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.

Last weekend 5/2-5/3 on the Black

Sorry for the delay in posting this week but I've been busy with work and my new blog

Last weekend I was in Watertown for two days on the river. Saturday was a nice day, a bit chilly but it was good water, the river was running around 5,000 CFS. We ran right, right, right (the high water route) in Knife Edge and everyone had clean lines all day. We had a college group (LeMoyne)so our goal was to not hurt anybody or make anybody bleed so the college would keep the kids coming. I had one swimmer in the upper diagonal wave in Cruncher. I swear that that wave has changed and the other guides seem to think so as well. After the trip (and after the college kids went home) we had a little party. Erika cooked some badass pork tenderloin and Alex brought these cherries that have been soaking in spiced rum for 13 months. Man those things were good. We had a good old time drinking beer, eating pork and cherries and sipping some of Stevie's Irish whiskey. Chaz arrived at about 11:30 (he was on the Hudson) and we continued the party until bedtime when Chaz and I shared an overturned raft.

Sunday was another good river trip with another group of college kids from Oswego State. It was another beautiful day and the river was again running at about 5,000. We all had smooth lines and no body got f#cked up. I had to skiddadle back to Albany quickly after the trip.

A side note, a few of the other guides were complaining about the smell of my river gear last weekend so I made sure to wash it this week. I used to have this yellow shorty splash top that I got my first year in whitewater and that thing used to smell so bad so now I try to wash my gear a little more frequently to prevent it from getting to that vomit-inducing level. Anyway Black River again this weekend but I heard that Chaz has already left for the West again. bummer, but good times while he was around.

Weekend plans

This weekend I'll be up on the Black for both days... Chaz will be on the Hudson River on Saturday then drive out to party in Watertown Sat night hopefully. It should be epic, I'm looking forward to the first trip down the black this year and looking forward to partying it up a little. Also, this weekend is Hudson River Derby Weekend up on the Hudson so there'll be parties going on up in North Creek that I will miss but I guess we are going to do our own little Hudson Derby weekend party,it'll just be in H2O town...

Last Weekend on the Black Sep 27/28

The fall rafting season has come to a close for this Guide. Thanks to all of the gusts who came to support my habit. Thanks to the people I work with for keeping the job fun and enjoyable. And thanks to ARO adventures for Employing people like me!

The weekend started off a little rainy, cloudy, chilly and remained like that more or less. I got to 140 newell st around 10 am for work. As the other Guides came to work we noticed a new scent to the air. After working the whole day we finally realized that it wasn't a new scent but the actual lack of a foul odor which can only be pinpointed to one man. Chris (the General) koll was absent from the scene. We never even noticed until after the trip. I was the only one at work with a trailer hitch so i pulled the trailer to the take out and shuttled back to the HQ for some last minute preparation before disembarking for the day.

My crew was from Syracuse University. The were the SU Women's Hockey team (Division 1). I had a boatload of girls in my raft! It was interesting chain of events. I wore a really old wetsuit and it was very tight on me. It helped me to express my fine masculine form. Well, I supose Canadian chicks dig that (SU Girls hockey is 80 % Canadian). The asked me if they could ride along in my boat. I was ignorant enough to allow them into my rubber dingy. For a group of varsity athletes i have never had so much trouble on the Black River. These women didn't know their left from right or forward from reverse. We had terrible lines down the River all day. That was fine though because nothing could ruin my day. Saturday night was the ARO end of season staff party! I have to back up a second though. Knifes Edge was crazy I was in second from last. i got a huge hit at K2 and wound up stuck on the ledges on river right pretty badly. I decided rather than push out into the current id let the last boat pass first. I sat patiently and waited for Mike to pass. As soon as he started through K2 I became free! I couldn't do anything about it with the paddlers I had. Mike and I ended up running two abreast over the third drop of the rapids. I narrowly escaped with my wits! The girls in my boar were scared for the rest of the trip!

We also had a real nice line through the Cruncher. I was going a little slower than id like to when I hit the most aggressive part of the drop. We slammed forward and I think a girl may have hurt her wrist. We had a good rest of the trip and ate BBQ and then they finally left.

THE COMPANY PARTY WAS AWESOME

If you never had the experience of partying with River Guides then you are missing out my friend! We had for ourselves made up 130 jello shots a bottle of whiskey and infinite amount of beers. there were about 12-15 people partaking in the drinking portion of the show and all involved wound up quite drunk! We were partying with cops too! (the police in H2O town like river guides) after way too many drinks it was like one am and when we should have gone to sleep for the next days rafting we decided to go rafting to hole brothers and surf. Mind you I had trouble seeing and walking at this point. So we rafted the first three screaming and shouting the whole way down the river. We surfed for a while then drove back to the shop to finish off whatever food was left in the building and pass out for the night.

Sunday was rainy and cold. we were all pretty tired and this strange man walks into the building. he was a solo rafter who wanted to come on the days trip. I still had jello buggers in my eyes and must have smelled awful. I told him to talk to Steve up front. Then i felt sick. Then i got sick. Then i felt better and then i drank some water and felt fine all before 930 am. not bad considering the damage done the night b4. i had a much better crew on the water and told them to rag on the hockey team if they saw them at all for being weak paddlers.

Then i went home and went to bed where I stayed for many hours.

What a weekend. I'm sorry that I don't like to type cause there is a lot more to it. If you have any questions or comments feel free to post them or email me @ whitewater_chet@hotmail.com

-Chaz

Sunday the 21st Black River 2200

The day started fast. I drove 95 in my Toyota Tacoma all the way to H2O town. it was pretty sweet. I almost hit a turkey in mid flight. That would have really bummed me out. Sometimes people get some serious car damage from those crazy birds. I thought I was going to crash though because I was drivin' so fast. The leaves on the trees changed overnight i think because they weren't so nice the day before.

So I arrive to the outpost and it was 49 and cloudy. Bummer, I thought it was going to be a great day for Whitewater.

Next thing i knew, the General was kind enough to let me do the safety speech. I really like doing it and plus i'm way better at it than he is. He is so old and boring. Plus he has a minor speech impediment which makes it hard for people to understand his S's and CH's which can be amusing. So, after a long hiatus i gave the worlds most perfect safety talk. people were engaged and educated all at the same time.

I had a really nice crew of girls that requested that i be their guide so i was. and Scott (the SU coordinator) was also in my raft. We had really rad lines through knifes edge. I caught every piece of K2 and it gave me a semi. then i punched the flimsy rubber right into the deepest part of Mary's Hole (the bottom drop). Next thing I knew I was flying thru the air into my gusts in front. good thing we were all squared up to the drop or it could have been trouble. I then found out that the river was running much higher than i had thought. I was informed at that point that the river was about 2,200 CFS.

I had really exciting lines through zig zag and panic rock as I almost killed myself and my crew of girls (and Scott). we hit the cruncher with very little momentum thereby crunching my raft the best i can imagine. Following the Cruncher i was rushing into rocket ride because we were to catch a Tsunami*

I totally messed up that drop because I went over too soon my raft hurled sideways and it was sketchy. Had nice lines through square rock and shave ending the day with some sun was nice also.

All the girls on the raft last Sunday contacted me thru The Facebook which i though was cool....Usually i scare girls


*Tsunami - a rare and exciting occurrence on the Black River. Here is the scene: we are the last of 4 companies to use the gorge for Whitewater. When we get past rocket ride the "dam guy" switches the flow from the gorge to the diversion canal which runs along side the gorge and comes out through turbines at the bottom. This in effect doubles the flow of the river for a 4-7 minute window. We can ride that 'Bubble' down through the next two Rapids and have higher waves therefore more excitement. Bottom Line - The Tsunami on the Black River is the tits

Sunday Sept 14

Black River was running around 4,000 CFS and it was good water. I was not that upset that the trip didn't get there on time, however, I get paid by the day and it added a couple extra hours to my work time. Not that big a deal though, me and the Guides sat around and broke balls all morning. It is a fun crew over there and no one really cared that much.

We have been putting money into a pool. We all pick numbers that we think are coming on the trip. And whoever guesses correctly wins half the money. The other half goes into another larger pool from which previous winners will be drawn from a hat to determine the winner of that pool. This was created because it is customary for SU trips to show up with different numbers every day and we don't know until we go rafting.

The Trip (once it began) was sweet. Water was up and people were happy. Mike mixed up with the ledges and Mary's hole. That was interesting. He fell out and swam after the bottom drop. I wish I had it on film. Larry had a swimmer in the cruncher which was pretty bad ass.

I caught guide air in hole brothers, Zig, Square rock, n Shave and a Haircut. The best one was zig i think. I dread the day i fall out in zig due to guide air. It is fast shallow and sharp. Plus the wave to catch air is near the top of the drop. Yikes.

Look forward to rafting this Sunday

Buy lamps

WOW YIKES MAN-O-Man

What a day on Saturday. I was like WOW YIKES MAN-O-Man. I had a heavy boat of ten bulky SU students and the level was circa 1,700 CFS. These folks could paddle, ill tell you what! We hit everything in the River. It was too bad though my friend Hallie never came to work so we were all kinda stuck and had to divy (divide or spread around) her crew. That forced all us guides to take maximum loads. Not a big deal for guests usually since all of us ARO guides are the S&^T. But, it does put a damper on the guides ability to have fun him (or herself). Any how, we all ran clean except Larry got stuck on the far right of Knife edge, and Branden almost maimed his entire crew on the ledges by Molly's Crack. Everyone was fine, these events happen in whitewater...that's why we call it high adventure!

It was a great day except i had to Zoom back to old forge for to help gramma with the mini golf course. After mini golf i went home had a beer with my folks who had company over and promptly hit the hay. I had sweet dreams of skiing and falling (my fave). I woke up to find a dreary day on Sunday.

Sunday (today) was very good times, The level was 1600 CFS. All the guides rested up from a heavy day of rafting and we had some old time reserves come out to help lighten the load. The weather at the start of the trip was splendid. It got dark and chilly towards the float but that is the beginning of fall rafting I suppose. I helped Brendon off a ledge on Knifes edge and then we went to the carry (portage). At the dam the Canadians were dumping something in the river to kill some sort of eel. I think it is known as the "lamper EEl" but I'm not too sure/i don't care. All i know is the stuff stank made me have a headache and turned the water a fluorescent yellow color. Yikes. I still managed to catch some of the most perfect guide air in Zig at my favorite wave. I launched so perfectly and landed solid. I cant explain. what it feels like to do that sort of rad stuff, man o man wow. (my boss Gary told me i need to get a life cause all i do is rad shit)

So after i landed i went into panic rock a little soon cause i thought it would be sick. Then a boat pinned on the cliff on river right and i was like whoa crap. I called a hard forward to try and make a small eddy on River right halfway down the Rapids. I totally missed the eddy and the other boat drifted away and i slammed into the wall also. How embarrassing! i was like "hyside right Effin hyside!" None of the crew listened and i almost flipped my tube was sucking under more and more then for some strange reason we became free and drifted int Cruncher where i hit the meat so slowly that the boat folded and snapped open and it was killer. Totally bitchin'. I then caught more guide at at shave & a haircut. We towed out cold and i used my fleece binky to keep myself as well as some others warm. I went back on bus # 2 and met a nice girl from long island. I think her name was Michelle...some of the nicest eyes i have seen in some time. She asked to share my fleece blanket with me so i said sure. It was a pleasant ride back to the shop where there was warm chilly and hot coffee and tea waiting.

A side story from this morning...

Tony and i were joking around and we put a spoon full of ranch dressing in the vat of chili. Like 20 mins later B.O.M. Ate a cup. It was so spicy he was sweating. it looked as if he was having an allergic reaction. Erica and i told him to mention to tony that he tasted ranch in the chili and say how allergic he is to ranch. BOM played along and we found tony. Mike said "man i think someone put ranch dressing in this!" with a uncertain tone"I'm super allergic to Ranch" (as sweat is pouring off his face!) Tony looks at me I couldn't try any harder to hold a straight face. Tony finally crapped his shorts. As poo was sliding down the back of his leg he said" Mike I'm sooo sorry it was all me!" we fell down laughing.

Also BOM (big ol' Mike) couldn't start his Harley cause he never turned the switch to the on position. he was bustin his nut kikin that thing for at least 5 mins b4 he realized it. we laughed . i got it on my digi cam as a video. if i ever decide to dump my data onto a computer maybe you can watch the clip it is funny!

Everyone please prey for John Eddy's safe return from prison so he can guide once more...John we miss ya. Tell bubba i say hello!

last weekends adventures on the Black River

Last weekend was the kickoff of SU (Syracuse University) season with the Raft trips on the Black and the losing football game. (a side joke: Little Jonny is in a courtroom as his parents fight over his custody rights. The Judge asks, "would you like to live with your Dad?" Jonny replies "no Daddy beats me!" the Judge then asks " would you like to live with Mommy?" Again, Jonny says "No, Mommy beats me too!" The judge then asks sarcastically "well who do you want to live with?" Jonny states with excitement " I want to live with the Syracuse football team because they don't beat anybody." (end side joke))

So Saturday was a fun trip. I had 7 SU students in my raft with m'little bro Ben as a guest. We had fun the whole time. I was kinda in my zone as far as guiding is concerned. I attribute that to my mass consumption of coffee (I spilled on my lap) on the drive over. I was a little crazy and hyper but my lines were clean. (there is a joke in there some where) I saw Brendon's (rookie guide) raft come through Panic Rock Rapids and crash into the cliff on river right. He never called high side and then Larry crashed into him causing what I thought for sure was going to be a complete flip! There were a bunch of swimmers and it was clean good carnage. The rest of the trip went smooth as a baby's butt.

After the trip Steve (Black River manager) asked me to work Sunday. After a few calls I arranged it and spent the night there in H2O own on an overturned boat. So needless to say i drank some beers and went out for supper and had some good conversations with my guide friends as the night grew old. I wish John Eddy was there to share in the Glory that he knows it is to be a River guide. (John we need to buy ARO) I love sleeping on rafts!

Sunday I brought this group of ten. I had a good trip. we surfed the Cruncher as these were not college students but "real people". we drank beers on the tow then some more @ the BBQ and then i had to zip back to Old Forge to work at Gram's Mini Golf course (the nutty putty). OhOhOh i just remembered (and I'm too lazy to put this in above as it chronologically happened) that Brendon had a mix up at 3 rocks and almost dumped/pined/screwed his boat on the rocks on river right! It was crazy i thought for sure he would flip but he didn't even have one swimmer. It was a good weekend. Happy fall! Ill be on the Black again this weekend for more SU trips and stuff. I hope I don't forget to bring the extra gear over in the morning from Old Forge (sometimes I do that and hopefully I help to remember better cause' I wrote it down someplace)

See you on the Riva!

Black River 8-23-08

What a glorious day for all of mankind! We as Americans have the Right to go Rafting in big water in august! What a treat. I must say the levels are up for ARO and the Black River in particular provides everyone with thrills spills and Chicken BBQ after the Trip.

The adventure began with blue skies and sunny weather. The temp was about 82 so the water felt really nice when the huge waves crested the bow of the raft! We ran clean lines all through the trip. There were two moments on the trip that i deeply appreciated as a whitewater aficionado. First, surfing the cruncher above 2000 CFS. Thanks to an adventurous trip leader (Chris Koll AKA General) we got in there and I held the nose of the raft in the meat as long as i could. The river sucked off the 4 gusts up front. Then it was just me and another st side surfing getting pounded by water. We were the only raft out of 8 on the trip to get pulled out via rope! I was super stoked after that. The next rad adventure was in the very next rapids 'rocket ride' we got the privilege to run the 'poop chute' on the right side f the dam. It was spectacular i caught some guide air on the wave below the drop. That was pretty fun. I also fell out of the raft in 'shave and a haircut' because I wasn't paying any attention andIi was horsing around!

what a day. I ended the trip and zipped back to old fore where i bar tended for Malloys until 930 then out for a night of boating. we caused quite the scene at the bars on 4th lake!

Last trip of the year for John- Black 7/26

We had a good trip on Saturday. I had a group of people from the Syracuse "Miata Club"- a bunch of people who drive Mazda Miatas. The water was big, about 5,900 CFS and we all had a real good time. We ran right, right, right at Knifes Edge, had about 2,100 CFs in the Gorge and ran Three Rocks and surfed the Cruncher. I was in one of our bigger rafts, a Maravia with real big tubes and my surf was just in and out real quick after a couple of swimmers. Erika, who was also in Maravia, had a similar surf, but for the people in the smaller NRS boats had real good, violent crunches. The people who had been there in the past were like 'let's surf, we did it last year, etc.' They didn't realize that the river was significantly bigger than the last time they went rafting with us. So we paddled 'em up into the hole and I don't think some of those people were prepared for the crunch.

We got the tsunami beyond Rocket Ride. That's when they release the rest of the flow from above the dam in two man made water falls just below Rocket Ride, so we were back up to around 6,000 CFS. The waves were real big in Square Rock and Shave and a Haircut. It was my last rafting trip for the year as I have to go away for a few months and al in all, it was a great day on the river.

I had to shoot back to Old Forge after the trip because it was my younger brother Dave's 21st birthday. So I said my goodbyes to all the guides and hit the road. I went to my brother Olin's house and had a sausage, peppers and onions sandwich and started drinking beer. We walked to Slickers, a good joint in Old Forge at around 9:30 and started it off right with a round of shots of Crown Royal. We drank a bunch of beer and both my folks ended up meeting us at the bar. So it was the whole family out partying. My dad bought a bunch of shots of Yagermeister for us. I also tried a Harvey Wallbanger for the first time- very similar to paddler's punch. Tasty! At the end of the night, we ended up going to Tote's and my little brother threw up a couple of times. I think he threw up on my sister Cae and Olin. My Dad jammed out on the harmonica with the band who was playing. Me and Heather left at around 2:30 ish and everyone else was still out. I threw up when I got to Heather's folks house. Good Times!

H2O, weekend of July 19, 20

This past weekend was pretty badass. I was over in Watertown to run the Black on Saturday and Sunday. Lots of good fun was had.

On Saturday, I had a bachelor party and I trashed them up pretty good, just like they wanted. We were the first boat to paddle back up into the Cruncher to surf (naturally) to show the other boats what they could expect. The river was running at about 2,000 cubic feet per second (CFS) and it was a pretty beefy surf. As soon as we paddled back into the hole, the three guys on the front right were gone. Soon after that when the boat spun, everyone on the left was gone. Me and only one guy (back right, in front of me) was left in the raft. We came pretty close to flipping the raft a few times and then we finally did go bottoms up on a big back surf. I wasn't even trying to flip the raft, it was pretty cool. We drank a bunch of beer on the tow.

After we got back to the shop, we drank more beer and myself, Erika Goodboat, Scary Larry, Brandon, Mary and the Cook Dave paddled a raft down to play at Hole Brothers. The raft surfing was kind of boring (we were in this giant 16 foot boat) but surfing on the boogy board was a real good time. At one point I pushed the Cook out of the raft and he swam way down river. I probably wouldn't have done it if I knew it wold be such an ordeal. We drank all of the beer we brought and paddled down to Vabnduzee street to Larry's truck. Erika and Alex then were going to dinner so I tagged along with them to the Texas Roadhouse. Last time I was at th Roadhouse was last year for a Guide Party. We basically tore that place apart and I'm surprised we didn't get thrown out. That time, it was really busy and we had to wait a while to sit and we were drinking at the bar (you can imagine like 15 guides squeezing around the bar and drinking heavily). I know we were upsetting some of the people around us as we were spilling beer and drinking and cursing and the like but whatever, we were there to have a good time. When we finally sat down we ended up throwing food at each other for a couple of hours and breaking basically every glass that was put in front of us. It was a good time.

This time with Erika and Alex was quite a bit more laid back. The restaurant wasn't busy and we got a table pretty quickly. The hostess said 'Someone will be right with you' and I said "thank you so much" she thought for some reason that I was being sarcastic and she was like "are you being sarcastic?" and I was like "what? no." but whatever, she was nice and we sat down. I wasn't really hungry (I really only came to drink) so I ordered the cheapest thing on the menu, a pulled pork sandwich. I was not really interested in eating and after my first beer and first shot of bourbon I was even less interested in food and more interested in the Maker's Mark and Sam Summer. I picked at my sandwich and poured drinks into my belly. It was a good time. After leaving, Al dropped me off at another rafting company down the street and I proceeded to drink quite a bit more with the General Chris Koll and those boys. I believe I even shotgunned a few PBRs. I left at about 2 to walk back to ARO. The combination lock on the door was incredibly hard to open as I couldn't see very well (both because of the drink and because it was dark). I eventually closed one eye and focused and opened it up after probably 15 minutes of struggling. All in all, it was a good night.

Nest morning the General woke me up at around 8 and we headed over to this little diner A&J's I think it was called. I usually go to Mo's but this was better and not as busy. After breakfast we headed back to the shop and got ready for the trip. The raft trip was broken up in half, about half normal people and half Syracuse University. I had a group of 10 people from the YMCA of Oswego. They were alright. At Knife's Edge I ran the meatiest part of Mary's Hole and swam half the boat, including myself. I was sure we flipped but, no, we didn't. We had a little surf at the cruncher, it was bigger than Saturday and harder to paddle up into. All in all, it was a real good weekend. I believe next Saturday will be my last trip of the year before I have to go away until November.

Black River- Death Trip Resurection Trip- Saturday 7/12

Yesterday I was on the Black. It was a great day on the river- probably one of the best ever with customers (as opposed to a fun run, with other guides or my buddies). We had a group of like 20 guys who were on a bachelor party. The General Chris Cole set it up. The guy who was getting married was the son of one of the original 'Death Trippers', a bunch of guys who used to do pretty badass stuff like 25 years ago and go crazy big. The Death Trips are pretty legendary stories at ARO.

Anyway, it was a private trip so we went pretty big- we ran True Path at Knife's Edge and also surfed the shit out of the Cruncher. I believe every single guy on the trip swam at the Cruncher. Chip, one of the other guides, flipped his boat while surfing. Great Times! We drank a bunch of beer on the tow too. At Hole Brothers, the third rapid on the trip, we surfed a bunch and Larry Lafavre popped his boat on some churt (super sharp rocks that are all over the place on the river). So we ran over to another rafting company and borrowed a boat. I was jealous of him once he got the boat because it was a sweet little 14 foot sotar and the rest of use were in 16 foot boats.

When we got back to the shop, after the BBQ, me, Scary Larry Lafavre (another guide- he'll scare you but hopefully not hurt you), Mary (the front office girl in H2O) and Brandon (a trainee in H2O) paddled the boat we borrowed down to Hole Brothers and surfed around and drank a bunch of beer. The Death Trippers and the other guys from the bachelor party and the General were down there chilling. We also were surfing with a body board- pretty good times. Larry, The General and myself then proceeded to drink a bunch of beer at a couple of bars. We even got the bartender to mix up a bunch of 'Paddler's Punch'. Paddler's Punch is awesome stuff, basically pure alcohol that tastes like juice (Vodka, Peach Snapps, some other liquor, Orange Juice and a splash of Grenadine). We had a great time and I got a a sweet Death Trippers t-shirt out of it. Chaz would have enjoyed it, but I'm sure that Southeast Asia pretty rad too!

Black River June 23, 08

Today was a nice day on the River, as always. I had a group of 10 in my raft and the level was 1700. We had good clean lines through every rapids. The group I took was Whitesboro HS Sr trip. I'm pretty sure they had a good time even though their bus driver fell while we were on the river and had to go to the ER. They had to hang around until another bus driver came all the way from Utica Area...about 1.5 hours. They didn't seem to mind, we kept them occupied and had to hold off on the consumption of labbatts blue until they left. (ARO is sponsored by Labbat! free beer after the trip fro gusts and guides alike!). So it was a nice time. I would like to have found the pictures (on wktv.com) but I'm not very good w/computers. Hopefully they read this and send them to me for more photos to admire on the blog.

Well tomorrow I have a trip on the Hudson River across the state SO stay tuned!

John's perspective for Sat Hudson, Sun Black

I just wanted to add a couple of things to Chaz's post about this past weekend. It was super-cool and super-badass.

Saturday, I was also on the Hudson. We ran two waves of trips. I was out on the first wave with 'regular people' (not boyscouts, school groups or camp kids) and Chaz, as he mentioned, was on the second wave with boyscout group. I was surprised that Chaz wasn't on the first wave with the other half of my group as we work pretty well on the river together and show people a pretty good time. Just a couple of weeks ago we both had rafts of the same group and we had a good old time splashing and goofing off, even during the drops. Anyway, I had regular peopl, a group from the city and Syracuse, led by a couple of people who have been rafting with ARO on numerous occasions this season (they love us, what can I say?). The weather was a nice solid rain for most of the river trip and turned into a solid downpour after lunch, just above the Narrows. Noone fell out of the boat and we all had a great time. I hope they come back and raft with ARO again soon.

As Chaz said, we drove to H2O ready to party and we got down pretty good. The river trip was also one of the best ever for me- Chaz and I went real big, as big as we could possibly go on the Black. It was a great time and I'm sure Chaz will post pics/vids as soon as we get them. I suggested to Chaz after the trip that we quit guiding people down the river and just do rad shit like that from here on out. Basically the only way to go bigger would be to run the Bottom Moose in a raft and I'm hoping we can do that before the end of Summer. As I've been telling people lately, Chaz and I are basically the two coolest and most badass Raft Guides you know.

Update: Here's some photos from the trip...Sarah was nice enough to send them along.

Weekend Plans

Chaz and I are planning some pretty rad stuff for this weekend and I can't wait to get out of the office and get up to the river. It's supposed to be rainy all weekend, which suits me just fine- I really dig being out on the water in the elements- any weather is nice on the river, be it rain, snow or sunshine.

On Saturday we will both be guiding on the Hudson River. The river levels are starting to dip into the dog days of summer, right now the Hudson is flowing at about 3.23 feet, as measured from the USGS gage station in North Creek, NY. I hope we have some good groups and I know we'll have some good times, despite the lower levels.

The plan for Sunday, however, is even radder. Chaz and I are going to drive across the state to get to Watertown (H2O for short) on Saturday night and start the party. (I have to remember to wear my boxer shorts with the Tequila shots and lime wedges and salt shakers on them, they're my party boxers). The plan for Sunday, as of now, is to R2 the Black River. R2ing is when two people paddle in a raft together. Right now the section of the Black we run commercially (from below Mill Street Falls in Watertown to Dexter, with a short walk and lunch break around Glen Park Falls and the Glen Park Hydro Electric Damn) is a sweet class IV run. Chaz and I are planning, however, to run the Glen Park Falls, a nice class VI drop and the poopshoot, another nice drop in the Black River Gorge. I hope all goes as planned and all goes well.