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After a long and dry fall we have been fortunate to get some much anticipated rain. Northwest rivers getting to perfect levels for some playboating in the Willamette Valley, and creeking in the Columbia River Gorge.

Enjoying a session at Grassy Lawn on Lake Creek in Oregon.

Photos by Corey Morton.

Little White Salmon also getting up to super high flows which pushed out most of the wood that was in play. The river seems as clear as I can remember every seeing it. Still a few logs here and there so scout it out if your not sure. Here’s a link to a helmet cam of the whole run shot by Shon Bollock. Good way to scout the river and learn the lines if you haven’t been down before.

I’m crossing my fingers that this year keeps pumping out the precipitation so that we have a sick spring and summer to look forward to.

This weekend was Rollapolooza 2009, an event put on by the Raleigh Parks and Recreation Department for the paddlers of Raleigh and the triangle area to come out and try new toys from different kayak manufacturers as well as get paddling instruction from the pros. Dylan Bruce, my girlfriend Alexis, and I headed down east from Asheville in the team van as day broke Saturday morning with a load of shiny new Pyranha kayaks.

Dylan and I taught hand rolls and flatwater loops. We spent about an hour teaching and ended up getting several folks rolling without a paddle.

Getting some hangtime in flatwater. Photo by Alexis Decosimo

When the time came to teach flatwater loops, I guess nobody wanted to learn, so Dylan and I practiced our loops for a while before going back to our table to send out the Karnalis, Z.Ones and Revs we brought, chat up the event-goers, and give away Pyranha swag. The Karnali and Z.One were big hits. A couple of guys borrowed both Karnalis as soon as the doors to the event opened and hung onto them all evening while learning to roll with LVM’s John Grace and Will Lyons. The Z.One also proved easy to roll (and handroll)!

This is Patrick..stoked moments after nailing his first handroll in the Z.One!

This year most attention to Pyranha’s new items has gone to the Karnali and Z.One. Recently we have been testing a backpack system for Pyranha creek boats. It will be available for purchase for around $75. I decided to bring my new backpack system with me to Raleigh this weekend and take some photos of it. Backpack systems I have devised in the past from cam straps and pool noodles ended up being frustrating implements of torture to the user (me). I went back to shouldering my boat and suffering through hikes.
The Pyranha backpack system makes carrying a kayak through the woods to the put in of your favorite creek much more comfortable. When fitted correctly, the system allows you to carry the boat’s weight on your waist via a belt. The shoulder and sternum straps keep the boat from shifting and causing you to flail on your back like a turtle in the trail. Carrying a kayak has never been this comfortable for me! Now I won’t dread the Horsepasture or Toxaway hike so much!

Here’s Thomas Williams carrying a Burn with the backpack system.

Video: Dinver shows how to set up the backpack system at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CTn3MsRDZOo

Thanks to the organizers for putting together a cool event like this one for folks to escape winter weather in their backyard. I hope to be back next year!

Nepal has to be one of the best places to go for multiday river trips. You fly in to KTM, dump your boat and bags at the kayak friendly hotel, eat a curry and plan your trip. Its so easy to jump on a bus with your boat loaded for a multiday, get to the put in and start.

In November just gone, I went there for the first time and I don’t know why it’s taken me so long to go. Wherever you look there’s a backdrop of the Himalayas which you don’t seem to get tired of gazing at.

Its pretty funny getting your gear into the back of the Burn if you’ve not done it before. There is definitely a technique to it. My haphazard manner usually meant that I would have to unpack everything to get the one thing i stuffed into the end! Hmm I had much to learn… all us girls had the Smalls and the guys had the big ‘L’s. Though we were strong headed and stubborn we gladly turned our heads as the men stuffed the extra kit into theirs. By the end of the trip tho I had it down and the Burn ruled as I transported all of my ‘extra necessities’ down the river.

When supplies got low we stopped at the villages and made friends with the locals. Brilliant food. Eat me those eggs. 5 weeks quickly went kayaking rivers from the West to the East. Highlights were the Karnali, Marsyandi and the Bhote Kosi. A river trip that takes longer than 2 hours on the river is a way to feel more at home in your boat! The Burn moved better loaded and boofed like a demon. I enjoyed every minute of it and the whitewater and country is becoming more and more popular for single travellers and the ladies! Go and get you some dal baht!

So I haven’t been able to paddle too much this summer, I guess that’s what happens when you have a full time job.

Got on the Waihohonu Stream, in the central North Island New Zealand with a couple of friends. It isn’t anything too gnarly, just lots of fun boggy water and a few little drops etc.

Waihohonu River, NZ from Aplin Independent on Vimeo.

So the summer is going well, had a fun time at the Annual Andy Duff Memorial Race on the Kaituna River a couple of weeks ago. Works starting to quiet down so hopefully I will have some more boating for you to check out soon.

live HUGE… consume little

Lawrance Simpson

The River Plym is one of the best Grade 5 runs in England.  It comes up after heavy rain and combining the Upper Dart and River Erme makes for a world class day of paddling.

Ali Boofing

For the more photos and the rest of the report got to

http://fatcatslatestnews.blogspot.com/

Cheers Ali

To run the classic of all classics takes preparation.  I first got invited on this Grand Canyon trip back in May, and tomorrow I am finally departing.  In one way or another I have been getting my S#%* together for about six months. I have stuffed everything a person could ever want on a month long river trip inside a HUGE Watershed Dry Bag.  Rubber boots, Carhartt overalls, it’s all in there (thank god for raft support).  I’ve got the new Z.One ready to go.  I think it’s going to the perfect Grand Canyon boat.

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This was passed along to me from fellow Pyranha paddler Casey Jones:

As almost any kayaker knows, the best feeling one can have is when they can give back to the community of paddlers who helped develop their skills. The January 17-18, 2009, weekend during the USACK Chute the Hooch Wildwater Training Camp was such an experience for me. In previous years, I have attended the camp as a racer, but due to shoulder injuries, I attended the training camp with the intent of making Pyranha Speeders available to first time racers. With help from Jim Hager and Dinver McClure I was able to take two demo boats to the training camp.

The first day which took place at the Atlanta Rowing Venue in the City of Roswell GA, focused mainly on technique. Racers spent the morning session refining a proper racing stroke. As many found, the Speeder is much easier to learn in, because of its stability, its ease of turning, and the ease of getting the boat up to speed. The only problem with the Speeder this past weekend was that the demand was a greater than the supply of available Speeders.

Tim Boring showing great technique

Saturday afternoon’s clinic racers combined speed with good technique. All the participants made significant leaps and strides in their paddling ability.

Janet Chisholm practicing her stroke

On Sunday, the winds blew in and brought clear weather and excited racers. A number of hardened veterans and first time racers alike gathered at Powers Ferry on the Chattahoochee River for an impromptu race. The largest class by far was the K-1 Men’s plastic class, three of which where Pyranha Speeders.

All in all, the Pyranha Speeder demo proved to be a success. Many who attended expressed to me that the Speeder is a great option for first time racers to have beginning their Wildwater racing career.

Chuck Spornick modeling the Pyranha Speeder

Photos courtesy of Nathan Chastain and Casey Jones

For more information about Wildwater Racing and the Chute the Hooch Training Camp go to http://www.usawildwater.com/

Tom & I are about halfway through our tour around New Zealand.  We arrived in Auckland on New Years Day and have been steadily heading South since then following the water.  New Zealand has some world class kayaking and is such a chilled country.  We have hit some classic North Island runs, Murchison & the West Coast so far and plan to head further South in the next few days before return North hitting the ones we missed. 

Murchison chilled boating and camping.

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Here is a very scenic and cool drop on the Oregon side of the Columbia River Gorge.  Comin down and splitin’ the gunsight in the L Karnali.   Jan 2nd 2009.  Good way to start off the New Year.

Check out HUCKIN HUGE.com for the video & more.

Photos By Ron Hope of Portland, OR.

Demshitz Chile Argentina teaser

Bradford Mcarthur slayin the stout Alerces drop on the Rio Manso Argentina. Check out his blog Team Marginal

Demshitz have been killin it here in Patagonia! More to come from Argentina… In the mean time check out Evan Garcias blog updates from some hucks in Chile.

Since school let out for the holidays, I have thoroughly enjoyed myself paddling the steep whitewater of western NC and east TN. I was fortunate enough to paddle my favorite runs – the Raven Fork, Toxaway, and Cullasaja several times in the last month as well as spend time with the family. Paddling highlights from break included an extremely high water run of the Raven Fork, my first run of Big Boy (a few days later after the water dropped), and an awesome day on the Toxaway.
A few days before Christmas, the mountains of NC got hammered with rain. A band of storms blew in from the west bringing several inches of rain to the parched southeast and causing paddlers to rejoice. After watching the front dump inches of rain on the Smokies through the radar map the whole day and night before, Pat Keller, Toby MacDermott, Drew Duval, and I decided to venture into the Raven Fork for some high water action. With the Oconoluftee River in Cherokee well over 2000cfs, we knew we were in for a big day.
Typically this creek holds water very well and is runnable for days after a rain event, so often a Raven Fork trip involves bluebird skies. Even at lower levels, this creek is nothing to sneeze at. On this day, we drove to the takeout through pouring rain that continued to fall as we hiked and paddled downstream.

Photo: Chan Jones/courtesy of Astral Bouyancy

Pat Keller in the bottom drop of Anaconda. Photo: Chan Jones/courtesy of Astral Bouyancy

Pat Keller at the top of Headless Horseman. Photo: Chan Jones/courtesy of Astral Bouyancy

When we passed the gauge on the way to the top it read 20 inches. Shortly after putting on it was apparent that the level was still rising and was estimated at Mike Tyson’s to be between 24 and 27 inches. We moved downstream cautiously, running most of the enormous rapids but walking a few. This steep creek was a ridiculously steep river on this day but I was safe in my new Astral Green Jacket and Pyranha Burn. The new vest from Astral is an awesome rescue jacket. It has all the familiar features of the 300-R but with an improved fit – less bulk in the bottom front of the jacket, an improved strapping system, and added protection in the upper back. The result is a very low profile rescue vest that, once adjusted, does not move around on your torso.
Because the water was rising, photography wasn’t high on the priority list that day. I managed to record the trip by snapping a few quick shots of Pat and Drew.
The next trip back to the Raven Fork was two days later, with Leland Davis, Mac McGee, and myself showing Andria Davis down for her first time. We took our time and shot a lot of photos and video and I threw together a clip of the trip. Look for this footage in Autoboof Productions’ new film, Slave to the Rain soon. A personal highlight of this trip was my first run of the Big Boy waterfall. It’s a 35 foot drop that lands between a rock and a hard place, with the finest of lines. I’m so stoked to have finally run that beast!

Chan Jones dropping Big Boy. Photo courtesy of Mac McGee
Raven Fork video

After blitzing the Raven Fork several times in a row, I took a few days off from paddling to hang with the family and let my body rest. When I was just starting to get the itch to paddle again, another front showed up on the radar, bringing with it lots of rain. Pat and I made a couple calls back and forth and had narrowed down our options to a southeastern waterfall tour, a trip up to the Elk for some action on the 50’er, or a ride on the magic carpet down the Toxaway River.
The weather was going to be perfect and we anticipated a high water day on the Toxaway, so we decided to go there. This river and I have a bit of history. On my first trip there two years ago, I flipped in the Feeding Trough and ended up exiting the gorge downstream with a broken paddle, ruptured eardrum, and a concussion. Each time I went back to run the Toxaway, something else happened that prevented me from being able to go through with plans – whether it was low water or getting my car stuck and having to be towed out.
This day shaped up great. When I arrived at the put in, I found the river at a good medium flow, then drove down to the takeout to meet Pat and Isaac Levinson. We put on and moved downstream quickly until we got to the big rapids. We shot photos and video and each ran Energizer a couple of times because it’s such an awesome rapid.

Me before the second lap on Energizer. Photo by Isaac Levinson

Near the top of the rapid. Photo by Isaac Levinson

Riding it out. Photo by Isaac Levinson

Then the weather changed. It had been warm and sunny when we put on but suddenly in the pool below Energizer, we noticed the air cooling quickly. A few moments later it was snowing. We were all thankful at that moment that we were warm and dry in our IR Double D drysuits.

From the top of the Landbridge. Photo by Chan Jones

Pat punching through the top wave at Landbridge. Photo by Chan Jones

Isaac sizing up the huge overhead curling wave at the top of the slide. Photo by Chan Jones

The snow continued as we made downstream progress and the cameras stayed in drybags until we got to the Landbridge. I took a couple shots of Pat and Isaac before firing off the beast myself. We blue-angeled into Wintergreen Falls, a giant rapid that drops around 100 feet in a very short distance then continued through the slackwater to Yo Adrienne, the horrible rapid normally portaged but named when Adrienne Levknecht missed the eddy above and had to run it. We pulled out at Augerhole Rd, rested and ate some food to bring up our energy, and began the 4 mile hike with our boats, gaining 1000 feet in elevation on our way out of the gorge. Later, on the way home, a blizzard blew into the Highlands/Cashiers area ! I guess my streak of unusual events associated with the Toxaway continues!

Here are a couple more random boating shots.

Alexis Decosimo sticking her first run of Nantahala Falls on New Year’s Day. Photo by Casey Jones

Me somewhere on Suck Creek. Photo by Alexis Decosimo

Until it rains next time…

Pennsylvania has been getting hit pretty regularly for the past few weeks with “winter mix,”  a lovely little combination of snow, sleet, and rain.  The upside of that is we’ve had pretty good water for the past month or so.  I’ve been shooting a good bit of footage, and finally got around to putting it together.  My “Winter Mix” is a combination of creeking in the Delaware Water Gap and playboating on the Susquehanna at Holtwood and Chickies Hole.  It’s been cold, but it’s Pennsylvania winter paddling at it’s finest.

Winter Mix video on ChasingRain.com

2nd Canyon of the Rio Verde. Photo by Adam Goshorn

Just over a day’s drive from the southeastern United States lies a tropical paradise just waiting to welcome whitewater paddlers.  The rivers that drain the eastern slopes of Mexico’s Sierra Madre Mountains boast beautiful turquoise water and a seemingly endless number of rivers and creeks.  From the benign to the extreme, the high concentration of waterfalls in this area of Mexico provide paddlers with more opportunity for verticality in couple of weeks than most paddlers get in a year.

Adam Goshorn, Rio Tamasopo. Photo by Leigh Knudsen.

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