The Big Quilcene River - 2016

The Big Quilcene River

I hadn't been into the Big Quilcene in a couple of years and with the unseasonably warm and wet Fall we have had so far; a warm, pogie-less trip down The Big Q seemed like a great idea.

I ran into Sam, Richard and Chris on Saturday up on the Stillaguamish river and after a couple of beers and retelling of tales of carnage, I had these guys hooked on an OP mission.

This pocket drop was awesome. Fun sequence above with a rewarding shelf-boof at the bottom.

The cool thing about waiting a couple years before heading back into this awesome run was how much the wood situation had changed the run. There were two rapids that did not exist when I was there last. The first was this steep, mankfest of a boulder-garden. We scouted from river left and ran center to left.

The other was this monster:





She's still waiting for some plastic... The drop is definitely runnable, but no one was up to the task on this lap. The entrance involves a lot of skill and faith, not to mention bending some rules of physics.

More info on The Big Q can be found on Professorpaddle.com




Here are some of the GoPro highlights from the day on the water.
Enjoy:





The Big Quilcene - 2016 from daniel patrinellis on Vimeo.




Get out there and check her out.

Chelan 2016 Recreational Release info page

Dates

2016 release dates: September 17th & 18th.

! Waiver to kayak !

For those new to the Chelan Gorge recreational release and all the returning sickos; a waiver must be completed and signed by each participant, 18 years or older. These waivers will be available to put-in, but if the PUD representative runs out of forms, you will not be allowed on the river. Preemptively completing the online reservation form helps not only the Chelan PUD, but also gives American Whitewater an early head count on how many participants are enroute the morning of the release. Below is the link for the reservation and waiver page on the Chelan PUD website.

Reservation & Waiver page

If you do sign up for the release, but are unable to attend, please call or text me. The registration helps the PUD representatives know who is on the water and when everyone is out of the canyon.

Camping

Recreational users will no longer be allowed to use the large field at the put in as a camping spot. We have worn out our welcome at the horseshoe pits and I am looking into options. It’s recommended that you make prior camping arrangements, as in prior to Saturday morning. This is a small town and dirt-bagging can be very difficult in this part of Washington. All of the local campgrounds are county run and pay by the day. They are also small and tend to fill up very fast. Last year the Sheriff came by the put-in on Saturday morning, to remind us that we are not allowed to camp at the put-in. This could become a delicate situation and would look bad for American Whitewater if we do not respect the rights and wishes of this small town that is allowing us to come play in their backyard for a weekend. Please do not be “that person” this year. Make a plan and stick to it.

General info

The Chelan Gorge is awesome. If you haven't paddled it yet, I highly recommend making the journey. Tom O'keefe and American Whitewater worked very hard to secure our right to use this incredible piece of whitewater; showing up and being part of  the release reinforces to the local municipality, our need as whitewater enthusiasts for access to this remote canyon.

There is a lot of media out there showing each and every single line on this run. Check them out and get stoked, but know that this is indeed a difficult class V run with some serious consequence.  Pay your AW dues, know your limits,  have a buddy system, and bring an extra throw bag.

Hope to see you there!

Dan Patrinellis

360-434-4616

drpatrinellis@gmail.com

Great Upper Cherry Creek video by Nils Dippon

PNW Guidebook Release + SeaGnar = SICKNESS

Paddling Pacific Northwest Whitewater: A Fresh Guide to Northwest Rivers and Creeks from Substantial Media House on Vimeo.

Thursday, July 14th kaykers will be getting together at TAB’s in Kenmore to celebrate and rub elbows. We will be celebrating the release of Nick’s new guidebook, “Paddling Pacific Northwest Whitewater” after a lot of hard work.

SeaGnar will rear its grotesque head and the three previous year’s winning films will be shown.

SeaGnar 2013
SeaGnar 2014
SeaGnar 2015

Since I love carnage as much as I do; I’ve made another Beater Sessions video to get the stoke rolling and the booty-beers flowing.

There will be no video contest, no prizes and you will only need to endure minimal talking on my part. Come and and just watch kayak porn with your best friends and check out this sick new guidebook.

Hope to see as many of you out there as possible.

Thursday, July 14th @ 7pm

TAB’s in Kenmore

7211 NE 181st St, Kenmore, WA 98028

Here’s a little teaser for Beater Sessions Vol. 3.


Beater Sessions Vol. 3 Teaser from daniel patrinellis on Vimeo.

Solo Tumwater POV at 13,000 cfs

Some POV footage of a couple solo laps on the 3 Amigos section of Tumwater.

Level was a little over 13,000 cfs.


Solo Amigos from daniel patrinellis on Vimeo.

10,500 cfs in Tumwater Canyon

I was playing around in Tumwater, minding my own business, when a crew of chargers came blasting through.


Sam Grafton, Ben Kinsella and Ben Marr completed top to bottom descents of Tumwater Canyon at 10,500 cfs. That's no joke.




I pulled the camera out while these guys ran Perfection of Whitewater and Last Exit.


Check it out.




10,500 cfs in Tumwater Canyon from daniel patrinellis on Vimeo.

Canada Day

"The Ashlu is running this weekend".

That's all the text from Brad said, but that's really all I needed to hear.

I met up with a bunch of engineers a little North of Seattle and we all piled into Mike Nash's beast of a van.

The drive never seems that far when you're sitting at your desk or packing up the truck to leave, but once you get on I5 and start heading North its a whole different thing.


We got to the border pretty quickly but getting through Vancouver was a little bit hairy... but that's another story for another day.



 

After a late night and a rough morning we started to assess our surroundings. We were not planning on meeting anyone until Sunday and there was enough water coming into the reservoir that the Mine was in.


While I had a few Ashlu Box laps under my belt, I had never paddled the Mine so I had to jump on that opportunity. We met a sicko paddler name Palo and Alicia drove up for the day as well. So we all piled into the van and started up the sketch-ball road that leads to the Mine put-in.

  

Palo's girlfriend is a saint and agreed to drive up with us to run our shuttle so all that was left was the short drive to the top and the potential case of tetanus from all the scrap metal you get to hike around.

A short hike through the woods deposits you at the very top of this thing:

When I asked Brad what level looked like he kind of shrugged and grinned. So who knows. I thought it was incredible! The Mine is a blast.

Some Devil's Club anyone?

All in all, a great weekend spent with some awesome people. Thanks to Brad and Palo for showing us noobs down the Mine.





Here are some of the highlights from the paddling sessions that weekend including the Mine, Mini Mine and the Box:






Canada Day on the Ashlu River from daniel patrinellis on Vimeo.