Spring paddling.....looks pretty promising!

[bigbog]

Sunday's gale force winds around the Sugarloaf/Bigelow definitely put skiing plans on hold...so I drove around a bit & snapped some pics, among those were some chilly, put promising signs of Spring in the form of running water(amidst blocks of ice). Stoney Brook is a nice, short lived little brook/creek running down from Crocker Mtn, crossing under Route #16...~2.75mi past the Sugarloaf access road. One of the small headwaters of the Carrabassett River.
Just a couple pics of some very chilly water right now...

Stoney Brook (1/2)
Stoney Brook (2/2)

 

[Hawkshot99]

Looks fun.

 

[ckofer]

The Saco isn't quite so inviting

http://www.wmtw.com/weather/15548992/detail.html

 

[bigbog]

Yeah, most everything is....

Most everything, in reality...with any depth, is locked up. It's these little ones that...helped with downpours, open up at the surface the earliest.... ...but they're kind of like the early winter initial snowfalls....not much to ski but pump up the stoke...
*Need to be comfortable with a ww-capable boat and have a clean boat inside for when an escape is ever needed, but once you get the relaxation & balance thing ironed out...you're golden! But like tough terrain on the mountain, first time on any stream HAS to be taken slow with a few fast lines to the bank.
...Once you get the hang of it, as the other guys/women can tell you, it's like the Spring-Summer version of skiing.

 

[deadheadskier]

Most everything, in reality...with any depth, is locked up. It's these little ones that...helped with downpours, open up at the surface the earliest.... ...but they're kind of like the early winter initial snowfalls....not much to ski but pump up the stoke...
*Need to be comfortable with a ww-capable boat and have a clean boat inside for when an escape is ever needed, but once you get the relaxation & balance thing ironed out...you're golden! But like tough terrain on the mountain, first time on any stream HAS to be taken slow with a few fast lines to the bank.
...Once you get the hang of it, as the other guys/women can tell you, it's like the Spring-Summer version of skiing.

I couldn't disagree more. There's a BIG difference between skiing and paddling. When you're skiing YOU are in control, can stop take a few turns, stop, reassess, etc in most conditions. When paddling, the RIVER is in control. Eddying out in the middle of a class 4 is only an option for Pros.

I gave paddling in a kayak ago a few teams and it scared the shit out of me and I'm not someone who'e easily scared. This was with a Liquid Logic Rep and some of the top paddlers in the nation in the rivers around the Upper Yough and Ohiopyle in WV/PA.

Going down stream in a Shreddar didn't bother me nearly so much. I liked the balance feel better being on my knees as opposed to sitting down and having it come from the waste.

 

[Marc]

Sunday's gale force winds around the Sugarloaf/Bigelow definitely put skiing plans on hold...so I drove around a bit & snapped some pics, among those were some chilly, put promising signs of Spring in the form of running water(amidst blocks of ice). Stoney Brook is a nice, short lived little brook/creek running down from Crocker Mtn, crossing under Route #16...~2.75mi past the Sugarloaf access road. One of the small headwaters of the Carrabassett River.
Just a couple pics of some very chilly water right now...

Stoney Brook (1/2)
Stoney Brook (2/2)

Looks like a giant river full of moose piss.

No wait, that would be a picture of the budweiser brewery... :dunce:

 

[severine]

Looks like a giant river full of moose piss.

So eloquent...

The only paddling I've done is on calm waters. I went whitewater rafting in Montana 6 years ago, but it's not something I'd like to do unguided/on my own. I'll stick to calm waters.

 

[loafer89]

My wife and I did a rafting trip on the Bull's Bridge section of the Housatonic in May of 1996 which is the largest section of class IV and V in Southern New England. The guide told us to duck as we rode over at least a 10' drop, the man in front of my wife did not listen and got thrown out of the raft like a slingshot.

I asked her if she wanted to do it again this spring with the expected huge runoff and the look I got was withering.:lol:

 

[JD]

DHS, we had this discussion before, and your view of White Water has been permenantly scewed. Class 4 paddling, esspecially low volume stuff, is VERY manigable, and being in control at that level of paddling is not that hard. I completely agree, white water is very much like skiing. Edgeing is used in the same way and even class 3 is waiste deep POW....Going to the catskills tomorrow hopefully for a full day creeking and I can't freaking WAIT!
The key is to not let people put you in over your head, as you were in VERY MUCH over your head, and could have easily been hurt real bad. But if you start by learning to roll in warm, flat water, then slowly progress up to more challenging runs, you would find it a great way to gain a more intimate connection to your world and surroundings, and an activity you could enjoy at a high level late into your life. Jim Micheau is still running the $hit in his open canoe all over the place. He runs hard all winter.... has like 9 grand canyon runs, and gets on creeks that are on the edge the ww progression like the upper BlackWater in WV....well into his 60s. Go to Zoar...take a roll class....get hooked on another way to emerse yourself in nature and embrace the entire water cycle that goes on all around you.
Over Head POW, East Branch Ausable. Great rapid.

 

[JD]

Face shot! Clarendon Gorge, Mill river, Vermont. What a magical place, and a great strech of White Water. 2 100+ foot marble and granite gorges. Quality drops. Incredible place to be. That's a paddle blade, Scott G is in there somewhere....

 

[deadheadskier]

DHS, we had this discussion before, and your view of White Water has been permenantly scewed. Class 4 paddling, esspecially low volume stuff, is VERY manigable, and being in control at that level of paddling is not that hard. I completely agree, white water is very much like skiing. Edgeing is used in the same way and even class 3 is waiste deep POW....Going to the catskills tomorrow hopefully for a full day creeking and I can't freaking WAIT!
The key is to not let people put you in over your head, as you were in VERY MUCH over your head, and could have easily been hurt real bad. But if you start by learning to roll in warm, flat water, then slowly progress up to more challenging runs, you would find it a great way to gain a more intimate connection to your world and surroundings, and an activity you could enjoy at a high level late into your life. Jim Micheau is still running the $hit in his open canoe all over the place. He runs hard all winter.... has like 9 grand canyon runs, and gets on creeks that are on the edge the ww progression like the upper BlackWater in WV....well into his 60s. Go to Zoar...take a roll class....get hooked on another way to emerse yourself in nature and embrace the entire water cycle that goes on all around you.
Over Head POW, East Branch Ausable. Great rapid.

I hope it's not permenantly screwed, but it might be. When I lived in Ohiopyle and was surrounded by such deep whitewater culture and pros, my thought was this is exactly what I would enjoy in place of skiing in the summer. This is it, this is as close as it gets to being in touch with nature like I can on skis.....truly gliding the rythm of the surroundings. Upper BlackWater is INTENSE. I'm sure some of my old friends know the guy you're speaking of who runs it at that age. The hard thing for me and like you said, I had the absolute worst possible intro to the sport you could, was the balance point at the waste...how 'tippy' I felt. Perhaps a light bulb goes off where instead of feeling 'tippy' you feel an 'edge'. Mind you after my horrible expereince, I raged Ohiopyle with a friend in a Sheddar with total comfort....different balance point being on your knees and being higher up and seeing more made me more comfortable.

We'll see if I get back in a boat. If I do, it will be from ground up in a boat learning to roll in flat warm water first. The right way. I'm still pretty bitter at those folks for putting me in a situation where I could've gotten hurt or killed on my second day. Not Cool.

To be honest....what's got me salivating to try now for a summer muse is Kite Surfing. HUGE entry cost though.....need to find a day lesson outfit to check it out.

 

[JD]

Try WW canoeing. You kneel on a saddle. You outfit a kayak with it as well and run a decked canoe, one blade. Typically it's considered more difficult bacuse your center of mass is higher, and your off side stroke is a reach accross. Like the tele of white water. Balance in your boat come from practice, and learning how to use your paddle to grab the water. Once you get your "paddle fu" down, it's like grabbing a pole planted in the ground and using it to move your center of mass in whatever direction you need.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=87_qBovy9ag&feature=related

 

[deadheadskier]

Wow, pretty impressive stuff in the open boat there. Looks like a ton of fun. I'd imagine a major drawback to such riding is it would be real hard to roll the boat back up if you go over. I looked like in one spot he basically had to push up from the bottom with his paddle.

 

[JD]

I guess the roll is more difficult then any of the kayak rolls. There's vids on youtube....

 

[bigbog]

....

DHS...handling an OC-1(solo open canoe), like kayaking, is actually more about relaxing as you sit on a foam seat/pedestal and use you knees(secured somewhat to foam) more to tweak your balance. The front & rear airbags keep both most of the water out & the hull filled with air(floats the boat on the surface if upside down). As anything once you get your tech together...then it all becomes fun.

 

[JD]

One more from clarendon gorge last w/e. It a hrd thing to wrap you brain around until you feel comfortable with you roll working, then everything changes and alot of the fear goes away.

in the second gorge, let's see what's around this corner....

 

[JD]

well, it's pissing rain in Northfield. Got Boat?

 

[JD]

Um...Yup.
Lots and lots of green!
http://www.americanwhitewater.org/c...tate_rgNT_level_run_atleast_I_atmost_V+_sr_1_