A December to Remember. Part 1: The Grand Canyon

The final month of 2009 certainly turned out to be one worth remembering. Departing Mentone Alabama December 1st the thirty-three days that followed were full of good friends and good times on and off the river. The first leg of the journey began with three of us making the long drive to Flagstaff Arizona to meet up with the rest of our seven-person crew for an amazing float down the Colorado River.



The Grand Canyon of the Colorado River is a special place and it is the setting that ultimately draws us to run the river. The logistics, the permit system, the stress and toil all fade away as you lose sight of the put-in and the walls begin to rise. By day two the endless red walls and strong current have refocused our life on the basics. Eat, drink, travel, laugh, sleep… what else is there?



For all seven people on our trip it was our first time to run the Grand Canyon and I can say that without a doubt that that was one of the things that made are trip feel so special. With no one with previous experience there was no one to defer to for the endless number of decisions made daily. We all experienced every bend in the river for the first time together, with no preconceived notions about what we would see or encounter next. Having completed the journey I must admit I am a little saddened by the fact that none of us will have that same feeling of discovery on our next trip.




The crew consisted of a mix of friends with various degrees of river-running experience, but this was the longest any of us had spent floating down any single river, but such a statement is likely true of almost every boater I know. It is a rare and special thing in this modern day to paddle for weeks without seeing a car or road. Such opportunities are growing even rarer as the world continues our perpetual expansion of population and our endless network of roads. However, places for escape still exist and the Grand Canyon in winter might be one of the better ones that I have experienced.



Prior to our departure many friends and family, paddlers and non-paddlers alike, seemed convinced that the Grand Canyon in winter couldn’t be anything except miserable. However, their fears couldn’t have been further from the truth. In fact, there are a lot of great reasons to go in the winter and over the course of our trip we developed quite a list of the best things about a winter Grand Canyon trip, here are 10 of them…

10. Only having one launch a day makes the put-in ramp and rangers relaxed and chill.

9. The cold water is less of a safety concern when you’re already wearing a drysuit.

8. The food won’t spoil, but you may have to put produce in the coolers to KEEP them from freezing.

7. The groover doesn’t stink very much when it’s contents are frozen.

6. The cool weather is ideal for hiking.

5. No helicopter shuttles whizzing overhead.

4. Collecting driftwood for fires is allowed.

3. The booze is always cold.

2. No motorized boat traffic.

1. Solitude, plain and simple. Traveling down the length of the canyon from Lees Ferry to Diamond Creek we saw three other groups, got every campsite we wanted, and felt wonderfully alone for most of the time.

Until Next Time...

Adam

kayak session

Mulberry Races 2010

Luke Scott on his championship lap and taking home the most gold medals at this year's race. Photo by Tony Diliberto.

The Mulberry Fork Canoe and Kayak Races (MFCKR) have been in existence for nearly 30 years now with this past weekend marking its 29th anniversery. It might not be the paddling community’s most well-known event—but at least not down here in Cullman County, Alabama. This year marked my fifth race since 2005, and each year just keeps gettin' better. The MFCKR is part of a three-series tournament for the Alabama Cup. Each Alabama Cup race occurs on a separate weekend during February and March with the other two races held just minutes away at the Locust Fork of the Warrior River. Separate classes from OC-2 to K-1 and even a head-to-head boatercross are sure to make a great weekend of competition no matter what type of craft you’re paddling. The rapids may be II-II+ but the slalom and downriver portions of the competition are always challenging. Not to mention, the Boatercross and the new King of the Hole comps are the weekend show-stoppers. In my opinion, this is the perfect event for paddlers of all abilities—whether you’re novice or advanced.

On a side-note, the last Alabama Cup race will be at the Locust Fork as part of the Alabama Mountain Games (formerly NAWFest) on March 18-21. Check out these links for more info about the mountain games as well as pictures and race results from this past weekend:

http://www.nawfest.com/
http://www.alabamacupraces.com/

Here are some cool photos shot by fellow Bama boy Tony Diliberto and Bama gal Christina Metcalf:

Boatercross Comp. Photo by Christina Metcalf.

Boatercross Comp. Photo by Christina Metcalf.

Troy Biggs in the OC-1 comp. Photo by Christina Metcalf.

Luke, Zach and Vander discussing gate set-up the weekend before the race. Wouldn't be possible without the hard work of these guys and other volunteers. Photo by Tony Diliberto.

Dooley Tombras attaining with focus. Photo by Christina Metcalf.

Charlie Simmons rocking the stand-up board. I believe next year calls for a SUP class! Photo by Christina Metcalf.

Charlie Mix during one of his chamapionship laps. Photo by Christina Metcalf.

The first ever King of the Hole comp brought to you by TeamScum. Photo by Tony Diliberto.


The hole comp definitely got messy. Photo by Tony Diliberto.

Photo by Tony Diliberto.


Tyler having a blast with Zach and I dueling in the background. Photo by Tony Diliberto.

One word: Classic. Photo by Tony Diliberto.


Nothing but smiles all weekend long. Photo by Tony Diliberto of Mike Shales.

Late night fire. Photo by Tony Diliberto.


See ya'll at the Mountain Games in two weeks!!

Jordan Sherman

Sand Mountain Video

Having been on a kayaking hiatus since I broke my boat and tore my drysuit, I have had time to edit some video that I have been sitting on for a while. It showcases whiteoak falls, triple drop on the Cullasaja, Miller Creek, and Jones Creek. Enjoy.

Alabama Sieve Boating Update from sam on Vimeo.

or

http://vimeo.com/9379177

Kayak Little River Canyon- "Suicide Section"

Kayak Little River Canyon - "Suicide Section" from charlie simmons on Vimeo.

Danny Flynt, Charlie Simmons, and Charlie Mix....

kayaking Little River Canyon- Suicide Section rapid by rapid
Filmed by: Charlie Simmons
Music: Pepper

Little River Canyon has it all big water, big moves, and more- here is a taste of what its like to go in at a lower level which offers technical concentrated lines exposing sieves and undercuts that are normally out of play

-enjoy-
Charlie

The South Platte

In August I did a write-up and posted some pics from out time on the South Platte in July (see orginal post here). I finally got around to editing some of the video...

Colorado 2009 Part 1: The South Platte from Adam Goshorn on Vimeo.

Until Next Time...

-adam

More Bama Boys in Colorado: Part 3

After spending two days in the headwaters of the Crystal River we made our way back to a local cafe in Carbondale to contemplate our next move. While enjoying some breakfast burritos and wireless internet access we called Charlie Mix who was living in Durango for the summer. Charlie explained that water levels were dropping fast and that if we wanted to catch Vallecito, we should come quickly. Vallecito had been high our hit list in 2008 and was again for 2009 too, but so far we had yet to catch it on either trip. Vallecito has been described by many as “the best mile of creeking in Colorado”. With that in mind, we loaded up and hit the road arriving with enough daylight to meet Cruise Quenelle for a run.

In my opinion Vallecito is one of those rare rivers that lives up to the hype that surrounds it. It is truly beautiful creek in a tight gorge with smooth boulders and a seemingly endless number of fun rapids and boofs. We followed Cruise’s lead, rarely slowing down enough to document the run, but emerged from the depths of the gorge with ear to ear smiles that nothing could dampen. We spent that evening at Cruise’s house catching up with the rest of the Alabama boys who were living there for the summer. Late into the night we watched each other’s video footage, sharing all the stories from a summer of running rivers.

Although it was very tempting to stay another day for more laps on Vallecito, the next morning we decided to turn our attention to a different run on our list, the Big South. We left Durango mid morning and made it back to Aspen in time for another run on Castle Creek and the Roaring Fork before finding a beautiful crash and dash spot to sleep for the night. The following day we drove towards Denver and spend that afternoon and the following morning running the Upper and Blackrock sections of Clear Creek before continuing our drive north to the Big South.



The evening we arrived at the Big South take-out, the last group was still hanging around after their run and invited us camp with them that evening for the first of two nights we would spend camping in mosquito hell. The following morning as we drove to the put-in we found another crew of southeasterners camping along the road. We pulled over to greet these friends and ended up catching a ride with them to set shuttle. The put-in for Big South is actually on Weird Creek. We had been told that Weird Creek is actually fun at high water, but what we found was a bang fest that continued to abuse our already heavily used boats. Luckily the flow doubled at the confluence and soon the fun rapids and drops began.


Lot of rapids and a few flat stretches spread throughout the run make Big South a long day by most people’s standards. Including the mileage on Weird Creek it is a twelve-mile run, but very rewarding, especially for groups like ours scouting their way down for the first time. We rotated boat and bank scouting as necessary throughout the day, occasionally getting cues from other groups we caught up to then while they were scouting or portaging. The larger named rapids were certainly fun, but one of the unexpected highlights was how many really fun read and run sections we encountered. A perfect example was what is known as the Prime Time Gorge, a section where the river narrowed between tight cliff walls and containing several rapids in quick succession. Boat scouting our way though this section felt more like Vallecito than the rest of the run on Big South. After reaching the take-out we found another great free campsite along another tributary of Cache la Poudre, Joe Wright Creek.


Joe Wright Creek enters Cache la Poudre above the Spencer Heights section and we decided to spend our last day in the area checking out both runs. We had planned to run Spencer Heights ahead of time, but I have to admit that I had never heard of Joe Wright Creek. I guess that it will always overshadowed by its close proximity to Big South, but it turned out to be a great run in it’s own right. The run is mostly non-stop with very few eddies. It’s the kind of run where it really isn’t practical or necessary to scout and know the lines because all you can really do is follow the water and charge. We knew from talking to other groups that the run was free of wood, but it sill made me nervous charging around blind corners and into the tight gorge known as Carnito Canyon. However, our beta on the wood was correct and we emerged unscathed from what turned out to be our final river day of the trip.

The following day we made our way back to Buena Vista to take care of a few details before departing for Chattanooga. A good meal followed by hot showers at the laundry mat prepared us for the long drive that was ahead of us. The non-stop marathon drive was as brutal as can be expected, but a necessary evil to maximize trips such as this one. That that end, we arrived back in Chattanooga TN after twenty two hours on the road just in time for Matt to start a twelve-hour night shift at his job. I’m sure during that night he might have felt otherwise, but in retrospect… it’s always worth it!

CO 09 Part 3: Clear Creek and Big South from Adam Goshorn on Vimeo.

Until Next Time...

-adam

More Bama Boys in Colorado: Part 2

After a long day on Cheesman Canyon we had collapsed into our sleeping bags at the Corral Creek Trailhead. The next morning, day three of our trip, we packed our gear back into the truck and headed to our next stop a short drive away. Eleven Mile Canyon of the South Platte is mostly a class III run, but just below the normal take-out is long, continuous, class V rapid. After about twenty minutes of scouting and discussing lines I was feeling hesitant and Jordan was feeling fired up and ready to go.

Below Jordan heading into the last drop on 11 Mile Canyon...


He geared up and the rest of us assumed positions at different points of the rapid with ropes and cameras at the ready. Jordan charged the entrance and cleared the first tier of the rapid and then a bounce sent him upside down into the next tier. He rolled up only to be knocked over again and repeated the process a couple more times, but stuck it out and emerged from the bottom of the rapid upright and unhurt.

Below Matt running the last drop of 11 Mile Canyon...


Despite the results of Jordan’s run, Matt had his own line sorted out in his head and was ready to go. Again we set up with ropes and cameras and watched as Matt began his descent. Entering more slowly and slightly further left, Matt proceeded to smoothly descend the entire section without a flip or mis-stroke throughout. After a little more discussion, Joey and I both decided not to attempt a run. We loaded the truck again, got back on the road, and drove over Independence Pass and down into the town of Aspen.

Below we successfully cross the creek that shut us down trying to drive to the North Fork of the Crystal in 2008...


After a quick run of Castle Creek we met up with Anson Fogle for a late afternoon run on the Slaughterhouse section of the Roaring Fork. We spent the evening of relaxing at Anson’s house and he joined us for the next two days of exploring and filming in the upper drainage of the Crystal River. We had attempted to drive into the forks of the Crystal in 2008, but the road to the North Fork was flooded at the time and the road to the South Fork was still snowed in. This failed attempt is one of the reasons we had decided to plan our 2009 trip for July and the plan was working out nicely.

Below Matt and I scout the first drop on the North Fork of the Crystal...


We spent two days we spent rock crawling through the beautiful and remote landscape of the upper crystal river drainage. While our driving to boating ratio was skewed in what I would normally consider the wrong direction, the scenery and quality of the drops made it more than worth it. Despite the slow travel, looking back the two days in the headwaters of the Crystal River were some my favorite on the trip.

Below is a great pic Matt took of me on #2 on the North Fork of the Crystal...


Below Anson films Matt running #3 on the North Fork of the Crystal...


Below are a couple pics I took of Matt on the South Fork of the Crystal...



Below are a couple pics Jordan took of me on the South Fork of the Crystal...



Below is a great pic Joey took of Jordan on Crystal Mill Falls...


Here's a little slow motion action from the Headwaters of the Crystal River...

Crystal Headwaters 2009 from Adam Goshorn on Vimeo.

Until Next Time...

-adam

The Sleeping Beauty Awakes

I've been in a 2 month kayaking hiatus since returning from an incredible summer spent in Colorado. This is probably the longest I have not been in a boat in 10 years of kayaking. It was a much needed break and with recent rains in the southeast, our local jewel came back to life along with my reborn enthusiasm to gear up and get after it. It was great seeing familiar faces on a familiar run and I'm super excited about the coming season of kayaking in Alabama.

Here's a few shots we took this weekend from Little River Canyon:

Charlie Mix entering Terminal Eddy-pic by Ben Bernhard

Daniel Tuck running PinBall-pic by Charlie Mix

Charlie Mix on PinBall-Pic by Ben Bernhard

Tyler Phillips-pic by Charlie Mix

Tyler Phillips on the Bottom Drop of Humpty Dumpty-pic by Charlie Mix

Tyler on the classic Humpty Dumpty Boof-pic by Charlie Mix

-Charlie Mix