Chilly Water

Its been some time since my last post. Work got busy, my internet was down and I've been out having fun.

Since last posting the water has gotten quite colder as well as the air.

John, Brett, Billy and I took a trip up to Western MD where we camped in 3 inches of snow and paddled 3 laps on the top Yough the next day then came back to DC and head out for an exciting night at Cheif Ike's.

The following weekend we stayed local and had an awesome day out on the VA side of Great Falls.

Brett, John and I had a nice Dawn Patrol paddle through Mather Gorge the day after we got about 4 inches of snow. That was a beautiful morning and another great start to a day at the office.

I headed out for an afternoon surf/lunch break at Rocky Island waves which was a nice distraction from work.

Brett and I went out for a quick surf at Rocky, then hiked up Difficult Run, paddled Difficult Run, I got beat down in a hole above the gorge, we walked the gorge, then paddled back to the cars.

Billy and I met up on Thursday, the 28th of December and surfed S-Turn at 3.79 then attained up the gorge and caught some good surfs at O-Deck wave. We almost had forgotten what it was like to paddle with lots of water again.

Slide on Sovern Run at the LBS putin

This evening we just got back from another great WV adventure. Ian, John and I drove out Saturday in time to get a run in on the Top Yough with almost twice as much water as a few weeks prior. Still a great run with some big holes to keep you on your feet.
We met up with Billy who had just got off the lower Big Sandy at Little Sandy's for some delicious homecookin'. We went to Teeter's and set up came. There was some drinking of beer and standing around in the cold before we decided to retire to the warmth of our fluffy sleeping bags.

The beautiful Emerald Green waters of the Lower Big Sandy

Sunday morning we awoke to foggy breath and icy gear. Ian got a fire going with bicycle chain lube and some small sticks. There was also an extra car in the otherwise abandoned field - Scott showed up after a long day of driving and kayaking further south in WV.

Thawing out some gear

We all took turns thawing out our gear around the pitiful flame and then got on the road to set shuttle. As it always seems to happen around those parts of WV the shuttle took a few hours, but we were on the Lower Big Sandy my around noon.

LBS putin, awaiting the shuttle drivers

This was John, Ian, and I's virgin run on this classic WV stream. You never get your first decent twice! What a great day for our first run down the LBS. The river was running at a moderate to lower level, but the water was clear as could be and the air was crisp. We were convinced by the veterans of the LBS that Wonder Falls was best run blind, so we followed the given verbal beta and all had great lines.

Scott at Wonder Falls, LBS

Ian Styling Wonder Falls

Scouting Big Splat

Team NRS member, Johnny Haddock, seal launching at Big Splat

Scott Firing up Big Splat

What a great weekend of paddling. We almost had the entire HGL crew together again, but Brett had to be snowboarding and snowmobiling his way around the snowy north Maine woods. We enjoyed some Banana Leaf Thai cuisine in Cumberland, MD on the way home.

Another Day on the Falls and Some Time on the Rocks

After two great weekends on the road it was nice to hang out locally, at least for a day or two. Friday was Billy's last day at MDA so some work friends went out for a happy hour then headed back to my to hang out before heading to see the Hackensaw Boys in Arlington. James and I rocked some pretty sweet jumpsuits and Billy dawned the classic pink ruffled shirt. We arrived to a large crowd of fans at Iota, but did our best to boogie ourselves some wiggle room.

Curt at Pummel Photo: Brett Mayer-Aschhoff

Saturday was a beautiful day and the water was higher than we had seen in a long time on the Maryland side of Great Falls. We had a great time making runs down the cenetr of Pummel. I had probably one of the crziest lines on the notch that involved going off backwards in a barrel role and landing on my head. Man that drop looks much bigger upside-down and head first!
Some bad lines were had but we all escaped unscathed. We topped the day off with some pizza and then headed to my house for a campfire, smores and a few frosty brews.

Hackensaw Boys rippin it

I was up at 6am on Sunday packing my car with David to head out for some climbing at Seneca Rocks. We were there by 9 and climbing by 10. I wanted to get in some leads but this was only my second day outside climbing since the fall. So I was happy cleaning gear today. We got on some fun climbs and scrambled around on the top before decending to terra firma.

David heading for the anchors on 7-11, Franklin, WV

David and I grabbed some adults beverages and joined Eric and Sarah at the Front Porch for some delicious pizza. We recounted the events of the day and enjoyed each others company. The plan was to head to Franklin, WV to do some sport climbing on Monday. It poured all night as we slept in our tents, I was second guessing my decision on taking a day off now that it was looking like it was going to be a rainout.

It turned out that Franklin was mostly dry and very climbable. We got in some great routes, I got out on the sharp end for the first time since my fall on December 28th, 2006. I have a lot of ground to make up in my mental fitness, but overall it was a great feeling leading again.

I See Green People

Before I even got serious about kayaking I had always looked at the Green River Narrows as an incredible river that was far beyond anything I would ever be able to paddle in a kayak. However, over the last year, I have put in many many long days and weekends paddling all different types and sizes of rivers. All of this time spent learning the intricacies of the way water acts and reacts when it falls quickly over rocks culminated in my mind as I was loading up my kayak and gear Friday afternoon.

Brett, John, Billy and I were headed to the Green. The Green River Narrows lies outside the small town of Saluda, NC about 45 monutes south of Asheville, NC. We all met up at various places along I-81, eventually all meeting at a Walmart parking lot in Lexington, VA. Friday evening was spent at John's folks place in Wytheville, VA. The hospitality of super nice people and a really cool converted barn house only slightly helped to calm my nerves as I lay there looking at the wood panel ceiling and recounting the pictures and rapid descriptions of the river we would be paddling the next day.

Brett at Frankenstein


Curt at Boof or Consequences

Racer getting a face full of rock at Go Left or Die

On race day we tried to get out in front of the racers but had some difficulties because the water wasn't turned on until 9am. So we got to Go Left and got out to watch some of the racers come through. Its quite intimidating go through rapids you have never seen knowing that you can't mess it up because there are racers barreling down behind you.

John dropping into Chief

GORILLA!

Racers at Gorilla and Scream Machine

Curt at Nies' Pieces

Billy in the tube at Groove Tube

Curt at Hammer Factor

The Green River race proved to be an excellent show of super-human strength and ability. It was amazing watching the country's best paddlers giving it all they had for 4 or 5 minutes down an extremely difficult and dangerous section of river. Even the pros mess up sometimes and there was plenty of carnage to be had.

Female racer at Gorilla. Photo Ben Edison

Maybe one Saturday in November I too will be paddling my butt off alone down this steep gorge, chasing the clock and ignoring the guy in the chicken costume and the hundreds of other fans yelling and screaming. But for now I will be happy getting out on an awesome creek with my good friends and enjoying some unbelievable whitewater.

Imagine seeing this while headed into a very stiff class 5 drop!

Back to West Virginia

It has been a week or two since the last trip to West Virginia, so I knew we were due another trip with all the rain. None of the Nelson County creeks came up in Virginia, so Brett, Billy, John and I met up at 5:30 Saturday morning and made the game time decision to head up to the Canaan Valley area to get in some paddling. After lots of driving, scouting, and deliberation, we decided to get on the lower Blackwater. The upper was too high and the North Fork was too low.

Douglas Falls, North Fork Blackwater

Kayaking safety, like climbing, is all about risk management. Sometimes you just gotta go with your gut when things get messy. This was the lesson learned on Saturday. Thats all I will say about that. However, the day ended on a high note however with an awesome Hackensaw Boys show at the Purple Fiddle in Thomas, WV. This was followed by the after party at the Mountain State Brewing Company just up the road. We managed to be the odd group of kayakers who knew no one and were not in costume. But we didn't let hat hold us back from having a good time. It was a wet and chilly night but we all huddled in John's 1980s era Eureka tent and made it to the morning.

Sunday was a great day and we got to put on our soaking wet and freezing cold kayaking gear and paddle the Lower Blackwater without incident. On the way home we stopped by Dolly Sods Wilderness area for a quick side trip to Bear Rocks.

Dolly Sods

Self Portrait, Bear Rocks Dolly Sods Wilderness Area

Hackensaw Boys, Purple Fiddle - Thomas, WV

Wet Rocks are Good Rocks (for paddlers anyhow)

This generally means it is raining or has been raining, which hasn't happened around here in almost 90 days. Thank goodness for dam releases and Great Falls, two things you can always count on in times of no water.
The rain started falling yesterday morning so we celebrated with a Wednesday morning Dawn Patrol. We had a good crew for this run, Brett, Ian, and eventually John joined as he couldn't bear the thought of not getting a lap in. We were on the water by 6:30am and made the first decent of the Maryland side just as the sun was rising through the rain clouds.
Ian and I headed up for another run. The scramble back up was made more difficult by the soaked rocks. The second run went off well. Ian had a close call with Horseshoe, but kept it together and was fine. What a great way to start the morning off!

The rain has kept falling which gives a good weekend outlook, but the more imeadiate intrest is the Potomac. It has finally risen enough to run the VA side. Billy and I left work around 1pm today to head out to the falls. WOW, I had almost forgotten how awesome the Virginia side is! Three spectacular drops, each very different from each other or any other rapids I have paddled. I got in two runs and opted to be the photographer for the last. This carry back up is brutal when its nice out, and really tough in the rain.

Curt dropping into U-Hole, the first rapid on the VA side of Great Falls

Billy gettin some good air on the Spout, VA side, Great Falls

What a great lunch break.

The Leaves They are a Changin'

In my effort to give my shoulders a break from any long term injury I have taken a whole week and a half off of paddling. This has been the first two weekends in a row that I haven't paddled since April. However, I still needed to get outside and enjoy the beautiful fall weather and scenery. So Jess, Delia (her cool dog) and I headed up towards my old stomping grounds Shenandoah National Park. We Drove a ways up the Rapidan River and found a great campsite. We were getting there just before dark, so I had to stop and get a few pictures.
The drive in felt as if we were driving through the scene of a calender page.

Driving up the holler

The Rapidan River, although crowded at times, is one of my favorite fishing spots in SNP. If you hike up far enough or head out in less than desirable conditions or times of year you can have it to yourself. The fishing is great and the scenery spectacular. The Hughes River is probably my favorite just because of its remoteness.

Nice little pool on the Rapidan

Its no wonder President Hoover had a summer home here during his Presidency.

Another pool on the Rapidan

Sunday we headed upland and hiked to Mary's Rocks, a rock outcrop with a nice 360 degree view. From here you can see out to the tidewater area on the east and the Page Valley and Shenandoah valley to the west.

Looking Northeast from Mary's Rocks

Third time's a charm

After finding out that this past weekend was a long weekend thanks to Chris Columbo, it was a no-brainer that the Gauley was the place to be. This is my third trip up there is Gauley season. The last two times involved at least one marathon trip down the Gauley, (Upper, Middle and Lower) 26.8 miles of great whitewater and beautiful scenery.
I met Billy at my bro's house in Harrisonburg Friday night. We had a nostalgic ride around town, realizing that we no longer knew the people hanging out on the front porches of the houses on Elizabeth Street and other well known and visited college dwellings.
We took off Saturday morning and decided to paddle the lower Gauley and play as much as possible. And play we did. We hit all the major playspots and found some new ones along the way. We spent almost 2 hours at diagonal ledges eventually having it to ourselves, which is a rare feat during Gauley season. It was getting dark by the time we took off the river. What a day, all that playboating is enough to wear you out.

Looking up the gorge on the lower Gauley

We had the best playspot on the river, Diagonal Ledges, to ourselves for a while

On Sunday morning we decided to go to Fayetteville and demo some new boats. It was cool paddling something different. I got the new Jackson Allstar and Billy picked up the Fun. I was a little loose in the boat to really enjoy it and it handled a bit differently than my Project 52. I went through a couple of rapids in a full vertical stern squirt. Good Times. The Gauley is a great river! What nice Gauley season weather.

Looking upstream at Pillow Rock rapid

Feeling very small at Pillow Rock

What a Long Strange Trip its Been

This past Saturday and Sunday were my first trip down the upper Gauley. Sunday we did the Marathon, upper, middle and lower Gauley...26.8 miles of great whitewater and beautiful scenery. A year ago I was scared to death trying getting myself psyched to run the lower Gauley. A few months before that I was swimming out of my boat at the class 2/3 Maryland Chute play waves a few miles from my house. My life as a paddler has been an interesting one. I always liked the water until I almost drown on the lower Gauley when I was 14 years old. Then I was scared of any type of water for a year or so. After my dad got rid of the motor boat he agreed to buy my brother and I kayaks when I was 16 or 17. He signed us up for some rolling classes, but I never really figured it out enough to take it to the river. This began my first 5 years of paddling. Mainly just easy stuff with the family where flipping wasn't really an issue. But whenever I did flip, I was swimming. So this continued for quite a while, as I was spending most of my outdoor time climbing. In college I started hanging out with a few guys, Billy and Jeremy, who were starting to do a lot of kayaking. My interest in the sport started to grow again now that I had friends inviting me to head outside with them. The only problem was that I still couldn't roll my boat 75% of the time. This is when I took on the title of "the little swimmer." This reflected my less than graceful style through most any rapid I got flipped on. This went on for a while, but it was hard to get psyched about kayaking when I was so bad at it. My interest and future in kayaking was waning.

Seven months after moving to Bethesda, MD, I discovered a true diamond in the rough...the mighty Potomac. Once again I was going to give kayaking another try. This time, would be different, this time I told myself from the get go, "This is it, I either need to make this happen, or sell my gear and stick to climbing and other outdoor pursuits." Having such a wealth of paddling literally minutes from my house and job has turned out to be a Godsend. After I met a few people to go paddling with I was hooked. Not long after, my good friend Billy from college moved here and I had someone who I could always count on being into going paddling.

Moonlit profile of Seneca Rocks

Last fall was a constant battle between going climbing or kayaking. I got into leading traditional routes and really enjoyed that. I really wanted to climb as much as I could. At the same time I was really enjoying kayaking. I continued both through last fall and winter. After I dislocated my heel in an ugly trad fall at Looking Glass in North Carolina, I have pretty much been concentrating on kayaking. More to come soon, but that should get you up to speed.

A few minutes before the fall...

A Summer of Dam releases

My first big step in taking my kayaking to the next level came this spring when I ran the Upper Yough for the first time. Billy and I took a Shredder up to the Cheatfest this year and ran the upper Yough on Friday in the shredder so I could see the lines, then Saturday I ran it in my kayak. What an awesome river. It has a little bit of everything. Little did I know at that point how many more times I would get to paddle this awesome river in the coming months. Rivers like like upper Yough proved to be a great training ground for preparing for more difficult runs. There are plenty of class 5 moves to make with class 3 consequences.

Joe at Cheeseburger Falls, Upper Yough

In the beginning of July Billy, Joe and I took a road trip south to catch some dam release waters and a change of scenery. We paddled the Cheoah river in North Carolina, which has just recently been reopened for whitewater recreation and then made it down to the Ocoee in Georgia.

Joe and Billy at the bottom of the Cheoah run

Hanging out at our awesome roadside/riverside campsite