blogwater

russell fork detour to manns

2011-10-18T18:56:00.000-07:00

thanks to work being slow,i was abail to join kyle for a three day trip to the russell fork.

on our way south ,we got an invite from john to join him on Manns creek.After quick decision making we went Keeney creek[take out of Manns]to meet up with john.then,On our way to babcock state park,.after scouting grist mills falls at the put in,we all had great lines over the falls,which was good my confidence,sense my nerves were ramped up,to say the least.This creek is not for the weak of heart.Manns was full of blind drops and boofs everywhere.john did a great job guiding us down,i can't imagine being able to remember all those lines ,we made it to the new river in two and 1/2 hour,to paddle the new in the dark .this may be the best run in West Virgina.

sat. and sun.were spent with great people and whitewater at the Russell fork

a link to a good video of manns creek

labor day weekend 2011

2011-09-07T06:06:00.000-07:00

Jeff Blood getting some action at knife's edge on the Moose

Went up to the Adirondack's to paddle the whitewater release of the Raquette and the Beaver and was fortunate to get a run on the Moose the Friday we arrived .Saterday our group grew from 12 on the moose to 15 for the Raquette,most with good lines.Sunday was more chilled on the moshier section of the Beaver,unless you choose to run the spill way.then a short drive to the eagle section of the Beaver for several laps on the short fun run.When tired from all the laps,alot of us paddled to our campground just down stream.That evening we ate great around the fire,thanks Dave and others for the food.After a long night of rain,,,me ,Jeff and Karl ,wanted on early start because of the long drive home ahead of us.got some info for the Oswegatchie. and made our way down the run,,on the low side but a fun run to end a great weekend with new and old friends.the next day found out our other friends did the section down stream of were we took out and then headed to the water gap.


Merv on the slide part of Colton falls on the Raquette

David Carey making the spill way on the Moshier look easy

rope swing on paddle out of the Eagle section of the Beaver

last drop above the portage on the Oswegatchie,section #3

for more pics of the labor day weekend

red creek

2011-08-31T16:05:00.000-07:00

a nice write up by Dave,about a winter adventure we had in March or April?http://riverleftproductions.com/riverleft/wp/

Seneca creek

2011-04-18T07:45:00.000-07:00

after 2 runs on the upper B,we went Davis for pizza,when shorty after we checked the river gauges and noticed Seneca gauge was 3900 and going strait up,,,so we drove to the Seneca creek take out to sleep.

we new we wanted an early start for the 13 miles of whitewater in the wilderness.

As we drove up the mountain to the put in,the temp dropped to 25 % and snow all around.
the day started cold,but the mile hike in kept us warm..the water seemed low as we first put on ,,but luckily

the were side streams feeding in around ever turn.When we got to the rapids ,,it was a nice low level.

Upper Seneca Falls

Knife's Edge

drop near the end

                    Lower Seneca Falls.

   After Lower Seneca falls there was 4 miles of class 2-3 and about 5 portages because of strainers.
We got off the river at 3:30 with temps. in the 50's,,ended up having a great day on one of the most beautiful creek in WV.
more pics of the creek

2011-03-15T05:46:00.000-07:00

Friday morning woke up to winter conditions for my kayak trip.

while traveling east ,made some phone calls and ended up meeting some friends for a run on drakes ,then we went for a quick run down the nearby meadow before dark.

next morning,while checking river gauges ,decided to try and catch all the creeks over in the stonycreek watershed .meet at somerset,got on the stony gorge,then roaring fork ,dark shade creek,and topped the day off with 2 laps on paint creek,the best of these creeks.

Sunday i finished my weekend with one of my favorite runs,north fork of the blackwater to hendricks
at good flow for a great weekend.

rain day

2010-09-30T21:59:00.000-07:00

After along dry summer,,with very few trips to the upper yough and my annual trip down the gauly during fest weekend. A welcomed inch and a half of rain fell locally.Which interfered with my outside work,to let me play in the rain.meet up with Corey to run Bridalveil falls creek to tinkers ,,then tinkers at good flow ,,then went and played on a wave on the cuyahoga river, then stopped by branywine falls and noticed there was enough water for another run below the falls. all and all ,,about the best day one can have on whitewater in Ohio

the melt of 2010

2010-03-16T07:02:00.000-07:00

   My paddling adventure started with a 2 mile bike shuttle in shorts for a solo run down a class 3 micro creek to tinkers creek,then meet up with Jon to run tinker at the perfect level of 1000 cfs,,,,for a warm up day before traveling to WV.
    Friday ran into a group of 8 paddlers looking to boat roaring creek ,but because of the high level and story's of alot of down tree's ,,we chosen to paddle muddy creek for a warm up,,,,,,we thought?                3 swims,lost paddle,lost hand paddles and messed up hand later,,we were humbled by the creek.
Off for more fun most of us went to sovern run , sense we new there was no wood in the creek.
After looking at the flow at the put in,some wisely said no thanks,5 of us put on,and after surviving 3/4 of the run and finding just my second edy,,i choosed to take out,with one other seconding the decision. the 3 finished and then 2 of them went for another run.

Saturday started off with upper Laural run to the big Sandy,,a fun high water class 3 with a cool put in.
Then off to friendsville area, were 3 of us ran Glade into Buffalo run,,,,,,Glade started out with a great rapid above pic then continued 2 miles of fun to the confluence,, ,,then 2 more miles on Buffalo run.It was so much fun we had to run it again. Special thanks to the group before us for clearing wood out,,,,,later that day,i got an invite to join a group going to high ridge run.

Sunday morning drive to Canaan .Meet up with 7 other paddlers,,and began to hike 2 miles up hill with kayak,then one more mile,,,,,,,,,,when we got to the micro creek,,the hike was well worth it,,Disney land for kayakers ,to many good drops to count. 2 miles of over 1000 feet of vertical drop,,,thanks to all that cleared wood and made this run possible ,,after that run i was invited to check out a near by creek rumored to have a clean 30 footer.

for more pics

Russell fork

2010-01-08T05:03:00.000-08:00

after boating a descent bit in the spring and summer,kayaking for me tapered off.
only getting out 6 days after august.
3 of them days were my first trip to the Russell fork
first day lucked out and ran into some new friends from Kentucky that showed me the lines.
without release,the river was elf,that was perfect to see the river for the first time.
with low water,you can see all the undercuts and bad spots of the river,so you know were to avoid at release level.one of the high lights of the run was checking out the cave of El Horendo.
on day 2 and 3 got i got 3 runs in with my friends Bob and Willis at release level.
with just over a 5 hour drive,it is my favorite fall release river

Colorado road trip

2009-06-22T17:18:00.000-07:00

4000 mile round trip to Colorado rivers and creeks.
day 1
numbers at 1350
pine creek
browns canyon of the arkansas
day 2
slaughter house at 800
castle creek low
and hiked in Aspen country
day 3
2 miles of lake creekat 800
70 % of oh be joyful at 420
day4
gunnison gorge at 2300
day 5
long day on the animas at 800
plus 2 more miles
day 6
piedra at 450
road side run on the way to
salida to check out fibark
day 7
royal gorge at 2400
then the long drive home

otter creek

2009-05-08T21:57:00.001-07:00

finally got a run,after waiting 3 years or so to catch otter with water, due to lack of work,and a sudden flew,3 of us met early for the long day on otter creek. new run to all of us, we took are time down the creek.there were about 6 rapids to scout and miles and miles of class 4 read and run rapids.
This is one of the funnest rivers i have ever run.

more pics

river info

treat before cheatfest

2009-05-04T06:44:00.000-07:00

5 of us were lucky to catch a run on Dunbar creek before cheatfest. a micro creek that needs lots of rain.the run consists of a 2 mile hike into the woods,steep 2 mile section,and 4 miles of dodging logs,,,,long fun day in the wilderness more pics

feb. fun

2009-03-03T04:12:00.000-08:00

with above freezing temp. ,i was able to get some favorite runs in this feb.

mike on tinkers creek

chuck on the top yough

it was nice getting out paddling after a dry fall of 08

more pics at http://picasaweb.google.com/whitewatershawn/FebFun#

GRAND CANYON

2008-07-09T05:59:00.000-07:00

everything a vacation should be !!!!!
good whitewater,lots of food,cold drinks,good friends,great scenery,soft beaches,wonderful weather,amazing hikes,and great scenery[pictures don`t do this place justice,it is truly beautiful]
i was lucky to be invited on a private trip this summer. 14 days of fun and sun in 1 of the 7 wonders of the world.

o ur group enjoying 1 of the many side canyons
thunder falls

hikeing havasue
beaver falls

redcreek

2008-05-12T08:42:00.000-07:00

in may, alot of rain aloud me and friends a chance to run redcreek.

http://www.americanwhitewater.org/content/River_detail_id_3301_

the red and dolly sods wilderness,provided all the adventure we were after and then some.

a great run through beautiful mountains. http://picasaweb.google.com/whitewatershawn/Redcreek

http://www.fsvisimages.com/doso1/doso1.html

http://www.trailpixie.net/dolly_sods/

upper blackwater

2008-04-24T20:17:00.000-07:00

the upper blackwater is my favorite river that runs regularly. on April 12 i was fortunate to catch it at 270 cfs,an ideal level,on a 60 degree day.

this is a pic of the put in
above is blackwater falls
and the rapid named puke
Jeremy running second drop of Phil's 100 yard dash
me at the boof above the long slide
day 2 was not the warm sunny day as the 12 was.the temp was 38 degree with snow falling.

bob in the middle of the rapid, my nerves are shot
will on topical blackwater rapid
http:/www.americanwhitewater.org/content/River_detail_id_2334_
http://www.saveblackwater.org/

good winter for boating

2008-03-26T18:20:00.000-07:00

tinkers falls 800cfs
this winter was good for me boating
i got out about 12 times,most ever for me in winter.
i was lucky to catch Tinkers creek twas.

whitewater in the powder form

2008-02-12T07:30:00.001-08:00

late jan.

went to colarado for some fun in the snow.
7 of us shared a condo at keystone.

we spent 3 days on the slopes.

first day was exploring the front montain,

the next 2 were spent in the back glades.

shortly after this trip

i went to wv for 3 days for boating

weather was warm and wet,,perfect

i got many runs in fikes,meadow,bear and

3 new runs to me indian,beaver to meadow,and bufflo run.

upper colca and colca canyon

2008-01-22T23:06:00.000-08:00

PART 2 OF PERU
upper Colca and Colca canyon
WITH SNOW PEAKS ALL AROUND WE STARTED OUR 2HR HIKE TO THE RIVER.

THE UPPER COLCA DROPS AN AVERAGE OF 120 FT PER MILE. AND HAS ONLY BEEN RAN A HAND FULL OF TIMES.
ONE OF THE MANY RAPIDS WE CHOOSE NOT TO RUN
ME ENJOYING THE BEAUTIFUL CANYON
SOME ROPE WORK DONE BY JEFE,ON OUR FIRST 4 HR PORTAGE.
RIGHT BEHIND JASON DOWN THERE WAS OUR CAMP FOR THE NIGHT. A LITTLE RUFF BUT WE HAD PLENTY OF FIRE WOOD FOR SUPPER.

GETTING SOME PADDLING IN BETWEEN OUR PORTAGES.
SECOND 4HR PORTAGE,ROPE GEAR UP TO CARRY ALONG NARROW TRAIL NEXT TO CLIFF. SLOW AND STEADY.
LAST LOOK OF UPPER COLCA
WE FINALLY MADE TO THE COLCA CANYON.HERE THE RIVER OPENED UP A BIT,AND GOT EVEN MORE BEAUTIFUL.
we paddled 2 days in the colca canyon,it consisted of continuos class 3-4 rapids for miles.funnest rapid was a mile long class 4+ gauley type rapid.there were 2 portages we made in canyon,reparaz rapid we had to portage going underneath rocks in the water.
the other portage, we had to run the last 20% of rapid, do to being cliffed in.the colca canyon was the most beutiful place i have ever been to.
http://www.peruwhitewater.com/colca.htm

rio cotihuasi

2008-01-13T21:23:00.000-08:00

back in June of 2007 me.Jason miller,Craig Wassinger,and Jeff Knectel went on an epic adventure. we traveled 4000 miles to the deepest gorge in the world. we drove 8h to new york, flew 7h to Lima Peru,bus 14h to Arequipa,bus 10h to Cotahuasi,bus 2h to Sipea,then hike 7h to put in.
half way on the hike we stop to look at the 500ft falls
long beautiful hike in.we finally reached the shore,refilled our drinking water,and paddled afew miles to a beach to camp at.
next few days consist of waking up to oatmeal breakfast around the camp fire,paddling class 4 rapids all day long under clear blue Sky ,find camping spot before dark,eat pasta for diner, sleep great on soft beach in dry air under the stars, with mountains all around.
topical whitewater,the river trip was 90 miles long that dropped about 65ft per mile
day5 we reached the confluence of the Marian.there the flow almost doubled and the river open up.day6 we reached a town for ride back to Arequipa.

here is a link to a great write up of the river [click on rivers then cotihuasi]
http://www.oregonkayaking.net/exploratoryframe.html
http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&q=cotahuasi&um=1&ie=UTF-8

the begining

2008-01-13T17:27:00.000-08:00

back when i was 18,i had my first taste of whitewater.went rafting down the new river gorge and loved it. sense then i went rafting more and more realizing that kayaking looked even more fun. at age 22 i bought my first kayak.after a few times in flat water,went to the loweryough.as years went i paddled more and more.enjoying nature,friends,and the felling of clarity that the rivers gave to me.

2008-01-11T22:16:00.000-08:00

2008-01-11T22:12:00.000-08:00