Southeast Update...good fall to be boatin' in the SE

As I was driving back from Washington I wasn't sure what the next few months were gonna hold. I was planning on a few weeks of fun paddling on the classics East Coast dam releases.....but got a whole lot more.

I paddled a day and worked a day on the Gauley. Catching the best of the fall foliage in WV was awesome. Rachel and I then headed to the Russell Fork for some high quality big, steep water. From there it was home to drop off some gear and down to the Green River in Saluda, NC. Rachel and I got to weather the rains at Devin and Lindsay's place in Brevard, NC while paddling the Green as well as some classic natural flow runs including: North Fork French Broad, Section 4 of the Chattooga, the Horsepasture River and Overflow Creek. With all the rain, we had options and had to make our decisions based on how we were feeling for the day...epic drops and hikes vs. fun class IV/V with easy logistics....life is tough.

The next week leading up to the Green race brought beautiful weather. Blue skies and warm during the day and cold and clear nights...autumn at its best. This week we spent camping a mile downstream from the Green takeout with good friends: some old and some new. All we really had to worry about was when to wake up and paddle the Green again, and one lap or two.

As the race neared the anticipation grew. I found myself feeling gripped on a river I had become relatively comfortable with over the last few weeks. The anticipation grew into anxiousness as I sat at the first rapid awaiting my starting time on race day, November 7th.

My stomach grew more and more unsettled, then finally it was time: I was in my boat and before I knew it I was off, charging down over a half mile of class five rapids dropping over 200 vertical feet.

I knew there were tons of people littering the rocks lining the creek, but in my tunnel vision the masses were just dots of color like a strange fall foliage yelling at you as you pulled on stroke after labored stroke downstream.

Then the finish line, what a glorious feeling! A cathartic relief, all that preparation and anticipation suddenly gone....I made it, it was over. At least next year it won't be so new, but from hearing the chatter around the river that day, likely just as all consuming as 6 minutes of your life could possibly be. The Green Race is awesome.

Here are some photos from the last few weeks of paddling around the East coast.

The Wet Planet boys gettin' some on the Russell Fork:

Tyler aka Fastlane layin down a Boof at El Horrendo

Dave at Climax

The Horsepasture: Absolutely stunning from put-in to take-out:

The ground had already been saturated before it started raining on Oct. 27th, but it rained nice and hard so we considered the options and picked a good one. The level on Wednesday the 28th was right at .4 on the bridge gauge on Upper Whitewater Road, a great level it turned out. The day could not have been better, blue bird skies and good water, creekin' at its best. The hike in and hike out made you have to want this run, but it was manageable and we took turns scouting most of the big horizon lines.

Rainbow Falls: the Put-in

Scouting Staircase (aka Stairmaster) awesome horizon line #1

Half-way down Stairmaster

Rachel Boofin'!

Jeff eying his next move

Eric flying off one of the big rapids in the middle

The last part of the last biggie Highway to Heaven...a very rad rapid.

The take-out. It feels like the edge of the Earth.

Dave took Rachel and I down his old home run, the SE Classic Section IV of the Chattooga

Dave having a Zen moment

The fall colors reflecting off of Tugaloo Lake on the paddle out

Overflow Creek, in the headwaters of the Chattooga

The Green River:

Rachel dialing in her race line at Frankenstein


Andy charging the Notch

Drew spankin' the monkey

Andy at Sunshine

Curt at Sunshine photo: Chris Baer

Looking downstream from Sunshine at Drew