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.

SeaGnar 2015

The 2015 SeaGnar has come and gone. If you were able to make it out; thank you for supporting the event and hopefully you had a good time. Thank you to our awesome sponsors who made this event possible!

We started the evening off with two videos. The first is this awesome video by last year's SeaGnar winner: Mike Hagadorn

Mike gives us some awesome ariels and the boys up in Leavenworth show off some classic moves on Tumwater Canyon. Check it out!


Tumwater Canyon & Freefly Systems from Tom Potter on Vimeo.


We followed up with this year's version of the Chelan Gorge Experience. It took a long time to flesh this thing out so thanks for waiting. It was awesome to see so many new faces on the river this year.

Chelan Gorge - 2015 Release from daniel patrinellis on Vimeo.


From here Tom O'Keefe had a chance to talk about some of the important issues we have regarding our waterways here in the PNW. Ernie's Gorge is back in the spotlight as Black Canyon Hydro has filed its License Application for the Black Canyon Hydropower Project (FERC No. P-14110) on the North Fork Snoqualmie River. You can read more about this terrible idea here. There is also a renewed interest in putting a hydroelectric dam on the Skykomish river. Please keep an eye out on social media and on AW to see if there is anything you can do to help stop both of these projects in their tracks.




This year Christian Knight took home the win with this awesome video about why it's important to get your kids out in nature. A great film from a great kayaker and father. Check it out:


Why we teach you from Christian Knight on Vimeo.

The people voted and Christian crushed the competition and took home a new Maximus Prime life Jacket from Kokatat.

Come on down and claim your prize!

Great work Christian, looking forward to more of your videos.

The next five videos were all entered and although awesome, didn't hold up to the charm that Christian's video contained.

Here is Megan Kelly's video: America's Sweetheart.



America'sSweetheart from Megan Kelly on Vimeo.


Next is Andy Lockey's entry: Ridiculous. Andy came in at second place and took home a brand new rand sprayskirt from Snap Dragon.

Andy may have also just started a new tradition for SeaGnar. Second place booty beer?

Now we have another Chelan video with some cool editing. Cooper Fitch's Chelanigans 2k15.



Chelanigans 2k15 from Broken Paddle Productions on Vimeo.


Ellie Wheat gave us this awesome video about the all girls trip down to Ecuador.



Ecuador - Ellie Wheat from SeaGnar Film Fest on Vimeo.

And Dave Fusilli takes us on a ride down all the Hood River classics in the new 9R.


9R Cascade - Dave Fusilli from SeaGnar Film Fest on Vimeo.

Honorable mention!

These videos were all either submitted a little too late or we just didn't have time for them at the event. Either way, please do not be discouraged and try again next year! Thank you for entering the contest and I'm looking forward to next year's contributions.

Brett Barton with Bridge Creek in the North Cascades.


Bridge Creek in the N Cascades from Creek Sides on Vimeo.


Nick Baughman with his take on the Chelan adventure.



Chelan Gorge 2015 Whitewater Kayaking from Nick Baughman on Vimeo.


Mike Smith with his video: 2015 PNW Classics.







Chris Haenisch submitted: Calawah & Sitkum Double Header. Some great pack-rafting in here.







And that's all she wrote!

An event like this is not possible unless a lot of people help, so a lot of thanks are in order: Thank you to Snap Dragon, Teamscum and Kokatat for providing prizes for our contestants. Thank you to Silver City and Dave Fusilli for providing the beer to keep the masses hydrated and stoked. Thank you to Tom O'Keefe for all the hard work you do to make sure that we have access to these amazing waterways. Thank you to Dan at Cascade Paddlesports for lending us his space and his patience for the event. And thank you Sara for being awesome and all the support you provide.

And thank you to everyone that chipped in for the American Whitewater donation. We raised over $600 for an amazing organization.

Until next year.

2015 SeaGnar info

Ok folks, the SeaGnar cometh!

Last year was awesome. About 100 of our best friends all crowded into the local kayak shop, in the middle of a rainstorm, and watched kayaking videos. Then we voted for the video we liked best.
Mike Hagadorn stole the show with this video: The Grand.



The Grand from Cloud Level Media on Vimeo.

We had fun last year so let's do it again! Our longtime friends at Silver City Brewery have graciously donated beer to our cause and the boys at Snap Dragon have donated to the prize fund, so get stoked!
We will be raising money for American Whitewater, so bring some cash and a thirst.

If you want to enter the contest, send me a video! It needs to be 6 minutes or less and I need your video the week before the event. The sooner the better.

A panel of judges will review all submissions and submit the 6 they feel are a cut above. We will watch all the videos and vote at the end. The winner will get prizes, or a prize. Probably something.

And an autographed picture of Rob.

Email me for information if you're interested in submitting a film. I look forward to hearing from you. Email me at drpatrinellis@gmail.com

If you just want to come watch carnage videos, drink good beer and get awesome; Cascade Paddlesports will be hosting us again in Redmond, WA.
Saturday, December 12th at 7 pm.

Cascade Paddlesports
(425) 430-0111
15143 Ne 90th St
Redmond, WA 9805

The 2015 Chelan Gorge Recreational Release

Oh sweet, sweet Chelan.

This year was the largest turnout to date. It seems like I'm saying that every year, but I guess a good thing can't help but get bigger and better over time.

Every September the Chelan PUD gives us kayakers one weekend of recreational release into the Chelan Gorge.

The locals set out some furniture for us. So sick!

The Chelan Gorge recreational release came to fruition on an overcast day, deep in Chelan County. 2015 was the first year that I've needed to wear a drysuit in the gorge, but the cold weather on Saturday just meant the stoke had to be that much higher.

Darren rallies into the first ledge in Entrance Exam.

Nobody ever talks about how fun the first slide is. It would be a named rapid if it wasn't above Entrance Exam.

Entrance Exam gets the most media coverage and the most respect because it's the longest rapid on the run. I would say it's the toughest. And it's the first rapid. So yeah, that's fun.

Entrance Exam consists of four parts: The entry slide.

The first Ledge.

The second Ledge.

Finally the third (and stickiest) Ledge.

The Crowd goes wild.

The combination of a higher than normal turnout and an overall lower number of Chelan veterans on the roster Saturday morning lead me to believe that the carnage reel would be well padded this year. I believe I took the over/under at 7 swims for the first day.

On the contrary, the Chelan virgins absolutely crushed the run. It was awesome to see some new faces and to meet some new boaters, it means the word is traveling and people are seeing the value in the Chelan recreational release

Next year we'll bring the couch too.

Time to move on.

Next up is the Chelan Slide and Meatlocker. A scary ferry to a fun rock slide. Or a chance to op-test your sprayskirt.

The Chelan Slide:

The Meatlocker:

Tom was swiping right the whole time.

Teamwork keeps you out of the Meatlocker. Ben took one for the team and set "Safety" for those who went for the ferry.

But some people look for it.

And give it. These guys all had sicko lines on the Meatlocker. Crushfest.

The Point of no Return. Just past The Chelan Slide is Super Boof. An awesome cross-current right stroke boof into bliss. A fast moving pool puts you right above Throne and Pinnacle. This is one the sickets boofs in the canyon and also the most mellow. It's a nice break from the deathgrip the rest of the run requires.

Darren shows us an alternate Super Boof line.

The Team rallies through Super Boof on their way to Throne.

Dan Rubado.

Ryan Young.

Jeremy Bisson.

Throne awaits.

Throne is a fun move, but still retains some nail-biting factor as a couple of carped rolls means you get to run Pinnacle without a scout.

Todd sporting the new Dagger Nomad.

The Dufey drops in.

Pinnacle awaits just down stream.

Since Rob McKibbon got the first D on this thing a couple years back, the number of peeps running it has steadily climbed. This release weekend was no exception. We got to see some awesome lines... and some lines that make you thank whoever thought of putting a face mask on a kayak helmet.

Safety is key, as a significant portion of the run-out of Pinnacle Falls flows directly into a massive boulder sieve pocket on river right.

How's it look fella's?

Jeremy Bisson, Pinnacle Falls.

Todd Wells, Pinnacle Falls.

Pinnacle Crushfest.

Jeremy and Tom Marley decided to give Pinnacle a go in the raft. Video to follow...

We all know it's not over until the Fat Lady sings! Nick charges the last nasty spot before the takeout while Darren stands by with a helping hand.


The Fat Lady is less of a rapid and more just a sieve-pile you get to kayak over.

So. Another year in the books. Another sick canyon kayaked. Thanks to everyone that made this weekend possible. I love it!

Thank you to American Whitewater for gaining us kayakers access to this amazing river. Thank you to Chelan PUD for the warm welcome and hospitality. 

While I find time to finish editing all this carnage footage, Check out a teaser from this year's release.



2015 - Chelan Teaser from daniel patrinellis on Vimeo.

Until next September, gnome what I'm sayin?