Home for the big water

I have been putting off writing this post because I wanted to make sure and have enough time to include all the whitewater experiences in the same post. My trip home started April 16th. I drove with a friend from Crested Butte CO to Burlington VT in about 37 hours. We went non stop it was kinda crazy but not bad. After I dropped him off in Burlington I went home to old forge NY where I had just missed the weekend of whitewater there.

Next Sunday however, I entered my 2009 whitewater season with a 4.6 Moose river trip. I wasn't planning on guiding as this was the weekend for my annual alumni Rugby tournament in castleton VT. I was very happy however to get the call into work Saturday night. I drove back to old forge by about 1 am and went to totes tea house for some Foosball with my brother max till 2 the went home and rested up. The day started off nicely with a fine line through iron bridge. I had a 14 foot raft with a crew of four from Michigan. One guy was now living in Aspen CO. I told him that CB was way more rad. We ran tannery with a little bit of difficulty. If the river was any bigger we would have been in a tight spot. No big deal though everyone had clean lines. The following rapids called Rooster Tail is a pretty long rapids and probably my favorite on the river. This rapids has two holes very close to one another at different angles which can be technical then some huge crashing waves for the last 100 yards or so. We ran perfectly until i hit one wave off square and that forced my boat onto a nice pinning rap rock. I shouted for a Hyside Left to prevent the boat form folding around the rock and flipping over. We maneuvered off the rock and then watched john eddy and crew do the same damn thing. Froth Hole was the first rapids to have some carnage in it. I remember seeing my guest tumble over the edge of my b oat into the hole. he must have been under for a good 15 seconds as my boat stopped paddling and drifted into the guides prison. our safety boater Marty picked up the swimmer as I worked the raft out of the violently swirling eddy. Mix master was rad Larry and I flipped over although Larry's flip was more extreme because he got it in the room of doom and swam mix master itself whereas i flipped in mix master. John Eddy had a perfect run dumping his crew and staying in himself. Millers Falls was our last rapids to speak of and since it was such a nice day we decided to stay and play. we surfed and dumped people into the river for over an hour. I had never been able to play here for so long because it is usually much too cold by then in the trip. We ate and drank after the trip for quite some time enjoying the late afternoon sun. After that i went to slickers with Steve B and Marty for some party pitchers.

Locals day on the Hudson Tuesday the 28th of April. The gauge read 5.5 feet providing the perfect river. At this level one can go into every feature on the river which at any higher water level is far too dangerous. I was paddling a crew of 5 in a 14 foot boat. Also at this level the waves are still aggressive and relatively large. I had a crew of young people from Old Forge some I know like Sarah Moore and some I didn't know new to town since I moved away. We had a spectacular day then we flipped in Bus Stop. It was very cold but well worth it. Everyone in my boat had the best time and promised to come back next year they really enjoyed the trip i provided for them. I felt good after the trip it was nice to be back home and on the water with my friends.

Friday we had a trip on the Hudson again. We had a high school group from south of Rochester. the river was a bit lower but still above 5 feet. I had a crew of 9 in a 16foot boat these kids were fun. they come every year and have a rockin time. there wasn't any carnage on the river. Critter dean and I guided this trip. Saturdays trip we took Sienna College outing club down the river. I hit Jim Swedburgs Photo wave sideways to spice up the hit and a girl caught her paddle blade in the current and the 'T' grip hit her nose and she bled all over the place. She was fine though she told me she was a Rugby chick so I figured she had been hit harder! We had a nice day however with a 10 load in my boat it can be hard to hit everything because there isn't any room for me to go sometimes except out.

Whitewater Derby was sweet even though I didn't stay the night. Cathy came with her famous cookies. It was great to see her. Don Curry came as well but he didn't bring any cookies. we drank a bunch of beers at the shop then went to Laura's for more then went to the train tracks to listen to a band where Gary found a free keg of IPA I drank alot of it! Gary drove us back to old forge around 9 we got home about 10 then I raced over to H2O town breaking the land speed record over the Moose River Road. I got there just in time to drink more beers hang with John Steve and Marty. Alex made a bunch of rum infused cherries and they were great I ate a handful before bed and it turned my gentle buzz into a drunken spin. it was great to sleep on a raft. No other aspect defines one as a river guide more than sleeping on a raft between trips.

Sunday i had another college outing club the river was running 5500cfs or so and we had great lines all day. Ran the high water skate at Knifes Edge and had about 1700 cfs in the gorge. I had to run 3 rocks backwards cause my crew want listening but we were fine except on girl dropped her paddle. almost hit panic rock in zag which was sweet cause i hit the big waves in front of it which are kind of off limits as the generally lead int a bad situation with panic rock. I don't know how I avoided it but I got around it and then went to cruncher. I had the biggest hit of the day in the cruncher it was sweet except for the fact I was not aiming to hit the deepest part of the hole. The rapids changed since my last visit and I wasn't expecting such a powerful wave at the bottom of the first drop. the same girl who dropped her paddle in 3 rocks got launched pretty hard into the person in front of her and was shocked a little bit. After the rocket ride we waited for the tsunami and hit up square rock and shave and a haircut. We didn't have any beer on this trip because it was a college trip so I had a grape soda. it was a good soda. Just have to thank Larry for the brownies after the trip! they were very good.

It was great to be home for a couple weeks. It was awesome seeing everyone. thanks to Gary and Steve at ARO for putting me to work on the rivers. Thanks to Marty for keeping it safe. John it is always a pleasure to raft with my brother in Whitewater. Alex, Erica, Mike, Larry, Brenden and Mary black river crew great to see you. Tosha thanks for takin pics and vid...email me with a couple I will upload them to the blog. Mark Critter Dean Dick and the my ducky sister Lynn it was a pleasure paddling with ya! Have a great summer and stay tuned for new stories from a new river.