It started off with spring break and heading home. Upon arriving home Friday night, I spent some time with the family and then immediately left Saturday morning to paddle the Tohickon with some friends from home. I spent the next week with my family and Kate, and managed to get out to Holtwood at a great flow. Too bad I've been in the creekboat so much, that I forgot how to playboat!! Oh well. Here's a few pics from then:
Chris getting a big ole boof at the top of Racecourse.
At Holtwood, Craig Kleckner throwing down!
Matt Booth about to go big!
Topher Smith blunting the Pyranha Varun
After my trip home, I returned to WVU to finish out the semester and get work done. I also started my master's research which has been quite the adventure in itself. The last month has been great weather wise, offering plenty of options to run different stuff. Here are the highlights from the past few weeks. The first thing that I did when I got back was take Justin Takasawa down the Lower Big Sandy for his first time, and Dave Stephens and Chris Kyle down the Top Yough for their first times.
Chris on his way down Swallow Falls.
Chris entering Suck Hole for the first time.
Camera started to fog, but Dave ran Suck Hole too.
When we got a lot of rain, Chris and I ran Daugherty Creek with Mike Crenshaw, Casey Tango, and Brad Romano. I had a close call at Undercut Rapid, but after that it went really well. Once we got done, Casey and Mike fired up Pringle Run, and Mike fired up Pringle Falls, a sweet 20 footer.
After that big rain day, it was a few days on the LBS and Meadow Run, and the other day I took my newly acquired Greenboat down the Middle Fork. Here are the highlights, from about 600 pics from those few trips!
Chris Preparato dropping Wonder Falls.
Heim on Big Splat.
Finally a shot of me, Radley dropping Wonder Falls in the Greenboat.
(The only reason this shot exists is because Heim thought I was going to get my ass kicked and he wanted it on camera)
The next few pictures are from a birthday creeking adventure for my friend Glen King. Glen's wife Elisa asked me if Glen could come visit and do some kayaking for his birthday and of course I obliged. She got him some creeking booties and some elbow pads and sent him west to learn to paddle like a man. His first day creeking, we ran Muddy Creek, Fike Run, Meadow Run (2x), on day 2 was the Middle Fork, and day 3 was Meadow Run (2x) and the Loop at 5.6' (2x). It was a good weekend!
Nori Onishi spanking a big boof right after the slides about 7 Foot Falls on Meadow Run (he later brown
clawed another boof)
He learns quickly! Glen nailing the 7 Foot Falls boof on his first day creeking.
Jeff Felton taking the Greenboat through Death Slot 2000 on the Middle Fork
Chrystal Hauser coming through it too.
Jeff with another sweet boof on some random rapid.
Glen kickin' back and relaxing! NOTE: Middle Fork is a perfect Greenboat run.
Glen hitting the boof onto the Clapper on Cascade
Jeff Felton boofing in the middle of Cascade
Mike Maloney doing some weird hand gesture. He paddles a hero, so it isn't a brown claw.
Mike with some sort of normal behavior dropping onto the clapper.
Matt eddied out on the slide.
Heads up, in the center of this picture is a bad pin spot. It is a crack on the last slide above 7 foot falls. Make sure you are a left!
Glen hitting 7 Foot Falls again.
Matt browning 7 Foot.
Felton with a great boof.
Mike with the boof.
Going deep!
Matt with a good bounce on the Slide.
And that pretty much wraps up the pictures. I got some videos to share though.
Top Yough POV - HD
SYOTR
