Lower Wind: handpaddling Shipherd's Falls, melt line

I tried to prematurely boof a little to give my bow more downward momentum into the seam. I don't think I can get all the way under the foam pile to the downstream side without higher flows or a bunch of water in my boat. Either would be a scary proposition.


(Thanks to Ryan Young for the footage.)

Lower Wind: two laps

Met Mike Long at Lewis & Clark at 8:00 a.m. Well, 8:25, anyway. Our Little White plans were dashed by the lack of a third -- this situation owing to a misinterpreted text from Luke. I wanted a third paddler for my second time down the legendary Little White, so we opted to traipse down the Lower Wind to kill time before some Portland friends were due at the Green Truss in the afternoon.

So Mike's delightful shuttle bunny (ring and a contract) helped us set a car at the bottom, and we put on around the same time as two other groups, one of which included Jacob Cruser and even some inflatable kayaks. We charged down to Shipherd Falls, with me trying the right entry line and spending a bit of elbow time in The Flume on the way. Sometime during our five laps on the falls, the phone rang, and the word came that our friends might be running the Lower Wind instead of the Green Truss, due to time constraints.

Later, whilst we pondered the meaning of it all over a cold PBR tallboy in the hot spring near the end of the run, the phone was heard to ring once more. Verily, our brethren had congealed into a critical mass of bro-brah-ness, which was converging on our location...eventually.

We killed some time at the store in Carson, where my rash guard got left and run over. Mike owes me big for this, and try to pay his debt by loaning me a playboat that was being brought especially for him from town by our impending crew. It was a ZG or some other archaic foot torture device, so I passed. When Mike spotted the shuttle bunny driving by, we engaged in hot pursuit, cutting her off at the pass at Hot Springs Road and Hwy 14. Jess drives slow, or we'd never have caught her. Thereafter, we made our way up the hill to the takeout, getting a call from Johnny when we were 100 yards away, wondering where we were, as he had just arrived himself.

So it was that our timing was perfect, and we were grateful to be with good friends Luke, Deek, and others, for another round of Lower Wind goodness. This time held no laps of rapids or falls, nor a hot springs stop. Nonetheless, a good time was had by all, and many sick boofs were executed with cold precision, to the extent which that was possible on the only "LW" that we paddled that day.

We went our separate ways, and as dusk neared, I boogied to the vicinity of the Green Truss put-in to find a camp spot, and found a pleasant unimproved site up on a ridge to the west. It was on the border of a timber sale, and several trees had been felled to block the road, so dry wood and tinder were plentiful. I strung up a throw rope to hang gear on, gathered some wood, made a fire and a bed, ate a sandwich, washed it down with Ice Cold Beer, and settled in for a relaxing and peaceful night under the stars. Tomorrow was sure to involve the Truss, finally.

I did not take any photos or video on this day, but this video made by someone else is very cool.

Lower Wind River

I was still reeling from my bout with food poisoning, so I took it easy with another mellow run down the Lower Wind. I ran The Flume twice again -- it's getting less fun as the water runs out. I made just one pass at Shipherd's Falls, but I nailed my lines, so I was happy with it.

Dingo Dave swam the whole way, as he embarked on his virgin riverboarding voyage on a run that was probably a bit low for such undertakings. He said he'll bring kneepads and an athletic cup next time. Since he didn't technically have an out-of-boat experience, he drank beer sweet and pure from the can it came in. The same could not be said for all of our crew...

Cory had a swim at High Bridge due to a broken paddle, followed by a swim at The Flume due to a 190cm breakdown paddle. :) Kourtni got rodeoed in the first drop of Shipherd's before punching and earning a booty beer. The hot springs on river left below Shipherd's Falls make a cozy setting for keeping the booty beer tradition alive -- watch as Cory and Kourtni keep their river karma positive:



To Kourtni's credit, she hiked back up and ran the drop cleanly to make good on it:

upper wind

Ran the upper Wind River today with Alex D., Mike G., Neal F., and Tony S. The gauge rock at the takeout had water consistenly sloshing over it between the horns. This was a lot higher level than my one prior run on this section, and the boogie water through the boulder gardens was fast and entertaining. I flipped a couple of times early on, then tightened it up and had a solid run. We broke with tradition and had Hamm's and Rainier at the takeout. Fun group, beautiful day, and bitchin' technical whitewater...nothing else is needed!

Looking forward to providing safety for the Oregon Rafting Team on Canyon Creek tomorrow. Watching those cats R2 (two-man raft) all of those stout drops should be quite entertaining indeed. I might even get to practice throwing my rope bag! Hehe.