Got Boof

Water Filled Weekend

2009-10-26T20:53:00.007-04:00

This weekend brought some water to the region, mostly south of Morgantown, WV. A group of nine of us met on Saturday to bag some creeks. With our hopes set on bagging two creeks, Roaring creek and Daugherty Run we drove down to Albright, WV to check on the action. After setting the shuttle for Roaring Creek we realized at the put in that the water was too low. This sent us on a mad scramble over to Daugherty to catch the remaining water. While the water was on the low side, it is always a neat opportunity to boogie down this slide filled run, and for many in the group, it was a great chance to see the run for the first time.

Sunday brought higher water runs on both the Lower Big Sandy and the Upper Yough for the few of us that were able to get out on both days this last weekend.

Got Boof Goes North '09

2009-09-09T22:25:00.014-04:00

Beau on Colton Falls

The following is a contribution by our newest Got Boof Member: Beau Smith

The 2009 summer season ended with a bang this year when I was fortunate enough to be invited up to the Adirondacks with the Got Boof crew. After boating for an entire summer on the Upper Yough, I felt confident enough in my boating skills to try my luck. The drive was suspiciously flat, but I was assured that massive, steep drops were hidden somewhere in the placid landscape of upstate, rural New York.

On the first day, we ran the Raquette river, and the first rapid lay within a short walk of the put-in. For those of you who have not seen Colton falls, you will probably sleep better at night having not seen it in person. That was my first reaction anyways. Pure terror. As I was carrying my boat towards the put-in, there was some uncertainty in my mind about if I would live through the day. Luckily for me, I cruised down through the rapid with no problems. It was so much fun, I decided to carry up and run it again. Everyone else came through and we headed down the river for a great day of giant rapids and good times.

The rest of the weekend was a little more mellow with some fun class four rapids on the Moshier and Taylorsville sections of the Beaver, and some exciting park-and-huck action on the Eagle sections.

I couldn’t have asked for a better weekend. Every area of the country offers something different for kayakers, and New York is no exception, especially coming from the PA-MD-WV region. Besides getting to see some new rivers, this weekend provided me the opportunity to run my first class V river, and push my mental and physical limits to new levels. Thank you to Jason, and all the other guys who I boated with this weekend. It was a great trip, and I hope that I can travel back to New York and do it again next year.

The Chambersburg crew also made their way north this weekend. Check out some photos of their adventure here.

Third Annual Creeking Clinic

2009-07-30T21:56:00.010-04:00

On July 26th, the third annual Got Boof Intro to Creeking Clinic took place at Valley Falls, WV. We had over 40 participants this year, including both safety boaters and students, with a nearly one to one ratio. This year’s students left the majority of the carnage at home and spent the entire day working on their technique over the beautiful topography of this great West Virginia State Park. From posture and scouting to a variety of different boof techniques, participants took turns running the falls and then helping each other portage back up for more fun. Following a brief lunch, the group moved on down to the last two major rapids, Hamburger Helper and Twist and Shout to take their new found skills and apply them to the lines at hand. One more successful trip, one more long walk out and we look forward to next years activities.

Additional photo galleries can be found at the following locations:

Art Barket - Coming Soon
Jeff Macklin - Coming Soon
Edward McGuiness - Here
Phil and Jen Raber - Here

Cucumber and McClintock

2009-06-22T22:38:00.013-04:00

With big rains coming to our region Wednesday night everything was flowing on Thursday, giving us the opportunity to do some summertime creeking. While some of the regular creeks that make our region so great were definitely a go and would have made for a super day, we decided to see what new runs we could knock out given this opportunity. Using Confluence as our launching point we set out for two creeks we had heard mention of but had never run, Cucumber Run and McClintock Run, both rumored to be class IV creeks that flow into the Casselman River.

Cucmber was first on the list, being the smaller of the two runs. Art Barket and I (Jason Hilton), put in off of State Road 3001 and immediately began to dodge the kind of wood one expects on these sorts of seldom run micro creeks. A little duck here a portage there and we were off. The creek began with some simple technical stuff winding its way through the forest and having the same general beauty one would associate with regional creeks such as Drakes and Fikes. About a half mile in, the creek began to take a dive towards the river, granting for Art and myself some of the best boofs and tight little drops we have encountered in a while.

The two largest rapids of the creek were a two-tiered waterfall we boofed down the center on and a tight rock jumble before the tunnel that required a stroke or two to keep from getting beat up in the hole and taking a trip through the tunnel sans boat. Out of the tunnel, off a short waterfall and we were moving down a swollen Casselman river to our cars.

We elected after our first run to go into Confluence and have lunch at the Lucky Dog Café, an area restaurant known for its tasty and environmentally conscious food. In both regards the restaurant was an excellent choice. While waiting for lunch, we were joined by Matt Pascal and Beau Smith, who had come to meet up with Art and I for McClintock.

Back out to the river we went, using the same takeout as in the morning, we setup to explore McClintock Run using a similar shuttle to Cucumber but just requiring one to travel another mile or so up the same SR 3001. Once on McClintock we were pleased to find relatively no wood in the way of our paddling. The creek had a steady downhill feel to it, similar to local Fikes creek, however as the creek approached the Casselman, it took a decidedly steeper turn through some bedrock rapids. The best of the rapids was a long three-tiered slide, which alone would make this creek worth doing again.

Continuing along were a number of additional ledges and bedrock formations that makes this creek resemble an easier version of close by Drakes creek. One last rapid, through yet another tunnel, gave us some cause for concern as there is a piece of wood that looks like it could bash out your lights were you in the wrong part of the tunnel’s exit, especially given the speed at which the water was roaring out of this tunnel. After much deliberation we decided to give her a go and as usual found that the rapid was much easier and less threatening than it had appeared, giving all of us that mission accomplished feeling as we once again flushed out into a roaring Casselman river.

More photos of the day can be viewed here.

John's First Descent

2009-06-16T22:31:00.006-04:00

Got Boof crew member John Rudland is known for his attempts to run previously uncharted waters. Here is a little exploit someone captured on film near John's place of employment.

Check out the video of John's First Descent

Matt Zeleznick and the power of denial

2009-06-09T11:24:00.003-04:00

This last Monday, our friend Matt Zeleznick made his return to the Upper Yough for the summer. The level was a beefy 2.5' but Matt, having had a bad day on the river at that level in the previous year, would have surely been concerned had he known about this day's water volume. At the put in, the crowd (and by this I mean every boater there) decided to all say that the level was 2.2', a level that Matt was more familiar with.

While myself and another individual distracted Matt with conversation about work in order to draw him to the opposite side of the river, the word was passed and every boater on the Upper Yough quickly began referring to the great 2.2' level we were going to paddle today. In the end, the fable worked and Matt had a fantastic day on the river. After letting him in on the deception, he sent the following email:

Wanted to say thank you to everyone for keeping me in the dark about the level yesterday. Made for a fun run (at 2.2) with a lot less anxiety than if I had known what the level actually was. Anyways thinking back on it there are a lot of funny instance that should have clued me in. Hopefully you enjoy these...

- While in Friendsville Carl proclaims that we are looking at something along the lines of 2.5... Should have been a big clue
An unusally small crowd at Sang Run with a lot of experienced boaters and a seemingly high ratio of rafts to hard boats... but hey it's a monday.

- Jason and Bryan sprint in the flat water at the put-in to catch up to me to ask about work. Was a little odd to see such urgency from them on such an obscure subject. Really interesting how the conversation ended so abruptly after the sang run bridge.

-The hole at the bottom gap seems a lot stouter than I remember it.

-Bernstein pulls into the eddy before bastard proclaiming "It is pushy today" to which Jason tells him "You haven't been out here at 2.2 in a while."... Yes there was definite emphasis on 2.2.

-Seeing Bryan take an interesting line at mushroom cloud and hearing that most days there's a boof on that line.

-Above triple drop Matt tells me to remember to hit the boof at the pyramid rock to slow down in the boil... very helpful had the pyramid rock not been underwater.

-No one boofs national

-Great boof to the right side of Tommy's - to self: "why don't we run that more often?"

-"You really want to hit your boof at meat cleaver today - that hole is big."

-Kurt informing me that I should paddle fast and hard through some boogy water before powerful popper because of the level today.

-By the way I haven't heard anything inapropriate from Kurt since we got to the meat of the run.

Great job Matt!!!

Summertime Boof Sessions

2009-06-04T21:23:00.003-04:00

Summer is here and so are the Upper Yough releases. The great benefit to being a teacher is the chance to run almost every release throughout the summer. It is at the Upper Yough that Got Boof started and it is in this location that the skill of boofing is best practiced. See what I mean?

Got Boof Brief Southern Weekend

2009-05-20T20:11:00.017-04:00

The following is a contribution by fellow Got Boofer and captain of the Got Boof Swim Team - Joshua "Dr. Flakenstein" Bernstein

Based upon promising reports of rain and the guarantee of a release of 1000 CFS into the Cheoah four intrepid members of the crew (Jason “Paris” Hilton, Joshua “Dr. Flakenstein” Bernstein, John “The Hamburgler” Rudland, and Ed McGuinness) set out to experience a bit of southern river action. We set out Thursday afternoon and encountered our first taste of adventure when we hit a few hours of class V Pittsburgh traffic. Undaunted by the traffic the crew assembled at the Gauley put-in camp ground for a few hours sleep before hitting the Meadow River in WV.

Despite the rapidly dropping water levels morning brought breaking camp and breaking eggs into boiling water (thanks Ed) and finally setting shuttle. After one or two small detours amid the twisting logging roads of WV and a short hike down a too rutted and steep road to the put-in, we were on the Meadow River. Good friends, swift water, sunshine and a first time run for all, made for a fun if mellow low water run of the Meadow.

Captain of the Swim Team (which is why his arms are so big)

Feeling that the day was going to go by without ample excitement, yours truly (Josh: Captain of the Got Boof Swim Team) decided to spice things up a bit by failing to roll among the gripping class II bogey water. After this immense slice of humble pie and several practice rolls we continued to enjoy a beatific if uneventful day of paddling. Several hours in the car driving south (the final bit of which is through disturbingly tangled and twisting Appalachian mountain roads) brought us to a nearly deserted Cheoah take-out camp spot.

By 9:30 am the next morning we were preparing to put on the Cheoah, but the dam released water had not yet reached us. A bit of hip hop blaring out of the speakers of Hilton’s car helped set the mood and we prepared ourselves for the upcoming run. Ed never having run Cheoah was showing some nerves, (of course this provided a perfect opportunity for each of us to describe the various challenges, hazards and threats to life and limb that he was sure to encounter) as it turned out Ed had not a thing to be concerned about, he styled the run with the expected grace and skill of a Got Boof crew member. Being the Got Boof Swim Team captain, I (Josh) felt compelled to test the sturdiness of the rocks in the river by slamming my knees into them as I swam out of the same hole that ate my boat the last time I was on the Cheoah three years ago. Someone had to do it…

Lots of big holes, big drops, and tight spots in the forest on the river that is the top of the Cheoah made for a fantastic start to our day. The Cheoah is a unique and exciting river in part because of its changing character. It begins as a big flushing western style ride through overgrown flora and then after the fourteen foot Bear Creek Falls the river becomes steeper and more technical. It is a wild ride.

After emerging exhilarated and hungry from the banks of the Cheoah a decision was necessary. We could run the Cheoah again or head toward the Doe and the Watauga by way of the much discussed and described Asian Buffet in Asheville. After some reflection we elected that the Asian Buffet in Asheville, NC held more appeal than a second run on the Cheoah. We did not get far however before Hilton enlightened the group of our proximity to the Nantahala Cascades and then promptly redirected us to the steep narrow micro creek. Needless to say, in short order we were running alongside of the road scouting the lines of the Cascades. The Nantahala Cascades with only 150 CFS running down their 210 fpm gradient are steep and tight. From the Horns of God all the way to Chinese Feet the drops of Nantahala Cascades were a blast.

Sometime later while in the car we began to get a clear picture of just how much rain can fall in twelve hours. One brief search for an affordable motel behind us, and we spent a dry, if not totally restful night out of the rain. Next morning at “Oh god, 7 am” the gauges (as we had predicted) indicated that the Watauga had exploded from 160 cfs to over 1000 overnight. The Doe was also running at flood levels. Good news for small creeks. We found the Red Roof Creek in Leland’s book and we were on our way. The Red Roof Creek begins as a small mostly flat meandering flow that is pretty, but also boring. As a testament to being very careful about the content of one’s wishes, the bucolic pastoral nature of the creek came to an abrupt end as this small waterway drops off the face of the earth. Suddenly without much in the way of warning or notice the winding stream becomes a torrent of strainer laden, gnashing rock filled whitewater. The adjectives that spring to mind are steep, continuous, and intimidating. In other words “awesome”. Nothing is quite like a steep creek unknown to everyone in attendance. I felt like Huck Finn on a grand adventure.

Exulted and exhausted we clambered out of the canyon to the car at the end of the day. It was time to head north to home and work on Monday. We stopped in Summersville for the best and cheapest Mexican food to be had and then a few hours later we were home happy and whole.

Got Boof Nation Wide

First Time Cheatin'

2009-04-21T22:19:00.011-04:00

The following is a contribution by fellow Got Boofer - Matt "Math, Dr. Jones" Pascal

My first ever shot at leading a club trip came this past Sunday, when 16 boaters agreed to put their faith in my guiding them from Albright, WV down the long and hearty Cheat River. To spoil the end of my report, this story ends well; the same 16 boaters cheerfully hoisted their crafts to their shoulders at the take out about 5 hours later while Steve Wang sheepishly admitted that he once was young and foolish enough to have jumped off the Jenkinsburg Bridge. I gasped and reminded him that it was “plumb crazy” for him to intentionally put himself into danger’s way (hint, foreshadowing).

Promptly at 9 am, we congregated at Little Sandy’s truck stop to perform the essential cognitive activity of the day: the shuttle. A mild headache later, five vehicles pulled out of the lot on their way to the take out while the remaining vehicles, their passengers, and 17 boats scattered about among the eternal revolving door of tractor trailers and pick up trucks.

A long shuttle drive later, we slipped into the orange waters of Muddy Creek and scraped down about 100 yards to the slightly less orange Cheat River. The group corralled at the confluence, and I told Jen “Stern Squirt” Raber that a level of 3.7 feet was juicy, To be clear, I told her, the Cheat was not high. but it was most definitely not low. Overhearing me, Dave Greenwald rolled his eyes and chuckled while first time cheat boater, Martin Wittmann, took a big gulp and peeled out in his itty bitty Jackson playboat.

I forgot most of the lines. Actually, to be precise, I never really knew them. But, really, who other than a veteran Cheat raft guide knows the lines through the dozens of unnamed Cheat rapids? Feeling a bit silly, I announced to the group that if I don’t announce a line or if the line doesn’t become entirely obvious as they approached rapids, then it was on the left. John Brady chuckled, though I believe he knew I was right.

And on went our crew. They bopped through countless nameless class 2 and 3 rapids, putting their confidence in me. For some strange reason, this confidence remained strong even after my little spat with Big Nasty.

Which, for the record, was Grease Fire’s fault.

After scouting and successfully navigating Big Nasty, our group congregated in the eddies on both sides of the run out of the notorious hole. Rob “Grease Fire” Mitchell and I have a history of getting each other into trouble, and this was exactly what I was up to when I first attempted a surf of the big hydraulic. “Worst case is you swim out of it” was part of my advice to the newbies above Big Nasty, and what I reiterated to myself upon pulling my boat into the surge. Quickly it spit me out with a strong denial, and – just as I expected – Rob was eager to make his attempt. His surf was similarly a non-surf. After getting similarly denied, he looked back at me and nodded, as if to say, “go for it.” And so I upped the ante and really dove into the hole.

Jason Hilton tells me my bow went deep into the hole and then swung hard into the foam pile for a few bow-to-stern cartwheels.

On my end, it was utter chaos. I had about 0.5 seconds of sense and began to set up a roll, but from there it was nothing but mayhem. Giving up relatively quickly, letting go of the paddle, and pulling the skirt typically ends with a big breath of air, but in this case the next thing that happened was an aquatic gaze up through several feet of pearly green water followed by more tumbling. It would be an uncomfortably long time before that gulp of air came. And, when I did come to the surface swimming aggressively, I opened my eyes only to find myself swimming upstream in the recirculating boil. I was at the top of the foampile staring down about 12 feet into the meat.

After I hacked up more Cheat River water than I wish to admit, I received a round of applause. It was then that I looked down to discover that the two Snickers bars I’d stashed in my PFD were gone. That damn hole literally ate my lunch.

I like to think of the Cheat as a very long chain of flatwater pools connected by about 30 rapids. Those pools make the collection of gear much more convenient when playboaters get stuck in holes and swim. It happens to lots of playboater all the time, and it happened to us on Sunday.

But, the real event came to life just above Pete Morgan’s rapid.

After scouting Coliseum, we set up safety with a rope on either side of the outflow and boaters in eddies. We did not want a swim out of Coliseum to turn into a swim through Pete Morgan. Moments later (okay, more like a half hour), after a successful run through the big rapid by all, we began to hop eddies to get a good look at Pete Morgan. Halfway there, I glanced back to see, for a split second, a rare triple side surf in three distinct adjacent holes. All three accidental sidesurfers looked calm, but they were all working hard to become unstuck. By the time I had jumped to shore with a rope, Jen had flipped in her hole only to right herself with a blown skirt. As water rushed into her boat it favored the stern cavity and by the time she was in the meat of Pete Morgan, Jen was paddling a swamped boat in an eternal stern squirt. Remarkably, her line was clean. She jumped out and began to swim while the rest of the group rounded up her gear.

With confidence high, the group chatted and laughed, telling tall tales through the final miles of runout below Pete Morgan. We returned to the put in soggy and tired and redistributed bodies and boats while Ralph Teter prepared his campground for CheatFest. Judging by the size of the fire he set to burn the rubble that accumulated over the winter, it appears that he’ll be ready.

The 2009 TRPC First Time Cheatin’ Trip included John Brady, Paul Eisner, Rick Gates, Dave Greenwald, Jason Hilton, Alan & Andre Kumonkowski, Jeff Lorimer, Ed McGuiness, Rob Mitchell, Jen Raber, Phil Raber, John Rudland, Steve Wang, Martin Wittman, and Matt Zeleznik.

Fantastic Trip Matt!

Hometown Throwdowns

2009-04-06T21:47:00.002-04:00

The World Kayak Hometown Throwdown series is coming to our region and I (Jason Hilton) have been given the great distinction of hosting these four events. These events are designed to appeal to all boaters rather than the elite paddlers of our realm, and are designed to show off just how fun white water kayaking really is, and remind us all why we first entered this sport.

As such, while we will recognize winners for events, our prizes will be handed out randomly amongst all participants. That's right, you can win the top prizes just for showing up to play, and you could get first place and simply take home bragging rights!

The best part is that most of these events are free, with a few of them requiring only small insurance fees to participate in event in a state park (cost $5.00 ACA insurance through TRPC)

Events include:
1) Stonycreek Rendezvous Playboating – Saturday 4/25
2) Slippery Rock Giant Slalom – Friday Evening 6/5
3) Turkey Bash Mass Start Downriver – Friday Evening 7/31
4) Ramcat Old School Slalom – Saturday 8/22 – Sunday 8/23

Sponsors include:

Jackson Kayak
Immersion Research
Shred Ready
Smith Optics
Crocs
Mountain Khakis
NuuN: Active Hydration
Rapid Transit
Kayak Session
Salus Marine
Kayak Habit
Redwood Creek Wine
Stonyboater Paddlerwax

You can find out more about these events here

See ya out there with a full load of prizes

A Break from the Cold

2009-02-09T22:01:00.005-05:00

This weekend’s warm temperatures have broken the cold spell and spilled a LARGE quantity of water into our region of the world. Sunday turned out to be a day of choices in the local creeks and ours was Daugherty.

Nori

The last time I was on this run it was pretty low and full of wood, which left me with a less than excited feeling about the creek. Looking back this is likely the reason for my not returning in the last three years. Sunday was a different story. John Rudland and I (Jason Hilton) met up with Art, Sam and John from the Chambersburg crew, as well as Nori and Adam from the Morgantown area to give the dog another chance. The flow was probably double the flow of my previous run, which allowed us to bag an additional action-packed mile above the traditional put-in. I really have to thank John Giorgini for this stretch as it was the steepest and most exciting part of the run.

John Rudland

The mile above the normal putin gave us a long wood free series of slides and boulders drops that had to be in the upper 200 or lower 300 fpm range. From here the added water really padded out the many bedrock slides that characterize this run. Having Sam Burke along for the ride meant that the pace for the run was somewhere between fast and hyper drive making for an excited flurry of rapid after rapid linked together.

Adam

The run turned into a continuous stream of slides and smaller ledges, nestled amongst the mountain laurel, that left all of us smiling when we paused in the few eddies around. While there was wood, it wasn’t nearly the problem it used to be, thanks largely to the work of some mystery creek cleaners from the area.

All in all it was a great day and a needed break from my current graduate school misery. Let us hope it forecasts the nature of the spring to come!

Glade Run

2008-12-22T22:30:00.013-05:00

Sam Burke @ Glade Run

As many of you brave or crazy enough to face the cold weather know, the water has returned to our part of the country. For two weekends the boating in our region has presented a multitude of choices and we amongst the Got Boof Crew have taken advantage of the opportunity to bag some new water.

Time To Hike In

This last Saturday, seven paddlers set out for our first run down Glade Run, an obscure micro creek that drains into Dunbar Creek near Ohiopyle. We went in prepared for the type of run you usually get when you are off the beaten paddling path in our neck of the woods, meaning good shoes for portaging, plenty of time for portaging, lots of rest for portaging, and some buddies to talk to while portaging. We weren’t disappointed.

The run started off with its best action, some nice technical and challenging drops that had all of us smiling from ear to ear. The oddest point for me (Jason Hilton) must have been at one point dropping off a shelf and into a small cave before emerging to paddle downstream. Had it stayed this way, we would have some solid gold on our hands.

Matt Pascal

Jason Hilton

Jeff Macklin

Matt Pascal

Art Barket in the Steeps

But alas, as time went on the gradient eased off and the trees picked up. I stopped counting the portages after the tenth, and at one point remember remarking to my comrades that this seemed like the whitewater equivalent of a horribly planned 6 hour cyclo-cross race. I knew we were starting to border on insanity when the challenge of portaging actually began to be fun, like an obstacle course of sorts. In the end we finished the run before the sunset and were able to laugh about the time we had just had. Without the trees this run would be a diamond, with the trees it is just plain old coal.

Not to be without some superior paddling for the weekend, I met up with John Rudland and Mike Whaley for a couple laps on Paint Creek near Johnstown, on Sunday. This is one of my favorite runs so it was good to get back on an old favorite and slide the day away. Both runs were low but tons of fun, putting a good end to an exhausting weekend.

Paint

Mike Whaley Boof

John Rudland Boof

Jason Hilton @ Big Sluice

John Rudland @ Big Sluice

Mike Whaley @ Big Sluice

Stay warm and see ya out there…

Got Boof Cross Training

2008-12-08T20:42:00.005-05:00

While some rivers are just beginning to pick up water again in our region, myself (Jason Hilton) and many members of the Got Boof Crew have had to turn to other sports in the last four months in order to get our adventure thrills. It turns out that a host of these sports are great cross training workouts for skills that later can be applied to kayaking, so here is a quick thought on two sports that I have engaged in and how I see them as relating to kayaking.

This idea stems from a recent adventure to a local bouldering gym in the Pittsburgh Area. Here you can see us working our way through a series of challenging (for us non-climbers) problems.

Bouldering provides an excellent upper body workout that plays itself out well in kayaking. The increased upper-body strength will lead to more forceful strokes and more power to lift in the portaging realm of kayaking. Those of you in the DC area utilize some climbing skills every time you hike back up the “flake” to take another run on the Great Falls. Additionally, when you are in need of rescue, it is the climber amongst you who is going to be ale to get into the precarious position that best suits your rescue needs.

Mountain biking is another common cross training in our region, especially as it seems to be best when the boating is at its worst. The cardio and leg workout helps to boost your endurance for both all day paddling and long drawn out hike with your boat, such as the one found in the Blackwater canyon. Additionally, the technical nature of some trails can require just as much courage to ride as many of the rapids in our region, complimenting the head game involved in kayaking.

Additionally, fellow crewmembers have involved themselves in road biking and running as cross training activities, providing an even better aerobic cardio workout. Perhaps it comes as no surprise then that members who partake in these particular activities are the paddlers amongst us who can sustain the highest rate of speed for the longest duration of time when paddling through that whitewater we have all been dreaming about.

So when the paddling becomes thin, be aware that there is a host of other activities that are quite enjoyable while still boosting your paddling prowess. But try not to stay away too long... the rivers will run again.

Dry around here

2008-10-13T20:13:00.003-04:00

Well folks, it is pretty dry in these parts. We have been able to make it out to a few dam releases like Gauley Fest and the Upper Yough, but there hasn't been much of import to report to you. I guess in one part of my mind I am somewhat thankful for the dryness, as I don't feel as bad that I have given up a large portion of my free time to continue my graduate studies, and more than likely would not have been able to boat as much as I normally would have had the rain kept falling. Additionally, I like everyone else I know, suffers as a kayaker beholden to the price of gasoline. Thankfully the price is dropping steadily as we speak (it is funny how it does that just before every election), so perhaps this barrier t boating will shrink further as time goes on. Just to let you know that we still get a few chances to paddle, I decided to give you this shot taken in September at one of our favorite local runs, the Lower Big Sandy.

Rest In Peace Isaac Ludwig

2008-08-27T21:31:00.000-04:00

You Will Be Missed

2nd Annual Got Boof & TRPC Intro To Creeking Clinic

2008-07-30T14:07:00.023-04:00

Matt Gets It Done

Sunday July 27th saw the second iteration of the Got Boof and Three Rivers Paddling Club Creeking Clinic, held at Valley Falls State Park in West Virgina. This year's class included over thirty students and safety boaters making it the largest one yet. The class began with an introduction between the students and the instructors/safety boaters, and an overview of design specifics relating to creek kayaks. This discussion progressed into a discussion of both general safety and some safety specifics relating to the creeking end of kayaking. Then it was off to the drops.

Classroom Instruction

Pretend Boating

Boof Demonstration

Jason Hilton Leads By Example

Each drop was broken down individually and at each drop a specific technique was assigned to work on for each drop. Then the drops were run by the instructors to physically demonstrate the technique a few times for the visual learners among the group, then it was time for the fun. Students each took turns firing up the drops, which for many were definitely were the largest drops they had seen (judging from the size of their eyes). After each run, they were able to discuss the run with an instructor and off the went for another lap.

Good Posture

Practicing a Tuck

Post Run Discussion

Good Boof Stroke

Technique Discussion

More Instruction

Rolling Boof Demonstration

Lookin Good!

Twist and Shout

While we definitely had some carnage on this years trip, the number of excellent lines far outweighed the bad and many students, after having a less than perfect line, took great pride in walking back up to run the drop again and fix errors in their technique. This confidence to rerun drops is best placed upon the tireless efforts of a number of the safety boaters who joined me to put on this event. Of specific mention are John Giorgini, Art Barket, Matt Bernstein, John Rudland and Tom Dubois, who made sure to watch after every boater and free me (Jason Hilton) up to focus on instruction.

Safety

Safety Required (You The Man John)

Rudland Has Boof

More photos from this years event can be found in the following locations.

Jeff Macklin Photographer

Art Barket Photographer

Karolina and Tom Dubois Photographers

Swiftwater Rescue Class

2008-06-19T13:01:00.007-04:00

Charlie Walbridge Instructing

A number of us recently had a fantastic opportunity to learn/refresh our swiftwater rescue skills. Got Boof member Matt "Math" Pascal contributes the following:

To promote and assure the safety of those joining us in whitewater fun, several regular Got Boof adventurers spent last weekend with AW Safety Guru and old school C1 boater, Charlie Walbridge. Despite the rain bringing up many of our favorite creeks, we were all glad that we resisted the temptation to paddle in lieu of Charlie's exercises. After all, these exercises were designed to simulate many of the typical binds we all hope to never encounter, but probably will (or have).

It started with a rainy Saturday in Charlie's century-old barn off of Little Sandy Creek Road in the "classroom" phase by setting up mock pins and entrapments and then self-rescues and victim and boat extractions. Dodging the rain inside the old barn, Charlie contrasted the technical knowledge of knots and mechanical advantage with social rescue issues like team structure, dealing with emergency personnel, and liability. When the skies cleared, we stepped outside to practice using ropes and life jackets.

In a belaying exercise, Charlie challenged an unnamed member of the group who responded by leveling the big man with a fierce heave on the rope he was holding. With that in mind, we practiced rescue the techniques we'd just learned about and then discussed how they can go wrong and what to do to minimize these dangers. Charlie demonstrated the danger of using the mechanical advantage of a Z-drag system, by applying the force to a small piece of cord. When it broke, the snap it made sounded like a revolver as the system sent ropes and caribiners flying in both directions. Charlie was a safe distance from the flying debris because he'd added a change in direction to the system.

Strangely exhausted despite little activity, our group traveled back to our weekend home at Teter's campground on Saturday evening, split into groups, and spread out to most of the edible options available to us in Kingwood. A group of three secretly skipped dessert to run nearby Muddy Creek (Sneaky, guys) while the rest of us drank exactly $62.50 worth of lousy beer around a classic campfire.

Single Wading

Sunday was a long day on the river though most of us didn't paddle more than a few yards. We rendezvoused at Rockville on Big Sandy Creek at 8:30 am and within an hour Charlie had us wading across the waist-deep rapids just below the bridge. For hours we found out that each and every one of the activities Charlie had in store for us was simple to understand and unpredictably difficult to initiate. Lessons abounded that day.

Macklin and Coop Pair Wading

Now that the weekend clinic is over and I've processed, I'm overcome with a general desire to never use the techniques I learned on the Sandy. I discovered that I wish to never have to wade out into whitewater to get to a victim, though I now know how to do it effectively. If I have to use the Hand of God rescue, I hope that it's in flat water. With luck, my rescue vest will never find itself supporting me as I'm lowered in strong current to assist a friend in trouble. But, I'm now comfortable enough to do it, unless setting up a zipline or line-assisted wade seems more prudent. God forbid I ever find myself swimming toward a strainer because the seemingly easy technique of aggressively swimming up onto it is tremendously difficult. And, if I either experience or stumble upon a foot entrapment, then the severity of the situation and the critical role of timing will be on my mind as I decide how to resolve the situation.

Jason rescue swimming/surfing

Math Pascal on a rescue vest lower

By the end of the day Sunday, our minds were overloaded as we stumbled around on the rocky shore in exhaustion. A few participants found the energy to paddle off into the bright evening sun for the last run of the Sandy until the next rain. The rest of us slowly packed up for the ride home and thanked our instructor for the valuable lessons.

Old School Huckin'

2008-05-26T17:03:00.005-04:00

Recently a local boater sent me this nice piece of Ohiopyle Falls history.

From Ted Proctor:
Billy Z and I were (are) long time river guides at LHRT so we were used to coming up with goofy ways of amusing ourselves.

You might remember (and you can see from the photo) that the Ohiopyle locals used to have "yes" and "no" painted on the rock shelf in between the viewing platform and the falls. This was so that kids knew where to jump off. One day Billy saw a local kid riding his bike around the park and got the idea ride a bike off the falls. He ended up doing this twice. I think Scott Patton may even have it on videotape.

Anyway, it's such a goofy picture that one person who saw it thought we had photoshopped it. I can guarantee it's the real deal.
You gotta love the shorts and Ace helmet - a nice 80s touch (the picture is from the early 80s).

Jonathan Run

2008-05-18T20:06:00.015-04:00

After a great day of boating yesterday, I (Jason Hilton) had resigned myself to graduate work and tending the potpourri on Sunday, so hadn't even bothered to set the alarm for the day. A few friends called to check on creeks north of Pittsburgh, but nothing was running, gas costs too much, and the bed seemed extra comfortable. However, one of the most low-key paddlers I regularly paddle with, Zach Frederick was continually calling and messaging my phone. Something must be up, right? After finally answering the phone, Zach informed me that his yard, close to Ohiopyle, had turned into a small pond overnight, and that anything we ever wanted to do was ripe for the picking. Quick pack of the gear, boat on car, potpourri left un-tended yet again.

On the way to get Zach, Shawn Yuengling rang in looking for some adventure, bringing the group to three, a perfect squad for some exploratory creek boating. The target for the day was Jonathan Run, an obscure micro-creek in the Yough watershed. Zach had previously scouted the run dry, and all of us spoke to more experienced boaters from our region to get beta on this very-rarely run steep.

Unloading of the boats

Arriving at Jonathan, we were greeted with a perfect low level, the kind that floats you through every rapid with plenty of time to pull over and scout the next blind drop. The first 3/4 mile of the run was the standard class II entry you find on most of the creeks that enter the Yough, complete with wood around each corner to duck, limbo, or carry.

Shawn negotiating a hazard

Once the creek took off down hill, our pace slowed, our eyes opened up wide, and we reaped the kind of rewards only creeking can give. The first major drop, we affectionately named Puke, as the left side of the bottom of the drop bore a striking resemblance to Puke on the Upper Blackwater. The rapid began with a marginal line off of a ten foot waterfall, a quick boat thrust over a log, and then a boof off of the Puke part of the drop, on river right. First rapid down, portage some logs, next drop to run.

Shawn, bottom drop of Puke

Zach, bottom drop of Puke

The next major drop included a slide down a rock to avoid a tree, then riding a narrow current next to a small undercut, duck some trees, then on down a shallow slide for about 100 feet. If it sounds as though there is a lot of wood on this run, there was. It strikes me that this is one of the runs that is run so rarely, people are unlikely to go in and clean out these drops, so you make do with what you have.

More wood

The third major drop was the one we had been on the lookout for. It begins with a shallow boof off a five foot falls, down a slide into an undercut notch in the rocks complete with hole and cross current water maybe three feet wide, and then quickly off of a twenty footer into a shallow pool, with a run to the right appearing catastrophic. The drop appeared to be runnable, but the possibilities in the notch, and the likelihood of a river right descent of the final falls (and the resulting medivac) put us all on the path of portage.

Zach in the Steeps

Just after the falls, we gained a nice series of steep boulder gardens, some more logs to portage, and ultimately a tunnel. The tunnel appeared to just have a wave train going down the center, so I quickly setup to take photos of my partners cruising on through. Shawn was the first to run the tunnel, and I noticed about 3/4 of the way through he took a sudden drop and punched through something of size, alerting me of a hidden hole within the confines of the man-made passage. As Zach went through, I alerted him of the hole to which he responded "awesome" and off he charged. On my run through, I took great care to keep up some forward speed in order to come through the hole clean on the other side.

Shawn @ Tunnel

Zach @ Tunnel

At this point we dropped a small rapid and were thrust into 9000 cfs of Lower Yough fun. A few miles went by very quickly, we spotted our takeout, and congratulated each other on a fantastic run.

Cheatfest Weekend

2008-05-04T22:26:00.017-04:00

The Rudler Returns

Ahh another great Cheatfest weekend here in our backyard.

Saturday began with a quick run down the Lower Big Sandy, to give the new creekboat a test drive (Bliss Stick Mystic - New Red). Spring is really showing up on the trees and all of us remarked on the beauty of the day's run numerous times. What a nice change of scenery from the winter we have grown accustomed to.

This day saw Bill Powers first run over Big Splat after years of eyeing this one up as others have passed by.

Bill Powers

Additionally our buddy John Douglass decided that if Bill could take a crack at it, so should he.

John "Soc Em Dog" Douglass

Well of course some lines are bound to work out better than others.

Boat Modification

After we all regrouped and talk about our Big Splat adventures, we were off to finish the river in the company of good friends.

Rick @ First Island

Once we made it to the takeout the majority of the group went off to catch a run on the Cheat, however Bill and I ran off to meet up with Math Pascal and Greasefire Rob at the Upper Yough for a 2.4' roller coaster ride down one of our favorite runs. Everybody enjoyed the higher level and took great pleasure in blowing through the run in race worthy times.

After the river running ended, it was time to get down to the festival for some heehaw stomping good times. After stopping in to tell the Stonyboater guys how sweet my new Mystic performed and to thank Kayakhabit for the awesome vintage threads, it was off to see all the people we have missed out on for the last year. Math Pascal demonstrated for all in attendance how to properly get down to some of his favorite bluegrass tunes, which left us partying until the wee hours of the morn'.

Lucky for us some rain moved into the area late at night and Sunday morning brought us a chance to catch a low water run down the Upper Blackwater, the perfect ground to really put the new creekboat through its paces. We dropped in, boofed our way down river and enjoyed a beautiful sunny day in this exquisite wilderness.

Bob Gedekoh Showing The Way

After the hike out, Jeremy Weber and I (Jason Hilton) caught a quick run own the Top Yough to finish off a spectacular weekend having hit four of the regions ultra-classic runs.

Ski Season Video

2008-04-06T12:20:00.003-04:00

Video: Ski Season

Macklin on the Camera

Throughout February and March, we have been gathering footage from some of the fantastic wintertime runs throughout our region. Now that spring is here, it is time to show you how much fun we had in the snow.

Big thanks to Stonyboater Paddle Wax and Kayak Habit for your continued support!

Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells... Oh Wait, Wrong Holiday!

2008-03-21T01:05:00.006-04:00

Video: Cascade Park N' Huck

Santa & Company

So Jeff Macklin and I (Jason Hilton) decided to hunt for Easter Eggs in an abandoned amusement park… oh wait that’s not a good way to start one of these… Jeff and I decided to run a fairly large waterfall… there that sounds more like a posting on this site, but it was Easter weekend and it was in an abandoned amusement park. Actually to complicate things even more, Santa Claus made an appearance as well.

Hiking To The Put In

Now I know what you’re thinking, those Got Boof boys need to quit eating fungi they find in the woods, but we actually managed to park n’ huck a super-clean twenty-something foot high waterfall in an abandoned amusement park, complete with Santa Clause and reindeer flying over top of the lip. To add to the excitement, the rapids that followed involved the slaloming of former roller coaster pylons and steel girders, making this one of the most unique paddling experiences of our lives.

Jason @ Big Falls

Downstream View Of Man-Made Scenery

Occasionally locals would come by and remark on how cold it was, or question our sanity, but all in all they added to the character of the day. The people of New Castle can also be quite helpful, with one maintenance guy offering to shuttle our boats back to the top in his pickup so we could run ‘er again. We graciously declined and instead focused on shooting one of the… more interesting… videos to ever grace the Got Boof website.

Closed

Spring Teaser

2008-03-12T23:29:00.005-04:00

Jason Hilton

For those of you asking when our new videos will be appearing, have no fear. Throughout February, March and April, we have been shooting footage of some of the various steeps we encounter on a traditional spring up here in the mid-atlantic, along with some footage from the uber-classics of our region. But to set the stage for the video, here are some teaser photos from some of the runs featured. See if you can guess the rapids! The last two should be easy, but Matt and the top picture of me should be a little harder.

Matt Pascal

Jason Hilton

Josh Bernstein

Got Boof Does It Again!!!

2008-03-10T16:00:00.003-04:00

Two photo contests, two got-boof crew member winners. Congratulations go out this time to Jeff Macklin for his winning shot of Ben Dunham at Big Splat, Lower Big Sandy, WV

River Gypsies Website

"Let It Rain" Guidebook Review

2008-02-13T19:36:00.010-05:00

Beginning in the late 1800’s with the Appalachian Mountain Club of Boston, New Englanders have had a special affinity for the wild rivers of their region, pioneering some of the earliest whitewater sports and continuing to produce boaters of the utmost caliber. While their boating skills often set them apart from their peers in the lower states, due to the vast differences in geology, river types, volume, and climate present in New England, their rivers have largely remained a mystery to modern whitewater enthusiasts. Perhaps it is the New England propensity to keep close their best assets, or the utter lack of need for anyone from New England to boat outside of the region, which have kept many of these rivers shrouded in secrecy, but finally the rest of America can catch a glimpse of the fantastic whitewater found within the birthplace of our nation. Former New England resident Alden Bird explains everything you need to know about the region, faster than Benedict Arnold, in his latest book: Let It Rain: The Whitewater Rivers of New England, New York, Quebec and Ontario.

With the mind of an adventurer and the pen of a great writer, Alden Bird engages readers in a state-by-state quest through the included regions; beginning with his favorite runs in the Delaware Water Gap, heading north through New York and New England and on into the eastern reaches of Canada. Throughout the book, the author makes sure to provide equal weight to the common runs the majority of boaters prefer to tackle, on through the extreme runs over which the majority of boaters may only drool. An examination of most of the recent guide books indicates that writers have either chosen to provide detail on every known run in a state, or a broad but shallow glimpse of the rivers in the vast reaches of America’s whitewater. For Let It Rain Alden sets out to strike a balance between the two approaches, providing readers with over 200 different river reaches, broken into eleven distinct regions, insuring that traveling boaters will never run out of options while local boaters will easily find useful information regarding the many rivers they have heard mention of at their favorite local take-out.

The author approaches each new river with a familiar template, providing “beta” information in a small textbox at the beginning of each run that includes difficulty at various levels, river length, shuttle length, when the river is likely to have navigable water in it and the gradient broken down into mile by mile statistics, so you do not accidentally stumble into large waterfalls, such as the 65 foot Glen Ellis Falls in New Hampshire. Additionally, each river description includes complete shuttle directions and a better description of Alden’s “water” statistic explaining exactly what it takes to get some of these rivers and creeks running, which is helpful in a region that lacks many of the flow gauges that help paddlers in other regions figure out when their favorite run is flowing. Within the regions, rivers are broken down and grouped by drainage and proximity to one another, beginning with the upper reaches of a drainage and progressing through the many confluences to the lower and more voluminous sections that can be run. Each drainage is accompanied with a map that compliments the shuttle directions found in each river’s description, allowing paddlers to easily reference shuttle roads, distances, landmarks, put-ins and take-outs. For each state and a large part of Canada, the author also includes larger maps indicating where each river reach is, a page reference for its description, major highways and interstates, and large cities of interest, which readily allows readers to easily determine the proximity of the reaches covered, either to simply learn more about where they live and boat, or for the planning of the always-exciting paddling road trip.

Each river description is written with a verbal finesse that only an English teacher could craft, that is both informative and engaging. Alden provides a brief description of each river’s characteristics including the general character of the run, any unique geology you will encounter, what to expect to see when you are not completely focused on survival, and any pertinent information regarding major rapids and dangers present in the runs. While the author takes care to inform readers about each run, insuring that paddlers do not find themselves quickly over their heads, he also leaves enough information out to insure that when you finally get on that hard-to-catch Vermont creek, its grandeur will not be spoiled by your buddy constantly talking about the ten different ways to run each rapid and a date by date analysis of each rock shift. This has been a positive trend in recent guidebooks, assuring that readers will feel the same exploratory excitement as each run’s first explorers without all that troublesome hiking to gather beta.

Let It Rain also features high-quality color photographs of almost every run, showing off the geological diversity of the regions, the courage of local boaters, and the character you can expect to find on each river, which can be helpful in jogging your memory if you are in a hurry to bag that next creek and have forgotten every word of this 320-page volume or if you and your paddling pals need something to drool over for the next few days. If you look closely you will find a large quantity of canoeists in these photos, reflecting the author’s bias towards paddlers of the single-bladed variety, but have no fear all you two-bladed boaters, the author’s descriptions reasonably assume your ability to keep up with him and his one-bladed friends while enjoying all that the Northeast has to offer. Rounding out the book is a diverse scattering of independent articles covering many topics, including: technique advice, first impressions of now-classic runs, logistics for multi-day expeditions, wild trip reports, etc., as well as the author’s own literary musings as Alden seeks to enmesh readers in his own unique viewpoint of the symbiosis between humans and nature.

Alden Bird’s Let It Rain: The Whitewater Rivers of New England, New York, Quebec and Ontario, is just the guidebook whitewater enthusiasts have been waiting for to unlock the mysterious rivers of the Northeastern part of our country and beyond, in an easy-to-understand and comprehensive manner. The book’s format compliments that of other recent guidebooks by boasting great attention to detail, crucial information, an active and engaging writing style and photographic prowess that will leave everyone from the hardcore expedition boater to your tri focal-wearing grandmother excited, nervous, and ready to embark on a whitewater journey to the Northeast, inspired by the words of Alden Bird. More information on this fantastic resource can be found at http://neguidebook.com.