Otter Boy's Blog

Strange Injuries

2007-09-10T21:28:00.000-07:00

I managed to bust up my knee kayaking. Jeez....shoulders I understand, but knees? It all started back in June when I ran the Top Tye. There's a ledge called Initiation that must be run with a hard right to left move. Unfortunately the flow goes left to right directly onto a rock, as did I. This was a full-on come to a dead stop peton. My knees hurt for months - bone bruise, I assume. Just about the time they started to feel better my right know starts to be "ping" when I walk. I've never had knee problems before, but I guess that story is macho enough.

Here's a great shot of Initiation by Brian Vogt on his Riverlog site.

So what other strange injuiries have people experienced?

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Back in the Saddle Again

2007-09-03T01:18:00.000-07:00

I haven't posted for a while, what with spending a week in British Columbia. That was great! The full trip report is available at http://www.kayakcult.com/.

Off to Canada

2007-08-19T15:48:00.000-07:00

I'm taking a week of for some paddling in British Columbia. I've not seen a lot of this province, so this will be a hoot. In honor of my vacation let me introduce the Kayak Cult Extreme Edition
www.kayakcult.com.

We're going way off the grid, and I don't anticipate much in the way of Internet connectivity in the B.C. interior. So everybody have fun at work and be extra productive.

- Otterboy

Floods and site updates

2007-08-13T12:16:00.001-07:00

I just ran across a great United States Geological survey of North American flooding. Interesting reading, if you dig this kind of thing. Personally I can look at flowing water for hours.
http://ks.water.usgs.gov/Kansas/pubs/fact-sheets/fs.024-00.html

Here are some other interesting resources on the November 2006 floods which hit the Pacific Northwest.
The Science Behind Mount Rainier's November 2006 Floods

I found some great pictures of the damage to Rainier National Park:

A rare sunny picture of the floodwaters.

Campsite 26 at Ohanapecosh Campground

Damage to Highway 23

Where Sunshine Point Campground used to be

Wood on Ohanapecosh Creek

To get an idea of the scale see if you can spot the picnic table in this logjam.

More Road Damange

Kuntz Creek completely changed it's course.

This Week at The Kayak Cult
Antz Longmon on kayaking in New Zealand

This week's picture and youtube. The theme is carnage!
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Whitewater Parks - Resources

2007-08-08T16:32:00.000-07:00

My trip down to Reno got me thinking more about whitewater parks. I'm surprised at how many of them there are around the country. We don't have any here in Washington State yet, but Spokane will begin building one in the summer of 2008. See Tom O'keefe's article on the American Whitewater site for details.

http://www.ripboard.com/ also has a great writeup on existing and proposed parks in the United States. Their information looks a bit outdated (they don't include the Spokane park), but it has good descriptions of each park.

Other Resources

Bardstown Boaters has an interactive map of U.S. whitewater parks.

Paddler Magazine has a good article from 2005

Men's Journal Article on the U.S National Whitewater Center in Charlotte, NC.

List of U.S. and international whitewater parks (updated 5/24/05)

I personally suck as a playboater, and don't have a much interest in it anyway. If I'm throwing ends somewhere it usually means I'm doing some rodeo creeking and anyone following me should take another line. Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against playboating. It's great training for river running and - learning how to get thrashed in a hole and still roll up is a useful skill to have.

All these parks look cool, but I'm a bit skeptical of the economic benefits they're supposed to provide. This is a gut feel, not a data-driven statement. I suspect they are similar to ballparks in that they simply shift how entertainment dollars are spent rather than change overall totals (if anyone has information to contradict my gut feel I'd love to see it - email me at otterboy at kayakcult.com).

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Otterboy gets ejoocated

2007-08-06T21:05:00.000-07:00

I spent the last two weeks with my nose in an HTML book and redesigned The Kayak Cult site. I published the new version last night with the newbie error of not checking the layout in all screen resolutions. So, those of you running 1280x720 see some funky stuff. We'll all just have to live with it for the moment until I can get some help.

- OB

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Reno Kayak Park - Part II

2007-08-03T09:58:00.001-07:00

The post on the Reno Kayak Park generated a lot of interest. Is there anyone out there who's paddled at the park? I'd love to get details of the best flows, which features work for which moves, etc. If you've spent any time there feel free to email me: otterboy {at} kayakcult.com.

- OB

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Reno Kayak Park

2007-08-01T22:34:00.001-07:00

I had reason to be in Reno over the weekend and made a point of seeing their fabled whitewater park on the Truckee River. I'm not much of a playboater, but this looked like fun. Unfortunately there weren't any kayakers there. I dropped by on a late July on a Monday afternoon, so it was mainly kids on summer vacation splashing around. I still got some pictures.

There is still surfing to be had at low water. This is the second ledge on the south channel.

Here is an upstream shot of the same hole. You can see how low the water is upstream of the hole.

Here is an upstream shot of the north channel features.

The first ledge of the north channel. This would be great at higher water.

Here is the park's website: http://www.visitrenotahoe.com/plan_your_trip/outdoors/kayak_park/

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Summer Boating

2007-07-26T23:44:00.000-07:00

I paddle all year round. Some of best months are October through December during the fall rainy season. Understand that "rainy season" is relative in the Pacific Northwest. It's July now and we just had a straight week of rain. But this was a warm summer rain. Believe it or not winter boating can get cold.

A snowy day on the Green River

But now it's summer! Off with the full gortex drysuit and on with the 6 year old drytop that leaks like a sieve. It's especially nice on the east side of the mountains. In a couple weeks Tumwater Canyon will be within my comfort zone and I can finally get some 90 degree boating in!

A sunny day on the Wenatchee River

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Cooper Creek - Part II

2007-07-23T22:59:00.001-07:00

Just when you think the spring creeking season is over along comes another trip down Cooper Creek. Leif Kirchoff organized a trip last Sunday and I decided to go even though levels were marginal at best. It was a good time - a ledgy creek like the Cooper holds it's water well.

I had one little adventure. I broached and flipped in a shallow section between rapids. It was too shallow to set up and my paddle was out of position so I let go and pushed off the bottom (I know, I know. That's terrible technique, but it works). I reach for a rock to leverage myself up with when suddenly the creek gets deeper. I try a couple hand rolls (yeah, right) and spend some quality time upside down looking around for a rock outcropping to push off of. Shit, I'm going to swim and I'm not even in a rapid. Suddenly Ryan Akins rams me at warp speed for a picture-perfect bow rescue. Cheers, Ryan!

I also had a reminder of how little margin of error you have in a class IV rapid. At Wall of Voodoo I missed a final stroke intended to line me up for the final ledge. My paddle hit a rock and by the time I could recover I was somewhere I didn't want to be. Not a big deal at those flows, but it's good to keep in mind how fast things can go wrong while paddling.

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Cooper - The End of Spring

2007-07-04T10:20:00.000-07:00

A lot of the class V runs in Washington State come down into the class IV range at low water. The Cooper River is one of them. I normally run this in late June/early July when the creeks on the west side of the mountains have dried out. 2007 has been a long, slow melt off year and it wasn't until July 1 that I made the pilgrimage out to the Cooper.

The flow was medium low, higher than I've ever run it before. This didn't make much of a difference. The ledges were pretty much the same - go right! They didn't form huge holes at this level, except for Norms Resort. The first lap went without incident. For some reason I was sloppy on lap 2. I wasn't alone - one guy in our group flipped above Norm's Resort. He rolled up just in time to drop into the hole ass backwards. After a good stay in the resort he swam, but only recirculated twice before flushing out.

This officially closes out the spring season for me. Next weekend I'm headed down to the White Salmon with some friends. This is a year-around run, and I only hit it in the summer. After a couple days getting beat to hell on the Top Tye and Cooper I'm looking forward to some class III!

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I love Washington. Don't care so much for Class V.

2007-06-28T23:14:00.000-07:00

Washington is a wonderful state. This time of year it stays light long enough to get in a full day's worth of fun after work, and there's plenty of fun to be had. Today I headed up Highway 2 for another crack at the Top Tye. This is a classic steep creek WAY up in the Skykomish drainage. It's full-on class V at springtime flows, but late in the year it eases off to IV+/V-. Call it IV+ if you hit your line, V- if you don't. I did a little of both today.

The Skykomish Valley is a beautiful place, especially on a rainy Washington day like today. It was 70 degrees and rainy - a perfect stereotype of the Pacific Northwest. Mist was coming off the river, and clouds hung low between the ridge lines. A lot of people don't care for the wet, but I can't get enough of it. I guess that comes from growing up in Oregon.

There were 6 of us on the river today, me, Damon Matlan, Dave Evans, Liam Keese, Charles the Scotsman and The McCibbon. Unfortunately Charles tweaked his back at the put in - and then there were 5.

I hadn't run the Top Tye since 2003, and I swore I'd never go back. But, 4 years of experience and a proper creek boat increased my confidence. Things went well overall. There was one swim, and multiple combat rolls in the group. I had 3 rolls myself. There are enough trip reports of the Top Tye, so I won't give a blow by blow. I'm pleased I wasn't as terrified as the first time I ran Box Drop. The first time down those falls I could barely put one foot in front of the other. Just to make up for things I ran Paranoia today, one of the only times I've intentionally committed to a class V rapid. I nailed the line, but learned an important lesson - only crow with victory after clearing the hole. I nailing the boof but then stopped paddling in order to gloat - and immediately flipped. I knocked off a quick roll and paddled for my life. Lesson learned.

I ended up really getting the shit beaten out of me. I petoned on Initiation, a 6 foot ledge. That took care of my knees. Then towards the end I flipped at Godzilla, a steep boulder garden, and went bouncy-bounce on my head and shoulders. I walked off at that point, about a quarter mile from the takeout. Ouch.

The Tye is a magical place. The wet weather, the smell of pine needles when you portage, IT'S ALL ABOUT CREEKIN', BABY! Still, the river has a way of telling you when you're out of your league. I'm a solid class IV boater, but have no desire to run much class V. I was sloppy today! I had some good lines, but there is something about boating even a half step over your head that that messes with your boat control.

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Mountain to Sound Race

2007-06-27T08:37:00.000-07:00

The race went well, all things considered. We ranked 126th of 152. Unfortunately Colin and I were the weak link. Noble vessel that it is, a canoe is not terribly fast compared to a sea kayak. It was funny to see people skim by us in their flat water kayaks while using terrible paddling technique. All I can say is that if this had been a canoe race we would have kicked ass.

It was a fun day. I've never participated in an event like this before. Organized sports are generally not my thing. Fortunately I was able to just follow Colin around to get where I needed to be. Once we started our leg of the race it was just a matter of paddling forward for three hours. I didn't even meet the other members of the team until after the race was over. Does that make us a "team" or just a confederation of like-minded individuals? It would be fun to do another race with proper equipment and a bit more training.

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Seattle Solstice

2007-06-21T23:51:00.001-07:00

Today was the solstice here in Seattle – the longest day of the year. This is a symbolic end to my paddling season, although of course I’ll be going all summer. This weekend will be the first time I haven’t paddled in several months. Instead I’ll be on a team running the Mountain to Sound race. I’ll still be on the water – my leg of the race involves paddling a canoe 12 miles down the Sammamish River with my buddy Colin Prior. Ok, so technically I will still be paddling this weekend!

We did a practice run this evening. We paddled 3 miles from Lake Washington up the Sammamish River, had some dinner and beers at a pub in Bothel and then went back the way we came. It was weird being in a canoe – ungainly vessels. Good fun though. We headed back around 9:00 with the sun just setting. It had been a sunny day and dusk was beautiful. If you’ve ever experienced a perfect summer evening in Seattle you know what I mean. There was plenty of wildlife too - waterfowl, herrons, a beaver and even a swimming rat just to keep with the urban theme.

Seattle is a great place for urban kayaking. Besides Puget Sound, there is Lake Washington, Lake Union and several different waterways like the Sammamish River. I don't get out on the lakes a lot, but when I do I really enjoy it. It's a great thing to do with visiting guests and allows them to see the city from different perspective.

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Where's the Water?

2007-06-20T17:42:00.000-07:00

It didn't seem that water levels got that high this spring. I remember in 2006 when the Wenatchee was over 20,000 cfs and the Skykomish peaked at 17,000 cfs or so. I looked at some numbers from the U.S. Geological Survey. As it turns out we had some higher spikes last year. Check out Brian Vogt's blog entry from the spring of 2006. I'm not sure how the 2006 snowpack compares to 2007 (if there are any skiers/boarders out there who keep track of these things please drop me a line), but I thought this year's snowpack was pretty good.

Looks like we won't get much of a bump with the current hot weather. Both the Skykomish and Wenatchee are forecast to fall. Crap, I thought we'd get at least one more weekend of high water. Too bad! I had some epic weekends on the Wenatchee last year. Drunkards/Trinity was monstrous, and Ingalls/Peshastin Creek had some kick too it as well. Such is the will of the river gods.

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