Paddlin’ Ed

Saturday 9/28/08 arrived with rains over the last day and a half or so, spun off from remnants of hurricanes.  By early morning the Wilson gauge was on the move up, and the rain gauges indicated more was about to come down the watershed.  Eddie C. k-1, Gary M. k-1, Darron P. k-1 and myself, Paddlin-ed in k-1 all showed up to run this wonderful creek run and we where not disappointed, but delighted with a initial level between +1 and 0″.  At this level there plenty of flow.  The day was a bit cloudy with occasional showers and temps in the high 60’s to low 70’s.  Water was clear and clean and cool but not cold.

Eddie and Gary had already gotten in one run when Darron and I arrived.  Darron was doing a demo run on a Blisstick-Scud.  We quickly loaded up with Eddie and Gary and headed to the put in.  It was great to be back on Wilson Creek and the level was really nice.  At this level the boulder clog entrance to 10′ falls is a bit friendlier which I find one of the stickiest places to get through.  This level lets you make the move around the rock at the top and hit a slot a little left of the very tight slot you have to run at lower levels, which is tough to swing into  in a big creek boat. 

Dropping down past the bolder clog atop 10′,  I joined Darron, Gary, and Eddie in the staging eddy and we each peeled out and ran the boof on the right below.  Eddie and Darron hit the eddy left below.  I peeled out last and worked off the right side of the boof and headed angled left down the next drops and found a series of two holes had opened up below.  Wilson’s can be very interesting as levels change and inch or two,  holes can appear and disappear with fairly small changes in level,  it a very tight and dynamic creek.  Well I hit the first hole leaned forward and came through hitting a diagonal flow between the two holes and entered angled into the second one.  The second hole danced me for a second then I spun and backed out, working the current with my paddle to make sure I was on line and not being pushed into the big rock on the lip of the falls, then just above the lip I reached back with stroke at my stern and spun the boat,  then took two good strokes off the final falls headed left of center on a good line, tucked forward slammed the hole below and hammered a couple of good strokes in to pull through and lay the bow down.  Below our group the group was waiting and gathering one up.

One down we went working and playing our way down to the two hydraulic ledges before the entrance to boat buster.  The first of these gets mean these days since a flood a year or two ago and can be a keeper. I run that one now above 0″ using a line left of a rock that forms the left side of the main hydraulic ledge.  Using this line you hit angled hard left and slide an angled face that you can’t really see till your below right up against the  ledge,  being careful to stay close in to the ledge or you will slam a boulder just out from the ledge.  Done cleanly its a nice ride and smooth, landing you in a small pocket of deep water beyond at the left gorge wall.  Eddie and Darron went for the main line of the ledge off its far left end.  Greg I believe ran my line also.  Down below we hit the second ledge running left to right just behind a rock above on far right and hitting a tongue off the right end of the hydraulic.

Entering into the run for Boat Buster,  Eddie lead off with Darron and Gary behind,  I brought up the rear.  Eddie and Darron did the right boof move as did I, Gary I did not see.  Below Eddie and Darron pretty much had the eddie immediately right full,  so I pushed for the left but the flow was really hammering to the right wall this day trying to get out of the corner below the boof.  So I ended up catching the flow and working off of it halfway down and hammering for the upper right side of Thunderhole, and kicking/twisting the boat under me off the lip so I landed straight down the flow through the top hole ( as the whole creek is funneled into the narrow rock drop at Thunderhole,  getting right with the current is a really good thing).   Coming out of the narrow rock channel of Thunderhole,  I pulled high into the eddy at its bottom opening behind the rock out cropping,  Gary was already down and as Eddie and Darron dropped into Thunderhole and into sight I turned and ran down to the eddy above the ledges below.

Down at the double ledges below,  I dropped in on the far left, tight behind the upper ledge base,  ran the base of the ledge using hydraulic action there to basically shoot down across to the far left.  Eddie had done the middle slot and was already waiting below.  From there we worked and played on down to Triple drop where I think we all ran from the left entrance off the top, all had clean lines, making sure to push right off the top to keep the creek from throwing us too far left below.  At the very bottom we all found the bottom hole wanting to play a bit of tease but shooting us out clean off a pillow/tongue of water flowing out off the left wall.

Then on to Fat Lady Squeeze,  where Eddie and Darron dropped the boof center to the eddy below just left of center.  I dropped the boof and into the eddy behind Darron just as Eddie went for a line below moving center down and right over the boulder wall through a trough of water.  About half way down just above a drop off, Eddie got whipped over and hung for a few anxious second in the trough.  Darron and I where about to pop out and make a scramble when Eddie popped out having decided that was better than trying to roll or push free and risk dropping over down the boulder boof just below upside down (wise decision and experienced river smarts to me).  Eddie proceeded to prop his boat where he could get back in, during which time being low in the eddy I made a move to ferry right and up to work the backwash of the ledge above me and then make the turn into the bottom half of the rapid which hammers hard right down a series of drops and then cuts hard left down the restricted channel on the right side below the boulder drops Eddie was up on,  then runs out down and final ledge with nice surf hole at the bottom.

After a minute or two Eddie worked on down,  and Darron made the move over to river right where I had run, followed by Gary.  One by one they worked down and joined me in the eddie below.  Some of us took a surf or two in the bottom hole.  Then we all moved on down to Maytag and ran right of center angled right to slide off the outcrop in the ledge wall and stay out of Maytag hole ( a very nasty under cut place).

Down below Maytag we took our lines at Wall or corner eddy rapid,   one or two went for the corner, I moved to hit the far left of the flow on river right through a curling wave top and tuck for the boof rock at the bottom,  pancaking nicely angled left where I could use the backwash off the ledge above to ferry over to river left for the next chute below.  From there we worked the ledges and chutes down to above Razorback.  Eddie headed down,  raised his paddle and Darron followed,  then Gary went for it down the far right line which runs the rock “razorback” down a slanted rock ledge into a corner pocket with a 90 plus degree turn at the bottom.  I got a paddle up after a minute or two and headed down,  caught the turn and found it especially wild this day with a hole in the turn and pushing boats over a pillow just below right.  At the eddy below Gary was dealing with a bit of altercation with the bottom of the rapid.

From here we paddled down and did the boof a the ledge around the bend below Razorback,  worked and played out its bottom then down at Railslide, Darron, Greg and I all did the far left railslide, at various angle and results down to the pillow and boil below.  Eddie went for the boof move right of the rock above the end of the railslide ledge and landed nicely behind the boulder at the bottom of Railslide.  From there we played our way out down to the take out.

At the takeout Gary went on down to try to recover a lost hand paddle that had gone wandering upstream a bit.  Eddie, Darron and I headed up, and loaded up for another run, did a quick downstream search for Gary, and finally headed for the top.

Our second run was great fun also,  pretty much like the first.  We where joined by a friend of Eddie’s in k-1.  With water down a bit on the 2nd run between 0″ to -1″, the holes I had danced with below the boof in 10′ on my first run had gone from big and wild to mellow.  I got a nice clean line down.  Eddie’s buddy that joined us had a bit of a dance at the bottom of the final drop.   Down below Thunderhole on this run I eddied left above the double ledge and got a bit close to a hole when I was working my ferry back to the right, did a dance for a bit then flushed out.  Then ferried back over to right and went to tuck in tight behind the first ledge and with the water down a bit popped a rock and pushed right and downstream, and found a new slot line down the right side.  Otherwise my 2nd run was pretty much like the first.   Eddie went for a better boof line at Fat Mama’s squeeze and had a nice line, and had a nice clean overall run.  I caught a really nice railslide perfectly down the ledge edge at railslide.  Darron had an excellent run both time in the demo boat.

Well with evening coming on and temps dropping we called it a day at the take-out.  All of us wanting to do another run but ready to go to the house.  Wilson’s is just a wonderful place that you always want to stay and do one more, even when its time to go.  Great time,  good day, excellent company.

SYOTR -Paddlin-ed