Things you see in the Southeast!

It's time for you Colorado brothas to come visit me here in the Southeast!  TJ and ACC came out to visit and had nothing but a plethora of 5-star days and kayaking.  Lament low water no more!

Here's what early January looks like in the Little River Canyon:

The one, the only, Peaches still knows how to make it look good in Pinball:

The LRC provides for an awesome deep canyon feel, especially after the hike out!  It is one of the most sieved out rivers I've ever seen, but if you stay away from the left or right bank, it'll be FINE.

I don't think Dirk would've approved of this rigging job.  Unfortunately, in the dirty south everyone has ropes and no idea about the proper art of strappage:  http://www.mountainbuzz.com/forums/f11/the-art-of-strappage-11465.html

Do I hear banjo music?

I don't always camp for the entire month of April, but when I do, I prefer my sports car to get there:

The little known true putin to the Green River Narrows:

A little Where's Waldo kayaking.  Yes, I'm wearing a Kokatat shorty dry top in April and yes, it's soooo good.

After that bit of creeking, we knocked off 5 laps of goodness on Cheoah in the same day.

Toby McD boofs so hard that sometimes I worry he might hit his own head?

 Hard to beat disappearing before falling:

Eric Stalovich gittin sum!  In a kayak?

But when it goes like this all you can do is smile!

Alex's Southeast Extravaganza!

Thursday, November 17, 2011

Photo TR: Southeast Fall Classics

Fresh off a trip to visit my good friend Joe and run some steep whitewater, I can't stop thinking about the Southeast. We scored a near perfect weekend of boating on a couple true classics, the Green River Narrows and Tallulah Gorge.

Almost everything went right on this trip, aside from a few minor crashes on the water. First, it goes without saying that the whitewater was top notch. Second, I got to test drive the new Liquid LogicStomper 90. The boat is super fun to paddle and truly combines the incredible hull of the Remix with all the features of the Jefe that have made it one of the most revered creekers to date. Also, I have to put in a plug for the local eateries and watering holes. Asheville is home to some fantastic restaurants, coffee houses, and bars. Can't wait to go back.

The photos tell it best. The first run was an afternoon run on the Green. Can't tell you how happy I was to see the Tuxedo Hydro station report on Wednesday morning saying the Green would be running for the long weekend. Being a newly minted Green local, Joe got me fired up to go left in Go Left for the first time. Some crashes ensued, but dang if that isn't a fun rapid.


Joe on Go Left.


And in the Groove Tube.
We spent day two doing back-to-back laps. With a bluebird day and the trees still holding strong color for this late in the fall, it was a standout day of paddling. We rallied down with a great local posse as well.


Groove Tube at midday. Photo: Nikki Malatin


Matthew entering Scream Machine, the beginning
of the slide series below Gorilla
Gorilla was waiting.



Third time's the charm, and it was the last lap of the weekend, so Joe decided to fire it. Green River OG and Liquid Logic founder, Woody Callaway, offered us some great advice: you come into the Notch with a plan, and then you ad lib from there to the lip. That's what happened, as we both planned to catch the eddy, but both got sent direct.


Joe in the Notch (missed the photo of his first Gorilla crash, dang!)




Rolling over the Monkey, Speedtrap, and the runout.

Slides! (so 1990s, bro)

After the Green we routed over the Eastern Continental Divide and headed to the Tallulah Gorge. We had great timing and caught a good old-fashioned festival party at Tallulahfest.

We got on the river early the next day and enjoyed watching Issac Levinson and Pat Keller lap the markee drop, Oceana. Pat was running a new line involving a hectic downstream ferry above the Thing, followed by an eddy turn next to it, and then a surf back around to the pool. Fun to watch.

What's that I spy on Joe's upper lip?
Well, it is Movember, after all.


Stomper & stairs.

Isaac on the middle line:

Pat inventing a new line:

Joe on the 'days of thunder' line:



Yeehaw:

Tallulah is definitely one of the most scenic places I have paddled. With predictable releases, occasional rain flows, and awesome autumn foliage, fall boating in the Southeast is hard to beat.

Single Day Perfection....

Which is the best kayak run in the country?  As a creeking aficionado, names like the Clarks Fork Box of the Yellowstone, Upper Cherry Creek, Black Canyon of the Gunnison and the Perth River come to mind.  Other big water trips like the Grand Canyon of the Colorado or Middle Fork of the Salmon definitely rank on the list.  But for me, the entire list involves multiple days on the water and nights in the wilderness.  So my thought today over a cold beer while playing with my kayak outfitting remains, which is the best single day run in the country?  It would have to have a perfect combination of these characters:

1. Wilderness - this is why mind blowing runs like the North Fork of the Payette will never top my list. I need wild animals and minimal people with epic vistas.

2. Quantity of rapids - Bailey Canyon on the North Fork of the South Platte is out.

3. Quality of rapids - Sorry Upper South Boulder Creek, but you are basically golden boofs found in a choss pile of rocks.  Minimal portages also counts in this category.

4. Full Day Length - The Green River Narrows has all of the above laid out in short coarse format.  The Raven Fork of the Oconaluftee drops 1,000+ feet in 2.6 miles.

5. Fun Factor - insanely subjective category that includes glory boofs, photogenic character, relatively limited danger score, and utterly variable things such as boating partners, weather and my own personal sense of zen.  Hence, everyone has their own set of favorite runs likely different from mine.

doublet to lighting it up

Up until last month if asked about the best single day run, I could easily fire off a single run: the Big South Fork of the Cache La Poudre.  It is a multitude of clean challenging oversized drops laid over 12 miles of crystal Wild and Scenic water that has nary a portage, but a multitude of moose, elk, trout and raptors roaming high alpine meadows.  The Big Steezy, no question.

Leif Emberton stomps Cool World at ridiculous flow while National Geographic Adventures of the Year stood by in amazement. 

Yours truly bringing pink back, double.

Mr. Steezy McStafford glory boofing perfectly slideways

Don't get me wrong.  West Prong, Vallecito, Robe Canyon, USB, Kokatai, Chirripo Pacifico and the Crystal Gorge among a lot of other runs will all blow your mind.  But the Steez just has the quan.  Then a curious thing happened.... it rained, on a Saturday, over the Linville River and a crew turned up after many inquires.  One of them you 'rado boaters may recognize:

Scotty Peaches, who once went GA to CSU but currently considers medicines in Augusta.

Our other member some people may remember from a kayaking video (or 20) sometime in the recent past:

The LVM smoothness, Toby MacDermott

The first legitimate challenge is getting into the gorge.  Options include a lengthy mellow float or 45 minutes straight downhill charging:

But the rewards are clear even before reaching the get-in.

Enjoying a moment of sunshine before the chaos ensues

Dropping!

The Linville has a ridiculous number of rapids and an overnight session is definitely a possibility for an unwary or over zealous group.  There certainly are more portages on the Linville that the Big South, but some of them lead to impressive places:

Toby demonstrates Cave Falls

One of those completely original drops

This is called the Bob Ross gorge and I suppose it is because he'd paint a happy little tree on top of a happy little gorge that contained a happy little boof session overlooked by a happy enormous table mountain.

So the Linville has plenty of rapids, a deep committed wilderness gorge feeling, and a multitude of glory boofs.  It also has a significant hike in and out, supremely dangerous sieve drops and a fair number of portages.  Just as I started to sense the Linville might be one of the uber-classics, the river really kicked it up a notch.

Peering in

The Cathedral Gorge is one of those committed, tight, dangerous, adrenaline fests that just keeps calling me back over and over again.  It truly kicks the Linville into the creme de la creme of kayak days.

The Ducky feeling minute but basking in South East glory

The hike out keeps you honest.  No overweight off the couch boaters allowed.  The Green does not qualify you.  Vallecito is a warm-up.  1,100 feet of vertical in 1.2 miles.  

Good friends know how to provide good rally motivation!  Col Cold PBR represent!

Better than the Big South?  It's got gobs more rapids.  It's more scenic, deeper in the woods and more committed.  It has some beautiful drops and some classics unlike anything else.  A superb guide and bluebird spring day combined with smooth lines to create the perfect vibe.  The dual hike is a blessing and a suffer-fest.  There's more portages and more danger, but less mank.  In the end, it's hard sayin' not knowin'.  I guess I'll just have to keep on going in 'till I'm sure....