.jpg"/><br />Hey, who shrunk Rado?<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/RobeRace11/20110430-IMG_5060.jpg"/><br />The Robe Gnome looking for his next home.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/RobeRace11/20110430-IMG_5062.jpg"/><br />A previous Robe winner and a previous Robe loser.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/RobeRace11/20110430-IMG_5101.jpg"/><br />When life gives you lemons, make lemonade. When you find a deck under a bridge, throw a deck party. <br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/RobeRace11/20110430-IMG_5105.jpg"/><br />The party goers.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/RobeRace11/20110430-IMG_5092.jpg"/><br />The pooches - Rado.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/RobeRace11/20110430-IMG_5089.jpg"/><br />Jackson<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/RobeRace11/20110430-IMG_5086.jpg"/><br />Luna<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/RobeRace11/20110430-IMG_5110.jpg"/><br />Canadians<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/RobeRace11/20110430-IMG_5131.jpg"/><br />Bellinghamsters<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/RobeRace11/20110430-IMG_5119.jpg"/><br />Time for the awards<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/RobeRace11/20110430-IMG_5138.jpg"/><br />The envelope, please.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/RobeRace11/20110430-IMG_5142.jpg"/><br />The handing over of the robes. <br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/RobeRace11/20110430-IMG_5157.jpg"/><br />Tao's stand in for the podium. <br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/RobeRace11/20110430-IMG_5134.jpg"/><br />Gnome headed north.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/RobeRace11/20110430-IMG_5149.jpg"/><br />Um .... the ... yeah. Be sure you don't miss the zany antics next year. <br /><br />Until then ....Shane Robinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15533364236694305342noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12664898.post-37000590343169933482011-05-03T20:48:00.004-07:002011-05-03T21:41:28.209-07:00Robe Race ImageryThanks Todd for another great race day on The Robe. Thanks everyone for showing up, twas good to see and meet many of you (some of whom I haven't seen since last Robe Race). Hope to see you again before Robe Race '12. <br /><br />I don't have much else to add, but here's batch one of my photos. Hope you enjoy.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/RobeRace11/20110430-IMG_4764.jpg"/><br />Calling all boaters. A good turnout for Robe Race '11.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/RobeRace11/20110430-IMG_4761.jpg"/><br />The three B's: Beer, Blondes, and Brock. <br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/RobeRace11/20110430-IMG_4768.jpg"/><br />Racer's Meeting. <br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/RobeRace11/20110430-IMG_4778.jpg"/><br />The coveted Robe. <br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/RobeRace11/20110430-IMG_4763.jpg"/><br />The possibly more coveted Leif ... er, Gnome. <br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/RobeRace11/20110430-IMG_4796.jpg"/><br />Time for some racing. Brian Fletcher - Hole in the Wall.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/RobeRace11/20110430-IMG_4799.jpg"/><br />The Robe Race: Lost in the Rapids, Won in the flats. AJ and BF. <br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/RobeRace11/20110430-IMG_4806.jpg"/><br />Repeat after me: Lost in the Rapids, Won in the flats. Rob and Ben cranking.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/RobeRace11/20110430-IMG_4826.jpg"/><br />Rob and Ben trying to reclaim the robes.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/RobeRace11/20110430-IMG_4844.jpg"/><br />Louis Geltman & Andrew McEwan coming into Hotel California.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/RobeRace11/20110430-IMG_4854.jpg"/><br />Textbook drafting. <br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/RobeRace11/20110430-IMG_4872.jpg"/><br />Little D, leading his team through Hotel California.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/RobeRace11/20110430-IMG_4904.jpg"/><br />Fred Mercury Norquist & Jure Poberaj<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/RobeRace11/20110430-IMG_4916.jpg"/><br />Lane Jacobs. Despite lower water than last year, times were fast and competitive. <br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/RobeRace11/20110430-IMG_4925.jpg"/><br />Jamie Wright @ Glory Boof #3.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/RobeRace11/20110430-IMG_4943.jpg"/><br />Barton and Totten.<br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/RobeRace11/20110430-IMG_4945.jpg"/><br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/RobeRace11/20110430-IMG_4975.jpg"/><br />Jonathan Ehlinger & Scott Waidelich<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/RobeRace11/20110430-IMG_5003.jpg"/><br />Jon Dufay<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/RobeRace11/20110430-IMG_5005.jpg"/><br />JP and Jon<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/RobeRace11/20110430-IMG_5025.jpg"/><br />Team Canadia. Steve and Matt.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/RobeRace11/20110430-IMG_5030.jpg"/><br />Chris Tretwold.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/RobeRace11/20110430-IMG_5034.jpg"/><br />Leif.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/RobeRace11/20110430-IMG_5048.jpg"/><br />The Safety Boaters. Thanks Team!<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/RobeRace11/20110430-IMG_5050.jpg"/><br />The Fans.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/RobeRace11/20110430-IMG_5055.jpg"/><br /><br />Stay Tuned for the after party pics. Coming soon ...Shane Robinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15533364236694305342noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12664898.post-80136837252966396522011-05-01T19:49:00.004-07:002011-05-01T20:28:29.485-07:002011 Robe Race Results<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFaMH-AZbpfI1EumALCA6h3lXZHkeP8K0t7nnzkpkqhHFCTEk7JISl36h7I41e_phZID-y1oUp5pw6OG2O57pP9LfRIWVYyW0diTbx-uGkYgUAhSVgbtF8rWGFIYtR_JHS7hPo/s1600/RobeAnnounce2011.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 308px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFaMH-AZbpfI1EumALCA6h3lXZHkeP8K0t7nnzkpkqhHFCTEk7JISl36h7I41e_phZID-y1oUp5pw6OG2O57pP9LfRIWVYyW0diTbx-uGkYgUAhSVgbtF8rWGFIYtR_JHS7hPo/s400/RobeAnnounce2011.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5587528179003556370" /></a><br /><br />Very thankful for all the participation in the Robe Race this year, grateful for all the volunteer support, & happy to report that the whole thing went off without a hitch! A chilly wet start to the day gave way to a mostly sunny finish & thankfully the localized precip helped stabilize the flow early in the week .. I never stressed a bit about water levels, as our pre-race weather was keeping things in the sweet spot. Would have been nice to see it at 5.5, but 5.3 is a great race level. Not a single swim was reported all day (not even in the safety crew!) Pretty sure that everyone who raced or volunteered got at least one sandwich .. I made like 20 lbs of sandwiches for the afterparty. And i know everyone got their share of beer .. we went through an astounding number of cases when it was all said & done. And how 'bout that afterparty patio scene??? Best one yet, by far. Seemed like everyone had a good time & felt reasonably safe while on the course. <br /><br />The top end was very competitive this year .. fast times given the flow. Here are the results:<br /><br /><blockquote>1. ROBES: Darren Albright & Tao Berman (28:34)<br />2. Louis Geltman & Andrew McEwan (29:02)<br />3. Brian Fletcher & Aaron Johnson (30:15)<br />4. Ben Hawthorne & Rob McKibbon (30:48)<br />5. Lane Jacobs & Jamie Wright (31:05)<br />6. Fred Norquist & Jure Poberaj (32:13)<br />7. Jonathan Ehlinger & Scott Waidelich (32:32)<br />8. Leif Embertson & Chris Tretwold (34:05)<br />9. Brett Barton & Chris Totten (34:31)<br />10. Mike & Joe Howard (35:28)<br />11. Jon Dufay & Jon Prentice (37:06)<br />12. GNOME: Steve Arns & Matt Kompass (38:30)</blockquote><br /><br />I got a handful of good photos from the start line that i haven't uploaded yet, & I know Shane probably has a bunch more. We'll try to get some of those posted by the end of the year ...<br /><br />Thanks again, everyone, for coming out & celebrating Robe Canyon , for making race day 2011 an awesome time, & for reigniting my stoke for paddling!Todd Gillmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00365983274794966615noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12664898.post-10773210783702355542011-03-23T23:22:00.003-07:002011-03-23T23:27:14.083-07:002011 Robe Race Announcement<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFaMH-AZbpfI1EumALCA6h3lXZHkeP8K0t7nnzkpkqhHFCTEk7JISl36h7I41e_phZID-y1oUp5pw6OG2O57pP9LfRIWVYyW0diTbx-uGkYgUAhSVgbtF8rWGFIYtR_JHS7hPo/s1600/RobeAnnounce2011.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 308px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFaMH-AZbpfI1EumALCA6h3lXZHkeP8K0t7nnzkpkqhHFCTEk7JISl36h7I41e_phZID-y1oUp5pw6OG2O57pP9LfRIWVYyW0diTbx-uGkYgUAhSVgbtF8rWGFIYtR_JHS7hPo/s400/RobeAnnounce2011.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5587528179003556370" /></a><br /><br />Calling all racers & volunteers & shit-tawkers. Race date tentatively scheduled for the weekend of 4/30 - 5/1. Comments are open: please respond with your team (of 2), or your willingness to participate as a volunteer (specify how), or your predictions of who will dominate vs who will be dominated upon (please don't be douchey).Todd Gillmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00365983274794966615noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12664898.post-25900152469545735862010-07-15T21:35:00.012-07:002010-07-16T00:22:24.468-07:00Kamchatka Project :: Field Report<p class="MsoNormal">In the weeks preceding departure to the <a href="http://www.kamchatkaproject.org/">Kamchatka Peninsula</a> for a project Bryan and I had been working on for almost two years, many of my close paddling friends kept asking about what kind of whitewater we expected to find.<span style=""> </span>And the truth was, with so much of our planning and prep time focused on the salmon, the conservation aspects of our trip, and the general logistics, that we had no idea what to expect in terms of whitewater.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">I don’t mean to say that we hadn’t looked into it.<span style=""> </span>At it’s heart this project was born out of kayakers wanting to go explore rivers in an unknown corner of the world.<span style=""> </span>But this region has seen so little interest in whitewater that there was virtually no whitewater beta.<span style=""> </span>We spoke to flyfishing guides who pointed us in some directions and other tourism guides that had insights into other drainages; although, when we looked at these rivers on maps, they just didn’t give us – as kayakers – the confidence we wanted that they would pan out into good whitewater.<span style=""> </span>So a week before our departure, we called an audible.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">The Semilayach River had the best Google Earth imagery on the peninsula and there was definitely a pool drop character to the river.<span style=""> </span>Whether it would have the right amount of flow at the time we would be there or whether the drops would be clean and runnable or a junk pile of boulders was anyone’s guess.<span style=""> </span>But we decided it was our best option, and as Daniel DeLaVergne once said, ‘sometime’s you gotta just drop in and figure it out.’<span style=""> </span>We did, and we found some good whitewater and some excellent rapids.<span style=""> </span>And on the heli flight into the Semilayach, we flew over the Karimsky river, which looked even better from the air, and it too proved to be excellent on the river.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></p> <span style=";font-family:Times;font-size:100%;" >The Range Life hasn’t really been our outlet for this project, but we wanted to share some pics with our loyal readers and point you to our <a href="http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#%21/pages/The-Kamchatka-Project/40519800063">facebook page</a> for more updates and sources of media that are starting to filter out now.<span style=""> </span>Also, check out Outdoor Research’s <a href="http://www.outdoorresearchverticulture.com/kamchatka/">Verticulture</a> site for some sat phone podcasts.<span style=""> </span>We have more than 2 weeks left over here, so stay tuned for more updates and enjoy the images …</span><!--EndFragment--><br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/Kamchatka/ChaosInMoscow.jpg" /><br />international expeditions always mean a load of gear and airports. This one included two transfers and an unexpected layover in Moscow. photo by bryan smith<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/Kamchatka/TeamShot.jpg" /><br />Bryan, Ethan, Jay, Jeff, Rob & Shane. photo by ethan smith<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/Kamchatka/SovietShuttle.jpg" /><br />our soviet era shuttle. photo by shane robinson<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/Kamchatka/HeliScout.jpg" /><br />thar's whitewater down thar. photo by ethan<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/Kamchatka/FirstBoof.jpg" /><br />ethan hitting one of the first boof's on the trip. photo by shane<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/Kamchatka/ScenicWhitewater.jpg" /><br />rob cruising through a nice series on the semilchik. photo by ethan<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/Kamchatka/BryanStoked.jpg" /><br />bryan stoked to find some quality russian whitewater. photo by shane<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/Kamchatka/Estuary.jpg" /><br />source to sea means flatwater - bryan getting back to his roots. photo by shane<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/Kamchatka/VolcanoViews.jpg" /><br />hard to beat smoked salmon, hot springs and an erupting volcano to start a river trip. photo by ethan<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/Kamchatka/60footer.jpg" /><br />before there was the brown, there was the shit, and ethan fired up the shit! photo by bryan<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/Kamchatka/MapSession.jpg" /><br />where are we? In the middle of nowhere. photo by ethan<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/Kamchatka/ScienceGuy.jpg" /><br />jeff collecting some data. photo by ethan<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/Kamchatka/FlowMeasurments.jpg" /><br />a rudimentary but effective flow measurement. photo by ethan<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/Kamchatka/MiniGorge.jpg" /><br />lots of fun mini gorges on the Karymskaya. photo by ethan<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/Kamchatka/FunDrop.jpg" /><br />ethan running one of the team's favorite drops. photo by shane<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/Kamchatka/BeachCamp.jpg" /><br />our camp at the beach. photo by bryan<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/Kamchatka/YachtClub.jpg" /><br />maybe the most dangerous part of our trip - the petropavolovsk yacht club. photo by shane<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/Kamchatka/Bear.jpg" /><br />and a sign off by our friend smokey. photo by shaneShane Robinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15533364236694305342noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12664898.post-16567881729954887392010-06-16T20:53:00.007-07:002010-06-19T10:01:16.575-07:00Raffuse Creek. Exploring the obvious ..I suppose you could file this entry under <i>"Leaving no stone unturned"</i> or, alternately, <i>"Just another thing to do in Squamish"</i> ..<br /><br />For as long as I've been around here, Raffuse has been one of those <i>"We oughtta check that one out someday"</i> kind of projects. If you've ever run Skookum Creek, you've driven right over Raffuse on the way there. Maybe you did a double-take as you caught a quick glimpse of the junky rapid upstream of the bridge. Knowing what we do about everything else in the region, it's rarely surprising that even the smallest streams would have at least something worth whitewater paddleboating on. And this one, even with the mank visible from the bridge, seemed plausible. Anyway, it was always intriguing to Shane, so it was more or less on the project list for our whole group for the last 5 or so years. The problem has always been that the logging road which accesses the upper reaches of the creek was gated, & that deterred any serious scouting. Bryan actually poked around on river-left a year or two ago, but didn't see much of the creek. He talked to the usual suspects around town but no one had any useful beta or knowledge of it ever having been explored. <br /><br />About a month ago, Shane, Utah, & I were up for an Ashlu release weekend with Bryan, & decided to get up early on Sunday morning to head up the Mamquam valley to see what was going on that way; maybe Skookum would be in. Turned out the gate for the Raffuse logging road was swung wide open, so naturally we headed in. Within a mile, we stopped at an obvious spot & began hiking a spur which was an old road grade paralleling the creek. <br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/Raffuse/MapSesh2.jpg"/><br />Shane & Johnny U. assessing the situation<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/Raffuse/MapSesh.jpg"/><br />Raffuse is the drainage in the bottom-right of the map page, not where Shane is pointing ..<br /><br />Several times we dropped waaaay down into the canyon & bushwhacked our way around the surprisingly easy-to-negotiate canyon walls. And what we found was -- no surprise -- very enticing: a small stream hemmed-in by dark granite walls, plunging over ledges & slides & waterfalls. Apart from one super-steep series of drops which ended in a sketchy 30-footer, & an abundance of wood throughout the creek, Raffuse didn't seem to have too much terror-inducing gnar. Just lots of steep boogie water in a well channelized low-volume gorge. <br /><br />Oh, and also there was this one absolutely perfect 20-footer that dropped into a beautifully carved-out teacup room. That alone, in my mind anyway, made the prospect of running (or dealing with) the rest of the creek worthy.<br /><br />We returned the following weekend with Tretwold & Fred on the heels of a strong cold front that had moved into coastal BC & had dropped all of the rivers in the area. Not at all what we'd hoped for on this already tiny creek, but Bryan felt confident that the level would hold at a boatable flow. And besides, what were we gonna do? Not run it? <br /><br />The cool thing about Raffuse is its proximity to downtown Squamish. We were able to get a good night's sleep, & then get coffee & burritos in town before heading out for a good ol' fashioned BC exploratory. We reckoned it would only take us a couple hours to fly through what we'd already scouted, even with some extra dealing in the waterfall gorge. We hiked with our boats along the old logging road grade well past the most upstream point we'd scouted the previous weekend. River-level access was "supposed" to get easier upstream, but we found ourselves further & further off the deck. We did one of those things where the road grade goes way up & away from the river before coming back toward it, you know, the kind of thing where it would usually indicate a steep gorge on the creek. <br /><br />Upon making to the creek, we were a little disgruntled to discover that our first "move" would be a portage around a nasty log across an otherwise fun rapid. Also, the creek was really, really tiny. <br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/Raffuse/toddfirstboof.jpg"/><br />Immediately below our put-in, we portaged -- you can see why -- & then we got our first little ledge of the morning. There was plenty of this kind of stuff in the upper stretch; well channelized & surprisingly fun for the size of the riverbed. <br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/Raffuse/IMG_5122.jpg"/><br /><br />We stopped infrequently & routed through lots of boogie water until we reached a point of obvious concern. You could see mist rising against a dark black headwall downstream. It didn't seem likely that we could already be at the waterfall gorge we'd scouted. We were still well upstream of that & were looking at another series of drops that we hadn't known about; a sweet little double into a tight, sheer walled gorge. <br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/Raffuse/FN_Dbl_1.jpg"/><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/Raffuse/FN_Dbl_2.jpg"/><br />Fred Norquist dropping into the gorge. Photo sequence: TG<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/Raffuse/freddouble.jpg"/><br />Chris's perspective of Fred on the first series<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/Raffuse/IMG_5092.jpg"/><br />& Fred again, shot by Bryan<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/Raffuse/CT_Dbl_1.jpg"/><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/Raffuse/CT_Dbl_3.jpg"/><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/Raffuse/CT_Dbl_4.jpg"/><br />Chris probed the double with his WAC-sponsored boat. Sequence: TG<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/Raffuse/Boogie_BlueAngels.jpg"/><br />Lots of fun, ledgey boogie water downstream of the first waterfalls. Photo: TG<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/Raffuse/LogJammin_2.jpg"/><br />Photo: TG<br />The creek was very "intimate", if that makes any sense .. small & surprisingly clean. Don't get me wrong, there was some mank, but with more water, it would clean up even more. Above is a series of fun ledges leading into the second waterfall gorge. Chris did some hero shit & climbed across the big log downstream in this shot, from river-left to river-right, & sawed out a substantial piece of wood that completely shut down navigability .. I should've been shooting during those moments ..<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/Raffuse/IMG_5106.jpg"/><br />Here I am running the upstream-most ledge in the previous shot. Photo: BS<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/Raffuse/IMG_5127.jpg"/><br />The eddy below the sketchy wood & right above the perfect 20-footer. Photo: BS<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/Raffuse/IMG_5143.jpg"/><br />A big reason why I was on this creek in the first place .. the perfect 20. Photo: BS<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/Raffuse/BS_25.jpg"/><br />Bryan on the 20. Photo: TG<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/Raffuse/BS_25_2.jpg"/><br />Bryan appreciating the view & waiting for Fred's descent. Photo: TG<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/Raffuse/bryanfredwaterfall.jpg"/><br />Fred & Bryan chillin in the eddy, shot from way above by Chris Tretwold<br /><br />Our scouts from upstream, which were way above river-level, had us concerned about dropping into the waterfall gorge without a more thorough scout of the drop right below the waterfall. From way up high, it looked kind of sketchy .. a tall ledge into a super-tight bottleneck with a plucky hole, walled-in on both sides. We were pretty sure that we would not be able to get out of the creek after the waterfall to scout or set safety for the next drop. But really, how bad could it really be? It's only a couple hundred cfs. Hmmm.. this line of thinking has gotten me into trouble in the past ..<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/Raffuse/fredpinch.jpg"/><br />Here's Freddy Mercury dropping into "Colombian Necktie" .. no sweat .. Photo: CT<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/Raffuse/FN_ColombianNecktie_1.jpg"/><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/Raffuse/FN_ColombianNecktie_2.jpg"/><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/Raffuse/FN_ColombianNecktie_3.jpg"/><br />another angle of Fred running "Colombian Necktie" .. like I said, no sweat. Photo: TG<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/Raffuse/BS_ColombianNecktie_2.jpg"/><br />Bryan in the exit of the drop .. Photo: TG<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/Raffuse/IMG_5166.jpg"/><br />Shane in the same rapid, from downstream, shot by Bryan<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/Raffuse/IMG_5192.jpg"/><br />Me .. stoked. Photo: BS<br /><br />Right below Colombian Necktie, there's a truly shitty rapid that no one ran. And right below that is the sketchy 30-footer I mentioned early on. With the lower flow than when we'd first scouted, & from river-left where we hadn't scouted before, the waterfall looked even more marginal than before. It was tighter & more twisting than it had looked. The lip was not much more than a boat-width wide, & I couldn't figure out if you wanted to go left-to-right, right-to-left, straight-on, or if it even mattered .. but, strangely, it still looked doable. You might just have to take a huge wall hit, & likely would get stuffed under the left cave-wall at the bottom. I tried to talk Fred into it, but he wasn't feeling it. I was relieved about that because if he did it, I would probably have to do it too. <br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/Raffuse/IMG_5210"/><br />Chris & me scouting the 30-footer. Photo: BS<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/Raffuse/IMG_5216.jpg"/><br />Awesome shot of Shane scouting the 30. Photo: BS<br /><br />We all portaged the last waterfall high on the left .. wasn't too bad of a portage. We got back in & faced a handful of fun ledges & boulder-choked rapids before having to portage high-right around wood. One more big glory boof & we were at the bridge. The shuttle is easily bikeable.<br /><br />Ultimately, this run will never be a Squamish classic on par with Tatlow or Callaghan. But it is decent & is something that I definitely want to go back & do again. People do Brittania waterfalls all the time & that's just 2 low-volume drops & you're done. This is definitely a better, or more pure, kayaking experience than that. We only stopped to take pictures at a couple spots, but there are a lot more rapids than we showed. With more water it would be a lot of fun, & with a lot more water it would probably be terrifying.<br /><br />Fred put together a great little video piece on our Raffuse day. Watch it below, or go to Vimeo for full resolution ..<br /><object width="400" height="225"><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true" /><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /><param name="movie" value="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=12689145&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=0&color=&fullscreen=1" /><embed src="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=12689145&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=0&color=&fullscreen=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" width="400" height="225"></embed></object><p><a href="http://vimeo.com/12689145">Raffuse Creek Exploration</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/user741074">Fred Norquist</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com">Vimeo</a>.</p><br />My comments at the end, that's just the exhaustion speaking. Even a day later, my perspective had changed & my thoughts about the creek were way more positive.. I'd definitely go back & do it again!Todd Gillmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00365983274794966615noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12664898.post-41340762184471112282010-06-13T23:59:00.000-07:002010-06-14T00:55:33.592-07:00Robe Race 2010 (anyone still read this thing??)It's been like 2 months since the 2010 Robe Race went down. Being that I organized the thing, you'd think I'd have a bit more sense of urgency in sharing a recap, photos, &/or at least just the news that, miraculously, the event went incredibly smoothly. Hmm .. better late than never, I guess. <br /><br />BTW, I'd really love to keep TRL somewhere a bit closer to the front burner, like we used to do .. but the sad truth is, just like the mighty cheetah captures the swift, graceful gazelle, the other parts of my adult life have chased down, subdued, & more or less devoured this part. I'm not necessarily complaining. Those "other parts" are generally pretty great too, they're just inherently at odds with my old school bloggin' style -- this ain't Twitter or a Facebook status update, after all. I have two bosses -- one that sends me paychecks, & another one that I live with who's way prettier -- and neither one of them keep me around for my mega-slow file uploads, endless tinkering with digital photos, or crippling bouts of late night writer's block. This shit takes a lot of time, & that's not even considering the actual kayaking & travel parts. <br /><br />In reality I (we) are still getting out, getting after it, & painting the canyons around the PNW & BC red (errr, maybe "brown" would be more accurate?). As for the bloggins, I'll get around to monkeying around with photos & telling tall tales when I can. In the case of the Robe Race, "when I can" happens to be 8 weeks later. Oh, & of that new, possible-2nd-but-pretty-effin'-complete-descent, well, I'll get to that soon too.<br /><br />Here are a bunch of photos of the Robe Race that a couple friends were kind enough to share.<br /><br />((The following gorgeous images are courtesy of Michael Hanson. Do yourself a favor & <a href=" http://www.michaelhansonphotography.com "target="_blank">check out Michael's work by following this link!</a>))<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/RobeRace10/MH1.jpg"/><br />At 9:00a.m., we had high water on the Robe. So we decided to wait it out & let the warm, sunny weather work its magic. By Noon, we were a hair below 6 feet & dropping, so we decided it was time for the main event.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/RobeRace10/MH2.jpg"/><br />The Robe Race starts with a bang .. the view down into the Tunnel rapids from the starting line eddy<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/RobeRace10/MH3.jpg"/><br />Hale & Doof out of the gate .. Also, special thanks to our starting line crew, Heather, Liv, Erin & Jesse!<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/RobeRace10/MH4.jpg"/><br />Canucks came all the way from Canadia for the race .. stoked they did!<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/RobeRace10/MH5.jpg"/><br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/RobeRace10/MH6.jpg"/><br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/RobeRace10/MH7.jpg"/><br />TRL Original Gangsta Shane Robinson dusting off Ye Olde Gus for the race .. coincidentally, the innards of this boat also received a thorough rinse job during Shane's race lap.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/RobeRace10/MH8.jpg"/><br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/RobeRace10/MH9.jpg"/><br />For Race Day 2010, we had a nice fluffy & splashy water level<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/RobeRace10/MH10.jpg"/><br />2010 champions Brian Fletcher & Aaron Johnson keepin it tight & fast through Last ("Little Miss") Sunshine<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/RobeRace10/MH11.jpg"/><br />Muchas gracias to Hilary, part of the safe crew<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/RobeRace10/MH12.jpg"/><br />Fredgnar stylin' the light-brown quasi-stouts, brah!<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/RobeRace10/MH13.jpg"/><br />I'm realizing now that all these trees now have tons of foliage on them & the canyon is very, very green<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/RobeRace10/MH14.jpg"/><br />Approaching T2's gloriously lofty boof .. I think this might be Don & Darcy (hey Darcy, I'll get around to amending your race time one of these weeks ..promise.)<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/RobeRace10/MH16.jpg"/><br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/RobeRace10/MH17.jpg"/><br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/RobeRace10/MH18.jpg"/><br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/RobeRace10/MH24.jpg"/><br />LOVE this overhead shot .. Nice stuff Michael!<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/RobeRace10/MH25.jpg"/><br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/RobeRace10/MH26.jpg"/><br />yessss .. almost Beer:30<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/RobeRace10/MH28.jpg"/><br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/RobeRace10/MH29.jpg"/><br />We provided plenty of food & beer at the takeout, which I think was a nice treat<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/RobeRace10/MH30.jpg"/><br />Andrew O!<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/RobeRace10/MH31.jpg"/><br />The after-party scene .. note Tret trying to warm up his little hibachi while the ever watchful Robe Gnome, who will be going home to Bellingham with Tret & Wayrad, looks on in the background.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/RobeRace10/MH32.jpg"/><br />Brian F dons the Winner's Robe<br /><br /><br /> ((The following photos are from RT & Owen at the Finish Line!))<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/RobeRace10/RT1.jpg"/><br />Half of last yr's winning team, the always jolly badass Rob McKibbin<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/RobeRace10/RT2.jpg"/><br />Hey that's me .. either laughing, yelling, or probably mouth breathing<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/RobeRace10/RT3.jpg"/><br />Slalom dudes Louis G & Kurt B kept it tight like prom night all the way to the finish line <br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/RobeRace10/RT4.jpg"/><br />Little D & JP<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/RobeRace10/RT5.jpg"/><br />My pahdnah, Bryan Smith, stoked to be done<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/RobeRace10/RT7.jpg"/><br />Classic! Wayrad & Tretwold swimming to the finish line, to take DFL<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/RobeRace10/RT6.jpg"/><br />Congrats boys, you truly earned the Robe Gnome this year!<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/RobeRace10/RT8.jpg"/><br />Team Oz putting in a respectable time .. plus, in true Dingo fashion, these guys experienced Granite Falls culture in a most raw & pure way: back-to-back all-night benders with the GF locals .. now that's husky!<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/RobeRace10/RT9.jpg"/><br />Kiwi Sam & CO Ken<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/RobeRace10/RT12.jpg"/><br />Brock's got flare<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/RobeRace10/RT10.jpg"/><br />Finish Line scene<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/RobeRace10/RT11.jpg"/><br />Tret's Rain-dog is a swim survivor<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/RobeRace10/RT13.jpg"/><br />Drew & Fish<br /> <br /><br /> ((The parting shot is mine ..))<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/RobeRace10/Robe10Names.jpg"/><br />Recently had the Robes embroidered with this year's winners' names. Unlike general blogging, I'm super motivated to keep the Robe Race going next year & to keep the tradition of the Winner's Robes & the Robe Gnome alive. Hope we can pull it off in 2011!Todd Gillmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00365983274794966615noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12664898.post-2887950518324363362010-04-27T09:07:00.003-07:002010-06-14T00:57:40.096-07:002010 Robe Race ResultsCongrats to the new kings of the Robe, Aaron Johnson & Brian Fletcher! Training pays off. The coveted Winners' Robes will be staying in Seattle this year .. but I have to wonder if these beautiful, embroidered Robes might end up showing the telltale signs of being in the care of native calf-ropin' Montanans: you know, those "dip can circles" in the back pockets of the Wranglers of every man, woman & child from Montana? Royal Blue satin damages easily, boys, take care of them Robes. <br /><br />The Robe Gnome (prize for DFL finisher) this year goes to the inaugural race's 2nd place finishers, Chris Tretwold & Ryan Bradley, who both actually SWAM TO THE FINISH LINE trailing their boats .. setting a new standard for slow-ass-slow ..<br /><br />The Golden Glove award for MVP safety boater goes to Hood River rat Jay Gifford, who bagged like 4 swimmers at Catcher's Mitt.<br /><br />Shhurdle got the Stein Weasel award, but he always wins that ..<br /><br /><br />Here are the complete results.<br /><br /><blockquote>(1) Aaron Johnson / Brian Fletcher (27:56)<br />(2) Rob McKibbin / Ben Hawthorne (28:45)<br />(3) Kurt Braunlich / Louis Geltman (29:07)<br />(4) Jon Prentice / Darren Albright (30:38)<br />(5) Sean Bozkewycz / Adrian Kiernan (31:59)<br />(6) Bryan Smith / Todd Gillman (32:52)<br />(7) Hale Hannaway / Jon Dufay (33:58)<br />(8) Brad Xanthopoulos / Marco Colella (34:23)<br />(9) Jonathan Ehlinger / Andrew Oberhardt (36:10)<br />(10) Scott Waidelich / Nick Hinds (36:41)(S)<br />(11) Steve Arns / Matt Kompass (36:50)<br />(12) Fred Norquist / Niko Peha (38:03)(S)<br />(13) Ken Olivier / Sam the Kiwi (40:27)<br />(14) Shane Robinson / Brock Gavery (40:54)(S)<br />(15) Don Beveridge / Darcy Gaechter (41:30)(S)<br />(16) Chris Tretwold / Ryan Bradley (55:15)(S)</blockquote><br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/RobeRace10/GroupShot1.jpg"/><br />Racer group shot at the starting line. (thanks for the pic, Erin P.)<br /><br />So, in all the chaos & exhaustion at the end of the race, I totally blew it. I really wanted to pass the hat for our good pal Matt Thomas, who raced in the inaugural Robe Race, but who is now dealing with this pesky paralysis issue. Matt will be heading to San Diego for <a href="http://www.projectwalk.org">Project Walk</a>, a spinal cord injury rehab facility. He's excited for the opportunity ... but ... the cost is about $1,200/week, & insurance covers exactly $0.00/week. So that's why we're shaking the tree on his behalf. Please, if you are able, make a PayPal donation through <a href="http://mattnevergivesup.blogspot.com/">MATT'S BLOG</a>. Thanks!<br /><br /><br />*** I'll work on a proper recap with lots of photos & stories as soon as I can. Email me your best photos of the day if you want them included. Back to work!***Todd Gillmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00365983274794966615noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12664898.post-26789078825377992222010-04-01T22:40:00.004-07:002010-04-01T23:33:51.487-07:00In Twenty-Ten We Try AgainIt's April 1st, fools. Tis the season & the gnomes be hungry. <br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/RobeRace10/2010RaceAnnounce1.jpg"/><br /><br />Last year, Mother Nature didn't comply with the organizing & oversight committee's request for mellow flows, & the race had to be cancelled. This year we're feeling lucky .. & a bit better prepared with a 3-weekend window for the race. So let's get it on.<br /><br />This year we're targeting the last weekend of April. The flow window will reside somewhere between 4.9 & 6.0. If flows are unacceptable, we'll hold the race the following weekend, & ditto that the following weekend. So, the weekend of April 23rd is first choice, May 1st & May 8th will be the backups. And if in that 3-weekend period we can't pull it off, I'll be over it. <br /><br />At minimum, what I need to make this happen:<br /><br /><blockquote>Timekeepers: 2 volunteers to hike trail to start line & stage the starting line<br /><br />Timekeepers: 2 volunteers to hike trail to finish line to meticulously record finish line times<br /><br />Racers: 5 teams of 2 racers willing to race at given flow (all racers must have throwbag to race)</blockquote><br /><br /><br />Ideally, we'd have some safety boaters at a couple places throughout the canyon, & some spectators to hold bags (& cameras & cowbells) around Tunnel & Sunshine are always welcome .. but the race is contingent upon neither of these. Again, all we really need to pull the race off this year is 2 timekeepers up top, 2 at the bottom, & 5 teams ready to rumble.<br /><br />The Prizes: <br /><br /><blockquote>The Winners Robes with custom race embroidery (designed by my brother) will be on the line. Rob McKibbon ("Old Man River"?) & Ben Hawthorne will be aggressively defending the title & the right to have their names added to the sleeves a second time.<br /><br />For the team that finishes D.F.L., there is the traditional Robe Gnome that will be passed to its new keepers (we hope). </blockquote> <br /><br />We'll have a party afterward & I'll provide a bunch of beer. Last year, we had a bbq planned with lots of food. That may happen again. At the party we'll have an independent panel of experts crunch the numbers & crown the victors. We will also "pass the hat" & try to raise a bit of cheddar for our pal Effigy -- who many of you know well -- who traveled all the way from Southern OR to race in the inaugural event .. but who is now bound to a wheelchair & facing a pile of medical & rehab bills. Everything about this race is free & grassroots, fools, so please have it in your hearts to dip into your pockets & help out a friend in need. <br /><br />You want to be a volunteer? Awesome! Get in touch with me or post in the comments. Got a race partner? Aye, que bueno. Let me know asap. Post your team in the comments section or send me an email. We'd love to see some of our downstate, east side, OR & BC friends come out for this. Any forum-hounds, please feel free to cross-post & get the word out on your favorite forum if you want. <br /><br />And .. as always .. the comments section of this blog are open for shit-slingin' business.<br /><br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/RobeRace10/leif_lastsunshine.jpg"/><br />Little Miss Sunshine; Photo courtesy Chris Tretwold<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/RobeRace10/RB_Hill1.jpg"/><br />Hillary at Garbage. The gnomes be watchin'. Photo courtesy Leif Embertson<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/RobeRace10/jeffr_offbrdwy.jpg"/><br />Off Broadway on a low-medium day; Photo courtesy Chris Tretwold<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/RobeRace10/RB_Chris1.jpg"/><br />The old Garbage high-water boof (RIP) .. the gnomes be waitin'. Photo courtesy Leif Embertson<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/RobeRace10/todd_garbage.jpg"/><br />Crankenstein on the old Garbage boof. Photo courtesy Chris Tretwold<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/RobeRace10/RB_Chris2.jpg"/> <br />Is this 20-ft Waterfall? I don't even know. Photo courtesy Leif Embertson<br /><br />I'm sure I left some details out, & I know that those dates won't be *perfect* for everybody, but that's what I had to work with. Any questions, hit me up or post in the comments. Stoked to make this happen this year!Todd Gillmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00365983274794966615noreply@blogger.com38tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12664898.post-51083898851564129192010-03-16T19:08:00.011-07:002010-03-17T01:42:51.890-07:00About a dog; On deciding & descendingI just came in from walking Corey-dog, my 15 year-old Chesapeake Bay Retriever. Corey-dog came into my life back in '94, when I was living in Idaho. At that time, I was not a good kayaker, but I nevertheless identified myself as a boater, & I wanted badly to be a great one. Several years before that, while I was in college in WV, I hooted from shore the first time I ever watched as my friends ran flawless “blue angels” formation over Wonder Falls & Big Splat. I wanted to be on that team, flying off of falls, to fully comprehend the dynamics of something that seemed totally alien & so thrilling to me at the time. In the months that followed I foolishly tried to run part of the Big Sandy on a bodyboard. Badly bruised shins, knees. Whitewater: I was hooked. <br /><br />By the time I arrived in ID, I had many years of ocean experience under my belt, as well as first-year training as a raft guide & a couple years of bumbling about in inflatables & kayaks. I went out West with a yellow Dancer I picked up on the cheap. I hated it. Never felt comfortable or safe or even a little bit in control of that thing. One day as I walked through town, I was stopped dead in my tracks at the glimpse of a brand new, flashy blue, white & pink New Wave Sleek on an outdoor rack at the local shop. I’ll repeat that: Blue .. White .. Pink. Something about the colors & the way the fresh, unscratched plastic glowed in the springtime sunlight .. it just emanated hotness. And with it’s super radical low-volume stern & short length, it was an aggressive design that had my name all over it .. nevermind that I could hardly execute a proper eddy turn, let alone a stern-pivot or stern squirt. But having been introduced to whitewater on the Cheat & Yough, I was beyond familiar with the influence of the Snyder Brothers & with New Wave boats. I had to have that boat. I had no money. Didn’t matter. I had a verifiable job, so the owner of the shop put me on a zero-down layaway program that included walking with the boat THAT DAY. Those were different times. And that’s when it got serious for me.<br /><br />Corey-dog was a charity case. As a youngster, he was obviously a sweet, intelligent dog, & from stellar bloodlines, as the American Kennel Club certified. But he was about as compliant as a virus, & was often found wandering the streets with a salmon carcass hanging from his lips, after having raided the dumpsters behind Albertson's .. or else, in the pound as a result. The guy he belonged to was a total derelict, a "Darrel". He named the dog D’Artagnan (3 Musketeers?), “Dart” for short. His only trained command at the time was, “<i>Dart! Guard!!</i>” .. at which point his goofy, eager-to-please manner instantaneously transformed into bloodthirsty hell-hound. Because of that guy's incompetence & constant inebriation, my roommate & I often ended up looking after "Dart", or "Scooby" as my roomie called him. Eventually we thought of the dog more as ours than as his, & eventually his owner did as well. The AKC papers were turned over to us without a fuss, & as soon as we could, we changed his name to something more reasonable.<br /><br />A lot of years & a lot of river miles have passed since then. Corey’s an old dog now. He no longer chases squirrels or dives off tall rocks. He invests no effort at all in finding the perfect patch of grass or soft, low bush to take a dump on -- a process that used to be a long ritual involving endless sniffing, indecisiveness & pacing, then a final tug on the leash & proud squat with a turn of his head as if to say, “I ALWAYS find the right spot!” Not anymore though. Now he just drops bombs on the sidewalk or wherever the mood strikes, not even breaking stride to squat.<br /><br />He used to exhibit the same neurotic need for the absolute perfect spot to deposit river rocks. Anyone that knew me in my CO days will attest to this. Corey's riverside behavior was legendary. After obnoxiously slapping at the surface of the water for a while, he would scrape at the bottom of the river, pulling his rock into position .. then he'd dive his head & upper body under water until he'd resurface with a big river rock held in the front of his teeth. I loved the silence when he dove under water, but always cracked up as he resurfaced & commenced the long process of pacing the shore to find the .. absolute .. <i>perfect</i> .. spot .. to deposit the rock. And when he finally released the rock from his mouth, it was as if it were a delicate egg or a wee baby bunny wabbit: slowly, deliberately, gently he would place the rock in its new home. Then he'd start all over again. Crazy. Awesome. Dog.<br /><br />In the ‘50’s, Nobel Prize-winning psychologist Herbert Simon theorized that American consumers were increasingly affected by an overabundance of choice & that consumer behavior could be categorized into 2 main profiles: “<i>maximizing</i>” & “<i>satisficing</i>”. According to the theory, a maximizer would deliberate indefinitely among all available options or choices until he had finally picked what he deemed as the best or highest-quality option. A satisficer on the other hand would settle on a suitable option right away, without much deliberation or hemming & hawing. A satisficer has criteria & standards, but is ultimately unconcerned with the possibility that there may exist a “better” choice. Generally, they’re happy with whatever they choose. <br /><br />It’s been said that the rational part of the human brain -- the prefrontal cortex -- can efficiently handle up to 7 bits of information. When it comes to making decisions, the maximizer is often hamstrung because the number of available options is far greater than 7, making the task of picking the absolute “best” one a serious conundrum. The irony being, of course, that due to the rational brain’s relative inability to do anything other than cherry-pick relevant info beyond 7 choices, the maximizer must ultimately “settle” on a choice & then live with the nagging feeling that there almost certainly exists a better option than the one he ended up choosing. <br /><br />I imagine Corey-dog, still wet from the river, in the back of the truck on the way home, fuming about whether his deliberate rock placements were the right calls. Or similarly, maybe he returned from walks wracked with the nagging feeling that he poo'd on the wrong grass when he should've hit the flower bed in the neighbor dog's yard.<br /><br />The maximizer/satisficer theory can be applied to recreational choices too. Do you & your crew settle on your weekend mission early & decisively? Or does the decision usually end up going into extra innings before the plan comes together? Seems like our scene is plagued with the latter. It'll be late Friday night & the choice to head out and surf the Strait vs. the choice to do juicy Robe laps <i>still</i> hasn't been decided. In my network, we ALL seem to lean toward the maximizer profile in that regard. Perhaps it has to do with the fact that most of my friends are passionate weekend warriors like me, & that our free time is so limited & precious, that the thought of wasting any part of a weekend is a serious threat to our wellbeing. And undoubtedly it's also influenced by the environment here in the PNW & how our weather is so dynamic & unpredictable. On any given weekend, I find myself having to choose between a bunch of different activities, & each one of those activities has a bunch of different location options & a bunch of potential participants .. & it all relies on not just favorable conditions, but the absolute BEST conditions for the particular activity that I want to do .. in combination with the people I do or don't want to spend time with that weekend. Wow. That's how people like me become neurotic about weather & activity planning .. & just plain nuts, in general. <br /><br />The past couple years I've taken a lot of time off from boating to focus on my surfing & other activities. But this year I've decided that I'm going to be satisfied with maximizing my kayaking opportunities as well. I got in back shape & begged the coaches to let me try out for the team again. Here are some shots & stories from our first exploratory of the 2010 season, a mission which came together spontaneously, LATE this past Saturday night.<br /><br />3 or so years ago, our pal Paul encouraged us to look into a sister drainage to our beloved SF Stillaguamish (Robe Canyon) .. the North Fork, near Darrington. As I recall, he said something to the effect of, <i>"I think y'all oughtta do some pokin' 'round up the North Fork Stilly way."</i><br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/NFStilly/NF_stilli_above_40ftr_zoom.jpg"/><br />Tret took charge & in spring of '08 did just that & came back with a compelling report & some pretty pictures. (photo Chris Tretwold)<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/NFStilly/NF_stilli_blow_40ftr_lookingdownstream.jpg"/><br />Another shot Chris took on his '08 recon<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/NFStilly/NF_stilli_below_40ftr-Riverlevel.jpg"/><br />It's always so hard to tell what's what from from point 'n shoot recon shots .. but the run remained on our shortlist of worthy missions for the future. My notes from talking to Paul back then seemed to indicate that the NF hadn't really been run. Sounds like the good Dr. S, who lives right there in Darrington, suggested the exploratory to Paul, who later told me. I dunno, & it doesn't really matter anyway. <br /><br /><br />So on sunny Sunday morning I met up with Chris, Leif Embertson, & Fred Norquist in Arlington, for what promised to be a day full of pain & suffering & bushwhacking. I brought a LOT of food. <br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/NFStilly/CTnLE.jpg"/><br />Chris & Leif, the other 2 "old guys" on the trip, preparing to suffer<br />TG Photo<br /><br />Chris had the foresight to bring a mountain bike to stash on a trail adjacent to the gorge, in the event of an aborted mission. After that we spent an obscene amount of time driving switchbacks all over North Mountain on several wrong roads .. only to learn that we'd driven right past the correct road, which looked just like a driveway, 4 or 5 times already. <br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/NFStilly/FredsLEMap.jpg"/><br />We did a lot of this ... (Photo Fred Norquist)<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/NFStilly/FredsMap.jpg"/><br />... and this. (Photo Fred Norquist)<br /><br />Once at our put-in bridge we were dismayed to see not much water in our creek .. but what were we gonna do, not put on? Yeah, right. I was pleased at my decision to paddle my "old" boat & wear my "old" drysuit, cuz clearly, there would be a lot of rock bashing & jungle bushwhacking in my future. Much incredibly beautiful troutwater ensued .. class II/III in & out of calm, deep, green pools in low-slung gorges, with just enough channelization to keep our pace brisk, for about 2 miles. <br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/NFStilly/FredsCTFloat.jpg"/><br />Tret in the troutwater. (Photo Fred Norquist)<br /><br />Then it got truly <i>husky</i>!<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/NFStilly/FN_Sticks.jpg"/> <br />Gnarquist peering over the edge. We invited him because we knew he'd be down with the brown. <br />TG Photo<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/NFStilly/FredsGorgeView.jpg"/><br />Downstream gorge view (Photo Fred Norquist)<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/NFStilly/SomeSticks.jpg"/><br />Some sticks. If you're standing here, then you've already run the first super fun series & committed to the steepest part of the gorge. <br />TG Photo<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/NFStilly/CT_BoulderPile.jpg"/><br />Tret, amongst it<br />TG Photo<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/NFStilly/FredsGorgeTree.jpg"/><br />Scouting the husky biz. (Photo Fred Norquist)<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/NFStilly/FN_1stFalls.jpg"/><br />Fred entering the gorge. Up til this point, the canyon was full of interesting geology, but here the rock formations & giant potholes become spectacular.<br />TG Photo<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/NFStilly/CT_Pothole_1.jpg"/><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/NFStilly/CT_Pothole_2.jpg"/><br />Couple shots of Chris takin' a load off in a deep pothole next to a nice waterfall.<br />TG Photos<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/NFStilly/FN_TweenFalls.jpg"/><br />Fred lining up the first real falls. You can see we had low flow, but in the gorge, it channelized enough to make it quite fun.<br />TG Photo<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/NFStilly/FN_2ndFalls_2.jpg"/><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/NFStilly/FN_2ndFalls_3.jpg"/><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/NFStilly/FN_2ndFalls_5.jpg"/> <br />Fred's falls sequence. It's very stacked at this point in the gorge, with some husky & consequential stuff below here .. but Fred's just fine with the brine. <br />TG Photos<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/NFStilly/LE_4thFalls.jpg"/><br />The Norskman in another fun one. This one is just below a 30-footer that lands all over a bunch of nasty rocks.<br />TG Photo<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/NFStilly/Freds_LE4.jpg"/><br />Fred's shot of Leif<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/NFStilly/CT_4thFalls_1.jpg"/><br />Chris crankin' on a nasty boofstroke<br />TG Photo<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/NFStilly/FN_4thFalls_1.jpg"/><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/NFStilly/FN_4thFalls_2.jpg"/> <br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/NFStilly/FN_4thFalls_3.jpg"/><br />Fred with another similar sequence on a different drop. <br />TG Photos<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/NFStilly/FredsFalls.jpg"/><br />(Photo Leif Embertson)<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/NFStilly/CT_Grab.jpg"/><br />In skating, rail grabs are not only stylish but functional. In snowboarding, grabbing rail is never necessary, but it does demonstrate poise & control while flying & spinning through the air, & since the 2 sports share a common heritage, it's accepted. Rollerbladers & skiers grabbing rail, err, boot, or whatever, never made much sense to me .. but for some reason, grabbing deck on a kayak always kind of did??? I dunno, if it's fun, then just do it. One member of our team was repeatedly spotted flying off of boofs, not grabbing rail, but instead with one hand in the air as if palming a basketball, screaming "BROOOoowwwwwwn!!!". <br />TG Photo<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/NFStilly/LE_smeer.jpg"/><br />6-ft rock smear executed by a 7-ft Norwegian.<br />TG Photo<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/NFStilly/LastFalls.jpg"/><br />One of the last major drops on the run. This one is pretty sketchy, shallow, with a thin line .. very husky. I should have left this lens on my camera & shot Fred from this perspective...<br />TG Photo<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/NFStilly/FN_5thFalls.jpg"/><br />... instead I switched to my shitty lens & got shitty results. <br />TG Photo<br /><br />All in all, the NF Stilly was a great exploratory mission that turned out to be no real suffer-fest at all. There's for sure some work involved, but nothing that would necessarily keep me from going back. It's definitely worthy of further investigation, with more water, before proclaiming it a new "classic". I think/hope there's a magic flow where all the boulder-boogie is padded out & fun, while the gorge is still doable without being terrifying & lacking eddies. We ran about 5 miles of river bridge to bridge, the first couple miles of which is easy, but incredibly beautiful. The gorge itself is relatively short, but very husky, & with a lot of individual drops .. & the runout goes on for another mile & contains lots of boulders, slots, ledges & one gnarly sieve, before flattening out & opening up to a jaw-dropping view of Whitehorse Peak -- one of the finest takeout scenes I've seen. <br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/NFStilly/FredsWhitehorse.jpg"/><br />The incredible Whitehorse Peak as viewed from the takeout. (Photo Fred Norquist)<br /><br />One thing that needs to be mentioned is the sketchy nature of the rock throughout much of the canyon -- lots & lots of sieves, potholes & undercuts. <br /><br />Last thing .. while I've yet to hear that this thing has been previously run, I'm by no means claiming our run a first descent.. just seems kind of unlikely since it's bridge-to-bridge, super accessible, super obvious on any map & surrounded by other well-known runs. If anyone has info on it, please share!Todd Gillmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00365983274794966615noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12664898.post-9486238839019921202009-11-22T19:10:00.001-08:002009-11-22T19:19:17.341-08:00Thank 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. <br /><br />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... <br /><br /><br />I. <a href=" http://www.rttnews.com/ViewPR.aspx?PrID=507704&SMap=1"target="_blank">Another One Bites The Dust</a> <br /> 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:<br /><blockquote><span style="font-style:italic;">"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..."</span></blockquote><br />Follow the above link for the full article & be rewarded with all sorts of self-congratulatory, flowery language about sustainability & jobs creation.<br /><br /><br />II. <a href=" http://vimeo.com/7394383"target="_blank">Dipper Creek Video!</a> <br /> 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. <br /><br /><br />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? <br /><br />Anyway, here are some shots Bryan & I got from a fun day on the super awesome Callaghan this past summer. <br /><br />My shots:<br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/Callaghan/Devin15.jpg"/><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/Callaghan/RnH_sequence1.jpg"/><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/Callaghan/RnH_sequence2.jpg"/><br />Make a mental note of this shot ...<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/Callaghan/RnH_sequence3.jpg"/><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/Callaghan/HaleBWJ.jpg"/><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/Callaghan/Group15Blog.jpg"/><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/Callaghan/Heather30.jpg"/><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/Callaghan/Dev30.jpg"/><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/Callaghan/EM30_2.jpg"/><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/Callaghan/Group30.jpg"/><br /><br />Bryan's shots:<br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/Callaghan/BS_RyanHale.jpg"/><br />Ryan & Hale shot at the same instant as my shot above, but from other side of river.<br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/Callaghan/BS_Devin.jpg"/><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/Callaghan/BS_Jenni30.jpg"/><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/Callaghan/BS_Party30.jpg"/><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/Callaghan/BS_TG30.jpg"/><br /><br /><br />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 <a href=" http://photography.nationalgeographic.com/photography/photos/best-pod-october-2009.html"target="_blank">National Geographic.</a> 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!):<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/AshluNatGeo/aplancomestogether.jpg"/><br />When I talk, people (pretend to) listen.<br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/AshluNatGeo/boathike.jpg"/><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/AshluNatGeo/fiftybridge.jpg"/><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/AshluNatGeo/scoutfiddy.jpg"/><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/AshluNatGeo/settingsafetyfiddy.jpg"/><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/AshluNatGeo/viewdownfiddy.jpg"/><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/AshluNatGeo/max5050.jpg"/><br />Max Kneiwasser rolling into 50/50<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/AshluNatGeo/todd5050.jpg"/><br />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. <br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/AshluNatGeo/itwasthisbig.jpg"/><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/AshluNatGeo/chris_launches.jpg"/><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/AshluNatGeo/christ_teacup.jpg"/><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/AshluNatGeo/todd_corner.jpg"/><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/AshluNatGeo/engagement.jpg"/><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/AshluNatGeo/engagement_exit.jpg"/><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/AshluNatGeo/eddyabovetriple.jpg"/><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/AshluNatGeo/toptriple.jpg"/><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/AshluNatGeo/eriktriple.jpg"/>Todd Gillmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00365983274794966615noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12664898.post-52265475043899283232009-11-15T00:27:00.004-08:002009-11-15T09:33:25.844-08:00DaydreamingMid-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. <br /><br />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..<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/Salty/HR14.jpg"/><br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/Salty/HR17.jpg"/><br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/Salty/HR18.jpg"/><br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/Salty/HR16.jpg"/><br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/Salty/HR13.jpg"/><br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/Salty/HR15.jpg"/><br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/Salty/HR10.jpg"/><br />old-growth live oak grove on our buddy's property where we stayed on The Ranch<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/Salty/HR12.jpg"/><br />300 yr-old tree<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/Salty/HR11.jpg"/><br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/Salty/HR5.jpg"/><br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/Salty/HR6.jpg"/><br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/Salty/HR1.jpg"/><br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/Salty/HR9.jpg"/><br />Nothin' quite like a golden sunset szechuan with no one else out & screamin' rights & lefts<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/Salty/HR2.jpg"/><br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/Salty/HR3.jpg"/><br />This is pretty much exactly what I'm talking about .. totally daydream-worthy<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/Salty/HR8.jpg"/><br />..yep...<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/Salty/HR4.jpg"/><br /><br />###<br /><br />So while I'm posting surf/beach pics, I might as well go ahead photo-dump some of my others from the PNW coast ..<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/Salty/Hike4Goods2.jpg"/><br />In the NW, you often have to work a bit harder to find waves<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/Salty/Hike4Goods3.jpg"/><br />But then you can end up at a place like this with no one else around ..<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/Salty/SuezPeak.jpg"/><br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/Salty/SP2.jpg"/><br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/Salty/Elwha3.jpg"/><br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/Salty/Elwha1.jpg"/><br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/Salty/Elwha2.jpg"/><br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/Salty/Elwha4.jpg"/><br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/Salty/EveDump1.jpg"/><br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/Salty/Waiting.jpg"/><br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/Salty/WedgeSunset.jpg"/><br /><br />###<br /><br />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!Todd Gillmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00365983274794966615noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12664898.post-34920783749707080292009-10-25T22:22:00.002-07:002009-10-25T22:59:55.947-07:00TantalusIn Greek mythology, Tantalus was a son of Zeus and of the nymph Plouto. He was favored by Zeus and allowed to feast on otherworldly Mt. Olympus with the gods. Myth has it Tantalus committed the crime of pocketing some of the food of the gods (nectar and ambrosia) & returned to the mortal world to share amongst his friends. Upon discovering his crime, the gods sentenced him to a rather difficult punishment: he was sentenced to Hades where he was immersed nips-deep in water and was surrounded by trees with ripe low-hanging fruits .. but every time he bent to quench his thirst, the water would disappear leaving him parched .. & every time he reached for a delicious fruit, the winds would lift the branches just out of reach. Thus Tantalus became the root word of "tantalize". Think about that the next time an advertiser pimps a "tantalizing" steak or creme brulee, and all you have to do is throw down your credit card.<br /><br />In our non-mythological modern times, the Tantalus sub-range of BC's Coast Range is a spectacular vertical explosion of rock and ice running for about 35 km northwest from the town of Squamish into the upper reaches of the Squamish River valley. The range was allegedly named by a local climber who was "tantalized" by its soaring peaks and icefields, but who was unable to access the base of the mountains from across the wide, cold, turbulent Squamish River. Mt. Tantalus is the reigning peak of the range, but the lesser peaks are named after the ancient criminal's wife (Dione), daughter (Niobe), son (Pelops), as well as Pelops' son (Thyestes).<br /><br />Anyway, here's a couple pics of the Tantalus that I shot from across the valley.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/Tantalus/Tantalus1.jpg"/><br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/Tantalus/Tantalus2.jpg"/><br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/Tantalus/Tantalus3.jpg"/><br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/Tantalus/Tantalus4.jpg"/><br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/Tantalus/Tantalus5.jpg"/>Todd Gillmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00365983274794966615noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12664898.post-67550759156162469722009-07-17T06:03:00.000-07:002009-07-17T06:13:48.206-07:00The Chelan Gorge is Neat-OI learned to boat in Colorado, and spent the majority of my first decade kayaking in there, so that's my main point of reference in this activity we call <a href="http://golakechelan.com/%212009/July/Kyak/">"kyaking" </a>[sic]. That's also where I met Todd. We often reminisce about, and occasionally poke fun at the Colorado boating scene - perhaps even on this blog from time to time. Recently, the PacNW's latest Colorado transplant chimed in on the comparisons of the two regions with <a href="http://coloradokayak.blogspot.com/2009/07/big-south-paluza-2010.html">this post.</a> It got Todd and I talking about Colorado boating again on our latest trip over to the East side of the Cascades, which happens to be very Colo-esque in climate. One conclusion we settled on was that, by comparison, photography is extra challenging over here in the deep, dark, well-forested runs of Western WA. Such would not be the case last weekend, however, as the Chelan Gorge has nary a tree nor a shrub in its bedrock crack, and nothing but crystal clear blue skies above. It also possesses plenty-o-sol allowing - practically requiring - shorties to replace the standard issue <a href="http://www.immersionresearch.com/products/drysuit/">drysuit</a>.<br /><br />Prior to last weekend the Chelan gorge had only been run on one other occasion - during a flow study almost ten years ago as part of its Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) re-licensing process. Yet, this may be one of the most <a href="http://www.americanwhitewater.org/content/River/detail/id/3144/">well documented</a> rivers in the nation. This stretch is now in a three year review process with many stakeholder groups evaluating our actions on and off the river, which means even more documentation (such as <a href="http://wenatcheeworld.com/article/20090713/NEWS04/707139959">here </a>and <a href="http://wenatcheeworld.com/section/VIDEOS?vid=2643">here</a>). And now, I guess, adding my own two centavos, and Todd's photos, makes it that much more documented. Hopefully all this will help future boaters determine if this is a run they are interested in and qualified for, as safety is the number one concern for boating this run, but it would also be good to show as much interest as possible over the course of these next three years.<br /><br />A final note on the nature of this run during the review process. The agencies involved in these releases have been particularly concerned about liability issues surrounding our recreational activities. Participants must register on the <a href="http://chelanpud.org/7077.html">Chelan PUD site</a>, sign waivers, and check-in the day of boating. Realize that this is one of the more difficult sections of water to boat on FERC releases, and it is located in an area with no other class V boating options, so the community is not accustomed to the likes of us waterfall-loving types. However, you wouldn't know this by the welcome you will receive. The waitress at the Apple Cup Cafe asked about our adventure, a crowd of thirty or more spectators gathered on the bridge spanning the canyon, and the PUD folks were very excited to facilitate the process, working over the weekend and even baking us brownies. So, <a href="http://www.americanwhitewater.org/content/Article/view/articleid/30472/display/full/">play by the rules</a>, be patient with the paperwork, and come out to support this <a href="http://www.americanwhitewater.org/content/Article/view/articleid/10236/display/full/">decade-long effort by AW! </a><br /><br />I don't have a ton to add to the previously mentioned commentary. The run is fun. It's probably not destined for the fame of Tatlow or the fanfare of Robe canyon, but it is a truly unique gorge with amazingly beautiful water ... and did I mention that its hot and sunny over there. Time for the photos! (all photos by Todd Gillman)<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/July09/LeifEntrance1.jpg" /><br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/July09/LeifEntrance2.jpg" /><br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/July09/LeifEntrance3.jpg" /><br />Sequence of Bellingham-by-way-of-CO resident Leif Embertson in the 3-part first rapid.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/July09/JonathanEntrance1.jpg" /><br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/July09/JonathanEntrance2.jpg" /><br />Jonathan Ehlinger in the middle of the entrance rapid.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/July09/ChrisEntrance1.jpg" /><br />Tretwold<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/July09/SchertzlEntrance1.jpg" /><br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/July09/SchertzlEntrance2.jpg" /><br />The bottom of the first rapid is formed by a tight constriction with plenty of funny water in front of it. The hole, at 350 cfs, is small in size, but curiously strong .. and difficult to hit with the proper combination of speed and angle, which produced some interesting results. Above is Scherdle on the approach.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/July09/ChrisBoof1.jpg" /><br />There was one really nice cross-current boof..<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/July09/SchertzlMC.jpg" /><br />... and a drop that was eerily similar to Monkey Cage on the Top Tye...<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/July09/ChrisMC2.jpg" /><br />Chris on the Monkey Cage doppelganger.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/July09/ShanePool.jpg" /><br />The water spilling off the top of Lake Chelan was around 60 degrees, which, with the 95-degree air temp, was almost too warm. In fact, the excessive heat at one point had me feeling lethargic and lazy. On a day like we had you could easily get away with paddling in just a PFD.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/July09/LeifPool1.jpg" /><br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/July09/LeifPool2.jpg" /><br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/July09/LeifPool3.jpg" /><br />The Chelan's stunning color and clarity is something more commonly associated with "butt-ass-cold," not "my-skin-is-melting-off-hot."<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/July09/ShaneSupport.jpg" /><br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/July09/CanyonGraff.jpg" /><br />Directly below the Monkey Cage look-a-like rapid, there's a not-so-bueno big rapid that leads into a portage around a sieve. I think everyone portages both rapids all the time.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/July09/SchertzlDive.jpg" /><br />Some locals told us of the old days, before the dam, when as kids they'd hike into the gorge and play in the swimming holes. A member of our group discovered at least one "swimming hole" designed, it seems, just for kayakers.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/July09/ChelanBeauty.jpg" /><br />The Chelan Gorge with water in it is indeed a "Chelan Beauty", but be advised if you're contemplating a long drive to take advantage of one of the scheduled releases: the run is <i>short</i>, like only 5 rapids short; there's a bit of mank to contend with on the way into the gorge; and there are 2 advised portages, one of which takes some time to move a group through. None of this is meant to dissuade anybody, just being clear about it.Shane Robinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15533364236694305342noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12664898.post-87148890186313274632009-05-10T09:57:00.007-07:002009-05-10T23:03:04.993-07:00On Relevance, Style, Semantics & Carnage-Filled AttemptsI like when friends come to visit me here in Seattle. Whether it's for a specific purpose like kayaking or surfing or snowboarding -- or for no real purpose at all -- I can almost always find us something fun &/or troublesome to get into. And with the always entertaining cast of characters I run with, I can usually guarantee that my boring demeanor will be more than made up for by the likes of people like "Utah", "Shrtl", & "B-Rock".<br /><br />Such was to be the case last week when my pal Evan, from the dry, brown, state of Colorado, came out to immerse himself in the essence of life, which flows in such abundance here in the Promised Land. From the git-go, the plan was focused on our annual Spring pilgrimage to that great Island of Fantasy to our north, which has provided reliable adventure, discovery, & story fodder in years past .. so it seemed a logical destination for early May, but with the caveat that the ever-wonky NW weather would almost certainly keep us on our toes up til the very last second. Heading over to the Island can be a bit of a financial investment & time-suck, so best we make certain them rivers is full before committing. And besides, mainland options would abound, so at least Evan was assured some good BC kayaking no matter what. From the git-go this was the plan, & a team of 8 was on board. <br /><br />As luck would have it, neither rain nor sunshiny heat would hit the Island in time to justify our intended departure .. so the Mainland would have to suffice in the meantime. We could always just blast over to the Island for a quickie if flows cooperated.<br /><br />Our 5-day trip began as a leisurely afternoon on the local favorite Robe Canyon. Prior to our trip, I'd only been kayaking like 3 times since Fall, so Robe's a good way to clean out the cobwebs & great introduction for our desert-livin', low-water mank-lovin' friend to the watery ways of the NW. From there we'd blast north to B'ham to drop off the Corey-dog at the dogsitters. It was there that we learned from our non-kayaking dogsitter friend that our trip -- before it had even begun -- was already being called a skunk fest. I was kind of shocked at her ability to see so clearly into the future & so I asked her if I would ever make enough money to buy a nice 3 BR craftsman in Seattle. Turns out, she didn't have the clairvoyance superpower, just a direct line of communication to one of the naysayers who had apparently decided early on along with 2 others to opt out of the plans. <br /><br />No matter. In reality the exclusion of those guys almost certainly simplified things in a lot of ways. Coming to consensus on anything amongst the existing group of 5 was difficult enough without the addition of 3 more equally opinionated dudes: <br /><br /><blockquote>"Where are we going today?"</blockquote> <br /><blockquote>"I dunno, I'll do whatever, as long as it's not this or that .."</blockquote> <br /><blockquote>"Can we stop & get some coffee?"</blockquote><br /><blockquote>"No, seriously, it's almost noon, where are we going today?"</blockquote> <blockquote>"I dunno. What's even running anyway? Maybe we should go into town & get online & look at the levels.."</blockquote><br /><blockquote>"And get coffee!"</blockquote><br /><br />So at this point, the crew would be set at Schertzl, Tretwold, Evan & me .. & so onward we pushed, headed for Bryan & Lise-Anne's place in Squamish, with the promise of sunny skies & boring Elaho/Ashlu stuff in the a.m.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/Spring09/LilBuddy.jpg"/><br />Just for fun, here's Sherdle cozying up with the unpredictable Stein Weasel<br /><br />Just before our trip, I picked up a copy of the recent "whitewater issue" of Canoe & Kayak magazine, & was pleasantly surprised to find that The Range Life was mentioned by writer Joe Carberry in a list of "best whitewater blogs". Since TRL’s inception, we've invested lots of time & energy into building this site. But obviously, in the last year our bloggage has been a lot less prolific. One reason for that is cuz I work full time. Another reason is because we are, collectively, kayaking less; there's a lot of other fun/exciting/adventurous stuff to do other than just kayaking. And yet another reason is that the proliferation of kayaking blogs has kind of turned me off to polluting the airwaves with more of my own mediocre drivel. <br /><br />Seems the only way to get a leg up in the blogosphere these days is to either point it off a really tall waterfall (preferably with a minimum of 3 Hood River photogs/filmers/bloggers on hand to document it), or more importantly, by loudly proclaiming how "sick", "hella big", "extreme", "dope", "next level" "gnar", "core", etc you & your friends are when you “give ‘er” & “fire that shit” & "get it done". <br /><br />For every decent, humility-infused story that <a href=" http://jscreekin.blogspot.com/"target="_blank"> Darrin</a> or <a href=" http://gorgedout.blogspot.com "target="_blank"> Kirk</a> posts, there’s like 25 other chest-poundin’, fist-pumpin’, “next level” bloggers cloggin’ up the Intertubes like cholesterol. That TRL is even considered relevant in this environment is very flattering, but definitely a little puzzling -- not only have we not been posting regularly, we haven't kept up with conventional WW blogging techniques. <br /><br />And apparently we created an unintended outcome: Joe’s comment about our “carnage-filled first-descent attempts” gave us some laughs. And a little bout of indignance, like, "Dang! Really?? People read us for the <i>carnage</i>? What carnage??" Hmmm... first off, our trips are rarely carn-fests. No, really, they're not. Seriously, guys, they're not, I swear. Stop laughing. <br /><br />Also because we rarely label our exploratory missions as "first descents", so how would you even know we're doing 1D attempts when we carn out? How did this happen in spite of all my efforts to the contrary? Shit. <br /><br />Anyway, getting back to the point .. driving up to Squampton with the crew, comments about our impending "carnage-filled thousandth-descent attempts" were being tossed around liberally. As well as comments about carnage-filled "most-complete descents", "most-successful descents", "first complete-descents", "possible first-descents", "highest-water descents" & "second-descents". <br /><br />You've spotted this trend, right? <br /><br />If you're a sponsored kayaker, or even one of the top pros, it's not enough to go explore a river & document it for public consumption; you apparently must brand the experience so the reader makes no mistake as to exactly how "hella sick" you are & how important your kayaking trip will be to the future generations of kayakers. Sometimes it's also important to point out that you're just doing it for the love of the sport & that you're just trying to "progress" the sport. A "second-descent" of any river or big drop, while not as earth shatteringly “killin’ it” as a 1D, apparently serves to bolster the credibility of what would otherwise be a totally pointless day of kayaking .. so you gotta claim that shit! Claiming "highest-water descent" will surely earn you a spot on the Badass List, when you run something that has been paddled more than once or twice before. I was impressed recently to learn about the "most complete-descent to date" of an exotic river .. which is just like saying, "<i>We weren't the first to try this run & we didn't run everything, but we're pretty sure we ran more drops than those last guys who tried it, so, clearly, we're more awesome.</i>" <br /><br />Publicly qualifying your carnage-filled attempt of a river in any of the ways described above (& if you could invite a minimum of 3 Hood River photogs/filmers/bloggers, that would work best) will ensure that your trip to Tibet or Sumatra or Bolivia or Yakima is justified in the eyes of your sponsors, ingrained in the collective conscience, and that you are legendary on the World Wide Web. Just lay down some hella tight beatz on yo film footy & you got a next level trailer to drop on all those headz in the forumz. <br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/Spring09/SquamishMorning.jpg"/><br />“Good morning, Viet-Squam!” Irony is when the UV-addicted Rocky Mountain kayaker comes to the PNW looking for “hella sick” rain-fed rivers & all he gets is dry & sunny, just like back home ..<br /><br />But that ain’t so bad, really .. is it?<br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/Spring09/ShrtlFear1.jpg"/><br />Shrtl ain’t skeert.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/Spring09/FearDownstream1.jpg"/><br />Is this “the brown”?? I dunno. And where the hell is Mt. Zion, anyway?<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/Spring09/ChrisFear1.jpg"/><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/Spring09/ChrisFear2.jpg"/><br />Tret getting squirrelly on Fear<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/Spring09/EvanFear1.jpg"/><br />Evan splatty in the funny water<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/Spring09/ShrtlFear2.jpg"/><br />Shrtl lookin’ good in the run-out after stompin’ out the portage. Quote of the day: “<i>My lady loves it when I style the portage line on the big drops!</i>”<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/Spring09/ChrisFear3.jpg"/><br />Chris in the pinch<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/Spring09/EvanFear2.jpg"/><br />Evan, with what we think might be Mt. Zion in the background .. For all you <a href=" http://www.hulu.com/watch/40968/saturday-night-live-digital-short-ras-trent"target="_blank"> Ras Trent’s</a> out there, stay true to the path ..<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/Spring09/EvanFear3.jpg"/><br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/Spring09/EvanFear4.jpg"/><br />Pretty nice little afternoon we had .. but we weren’t done yet. Bryan was doing some carpentry work out the Squamish valley & wanted to meet us for an evening blazer down the Ashlu Box. We got to the bridge & the level looked good enough. I mean, we were hoping for “highest-water descent” material, but that wasn’t the case, it was just a boring old “medium-perfect”. We’d have to go for some other monumental distinction on this run. <br /><br />Turns out, we nailed it! I successfully logged my “most incomplete-descent” of the Commitment Canyon of the Ashlu when, after blowing it at Kernage, I ended up in a hungry hole & became permanently separated from my vessel. Complacency is a crime. <a href=" http://tinyurl.com/py4hju"target="_blank">”Running the brine”</a>, it turns out, is not. The upper canyon of the Box is not an easy solo egress. I made it up a little crack in the wall a couple hundred feet to a ledge where my hopes of “walking” out would be dashed. I’d have to hunker down & wait for my pals to return on foot, with ropes. I ended up ascending the last little bit of slimy vertical wall with the aid of a pair of Tiblocs. <br /><br />So there’s the “carnage-filled” epic our loyal readers have come to expect from us! Now where’s my effin’ boat? Count that as my first-ever real sacrifice to the river in many years of whitewater paddleboating, cuz that Everest was never seen again. And I hate littering. <br /><br />Next day was more Ashlu Box. Here are some “hella sick” angles.. these angles are definitely “next level shit” only available to the hardcore pro photog on foot who isn’t encumbered by a heavy plastic boat. <br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/Spring09/BryanBox1.jpg"/><br />Kato<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/Spring09/ChrisBox1.jpg"/><br />Tretwold finishing up Triple Drop<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/Spring09/BryanBox2.jpg"/><br />Dang! This angle on Kernage definitely illustrates how a fella might free himself inadvertently from his vessel, right? Is it “the brown”?? I think it could be ..<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/Spring09/ChrisBox2.jpg"/><br />Man Chris, this is some "extreme brine"<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/Spring09/EvanKern1.jpg"/><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/Spring09/EvanKern2.jpg"/><br />Evan Dotcom, guide book author, “fired that shit” whether it was “the brown” or "the brine" or not. <br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/Spring09/ShrtlBox1.jpg"/><br />So did Schartel. <br /><br />First drop of Twin 10’s as illustrated in-sequence by several different paddlers. <br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/Spring09/TwinBoofs.jpg"/><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/Spring09/BryanBox3.jpg"/><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/Spring09/EvanBox3.jpg"/><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/Spring09/ShrtlBox2.jpg"/><br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/Spring09/BoxUpvalley.jpg"/><br />Looking up the lower canyon at what could be Mt. Zion in the background<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/Spring09/ShrtlBox3.jpg"/><br />Interestingly, Shertyl logged his own “most complete descent” of the Box just a day after I logged my “most INcomplete descent”.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/Spring09/BryanBox4.jpg"/><br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/Spring09/BoxFinale.jpg"/><br />Last thing on the Box..<br /><br />*********************************<br />Oh man oh man! I was really hoping to get to say “huck” a whole bunch! That’s another one that’s a guaranteed winner for bloggers. I’m in luck with huck, cuz we spent an afternoon conducting a “huckfest” at Britannia. <br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/Spring09/BryanBrit.jpg"/><br />Huck!<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/Spring09/EvanBrit.jpg"/><br />Huck!!<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/Spring09/ShrtlBrit.jpg"/><br />Huck!!! Even though I love this shot, this is actually kind of embarrassing. Media Frenzies ‘R Us! This isn’t even kayaking. Next time, let’s go kayaking eh? <br /><br />Bonus: Furry goes un-hucked<br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/Spring09/Furry1.jpg"/><br />Try as I might, couldn’t convince anyone to "give 'er" or "fire that shit". Guess it was too “brown” to huck.<br /><br />******************************<br /><br />The last day of Evan’s little vacay would be a bit more exploratory. I think we can safely call this one a “possible 5th descent” of Ruby Creek, which is pretty rad because the “possible” implies that we could actually be farther up the chain than #5. Maybe we were #3, which is only one slot down from the coveted “second-descent”. And since no one really knows much about this creek, I might as well go ahead & claim the “possible 2nd descent” & throw that out to the forums, cuz no one will argue. Booya!<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/Spring09/ShrtlRuby2.jpg"/><br />Shrtl.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/Spring09/EvanRuby5.jpg"/><br />Ev<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/Spring09/ChrisRuby2.jpg"/><br />Tret<br /><br />We knew there would be a nice waterfall series in here. It was kind of hard to scout from above, but what we could see looked pretty great. I volunteered to go first, mainly cuz I wanted to take photos from downstream, but also cuz I hate dilly-dallyin’ above big rapids & I wanted to just get it over with. I got pretty nervous while I was trying to scout, but that’s exactly when I realized that someone had just survived a 186-foot waterfall & that it was totally ridiculous for me to kook-out about a 30-footer. Seriously, think about that the next time you’re in your boat above that 15-footer that’s giving you the willies – 186 feet. Thanks for that Tyler.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/Spring09/EvanRuby1.jpg"/><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/Spring09/EvanRuby2.jpg"/><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/Spring09/EvanRuby3.jpg"/><br />Ev in sequence.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/Spring09/ShrtlRuby1.jpg"/><br />Shrtl. <br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/Spring09/ChrisRuby1.jpg"/><br />Chris<br /><br />After this thing, we had to portage a ginormous cascading mess. Chris was expedient in setting up the rappel. I went down first & received 3 out of 4 boats before requesting another man. Again, I wanted to take pics. The next hour was spent getting hypothermic in the mist zone while god knows what was taking so much time up on top of that cliff. I never got the real story on what the hold-up was, but I have a suspicion it might have been the result of a fierce Stein Weasel attack, but maybe we’ll just never know..<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/Spring09/PortageFalls1.jpg"/><br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/Spring09/PortageRap.jpg"/><br />Evan finishing the rappel<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/Spring09/PortageFalls2.jpg"/><br />View of zone from downstream<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/Spring09/PortageFalls3.jpg"/><br />You can barely make out Chris rapping down in the upper-left of the shot<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/Spring09/EvanRuby4.jpg"/><br />Nice little thing to exit the waterfall series.<br /><br />***********************************<br /><br />So that was pretty much our skunk-fest of a weekend. <br /><br />One week later, *everything* is running at primo levels, it's sunny & warm ... but all I can think about is going surfing. Why is that? Maybe that's what is causing my blogger-relevance-insecurity complex, Joe Carberry. The swell sucked this weekend so i should've gone boating with my friends .. but I ended up riding my bike a lot, eating too much food, & drinking too much beer. I think I can honestly claim a "most successful run to date" of the Ballard Farmer's Market today. Seriously, when you factor in the out-of-season organic beets I magically scored, & that I sat next to & ate pizza with that hot, tattooed, Uma Thurman lookalike girl that I see around sometimes, man, it was a pretty successful & relatively carnage-free attempt. And to you folks who doubt the intensity level or "brown-ness" of it, try riding fixed, fast & brakeless through the hordes of Fremont gapers on a sunny Farmers Market day, with a bag full of fresh organic produce & farm-fresh cheese, & a beer in hand. Hey, move it, man! There's a beverage here!<br /><br />So sick.Todd Gillmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00365983274794966615noreply@blogger.com78tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12664898.post-59505518526314206582009-04-26T21:48:00.004-07:002009-04-26T22:56:37.048-07:00PSA: Robe Race Details<img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/RobeRace09/RaceAnnounce2.jpg"/><br /><br />Happy Spring everyone. We're targeting Saturday May 16 for the 2nd (possibly) Annual Robe Canyon Downriver Race. <br /><br />Here are some relevant details:<br /><br /><blockquote>* Teams of two</blockquote><br /><blockquote>* Staggered start above Tunnel; finish at the beach below "Conversation"; +/- 5 mi.</blockquote><br /><blockquote>* "Landslide" = mandatory portage</blockquote><br /><blockquote>* Actual race date may be pushed out at 11th-hour due to flow considerations. Range = 4.9 - 6.5'ish (or however high racers are willing to go).</blockquote><br /><blockquote>* This is an unsponsored, grassroots, non-event</blockquote><br /><blockquote>* 1st Place team gets to take home the sweet winners' robes; Last Place team gets to take home & take care of The Robe Gnome for the next year</blockquote><br /><br />Interested in racing? Cool, please register your team asap by posting a comment below or emailing me your team members names & email addresses. <br /><br />Interested in volunteering? Excellent, we need finish line timekeepers, shore support, & a couple safety kayakers. <br /><br />Last year's race day was <em>muy divertido</em>! Here are a couple links to stories & lots of pics from last year: <br /><a href=" <br />http://therangelife.blogspot.com/2008/04/robe-race-08.html "target="_blank">Our own</a>; <br /><a href=" <br />http://plungepool.blogspot.com/2008/04/robe-race-oh-eight.html "target="_blank">Owen's</a><br /><a href=" <br />http://thisriverlife.blogspot.com/2008/04/weekend-update.html "target="_blank">EJ's</a><br /><br />Also .. huge appreciation to my brother Tim for providing the artwork for the race announcement. This piece will also be embroidered on the backs of the winners' robes.<br /><br />Feel free to post/email any questions, comments or shit-talking.Todd Gillmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00365983274794966615noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12664898.post-84217402641070250242009-01-19T17:57:00.000-08:002009-01-19T18:41:24.114-08:00Updater Jan. '09 | Happy New Year/EraWe're already a couple weeks into the new year, but tonight it really feels like we're on the eve of a new era. And that feels good. <br /><br />Know what else feels good? Squeezing every last bit of fun out of a weekend. This past weekend's a great example. All last week, a beautiful head-high swell taunted any worker bee who dared peek at the charts or webcams. At the same time, Seattle's best local class V run had leveled off & stalled at perfect flows, after a very major flood event. By Thursday night, the weekend forecasts for both options looked to be holding somewhere in the realm of "super awesome". Plans were made. And then executed. Those who participated were rewarded with juicy overhead swell at Westport on Saturday .. & juicy extra-medium flow on The Robe on Sunday. <br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/Jan09Random/NiceForecast.jpg"/><br />Lots of "stars" on the swell forecast!<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/Jan09Random/NiceForecastToo.jpg"/><br />Holdin' steady in the High 5's!<br /><br />That was, as Schertzl says, a "proper weekend".<br /><br />Okay, since we don't really blog all that much any more, there's a backlog of stuff to post .. so here's an Updater .. let's roll.<br /><br /><blockquote>I. Robe Race 2009<br /><br />II. Photo Dump<br /> a. Ashlu kayaking<br /> b. random stuff</blockquote><br /><br /><br />********************<br /><br /><blockquote>I. Robe Race 2009</blockquote><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/Jan09Random/WayradSunshine.jpg"/><br />Wayrad MacGnarly at Lil' Miss Sunshine 2009 v.1<br />Photo: Leif Embertson<br /><br />The Robe Race Committee gathered yesterday to inspect the changes to the course, as put forth by Ma Nature in early January '09, and after not much deliberation, voted unanimously in favor of going forward with the planning of Robe Race 2009.<br /><br />Notable changes to the race course include the following:<br /><blockquote>1. The house-sized rock just upstream of the lead-in to <i>Little Miss Sunshine</i> (the one in the center of the river in the flatwater adjacent to the river-left staging eddy; the one we would eddy out behind before running the "center boof" line) has been pushed or rolled about 15 feet downstream, right to the lip of the ledge. The river-left slide-to-kicker thing is still good to go & may have even cleaned up a bit. The center boof is still there, but there's currently wood in the channel making it not that appealing. There may be a far-right line available if you like dealing with junk in your face. <br /><br />2. Over the last 4 years, <i>Garbage</i> had gone from bad to awesome to okay to bad to worse .. & now back to <i>AWESOME</i>. There is now a ridiculously lofty, clean ledge boof on the right. 8 feet if it's an inch. Best boof on the run? Perhaps ..<br /><br />3. The river-left eddy water between the 2 ledges of <i>20-foot Waterfall</I> now bleeds quickly downstream into the ugly pile of rocks on the left. Best to nail the top boof & then move quickly to the center line on the 2nd ledge.<br /><br />4. <i>Off Broadway</i> has had a similar recent history as <i>Garbage</i>, & same as that rapid, it is now much better than recent manky versions. The first ledge has lost a lot of its gradient during '08 high water events, but it's now pretty much wide open from far left (great 4-foot slot boof) to far right (water boof or tongue option). The unstable second part of the rapid has changed again, and for the better -- there is now a superhighway-to-kicker-boof that, if you nail it right off the peak, sends you flying at high speed beyond the hole at the bottom. So good..</blockquote><br /><br />Other than that, most all major rapids are more or less the same. Lots of subtle & not-so-subtle changes to the 'tweener rapids .. holes or rocks that used to exist have disappeared, old fast lines are now squirly eddy water .. The deck has been reshuffled & everyone will have to relearn the canyon to be competitive this year. <br /><br />Also, one last point .. we will pick a tentative date for the race based on snowpack & flow forecasts in the coming months .. hopefully in April again. And if on that date it turns out that we have 6 ft. on the gauge, the race is ON. So get comfy in the canyon & get out there when it's extra-medium, cuz it's extra-fun. <br /><br />********************<br /><br /><blockquote>II/a. Ashlu Kayaking Photos | Fall '08</blockquote><br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/Jan09Random/MinePutin.jpg"/><br />Mine Run<br />Photo: Todd Gillman<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/Jan09Random/TretDrop1.jpg"/><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/Jan09Random/TretRapid2.jpg"/><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/Jan09Random/TretRapid3.jpg"/><br />Chris Tretwold<br />Photos: TG<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/Jan09Random/KatoLowHead.jpg"/><br />B. Smith<br />Photo: TG<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/Jan09Random/Portage.jpg"/><br />Portage on the Mine<br />Photo: TG<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/Jan09Random/Shane5050_1.jpg"/><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/Jan09Random/Shane5050_2.jpg"/><br />Shane Robinson, Fifty-fifty<br />Photos: TG<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/Jan09Random/PutInDude.jpg"/><br />Commitment Canyon .. The Box<br />Photo: TG<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/Jan09Random/Teacup2.jpg"/><br />Photo: TG<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/Jan09Random/JPTeacup.jpg"/><br />JP<br />Photo: TG<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/Jan09Random/TeacupEddy1.jpg"/><br />The Box Teacup<br />Photos: TG<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/Jan09Random/KatoEngagement.jpg"/><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/Jan09Random/KatoEngagement2.jpg"/><br />Bryan getting Engaged<br />Photos: TG<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/Jan09Random/ShaneEngagement.jpg"/><br />Robinson<br />Photo: TG<br /><br /><br /><blockquote>II/b. Random Photo Dump | Friends & Places & Stuff</blockquote><br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/Jan09Random/120_Lo.jpg"/><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/Jan09Random/157_Lo.jpg"/><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/Jan09Random/176_Lo.jpg"/><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/Jan09Random/187_Lo.jpg"/><br />I shot a series of b/w images of Shane making Biodiesel at the local Bio CoOp. I like how they turned out.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/Jan09Random/5050Group.jpg"/><br />Friends from the East Coast & CO on their first trip to BC .. peering into the Box<br />Photo: TG<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/Jan09Random/AndyBeach.jpg"/><br />Andy G. checking surf<br />Photo: TG<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/Jan09Random/CountyLineSouthViewLo.jpg"/><br />County Line<br />Photo: TG<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/Jan09Random/Canoeing.jpg"/><br />Liv, Tret & Hillary canoeing/crabbing in Chuckanut Bay<br />Photo: TG<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/Jan09Random/SteamyCrab.jpg"/><br />Dinner!<br />Photo: TG<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/Jan09Random/TG_MG.jpg"/><br />w/ Matty G.<br />Photo: TG<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/Jan09Random/Shrtlvision.jpg"/><br />Shrtlvision .. cold day at the Cove<br />Photo: Ryan Terry<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/Jan09Random/TG_Tuck.jpg"/><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/Jan09Random/TG_Done.jpg"/><br />Same cold day at the Cove<br />Photos: Ryan Terry<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/Jan09Random/LivBeach.jpg"/><br />Liv on the Strait<br />Photo: TG<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/Jan09Random/JMBreakfast.jpg"/><br />Jonaven serving breakfast in the Airstream<br />Photo: TG<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/Jan09Random/ShaneReading.jpg"/><br />Downtime in the Airstream<br />Photo: TG<br /><br /><br />That's all I gots. Here's to a fun-filled & safe new era y'all .. keep in touch!Todd Gillmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00365983274794966615noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12664898.post-82140915351242083902008-11-08T20:10:00.000-08:002008-11-09T14:09:57.821-08:00Dipper Creek: The Lower Canyon((Be warned, this is a long report.))<br /><br />Recall from our <a href=" http://therangelife.blogspot.com/2008/10/aint-no-fat-ladies-singin-round-here.html "target="_blank">first Dipper Creek post</a> that we encountered significant hesitation & resistance on our exploration of the Lower Canyon. Here's how it played out. <br /><br />After hiking out of the Upper Canyon, we bid farewell to our land support team & headed to Dipper Camp, where Chris whipped up a Thai green curry masterpiece (suggestion: include a backcountry chef jedi in your crew). In the morning, Bryan & Shane jogged in for one last peek at Vertigo Gorge to make sure the flow was appropriate, while Chris & I cleaned up camp & set shuttle. Upon our return from setting shuttle we got the radio call from the boys saying, "It's pretty iffy. It definitely <i>goes</i>, buuuut .... You guys should come down here & look at it & decide for yourselves." <br /><br />Not the report we were hoping to come back to. <br /><br />Spent the rest of the day bushwhacking, rapping into the gorge, & just trying to get enough of a vantage into the gorge -- to simply <i>see</i> what was going on in there. We hemmed & hawed, ultimately deciding to pack it up & leave Dipper Creek defeated & demoralized. <br /><br />In a high risk environment such as this, it's fascinating how the group dynamic can swing so swiftly from total confidence to total concession. When it comes to backcountry exploratory missions, we, as a team, are generally pretty gung-ho for a challenge & some adversity. And we are at home in difficult whitewater & box canyons. We'll run some shit. But at the same time, we tend to err on the side of preparedness & caution. All of us are over 30 -- way past college, so to speak -- so we're not as loose in our approach as we may have once been. And I'd attribute our longevity in the exploratory side of the sport, along with our relative lack of "episodes" (epic injuries in the backcountry, multi-person blowouts, near-death experiences, gnarly evac's .. you know, just general stupidity) to that conservative approach. And so, if that leads to more "hardcore" crews sometimes calling us pansies, or if it means the occasional trail-of-tears slog out of some ridiculous canyon, then so be it, at least we gave it a shot ... <br /><br />I'm reminded of when we were in Peru last year. After we conceded defeat & hiked out of the Rio Huallaga, we headed to Cusco for more adventures. I ended up stuck in town by myself, sick as hell, while the rest of the crew was out paddling the Abysmo del Apurimac. After a couple days just hanging around our friend Piero's empty house sleeping, I got restless & decided to catch a taxi to another part of the city. I visited Piero's sister who owns a little restaurant/lounge & drank tea & tried to eat some food. I thumbed thru a coffee table book about mountaineering in the Andes & came across a quote that really resonated at the time, & still does now:<br /><br /><blockquote><i>As mountaineers we look for challenges that make us feel alive, because we love life & challenges. These challenges allow us to decide when to continue or when to go back. After all, the mountain will always be there. The decision to stop is an opportunity to return again.<br /><br />Renzo Uccelli</i></blockquote><br /><br />So there we were. At the take-out. But not because we successfully navigated our way down Dipper Creek, but because we were in fact being <i>pansies</i>. And what a lame feeling that was. The seeds of doubt had rooted into the collective consciousness & grown into a show-stopping lack of confidence. This is common in kayaking. An internal battle between that which you know you're capable of doing & that which is unknown. Part of you wants to push on, while the other half is wracked with uncertainty. We all knew in our hearts that we were more than capable of dealing with whatever the gorge put in front of us, but in our heads we were experiencing a blockage that kept the whole team from executing on that. <br /><br />Turns out, sometimes the "easy" way out can prove to be even more stressful than the alternative. <br /><br />Thankfully, Chris was not content to let us just leave the valley so hastily. At least not without a couple beers & some further discussion. We had another day to work with. So as the story goes, we turned right back around & went back up to camp. Chris had a strategy in mind for dealing with scouting, setting safety, running &/or portaging the 30-footer that drops into the gorge. It was already starting to get late in the afternoon, but once we got back up to camp, the plan was to run down the Cougar Trail as fast as they could to Vertigo Gorge to inspect Chris's plan & to drop some ropes from anchor points on the upstream & downstream ends of the gorge. <br /><br />Suddenly we were reinvigorated. We had beer, we had food, we had a plan & we were sticking to it!<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/DIPPERCREEK/LowerCanyon/were_back.jpg"/><br />Weeee're baaaaaack! Oh man, I love the look on Bryan's face here, which foretells the trouble he's gonna be in with his wife upon his eventual return home!<br />Photo: Chris Tretwold<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/DIPPERCREEK/LowerCanyon/GearPrep.jpg"/><br />Chris prepping for his racing-daylight rope-setting mission.<br />Photo: Todd Gillman <br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/DIPPERCREEK/LowerCanyon/BSnCT.jpg"/><br />Chris explaining to Bryan just WTF is goin' on here.<br />Photo: Todd G<br /><br />Bryan & I got dinner rolling while those guys did their duty. We were relieved when they returned with the news that Chris's idea for dealing with the waterfall would likely work out. In the a.m., we hiked straight out of the back of camp, down into the canyon at one of the only places throughout the length of the creek where river-level access is relatively easy. <br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/DIPPERCREEK/LowerCanyon/BigTree1.jpg"/><br />Chris admiring one of the huge Doug firs at camp.<br />Photo: Todd G.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/DIPPERCREEK/LowerCanyon/BigTree2.jpg"/><br />Photo: Todd G.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/DIPPERCREEK/LowerCanyon/heading_back_in.jpg"/><br />Heading in!<br />Photo: Chris T.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/DIPPERCREEK/LowerCanyon/bryan_bottom_canyon_walls.jpg"/><br />Lower Canyon scenery<br />Photo: Chris T.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/DIPPERCREEK/LowerCanyon/bryan_landslide.jpg"/><br />The first significant rapid in the Lower Canyon .. a tight, twisty s-turn thing.<br />Photo: Chris T.<br /><br />After the 1st rapid there's a handful of fun slides & ledges in the 10-ft range .. then almost before you know it, you're at the cusp of the main event, Vertigo Gorge. <br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/DIPPERCREEK/LowerCanyon/ShaneSmile.jpg"/><br />You'll need one of these (ascenders) ..<br />Photo: Todd G.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/DIPPERCREEK/LowerCanyon/VertigoScout2.jpg"/><br />Photo: Todd G.<br /><br />We anchored to a tree that hangs into the gorge on a rocky outcropping upstream of the entry falls ... then rapped down into the LZ on the right, where there was a tiny slimy ledge adjacent to a tiny eddy at the base of the falls. From here, I'd be able to scout the LZ of the falls & set safety, as well as figure out whether or not we'd be able to drop into the gorge without running the falls.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/DIPPERCREEK/LowerCanyon/VertigoScout5.jpg"/><br />From this angle you can get a feel for how bowled-out the LZ of the falls is. <br />Photo: Todd G.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/DIPPERCREEK/LowerCanyon/VertigoScout3.jpg"/><br />The eddy room backed up by a huge boil against the wall downstream. You can also see the limited view we had into the gorge. <br />Photo: Todd G.<br /><br />So what's up with the falls anyway? Well it's 25-30 feet tall with a very narrow channel of water on far river-left that slides/rolls off the lip before going vertical about 15 feet off the pool. The falls is almost entirely river-left, with a big granite block that keeps you from being able to go right .. so it falls into a room backed up by a huge caved-out wall. The exit of this room is via a tiny opening on far river-right. A tall boil forms along the downstream (river-left) wall, & it feeds fiercely either back into the eddy room, or directly into a nasty undercut pocket on the river-right wall. <br /><br />I gave it the double-thumbs up!<br /><br />Bryan was fired up to run it, thinking that he could either air it out directly into the outflow (threading the needle between the boil/eddy room combo and the undercut right wall), or just plug it into the tiny river-right eddy. We decided to run the whole gorge in pairs, so I stayed down in the landing to set safety while Shane ascended all the way up to the Cat Perch to run the cameras, & Chris hung on the lip of the falls manning ropes. There was lots of mist & although I was on belay, I felt very unstable on the slippery ledge .. so I left my camera in its drybag.<br /><br />Bryan exploded unexpectedly into my peripheral vision, looking to be angled a little more vertically than we'd imagined, then he disappeared beneath the boil. He resurfaced upright but in the left eddy-room .. dang. <br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/DIPPERCREEK/LowerCanyon/bryan_vertigo_falls.jpg"/><br />Bryan penciling-in on Vertigo Falls<br />Photo: Chris T.<br /><br />I watched as Bryan battled unsuccessfully to traverse the boil & impact zone. Exhausted, he signaled he was ready to get bagged outta there. As he was being pulled thru the impact zone, being drilled by the falls, he lost his paddle, but I got him into my little eddy, which was the important part. The eddy room was unbelievably powerful for such a low-volume stream. His paddle would have remained in the room for an eternity, but we were able to fish it out. There was not room for the both of us & two full boats on the tiny ledge. It took a tense couple minutes to sort everything out without ending up in the water or losing our gear downstream. <br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/DIPPERCREEK/LowerCanyon/Fishing.jpg"/><br />Fishing for Bryan's paddle<br />Photo: Chris T.<br /><br />Now Bryan & I were faced with the decision of whether or not to proceed. From where I was at, I could see down into one of the most beautiful & intimidating gorge views imaginable. Once Bryan caught his breath, he asked how it looked downstream & I told him not to look, he wouldn't like it. The double-drop at the exit of the falls room lands in a much bigger, cavernous, bowled-out room, then disappears into a steep, narrow, dark crack in the earth. We didn't know much of anything about this drop from previous scouts high on the rim of the gorge. It looked bigger & more vertical than we had imagined. We did know that if we dropped into the rapid directly below us, the only way out of Vertigo Gorge would be to run it & everything else below it .. none of which we really seen. I was sure that I could squeeze past the boil/undercut & from what I could see, I thought I'd be able to scramble out onto the left wall to scout the next falls. Problem was, if we didn't like what we saw, it didn't matter, we'd have to run it. This was a nerve-wracking but almost giddy experience.<br /><br />We decided that we had to trust ourselves & trust that it was good-to-go. I dropped in first, battled against the boil & slid past the undercut & into the fun double-boof into the calm green pool. We were surrounded by waterfalls, but it was eerily quiet in this incredible sanctuary-like room. The view downstream was unreal -- nothing but dark polished rock with a tiny portal disappearing out the bottom of it all. Our scout of the drop was quite obscured, but it looked okay. We could see downstream the corridor to the next blind corner, which appeared to be a crisp right-hand turn waterfall. There would be zero safety & zero egress. Bryan went first. I could hear the hull of his boat make that hollow, throaty sound as it impacted water, but the drop was so overhung, I couldn't see him until he came into view downstream under the roof of the right wall. He howled in approval, then disappeared out of sight as he cranked a big cross-current boof off the corner falls. <br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/DIPPERCREEK/LowerCanyon/bryan_below_highcost.jpg"/><br />Bryan in the double drop below the entrance falls .. this lands you in the heart of Vertigo Gorge. <br />Photo: Chris T<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/DIPPERCREEK/LowerCanyon/PinchScout1.jpg"/><br />Bryan scouting a super-tight falls in Vertigo Gorge.<br />Photo: Todd G<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/DIPPERCREEK/LowerCanyon/VertigoCathedralBryan.jpg"/><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/DIPPERCREEK/LowerCanyon/PinchBryan1.jpg"/><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/DIPPERCREEK/LowerCanyon/PinchBryan2.jpg"/><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/DIPPERCREEK/LowerCanyon/PinchBryan3.jpg"/><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/DIPPERCREEK/LowerCanyon/PinchBryan4.jpg"/><br />Bryan running the super-tight falls in the middle of Vertigo Gorge.<br />Photos: Todd G<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/DIPPERCREEK/LowerCanyon/VertigoCathedralTG.jpg"/><br />At this point, Bryan had disappeared around the corner. I had no idea what was going on beyond what I could see. He was on his own, I was on my own, & I was nervous & wanted to record the heaviness of the moment ..<br />Photo: Todd G<br /><br />Turns out the falls I was standing on top of was great -- maybe 10 or 12 feet, slide-to-vert & very tight .. the landing moves fast to the right & resurfaces under the roof on the right. The corner falls is exactly what it looks like from upstream -- a super-crisp vertical cross-fader, maybe 15-20 feet or so. The surprise bonus was yet another mandatory falls of maybe 12 feet to exit Vertigo Gorge.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/DIPPERCREEK/LowerCanyon/VertigoExitBryan.jpg"/><br />Bryan on Vertigo's exit falls, with the corner falls visible just upstream..<br />Photo: Todd G. <br /><br />We were ecstatic! We ran down to our pre-set egress point above an unscouted huge falls .. and then gave the good news to Shane & Chris, who then made quick work of the gorge.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/DIPPERCREEK/LowerCanyon/VertigoOverheadWide.jpg"/><br />Overlooking the breadth of Vertigo Gorge .. Chris & Shane about to rap-in.<br />Photo: Todd G<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/DIPPERCREEK/LowerCanyon/VertigoDoubleShane.jpg"/><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/DIPPERCREEK/LowerCanyon/CathedralShane.jpg"/><br />Shane running the double & celebrating in the cathedral room<br />Photos: Todd G<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/DIPPERCREEK/LowerCanyon/CathedralOverhead.jpg"/><br />Shane & Chris in the heart of Vertigo .. from waaaay up above. The corner falls is clearly visible on the left.<br />Photo: Todd G<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/DIPPERCREEK/LowerCanyon/PinchOverheadChris.jpg"/><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/DIPPERCREEK/LowerCanyon/PinchOverheadChris2.jpg"/><br />Chris T.<br />Photos: Todd G.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/DIPPERCREEK/LowerCanyon/PinchOverheadShane.jpg"/><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/DIPPERCREEK/LowerCanyon/PocketOverheadShane.jpg"/><br />Shane R.<br />Photos: Todd G.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/DIPPERCREEK/LowerCanyon/end_vertigo.jpg"/><br />Vertigo exit falls<br />Photo: Chris T.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/DIPPERCREEK/LowerCanyon/VertigoExitOverhead.jpg"/><br />Overhead look at the pool just downstream of Vertigo Gorge.<br />Photo: Todd G.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/DIPPERCREEK/LowerCanyon/shane_slidey_below_vertigo.jpg"/><br />Fun slide below Vertigo Gorge<br />Photo: Chris T.<br /><br />Shortly below Vertigo there is a very large waterfall that is impossible to scout without dangling into the gorge. We were racing daylight at this point & decided to expedite the completion of our mission -- we portaged the big falls & headed down to the next available river-level access, which happens to be just upstream of the two confluence waterfalls.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/DIPPERCREEK/LowerCanyon/FinalFallsLeadInShane.jpg"/><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/DIPPERCREEK/LowerCanyon/FinalFallsShane1.jpg"/><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/DIPPERCREEK/LowerCanyon/FinalFallsShane2.jpg"/><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/DIPPERCREEK/LowerCanyon/FinalFallsShane3.jpg"/><br />Shane running the confluence falls<br />Photos: Todd G.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/DIPPERCREEK/LowerCanyon/FinalFallsChris.jpg"/><br />Chris, with motion-blur, running the confluence falls<br />Photo: Todd G.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/DIPPERCREEK/LowerCanyon/todd_last_falls.jpg"/><br />Me ..<br />Photo: Chris T.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/DIPPERCREEK/LowerCanyon/FinalFallsBryan.jpg"/><br />And Bryan ..<br />Photo: Todd G. <br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/DIPPERCREEK/LowerCanyon/Confluence.jpg"/><br />At the Squamish confluence<br />Photo: Todd G<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/DIPPERCREEK/LowerCanyon/The_end.jpg"/><br />Shane & me running out to the Squamish ..<br />Photo: Chris T.<br /><br />From here you just have to figure out how/where to climb out of the Squamish R. Downstream there's a significant gorge that we ran a couple years ago. The climb out wasn't too bad there, but we opted to hike out at the confluence .. bad call, don't do that. <br /><br />We'll work on a wrap-up with all the vital details about the creek .. put-in, take-out, rapid count, etc. In short, we ran all but several individual rapids & one short section at the end of the Upper Canyon. Bryan sez there's one mandatory portage falls in that section, but apart from that, I didn't see a single rapid on Dipper Creek that wasn't runnable -- this includes both huge falls & Rowdy Flatwater. We left some serious scraps on the table, but we did what we had to do in order to get down the creek. I guess you could say Dipper Creek is like an amped-up version of Tatlow. So if that's your style then go get it!Todd Gillmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00365983274794966615noreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12664898.post-448112422727769752008-10-30T19:58:00.000-07:002008-10-30T21:49:09.766-07:00Dipper Creek: The Upper CanyonShane & I got out of Seattle at a reasonable hour after work. The plan was to meet Chris in B'ham, slam some dinner real quick & then finish the drive up to Squamish. The three of us were giddy with excitement, having resigned ourselves to our fate. We had done about as much prep work as was possible & even had a semi-complete list of all the known rapids on the creek. Comes a time when you just gotta step up & take what you got coming to ya, and in the morning we would do just that. <br /><br />Morning came quickly. A high pressure system brought clear bright skies and cold temps, making for the first time this season I'd have to chip frost off my windshield. We were at sea level in Squamish, & we knew it would be even colder up in the mountains. Bryan was stoked to have coerced a land support team, including his wife Lise-Anne & our buddy Jonaven, into bushwhacking along the rim of the gorge with ropes in case we got ourselves into a pickle & needed a haul outta there. Stopping along the way at Jonaven's, we were surprised to find out that he'd also talked 3 of his gung-ho buddies into joining them on the land crew.<br /> <br />On the drive up, we were still unsure on the actual plan. Would be be starting with the Lower Canyon, since it seemed at the time like less of a chunk to bite off? And since, with our foot soldiers in mind, the hiking along the rim of the Lower Canyon was much easier. Or would we put our support crew through some pain & suffering, & just fire into the super-steep Upper Canyon without the benefit of a recent scout of the bottom part of that gorge? We debated the merits of each & ultimately decided to head upstream to attempt the Upper Canyon .. again.<br /><br />The hike in wasn't hard by BC standards, but definitely got the blood & sweat flowing. And compared to our slog UP the very same canyon wall a year prior, it was remarkably easy. .<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/DIPPERCREEK/UpperCanyon/BigDipper.jpg"/><br />Big Dipper.<br />Photo: Todd G.<br /><br />BD Falls is every bit of 70 feet & not nearly as "slidy" as it would appear in the photo above (blame that on a bit of distortion from my superwide lens). It is totally runnable, and I'd probably run it the next time I'm up there .. but I can't help thinking that the landing's equivalent to being a quarterback getting sacked by a really big lineman who came in hot on your blindside. Keep in mind this rapid drops immediately out of the pool that Double Dip, the 2-tiered 50-footer, lands in. Our goal was to actually figure out & run Dipper Creek to the bottom, not invest a ton of time in safely stunt-boating two big falls. We also couldn't risk blowing our long-awaited opportunity on a trip-ending explosion/evac scenario on the first rapid. So with that in mind, we admired the awe-inspiring view of Double-Dip-into-Big-Dipper on the way to our chosen put-in at the base of BD .. <br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/DIPPERCREEK/UpperCanyon/BDChris.jpg"/><br />Tret in the BD exit drop .. a fun, low-stress way to start this mission!<br />Photo: Todd G.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/DIPPERCREEK/UpperCanyon/BigDipperShane1.jpg"/><br />Photo: Todd G.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/DIPPERCREEK/UpperCanyon/BigDipperShane2.jpg"/><br />Shane very stoked to be committed to the gorge.<br />Photo: Todd G.<br /><br />Upper Dipper is quite stacked. Just around the bend from the spectacular entrance series is Dipstick, an S-shaped rapid that involves boofing a small horseshoe ledge while limbo'ing some wood, then driving left & back to center for the main part of the rapid -- a silly 25-foot slide. <br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/DIPPERCREEK/UpperCanyon/DipstickShane.jpg"/><br />Photo: Todd G.<br /><br /><blockquote>Shane sez: While this drop wasn't all that difficult, it felt good to actually have to make some moves to stick this drop. Dipper is such a low volume creek, it would be easy to get lazy and just drift and boof ... it ain't no Robe Canyon.</blockquote> <br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/DIPPERCREEK/UpperCanyon/DipstickChris.jpg"/><br />Chris on Dipstick<br />Photo: Todd G.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/DIPPERCREEK/UpperCanyon/DipstickChris2.jpg"/><br />Dipper is all bedrock all the way .. pretty much. <br />Photo: Todd G.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/DIPPERCREEK/UpperCanyon/TweenerChris.jpg"/> <br />Photo: Todd G.<br /><br />Bedrock constrictions form most of the Dipper's rapids, which included lots of little ledges & long twisting slides. From Dipstick, a few mellow slide features leads you to Little Dipper Falls, a drop that we'd gotten a glimpse of on our first aborted mission, & ever since, had been calling <i>"The 50-Footer"</i>, for the sole purpose of descriptive naming. <br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/DIPPERCREEK/UpperCanyon/LittleDipperScout.jpg"/><br />River-level scout of the drop formerly known as <i>The 50-footer</i>.<br />Photo: Todd G.<br /><br />On one of Bryan's later scouts of the creek, he deemed it in the neighborhood of 35 ft. Scale & proportion tend to get skewed one way or the other when scouting from so high above the features. At any rate, this must-run slide-to-vert falls is very good to go, & was the standout rapid of the day.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/DIPPERCREEK/UpperCanyon/LittleDipperBryan.jpg"/><br />Bryan "Kato" Smith calling dibs on this one.<br />Photo: Todd G.<br /><blockquote>Shane sez: ^^^ I love this shot. The vantage downstream almost steals the focus from Bryan, and it really captures what it looks like in there - the canyon is every bit as tight as is looks downstream!</blockquote><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/DIPPERCREEK/UpperCanyon/LittleDipperChris.jpg"/><br />Now for some perspective, here's Chris running it with Bryan in the pool below.<br />Photo: Todd G.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/DIPPERCREEK/UpperCanyon/Todd_50fter.jpg"/><br />Chris's view of me running Little Dipper.<br />Photo: Chris T.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/DIPPERCREEK/UpperCanyon/LittleDipperShane1.jpg"/><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/DIPPERCREEK/UpperCanyon/LittleDipperShane2.jpg"/><br />Shane rolling in ..<br />Photos: Todd G.<br /><br />And we haven't even gotten to the crux yet ..<br /><br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/DIPPERCREEK/UpperCanyon/pinch_above_rf.jpg"/><br />Shane probing a super-tight, un-portageable constriction below a sizable ledge. Maybe we should call it Skinny Dip .. I dunno. This rapid is visible in some of the Little Dipper shots above. <br />Photo: Chris T.<br /><br />At this point we were getting hemmed-in. I mean, we were "in the gorge" from the put-in, but at this point it gets really deep & really tight .. which leads us to <i>Rowdy Flatwater</i>.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/DIPPERCREEK/UpperCanyon/EddyOut.jpg"/><br />Los Dudes eddying out at the lip of Rowdy Flatwater.<br />Photo: Todd G.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/DIPPERCREEK/UpperCanyon/RowdyFlatwaterScout2.jpg"/><br />Looking back up at Skinny Dip & Little Dipper from the lip of Rowdy Flatwater. It's a big steep drop into the slidey bit of RF, & it's this part that falls onto a ridge of rock extending from river-left that is scary.<br />Photo: Todd G.<br /><br />RF is a looooong twisty, very constricted, very steep rapid formed by a vertical right wall that goes to the sky .. & a sloping, moss-covered left wall. The main issues with the rapid are: (1) the seemingly unavoidable piton in the entrance, which would slow you down enough (or stop you dead in yr tracks, or destroy your boat) making the violently recirculating hole behind it a real hazard; and (2) if, by the grace of the buddha, you make it thru that mess, you still have a couple more bad holes to negotiate. It's only a boat-width wide, so how bad could it be right? But that just means the holes are really long upstream to downstream & that moving left to right to get outta the holes isn't an option. <br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/DIPPERCREEK/UpperCanyon/RFScout2.jpg"/><br />Looking downstream from the entrance. You see the line, right? <br />Photo: Todd G.<br /><br />In spite of the very slick bedrock, moving around on the river-left side of RF is surprisingly easy .. but with higher water, that option would shut down. Since there was no way to walk "around" the bottom of the rapid, we put our land team to work for the first time here. The portage was very involved, & it probably would've been easier to just roll the dice on running the rapid. We set up a rope-assisted traverse with elevation-control from a line running up to an anchor manned by a couple of those dudes up the canyon wall. This worked for boats & paddlers. I think you could still make it work w/o the land team, but it would be a much more wet experience .. & I think in the future at least the bottom half of the rapid will just get run via a sketchy seal-launch .. hate to be the last guy, though.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/DIPPERCREEK/UpperCanyon/RowdyFlatwaterPortage.jpg"/><br />Our portage circus.<br />Photo: Todd G. <br /><br />Below the debacle that is Rowdy Flatwater, a little bit of boogie water & more jaw-dropping gorge scenery leads to some very fun stuff. It was here that Bryan said to me, "<I>Now</I> we're in the gorge!" .. I got a chuckle out of that. I knew what he meant though -- now we're in the deepest, most constricted, least portageable, & least known part of the gorge. Yeeha! <br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/DIPPERCREEK/UpperCanyon/TweenerChris2.jpg"/><br />Photo: Todd G.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/DIPPERCREEK/UpperCanyon/RandomScout.jpg"/><br />Photo: Todd G.<br /><br />The creek is small, so the eddies are tiny. At one point, we each occupied our own respective eddy while Chris had a scout from a boulder on river-right. He then waved Bryan, then me, thru a steep slot. Bryan got out below on river-left in the midst of the continuous rapid, while I awaited instruction. He gave the "so-so" look, but I was eager to move. It was blind, fast & very fun .. & I was under-prepared for how long the rapid was. I bombed over a slide-to-boof into a very tight pinch, into a fast jet approaching an obvious boulder boof, into ... it just kept going! finally subsiding in a narrow corridor of perfectly polished granite with a towering waterfall cascading down upon my head. Excellent.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/DIPPERCREEK/UpperCanyon/LastRapidShane.jpg"/><br />Photo: Todd G.<br /><blockquote>Shane sez: This drop was such a bonus. I'd never scouted this section of the river, so this drop was a surprise and so much fun. It had an entry boof that looked tricky, but once I landed that, it was just splashy and fast all the way through. It just kept dropping, and I didn't know what to expect so I just kept throwing in boof strokes. Then you come around the corner and there is the amazing waterfall cascading in off the right wall. Wow!</blockquote> <br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/DIPPERCREEK/UpperCanyon/LastRapidBryan.jpg"/><br />Bryan<br />Photo: Todd G.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/DIPPERCREEK/UpperCanyon/LastRapidBryan2.jpg"/><br />Photo: Todd G.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/DIPPERCREEK/UpperCanyon/SideFalls.jpg"/><br />Photo: Todd G.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/DIPPERCREEK/UpperCanyon/LastRapidGroupVertical.jpg"/><br />Photo: Todd G.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/DIPPERCREEK/UpperCanyon/LastRapidGroupHorizontal.jpg"/><br />Appreciating the amazing place we landed in.<br />Photo: Todd G.<br /><br />At this point, the creek continues to fall away thru a series of slides & small falls. Unfortunately, our progress was stopped by wood at a point in the gorge where portage was impossible. For a tense moment, it was questionable whether or not egress from the gorge itself was even an option .. but we were fortunate to have stopped in a place where the left wall mellowed just enough to allow us to rope up & out. We radioed-in our support crew to meet us with ropes. We hauled 7 or 8 pitches with their help & did a bit of a bushwhack mission in the typical BC fashion before reaching the road no worse for wear. <br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/DIPPERCREEK/UpperCanyon/UpstreamView.jpg"/><br />Photo: Todd G.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/DIPPERCREEK/UpperCanyon/heading_up.jpg"/><br />Decision time .. where do we go from here?<br />Photo: Chris T.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/DIPPERCREEK/UpperCanyon/ground_support.jpg"/><br />Up & out is where we went from there! Our ground support crew assisting in the get-out. Huge thanks to all those guys!<br />Photo: Chris T.Todd Gillmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00365983274794966615noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12664898.post-18386827337845286042008-10-23T05:00:00.001-07:002008-10-23T14:20:32.950-07:00Dipper Creek: The BackstoryI. The origins of interest<br /><br /><blockquote>Bryan: Back in 2005, a boater friend of ours, Jay Mitchell, had just received his pilot's license and was trying to log as many flight hours as he could. He offered up a handful of scouting flights, including checking out the <a href=" http://www.therangelife.blogspot.com/2006/09/upper-tatlow-creek-first-descent.html "target="_blank">Upper Tatlow</a>, which was one of Jonaven's big priorities. Jay had also been flying up both the Elaho and Squamish and kept telling us that we needed to check out the Upper Squamish. <br /><br />One afternoon after a flight over the Upper Tatlow, Jay flew up the headwaters of the Ashlu, around to Salmon Arm, and then up the Squamish drainage for us to get a look. Jonaven was busy taking notes on rapids, while I tried to film what I could. From the air the Squamish looked really impressive. There was a rapid in the lower reaches that we called <i>"Science Fiction"</i>, and in trying to get a good look at it, we saw a tributary just upstream that looked like it had a 20-footer into a 40-footer dropping right into the Squamish. So now in addition to the Upper Squamish, we had another creek we needed to inspect at ground level.</blockquote><br /> <br /><blockquote>Todd: From the get-go, they called it <i>"Waterfall Creek"</i>, and it was immediately on the list of must-do missions.</blockquote><br /><br /><blockquote>Shane: During this time, Jonaven and Bryan were really excited about the Upper Squamish. None of us knew much about it, and information from the older locals was skimpy at best.</blockquote><br /><br /><blockquote>Todd: Our "beta" was limited to,<i>"It's got teeth!"</i></blockquote><br /><br /><blockquote>Shane: The funny thing was, after the first Squamish flight, all I remember Jonaven and Bryan talking about was this "Waterfall Creek". I really had to pry the actual name from them. We all got really excited about it, but at the time, we were narrowing in on running Upper Tatlow. Then with the whole Vacation to Hell thing, everything got shelved while we planned for Peru.</blockquote> <br /><br /><blockquote>Todd: Dipper wasn't even the main thing; it was the Upper Squamish we were after, which, after a year or more of talking about it, Bryan, Drew & I <a href=" http://www.therangelife.blogspot.com/2007/07/trl-out.html "target="_blank"> finally got on</a> in March '07. It was on that trip that we got our first real look at "Waterfall Creek".</blockquote> <br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/DIPPERCREEK/History/KatoWaterfallTribLo.jpg"/><br />Bryan getting his first river-level look at the waterfall at the confluence of Dipper Cr. & the Squamish R. in March 2007. Very enticing!<br />Photo: Todd G. <br /><br /><blockquote>Todd: Shortly after we did the Squamish, Bryan, Lise-Anne, Drew & I spent a day trying to scout. Looking at the maps, river-right seemed to offer the best access, but we hiked all day through the BC jungle & never actually got to the creek.</blockquote><br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/DIPPERCREEK/History/ChuteDown1.jpg"/><br />Scouting. <br />Photo: Todd G.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/DIPPERCREEK/History/ChuteDown2.jpg"/><br />Bryan rapping into the canyon.<br />Photo: Todd G.<br /><br /><blockquote>Todd: Right when we got back from Peru, we began planning a couple weekend multi-day trips on the Stein & Clendinning. Bryan had worked out a deal with Darren at Black Tusk to fly a heli up to the Clendinning put-in, & to take a route flying slowly up the Dipper valley on the way.</blockquote><br /><br /><blockquote>Shane: I got tasked with riding shotgun in the heli, scouting and shooting video of the creek on the way up to Clendinning Lake. I had two initial thoughts. First, I was excited, because both Todd and Bryan had at least seen the confluence waterfall, and I really wanted my own peek at this thing. But my second thought was that I was nervous to be in the position of making the call about whether it was worthy of further effort. Upper Tatlow had been billed as a valley full of granite waterfalls, but was somewhat of a bust. I didn't want to repeat that by giving the go-ahead on yet another BC suffer-fest. However, flying over "Waterfall Creek" made that decision very easy for me. There were three others in the Heli who had no idea what we were scouting, and they were all piping-in on the intercom system as Darren buzzed the creek, "Whoa, look at that!" Steve said, and "Did you see that drop?" followed Tim. I think even Darren offered up, "that river looks pretty full-on."</blockquote> <br /><br /><blockquote>Todd: It was really hard to contain our excitement when we saw the footage. I remember watching it with those guys, saying <i>"15-footer, 20-footer, 10-footer, 15-footer .. Whoa! Big one! .. 10-footer, 20-footer .."</i> I think it was pretty obvious we were onto something.</blockquote><br /><br /><blockquote>Bryan: Because we let the cat out of the bag, so to speak, with the heli flight on the way to the Clendinning, I was a little worried that word was going to spread on this thing. Steve Rogers and Tim Loubier were on the flight with Shane, and they both were very curious about the creek as well. I remember trying to suppress the rumor mill by telling them a couple weeks later, after our first real bushwhack scout mission, that the creek was choked with wood and way too steep. Every successive scouting mission up there was kept quiet, and I just kept telling those boys that we were working out the Upper Squamish</blockquote><br /><br />II. Just put on!<br /><br /><blockquote>Todd: In September '07, we were talking about getting another flight over the creek. Shane ended up sending an email saying <i>"I can't afford a heli scout, so I'm advocating for the Huallaga approach: Drive to the top on Saturday, drop in, be safe, hike out if necessary."</i> Bryan replied, <i>"We got topos, couple long ropes...ready for a big mission. From the topo it looks like about 400fpm. Bound to be a couple classic waterfalls somewhere in that section!"</I> We all kinda came to terms with that approach & decided to just go for it..</blockquote><br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/DIPPERCREEK/History/MapSesh3.jpg"/><br />The dudes at the Elaho/Squamish confluence, planning our approach. At this point, we still thought we could access the creek from river-right.<br />Photo: Todd G.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/DIPPERCREEK/History/MapSesh2.jpg"/><br />Route-finding. The valley in the distance is the Upper S., while in the foreground, where Chris & Bryan are standing, is the river-right side of Dipper. The mountain behind that is river-left. We are pretty much right across the valley from Dipper Camp, which serves as the halfway point on the run. <br />Photo: Todd G.<br /><br /><blockquote>Todd: We drove up the river-left & came to a bridge in the headwaters area. The creek looked like junk there, but downstream there were some hints of fun bedrock. We decided that would be our put-in in the morning .. junk be damned.</blockquote> <br /><br /><blockquote>Bryan: Just finding the creek was a huge success in my book. We had been up there 3 times prior just trying to get a view of the creek from river-right, with no luck. The heli flight had revealed logging roads in the upper reaches that crossed the creek and drew us further up the drainage. I could not believe we were actually putting on this thing.</blockquote> <br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/DIPPERCREEK/History/MorningCamp2.jpg"/><br />Sunrise @ Dipper Camp, Sept. '07. We had clear, cold nights which kept flows off the icecap low .. right where we wanted them for an exploratory into a steep, deep gorge.<br />Photo: Todd G.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/DIPPERCREEK/History/Sunrise1.jpg"/><br />There are cut-blocks surrounding Dipper Cr & the Upper Squamish, but there are also plenty of huge, old Doug firs & cedars that were left standing. Good mornin'!<br />Photo: Todd G. <br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/DIPPERCREEK/History/VanView.jpg"/><br />Chris is bummed he sold his Syncro Van!<br />Photo: Todd G.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/DIPPERCREEK/History/ShaneHike1.jpg"/><br />Just put on! Shane approaching ..<br />Photo: Todd G.<br /><br /><blockquote>Shane: I remember our excitement at that put-in. Just upstream we could see some low angle bedrock slides that got us all excited for what might be hiding around the corner.</blockquote> <br /><br /><blockquote>Todd: But for the next couple hours we bashed our way through steep, low-flow boulder mank .. total boat abuse.</blockquote><br /><br /><blockquote>Shane: I think I was the first one into the eddy above Double Dip. It kinda sneaks up on you, especially when you are in the mank-bashing mindset. I just remember the horizon line was huge. I didn't know whether to be excited or scared. Actually, I'm pretty sure this sentiment followed all of us throughout this entire mission.</blockquote> <br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/DIPPERCREEK/History/DoubleDipScout.jpg"/><br />The first rapid into the gorge is Double Dip, a two-tiered 50-footer into a beautiful green pool ... that drops immediately into Big Dipper Falls, a +/- 70 footer into another beautiful green pool ... that drops into a nice 10-foot slot. <br />Photo: Todd G. <br /><br /><blockquote>Chris: I pulled into the eddy last and Shane gave the "tall drop" signal. I remember everyone had that wide-eyed look on their faces, it was just the first of many more of those looks.</blockquote><br /><br /><blockquote>Todd: I saw lots of mist rising downstream & remember Bryan looking back saying, <i>"I think we got a waterfall! Looks big!"</I></blockquote><br /><br /><blockquote>Chris: I remember standing across from "Double Dip" with Todd, the two of us looking at each other, and Todd saying with a nervous and excited tone, <i>"We're gonna run this S@*T!"</i> Slightly unsure, I nervertheless agreed with a <i>"Hell yes,"</i> and then headed down to set safety for Bryan's probe attempt.</blockquote><br /><br /><blockquote>Bryan: We when got to Double Dip, I was feeling pretty fired up. We had been trying to run this creek for over 2 years now, my energy was high and we had finally found a waterfall after a morning of boat-bashing mank. The drop had issues for sure. It had a twisting 8-foot slide leading into the first of the 25-footers, which was going to make the entry hard. The obvious boof on the left of the first tier was scaring me a bit because of the caved-out left pocket eddy in between the two waterfalls. The pool at the very bottom was plenty big, but it did exit straight into Big Dipper Falls. We scampered around for a bit and found out that you could get out above Big Dipper. I told the crew I was ready to fire it up. Todd and Shane got set with cameras, Tretwold sat in the pool below with a bag, and I walked back to the top. I made one last radio call to the crew before I got in my boat and then made history, of sorts.</blockquote><br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/DIPPERCREEK/History/CrashSeq2.jpg"/><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/DIPPERCREEK/History/CrashSeq3.jpg"/><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/DIPPERCREEK/History/CrashSeq4.jpg"/><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/DIPPERCREEK/History/CrashSeq6.jpg"/><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/DIPPERCREEK/History/CrashCloser.jpg"/> <img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/DIPPERCREEK/History/CrashSeq7.jpg"/><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/DIPPERCREEK/History/CrashSeq8.jpg"/><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/DIPPERCREEK/History/CrashSeq9.jpg"/><br />When bad things happen to good people. Dang.<br />Photos: Todd G.<br /><br /><blockquote>Shane: After Bryan's crash, I think we all decided we were done paddling for the day - at least I did. We decided to use the remainder of the day to walk the rim and see what else was downstream. We were blown away! It was hard work navigating the bush, but it seemed like every time we got another view of the river we spotted another waterfall ... she was really living up to the moniker we gave her!</blockquote><br /><br /><blockquote>Todd: I'm pretty sure we knew before Bryan even ran the Double that we were going to be spending the rest of the day bushwhacking, not kayaking.</blockquote><br /><br /><blockquote>Chris: The real eye opener was the amount of time it took us to just get to "Double Dip" and then deal with setting safety for Bryan. We thought by about the third waterfall we saw while scouting further downstream, if each of these huge falls was going to take an hour of investment, or more, how long would it take to run this creek in its entirety?!</blockquote><br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/DIPPERCREEK/History/Scouter.jpg"/><br />At the lip of Big Dipper Falls .. the river-right wall was vertical & very very tall, & would prove to be that way for the entirety of the length of Dipper Creek.<br />Photo: Todd G. <br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/DIPPERCREEK/History/ShaneScout.jpg"/><br />Photo: Todd G. <br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/DIPPERCREEK/History/Scouter3.jpg"/><br />Photo: Todd G. <br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/DIPPERCREEK/History/BD.jpg"/><br />Big Dipper & the 10-footer exiting the teacup as viewed from downstream.<br />Photo: Todd G. <br /><br /><blockquote>Chris: The boys had been making noises about this creek for a while. My only view of it pre-trip was some of the heli video, and it looked like some good stuff, but, you never can tell what's going to happen when things get this steep and small. Fortunately, the creek was sliding, falling, and pinching its way through a nearly squeaky clean gorge. Just scouting it was a lot of fun.</blockquote><br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/DIPPERCREEK/History/GorgeView.jpg"/><br />A sweet 12-footer into a plucky hole ..<br />Photo: Chris Tretwold<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/DIPPERCREEK/History/DownstreamView.jpg"/><br />Typical Dipper Creek gorge scenery ..<br />Photo: Todd G.<br /><br /><blockquote>Todd: We spent the rest of our day looking at nothing but gorge walls & bedrock features, one after another. We spent a bunch of time at an obvious crux -- a long, stair-stepping, sliding rapid that was formed where the vertical river-right wall met the dome-shaped river-left wall, & was only a boat-width wide for the length of it. It had a super steep lead-in that dropped onto what looked like a mandatory piton, backed up by a series of bad holes. We called it "Rowdy Flatwater".</blockquote><br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/DIPPERCREEK/History/RowdyFlatwaterScout3.jpg"/><br />The dudes sorting out Rowdy Flatwater.<br />Photo: Todd G.<br /><br /><blockquote>Todd: Even though it was obvious the gorge continued on downstream, we had to call it here. It was getting late & we still had to climb out of the canyon with our boats. We knew there was lots more work that needed to be done on this before we could come back with boats.</blockquote> <br /><br /><blockquote>Shane: The hike out was <i>brutal</i>! One of the worst I have ever done. There was one steep section about a quarter of the way from the road where I was really hitting the wall and losing my footing with every step. I almost ditched my boat there, and the excitement about finding a waterfall-studded canyon was quickly fading. I charged ahead with one last burst of energy and eventually hit the tangle of alder at the road cut. That s&*$ was so thick, I could barely get my body through it, let alone my boat. But I knew we were at the road ... what I didn't know was if I ever wanted to come back to this creek with the thought of hiking out.</blockquote><br /><br /><blockquote>Chris: Haha! I remember Todd slipped and fell, and yelled something about ditching his boat. All of us thought about it at one time or another, I'm sure. That hike was Hellish. We took a break and I actually climbed up a tree with the hope I might be able to see how close the road was -- it could have been a quarter-mile or few hundred feet away. Thankfully, it turned out to be the latter. After the hike I was sure -- in a nervous sort of way -- I wanted to come back. But the thought of hiking out would curb my enthusiasm each time I thought about Dipper Creek over the next year.</blockquote><br /><br /><blockquote>Bryan: As we hiked out, the morale of the group was at an all-time low. Yet it was this trip and what we learned about the waterfalls lurking downstream that cemented our desire to come back again and again until we figured this run out. We had seen the potential and despite the hellish hike out, we would go away obsessing about this place, and keeping a lid on the details until we discovered more. It was still "Waterfall Creek" and we still had a massive amount of work ahead of us.</blockquote><br /><br />Over the course of the next year Bryan would make several more key scouting trips into Dipper, connecting the dots working upstream from Dipper Camp to "Rowdy Flatwater". He learned that, even though we had seen many big runnable drops that day, there was still a lot more to the Upper Canyon. And we still had no idea what lurked in the Lower Canyon from Dipper Camp down to the confluence. When the team returned in Fall '08 to give it a go, the Elaho was hovering around 80cms. Turns out, Dipper was too high .. not by much, though. This creek runs through a very deep slot canyon from Double Dip the whole way to the Squamish; to be in there too high would be terrifying, and being an exploratory mission where we'd only seen bits & pieces, we'd prefer to err on the low side. Instead, we spent the day scouting, finally getting to see the Lower Canyon, including everything leading up to the spectacular Vertigo Gorge (which was named because, after peering into the deep chasm from high above, Chris & I both quickly backed away from the gorge rim with an eerie spell of vertigo). We saw several other slides, a huge waterfall, & the two waterfalls at the confluence. <br /><br />Nothing we saw in the Lower did anything to deter our motivation to return .. in fact, it only strengthened it. Below are a handful of images from our various scouting missions. <br /> <br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/DIPPERCREEK/History/BerryPickers.jpg"/><br />Late summer & fall means huckleberries. <br />Photo: Todd G. <br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/DIPPERCREEK/History/BryanScout.jpg"/><br />Bryan looking in on the Lower Canyon.<br />Photo: Todd G.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/DIPPERCREEK/History/ChuteDown3.jpg"><br />Shane about to scout a waterfall.<br />Photo: Todd G.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/DIPPERCREEK/History/FinalFallsScout.jpg"/><br />Lead-in to a waterfall.<br />Photo: Todd G.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/DIPPERCREEK/History/RandomRapid.jpg"/><br />Landing zone of a waterfall.<br />Photo: Todd G.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/DIPPERCREEK/History/FinalFallsScoutBryan.jpg"/><br />Bryan working out a line on a waterfall.<br />Photo: Todd G.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/DIPPERCREEK/History/FinalFallsScout2.jpg"/><br />Waterfalls!<br />Photo: Todd G.Todd Gillmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00365983274794966615noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12664898.post-85678036042811181422008-10-19T16:30:00.001-07:002008-10-19T16:32:45.205-07:00Ain't No Fat Ladies Singin' 'Round Here!"Man, I've never wanted to run a drop I didn't wanna run, as much as I want to run that drop."<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/DIPPERCREEK/Intro/DefinatelyUnsure.jpg"/><br /><br />Those were my words to Bryan as we were on what was supposed to be a quick final scout of "Vertigo Gorge" prior to giving the rest of the team -- Todd and Chris, who were presently setting shuttle -- the green light to drop in. But now the analysis paralysis had set in, which prompted us to radio them with the not-so-rosy report and get them to hike in and meet us for further inspection and a group decision. <br /><br />After hiking down the cougar trail along the rim of the deep gorge and rapping in for a river-level look at the source of our indecision, Todd returned and expressed the same sentiment, almost verbatim. <br /><br />And now here we were standing on <i>the Cat Perch</i> overlooking one of the most impressive and committing gorges we'd ever seen, all quietly thinking the same thing. <br /><br />Hours later ... we'd broken down camp and wallowed in our defeat at the takeout, drinking a beer before returning to civilization and the responsibilities that always pull you out of the woods sooner than you'd hope. We were bailing out of yet another canyon. This time, the third time, on our ongoing 3-year project we'd taken to calling <i>"Waterfall Creek"</i> for obvious reasons. <br /><br />"Everyone should drink another beer," Chris chided us, in an attempt to slow the retreat.<br /><br />We were demoralized and facing a long drive back to the city. Boats were strapped, gear was sorted, and iPods were plugged in, ready for the road. So when Chris casually offered up his next proposal, it really seemed to come from left field, although now, after a couple beers, we were probably more receptive. Turns out, that was part of the plan. <br /><br />"What would you guys think if we could get around the waterfall and down to that little eddy? I'm <i>ninety-five percent</i> certain there's a big tree upstream that I could use as an anchor to rap down into the gorge. If it works we could still run the rest of the gorge. I mean, would that change anyone's mind?" <br /><br />"Ah man, that's cheating. That waterfall is the price of admission into that place." Todd said. <br /><br />"No way, man! I mean, the goal is to make it down through the gorge, travel the river, run some good drops and see some good scenery, right?" Chris countered.<br /><br />It took only a couple seconds of consideration for Todd to agree and pipe up, "Okay, I'm in! If you can get me to the base of that waterfall, I'll drop in," as he grinned and looked at the others. <br /><br />I then upped the ante, offering to just go ahead and run the waterfall as long as I had a person at the base of the falls with a rope. All weekend long, Todd and I had been the most adamant about expediting the mission and getting back home early. But now here we were, all flipping the proverbial bird to responsibilities, SO's, and sound decision making -- we were driving back up to our camp. We were going to put on Dipper Creek ... <i>again.</i><br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/DIPPERCREEK/Intro/CatPerch.jpg"/><br />On the Cat Perch overlooking Vertigo Gorge<br />Photo Chris Tretwold<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/DIPPERCREEK/Intro/VertigoOverheadWide.jpg"/><br />The heart of Vertigo Gorge is caused by the huge intrusion from river-right. <br />Photo Todd Gillman<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/DIPPERCREEK/Intro/VertigoOverlook.jpg"/><br />Photo Todd G.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/DIPPERCREEK/Intro/PinchOverhead.jpg"/><br />Middle of Vertigo Gorge<br />Photo Todd G.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/DIPPERCREEK/Intro/TeaCupsOverhead.jpg"/><br />The cathedral teacup within Vertigo Gorge<br />Photo Chris T.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/DIPPERCREEK/Intro/VertigoOverheadClose.jpg"/><br />The double-drop into the cathedral teacup. The lead-in to the double is a waterfall into a caved-out room. <br />Photo Todd G.<br /> <br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/DIPPERCREEK/Intro/VertigoScout1.jpg"/><br />River level scout of Vertigo<br />Photo Todd G.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/DIPPERCREEK/Intro/VertigoScout4.jpg"/><br />Bryan & Chris contemplating commitment & consequences in Vertigo.<br />Photo Todd G.<br /><br /><br /><br />It's good to be back!Shane Robinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15533364236694305342noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12664898.post-58902140038896007222008-06-09T23:03:00.003-07:002008-06-09T23:43:12.098-07:00Upper Silver CreekTret & Shertl told us Silver Creek was a lay-up. I was lured in & on the hook with tales of bedrock & waterfalls. Shertl arranged for a NF valley resident to pick us up at the gated road closure, then it would be a quick drive up the road plus an easy 3-mile hike in, then just fly down the creek & be back in town in time for BBQ .. I had even gone so far as to make plans to drive to the beach afterwards to camp & surf that night.<br /><br />Hmmmm ..<br /><br />Truth be told, I played waaaaay too hard & waaaaay too late the night before, & was operating on about 3.5 hours of sleep. The realization that our day wasn't going to be expedient set in when, before we'd even started our hike, Drew pointed out that we'd already invested 4 hours into getting to that point.<br /><br />Hmmmmmmm ..<br /><br />Sometime after my gnarly hole beatdown & logjam swim, plus several hundred subsequent log portages (with my club-like frozen feet), all that was going through my head was that witches' line from Macbeth, <i>Double double toil and trouble!</i> .. Over & over & over like a mantra. <br /><br />For those of you who've forgotten, here's the whole passage, to refresh your memory:<br /><blockquote><i>Thrice the brinded cat hath mew'd.<br />Thrice and once, the hedge-pig whin'd.<br />Harpier cries:—'tis time! 'tis time!<br />Round about the caldron go;<br />In the poison'd entrails throw.—<br />Toad, that under cold stone,<br />Days and nights has thirty-one;<br />Swelter'd venom sleeping got,<br />Boil thou first i' the charmed pot!<br />DOUBLE DOUBLE TOIL AND TROUBLE;<br />Fire burn, and caldron bubble.<br />Fillet of a fenny snake,<br />In the caldron boil and bake;<br />Eye of newt, and toe of frog,<br />Wool of bat, and tongue of dog,<br />Adder's fork, and blind-worm's sting,<br />Lizard's leg, and owlet's wing,—<br />For a charm of powerful trouble,<br />Like a hell-broth boil and bubble.<br />DOUBLE DOUBLE TOIL AND TROUBLE;<br />Fire burn, and caldron bubble.<br />Scale of dragon; tooth of wolf;<br />Witches' mummy; maw and gulf<br />Of the ravin'd salt-sea shark;<br />Root of hemlock digg'd i the dark;<br />Liver of blaspheming Jew; (ED NOTE: Drew, no blaspheming!)<br />Gall of goat, and slips of yew<br />Sliver'd in the moon's eclipse;<br />Nose of Turk, and Tartar's lips;<br />Finger of birth-strangled babe<br />Ditch-deliver'd by a drab,—<br />Make the gruel thick and slab:<br />Add thereto a tiger's chaudron,<br />For the ingrediants of our caldron.<br />DOUBLE DOUBLE TOIL AND TROUBLE;<br />Fire burn, and caldron bubble.<br />Cool it with a baboon's blood,<br />Then the charm is firm and good.</i></blockquote><br /><br />Anyway, here's a couple shots from the day .. the real trip report & lots more photos will be posted at <a href=" http://www.bellinghamwhitewater.org "target="_blank">Bellingham Whitewater</a> shortly .. so best you go there to check now. <br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/SilverCr/TGBusted.jpg"/><br />The hike was so awesome!<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/SilverCr/ShertlScared.jpg"/><br />Splashy whitewater sometimes frightens Shertl. This look of terror is something I've witnessed all too often.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/SilverCr/TretBridge.jpg"/><br />On the hike up we couldn't help but notice the massive avalanche that bridged the creek. We were sure we'd have to climb out of the canyon & portage it. To our amazement, we were actually able to paddle beneath it. Bueno!<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/SilverCr/DrewBridge1.jpg"/><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/SilverCr/DrewBridge2.jpg"/><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/SilverCr/DrewBridge3.jpg"/><br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/SilverCr/TGFalls.jpg"/><br />There <i>IS</i> a waterfall on this creek. <br /><br />Remember, full TR at <a href=" http://www.bellinghamwhitewater.org "target="_blank">Bellingham Whitewater</a>.<br /><br />Also, Bryan's got some awesome stuff up at the Reel Water site .. "bergy bits" & such .. <a href=" http://reelwaterproductions.com/eastern-horizons/ "target="_blank">Go there!</a>Todd Gillmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00365983274794966615noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12664898.post-8781617121018757992008-06-07T12:04:00.001-07:002008-06-07T17:23:08.101-07:00Van Island Revisted: Do Not Forget Your Sixth SenseThe most recent adventure to Vancouver Island was my first, and while Todd provided an excellent wrap-up in terms of a trip report and the usual eye candy, I thought I would chime in with a little verbal musing of my own. <br /><br /> Filming the previous rapid, I was the last of the group to catch the large eddy behind a house-sized boulder where everybody was pondering the next step. I could feel this tingle in my body and wondered why the pace of the group appeared to have stalled more than the usual approach to another horizon line. That tingle was not fully realized until I drifted over to Bryan who then stated, “We’re boxed in now!” Ah-ha ... the extra acute sensations I was experiencing was in response to the sudden change in river character – vertical walls on each side with very limited scouting and portaging options. This <a href="http://www.geocities.com/spydr7/">“spidey sense”</a> is important for boating in the Northwest and indispensable when dropping into rivers on Vancouver Island – don’t forget it!<br /><br /> This was my first trip to the Island, but I had heard the many rave reviews from Mr. Gillman’s previous adventures and this one promised to include many of the same antics. Gold River would be our “Zone” (an apparently <a href="http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/225139_nwspeak20.html">NW dialect</a>) for this mission and after dropping Jakub’s car off, we had a huge list of classics and potential first and second and maybe even third descents thanks to the gracious beta from Vancouver Island’s Shane. Readers should be reminded at this point that the Northwest and BC in particular is notorious for beta that is light on important details such as marginally runnable rapids that are difficult to scout and portage, and rather the beta takes the “its all good … go get it,” tone. <br /><br /> So it should have come to no surprise when on our third and final day – the day we were supposed to be busting out three classics – we encountered our second fully boxed-in and vertical-walled junk pile of a rapid. And we were still on run numero uno. The <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spider-Man%27s_powers_and_equipment#Spider-sense">spidey sense</a> had been running on hyperactive for the last 36 hours and maybe due to fatigue this early in the season, almost allowed to us to get ourselves in a real bind. <br /><br /> As the dealing unfolded, an hour later we had not progressed much. Todd was still upstream making room on the camera memory card for many more incredible pics; Shertzl had not said in word in the last 45 minutes and still had not found a egress less than 5.11c; on the other hand Ryan had verbally dissected every possible line we could make out from upstream and none of those options sounded good to me; Jakub kept giving the signal of nervousness by pretending to chew his fingernails and pounding his heart; and Bryan had decided to go get a second opinion from Jakub’s perspective on the other side of the crick. <br /><br /> Heading home on the ferry, <a href="http://youtube.com/watch?v=b0HYpM-1rZU">spidey sense</a> back in recovery mode until it will surely be called upon in the coming weekends, we all relished in those memories. Some of which were not fun in the moment, but all of which worked out in the end with reasonable options for safe travel. Standing on top of boulder in the middle of the river, not knowing if I would be paddling downriver to the next eddy or attaining upstream to the top of the gorge; throwing my boat from a forty foot cliff and jumping in after it; portaging through the dense underbrush of the BC forests where the ocean on the other side of the mountain is closer than the nearest road; and getting deep in the sh!t – this is why I will go back to the island and love every minute of it! <br /><br />If you read/skimmed all of that hoping for some pretty photos, you will have to just go back to some of Todd's posts ... and you should:<br /><a href="http://therangelife.blogspot.com/2008/05/hot-spot-gold-river-part-1.html">Van Island:Gold River Zone:Day 1<br /></a><a href="http://therangelife.blogspot.com/2008/05/hot-spot-gold-river-part-2.html">Van Island:Gold River Zone:Day 2<br /></a><a href="http://therangelife.blogspot.com/2008/05/hot-spot-gold-river-part-3-end.html">Van Island:Gold River Zone:Day 3</a>Shane Robinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15533364236694305342noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12664898.post-50328735203932000792008-06-04T23:41:00.002-07:002008-06-05T00:22:24.777-07:00Clearwater CarnivalA bunch of us had the good fortune of catching the Clearwater on a sunny Saturday last weekend. It's hard enough to just catch the creek running -- like the NF Snoqualmie (Ernie's), the Clearwater drains an area that's been extensively clearcut, so water levels tend to spike & plummet dramatically, making the creek extremely fickle. The B'ham crew tends to treat a Clearwater day like they would an epic powder day on the mountain. Find it running on a bluebird day & it's like <i>"Drop whatever it is yer doing, Let's go creekin'!"</i> <br /><br />It's been said there's 30-some individual rapids in about a mile & a quarter .. so really it's more like one long rapid. And it's a lot of fun to just bomb it real fast. So I only stopped at a handful of places to shoot photos.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/Clearwater/DrewBoof.jpg"/><br />Drew<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/Clearwater/KennetChrisSFL.jpg"/><br />Kennet & Tret<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/Clearwater/ShaneSFL.jpg"/><br />Shane Sliding For Life<br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/Clearwater/ShaneClose.jpg"/><br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/Clearwater/DrewSFL.jpg"/><br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/Clearwater/BlueAngels1.jpg"/><br />Paul G. <br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/Clearwater/DrewOrangePeel.jpg"/><br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/Clearwater/TretPeel.jpg"/><br /><br /><img src="http://www.downstreammedia.net/TheRangeLife/Clearwater/ShaneHorseshoe.jpg"/>Todd Gillmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00365983274794966615noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12664898.post-23237883111116363472008-06-01T03:28:00.004-07:002008-06-01T04:26:24.444-07:00Checking In from Newfoundland!After coming home from the Van Island trip, I spent a week dealing with final preparations for over two months of filming on the East Coast. I always find it hard to leave the Northwest, but I was pretty stoked to get rolling on my next sea kayaking film <a href="http://reelwaterproductions.com/eastern-horizons">Eastern Horizons </a>and open my eyes to some new landscapes. The first stop on the Eastern Horizons film shoot and tour was Newfoundland. The main reason for starting the trip on "The Rock" was largely dictated by the invitation to be a whitewater guest at the <a href="http://www.kayakers.nf.ca/">Kayak Newfoundland Labrador </a>Retreat held in Terra Nova Provincial Park. Every year the KNL crew invites two guests to come paddle, teach and swap stories with them. This year they invited myself and Fergus Coffey to share the honors. The keyword of this event is RETREAT. It is not a frantic, hectic symposium sort of event with people running around with radios and dealing with logistics. It is a gathering of both whitewater and sea paddlers from all across Newfoundland for a weekend of paddling, eating, stories, music, and catching up. The KNL whitewater guys Darren McDonald, Dave Innis, and Dave Mac showed Fergus and I some quality whitewater. The Northwest River was by far the paddling highlight.<br /><br />This was a really fun twisty, turny bedrock drop on the Northwest.<br /><p><img width="300" height="450" src="http://reelwaterproductions.com/eastern-horizons/wp-content/uploads/bryannorthwest.jpg" alt="" /></p><br />photo by Fergus Coffey<br /><br />This waterfall was a pretty full on 30 footer that has only been run a couple times by Kev England. We spent a bunch of time scouting the entrance and then decided to give er. We both stomped this one out, threading the needle into the meat of the drop.<br /><p><img width="300" height="450" src="http://reelwaterproductions.com/eastern-horizons/wp-content/uploads/bryanwaterfall.jpg" alt="" /></p><br />photo by Fergus Coffey<br /><br />The weekend flew by and the hospitality of the KNL crew was unmatched. I found it ironic to be getting a taste of how good the whitewater paddling was, yet having to set it aside to move onto filming sea kayaking for a couple weeks up North. I will certainly be back to Newfy with a creeker after the seeing some of the rivers and waterfalls to be had. <br /><br />Post retreat I packed up my gear and headed North to meet Lise-Anne, photog Phil Tifo and his girlfriend Chelsea to go sea kayaking with the ice bergs for ten days. Not a bad angle on exploring Newfoundland and an incredible start to the next big project for <a href="http://www.reelwaterproductions.com">Reel Water</a>...Eastern Horizons<br /><br />Getting into the ice bergs in Twillingate<br /><p><img width="640" height="427" src="http://reelwaterproductions.com/eastern-horizons/wp-content/uploads/boatsandbergs.jpg" alt="" /></p><br /><br />If you have never seen an ice berg before I recommend the experience<br /><p><img src="http://reelwaterproductions.com/eastern-horizons/wp-content/uploads/bryanfilmingbergs.jpg" alt="" /></p><br /><br />Lise-Anne all smiles after a sunset paddle with the bergs.<br /><p><img src="http://reelwaterproductions.com/eastern-horizons/wp-content/uploads/image/lasunsetbergs.jpg" alt="" /></p><br /><br />Lise-Anne and I will be on the road through the end of July and back in BC for the prime whitewater season. You can follow our trip on the <a href="http://reelwaterproductions.com/eastern-horizons">Eastern Horizons</a> blog. Phil Tifo took some unbelievable photos of this trip which will be up shortly on the blog. Hope everyone is getting after it and enjoying Spring!Bryan Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12224511473765962245noreply@blogger.com2