South Silver Creek

After 3 straight weeks of instructing kayaking, I needed to get out and paddle for myself. My friend Zak (Kiwi) was down in Coloma staying at his regular crash pad so I decided to head down and pay him a visit. We were throwing ideas around when we decided to hit the South Silver Fork of the American River. Things were dropping out and this little gem was high on my hit list. My other Kiwi mate Bean said it was a granite fantasy land so there you have it. At roughly 600 ft./mile, the run is nothing but slides, tea cups, and boofs for just over a mile. Hello horizon line!!!

Autobahn showing her love!

The first rapid you encounter is called Autobahn - a long cascading slide into a pool. Zak knew the run like the back of his hand so after we hiked down to the put in and hopped in our boats, he casually mentioned head on down that way and hang on. Just the kind of beta I like! Tell me where to go but let me figure things out. I paddled out into the current a began the descent down smooth granite lovin every minute of it. Crashing into the pool at the end, Zak looks at me and winks "again?" Hell yeah! So we got out of our boats, hiked up and ran it again. What a fun slide. I found myself laughing half way down and hit the pool at the bottom giggling like a kid.

The run continued on with many boofs and fun slots. All are really cool where you're boofing into a tiny place and making a move. After all this you arrive at the Tea Cups section. OMG!!!! Boof after boof, slide after slide, you cruise down stream with awesome horizon lines and airtime. Although the Tea Cup's section is primarily plop and drop, you'll want to know where to go and how to land. Several of the Cups require landing on a redirect and making a move, or knowing where and how to boof to make the next move. Fun, fun, fun!!!!

Tea Cups

After we dropped our way through the Tea Cups section, we got to the meat of the run...Skyscraper into Offramp. 2 big drops that are not too technically difficult yet awe inspiring. Skyscraper is a fanastic drop. At around 80 ft. tall, it starts with a slide and keeps on going. Once done with Skyscraper, you cruise a small slide and drop into Offramp - a 30 footer to end this series of drops. Sweet as.... Once you start heading down Skyscraper, you're pretty much running on autopilot. Things are happening quickly and you're reacting to adrenaline rush. I managed to head a little too far left on the lead in to Offramp and hit the shelf sending me flying through the air. What a great couple of drops!!! After a quick portage around a boulder garden, we move quickly downstream. Zak knowing the lines added so much more flavor to the run. I didn't get a chance to scout anything beside Skyscraper and Offramp. Everything else was boating by beta. LOVIN IT!!!! The lead in to the final drop is fantastic. A series of Tea Cup-style drops one after the other. We boofed our way down to Plastic Surgery. Our last taste of verticality. I was certainly not disappointed. "Alright...boof right then right again. Mind the second hole after the boof. Pretty much scrape the left side of your boat on on that big rock and get forward. See ya down there". Then Zak was off. It was quite nice being there by myself not knowing what was up downstream. Obviously by the horizon line, there was something big. Also, there were several people hanging out shooting pics so there must have been a nice drop ahead. It turned out to be another sweet drop of the South Silver. The South Silver Fork of the American is a granite fanasty land that shouldn't be missed.

My Return to Otter Bar

After a long hitaus, I finally returned to Otter Bar Lodge in Northern California to instruct kayaking with some awesome Kiwis mates for 3 straight weeks. What a fantastic place. I didn't know the Kiwis at all but quickly grew to respect and enjoy working with them. If your looking for a place to relax and enjoy learning how to paddle, this is THE place to do it. Second to none facilities, food and instruction, Otter Bar has set the bench mark for kayak instruction.

All three weeks were excellent. Great clients and river flows ensured optimal instruction. The first week found us paddling around the South Fork of the Cal Salmon. The flows were prime and we ran the river from high up on the Mathews Creek section all the way down to camp. What a great group!!!! The theme for this week was "Any line, any time". The brothers Grim kept us in stitches with their jokes and the week flew by.

The next week I found myself with the crew who have been coming to OB for more than a decade. What a great group. Again the South Fork offered excellent opportunity for instruction. And the river color...crystal and green. You can see down so far!!!! What a hearty group of paddlers!!!

As I rounded the corner for my final week on the Cal Salmon, I gotta say I felt a little meloncholy. I love it here and I feel very fortunate to work with all of the staff. The last week was every bit as awesome as the others.

Sign up with Otter Bar, you'll never regret it.

Vallecito Creek

For the expert paddlers, Vallecito Creek offers the best mile of creeking in Colorado. Steep and usually clean, the clear blue water is invigorating - especially after you arrive at the put in, a place gained after a one-mile uphille hike. A good run down Vallecito is one of the best feelings I've had in paddling.

The "Creek" is tucked into the beginnings of the Weminuche Wilderness - the largest wilderness area in the lower 48 states. An overview of the run would show a tight twisting granite gorge filled with boulders large and small. Must make moves, boofs at every rapid, and little chance to escape during the run make for a very committing paddle. Vallecito has slapped every good paddler I know even after they've run it many times. Don't drop in unless you're solid Class V and go with someone who knows the run for your first time down. Scouting is difficult if not impossible for many of the drops.

Upon launching, you'll encounter a hundred yards of warm up rapids with fun boofs and eddies. Spend sometime here getting your psyche on and figuring things out because just downstream lies the first major rapid - Entrance Falls.
I first began paddling this run in the 90's and Entrance Falls was a clean straight forward 20 foot boof. Things have changed since then and the falls is now guarded by several holes making the line up to the drop trickier. Also, the falls is more of a ramp now so boofing is trickier. Many a good paddler has swam this falls and it's also the site of last year's only fatality. You can get out above the falls on river left to scout. Once you drop in, there's little chance to escape if things go wrong. The smooth granite walls offer little opportunity to climb out.

After Entrance Falls, the next series of drops called Trash Can await. Paddle over the boulders into a foamy pool and make your way to the river left eddy above the last boof. Catch the river left eddy, take a breather for a second then peel out and hit the 8 ft. boof. There's a pool below the drops in Trash Can to catch a breath.

Several more boofs, boulder gardens, and fun Class V drops lead to a magical pool above Fuzzy Bunny - a 15 ft. boof into a pool. Fuzzy Bunny is guarded on the left by a house rock and on the right by the sheer granite walls of the canyon. Boof into the slot and enjoy the ride. Get out of your boat, hike up and do it again. This is an awesome place to take a break, have a snack, shoot pics and hang with friends. Look downstream from the top of the house rock and check out the gradient for the next series of drops. Incredible!!!

I feel the next set of rapids represent the crux of the run. Two rapids without rest - Boofant Blast into Paddle Bitch - require precise paddling and must make moves. The undercut/sieve in Paddle Bitch has resulted in broken boats, trapped paddlers, dislocated shoulders and other carnage. It's possible to scout this section on river left...just make the eddy!!!! Boofant Blast begins with a 4 ft. boof into fast water cruising through boulders. Catch the eddy river right and set yourself up for Paddle Bitch. Two boofs and a perfectly timed stroke lead you past the undercut and into the pool below.

Finally No Way Out, the last major rapid on the run, is infront of you. Pick your way downstream on either side of a large granite boulder boofing and making moves until the final move - a left hand boof infront of a hundred foot granite wall. A last sweet boof at Finish Line means the run is over.

Come to Durango and we'll paddle this run together. It'll change your world!!!!