Paddlin’ Ed

Heavy rains earlier in the week had brought up Wilson Creek and it was holding well.  The gorge run, a national wild and scenic river, of class 3 to 4+ at normal levels with pristine water was up and running nice meaty level.  Temperatures where climbing into the 50’s with sunshine and little wind.  Wilson Creek Gorge is a run of great beauty, with lots of challenges and one rapid after another.  It had been three weeks since I had a opportunity for a good run, so I was primed and ready to go.  Evidently so where the many others who had gathered to paddle Wilson Creek Gorge this day.

Eddie C. who I had called the evening before,  met me for the run along with Joe.  Level was really nice on the 1st run just after noon,  probably around  +2 to 3 range.  Joe shuttled Eddie and I to the put in where the two of us started down by ourselves.  I was feeling the need to get the kinks out initially after three winter week of cool weather hold up in doors with no paddling.  We started down a bit slow to let me get loosen up and in the swing.  Eddie, on the other hand had done some serious paddling recently and was ready to go.

On or 1st run we took our time working down to the top of 10 foot falls, through the various rapids down to there including little woodall, and a host of other nice drops, chutes, and ledges.  At 10 foot falls entrance,  I found the run pretty nice and plenty of flow through the often vexious and tight run around the entrance boulder into a narrow slot below and down to catch the left eddy below.  From there Eddie dropped the boof into the tight eddy along with right wall between drops.  I headed down over the boof, and worked right through the slot below and over a big pillow then into the area just above the final falls.  Eddie had run on down before me and I worked for the left end of the big flat boulder on the lip of the drop just left of center,  glanced of the pillow on its left a bit and down the final fall,  hit the hole pretty deep and slammed a couple of good stoke to make sure I dug through.

From there we continued played the ledges down to just above boat buster, where Eddie showed me an alternate line on a ledge that has a bit of a nasty hydraulic at this level, which normally I run at lower levels when its not so grabby.   I found the alternate line at this level still requiring putting your boat on line but avoided the opportunity of an extended stay (“been there, done that”).  After running a similar ledge below that has a better line through it we headed down into Boat Buster.

We both went for the right boof line at Boat Buster,  Eddie 1st,  I dropped over just fine but found it was a bit of a submarine move that spat one out into the hydraulic coming down from the slide off the side of the boat buster from the left, which pushed me out the main flow after a brief two step.  Coming off the main flow which pushed directly toward the left rock wall, required some digging to get free of the wall.  Attempting to get ferried back over to the left to enter Thunder Hole directly below,  I ended up dropping in off the right side, and doing the roll thing coming out of the slot below and then into the right eddy below.

Eddie was in excellent form,  boofing here and there hitting his line well.  From there we ran the line through the diagonal ledges in the slot and worked down the rapids below to the top of triple drop.  Just above here Joe had parked above on the road and joined up for the rest of the run.  Now down at triple drop Eddie ran down and did nicely,  Joe followed,  I headed down working to get a bit of right angle needed below,  then down at the second drop the cross current pushed left at it lip  and I ended up in the tiny eddy on the left wall, which getting out of is a doable but a bit of a sport in itself.  After getting out in the current and over the 2nd drop I hit the bottom hole at an angle and ended up doing a dance with it.  Keeping the boat worked toward the left end after a bit of side surfing and digging deep I pull the stern out and then backed off out of that hole rolled just below and joined Eddie and Joe below.

From there we worked down through Fat Mamas squeeze, Maytag, Wall, and various rapids almost continuous below then did Razerback down the rock slides on far right, all of us ran out ok below but found just below the ninety degree left turn at the bottom a couple of squirrely hole in the run out.  From there we ran the right boof at the remains of the former hunley’s retreat – no a boulder/rock garden below its old location.  Then on down to the rail slide ledge rapid,  where I finally got the slide right in my new Burn.  Eddie did the boof move left of the ledge boulder at the bottom of the slide.  Joe ran the slide behind me.  From there we did our paddle out,  said good by to Joe and Eddie and I headed back up with another paddler out of Boone who asked to join us for our 2nd run.

2nd Run went pretty good,  though Eddie tells me I put on a class five show with my run this trip through the last third of 10 foot where having run the boof below the entrance and eddy,  I head for the left slot as I just as did on the 1st run.  Only the water had dropped about an inch we guess (+1 to 1 1/2 or so) and the pillow previously at the bottom of the slot was now more of diagonal hole with a nasty twist.  I came out of it upright but out hard on a brace upstream a bit sideways,  “buttering the bread” so to speak working the brace hard to keep up and move the boat toward the line.  Then just before the flat boulder on the lip of the final falls,  I pulled or semi-rolled up off its pillow and dropped over the lip of the falls and headed down to the hole below, hit the hole danced with it for a second or two, rolled tucked, hung then rolled up where Eddie was waiting below.

We all pretty much did good line the remainder of the run.  At boat buster,  we moved a bit more angled off the boof to keep clear of the hydraulic and my ferry was clean over to the entrance of Thunderhole down it center clean.  At triple drop I pushed harder and more right going in and came of clean, as did everyone.  Razorback,  Eddie hit a really nice boof down the slde at the bottom.  I went into the corner eddy, and then worked out and down the bottom.  Did another good rail-slide at that ledge.  We all carried up at the end and set shuttle for another run.

On the 3rd run the day had warmed up really nice, it was mid 50’s by then and sunny.   Level  was somewhere between +1 and 0 by this time.  I lead off down the 1st couple of rapids then Eddie took the lead around little Woodall.  At boat-buster we all had pretty clean runs, but noted that the hole below the boof was a submarine experience that shot you out the last two run (a little freaky but fun).   Below at Thunderhole I had my cleanest run of the day, Eddie and the guy from Boone all ran clean.  At the diagonal ledges just below I got a bit messed up and into the far right and had to work off a rock.

On down at triple drop we all had really nice runs, keeping well right over the 2nd drop, though as will all the runs you got tossed around pretty good down through the bottom.   At Fat Mama squeeze I did the eddy move on river right below the “squeeze” and the bend back left,  Eddie did the far left splot move.   I got a great boof move at the wall/corner drop.  Eddie did his boof at Razorback nicely, and I got my cleanest run of it for the day.  We finished our run out having had a great day.

Most excellent day on with excellent water.  All of us had a great time and got a great day tuning up and enjoying the river.  Checked the gauge on my way out and it had dropped to just a little above 0 by 5pm.