Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Ernies Gorge solo lap



It was a cold day and I had nothing to do. I was feeling a bit froggy and decided to rally out to Ernies for a solo lap. I had run Ernie's Canyon many times up to this point, but never by myself. Ben always does and I used to berate him for it but something changed. I think I just wanted to see what would happen by myself, with no one else to rely on.


Contemplating at my line through Toilet Bowl.

When I left Port Orchard it was already a little late for an Ernies run. I usually like to be at the takeout by noon at the latest so that there is plenty of time to hike in and run shuttle. There wasn't much snow on the ground in Kitsap, but by the time I pulled off of I-90 in North Bend, you could hardly see the road.




Luck was on my side and someone had left the logging gate open at the put in. So, after stashing the mountain bike at the takeout I rushed down to the put-in and dropped off my boat and gear.
Driving to the put-in bridge


In the 20 minutes or so that it took me to drive back to the other side of the logging gate and then walk back in, my boat was completely covered in snow...


Unfortunately placed wood in Double Boof

I don't know all the names of the rapids in Ernies, nobody seems to know any of them, except the big four. This rapid usually doesn't have wood in it (and its gone now 12/18/11) but I had talked to Ben the week before this trip and knew that there were some new wood hazards to watch out for.

Double Boof

After scouting I decided to walk on river left. Sad, because this is one of the more interesting rapids due to its dynamic nature. You come in hot just off the rocks on river left and boof left into a little "calm" spot, then head hard left to avoid getting stuffed into the undercut on river right that the majority of the water piles into.


Panorama of Double Boof

Another awesome drop that was, at the time, ruined by wood: Boof Left. I love Boof Left because it scares the living daylights out of me. You come down some mank, trying to stay off the right wall (where 90% of the water goes) because there are multiple strainers, hit a small funky pool and charge hard towards the ledge. You boof left, diagonally between the ledge and a huge boulder that blocks the direct path of the water. I've never missed my line and I don't want to think about what would happen if you did on this one.


Boof Left. The wood is barely visible in the left third of the photo.

Ben actually found this piece while doing a solo morning lap while Rob and I were on our way out there. Due to complacency, we usually do not scout this rapid and neither did Ben. He took the standard line and boofed, landing squarely on a piece of wood lodged in the landing zone of this awesome drop. Luckily Ben was alright, could have been a very different story, but he was able to give us some beta before our own run. So I knew ahead of time that this stick was still in play and in the way of good times. 


The lead-in to Big Nasty

Big Nasty is the psychological crux of the run for me. This rapid just plain wiggs me out. No reason, I've never been worked in it, never swam out of it or had anything bad happen. It just scares the crap out of me.


The lead-in to Big Nasty

The wood in the lead-in to Big Nasty is new as well (and gone now 12/18/11), but you could get around this log. Little Nasty has two normal lines, far left and far right. I usually opt for the far left line but the log made the decision easy and I went right. Now all that was left was Big Nasty.


Shortly after Big Nasty is Toilet Bowl. One of my favorite drops on the run. Its just fun! This rapid has the most in play sieve, I guess. After you paddle through the toilet bowl and out the chute, you are in the main current which is going straight towards a large sieve. You have to be upright and have your mind set on a course of action as soon as you come out of the toilet bowl chute as you have about 20 feet or so before you're under a rock. I hate rolling here, but it happens.

Toilet Bowl


All in all a good day. Some carnage and missed lines here and there, but a good day. Got back to my truck before dark and made it home in time for dinner with my mom, who was in town for the Holiday weekend.

Solo boating probably isn't the smartest thing in the world, but then again, on a run like Ernie's theres not much people can do for you if you get into trouble. I've seen swims in Ernie's and I've seen boats get destroyed, but I knew I wasn't going to swim. And if I did, my boat was already cracked anyway I guess.

Either way, there was something magical about being all alone out there in the middle of the woods with no one around to gum up the peace. No other sounds except the gurgling and rushing of water, the background white noise of snow falling on evergreens and the pulsing of blood through my veins. Theres no sense of time. You're not waiting to run a drop or waiting for anyone else to drop into the eddy next to you. You just go, or you don't go. Its all internal impetus. It was a learning experience. A huge learning experience.  I was able to gauge my confidence level as well as find my risk vs. reward threshold. All too often you just "go for it" because your buddies are there with throwbags and chase boats, or at least I do. But stuff can still go wrong, even with everybody there to help. This was just another way of steeping up my game and finding out where I was at mentally.

A great day.




Monday, September 20, 2010

Upper Upper Cispus in September!

Joe Howard, Brian Burger and myself rallied down to the Upper Upper Cispus for a fast lap. I hadn't been in here in a hot minute but neither Brian nor Joe had ever been on the Upper Upper, so I had to school some lines. Brain actually ended up leading most of the trip. Honey Badgerdon't give a fu..



Upper Upper Cispus put in.

Stokes doesn't like what he see's

Upper Upper Cispus put in.
Looking downstream from the bridge

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Warm Up falls, Upper Upper Cispus
Warm Up falls, Upper Upper Cispus

Warm Up falls, Upper Upper Cispus
Joe Howard, Warm Up Falls


Warm Up falls, Upper Upper Cispus
Brian Burger, Warm Up Falls

Warm Up falls, Upper Upper Cispus



Looking upstream at the Rapid of no Return, from Behemoth


Bryan Burger picks his line at Behemoth

...and owns it.

Joe Howard hits the left line at Behemoth

My turn I guess...












Thursday, January 28, 2010

Damn it, not another crappy kayaking Blog!

I have no idea what to say here other than Hello!

Bear with me please, my command of the English language is about as advanced as my knowledge of how a microwave works, where our tax dollars go or what women want. Writing and I are like a couple with a bad break up in the past; we can still deal with eachothers shit, but we prefer to live in seperate area codes.

I have created this blog to share my experiences in life with my friends and family.
I find a lot of joy in this world, out in the woods and on the river and I would like to be able to share this joy with others. Not everyone has the ability to ditch the social constraints imposed on them by careers, family and such, to take off onto the road and find something new and exciting. Neither can I, but I do it anyway and pay for it during the week. But I think its about time to start sharing what I do on the weekends with the people that notice I often disappear around Friday afternoon and return late Sunday evening.

I like to kayak. I like to spend as much of my time from day to day on the water. But, that being said, life has a way of coming between you and your plans. Still, even as a weekend warrior, I try to get out as often as possible. I like to take pictures as well and I'm sorry to all my friends that have to wait for me while I do so, be it on the river, off the side of the road or on the trail. Kayaking is an odd sport. One where you have to go through quit a bit of misery to arrive at a place of enlightenment. Kayaking is also a vehicle to the greatest bliss I have ever experienced. The feeling of life melting away as you concentrate on the upcoming horizon line is the best therapy money can buy. The best weekends of the spring involve me coming home with another couple hundred miles on the odometer and no skin on my knuckles, but the ear to ear grin stays until about Thursday. Through kayaking I have met and continue to meet some of the best and most interesting people on the planet. People from every conceivable background. Lawyers, construction workers, real estate agents and people who leave the "current employment block" blank on the Census forms.

I grew up kayaking on the South Fork of the American River in Coloma, CA. The old man, Richard Patrinellis, got me involved with the sport around the time that the RPM was the hot buy on the market. For the most part, I stopped kayaking when I got into high school and then completely forgot about it when I joined the Navy in 2001. It wasn't until an annual Rogue River trip three years ago that I rekindled the love and excitement that comes only from wearing a spray skirt. The past two seasons have been an amazing adventure, exploring the rivers and creeks of Washington and Oregon.

Please enjoy the following media and feel free to criticize, that's the only way I can improve...

Cheers!
Dan