Wow, this was so much fun! We had about 27 people recruited to race out at the whitewater park yesterday, and ended up with 7 heats of like 4 people each. Basically what you had to do was paddle through M wave, catch the 2nd eddy on left, touch the flag, then touch flag on right at Shutdown, touch the 3rd on left, then one last one on RR below the rock pile, and race to the end.

There were all kinds of people in the race, a whole bunch of ladies, some youngsters, handpaddlers, new and old. Thanks a ton to Eric C who was a good sport and tried out the handpaddles, he almost won, he was paddling really fast, so fast in fact that he totallly missed a flag. They should have never hid it behind that rock. ugagh!

Thankfully Jim lent me some of his wisdom at the start by telling me to tuck my grab handle inside my boat. Patrick claimed he didnt hear that advice and subsequently another racer noticed his newbie status and immediately pulled his skirt and pushed him into M wave.

There was plenty of addition carnage for the crowd, one heat alone had like 3 swimmers, but I think most of them pulled their own skirts.

During the final some crazy man came sprinting (running) down the middle of the channel at the end and tackled, pull skirt, and flipped like 3 racers. I heard mention of Beans? No one seemed to know his real name, we wondered aloud did he really like Mexican food? Was he related to Jack from the fairy tail? I guess the mystery remains.

At the end we all gathered at the tent and Jason and Sam passed out cool prizes. I got a parrot.

Thanks a ton to Jason and Sam and World Kayak, they take time off from their “real” jobs to do this and they do a great job. I get to design the course next month, so beware.

The next race is July 22nd at 6pm.

edgar

Splash! Caught on the first strong eddy line of the day, one of my Introduction to Whitewater Kayaking students is quickly upside down in a low oxygen environment. Almost before they even tip, 2 instructors and another student are charging their way for a bow rescue. The paddler is soon upright and back in the safety of the eddy.

I am always glad we take the time to work on bow rescues prior to getting on the river. Not everyone gets their roll right away, and knowing how to do a bow rescue allows paddlers to push hard to improve their skills without worrying that they will have to swim every time they tip.

Choosing an appropriate river for introducing people to whitewater is also vital. The Tuckasegee River is a fantastic river to learn about whitewater. There are great places to catch eddies, peel out, ferry, and learn about river features. The class II water makes the “Tuck” a great place to learn and explore new skills and features without the pressure of water so difficult it is all you can do to survive.

We have lead river trips over the past 2 weekends and it has been great. Students have learned how to plan their own trips, find and choose paddling partners, begin to understand river features, and build on the skills we have been developing in our flatwater sessions.

Someone recently wrote about the “death” of whitewater kayaking, but I just don’t see it. I see an excited, enthusiastic group of new paddlers ready to get out there any explore and I love it!

Edgar Peck
ACA Whitewater Kayak Instructor

Desperation has set in. The invisible force field is blocking any and all rain from the mountains of North Carolina. Despite what we had heard about the hike out, a buddy and I decided to run the class III-IV section of the Linville River from the base of the falls to the Babel Tower rapid. Eric wisely decided to stay home despite my best efforts to drag him along.

The day starts out with a hike of about a mile. “It’s downhill, how hard can it be?” It’s hard, everything in Linville is hard. The steep hill, narrow steps, big sharp slippery rocks, and an 80lb boat made the hike in a rough one; little did I know that was just the beginning.

This story is really about hiking, not kayaking, but the rapids do warrant some mention. They were fun, and bigger than I expected. There were several 6-8 foot drops, and some pretty cool slides and boulder gardens. I paddled my new Remix 69, which handled the heavy load of rescue and first aid gear great, and slid effortlessly through the rapids. The scenery was outstanding, cliffs everywhere (reminding you there is no way out), and it was super foggy, which gave the paddle an eerie feeling.

We started the hike in at 1:00pm, kept a quick pace on the river, and got down to the Babel Tower rapid at 3:00pm. We started the hike out at 3:30pm after it took us a few minutes to find the right trail. The hike starts with a 400meter climb straight up, handing the boats up over some big boulders.

After we made the left hand turn we were able to shoulder the boats, but it sure didn’t get any easier. I just bought two NRS backpacks, but of course I left them at home. That was a mistake. Every mistake in Linville is consequential, this one was no different.

The Babel Tower trail out was worse than the put-in trail, with more irregular, sharp, slippery rocks, and big step ups that just sap the energy out of your legs. It is also narrow and over grown and every branch seems destined to poke your eyes out

After the first half mile I resorted to walking 25 meters, then setting my boat down to take a break, then picking it up and trying to make it another 25 meters without quitting. Every corner in the trail offered up new hope of the top, then mercilessly crushed that hope as you saw the next boulder strewn monster hill. This went on for about 2 hours before we finally gave up and left our boats at about 5:30pm. We reached the top at about 6:00pm and debated what to do next. Not ones to admit defeat, we drank some water, grabbed the headlamps and decided to go back for the boats. Note, bring a headlamp with you on remote wilderness runs.

Overall, it was an adventure, the best kind of paddling in my opinion. It was a harsh reminder that creek boating is about much more than your paddling skills. Careful planning, fitness, good judgment, and a host of other factors are all just as important. Get out of your comfort zone and try something new!

Edgar Peck
Get Outdoors

I spent the day at the US National Whitewater Center demoing Liquid Logic’s new crossover whitewater boat; the Remix XP-10. At 10ft 3″ long and 28″ wide, this boat is much bigger than your average river runner. The added size and volume make this the most stable WW boat I have ever paddled.

All day I effortlessly plunged through the biggest waves and holes the USNWC had to offer like a locomotive fired from a cannon. Rarely did I feel like the XP-10 had even the remotest chances of flipping, and even at those times it was due to my tendancy to try and put the boat squarely into the nastiest holes and pourovers I could get it into in order to see how it would react . When I did manage, through much effort, to uproot the grip of the hull of the XP-10 from the water’s surface and capsize, it rolled up easily for a boat its size.

The first hour in the XP-10 it felt stable, long, and slow. As the day progressed and I started to dial in my paddling to the boat. As I began catching the smaller eddies and making harder ferries, the sluggish feel of the boat began to dissapear. I started nailing boofs and splats that were so much fun with a boat this long.

Who will like the Remix XP-10?

The XP-10 was primarily designed as a crossover between a expedition whitewater boat and a rec boat, so those who take overnight trips and multi-day trips will appreciate the dry storage in the stern. The higher weight carrying capacity (300lbs) allows you to bring all your camping gear without sacrificing performance.

The higher capacity of this boat will also appeal to heavier paddlers looking for a kayak they can comfortably fit into. The seat is wider than most, giving plenty of room in the cockpit. Having Liquid Logic’s super comfortable Bad-Ass Outfitting doesn’t hurt either.

Those who enjoy a relaxing paddle down class II-III rivers with flatwater between rapids will like the drop down skeg which drastically improves tracking on the slow stuff.

If you are a paddler who enjoys entry level whitewater but can not yet roll a kayak, you will appreciate the enormous stability of the XP-10. With the added width to the hull, this kayak is much harder to flip than most.

In summary, Liquid Logic’s new Remix XP-10 will satisfy a wide variety of paddlers: class V expedition paddlers, beginners, overnight campers, those who enjoy rivers with flatwater between rapids, larger paddlers, and those who need a little extra insurance against capsizing. Features such as: the higher carrying capacity, a wide roomy seat, drop down skeg for better tracking, and a rear bulkhead with hatch for storage make the XP-10 a useful, functional, and fun to paddle addition to the fleet of Liquid Logic kayaks.

The Remix XP-10 is now in stock at Get Outdoors, so stop by and check it out, or call if you have any questions. Also available, the slightly smaller XP-9.

Happy Paddling,
Eric Stuart

All photos taken by Kevin Ratliff

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The drive to the Russell Fork was excruciating. Five hours one-way to the Breaks Intestate Park on the VA/KY border. Trevyn Leighton, Edgar Peck, and myself drove up on Saturday and met Kevin Ratliff and Justin Culbertson. We camped, and would paddle Sunday. The release was 800 cfs.

The view of the canyon from the Park Lodge where we ate breakfast was otherworldly beautiful. The entire day I was amazed at the most beautiful place I have ever been in my life. It’s a really dramatic gorge; big cliff walls and ridges with giant stone columns rising off the top in places. The leaves were also just starting to change (they’ll probably be peaking within the next week).

We put on the Upper section and paddled down to the gorge to warm up. There isn’t much in the upper. 20 Stitches is a cool rapid, but there’s a lot of flatwater up there.

Entering the gorge, the first rapid was Towers. We ran into so many pro paddlers there, I thought we were in a LVM video: Steven Wright, Clay Wright, Brian Kirk, Chris Gratmans, and others I recognized but don’t know.
Clean runs of the main line by Edgar, Trevyn, and myself. Kevin ran the left but got bumped right, surfed across the hole, and out on the right. Justin ran the sneak on the right.

Fist was nasty looking. This infamous rapid has a cave on the left, sucking about a third of the flow into it. Edgar ran the right and pitoned a rock hard, then eddied on the right. Trevyn ran the Fire Escape line on the right. The rest of us walked around. No spelunkers.

Triple Drop was cool. A five foot boof, followed by a chute ending in a powerful hole, ending with a sweet ten foot boof. Good lines by all.

The Maze is a cool boulder garden ending with a house-sized undercut to avoid on river right. Trevyn and I eddie hopped down first. At the undercut, Trevyn eddied left and I eddied right. This meant I had to ferry out in front of the scary rock to get out. The eddie was short, only about 1.5 boat-lengths, so I couldn’t get much momentum to punch the eddie line and make the ferry. I made it, but only with only a few inches to spare. Can’t say I reccomend that line.

El Horrrendo might be the most fun rapid I’ve ever run. It’s a big rapid with a HUGE hole at the bottom. Justin got briefly beat down in a hole at the top of the rapid, but he got away and ran it well. The rest of us ran it clean. Edgar and Trevyn walked back and ran it about four times each.

Climax was a tight little rapid. We ran the box move; a S-turn move that starts with a five foot flairing boof to the right, then turning immediately back left to avoid a big wash-up rock, finishing with a one foot boof between a couple of rocks.

After that it was just run-out, and big,big smiles all the way. Until we had to get back in the car for another much, much, much longer five hour drive back

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For more pictures look here:
http://gallery.me.com/ericds#100075
http://www.tlleight.com/russelfork/

Swift Water Rescue classes teach recognition and avoidance of commmon river hazards, self-rescue techniques, and techniques for rescuing other distressed paddlers.

Lessons focus on safety while covering topics such as: proper use of a rescue vest, knots and rope techniques, hand and whistle signals, strainer drills, foot entrapments, boat based rescue, live bait rescue, v-lowers, scene management, and more. Students practice these skills through simulated live rescue scenarios.

Our first Swift Water Rescue class was held September 13-14. It was beautiful weather at the Nolichucky River, TN; comfortable cool water, sunny, and temps in the upper 80’s.

We couldn’t have asked for more from this exceptional experience. The class was taught by Edgar Peck and Jah Will Hanah, giving us the benefit of two great instructors.

We also had a great class size of 8 people giving each of us plenty of opportunity to practice our newly learned skills.

I learned so much, and had so much fun taking this class. It’s hard to single out highlights, however, I did enjoy the strainer drills, live bait, and final rescue scenarios quite a bit and look forward to opportunities to practice these techniques (in a non-emergency situation of course).

The biggest personal change that I think will result from this class will be in my mindset. The things I see, the way I see them, and the action I would take will all be drastically different as a result. This was also great training on working as a group; a necessity when working with ropes and dealing with multiple victims.

A big, big thanks to Edgar and Jah Will. And for everyone else, It’s been said many times before this, this class should be an essential part of your skills as a responsible paddler.

Be Safe out there.
-Eric Stuart