Boyd's Whitewater Updates

How to choose the right Creek boat for you...

2011-09-17T09:35:00.000-07:00

So it's getting close to creeking season in the southeast and lots of us are picking out those sweet new rides for the coming rains. With the multitude of choices and styles out there, it can be tough to decide on just one creeker. I've been asked a few times recently how to know a creeker is the right one for you? Well I'm going to do my best to answer this question as completely and concisely as I can.

First, ask yourself if you're a passive/reactive paddler or an aggressive/proactive paddler. A creek boat should compliment your style and make up for your short comings.... so know thyself. I'm assuming you're considering creeking in it?

Active vs Passive:
If you like to sit sideways and figure things out then throw out longer,faster boats like the Villain... they need to be driven deliberately and proactively. You'll probably be more comfortable in shorter, more maneuverable creekers like the Hero. If you're a paddler that KNOWS where you want to be and where you want to go with a strong forward stroke and no second guessing, faster boats like the Villain compliment your style and will work well with you. That said, you can actively drive a Hero or passively paddle a Villain... but It's a lot easier to actively paddle a Hero than it is to slow down a Villain in the heat of the moment when you suddenly aren't so sure where you're going.

Know your weakness:
If you have a weak forward stroke or are a bit light and have trouble powering through holes and curlers, then a longer boat will put you at ease, providing all the speed you need the moment you want it. At the same time, if you're lacking technical skill and have to rely on powering through rapids, a longer and faster design may feel more comfortable for you. If you're a strong paddler with a powerful stroke but you tend to miss your boofs or lack the more fine tuned, technical skills of a seasoned creeker, then a shorter boat may be the best compliment for you since they boof and maneuver easier while still utilizing your speed.

Know your geology:
For really steep, rocky creeks a displacement (round) hull will usually be better. For higher volume creeking or pool drop style runs, a planning hull can be a huge help for carving tight turns or carving out of holes. Planing hulls provide a unique level of control but can catch on the sharper rocks found on mankier river beds. At the same time, longer designs may handle longer, more violent rapids better where powering through is the best option.

Hole blaster or hole bait?
This can vary with technique (ducking under vs punching vs boofing/ramping holes), but a common myth is that short, stubby designs are hole bait. It simply isn't true. While logically you would think that a short, bulky, stubby design should be more retentive, typically these designs have planing hulls. Longer designs typically have displacement hulls and many longer designs are MUCH more likely to overstay their welcome in a hole. Why is this? The real issue boils down to maneuverability and hull design. It doesn't matter what design you're paddling, if you end up hitting a hole at 45 degrees to 90 degrees (sideways) you will more than likely be getting to know your new bubbly friend. It doesn't matter what design you're in. If you have a displacement hull you're only bet is to gather speed and get to a corner so you can power out. Unfortunately, that isn't always possible. If you have a planing hull you have another option. You can initiate the edge, catch water as you would in a playboat and edge your way out of a hole. The edge has more drag and more applied surface area so you have more options and are much less likely to spend any time in the hole. Personally, I'll take the risk of a shorter design for the extra maneuverability and ability to edge out any day of the week.

So figure out what kind of paddler you are, what kind of skill set you have, your strengths and weaknesses, and what type of water you'll most likely spend the most time on and you'll be well on your way to knowing exactly what you want in a creeker.

Vallecito Creek Video 2011

2011-07-30T08:42:00.000-07:00

I finally had the opportunity to take my first trip through Vallecito Canyon in Colorado. It was at 2.3+ ft and at an awesome, fluffy level. Exhausted from the slow, rainy day I was running on cold, probably not an ideal state to be in before a run like Vallecito. The hike was hot with the sun beating down and I arrived at the put-in breathless, sweaty and near heat stroke. Long story short, this is one of the most beautiful places on earth. By the time I settle in and started feeling "warmed up" it was over. I was just starting to thoroughly enjoy it and we were already done. On one hand it's probably good its so short, scouting was useless and directions were vague and you just have to find your way through lots of it. A bad day could be really bad and the shortness of the run is its only forgiveness. On the other hand it left me wanting more. I wanted more of the quality rapids found within the short box canyon. I wanted more of the same adventure; I wasn't ready for it to be over. A video is worth a thousand words though and the writeup is coming soon. enjoy...

One of my new favorite runs...

South Mineral Creek 2011

2011-07-30T08:40:00.000-07:00

Some GoPro footage from Primetime Gorge on South Mineral Creek in CO.

Epic New Years - 2011

2011-01-05T12:32:00.000-08:00

Well it was pretty epic but I'll keep this as short as I can.

We stayed ahead of the storm Friday night while driving in some incredible wind. We had New Years twice!!! :-o once in each time zone... Feeling off to a good start, we decided to head on to the Tellico and camp, sleeping in the rain. Now we expected a storm and knew there would be wind and lots of rain, but we had no idea what kind of night we were in for. Camping at Baby Falls is no longer allowed and it has been paved over (sad and unfortunate) with the new camp ground WAY upstream in a flash flood zone toward the top of the pass... a really, REALLY

shitty place to be in a storm. The wind was horrific and large limbs for flying out of the trees and the rain was torrential, like a Tellico Monsoon! At one point I looked out of my window

worried the tarp was flying away (the EZ Up was bow-tied and off the ground!) and I saw Jonathan's tent airborne except for the one place Jonathan was curled up inside.... lightening, thunder, wind, rain, limbs flying around us, and the campground threatening to flood. We were alone in one of the worst camping situations I've been in... The next morning the downpour hadn't stopped, so we knew things were about to get interesting. We decided to completely pack up camp after making some breakfast and coffee and we started the trek back down to the Tellico Ledges. The Small tribs upstream were swollen beyond belief and things were looking more like Cheoah on a big day. We reached the confluence with the Tellico and it was looking powerful but maybe fun.
This next part is still hard to report, like stones inside, but I'll do my best for those wanting to know.I got a good look at the first ledge and noticed a crowd gathered where we were stopped by a boater and told there was a problem and to help. We pulled over, got out, and asked around to catch up on the situation and saw the group of 3 men performing CPR on another guy across the river. Already geared up we asked if help was needed and we were put to work. There were a LOT of people standing around watching, filming, and walking around in shock so it was hard to tell who was doing what and who was just in the way. I was buddy belaying with a live bait team and providing whatever support I could for the rescue already in place. Samantha is a first responder and was assessing the situation with the victim and the team across the river. Things were not looking good but another team was preparing a kayak

raft to ferry the drowned kayaker across the river. It's not ideal to have a break in the CPR but after 20 minutes and no professionals yet it starts looking like the best option. A pickup truck was waiting to receive

the kayaker so CPR could continue down the road until they could meet with the ambulance... We prepared for the crossing and it was finally successful. Me and Samantha got him out where the shock came to me as I immediately recognized him from a conversation we had in an eddy on the Ocoee. I remembered how lively and friendly he was and his passion for the sport but I was hoping maybe it wasn't him. Before we could give him some rescue breaths to go on,

Jonathan and his crew were already there to help, taking him up the hill and loading him up in the truck. They resumed CPR as soon as they could. The rescue continued until ALL rescuers were safely to the river left bank and out of the river. A memorial page has been set up for Paul

and you can visit it or send comments here:

http://waldensridgewhitewater.com/

With the Tellico at 8' and rising, we should have gone to Conasauga Creek in the Tellico drainage. We were drained, shocked, and just not feeling lively after our long night and rough day so we decided to move on to a different drainage to start our New Years over. We were thinking smokies or bama since Johnnies was running strong. We went over to check out the Little and Tremont since we were so close to knoxville. I've never seen things over there quite like that, I guess because when it rains that much I'm usually in Alabama. We looked at Kick Yer Dog Falls on Lynn Camp which was PUMPING! It looked great and the bottom drop looked smooth and deep. Since I hadn't paddled since Colorado (months) and since the drama was still fresh from the Tellico, I decided I should take things slow. I ran Lynn Camp alone (well, Jonathan and Samantha on the trail) and it was easy, but I was sloppy. I think it was a mixture of exhaustion, stress, and lag time but I knew I had to get my mojo back :roll: :| I met a randem guy from knoxville at the put-in for Tremont and we ended up getting a late (dark) run of a very flooded tremont. It was completely dark when we got out.

From there it was mexican and we ALL needed a drink... Me and Jonathan experimented with beer sizes lol and samantha enjoyed a stiff Margarita... we decided we should stick close and just "wait and see" so we grabbed a hotel (not feeling like another crazy night) and we woke up to one of my favorites... BIG CReeK!!!!

Big Creek was crowded and the scene was awesome! We were blessed with fresh snow melt, blue skies, and clear water cascading out of the smokies. We started our New Year over. After lapping Big Creek we ran into Drew Armstrong for another run....

While I hope our New Years isn't an omen, I can say that after my time off the river, I got my Mojo back 8-)

Boyd

the paddle cam

2010-07-24T13:45:00.001-07:00

Boyd filming Josh, photo by Samantha Brunner

So we met up with our friend Josh Oberleas in Crested Butte, CO to catch the last of Oh Be Joyful Creek for the season. With filming ambitions in mind all around, we broke out the GoPro Heros and put an idea Josh had been working on to good use: the GoPro paddle!

Josh Oberleas on the lip, patiently waiting with his GoPro paddle

photo by Samantha Brunner

Josh broke a paddle a while back and decided to put a flat mount on the paddle blade for his GoPro Hero HD. With the broomstick extender in place (high tech lol and true to a paddlers budget), we could hold it out over the drops, follow each other, and create more dramatic motion in our filming. Now obviously I'm sure we're not the first to do this; but it just goes to show that with the small helmet cams these days, a little imagination can go a long ways. I've taken the same idea to my break down, but with extra shaft segments, so it doubles as a filming tool... pretty sweet!

Boyd Ruppelt dropping in under the paddle cam while Josh films

photo by Samantha Brunner

Crystal Punch Bowls

2010-07-20T12:43:00.000-07:00

With things getting low I decided to try for the punchbowls from the Crested Butte side, the easy way, especially since my Tacoma is a bit low and only 2WD. We got shut down on the first attempt by snow over the road early on. We went back a few days later and some more defined ruts in the snow (not in the video) made it a bit safer to cross. After hiking in we were met with the thunderstorm/slush/hail storm from hell...it got cold fast and we were pelted with large slush/ice balls mixed with rain and strong wind. After hiding under a tree for a little while things were getting worse, including the lightening. We narrowly escaped the muddy road in my 2WD truck, left my boat in the gorge for a sunny return, and returned the next day for an easy hike in (without a boat) and a beautiful day in the punchbowls. Seems like every trip in there is epic in its own way, making the rewards that much sweeter. So with the journey in mind as the destination in itself check out the video. :-)

Special thanks to Neal, Dalton, Samantha Brunner, and Bryant for fliming, taking pictures, and helping me get it done. good times...

Photos by Samantha Brunner and Bryant Haley

www.BoydR.com

OKC Kayak Visit

2010-07-04T07:41:00.000-07:00

Above left to right: Tony, Austin, and yours truly

On our way to Colorado we had the pleasure of stopping by one of Jackson Kayak's incredible dealers, OKC Kayak. These guys definitely have it going on and despite the lack of whitewater, they have put together quite a shop and rental program! When you first walk in you can tell they're family, but that alone isn't what sets these guys apart. Hours from any whitewater, OKC has a paddlesports specific shop with kayaks and canoes everywhere and a constant flow of traffic. What really blew us away was their connection to the local community, the secret to their success. I've never found an outfitter or livery with consistent volunteers helping with everything from sales, to stocking, etc... just to be closer to the people they paddle with. OKC has weekly "Social Paddles" where the shop rents kayaks and paddles with their local club, community, and customers. Once they're hooked or ready for something new, OKC not only sets them up with gear and boats, but with a whole group of friends to paddle with. To us, this is what kayaking is all about.

Thanks OKC!

Boyd Ruppelt & Samantha Brunner

Big event weekend here in Memphis :-)

2009-05-01T09:30:00.000-07:00

We're kicking this weekend off with the annual GREAT MISSISSIPPI CANOE & KAYAK RACE here in Memphis. This race is one of the largest canoe & kayak races in the nation with over 500 competitors... ranging from Olympic flatwater sprinters to your local average joes. It was voted "Best Race in America" by Paddler Magazine and Jackson Kayak will be there! This is followed by the Outdoors Inc DEMO DAY at Shelby Farms!

Demos will range from fishing canoes and kayaks, to full-on racing & high performance touring kayaks, to whitewater kayaks... Meanwhile, Memphis is having a festival of its own called Memphis in May with the Beal Street Music Festival

Stay tuned for more of the action!

2009 HERO REVIEW

2009-02-20T06:03:00.000-08:00

(Photo of Boyd by Samantha Brunner)

Intro - The first date
In the past, Jackson Kayak's river runner had been more geared toward playboating, but this time the idea was quite different. We wanted the ultimate creeking, river running, expedition, and teaching machine that is more geared toward safety, volume, and fun on harder rivers. At the same time we wanted a kayak that new kayakers could fall in love with and without feeling limited. The funny thing is that the Hero turned out different than anyone really expected because of all the input from Team Jackson Kayak. So I've been putting this boat to the test ever sense, trying to figure out exactly what it is that I love so much about it and how we can improve it for the next round. So I'm writing about my experience in it as objective as I can, but I must admit my Hero quickly became my favorite kayak and it's hard to hide the love.

Pros - the love story
The first thing you'll notice when you get in a Hero is that it feels SO stable. It's a wide boat so it easily begins to feel like your "bomb shelter" whether you're creeking or it's you first time ever on moving water. My girlfriend's first time paddling her Hero was on a class IV/V creek in Colorado and she immediately felt safe and secure once in the water. I also put a friend, Phil, in my Hero with minimal instruction and led him down a class II-III stretch in Alabama... He did great, ran everything, and felt comfortable the whole way down. So one would think that such a wide, stable boat would be difficult to roll. What I've found is that it's very easy to roll, like every Jackson Kayak I've ever paddled. Just to remove my person bias, I put beginners in my boats that I was teaching to roll and some of them in our "class" boats. They all learned how to roll in equal time (quite quickly)and none of them thought the Hero was any more difficult. The planning hull allows for easy surfing for such a large boat and the cockpit and deck design are those of a full on creeker. The Hero is Cross-Linked plastic which is more difficult to mold into kayaks, but it's stronger, can be molded lighter, and has a lot more flex before it breaks. I stopped breaking boats when I switched to Cross-linked plastic. It's of course possible, but you've gotta love a strong boat that can take years of abuse. A far as Creeking and River running, What I love about this boat is that I can have camera gear and rescue gear weighing it down and at 5'8" and 155 lbs I can wavewheel it vertically and then punch a huge hole or run a series of steep tongues and waterfalls without any problem. I was a big skeptic in years past with planning hulls and creeking. Personally I never liked them but I must admit the Hero seems like the perfect balance. I boofed a 30'er and landed flat to see how it reacted (I was wearing a back support/spine guard) and it bled off the preasure much easier and quicker than I would expect from a planning hull design. I never suggest trying that yourself, but it's nice to know you have some forgiveness. It's accelerates easy and peals out great even in the most turbulent places. Even with a planning hull it will boof anything and stay high and dry through the most turbulent and intimidating stretches. It runs waterfalls very well and handles flooded creeks (that should be too high) and big water runs with ease. In fact it seems to excel more on fast paced, higher volume creeks. So you can see why I'm in love with it.

Cons - After the Honeymoon:
Not every relationship is happy all the time and we've yet to creat the "perfect" boat for all whitewater. Sometimes you have to search long and hard but there's always an area for improvement and this is where I have to be completely objective and fill you in on how to make this awesome boat work for you. Some of our own team got in this boat for the first time on the Cheoah in NC. A couple of them hated their first trip in it. When asked why they said it kept turning and trying to follow tongues without them. So upon further inspection we discovered their seats were ALL the way forward, the way they liked it in their Rockers. So they tried it again with the seat toward the back (all the way back in some cases) and after another run through the lower section and Bear Creek Rapid, they were in love too. Being too forward in the Hero seems to dig in the hull a bit, forcing the edges to take over into a turn upon even the most tiny weight shifts. Well, being positioned toward the back leads to the most incredible feeling ever because it lifts the bow, floats over everything without losing speed, and carves or spins beautiful turns at will... so you may have to dial your boat in to find what best works with your paddling abilities. It may look like hole-bait, but I can tell you that it's not. I have one friend that was used to paddling long, fast boat designs take it down Johnnies Creek in Alabama (IV/V) and he hasn't quite figured out how to boof a hole instead of directly taking it on. He got a few surfs out of the deal but told me at the bottom that he actually loved the edges for carving out. He felt very comfortable in a surf with it and had no trouble working his way out. Is it hole-bait? no, but it does behave differently than long boats. My girlfriend (really my fiance') is 5'7" and 125 lbs (but looks like 110). She wears an XXS waist in snap dragon sprayskirts but has a 30" inseam and she's always inbetween designs. She completely fell in love with the Hero in Colorado, but still felt like it was too wide. To compensate she added padding under her seat to give herself some leverage, but now she's rockin' a boat that fits - the Little Hero! The only real con I've personally found is that the edges can catch on bouldery, rock-pile style runs where constant rock-boat contact can cause the edges to catch... for those you may prefer a Rocker.

Verdict - long happy mariage or divorce?
I'm in LOVE with this boat. The "cons" are easily fixable but come with their own rewards. The wide design makes it stable and the planning hull and edges make it more fun to paddle in a majority of situations. It carves turns great, spins on a dime, catches eddies on autopilot, and handles the biggest gnarliest rapids without issue. At the same time it's a safe design that's easy to roll, friendly for beginners, and wavewheels amazingly well. It quickly became my favorite boat ever and if I could only choose one kayak to keep, this would be it. It's the most fun all round boat that I have ever paddled. I've tried to stay objective but my verdict is the same. She's a sexy beast and I'll love her long-time... :-)

When I'm not gettin' wet...

2008-11-25T19:38:00.000-08:00

One of my favorite places to be... taken by Jason Higg.

I know it's not really whitewater related, but the outdoor lifestyle goes beyond rivers. It's about being outside and enjoying this amazing rock we live on. So I thought I'd share what I'm usually up to on a weekend when I don't go kayaking. If you know me then you know I'm in love with freefall and that I'm in love with the sky... so it's fitting that I'm also a skydiver. Last Sunday my friend Jason Higg. took some shots of our last jump of the weekend... check it out!

hanging out on the plane ride... by Higg

me and Frank (right) with a "Train" exit

Those clouds are at 10,000 ft

I'm walkin' on clouds!

an amazing shot of Frank by Jason Higg.

"If riding an airplane is flying, then boating must be swimming! If you want to experience the element, you have to get out of the vehicle."

A little piece of heaven...

we can still see the plane!

I love sitflying!

Standing on cloud 9 ;-)

about to drop in... another mile of freefall left

a little "industrial haze" ;-) ...

If you've never been skydiving before, it's an amazing experience! It's a new view of the planet and a freedom like no other! It's also a perfect complement to kayaking. When the weather's bad and the rivers are running, the kayaking is great! When they're dry and it's sunny, the skydiving is awesome... it's a good balance ;-)

Busy Livin'

Boyd :-)

Ice Lakes Creek, CO

2008-10-14T07:46:00.000-07:00

Mission: park & huck the burley looking cascade into SMC Campground
Location: South Mineral Creek Campground, CO
Paddlers: Boyd Ruppelt, Adam Goshorn, and Matt Wallace

(Boyd working his way down Ice Lakes Creek. by Samantha Brunner)

After enjoying the high water in Crested Butte, I went down south with Samantha Brunner, Adam Goshorn, and Matt Wallace to find waterfalls and run some of the classic whitewater Colorado has to offer. The first thing we came to was Ice Lakes Creek, pooring into South Mineral Campground. It was getting late, the water was crankin, and we were losing our light for the day, but Matt's itch was contagious and we all decided to run it before setting up camp and cooking dinner. The Ice Lakes Creek cascade is an interesting, powerful series of drops that weren't very forgiving with the high water... but a super cool drop for sure.

(Matt Wallace finishing a strong line minus an epic back ender. by Adam Goshorn)

Matt was so fired up he went first. I held his boat on the tiny launch ledge until he was ready to slide in immediately above the first one. Having decided to follow it on the right, Matt had a great line down but when he hit the big pillow/hole above the last big ledge he was back endered and rolled just above the lip of the last one. I couldn't see him below the first lip so adam came up and told me to go a bit more left on the 3rd ledge... So trusting his last minute changes he held my boat as I climbed in and got set. Before I knew it I was sliding down the sloped bank immediately above the first ledge (hidden in the photos). I wasn't happy with my position above the second one and my contact was a bit out so I eddied out into a small pocket above the first big ledge before lining back up and going for it. I paddled over the pillow of water keeping me off the lip and before I knew it I was flying down the first big one with a big delayed boof to line up for the next one...

(Boyd boofing off the first big one. Photo by Matt Wallace)

Exactly where I wanted to be based on what I had heard from Matt's line, I felt good going into the next drop. The idea was to slide right into the outflow of the hole and off the next drop. To my suprise I slid in sideways losing all my momentum. With a quick roll in the hole, I rolled up grabbing the green water exiting the hole and flowing off the last big ledge and pulled myself off the next lip catching a little rock flake on the way down.

(Boyd rolling up before sliding off the last big one. Photo by Matt Wallace)

It wasn't a bad line but it made me think the first line (far river right) was the way to go... Adam began to gear up and Matt hiked back up to hold his boat. Adam thought we could go even more left (just on the brink of disaster) for a good line.

(Adam setting up for the first big one. by Boyd Ruppelt)

So as he peeled off the first ledge he kept his speed and flew off the first big one too far left, nearly pinning on a tree. Skirting a potentially bad pin and even worse swim, he heroically pulled it back into the main flow but got surfed in the hole above the next one. Ripped down the cascade upside down, Adam kept his cool but got a bit pummeled in the big pillow/hole above the last big one with a not so prefered line:

(Adam with the not so prefered line. by Boyd Ruppelt)

He took it like a champ though and rolled up just in time drop off the last one backwards but upright, making it into the take-out eddy with a shit-eatin' grin like no other. He said amazingly enough he didn't hit much but water on his way down. Now we were ready for Whiskey, dinner, and a camp fire before our next adventure on South Mineral Creek.

(Boyd on Ice Lakes Creek, by Samantha Brunner)

Till next time,
Boyd

La Plata Falls, Durango, CO

2008-10-11T07:36:00.000-07:00

Mission: La Plata falls, CO
Location: near Durango, CO
Paddlers: Boyd Ruppelt, Adam Goshorn, and Matt Wallace

(Matt scouting "Silver Falls" by Boyd Ruppelt)

Continuing on our trip with Adam Goshorn and Matt Wallace through southern Colorado me and Samantha continued south toward Durango in hopes of replacing our broken video camera and fixing Adam's flat tire. With most of the things on our lists on the way south a bit high for our tastes we decided to check out a seemingly little known drop called La Plata Falls (Spanish for Silver). So with Adam's tire fixed and no new video camera we shot over for a quick afternoon run on La Plata.

(Boyd filming Matt's run... photo by Adam Goshorn)

The thing about this drop that doesn't seem to show up well in photos is that the entire creek converges and banks 90 degrees the moment it drops off the lip. But it banks so hard that it forms a green wall on the river left edge against the slightly overhung wall while completely drying out the riverbed at the lip.

(Boyd dropping in... photo by Samantha Brunner)

Then it crashes on itself, rolling it's way down the slot falls before slaming over a rock shelf and rocketing out into the runnout pool below. To make things more interesting, a sick looking whirlpool/terminal eddy thing forms on the river right and the river left exit was blocked by a huge log with only a tiny stream of water flowing over the far side. We decided to just focus on lining up the lip and riding it out and boofing over the log.

(Matt going first by Boyd Ruppelt)

(Boyd dropping in while Adam films on... shot by Matt Wallace)

(Adam's run as seen by Boyd Ruppelt)

This worked out well for me and Matt, but Adam's line proved a bit more interesting while providing the biggest carnage of the trip...

(Adam finally out of the whirlpool... by Boyd Ruppelt)

(the aftermath... by Boyd Ruppelt)

After watching her fears realized through someone else, Sam decided to wait for another day; I guess two out of 3 isn't bad. If you're ever in the Durango area when all this is running, La Plata Falls isn't a bad stop for a quick fix...

Boyd Ruppelt

The Rarely Run Upper North Fork of Daisy Creek, Crested Butte, CO

2008-10-03T13:53:00.000-07:00

MISSION: Silly Slides
LOCATION: Crested Butte, CO
PADDLERS: Boyd Ruppelt, Samantha Brunner, Josh Oberleas

(Boyd Dropping in by Josh Oberleas)

So as belated report from our trip to Colorado, Me and Samantha Brunner had the pleasure of catching a section that is rarely run on the Upper North Fork of Daisy Creek in Crested Butte, CO. Affectionately known as "the Silly Slides" this section rests hidden away from the hustle and bustle and mass-hucking of the other Crested Butte area creeks, usually under snow until it is too low to run. With the seemingly long 4x4 road/walk up Daisy Pass beyond the normal Daisy Creek put-in, most paddlers look up at the beaver dams not realizing what's just up the road.

(beautiful scenery on a beautiful run. Photo of Boyd by Josh Oberleas)

(plenty of fresh drinking water... and if you get thirsty on the run, just take a big gulp)

Curious to see for myself what was in the pass, I took off on a fast hike with Samantha Brunner to find out our first day in Colorado. What we found was a fun looking series of slides and waterfalls just appearing out of the snow with plenty of runnable flow. The only problem was an unportageable (or hard-to-portage) snow plug blocking the exit of the run.

So after our waterfall adventure with Adam Goshorn and Matt Wallace, we met back up with our Gunny turned Chile friend, Josh Oberleas, for some more good times in Crested Butte. Without hesitation, we went right up to the Daisy Creek put-in for a quick check to see if the upper section was open. Sure enough we found good flows, although we all wanted more (never satisfied I know), and a good section was completely clear of snow:

(Samantha charging down below the 3rd drop... photo by Josh Oberleas)

The start was one of the most scenic and interesting put-ins in the area, with a seal launch right off a large snow plug into the river:

(Samantha about to slide in right above the first drop. photo by Boyd Ruppelt)

(Samantha on her way down by Josh Oberleas)

The creek is literally just emerging from the snow as some of the coldest, but cleanest, water I've ever felt!

(Boyd on drop #1 by Samantha Brunner)

(Samantha charging down the first one with the second one in the foreground by Boyd Ruppelt)

From there the creek goes around a bend and immediately off drop number 3, the sketchiest looking slide on the run. It looked a bit boat/back abusive when we were first scouting it, but we found out fast that the clear water made this whole run look lower than it was. This drop was no exception, going a lot smoother than we thought it would and with an awesome boof/90 degree turn combo on the last bit of the drop to avoid the wall.

(Samantha on drop 3 by Boyd)

(Boyd making the last boof/turn move by Samantha Brunner)

We couldn't get over the water quality, scenery, and fun nature of the run... since a picture is worth a thousand words, here's some more pictures:

(Josh Oberleas about to go off another by Boyd Ruppelt)

(Boyd in just his rashguard... ok, it was a bit cold... by Josh Oberleas)

(Samantha loving her Jackson Hero! by Josh Oberleas)

(the view downstream... by Josh Oberleas)

(Boyd carving off the last one... by Josh Oberleas)

(Josh Oberleas threading his way down the last one... by Boyd Ruppelt)

(Samantha threading the needle between flakes on the last one by Boyd Ruppelt)

From the "Silly Slides" we continued on a fast, fun runnout that felt like a cold convayer belt until we got to a weird, short, hedgy section of blind, mid-stream bush-wacking. It doesn't last long and is quicker than getting out. Suddenly we found ourselves in a channel dropping off beaver dam ledge after beaver dam ledge. The current kept picking up and we were amazed to find a beautiful and fun paddle all the way to the big portage at the normal Daisy put-in, never getting out of our boats until then. After the portage we continued our way down Daisy Creek until we finally all flew off Big Wood Falls:

(Samantha on Big Wood Falls by Josh Oberleas)

(Boyd enjoying the Hero's boofing capabilities off Big Wood Falls by Samantha Brunner)

(the view up the road from the normal Daisy put-in by Boyd Ruppelt)

It's amazing it doesn't get run more often. It was worth the effort and a beautiful day that is rarely experienced in an area considered by some to be "over-done"... hopefully this will open some eyes to what might be waiting just around that next corner...

Boyd Ruppelt

See More at: http://www.loopd.com/members/BoydRuppelt/Default.aspx

Thanksgiving update from San Louis Potosi, Mexico

2007-11-28T13:56:00.000-08:00

(Boyd dropping in on the Rio Verde. Courtesy of Adam Goshorn)

Getting just as thirsty as everyone else with the drought I found out that some of my paddling friends were heading down to Mexico for Thanksgiving in search of the beautiful, travertine waterfalls that San Louis Potosi is known for. Absolutely itching for whatever action I could find, I took off for Tampico with my good friend Drew Armstrong (for those that know him) and rented a car to drive down to meet up with our Alabama friends at Micos. The first stop was the warm, travertine waterfalls of Micos and Saltos for a quick warm up... just good clean fun.

(Adam Goshorn putting in on Micos. photo by Boyd)

(photo of Boyd by Drew Armstrong)

(photo of Drew A. on La Luminosa falls by Boyd)

(Drew and Joey hanging out on the travertine workin' the cameras. Photo by Adam Goshorn)

After our fun warm-up day in Mexico, it was time to branch out and do a bit of exploration. We found some pretty unique waterfalls to run and some truly beautiful kayaking! One Cascade in particular stood out. It's a cascade called Puente De Dios which translates as "Bridge of God." It's a beautiful maze of caves and potholes linked together in and around the riverbed.

(photo of Boyd boofing into Puente de Dios by Drew Armstrong)

The water flows from the falls, through and around the caves, and into a deep pool before going underground. It then flows through a large, caved out room before exiting on its way to Tamasopo. The locals had a rope strung through so you could swim from one side of the cave to the other. We also found out that it is a big attraction for scuba divers. With the sound of screeching bats and whistling locals, we each ran the cascade one at a time trying to avoid any underwater spelunking on our way down the falls. It was a beautiful cascade and unique experience to say the least.

(a perfect place for a hammock)

(local parade... photo by Adam Goshorn)

(the "good" road... photo by Boyd Ruppelt)

Happy Thanksgiving!

Boyd :-)
PS- special thanks to Drew, Kimberly, Joey, and Adam for the pics...

Voy a ir a Mexico!!!

2007-11-19T08:12:00.000-08:00

Well, this week I'm continuing my adventures by taking a trip to Mexico!

I'm heading down with my friends, Joey, Adam, and Drew (hopefully meeting up with Rafa too at some point) to run some sweet creeks and waterfalls in Mexico. It should be a good trip and it looks like plenty of good water down there. More on our trip later this week from Mexico!

Boyd :-)

GAF Weekend Update

2007-11-06T12:36:00.000-08:00

(Friends & campfire: photo by Boyd Rupplet)

Every year me and Sam make the trek over to NC for the Nantahala Outdoor Center's Guest Appreciation Festival, affectionately called "GAF Fest" by Southeast kayakers and Canoeist. This year was no different. We packed up Thursday night and took off early Friday morning to get and early start on the festivities.

(photo of Boyd by Samantha Brunner)

The week of rain & stormy weather leading up to the trip got our hopes up for the possibilty of something more entertaining over there than the Nantahala... But I we drove the Nashville the rain began to fizzle out and clear skies started to emerge. By the time we arrived in the Nantahala Gorge we found a barely even scrapable river bed in the cascades and a low flowing Nantahala River. Continuing our drive downstream we found what we really come to GAF for, lots of friendly faces and plenty of good times to be had by all! We decided to walk around and find all of our friends until shortly after dark where we were greeted by EJ, Dane, and Jonathan. After a short meeting with EJ, Samantha was ecstatic to find herself as the newest Jackson Kayak regional team member!

(a content & happy Samantha Brunner: by Boyd Ruppelt)

From there we all walked around to check out the sales and to get some dinner (THANKS EJ!). :-) The next day was busy; lots of sales, lots of gear, and lots of people. We stopped at the Jackson Kayaks booth first to help sell boats for NOC, answer questions, and to see the friends this drought has had us missing so much! From there we were off to meet up with some more old friends for a quick trip down the Nantahala River. Searching for at least a taste of some steeper action a couple of us managed to get out and do the seal launch/big slide off the railroad tracks into the river, later followed by an informal Boatercross race through Nantahala Falls. After a long, fun, almost crazy day of work and play, we decided it was time for some food and the classic NOC party and live bands.

(Samantha's always looking for new angles: photo by Boyd Ruppelt)

(photo of Samantha by Boyd Ruppelt)

Nearly partied out we all went back to our friend Anna's campground where I had the the bright idea of spicing it all up with a good, old fashioned a firewalk... We all pitched in and got as much wood as we could afford and built a sweet fire and then all we could do is wait for it to burn down.

(FUEGO!!! Photo by Boyd Ruppelt)

Eventually it burt down and we had nearly used up all our wood so we spread the coles into a path and just built on it until it was a hot, glowing, firey path of fresh coals and embers:

(our glowing path of hot coals: photo by Boyd Ruppelt)

So with the camra ready, the coals hot, and the beer flowing (I was completely sober as always), there was nothing left to do but take our shoes and socks off and start walking! I think my friend Evan went first since he didn't want to wait any longer and it was his first time, and then I went right after while the coals were nice and fresh:

(Boyd barefoot on hot coals; photo by Samantha Brunner)

(Evan going first - the flash knocked out the red color of the coals: photo by Samantha Brunner)

Shortly after us, Samantha did it herself and picked up her camera again to take more pictures. We just kept walking on them and piling on fresh coals until we were out of wood. I literally lost count on how many times I did it and the only slight burn I got was from a hot, sticky ember that got stuck on my foot. It wasn't even a real blister. It was the perfect ending to an already awesome day! Sunday we got up and went back upstream to find some vertical action.

(Samantha and her Gaia duffle: photo by Boyd Ruppelt)

We were up for almost anything at that point and after some searching we found a manky little falls upstream of the cascades (not on whiteoak) where all the volume was channeled through one tough little slot before falling over a 8 ft drop. It wasn't huge and pretty, but it's extremely difficult to have a real good line on it. This puzzle kept us entertained for a while.

(Boyd through the slot and off the lip: photo by Samantha Brunner)

(Samantha showing off with a better line - right above the lip: photo by Boyd Ruppelt)

"Memphis Hotties of 2007" by the Memphis Flyer

2007-02-14T22:00:00.000-08:00

You guys will get a kick out of this...
when I got back from Costa Rica and got off the plane, one of the first things I found out was that me and Sam had both been nominated as "Memphis Hotties of 2007" and that we had an interview and photoshoot my first week back in school... you should have seen my face. It didn't end there. My birthday was Tuesday and I found out during our interview with the flyer that for my birthday Sam had arranged for us to go skydiving for our first time...and we're going this weekend! You REALLY should have seen my face then!
Quoted from the Memphis Flyer:

Justin Timberlake isn't the only one who can bring sexy back.
For the third year in a row, in fact, we're back with 18 of the most interesting, attractive, sexy, and magnetic personalities in all of Memphis. They pour your drinks, help you into downward-facing dog, or may even conduct a little cross-examination. And that's in their day jobs!

Sammie Brunner, 19, Boyd Ruppelt, 23

This couple shares not just a love for each other but a love of the water. Boyd is a professional kayaker with Jackson Kayak, while girlfriend Sammie is his photographer.

Occupation: Students, kayakers

Sign: Aries, Aquarius respectively

Marital status: Engaged

If you could be anywhere in the world, where would you be?
Boyd: Costa Rica. The people are incredible, the food's good, the rivers are amazing.

Any hidden talents?
Boyd: I used to do artwork. Not many people know that.
Sammie: I play the flute, and I pretty much rock at it.

Describe each other in three words.
Sammie: He's energetic, adventurous, and, I don't know, Aquarius.
Boyd: She's definitely adventurous, responsible, and very social.

Have you ever gone skydiving?
Sammie: [Pause] Happy Birthday, Boyd! We're about to. We're going for his birthday. By the time this comes out, we will have gone skydiving.
Boyd: I don't know what to say.

Did we just ruin a surprise?
Boyd: It's okay. You just gave me time to prepare.
Sammie: I was just going to drive us to Birmingham and say, "Surprise!"

What would be your deal-breakers?
Boyd: Smokers and people afraid of the water.

What did you eat for breakfast?
Sammie: I had three Lifesavers. I was in a hurry this morning.

If you were president, what's the first thing you would do?
Sammie: I would work on the school systems.
Boyd: Can I go with that one, too? [Laughs] What would I do, Sam?
Sammie: You'd probably just go kayaking somewhere.

If you were arrested, what do you think you would be arrested for?
Sammie: Public indecency.

This is a girl question: high heels or flats?
Sammie: Flats. I would fall and twist my ankle in high heels.
Boyd: But heels look better -- that's a guy answer.

for the full article check out: http://memphisflyer.com/memphis/Content?oid=oid%3A24393

2007 Rocker Review from Costa Rica!

2007-02-02T10:33:00.000-08:00

(unwrapping my new Rocker in Costa Rica. photo by Brad Sutton)

Several Weeks ago I picked up my new 2007 Rocker and drove it back to Memphis just in time to fly with it to Costa Rica! Meeting up with team members Ben Stookesberry, Brad Sutton, and Mario Vargas I got to put the Rocker through some serious testing in a lot of different situations. Here's what I've found:

My Stats:
height: 5'8"
weight: 150 lbs
feet: size 8.5
waist: 29"
inseam: 30"

Outfitting:
When I hopped into the first 07 production Rocker, I found fitting in instantly easier than years before. This is something I didn't think would be possible. The new elastic cord holds the footbraces in place great! so cutting down the footbraces is no longer a science. It's quick and easy and the foam won't fall out. This made the footbrace outfitting super easy to setup. In the 2006 Rocker I used 10 shims to even feel like I had hip pads... this made keeping the shims together, even when glued, a bit of a problem. So for 2007 the hip pads come with a pocket for holding shims. I was a bit skeptical about them because I didn't think I would be able to fit enough shims into each pocket to fit. I was wrong. The shims fit in great, I only needed 6, and the hip pads felt a lot more stable. The newly redesigned backband feels a bit more comfortable... I was particularly impressed with the use of the O- rings instead of small biners. The O- rings allow a lot more force to be safety applied to the backband... not to mention, WAY more wear & tear resistant.

(putting the 2007 Rocker through some serious testing. photo by Brad Sutton)

River Running Performance:
My first day in Costa Rica using the Rocker was in the upper gorge of the Pozo Azul. I immediately noticed that the new Rocker floats WAY higher and will go over just about anything. It boofs like a charm but is easy to control... not an easy combination. The first couple of rapids were pretty technical boulder gardens and the Rocker worked like a charm. The first waterfall we came to posed an interesting challenge. It was high enough that boofing may have hurt a bit, but a shallow rock blocked the lip. Two rock shelves converged onto the line and defined where we had to make it off the lip. So We decided to drive fast over the shallow rock for a boof and drop over the lip into a soft vertical landing. Normally, I would have been concerned about making it over the rock at the lip... I think most boats would have bottomed out on it, but the rocker floated over it so well that I didn't loose any speed going off the lip... I didn't even notice that rock shelf! Trying to compensate for my extra speed, I pitched a bit off the lip... but found the Rocker super easy to correct in mid-freefall. I simply tucked a little faster, bring the bow back up and tucked with a perfect pencil. The entry was smooth and the transition was smoother. I scooped out nicely underwater into forward speed and a GREAT, upright resurface. The resurfacing capabilities of the Rocker are AMAZING! All that just to say: The waterfalls capabilties of the Rocker have definitely improved! This boat is a waterfall machine! Hole punching was a breeze. When the Rio Patria juiced up with an extra 2 feet of water from overnight rains, the holes beefed up to say the least. A few times I found myself wondering if I could make the gap across the hole, but I found that the new Rocker just keeps going...straight through. It went over and under holes with ease, fully loaded down with 3 nights of expediiton gear. and when all else failed or all hell broke loose, it punched through HUGE holes and boils and seams without being thrown off line.

Big Water Performance:
Typically, a full on creeker isn't what you want in a big water environment. Playboats and other lower volume boats are nice for slicing under holes that are too big to boof over or punch through... going deep is many times a good thing. At first thought, the high volume Rocker wouldn't seem to handle stout flows very well. But after heavy rains on the Rio Patria brought the river up an extra 2 feet I got to put the Rocker through it's paces again, fully loaded with expedition gear and camra stuff, in a tight, technical, FULL-on environment where the moves really mattered and the water was really BIG. Amazingly enough, the Rocker handled it great, staying on line through huge holes and tremendous boils while floating right over everything that would normally throw a boat off line. Occasionally I found myself with momentum in the wrong direction where fast correction was needed to avoid a bad boulder choke or huge sieve. With the stakes set high in a must make environment, the Rocker adjusted pretty quickly with it's own momentum and I had no problems changing or correcting my line. When the already high volume of the Rio Patria finally met with the big flowin' Rio Sucio, the tight big water creeking gave way to BIG waves and munchy holes, just high volume, wide open big water. The Rocker handled the waves and holes great, punching through hole after hole with little notice... But the downstream speed of the Rocker didn't prevent it from being maneuverable, it still handled with ease. At times, HUGE boulders were just too close together or large holes were just too stacked and melting a steep, turbulent seam was the only way through the chaotic, chundering water. The Rocker stayed incredibly stable in those seams, maintaining it's forward speed like it didn't even notice. This was a very pleasant suprise. A few times for sure I thought I was about to get worked like you wouldn't believe, but instead I barely took a stroke and didn't get my head wet, and this was with a fully loaded boat!

Expedition Performance:
The backband drops down with ease and no matter how tired I was from the day, getting out my gear was never a problem! I simply popped down the backband and pulled whatever I needed out of the stern. Loading my stern was just as easy! The bow is super accessible now, with the hinged footbraces allowing easy reach for your sandals or other gear. The Rocker is actually very light for a creeker so when it was loaded down with my overnight gear, rescue kit, and camra, it was very managable on hikes and portages... except when I couldn't even carry myself, but that wasn't the Rocker's fault ;-) When fully loaded, the Rocker floated me high and paddled just as well as it did without the gear. It tracked well with great forward momentum, but turned just as well for fast corrections in tricky spots where timing and details mattered. On my trip to Costa Rica, I was on two multi-day trips in a row, 3 days each with only one night inbetween....all class V and better. Those two trips lead me through tight, bouldery rapids similar to Upper Big Creek in NC, a locked in canyon with class V and V+ rapids stacked one after the other with little escape, through the shallow manky section of the upper part of the Rio Patria, and through the BIG water brawl of the post-rain lower Patria and Sucio. What I found was that no matter what environment I was in, the Rocker pulled me through and outperformed any boat I have ever paddled, even while fully loaded. It was nice to focus on the rapids and adventure without having to worry about the boat.

Safety:
The Rio Patria gave me the opportunity to fully test the piton system. With rock flakes hidden behind waves and holes, sudden impacts were almost impossible to avoid. The good news is that my body never had to deal with the blow. The footbracing is the best I've tried at absorbing shock, preventing the ankle injuries common to kayakers. The outfitting is solid so you never have to worry about it failing at a bad time. The cockpit is large and the Rocker is stable so exiting with one or no hands free was never a problem. Most importantly, the Rocker is super easy to roll even in crazy boils and big water while fully loaded down with expedition gear.

I absolutely love this boat and stand behind it 300% as a high quality full on Creeker. I knew the new Rocker would be good throughout the design process, but it took this trip to show me how good it really is. I think Jackson Kayak has finally come through on a FULL-on HIGH quality creeker for the mid-sized paddler. Jackson Kayak has truly gone above and beyond on this one. This boat is going to rock the season!

Boyd :-)

i PURA VIDA ! Costa Rica Trip Report

2007-02-01T21:41:00.000-08:00

(Finally in Costa Rica! Photo by Brad Sutton)

Several weeks ago, I had never been out of the country before. So when I found out about the Costa Rica trip Brad was organizing, it was more to me than an opportunity to kayak somewhere new; it was an opportunity to experience a new part of the world for the first time! But with $500 in my account, no passport, school about to start, and only 2 weeks notice, it was crunch time if I was going to go on this trip. Somehow I was able to get a passport in less than a week, get my teachers’ approval for missing the first 2 weeks of the semester, get my shots, and pick up my new 2007 Rocker just in time to go to the first day of school and then hop on a plane to Charlotte, NC and then on to Costa Rica!

I’ll never forget that feeling I had, flying with my gear and new kayak and stepping off the plane in another country for the first time... It was amazing to have pulled it together for myself in just 2 weeks and the sense of accomplishment and adventure was fresh inside of me with the anticipation of the drops, rapids, and new friends to come. I made my way through the airport, immigration, and customs, carrying my Rocker and luggage out of the airport, only to be met by a crowd yelling names, Spanish, and holding signs for tourists and taxis. A young man grabbed my boat and rushed me across the street where I was eventually met by friendly open hands (for tips) and Brad Sutton, Mario Vargas, and Mario’s girlfriend Coreylynn (no idea how to spell her name… sorry)… they grabbed my stuff and before I new what was happening I was in our shuttle van for the trip and we went to a parking lot to wait for Lucas, our photographer for the trip.

The Costa Rica trip happened for one reason. Brad wanted to run big waterfalls, and he had his eye on La Fortuna… What really happened on our trip, turned out to be completely different than what any of us had expected. Personally, I had no interest in running something like Fortuna, but with lots of waterfalls on the side and the idea of possibly going big, I joined the trip to put the new Rocker to the test and to film with Ben Stookesberry and to learn whatever I could from my friends. My goal was to improve as a paddler and to push myself a bit more than before while experiencing a new culture in a new country for the first time!

Because of the ice storms, Lucas never made it to Costa Rica. After picking up Ben Stookesberry and his girlfriend, Lizzie, we took off to Sarapiqui and for a warm-up on the upper gorge of the Pozo Azul.

(Getting ready for the hike into Pozo Azul. Photo by: Boyd)

(Brad Sutton dropping off the first falls. Photo by: Boyd)

(Boyd dropping off the first falls while Ben films. Photo by: Brad Sutton)

I hit the lip with a bit of extra speed to get over the small shelf above the lip. The Rocker went right over the shelf without losing speed, suprising me a bit. Overcompensating a bit, I pitched a little off the lip but with a fast tuck the bow pulled right back up to 15 degrees with no problem for a perfect landing and great resurface.

(Ben Stookesberry with a smooth line on the first one. Photo by: Brad Sutton)

The Pozo Azul was a bit on the low side, but the waterfalls were great! They proved to be a sweet warm-up for Costa Rica! I was thoroughly impressed with the new Rocker. It plugged great but was especially smooth on the lip and when resurfacing. It smoothly, but quickly, resurfaces upright and balanced with ease! After some easy, shallow, boulder mank, we eddied out above the lip of the big one, Pozo Azul Falls. It's probably the most run waterfall in Costa Rica, but you can't deny its quality... it's a great drop for practice or a good warm-up.

(Boyd testing the Rocker on Pozo Azul Falls. Photo by Brad Sutton)

After our run down Pozo Azul, we took of for La Paz and a quick scout of the waterfall. Personally, I felt that it was a bit low for a run. The pool depth was about 10' lower than where it's usually run, probably pushing the falls into the 90' range. Brad decided it would go and decided to fire it up "tomorrow'... so the next day after more rain, we all showed back up at La Paz in the morning hoping it would have more water. It didn't. Brad was not feeling well that morning so the La Paz/Fortuna idea was deifnitely off, and our focus shifted from park-&-huck waterfalls and easy access to the places kayakers in Costa Rica just don't typically go. Ben was ready to leave the overdone waterfall silliness and go on a mission. We heard about kayaker running a section of the gorge below the La Paz Waterfalls before but couldn't find any info. On our way up to La Paz we found this waterfall:

(waterfall downstream a ways from La Paz. Photo by Boyd)

We got to thinking, what if we could put in at the base of this waterfall? What would be downstream? Keep in mind that the only thing around this waterfall was fresh, STEEP jungle and that the hike in is "muy peligroso" (very dangerous) to stay the least. It was also a lot farther away than it looks in that photo. More like this:

(the falls from the road. photo by Boyd)

After talking to some locals, the hike sounded like a bad idea... but exactly what I think we were all looking for. Before we knew it, Ben had paid a local man, Senario, to show us the way into the gorge as our jungle guide. With only 5 hours of daylight left (4 in the jungle) we quickly geared up for the hike in. Ben, Lizzie (his girlfriend), me, and Senario took off down a hill and through a field and into the rainforest. Within the first 5 or 10 minutes Senario turned around and warned us not to get an upcoming tree into our eyes and not to rub our eyes after touching it. If we did, he said, it would make us blind. Before I could say much of anything, we're climbing through this tree and another and another, pretty much setting the mood for the rest of the hike. The rainforest is an interesting place, but it seems like everything in it will kill you or mangle you somehow... everything seemed poisonous or sharp, but absolutely beautiful. climbing our way down the steepest, mudiest forrest floor I've ever seen, we could finally hear water! Once in the river and with the sweat washed away for a moment, we began our trek upstream to the base of the waterfall.

(Our fearless guide Senario in rubber boots, blue jeans, and a t-shirt...& he couldn't swim! )

The craziest thing about having Senario as our guide was that once we reached the river, he still kept up. We told him he didn't have to go up with us, but he insisted. He couldn't swim and had no gear. But somehow he made it from one shore to another heading upstream like a persistent, half-drowned rat...with the biggest smile I had ever seen, only stopping to dump out his rubber boots. He really made us feel like pussies in there...us in all our paddling gear, helmets and everything. And we were glad to have it on!

(me looking up at the falls, finally made it. photo by: Lizzie)

After finally making it to the base of the falls, we realized that we had a potentially great run, but that we really needed more water before we could consider it. The yield for good drops at that level was simply too low for the amount of time and danger to get in there. Running out of daylight and with the risk of being in the jungle in the dark growing, it was time to make our journey back out of the gorge. Senario was impressed and we made record time for our round trip! That night after guaro shots and a good meal, we were still ready to go on a mission. Ben had picked out a small section of the Sarapiqui that had never ben done before into a section that we had heard of being done once before... the information was sketch at best, but with a steep 4+ miles of river to run, we put on expecting to spend only a day on the river... with the unlikely possibility of one night out. Myself, Ben, and Lizzie packed our expedition gear with a little bit of food in preperation for the worst while brad stayed behind with Mario and Cory to nurse his sick stomach. I only packed 3 cliff bars thinking we probably wouldn't take long on 4 miles; we all felt more than confident. We had no idea how wrong we were! We were most definitely in for a mission.

(me entering the first boulder rapid below the bridge while Ben films. Photo by: Brad Sutton)

(Lizzie sportin' Brad's Rocker in the upper bouldery section. photo by: Boyd)

(Ben Stookesberry on the upper section of the Sarapiqui. Photo by: Boyd)

The rapids started off as class IV and V boulder gardens, nothing too stressful or difficult. It continued this way until we reached a small powerhouse on the left where we were faced with a difficult boulder choke into a 20' waterfall with a long sliding enterance that all seemed to flush right through a caved out wall. All deciding to error on the side of caution we portaged with our first rapel into the pool below where we entered a new gorge:

(Boyd in the first deep gorge. Photo by: Ben Stookesberry)

Once locked into the gorge, the rapids changed in nature completely. After eventually running out of daylight, we found our camp for the night:

(Our first campsite on the Upper Sara. photo by: Boyd)

Right beneath this waterfall!... well, across the river from it. It was the most beautiful place I've ever camped and one of the most beautiful I've ever seen! The next morning we were thinking... "yeah... we'll get off today." We had no idea how wrong we were. The moment we left camp and around the the next bend we began dropping into a canyon... a deep, overhung, soaking wet canyon with back to back class V and V+ boulder gardens with no escape.

(a view down the canyon... before it really closed in. photo by: Ben Stookesberry)

The canyon was definitely full-on to say the least. And with minimal information on what was in the canyon, we had to tip-toe our way through the gorge to stay safe. Typically, only one of us would scout while another would probe the rapid based on river signals, moving on to scout the next drop while we moved through. Eventually, we saw heavy mist exploding up the canyon. Knowing it was a very large waterfall, we continued into the mist towards the rapids in the base with no other option (and a bit of curiosity of course). We came to the brink of a manky class V or V+ rapid right in the base of a 250 ft waterfall. The Canyon walls were so closed in that the wind and spray from the high volume falls could only fly upstream and downstream and straight back up! It was litterally like a hurricane at the base of the falls with winds strong enough to flip you if you let you guard down, making the rapid in the base even more difficult to run. I ran first on Ben's directions... Lizzie came down next and we all just nervously commited around the next blind corner, hoping our creek didn't drop over its own waterfall while knowing from what little information we had that another rapel lurked downstream. After one of the longest, highest stress days of paddling I've ever had, we finally made it out of the canyon.

(A brief moment of relief, we were finally out of the canyon. Photo by: Ben Stookesberry)

Finally out of the canyon, the nervous tension broke into laughter; but our mission wasn't over. We knew we hadn't covered much distance and the sun was going down. Once above a manky class V+ or VI- rapid with few portage options, we were forced to call it a day and spend another night in the canyon. With very little food, my left-over cliffbar was not very filling and with no good sleeping options, my pile of lava rocks felt like the most comfortable bed on the trip. We were exhausted, but hopeful that we would make it out the next day. The next day we started bright and early with our second rapel of the trip, our only option for portaging... and downstream we were met by some of the highest quality rapids of the trip:

(Boyd at the lip of another drop into a wall. Photo by: Ben Stookesberry)

The rapids gradually leveled out and the stress level gradually dropped allowing us to make some serious time again. The banks got closer and closer to river level. Before long we began seeing signs of civilization again and we knew our mission was almost complete. With smiles and grins, we made our way to the take-out bridge to meet up with the rest of our worried crew... probably as happy to see us as were to see civilization again... 3 long days later!

You would think after being locked in a canyon for 3 days, that we would be in the mood for a break. Brad was feeling better though, and fresh rains meant the Rio Patria would most likely be prime. We immediately began to prepare for another overnighter... the Patria. The next morning we got a later start than we hoped, and the whole day just seemed to stay slow. Once geared up and at what we thought was the beginning of the hike into the Patria, Ben and Brad realized we were at the wrong spot... it was a mad search for the trail and their memories as we were running out of daylight. Not long after, Ben found the right trail. With the thought of just trying again the following morning, we decided to press on into the gorge.

The hike into the Patria is the steepest, mudiest trail I have ever seen. Roots and vines were a constant problem while the trail seemed to constantly give way into a mudslide through the forrest below for hundreds of feet. Many times the trail was only wide enough for one foot while the mud on it was deep enough to reach my knees, nearly pulling my shoes off a few times. A 3 hour hike through the rainforest doesn't do the hike justice at all; it is much harder and more complicated than that. It was too wet to drag a boat and carrying the heavy boats meant constantly dealing with vines and trees while trying to just stop sliding down the mountain. This was quite likely the most difficult hike I've ever done with my kayak, and it was loaded down with full overnight and rescue gear. Eventually we made it to the Rio Patria, where we scraped and beat our way down about a mile to our first campsite of the trip...shortly above "the gorge." The next morning we made our way to the gorge on the Patria, sporting 3 drops in a mini-canyon with the last one nearly 70 ft tall. Ben portaged with the camra and I set video above the drops... thinking of running it, but opting for the portage. I'm still kicking myself for not going for it, but that is just a part of the experience of it all... maybe next time. Brad was the only one who ran it, having waiting for his second chance for about 9 years! He styled the canyon and the falls, but breaking his paddle on impact, he had a bit of trouble hand rolling up... It was really cool to see Brad step up his game and run the biggest waterfall of his life. He had a sweet line!

(Brad Sutton going huge. He waited 9 years for this one! photo by Ben Stookesberry)

Below the gorge Brad and Ben remembered easier rapids (V- with some V), but the river bed had completely changed. Only one rapid was recognizible to them and more portages and sick boulder gardens were waiting downstream. Trying to make it to the Rio sucio before dark, we started making some incredible time down tight, technical class V rapids through blind slots and stout holes. Late that evening, it became apparent that we weren't going to make it so we found a camp for the night, hoping the rain would finally let up (it rained the whole time). It didn't. After pouring on us the whole night, the rain brought the river up 2 ft that night. This seriously juiced things up for the next morning, nearly reaching our camp. We geared up for an exciting run to the Sucio... we had no idea. The first rapid of the morning was a slotty drop into a large fold and into some really big holes; and it didn't stop there. We were in for a serious ride, fully testing the big water capabilities of the Rocker in an extremely technical and dangerous environment, fully loaded down with expedition gear. Once we made it to the Sucio, the water turned yellow with sulfur and the water got even bigger... a fun stomping ride to the bridge in Puerto Viejo... the completion of our second 3-day expedition in a row!

Finally off the Patria, it was time for me to pack. The next morning I had to get back to San Jose from Sarapiqui to catch my plane back to Memphis... and that was a journey to say the least! I can't wait to see the video.... you can check it out in the upcoming Hotel Charley: River of Doubt movie by Clear H2O Films. I learned a lot on this trip from a group of amazing new friends in a place I can't wait to visit again! The journey was amazing and the change of plans lead to exactly what we were all looking for... though once at an unexpected time. Mario and Cory were awesome for driving us around a showing us a great time....HUGE thanks Mario! Thanks to Jackson Kayaks, Ben, and Brad for bringing me on this trip! Also... a super special thanks to the artist MG The Visionary for hookin' me up with some music for the trip! It's great stuff so check it out!

Pura Vida! (Pure Life!)

Boyd :-)

Labor Day Trip Report

2006-09-05T16:45:00.000-07:00

Me and Sam took off to NC Friday night with visions of rain in our head, hoping and praying the creeks would stay flooded for at least one more day. We left Knoxville, TN early Saturday morning to meet up with Drew Armstrong at Big Creek in NC. We had heard that everything was already dropping out fast and that this was our last option for some Saturday creekin'. We showed up at 8:30 Am Local and found that it was running strong at 2.8 ft! With huge grins and Drew on the way, it was time to get geared up... We started off with a quick run down the lower since it's best with more water and drops out faster than the upper section. Samantha did awesome on the lower! I wish I could have gotten pictures of her run. After the lower section we met up with lots of different friends that we just randomly ran into... and hitched a ride back up to the parking lot for a run down the upper section.

Once back up at the top, we met up with more friends and the parking lot was getting more and more crowded with amped up boaters ready to get in... the water felt GREAT!!!

From there I hiked up to run the Upper and ended up paddling with too many people to name on here... it also doesn't help that I'm terrible with names ;-) Samantha was an awesome girlfriend and hiked all the way up to 'Midnight Hole' and took pictures of us there and of me in 'Action Alley.' Check out the pics from Saturday!

(Photo of Drew Armstrong running 'Midnight Hole' by Samantha Brunner)

Here's a sequence from my run on 'Action Alley.' For those that don't know, 'Action Alley' is basically one long rapid that contains the ledge called 'Baby Gorilla' and the 100 yards of rapids right above it. Sam took what she could from the one boulder she was perched on with her 300 mm zoom lense. This first one is of me running the technical rock jumble below the enterance ledge.

(photo by Samantha Brunner)

From there, I boofed on the far left side to avoid a nasty pocket on the right. This shot is of me just after clearing that boof.

(Photo by Samantha Brunner)

From there, theres a fast jet of swirly water that rounds a corner and drops off a ledge into a sticky hole. This is me rounding the corner and preparing to boof.

(Photo by Samantha Brunner)

Immediately around the corner is a boof in front of a log leaning across the river. There's a fairly sticky little hole below the ledge so a boof is a good idea. I caught an eddy on the left just below it before heading into the enterance ledges of 'Baby Gorilla'. It's the biggest eddy in 'Action Alley.' This is me in that eddy...

(Photo by Samantha Brunner)

From there it was off to 'Baby Gorilla' but unfortunately we didn't get any pictures of that. It's a super smooth drop involving a 10'? boof between a rock shelf that almost like like a giant allegator and an overhung wall. There's not much room in the landing and the water is kicking out at mach speeds! :-) It's a blast to drop in and get shot out through the flume on the right like being shot out of a cannon. Immediately after, the river drops over the double exit ledge of 'Action Alley' and the action calms down a bit... Still fun, but not quite as fun and involved as the Alley! After a fun day on big creek we met up with our friends Dan Peschio & Jen, Shannon & Michelle Nicholson, John, Matt, Jared (from Astral), Mike & Dana, and Amy ... I think that's everyone... So anyways we grabbed some food at Burgermeister (they actually have vegetarian food!) in west Asheville and as it turns out... a bunch of crashed at Dan's house that night... hoping for rain or that the water would at least hold for Sunday! On a whim, we decided to go look at Big Creek again because everything else had dropped out and the Green wasn't running... and oddly enough it held at 2 feet!!! This led to BIG fat grins and a lot of gear flinging as we prepared for the trail up the upper section having the creek nearly all to ourselves! We put in just above 'Midnight Hole' and Sam hiked up again to get some more pictures (I'm thinking next time she'll be wanting to run it -I hope so!!)...

(photo of me running 'Midnight Hole' by Samantha Brunner)

(Photo of Matt running 'Midnight Hole' by Samantha Brunner)

(Photo of John in 'Midnight Hole' By Sam Brunner)

(Drew on 'Midnight Hole' by Samantha Brunner)

We paddled down to the parking lot too tired to walk back up and do it again... From there we parted ways and me, Drew, and Sam left for the Ocoee to meet up with the rest of the Memphis crowd. We were thinking the rain was over for the weekend, unfortunately we didn't find out about all the extra rain until we were well on our way home after another run down the Ocoee Munday... Awesome trip though! I can't wait for the next rain. until then...

Have fun out there!!!

Boyd :-)

Green Narrows Report 8/26/06

2006-09-05T14:58:00.000-07:00

(Photo of by Samantha Brunner)

I met up with my friend Dan and a new friend, Alex... and two Green first timers: Nick and Kyle for a sweet morning run down the Green Narrows Saturday... I'm definitely not a Green regular, but one thing I can say is that the Green is one of those runs that you can make as chill or as sick as you want depending on how you're feeling for that day.

(Photo of me running Gorilla by Samantha Brunner)

There's just so many lines and moves possible; the water is always great
Awesome run down with minimal carnage just a couple pins in the group... one in the class III runout, resulting in me having to boof Dan's shoulder haha... it was a pretty chill & relaxed day... a perfect day on the Green! Sam was a HUGE sweetheart for hikin' into the heart of the Narrows on Pullium Trail (a pretty tough trail from what I hear) to take some pictures...

(me in "Chief" by Samantha Brunner)

(photo of Kyle by Samantha B.)

(Photo of Dan Peschio slidin' in below Gorilla by Samantha Brunner)

("Groove Tube" by Samantha Brunner)

(photo of Nick by Samantha B.)

(photo by Samantha Brunner)

(photo of me above Sunshine by Samantha B.)

We went to the Ocoee Sunday and for some surfin' action and we were still back in time to get ready for school this mornin'... ughhhhhhhhhh - wasn't ready for school to start yet. ;-) We're headin' East again this weekend, maybe to do it all again! Pray for rain!

Support Jerry's Race! - A different kind of race for a cure

(Photo by Samantha Brunner)

ACC & Ouachita Outdoors Surf & Turf Report!

2006-08-03T12:52:00.000-07:00

(Photo by Samantha Brunner)

Saturday was the 2006 Surf & Turf in Rockport, AR...
After a special request from some local boaters, me and Sam couldn't turn down the big day in Arkansas! The Arkansas crowd is always a blast to hang out with and one of the friendliest crowds in the east! The Arkansas Canoe Club provided a lot of great food and fun times. The ramp was definitely a big hit and the water felt great! I got to help Adam Motes with the Paddle with the Pros clinic, and hang out with guys and girls from Texas, Kansas, Alabama, Arkansas, and Memphis! Fun times!

After surfing ourselves silly at the ledge, we all went over to Ouachita Outdoor Outfitters for a huge party that lasted most of the night!

(photo by Samantha Brunner)

...proving again that this Arkansas crowd has really got it goin' on! Thanks to Don Jackson, we all got to crash on the floor in the outfitters store... not to mention the donuts and coffee he had for us in the morning! What more can a boater ask for!!! Thanks Don!!! Between the ledge surfin' and the store, Jackson Kayaks was well represented...and the interest was HUGE! Just the number of Jackson Kayaks out there blew me away! As if the party, event, water, and Ouachita Outdoors staff weren't amazing enough, the people there were just incredible to hang out with.... lots of new friends for sure!

More pics up here on Jacksonkayaks.com!

Boyd :-)

more pics from Colorado!

2006-08-03T11:25:00.000-07:00

I've finally got some more time to post up more pics from Colorado... Check em out!

( Clay Wright in the Salida flash flood! Photo: Samantha Brunner)

(Clay Wright on a normal day in Salida. Photo by Sam Brunner)

(cool shot Sam got of me throwin' down a back loop in Salida)

(Lawrence Simpson, of Team JK and RMOC, throwin' down in Salida. photo by Samantha B.)

(Clay Wright rockin' his way through the end of "Slideways" on Big South. Photo by Sam B.)

(Our new friend Greg, of Team JK and RMOC in Salida! Photo by Sammie B.)

Think about access...

2006-08-03T10:57:00.000-07:00

Without American Whitewater, a lot of great rivers out there would just...

...come to a dead end.

Support the ones that support you! support American Whitewater... agree with everything they do or not, no other organization fights so hard for our access to these beautiful places.

(Photo by Samantha Brunner)

HUGE SALE at Gaia Paddlesports!!!!

2006-07-18T10:34:00.000-07:00

Gaia is having a huge sale on drybags and floatation... this is good stuff!

Go to http://www.gaiasports.com for the online store

Boyd :-)

another fun day surfin' in Salida...

2006-07-06T19:37:00.000-07:00

Photo of me by Josh Oberleas

So I'm chillin' here again in Bongo Billy's in Salida. This time I'm hangin' out with Clay, Sam, Josh Oberleas and at least half of Salida, listening to an AWESOME 2 man band. I'm not sure who they are..., but they're AWESOME...a guy named Jonah ? and his brother...

I'm also enjoying a really good Iced Chai... good times!!

Today we started off surfing "just before breakfast"... and "just before Lake Creek" ... which turned into "just before dinner." We were just having so much fun! In the "aftermath" of yesterdays random flashfloods and last nights storms, we were just jazzed up to be back in the hole here in Salida, CO. It started off with me, Samantha, and Josh Oberleas throwin' down in an AM surf session... Lawrence Simpson, Nichole, and plenty of others. Clay was into some serious cleaning on his truck... cleaning out some 'flowage'... and joined us later.

The highlight of the day was the tandom loops (front and back, but 2 at a time) with Josh...

photo of me and Josh by Sammie B... :-)

a few times we crashed... I landed a big one right on top of his boat - ouch! but super entertaining!!! It was really cool getting to throw a back loop and pop up just in time to see Josh throw a big back loop right next to me... it's a cool feeling and new experience for me at least.

It seems like the last couple weeks I've spent in Colorado, I've made more friends than I've ever imagined. Today at the hole, there were like 20 paddlers there chillin' out, throwin' down, smilin' big, and goin' crazy... the best part, most were people I've never seen before this trip and now I can look around and actually know everyone in the hole. The attitude here is pure fun and like no other. No pressure, no egos, just a fun day out with a city of friends... that's paddling...

anyways, later in the day Team Jackson Kayaks was totally representin' today here in Salida... Myself, Clay, Lawrence Simpson, and not to mention Sam and Nichole, also in Stars and AllStars! For some reason the photo feature isn't working right... so stay tuned for more photos from today later...

It's off to find a place to crash and dream about our hopeful trip down Lake Creek for tomorrow... should be a good level and an AWESOME run!!!

Boyd :-)

Strange surf session in Salida!

2006-07-05T19:18:00.000-07:00

So I'm hanging out in Bongo Billy's in Salida with Clay Wright and Sam. Our Colorado trip has been an amazing experience, full of adventure and new stories. Today will be one of my favorites from the trip for sure!

We went out to the Salida hole for some mellow, low water surf in the top hole. The water was as beautiful as always with the sun out and a big group around the hole, including the HUGE Experiences crowd. Out of nowhere, the Arkansas River through Salida rose from a low 900 cfs, to a stomping 1800 cfs in a couple minutes... almost immediately!!! No kidding!!

Clay described it best:

"in minutes - no more 'watch the rocks' and hello blunts and pistol-flip style Mcnasty's! But then some sticks come through. Then some logs. And within 15 minutes the entire surface of the water is covered with pine straw and sticks and the hole is a frothing mass of black and brown debris. We've got scouters on the bank yelling which side the next log is coming down on and the whole line just keeps taking rides. Now someone comes up with a stick through their PFD. Now sombody takes a log to the helmet. Occasional break as a 10'+ tree or 4' diameter stump comes through. And within 30 minutes the water starts to drop again."

Couldn't have said it better myself.

Fun day flash flood surfin' in Salida!!! :-) ... now time for a shower!

Boyd :-)

This one's for the Ladies!...

2006-07-03T09:30:00.000-07:00

Shot I took of Sam

My girlfriend, Samantha Brunner finally got into a Hero... she has become a good technical paddler, but like many girls, she lacks the upper body strength that most guys have... the Hero totally compensates for this, allowing her to have the speed and tracking abilities that the strongest of guys have, while having a light boat that fits her just as well. I think she's really enjoying her new Hero! Check out the Video!!!

Big South Video up!

2006-07-01T21:05:00.000-07:00

Finally got the Big South video for you guys... There's definitely a story behind this one. After playin' around on Crested Butte creeks for a day, we ate at the Ginger Cafe' in CB... We finally left CB around 11 pm or later? and drove to the Big South Campground to meat up with Clay Wright and Marty Cronin... We finally pulled in after 6 am trying to catch some shut-eye in the cab of my truck - didn't work. So I put on a high flowin' run for Big South with the guys and we had a BLAST!!! The lack of sleep was poundin' me hard this day.... but it was all good because we were on Big South at high water... FUN day!!! Check out the video!!!

Boyd :-)

From Samantha... Day 3 update

2006-06-29T02:44:00.000-07:00

Big South

After we left the Crested Butte area on Saturday night, kind of late I must add, we thought that we were in for a little 5 hour drive. Nothing bad remembering that we drive 7 hours for a great run regularly; however our drive north to Big South was longer than we had thought. After pulling in at 6:30 in the morning, Boyd and I "slept" sitting up in the cab of our truck. Three hours later we were awake and talking to the other guys about the run they were about to do.

With 11 miles of hard class V/V+ at high water, Big South is considered to be within the top five runs of Colorado. The gate was open by Sunday and, although it was at high water, quite a few boaters showed up to enjoy the run. Some of the guys that Boyd met up with were Marty Cronin, the co-founder of Jackson Kayaks, and Clay Wright- a world class kayaker from middle Tn that also paddles for JK. A very good group of people to run this river with.

Since I am not a solid class V/V+ boater yet, I wound up being a shuttle bunny for my first time ever. I gave Boyd and Clay a ride up to the put in and then drove the truck back down to the take-out so that they could get to the truck when they get off of the river. After dropping off the truck, I hiked the Big South trail with Flow(Clay's doggie), one of the best dogs I have ever met. The Big South trail follows the river, so I hiked it hoping to catch up with the guys. Flow kept me company on the trail as she warded off evil bears and mountain lions!

After hiking 8 miles, the trail started to veer a little too much from the river. If the paddlers came down I would have missed them, so Flow and I decided to turn around and hike to a cool rapid that I could definately catch them at called Slideways. While waiting on the guys to come down Flow and I played fetch and hung out in the sun.
With 11 miles of class V/V+ creeking I was a little worried about Boyd. Driving all night and no food can knock someone off of their A-game. I knew that he was stomping the river- I had just hoped that he wasn't too worn out. By the time that the group came to Slideways they all looked tired, but they were still doing well.

After Big South Boyd and I headed over to Fort Collins to grab a hotel so that we could get some rest and take a shower since we had not had one in five days. During the five minutes that it took for us to get a room a stray bullet hit the back window of Boyd's camper top causing it to shatter. Already tired from no no sleep the night before, we were both in a pretty bad mood. We spent a lot of the night cleaning out glass form the back of his truck. We duck taped the window for now so that we could sleep while still feeling safe. I must say that it is quite a good ducktaping job! Boyd and I decided to spend the next day resting a little bit; so we worked on editing our footage and vacuuming the glass out of the back of the truck. That night we headed back over to the Big South area to meet up with some other boaters that were going to run Big South the next day. We camped there and wound up running shuttle for them the nthat morning before heading out to Salida, Co.

At Salida we got in some good surf. Sorry guys no pictures, but I will tell you that I got some awesome surf! Boyd still played, taking it easy in the hole while still managing to land some beautiful loops and even an incredible space godzilla. We are planning on heading back over there soon so you can bet that we will have the cameras out! After surfing we headed back over to the Crested Butte area. Today Boyd managed to get two good runs in on the waterfall section of Oh Be Joyful before the storms hit.

As of right now it is 3 in the morning in Gunnison, Co. I haven't had a shower since Sunday night So Imma need to hit that up before I crash.
Fun Times

Samantha

OBJ Vid up...

2006-06-29T01:28:00.000-07:00

Photo by Samantha B.

Check out our vid from OBJ! click Here

Hope you enjoy!

Boyd :-)

Colorado Update Video #1

2006-06-29T01:05:00.000-07:00

Photo of me on Big Wood Falls, Daisy Creek, CO by Samantha B.

Check out this little video from Slate and Daisy Creeks in Colorado...
Our trip is going amazing! Fun times.... hope you enjoy the video!

Boyd

Colorado Update - Days 1 and 2

2006-06-26T11:43:00.000-07:00

photo by Samantha Brunner

So me and Sam finally left for Colorado the 21st... and like most of our adventures, even the driving is entertaining. When we hit Kansas City it started to rain and the next day we drove through several tornados on our way from Limon to Colorado Springs... one of the funnel clouds literally passed above us, directly over the truck... obviously not having touched down. It was cool to watch though. About that time we switched to the local radio stations and heard about the tornado warnings that had been issued to all the counties we had been driving through. Fun times right! With us, it seems like the adventure of traveling is just as action packed as the whitewater destinations we're striving to get to. On that note, I'd like to share the first couple days of our trip with you guys!

With the San Juans dried out, we went straight through Cottonwood Pass to the Town of Crested Butte. Our first stop was Oh Be Joyful Creek, known simply as OBJ.

Photo by Samantha B.

OBJ is an absolute gem! Dropping about 400 ft per mile and being a mile long, OBJ sports a sweet section of waterfalls and a lower section of constant, big slides. This creek is super clean and super high quality, and now one of my absolute favorites! As if the creek isn't incredible enough in itself, the personality of the paddling crowd there is like no other. These guys are motivated, relaxed, and of the nicest paddling crowd I've ever had the pleasure of meeting.

The run starts out on Ankle Breaker Falls, a big drop that lands in a rocky pool. It was a bit low for Ankle Breaker so we put just above Heart Attack Falls, a super sweet 15'er...

Photo of yours truly on Heart Attack Falls, OBJ by Samantha B.

Shortly downstream, the creek slides over a cool 10 ft drop and into the most action packed section of the "waterfalls" section of OBJ. Multiple fast slides and rocky ledges come up fast just below, including 25 ft Deadzone Falls, my personal favorite on the run. Below Deadzone, a couple more great slides leading into the lower "slides" section of the run, composed entirely of slides with occasional log jam rapids. More pics to come!

I also had the pleasure of running Slate Creek. Slate is a 2 mile, class V micro creek that packs its punch in the numerous tight slot moves and constrictions on the run. It was a bit on the low end, but totally good to go! That evening we heard rumers from Marty Cronin of Big South going and the gate being opened for the weekend, so we made plans for our last day in Crested Butte and just our second day in Colorado!

The first creek on our list for Saturday was Daisy Creek, the highlight being Big Wood Falls, a 20 ft waterfall landing between 2 rock shelves and a wood pile before gliding over a short slide on the right. From there it was back to OBJ for steep slidin' Fun and Big South for Sunday!

Boyd :-)

Wise words from EJ... Something for ALL of us to think about

2006-06-20T07:57:00.000-07:00

From EJ:

Being a good kayaker, being a cool kayaker, adding value to kayaking…

June 18, 2006

Just about all kayakers can remember getting encouragement from another paddlers in the form of compliments, or simply learning about new opportunities that they didn’t know existed and how to find them (like the creek that flows after the big rain, 10 minutes from their house, or how wonderful and easy Costa Rica is to get to.) These paddlers make kayaking more fun for everyone.

The past few years many top kayakers have outwardly positioned themselves as a certain type of kayaker, dissing paddling and paddlers that don’t specialize like them. This breaks the rule we all learned in Kindergarten, “Don’t try to make yourself look good by putting others down.” It is a little more gray for some boaters because they tend to generalize instead of pointing fingers at specific boaters that aren’t like them. It was apparent to me just yesterday just how destructive it is from the top down while here in Bremgarten, Switzerland. I was paddling on a wave/hole here in downtown with Nick, Dane, Emily, and I, and one other guy who is 21 years old. When I got there he was smiling and having a good time and we were all playing away. At this particular level there are both hole moves and wave moves available. Nick and I were mostly doing lefty air blunts and working on our clean and back blunts, while Emily was doing cartwheels, and Dane was trying Tricky Woos. This guy was cartwheeling. I asked him his name and how he was doing. I then said, “Sweet Spot” and pointed at the wave. He said, “It isn’t really my style, I like surfing big waves”, and then went in and did some more cartwheels. I was thinking, “humm, the guy lives in Switzerland, where there isn’t much for big wave options (Europe in general). I have seen a lot of this type of thing and my impression was that he felt that by telling me that, I would put him in the “big wave surfer” category and I would think he was cooler than if I just figured he was a local guy having a good time on the best spot in Bremgarten.

So what does this mean? Well, for starters, I have paddled my share of “big waves”, small waves, big holes, small holes, big rivers, little creeks, steep creeks, and class 2 and have spent many years trying to find the best places to paddle, some hard to get to, some in my back yard. When somebody goes out of their way to explain how what they are doing at the moment isn’t what they like to do; that they like to do something else, I simply pity them and what they are doing to themselves in regard to the best sport they may ever partake in.

People who think what they do is the best, and therefore what other people do or have is of lesser value are acting like snobs, the best word I can find to describe their actions. High society snobs are not n to be with unless you are also just like them. Wave snobs, creek snobs, playboating snobs, or slalom snobs are a relatively new occurrence. The good news it that they are new enough for the majority of paddlers to learn to identify the actions and attitudes that turn a paddler into a paddler snob before it happens to them and ruins their paddling and the paddling of those around them.

Who were the original paddling snobs? Slalom racers for sure. They didn’t pay value to anything anyone did outside of the slalom boat and it took 10 years of a downhill trend in slalom and the explosion of freestyle, expedition boating, and creeking before the next generation of slalom boaters were able to see eye to eye with the rest of the paddling world. Now, slalom boaters truly see other aspects of paddling as an equal to their endeavors (in general).

Now the paddling snobs are a little different in that they simply see the other areas of paddling that they don’t specialize in as being a threat to their time in the sun. People who like to run creeks are awesome, until they call themselves “creekers” and pretend that people who like to flop around in holes, waves, or simply run class 3 rapids are anything less than they are. Big Wave Surfers, who, if they only paddled on big waves, would for the most part, not get to paddle very often. Freestyle boaters who think slalom boaters don’t have any real skills that apply on a real river are just as ignorant and hurtful to themselves and the sport in general.

You do what you do and that is awesome. Approach paddling with a broad open mind and don’t limit yourself by your own prejudice. If you paddle but can’t roll yet, good for you, you know that a lot of paddlers are better than you, but you can still help a newby learn to do their first ferry. If you are one of the top steep creek boaters in the world (either in your own mind or the minds of others) that is something you should be proud of and I hope you will treat each outing from the point of view that you have many years left in a normal mortal life. How many of those years you will live depends on making the right decisions regarding safety and leaving margin for error each time you hit the water. How you treat others who decide to watch you from the bank, but enjoy other areas of paddling, determines how well you will be treated in return.

My challenge to all paddlers out there is simply this:

1.
Know that you aren’t cool if you aren’t nice, period. When I select a team member to represent Jackson Kayak, for example, I look first at how they treat others. Those who: Argue, complain, or can’t treat a beginner with as much respect as their personal hero, have no place on Team JK. Paddlers who can’t have fun on the Chattahoochee, at a play hole, at a slalom race, on the Nile, or on a creek, or even in a swimming pool don’t truly love paddling, they are looking for “what can paddling bring to me”. REMEMBER THAT ANY TIME IN YOUR KAYAK IS SOMETHING TO BE ENJOYED TO THE FULLEST, (IF NOT, GO BACK TO WORK OR SCHOOL), YOU ARE NOT THE ONLY ONE ON THE WATER, MAKE OTHER’S TIME IN THEIR KAYAK AS ENJOYABLE AS YOU CAN TOO.

2.
Try different types of paddling. Get in a slalom kayak, a playboat, or a creekboat. Get on different water, and if possible travel! Mark Twain once said, “Travel is the cure for prejudice.”

3.
Join a club and volunteer: If you are good at what you do, you will be a big help to others that don’t have the skills you have and you will be a club hero. Don’t try to sell the club on how what you do is better than what the other club hero does, but allow each person who brings something different to the club their chance in the sun. There is no right or wrong way to enjoy your paddling, it is too individual for that. Me, I like my paddling straight up. I get the river and want to get in the boat and not stop until there is no more paddling to be had. Dane is the same way. Clay likes to hang out and will be the one who will talk in the parking lot about boating for hours on end. Which is better? Neither, everyone has their place.

4.
Beware of the magazines, and definitely beware of the kayaker forums. Magazines and forums are awesome and offer everyone something worth reading or looking at, BUT, they also are often printing stuff that isn’t too far off the enquirer in terms of looking for the “trends” what is “hot” and what is “not”. Paddling is too big to be a fad, and being a “fad paddler” is a waste of your potential and won’t make you cool. Forums take it to the extreme.

If you are 60 years old and bump into an 18 year old in an eddy and he is wearing all of the latest gear, and you are in your Dancer, Hurka paddle, Seda lifejacket, etc. and you don’t need to be stressed about what that kid is thinking, nor do you have to defend yourself and why you don’t have the latest stuff also. You are on the water, having a great time, just like we all did back in 1983 when the Dancer came out and we went hog wild paddling it, thinking life couldn’t get any better, nor could boats. Relax, smile, and enjoy the rest of your day. Strike up a conversation with the kid and he’ll probably be impressed that you paddled when he was still a baby.

Jackson Kayak is committed to the concept of each person involved taking it upon themselves (as well as the company as a whole) to “Leave the World a Better Place”. We hope you will take a look inside yourself and determine whether you are an asset or liability in kayaking in regards to improving other’s paddling as well as your own.See you on the river!

:) EJ

------------------------------------------------------------------

We're all guilty of it. I never look down on others for what they are doing, but I've definitely been on the defensive plenty of times. Sometimes I feel judged by other paddlers in the eddy like I'm supposed to prove myself or something because I have sponsors... not as an ego trip, but because I feel like I'm being judged by some other group on the water. And if I'm not having a spectacular day on the water (or trying some new things out that aren't working for me yet), I've found myself trying to explain why I'm not as good today as I "should be"... That's no different than the guy in the eddy claiming to big a "big Wave surfer." He probably wasn't trying to sound badass, he was more likely trying to justify why he wasn't performing as well as he thought he should be that day (in his mind) hoping maybe he would be judged differently, or wouldn't be judged for it. I bet this same guy on a big wave day, would have said "I don't really get that much access to these big waves, I'm better on smaller waves."

I know I've found myself looking awkward in a hole at times for whatever reason, saying in the eddy "well, I'm mostly a creeker" to simply mean that I don't get to play as much as you do, so please don't judge me like I'm EJ or something.... make sense? It's always true, but it's rediculous to spend a great day paddling and on the river defending yourself to others perceptions the whole time. What happened to just everyone being pumped that we're even sharing a river together and the awesome "boater wave"???

We've all done it and we've all been on both sides I'm sure. Usually, I catch myself trying to defend myself and so I try to just smile big and remember why I paddle... I'm completely in love with the water. Think about it.... super wise perceptions and words coming from EJ. While our sport grows into the mainstream, we have to decide how we want it to be. We have to grow with the sport, not just as athletes, but as people... it's the only way.

Boyd :-)

Home Chillin' with my family and girl...

2006-05-29T20:32:00.000-07:00

Photo by Samantha B.

Today I got to finally just hang out and chill with my family. With so much to do and get done, it's hard to find time to spend with them... Sometimes I just have to put everything aside and try to relax. I thought I'd give you guys some insight into my day at the house though. After a nice, big cup of coffee, I pulled down my dad's new Jackson Rocker that I got for him. It wasn't long before he was fully set up and tryin' it out in our pool.

Photo of my dad, Boyd R. Sr., rollin' his new Rocker by Sammie B.

After Chillin' on a camping chair with Sammie and finishin' up my second cup of coffee... Sam decided she wanted to get her new Jackson Hero in the water again too... So she hopped in and paddled around and let me play with her camra for a while...

Photo of Sam in her new, pink Jackson Hero by me

I couldn't take it anymore... haha I just had to try out her new Hero. At 5'9" and 150 lbs, I'm a bit big for it, not to mention that it's pink... but I hopped in and paddled it around just for kicks.

Photo Sam took of me bein' goofy in her new pink Hero

A shot I took of me and Sam...haha by timin' the camra...

Well that's enough for now... have an awesome M. Day everyone!

Boyd

Memorial Day Trip Report

2006-05-29T19:45:00.000-07:00

Sunset photo by Samantha Brunner

Me & Sam pulled out at 1 pm Friday heading east... settin' us up for an interesting ride through M. Day traffic. We stopped at Walmart for some food in Jackson, and ate at Moe's... With our full bellies we hit Nashville at 5:00... just in time for rush hour traffic. We made it out by about 5:30 or 5:45 and were off on 70 to Rock Island, where we picked up Sam's new pink Hero and my dad's new orange Rocker... We decided to use the rest of our time to outfit Sam's boat. We got everything outfitted and loaded up and were off again by 8 pm... with a recent call from Drew about Tellico levels we took off to the Tellico for a nice long sleep in our car and good water for the coming morning... yeah right!

We got to the tellico late and it was crankin' at ~3 ft and Bald River was goin' off...but unfortunately, ALL the camping sites were full! The Baby Falls lot was stuffed with fishermen in big RVs. All the boaters who'd flocked for the rain, were crashin' in there cars at the Takeout and the other pull-offs... it was getting late so we crashed at the Tellico put-in... sort of. About 1 AM (we hadn't even really been alseep yet) a 2 spotlights and a pair of headlights flared into the back of my truck and blue and white lights flickered around us. I got my shoes on and stuff...and climbed out of the back of my truck, completely blinded by the lights. lucky for us, he turned out to be a good friend of ours and he asked about Memphis and we talked for a bit... but we still had to leave. With no other real options, we went back to Tellico Plains and checked out the KOA... but of course it was full... long story & LONG night short... we ended up in a Save-a-Lot parking lot... disturbed through the morning by an 18 wheeler unloading in the back (where we were parked)... needless to say, we got like NO sleep...At ALL! The night before that I maybe slept 4 hours and before that only 2 hours...etc... literally.

So completely wiped out at the start, we headed over to the put-in and to meet up with Lauren Burress and her parents, Nathan and Kathleen. With the Tellico at 2.5 feet at 7 AM, we decided it was our best..immediate option. We ran the ledges to the take out and had a GREAT run down! Sam tried out her new Jackson Hero and apparently LOVED it. At that point, we were running a bit late so I got some gas and took off to the Cheoah, trying to meet up with Drew, MW and everyone... as well as my friend Nate. The traffic on the "Tail of the Dragon" (the road we took) was Terrible and SlOW!!! Usually I can make it from the Tellico to Cheoah in 1 hour... took a bit more this time. We missed everyone at Cheoah and put on with Lauren and her dad a bit later and cruised on down.

Photo of Lauren Burress by Samantha B.

Photo of Nathan B. by Samantha Brunner.

For those that don't know, Lauren Burress is a 10 year old girl sponsored by Fortress, Jackson, Werner, Stohlquist,Keen, Sweet, and others? ...girls got the hook up! Well anyways, it was their first time down Cheoah so I led them down and showed them some fun lines and sweet spots... Lauren completely styled cheoah, being the youngest kid I've seen on it yet (Dane is 12). She walked Bear Creek Falls with the wise descretion of her dad, but she styled the West Prong Line on the lower 3rd of B.C. Rapid like it was nothing. I was a bit impressed. Sam led herself down it (only boat scouting) shortly after... I was super impressed with her too...

I guess the closest thing we got to carnage was at "God's Dam"... where I got to watch (from just below), Nathan, Lauren, and Sam Surf the hole at God's Dam... luckily they all surfed it out to the "pin rock" side and pulled their way through the froth over there. The pin rock was already clogged with a girl's blue boat so it wasn't as much of an issue They all made it out in their boats and without breaking too much of a sweat...and more importantly, with big grins of relief.

After Cheoah Everyone was beat and had way more than enough, but me and Nathan decided to check out the cascades (only 30 min. away). We showed up to "The Horns of God"... "the horns" for short" ... and found a very very low flow... really a no go. A third run looked hopeless, but I decided to check out Whiteoak Falls anyways. Amazingly enough, nearly ALL the volume in the cascades was only coming from Whiteoak Creek. I found out later that because of the new scheduled releases on the Cascades, the don't release the minimum runnable level anymore.... AT ALL... Did we really get the good end of the deal on that one? anyways... Whiteoak was actually at a GREAT level for the falls... not bad at all. I fired it up and then decided to give it another go... Great lines both time and it felt sweet. I never really get tired of that drop if I'm already in the area.

Photo by Samantha B.

Close up of me by Samantha B.

So Day one: Tellico @ ~2.4 ft, Cheoah @ 1200 cfs (felt like less), and for me - Whiteoak Falls twice... not bad for one day.

From there we ate Mexican in Andrews (always say Murphy for some reason...but it's in Andrews)... We hung out there until around 9 pm local... and my Friend nate called and reserved me a site with "Club Sack" at Wesser... So we decided to hang with them. And get a... say it together... "GOOD NIGHTS SLEEP"... YEAH RIGHT!!!! Well.. this time we forked up $15 and we were legal, safe, and in a campground...what could possibly happen!?!?!?!ALL night long... a small dog yelped and barked NON-STOP... ALL NIGHT real close to our site. Someone eventually tried to move the dog and his bark turned into even higher pitched yelps... We got no sleep again... it sucked. seeing a trend here???

We were completely determined to meet up with memphis Whitewater THIS time and convinced Nate, Evan, and Bert to meet up with us for the Upper Ocoee too... We forced our self out of my truck and I peeled my eyes open, trying to ignore the SUPER annoying dog.. and we took off to the Ocoee. Long story short we were ALL together by the time we hit Alien Boof... And had an AWESOME time down the ocoee. At that point, I was completely worthless but it was fun to be on the water and paddling with so many good friends. Me and Sam finally took off for Memphis again (asleep before we even started I think...) but we made it back before 11 pm... and Sam spent the night at my house so she wouldn't have to drive home. SOMEHOW that girl woke me up early this mornin' and now I'm finally about to go to bed... as soon as I eat my 4th meal of the day - cereal... I'll probably finish off a box or two

It's looking Like I'm leaving again in 2 more days...gotta love it!

- Boyd

Photo by Lauren Burress

Team Fortress Making waves at Reno...

2006-05-26T05:33:00.000-07:00

From Andy Palmer:

At the Reno River Festival May 12-14th, Fortress team paddlers threw down hard this past weekend on the Truckee River. The water was running hard and the weather was awesome. Blue bird and 87 degrees! 21,000 people attended the Reno whitewater park and were rewarded with an amazing display of talent from the best kayakers in the World. Fortress was proud to be one of the main sponsors of the event.

Jay Kincaid - 3rd Men's Freestyle

Tanya Faux - 1st Women's Freestyle

Nikki Kelley - 2nd Women's Freestyle

Corey Volt - 2nd Men's Open

Christie Glissmeyer - 3rd Women's Open.

Check out more about Fortress watches at www.Fortressworldwide.com.

I've been super impressed with mine...

- Boyd

2006-05-22T18:51:00.000-07:00

3rd ledge of Whiteoak Falls by Samantha Brunner

check out more in this video:

http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=755154521&n=2

2006-05-13T12:21:00.000-07:00

Outdoors Inc & Jackson Kayaks Demo

2006-05-13T11:48:00.000-07:00

This year at the annual Outdoors Inc Demo Day at Patriot Lake, Outdoors Inc decided to also partner up with Jackson Kayaks for the Demo, to kick off their first year as a Jackson Kayaks retailer!

The Demo was a HUGE success and the Memphis Whitewater guys and girls also did a great job coming out to support the event, representing the whitewater crowd of the Memphis area. I want to send out a HUGE thanks to everyone who helped with the Jackson Kayaks booth at the race and at the demo! Samantha did a GREAT job helping me out with the booth and demo; I couldn't have pulled it off without her! This should be an exciting year for Outdoors Inc with their new stock of Jackson Kayaks. Make sure you go by and check them out!

Boyd

Outdoors Inc becomes Jackson Kayaks newest dealer!

2006-05-13T11:33:00.000-07:00

Outdoors Inc. of Memphis, TN has now taken on Jackson Kayaks. With 3 location in Memphis, and one in Jackson, TN, Outdoors Inc. is sure to be an awesome addition to the Jackson Kayaks family of retailers! Find out more about Outdoors Inc. on their website!

http://www.outdoorsinc.com

2006 Outdoors Inc. Great Mississippi Canoe & Kayak Race

2006-05-13T11:15:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday, the Outdoors Inc. Great Mississippi Canoe & Kayak Race went AWESOME. Usually I'm a safety boater for the race (a 5k flatwater sprint has never really appealed to me) even though it is one of the biggest canoe & kayak races in the country. Guys like Greg Barton and Elmore Holmes come out for the race too. This year, for some reason I decided to race in the Men's Under 10' Kayak catagory. Without a SuperHero at hand, I decided to pull out the Rocker and test myself and the Rocker against the 10' and under (mostly touring) kayaks. I had a great start, faster than a lot of the 13' kayaks, but once I pealed out of the Wolf River and into the Mississippi, 2 realizations hit: one, 3 miles is a long way to sprint on flatwater with a whitewater kayak and two, the cross-wind and low water wasn't helping me very much. Long story short and a long paddle later, I crossed the finish line almost tied with the second place guy. I got 3rd in Men's under 10' class with a time just over 28 minutes... not bad for a 5k flatwater race in a Rocker. :-)

Photo by Samantha Brunner

A shot I took of Samantha getting ready to head down as a race safety boater.

Memphis Whitewater swept the race in general in all the different classes and age groups of competitors! Check out this shot Sam took of all the Memphis Whitewater medalists!

After the Race, I got the Jackson Kayaks booth up and running, playing the dealers loop on the promo video. People were at our booth before I even finished the race looking at catalogs and checking out the boats. It only got busier from there. Samantha was a HUGE help and did a really great job fitting all the girls. It was a HUGE success for Jackson Kayaks to say the least!

Spring Splash 2006

2006-05-13T09:39:00.000-07:00

Well this year we took off for NOC's Spring Splash on the Nantahala. The strong storms brought up some good boatin' so me and Sam took off to meet up with our Asheville friends Shannon, Mike, Dan, and Dana at Big Creek. Big Creek was at a nice, thumpin' level so we decided to get a highwater run down the Upper...The trip was an absolute blast! Upper Big Creek is one of my new favorites!

Photo of me by: Samantha Brunner

Just downstream of Action Alley Photo by Samantha B.

Photo of Shannon N. by Samantha Brunner

Photo of Mike on Big Creek by Samantha B.

Photo of Dan flyin' through one of many beefy slots on the Upper that day. Photo by Sam.

Mike just after punching a sticky one, shot by Samantha of course.

Sam caught this shot of me approaching another ledge... that water is BEAUTIFUL!

The next day, me and Sam decided to take off for something new. We met up with Mike (Louie) Louis for a run down Tremont.

A beautiful shot Sam took of me getting in to run the last bit of Lynn Camp Prong, before our run down Tremont.

The last drop on Lynn Camp into Tremont, taken by Samantha.... here's me finishing the same drop:

Fun times! more updates on the way so stay tuned...

Boyd :-)

wow...time flies...

2006-05-13T08:49:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it's already been more than a month since my last post on here! It's been a super busy month and I haven't even had time to post up. So starting today, I'm going to catch up with my posts... HOPEFULLY...

Boyd

New Featured video by Nathan Fant!

2006-04-14T14:52:00.000-07:00

(photo by Samantha B.)

"Slow Motion"

by Nathan Fant at ClubSack.com

This is SWEET so check it out!

Photo of the Week by Samantha Brunner

2006-04-11T22:00:00.001-07:00

This shot is from Island Creek, TN. It is definitely "The Jewl of the Cumberland.

Be sure to check out Fortress Watches!

2006-04-11T21:57:00.000-07:00

Fortress Watches

Island Creek - the Jewl of the Cumberland Plateau

2006-04-10T16:23:00.000-07:00

Photo by: Samantha B.

After Cheoah Fest Saturday, we were all wonderin' where to go - "where did the water hold?" Me and Sam Left Tapoco Lodge early in the morning to meet up with the rest of the Memphis crew in Knoxville. We don't get to paddle with these guys much and they're our good local friends. How could we turn down a trip on the plateau with them? There was one particular creek we all had in mind that had been on my hit list for a long long time - Island Creek (III-IV+) It's not that tough, but it is super continuous and incredibly HIGH quality. The only catch this day was that the park was closed to all traffic and people, except turkey & pig hunters. A $140+ citation awaited each of us if we got caught on that land. So we geared up and loaded all the boats onto one car, planning in the car who would get what strap and who would unload where, etc. We got our move all dialed in so we could be super fast and super stealth. Dr. Sonny pulled up at the bridge and we flew out of the car unloading and hopping in the water! I'm not sure how necessary it all was, but we definitely weren't supposed to be there. There's something about illegal access on a beautiful day that just makes it all seem extra special. The put-in was just as epic as the run, and just the start to an AWESOME run down!

Photo of Samantha B. by: me

Photo of me by: Samantha B.

Our crew consisted of me, Samantha Brunner, Drew Armstrong, Jason Salomon, and Mike Womack.... Sonny S. ran our shuttle and risked the ticket himself to get us into this beautiful place! Island starts off in a beautiful micro-stream bed with a bit of light brush in the river. Gradually, it picks up speed with slide after slide after slide... just perfect slides and small boulder rapids drops with some of the most beautiful water I've ever paddled on. This creek really reminded me of Colorado Creeking with less gradient and easier drops.... I can't describe how pristine and high quality it is - definitely a new favorite! Check out the pics! :-)

Photo of Chris Lyon on "Compound Fracture" by: me

Photo of Drew Armstrong by: Samantha B.

Photo of Mike Womack on in "Compound Fracture" by: Samantha B.

Photos of Jason Salomon in "Compound Fracture" by: Samantha B.

Photo of Mike Womack green grindin' by: Samantha B.

Photo of me on Island Creek by: Samantha B.

Photo of Samantha B. by: yours truly ;-)

Photo of me by: Samantha B.

Hope you enjoyed the pics! This trip was AWESOME. Island Creek will definitely continue to be one of my favorite runs in TN. It is truly "The Jewl of the Cumberland Plateau"!!!

- Boyd :-)

Waterfalls, Tornados, and Rain... Oh My!!

2006-04-10T09:46:00.000-07:00

Photo by: Samantha Brunner

With the news of strong storms on there way, me and Samantha took off for NC Thursday night to catch what rain we could, before heading over to the Cheoah Festival on Saturday. On our way to NC, Clay Wright called with a rain update and offered a place to stay in his house at Rock Island, TN. It sounded like the rain would be delayed and that Rock Island would be our best option. With "The Spout" in mind (one of the waterfalls over there), we changed our course to Rock Island, TN for big fun on the Caney Fork River! We crashed at Clay's house that night after arriving at about 1:00 AM and were up the next morning looking for options. The rain hadn't hit yet so it looked like the Rock Island Waterfalls would be our best op! SWEET! The Caney fork was running a bit over 6000 cfs, making multiple lines on the Rock Island waterfalls go. I was really itchin' to get my new Rocker in the water so me, Samantha, and our factory friend, Jase Bouldin, took off for an early morning run of the waterfalls!

The first up was the Mill-side Falls (I think that's what it's called). The line is on the far left side of the river, next to the old cotton mill. It's pretty simple: just boof over the first ledge onto the shallow shelf of fast moving water and run off the middle (at high water only) or right sides with a nice boof landing in the pool below. Always easier said than done. I ran first with a little boat/rock impact off the first ledge and pealed into a small eddy on the right. I signaled Jase to run a bit more to the left and he ran fine. Next up was Sam. She went even farther left than Jase and somehow boofed off and twisted upside down off the rocks, landing completely flat and upside down! She took a hit!

photo: Samantha takin by: me :-)

Luckily she was ok, except for some big scrapes and bruises, and she rolled up fast and pealed into the eddy. She kept her cool while we explained the next line in a bit more detail, and she prepared to run the main falls. I peeled out first and ran off the right side with a HUGE boof into the pool below thinking, "this is one of my new favorite waterfalls." It was GREAT. Jase was next, showing Sam the left line off a point. He had a nice line down and joined me in the pool while we both set up to provide backup, if needed, from below. Sam rolled off the lip beautifully with a really pretty boof into the pool below with a big grin on her face. I think it was WAY bigger than she expected!

After that, we climbed up the rocks and set up a roped to pull the boats up for "The Spout" falls. This drop is SWEET! It's got a beautiful enterance rapid right up to the lip of the falls making it just that much better. The water channels off into deep falls off the lip into a BIG boiling hole (at levels over 6000 cfs like this day). Jase ran first with a really nice freewheel off the lip!

Jase freewheeling off "The Spout" photo by: Samantha B.

I ran next, deciding to 35* it just for fun. It was an extremely smooth and soft take-off and landing! Absolute Zen... We climbed up again and decided to check out a spot on the other side of the river called Blue Hole. Blue Hole is another falls over there, similar to Short Creek Falls in AL, but taller. This drop is really fun. It is definitely the easiest line on the Rock Island Falls, with vertually no enterance rapid of significance. You just drop in, climb up, and run it again!

Photo of me by: Samantha B. - the Rocker boofs so easy!

Photo of Samantha by: me

Photo of Jase Bouldin by: Samantha B.

After running Blue Hole for a while, Jase had to get goin'. So we went back over to The Spout for one last run down it.

Photo of Jase by: Samantha B.

Photo of me by: Samantha B.

Photo of me and Jase by Samantha B.

After our quick goodbyes and a few last waves, Me and Sam were off again to Blue Hole for one last run down and a few more pictures of this awesome place!

photo of me admiring the falls we ran all day by: Samantha B.

Photo of Sam looking into the spray by: me

After our last run down Blue Hole, me and Sam paddled on down to the river right trail that goes down to the Rock Island parking lot. On our hike around the "Sieve City" rapid, Clay Wright caught up with us and asked if we'd like another run down. I couldn't turn down another trip down the falls so I was instantly in! Samantha, a bit sore from the Mill-Side Falls on far river left, opted out and decided to hang out with Flowdog and wait for me and Clay to come down again. We ran down the Mill-side Falls and paddled over to check out Sieve City. We both really thought about running it as it was totally runnable but neither of us had a rope and there were some sticky looking holes so we decided to do the responsible thing and portage. We seal-launched in just downstream of it and ran down to Brave Wave, which was absolutely STOMPING that day!

Photo of Clay Wavewheeling below Sieve City by: Samantha B.

Photo of me throwin' a wavewheel below Sieve City by: Samantha B.

On our way down to Brave Wave, we both stopped at "Loop Hole" for a while. It looks like it would be a sticky ledge hole, but is WAY friendlier than I first thought. It is sweet indeed. From there, we both decided to turn upstream and surf the "Rock Island Hole" at 6000+ cfs. I thought the hole was big at 4000, but at 6000 cfs it is massive. The middle looked incredibly muchy (and is from what Clay told me), so we stuck with the corner surf which was still huge. After that, it was off to Brave Wave! The river was high enough that it wasn't pushing into the undercut wall, so the undercut was not in play. The made the eddy way safer to catch and just that much easier. Brave Wave is sweet beyond words at 6000 cfs! You can really do anything there with the skills. Clay's rides were AWESOME to watch. Mine were ok at first, but at this point I was exhausted, so was my wrist (previously injured). So I was taking it easy. It was REALLY fun though!

Photo of Clay blunting Brave Wave by: Samantha B.

Photo of your truly going for the Mystery Flip by: Samantha B.

After washing off and miss the eddy, I decided I was done. I was exhausted from the day and it felt GREAT, like a good stopping point. So me, Clay, and Sam hung out for a bit and went back to clays house to get ready for Cheoah Fest. When we got back to his house we were informed the power was out and of approaching storms and tornados. We were under a Tornado Warning and in the direct path of the storm. We hung out for a while waiting to see what it would do. Luckily it missed us, but several tornados hit real close to where we were. Me and Sam decided to take off inbetween storms towards I-40 so head over into the mountains in NC. We drove through extremely heavy rain, massive lightning, loud thunder, hail, and heavy winds (up to 70 mph) toward knoxville, TN. It seemed like everyone was under a tornado warning at the same time, all around us, so we just kept goin' hoping to get ahead of the storm and into the mountains where it would most likely just be rain and hail. We made it to NOC, finally safe in the Nantahala Gorge, ready for some stormy sleep and Cheoah Fest in the morning!

The next morning we got up and found the creek next to us muddy from the night cold rain and hail. We met up with Nate Fant from GA and took off for the Cheoah. We found 360 cfs of natural flow in the Cheoah Gorge so we went straight to the Yellow Creek confluence and hiked up to check the level. Yellow creek was at a great, but lowish, level. While on the trail up Yellow Creek, Elmore Holmes caught up with us just in time to scout the falls area of the run. We all wanted to run it, but thinking it would hold through the day, we decided to put it off for a run down with Clay Wright, Eric, Dane, and Emily Jackson. So we went up to the put-in at "the store." We got ready, geared up and ready to run down the cheoah and Seth Warren caught up to me to say hi. I haven't seen seth since the OR Show in Salt Lake City so it was cool to run into him over there! Me, Emily Jackson, Samantha, Elmore, and Nate put in onto the Cheoah and for a really REALLY fun run down! The extra natural flow brought Cheoah up to a thumpin' 1360 cfs!!! I loved this level for Cheoah because everything is well padded out, bigger, pushier, and friendlier. It's not as good as 1600, but it's fun! We caught up with the rest of the Jackson Kayaks crew at Bear Creek Falls. Samantha, Elmore, and Nate were all first timers here and had GREAT lines down the falls. This rapid is way trickier than it looks and they handled it really well. After a super playful, fun run down the rest of the Cheoah, we took out at the bridge and went over to Topico lodge to plan our next move. At that point, Yellow Creek had dropped more than we hoped and wasn't really worth the hike. We were also exhausted. After Mexican in Andrews, NC, me and Sam went back over to the Cheoah for the Festival Party and had a great time hanging out and planning our move for the Sunday.

Fun times!

Boyd Ruppelt :-)

Photo of me on Blue Hole Falls by: Samantha Brunner

Photo of the Week

2006-04-03T14:38:00.000-07:00

Shot by Samantha Brunner, that's your's truly on Whiteoak Creek, NC.

Wrist Update...

2006-04-03T14:21:00.000-07:00

For those who don't know what I'm talking about, I injured my wrist snowboarding over a month ago. I went up for a jump, pull a great move, and crashed.... O well. Fun times. Unfortunately, I did a slight bit of damage to my wrist but like normal, I decided to try and ignore it for a couple weeks to see if it would go away. It didn't. After going to Memphis Whitewater's Creek Week and then competing at the North Alabama Whitewater Festival the very next weekend, there was a continuous downward spiral in my wrist. By the time I got back from the North Alabama Whitewater Fest, I couldn't even hold my paddle well. It even hurt to hold up a pen and don't even get me started on how it felt to try and write notes in class!

I finally decided to go to the doctor where they did X-rays, really convinced I had fractured it, and found no evidence of a fracture. I had to schedule an MRI and I was put in a brace over the next several weeks. By the time I had my MRI results read, my wrist was getting better and the doctors found no tearing significant enough in my muscle and ligament tissue for surgery.
They did however find that my wrist was definitely sprained and probably as a result, I had a ganglion cyst that had formed in my wrist (1 cm x 1 cm x 0.5 cm). Luckily, it's a small one that probably formed as a result of the sprain. My wrist may have been broken, but I really waited to long to reall be able to tell for sure. I gave it time to heal before I went in.

Long story short, I'm now allowed to paddle as long as I keep my wrist braced or taped (or both) and I stick with my physical therapy. I'll have 1 month of physical therapy and the one more appointment and I should be cleared. The cyst may go away on its own; but if it doesn't, it might require surgery to be removed, or simply poped. I'm pretty sure it'll just go away on it's own! :-)

Be sure to check out Stohlquist Waterware!!!

2006-03-27T10:57:00.000-08:00

Tough athletes need the toughest gear. We rely on Stohlquist Waterware! This stuff is AMAZING and WELL worth the money you pay for. The surface is awesome and the equipment is the best in the world! So check out Stohlquist online at:

www.Stohlquist.com

North Alabama Whitewater Fest!

2006-03-26T11:00:00.000-08:00

Photo by: Samantha B.

Well, this is a delayed post but I am SO pumped to finally get around to it! The North Alabama Whitewater Fest was an AMAZING event this year, way bigger than last year. Competitors from all over the states came to Alabama for a weekend of raffles, parties, big tricks, and Short Creek Falls (a perfect 15+ ft waterfall). Chris Gragtmans even flew in from Africa for the event.

Thursday night after school, I took off with my girlfriend (Samantha Brunner) to Kings Bend Campground, near Culman Alabama! We pulled in after dark and the first thing we checked out, was the new ramp! This thing is sick! The entire ramp was probably 25 ft tall with one of the tightest transitions I've ever seen in a kayak ramp. From the top it looks sketch at best, but this thing was a blast! Not too many boaters fired it up, most worried about theirs backs (so they said), but I think everyone felt a few butterflies their first time down. It was nice!

we got up first thing Friday morning and took off to Short Creek Falls for the event registration and competitor's meeting. EJ brought me my new "Slime Green" Rocker (pics of it in action coming soon) with the new Jackson "Boat Armor Outfitting" and Sam's new Jackson Star! From there, we all signed up, geared up, and got ready for the first competition of the Fest, the Waterfall Freestyle Competition off Short Creek Falls!

Photo by: Samantha Brunner

We could not have had better conditions for the falls comp! The night before it POURED rain and brought Short Creek Falls up to a boiling frothy drop pictured above. I nice little wave formed right on the lip, perfect for freewheels and kickflips! The hole was just a big frothy boiling, sucking competitors behind the curtain of the falls right before slamming them into the undercut shelves on the river left. Rescuers were placed on the rocks to fish out the boaters who went into the rocks too deep. This challenge just made the day that much better! As if Friday wasn't perfect enough, it was sunny and WARM!!! We all wore shorts and hucked away without a single chill or shiver, with a beautiful rainbow just over the horizon line.

The higher water level with the undercuts at the bottom, added a whole new element we didn't really have there last year, a mentle one. On more than one occasion, I found myself recirculated in the hole at the bottom, and one time I even found myself UNDER the rocks behind the falls. When you're underwater in your kayak, it's a pretty interesting experience to reach up and feel rocks instead of air above you. I got slammed hard under there, head first, and actually had to claw my way out and upright, still in my boat of course. (you didn't really think I would swim because of that did you?!) ;-) All that just to say, I think most competitors had a little more than just landing upside down on their minds. But that didn't stop us from going big! I nailed a lot of Kickflips off this falls including this nice little sequence shot by Sam:

action sequence by: Samantha B.

The move of the day for me, was definitely the kickflip entry into a rightside freewheel! After the Waterfall Freestyle competition, we kicked off the Boatercross race. Heats of about 5 competitors raced over the falls on river left, trying to boof to the river right side of the boiling hole. From there it was a race through a river right notch, only a boat width wide, and then upstream. Competitors then raced behind the waterfall curtain back to river left and through the hole and undercut shelves to the finish rock. This boatercross was a MAJOR workout. When the Men's Pro competition rolled around, I was in the first heat with Eric Jackson, Stephen Wright, and 2 others. The start off went GREAT, me and EJ took the lead right off, screaming toward the lip at full speed. EJ went pretty far left (I thought) and I tried to ride up a bit higher on the right shelf on the lip. Unfortunately, my plan didn't work and I got dramatically slowed down by the shallow lip of the falls. Stephen Wright caught up and passed me and I chased right behind him the rest of the way.

Photo by: Samantha B. Me and Stephen on the Lip

Boatercross is one of those things that can go either way, it's always a bit of a gamble. It's fun though! It's also very entertaining to watch. If any aspect of the sport would ever have a true public appeal, it is boatercross. I think the general public would be able to get into it because it's so easy to understand! They should take boatercross into the X-Games! From the falls, me and the rest of the Jackson Kayaks crew, decided to head downstream to check out the rest of this awesome little creek! That night, I took my first ride off the ramp. It was awesome! I hopped in line and started the climb with my boat and paddle, wondering what I would dare to try first. It looked like an inverted landing would hurt, so I decided to see how the bottom transition would act (the big question in everyones mind) by just flying down and doing a flat 360 spin to the right.

Photo Sequence by: Samantha B.

It worked out great and I completely nailed the landing. I'll have to say though, the flat landing the first time hurt a little. I knew the next time I wanted to lean forward on my bow deck to make sure the shock wouldn't go up my back again. The next time off I decided to leave my paddle behind, just to get more comfortable with the ramp.

Photo by: Samantha Brunner

The next day, my wrist was hurting beyond belief. I was really starting to get worried I had done something really bad to it somehow and I was looking forward to my appointment with a wrist specialist. Since rodeo really isn't my thing right now anyway and I didn't want to mess my wrist up any more, I made a tough descision and decided not to compete Saturday in the big trick contest and rodeo. In hindsite, I really should have done the big trick competition! I didn't realize I could do them separate. It was still probably better that I didn't compete, as hard as it was not to, because when I hopped in to surf a bit after the day's competitions, my wrist was really hurting worse. It didn't take much to get it throbbing again. Saturday night's festivities were awesome! The bands were pretty cool, the raffle was awesome, and the awards were pretty cool. Of course EJ won the rodeo, Chris Gragtmans won "the men's event as a whole," and Keith Yell won the waterfall freestyle for his rockspin into a kickflip.... it looked really cool, but I think camra angles had a lot to do with the judging, just my opinion. ;-) Dane Jackson swept the Junior Class and Tia won big in the womens! Emily Jackson put on an awesome show and I think won the rodeo. I pulled off 4th place (though I was told 3rd) in the Men's Pro Waterfall Freestyle Competition; I was pretty pumped about that!

The next morning, Sunday morning, I got to help with the Jackson Kayak roll & freestyle clinic. After that, we took off to Guntersville for a mexican lunch with the Jackson family, before starting our drive back to Memphis and hitting the books the next day at school. Fun times! The Fest was AWESOME and I can't wait till next year!

Check out Samantha B's blog for a bit more! http://boatergrlsammie.blogspot.com/2006/03/nawf.html

Also, check out Ej's NAWF event trip report at http://www.jacksonkayak.com/jkstories06/story.cfm?article=200603131 and more pictures at http://www.jacksonkayak.com/jkstories06/story.cfm?article=200603211 Fun times!

- Boyd

Featured Video of the Week

2006-03-20T10:14:00.000-08:00

NC Creeking Feb 2006

This short vid features Nathan Fant, Evan Fleetwood, Samantha Brunner, and myself in another weekend adventure in NC. Filmed by Anna Muller and edited by yours truly. ;-)
Special thanks to Sammie B. for taking pictures!

Memphis Whitewater Raffle Raises $1387 for American Whitewater!!!

2006-03-20T10:06:00.000-08:00

Emlyn & Mills' win a new Jackson Fun 1!!!
View the full story on the Jackson Kayaks website!!!

Photo by: Samantha B.

Samantha's new ad just hit Whitewater Magazine!!!

2006-03-19T19:25:00.000-08:00

Check THIS ad out!

Samantha can finally be seen out from behind the camra. This latest ad can be found on the inside back cover of the 2006 Whitewater Magazine! The Featured photo of Samantha Brunner was taken by our friend & cinematographer, Anna Muller. This ad kicked off the "World's Best" ad series by Stohlquist Waterware. So keep an eye out for this series of ads, featuring everyone on the Stohlquist team in kayaking magazines all over the world! Awesome job Samantha!

Exposure Update

2006-03-19T18:44:00.000-08:00

Make sure you check out my latest Ad in the Spring 2006 Kayak Session Magazine (page 39)!
Fortress did a great job on this one! A sweet photo by Samantha from a quick photo shoot several months ago. This same photo went on to place in the top 3 pics at the National Paddling Film Festival in Kentucky! Check out the ad:

Also out now, is the full page ad in the new CKS Catalog (Colorado Kayak Supply); "The 5 Essentials." Sponsored by Stohlquist Waterware, this page sports another awesome shot by Samantha B. Her photos are definitely becoming known out there. Right on Sam!

Get your own copy of the CKS Catalog for FREE at www.coloradokayak.com!!!

Also make sure to keep an eye out for the new Stohlquist Ad (page 39) in the American Whitewater Mag!

That's it for now... WAY more exposure on the way. So stay tuned! :-)

- Boyd

Make sure you check out Jackson Kayaks!

2006-03-19T12:23:00.000-08:00

Creek Week 2006 Update

2006-03-18T18:22:00.000-08:00

This Year's Creek Week was a great time for sure!
Every year, Memphis Whitewater, holds a huge whitewater gathering at Pickett State Park where kayakers and other whitewater enthusiasts come from all over the country to enjoy the creeks and rivers of the Cumberland Plateau together. I can't think of a more awesome group to spend the weekend with up on the plateau! Creek Week is for paddlers of every skill level to hang out and have a great time with like-minded, and not so like minded paddlers, on the various rivers and creeks Cumberland county has to offer. With a low water weekend in place on the Cumberland Plateau, the creeks were not looking good. Despite the low water, we had two great days on the Big South Fork and one fun surf session at Rock Island! Check out the pics!

Your's truly on the Big South Fork seal launch. Photo by Samantha B.

Photo by: Samantha Brunner

Surf time at Rock Island! Photo by: Samantha Brunner

At that point, my recent snowboarding injury to my wrist was REALLY catching up with me. All I could really do out there were big bounces, even with my wrist all taped up. But Rock Island is one of those places where even just front surfing can be fun. Since then, it's gotten so bad I can't even paddle. I'm really happy for that awesome day we had out there! But at least I'm finally getting this blog up and running!

Samantha B dropping into Double Drop on the Big South Fork. I took that one.

A shot I took of Samantha B enjoying Rock Island, TN

She got to try out a new Jackson Star and she LOVED it. The highlight of Creek was definitely the Jackson Kayak Raffle Memphis Whitewater held for American Whitewater! Jackson Kayak donated any boat of the winner's choice so that we could make money for river access and conservation! Boats rarely make over market value at raffles, but this crowd likes to go all out! The Creek Week Raffle was a HUGE success, raising nearly $1400 for American Whitewater!!! The winner, Mills, got a brand new Jackson Fun 1 for his little girl, Emlyn! I've got to send a HUGE thanks to Jackson Kayaks, for donating the kayak, and another thanks to Memphis Whitewater for their generosity and willingness to support our river access through American Whitewater! Despite the low water, it was an AWESOME trip, and I can't wait for the next Creek Week! Stay tuned for more updates as we head up to the North Alabama Whitewater Fest!

Jackson Kayak Video/Photo Shoot

2006-03-18T11:47:00.000-08:00

What's up everyone,
I just got back from a Jackson Kayaks video shoot in NC! We set out with the goal of collecting as much footage as possible for the Jackson Kayaks 2006 Promotional Video that Chris Emerick is producing right now. We were faced with a low water weekend in NC with only 2 days left to collect footage! We had to get creative. We took off for NC Friday night and pulled onto location at about 4 am, with just enough time to catch a couple hours of sleep in the car. Not long after, we were up and heading to Yellow Creek (class IV-V) in NC hoping enough water would still be draining down off the mountain for a quick run down for some video. It was too low for a full run so we had no other option, we had to hike up. I geared up and started the 1/2 mile hell hike over and under logs with my kayak, through thick sumac and heavy moutain laurel. It was a steep and strenuous climb up the gorge but we all knew it was worth it for the footage. Needless to say, the hard work paid off and this creek is an absolute gem! Leland isn't kidding when he says that Yellow Creek is one of the best kept secrets in NC, only a mile long with a big watershed and just a step below the Green Narrows in difficulty.

Photo by: Samantha B.

Completely exhausted we went back to NOC and took over the laundry mat for warmth and food, planning our move for the next day of video. Early the next morning around 5 or 5:30 am, a guy had the nerve to try to break into my truck! He got a bit of a shock we he found out I was in there; he took off pretty fast. After that you'd think we would all be completely awake but instead I caught a last hour or so of sleep before we took off to the next video location, Whiteoak Creek, NC (V-V+).

Photo by: Samantha B.

We met up with two of my friends, Nate & Evan from www.ClubSack.com and with the sub-freezing temps and the cold water we put on our wet and frozen gear for day two of the video shoot. I was in the water first, hucking a drop called Whiteoak Falls, a V+ cascading waterfall that drops about 30 vertical feet. It's not very tall, but this drop dishes out serious beatdowns to some of the worlds top kayakers, sending many to the local ER in Bryson City.

Photo by: Samantha B.
The sun wasn't quite out of the gorge yet so after a few runs down the falls we decided to head down stream to the easier Cascades section. The Cascades is a beautiful roadside IV (V) creek run that is always a joy to visit. Later that day the sun finally came into the gorge (still below freezing) so we went back up to whiteoak falls and the footage was AWESOME, complete with rainbows in the cascading falls.

Photo: Samantha B.

The video shoot turned out to be a HUGE success despite the low water and lack of rain so stay tuned for the finished version of the Jackson Kayaks Promotional Video to show up inevery new Jackson Kayak sold and in all Jackson Kayak dealers! For more info on Jackson Kayaks check out http://www.jacksonkayaks.com/!
Busy Livin'!
Boyd

video: http://www.jacksonkayak.com/jkvideos/Boyd022506.WMV