Yesterday, 3/24 I got the opportunity to go run the Twisting Falls section of the Elk river. I was supposed to go run Linville but not having a car got in the way again, so I got on board with Frank and Edgar for my 2nd ever Elk run.
We decided we didn't want to drive the 45 minute one way shuttle, so we opted to try out the hike in option, where the shuttle is more like 4 miles, with a "15 minute hike" to the river. After making our way up the road we found the trail and started hiking. The trail disappeared into the woods after about 100 yards, and we ended up following game trails and hiking through rhododendron and following a creek until we met the Elk. I was relieved when I heard Edgar whoop when he saw the Elk, I was starting to have Steeles Creek flashbacks.
Frank hiking beside a cool boulder
With the hike in option, you only miss two rapids and it is a lot less time consuming than driving the long shuttle and paddling all the flatwater. But personally, I would rather do that then the hike, unless the trail was improved a lot. We may have just missed the easy way at some point though.
The level was medium-low, but still good, the Watauga was at about 600 cfs this day. Shortly after putting on, we met up with Andre, Pete and Josh and paddled with them. After making it through all the big, shallow, fast slides the Elk has to offer, we made it to the Twisting Falls Portage. Now I am not usually very scared of heights, but this portage is not fun at all. Especially because i was worrying about my knee the whole time.
Passing the boats along the narrow ledge
The consequences. I am against the wall.
Twisting Falls
After gingerly making our way around and down twisting falls, and a sweet boof over a big hole, we arrived at the goods. The 15 footer had a very juicy hole at this level, while a few chose to run it, with one beat down, most of us seal launched from the ledge next to it, of equal height. Then came the prize, Compression Falls. The height is debated, my guess is around 30 feet of vert with another 10 foot high roll in for a total close to 40ft.
Andre went first, and broke his paddle on the landing, even though he ran it perfectly clean.
Rolling off
I was next, and had a pretty good line I think, but I was a little more vert than I hoped to be. I tucked up tight and landed fine though. I think I was about completely vertical, but the curtain on compression is a little off vert, so you want to have a little bit of angle. Unhappy with my line, I hiked back up for a second shot at it while Josh, Frank, and Pete fired off with good lines.
My first line
I knew what to do on my second attempt, I just needed to tuck up later, not as soon as I spotted my landing. I did and it worked out perfectly.
My second lap, about to tuck it up
After my good line on Compression I was much happier, as the last 2 I did I went vert too much. Compression is really the only "must plug" waterfall I have run so far, there just are not that many around the southeast, or Colorado really. I am more interested to find more around here though, I know there are some, they are just not very plentiful.
Waterfalls are a lot trickier than they appear, timing your tuck as to not go over the handlebars or break your paddle is tough. Edgar has run the Elk around 10 times, he said every time he has been someone has gotten hurt or broken something, this time was no exception. Compression does have a big hit at the bottom, it don't tickle. But, I am pretty stoked on waterfalls now, and looking forward to doing more bigger ones.
Boogie on the paddle out, with compression in the background
It has been a solid week so far, with me and Colin paddling some Red Roof and Laurel Creek slides on tuesday, Elk wednesday, Watauga today at a juicy level, and the rest of the week looking like Watauga race training and then the race on saturday, and clean up on sunday. Another great week of boating in the high country, an awesome place to be in the spring time!
With the warmer weather and good water, I have been really stoked on kayaking lately. I am usually pretty excited about boating, but this past week its all I have been thinking about. I managed to get on various sections of the Watauga 6 days in a row this week, with today ending the streak unfortunately. I did the Red Roof one day, just the Gorge 3 days, the upper Watauga and the Gorge one day, and a Gorge and Wilson Creek double one day. I got to paddle with a big variety of people, and saw a lot of other friends out on the river too.
The first day the level was around 400 with Beech and Laurel putting in a lot more for a level of about 550 or so in the gorge. Throughout the week I rode the bubble all the way down to about 200 on the gauge. Every level of the week provided something a little different, and I couldn't begin to pick a favorite level. They are all pretty equally fun.
Since I ran the Watauga so much this week I finally took a few pictures from out there, I dont know why I havent before.
Mac on one of Watauga's many good boofs
New team hydro crew member Matt West on the same boof
Frank freewheeling
Mac freewheeling with a very painful look on his face
Matt with a freewheel
Me in a boogie rapid (photo Andria)
Another great Boof/Freewheel Spot (photo Leland)
Here is a sequence shot of me running stateline:
(photo Matt)
Maybe it was just how many times I ran it this week, or all the Canadians and New Englanders that had traveled down, but I have just started to realize what a classic, awesome, underrated river the Watauga is.
It has super high quality class IV rapids the entire 5 miles down, with 2 really fun class V's. It has more fun boofs than any other river I have ever been on, there must be about 50. There are all sorts of alternative lines, slot moves, ferries, runnable sieves, and other cool moves in lots of the rapids. I discover new stuff every time I go out there. Its a beautiful canyon with lots of wildlife, I have seen a bear down by the river before. I feel really lucky to have this river so close that I can run it 6 times in a week and have even more fun every time I do it.
Frank throwing a ninja-death-boof-stroke-paddle-tuck on the last rapid
The wednesday before last was my first time back in a boat since I hurt my knee. I had the chance to go to the Green that day, but decided I shouldn't do the hike or do anything that remote. Instead me and Paul went to Eternity Hole to do some playboating. I felt really weird in the boat and was nervous because of my knee. I am glad I didn't go to the Green, I felt nervous surfing this small hole, those feelings do not belong on a creek. After a couple of cartwheels and spins and flipping over, I realized my knee was not going to be an issue at all in the boat and I loosened up. The only problem was I did not have a skull cap and got horrible brain freeze every time I flipped over, even though the air temp was in the 50's. Our session did not last too long but I snapped a few good pictures of Paul.
Paul plugging for a loop
Throwing down
Nice loop
We saw this Nascar rig on the way there!
It was good to be back in a boat (even though I only had not boated in like 3 weeks) and it gave me the confidence in my knee to go kayaking more.
Little update on my knee: I found out I tore my ACL, I have to get surgery in May. But I can kayak until then, as long as I am not doing any crazy portages or jumping off any rocks. So until May, I am trying to go kayaking as much as possible! After surgery, it will likely be a few months until I can boat full on again, but hopefully I can go do some real easy stuff without any hiking. Maybe the Ocoee by the end of the summer, that would be on the early side I think. I am bummed about missing out on summer, and guiding on the Chattooga, but I have a little something in the works for winter break next year if I can raise the money to do it, that will totally make up for missing out on summer here!
Winter in Boone is usually pretty frigid and this year was no exception. It was actually the snowiest winter on record, which made for some great backcountry and campus skiing, but not so great for boating. I don't mind boating in the cold, but for a large portion of the winter everything was just frozen over. I am going to focus on kayaking in this post and do a different one about skiing later.
I left off the last post at about Christmas break so thats where i'll pick up with this one. I went home to Georgia for break, so fortunately it was warmer and not frozen over like Boone so we got some good boating done.
First thing we got on was the Chauga Gorge, which parallels the Chattooga, near Long Creek, SC. It was pretty low water when we were there, but there were a few fun rapids, with the highlight definitely being "super socemdog" a rapid that resembles socemdog on the Chattooga. Well at this low level it wasn't really anything like it, but it was a rather epic boof. Pics for proof:
Mac Mcgee
Stomping it out
The next day, me, my brother, Paul Griffin, Jay Mahan, Greg Watson, and Robbie Gilson headed to Little River Canyon in Alabama. The Canyon is probably one of my favorite runs anywhere. It has awesome rapids and boofs in a really unique canyon, unlike many other places in the east. It also has a lot of scary undercuts and sieves, so you have to be on your A game.
Most of us went to the Suicide section, while my brother put on lower down for the upper 2 section, where we would meet him and keep going down. The suicide is the uppermost mile and a half of rapids with the hardest rapids, then the upper 2 is the next 2 miles that are slightly easier, with 2 solid class V's to its own name. It also has about the best mile of class IV boogie anywhere. We met up with a few other people at the put in and had a group of about 10 going down. There was one swim at Pinball, but other than that everyone had good lines, and the first timers had a really good time.
Everyone routing through above cable falls
Coming through Cable Falls (photo ben)
Paul on the paddle out
Me, Paul, Jay, Mac, and Robbie also got on Overflow Creek in Georgia. It was my first time, this was a run I had been trying to get on for a long time and never got the opportunity too. It lived up to every way I imagined it, its a really classic, quality run for sure. Marginal Monster was the highlight for sure for me, its probable one of my favorite rapids now, its a longer, technical rapids with some really good moves and boofs.
Unfortunately this is the only picture we got from the day while trying to get Jay's boat out the cave
After getting back up to Boone, there was not a whole lot of boating to be done, buy myself and Tyler Mayo tried to get out one day. We found the Watauga to have much too ice to be safe to boat.
Watauga put in
We decided to go try Wilson Creek, but on the way over there we stopped and looked at Trashcan Falls. It was frozen over solid and looked really cool.
At Wilson Creek, we found not too much ice, but low water. We put on and had a good, but slightly sketchy run. Ice undercuts were about, but we made it through.
Ice was thick in some spots, I portages this while Tyler tried to run it, below. He got pinned.
Tyler routing through the ice bridge, he got pinned but freed himself
The frozen over rapid
Trashcan Falls is a big multi-move, multi tiered drop on Laurel Creek, a tributary of the Watauga, right beside the put-in to section 3. I scouted in within the first week of being in school up here and had seen videos of a few people running it. I passed it up once due to really high water, but it finally came in at a good level one day, and Colin Hunt convinced me to go check it out with him. We both fired it up with good lines!
A few days later I went back to Trashcan with Will Stubblefield and he fired it up with a sweet line. Thankfully were out of the drought from the past few years, it was the first chance Will had got to run the falls.
In mid January I finally got a chance to get on the Raven Fork, near Cherokee, NC. I had been waiting to get on this creek for 6 months, ever since I got back from Colorado, I felt I was ready. Well everything finally came together, and after a night in Cullowhee, myself, Mac Mcgee, Colin Hunt, and Jay Mahan headed over there.
After leaving a note (because of the time) and some cash (because none of us were 21) we headed to the put in. On the hike in, I was really excited to finally get on this river. I had been psyching myself up ever since we decided to go there, and I was ready. I knew I had the skills to be there, I had waited for a long time.
On a side note, the Raven Fork probably has the coolest names for rapids anywhere. Think about it, Lord of the Rings, Headless Horseman, Wet Willy, Big Boy, Atomic Supercollider, Mike Tysons Punchout, Caveman, what other river has as many cool names as that??
Jay and Colin hiking in
After warming up on Lord of the Rings, we got to Anaconda and scouted. After a quick look, me and Mac got in our boats and ran it. Both of us had good lines, and once this rapid was out of the way, I was on, and super excited for the rest of the run. Jay and Colin also fired it up after seeing me and Mac.
Mac
Me
Jay
We found this perfectly round bowling ball sized rock while scouting.
Anaconda
Next was Headless Horseman, another really fun rapid that involves a boof over a hole and avoiding an undercut on the left.
Me
Me boofing over the hole
Colin entering headless horseman
Jay in Mortal Combat
When we got down to Wet Willy, Mac told us to follow him over this "kinda slide thing" and to just follow him and keep our elbows in. I knew what it was once I got to the lip, but I definitely clipped my elbow on the rock near the bottom and since I neglected to bring my elbow pads, ended up with a chipped elbow bone! Oh well.
We got down to Big Boy and scouted. It was a good Big Boy level, around 8 inches, but after 15 minutes of scouting I had to walk away. Its not going anywhere, i'll wait until I am more comfortable. Mac decided to fire it up though, and had a sweet line!
At the lip
Tucking up into the curtain
After portaging Big Boy, we put in to run Mike Tyson's Punchout. I flipped above the final drop when I hit the rock, but rolled up immediately and ran it backwards, but I got a good boof and actually planed out into the pool. Mac Jay and Colin followed with good lines.
Me in the ring with Mike Tyson
Caveman was an even better boof than it looks in the pictures, me and Mac blue angeled through it with good lines. I got out on the cave rock to take a few photos of Jay and Colin and ended up pulling them both out of the cave with Mac's help, one after the other! Its pretty easy to get sucked in there.
Colin at Caveman
After this and the mangler portage, there are a few more fun smaller rapids to the takeout, where we talked with Emmanuel for a while, and then headed back to Cullowhee. The Raven Fork lived up to my every expectation, its a beautiful gorge with some of the most amazing rapids ever. I felt like I was ready for it for sure, and I am glad I waited a while to get on it, it made it that much better to finally do.
After two boat abusive laps on the cascades the next day, we headed back to Boone.
Ravens Fork
A week or two after getting back to Boone, we got a good rainstorm on top of some snow and got on the Laurel Fork of the Doe again, this time a little lower than the last, but still a good level for everything. This time it was a much bigger group consisting of myself, Mac, Colin, Edgar Peck, Will Stubblefield, and Eli Smith. We put on in the snow, and it was really cold. All of the rapids in the gorge went well and everyone had good lines. We had to pull a tree out of Darwin's Hole, in order to make it runnable. If we couldn't have gotten it out we probably would have had to hike out, or do some kind of portage from hell with ropes and rappelling, because this is one of the only real-deal unportageable rapids in the southeast.
Getting the log out
Will coming out of the newly cleaned out rapid, and into the inner sanctum of the gorge
After bombing through the rest of the gorge, we arrived at Laurel Falls, which Mac first-descented on our last run. He and Eli scouted it for a long time while the rest of us decided to walk. Eli went first and had a great line, he styled it for the 2nd descent.
Eli on Laurel Falls
Mac was next and I missed the shot of him regrettably because he pitoned at the top and almost went over the handlebars onto his face! But he brought it back and landed about sideways in the pool, fortunately not flat though. He rolled up and was fine, but maybe a little shaken up. It would have made for an epic picture!!
That about wraps up winter, it was a good one and I got on some good runs I had been wanting to do even though a lot of NC was frozen over the majority of the time. Bring on the warmer weather!
