La Plata Falls, Durango, CO

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

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

(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!!!

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

(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)