The funny part about this day is that the point was for me, Dave Moroles and Charles Graves to run Upper Icicle down to Ricochet or the Sieve with Rob and Sam, and then somehow we decided that after watching these guys run the Wall we would run the in-between sections of Tumwater first (skipping Chaos and POW), kind of as an afterthought.

Note to self:  Running anything in Tumwater at 4900 cfs is not in the ‘afterthought’ category, at least not for me.   It’s a good example of how sometimes things just escalate.

Anyway, not long after this video was taken Dave, Charles and I were putting in below the Dam.  Rob, Sam and Darren were a few minutes ahead of us, and Dave was looking a bit grim, understandably – he was in a playboat, and the highest I’ve done Tumwater is 1850 cfs.  Not surprisingly, about 7 seconds after getting on the water (and maybe 12 seconds after telling Dave in a chirpy little voice, ‘Everything’s going to be fine!’), I was upside down in Dam rapid taking what felt like mallet hits to my helmet.  I think I could have rolled up anyway because I’ve rolled up after some pretty massive hits before, but suddenly my paddle hit a rock and the next thing I know it was in two pieces in my hands.  It was a bit like, ‘Hmmm, never done this before’.

I didn’t try rolling up with half a paddle (although I realize now that’s a great thing to practice), so I got to swim pretty much all of Dam rapid – not recommended!  I was really fortunate to walk away with just some major leg bruises because the water is really fast and super shallow at the top – it turns out Darren had flipped there too and taken some major clonks before rolling up.

Anyway, once all the excitement was over (thanks to Dave for retrieving my boat, and Charles for making a solo run down part of Tumwater looking for my paddle that he didn’t know was broken) we ran Icicle from RV down to Ricochet (I walked Limbo, being pretty much topped out on adrenaline for the day) and Charles got this cool video of me, Sam, Dave and Rob running Roadside Attraction rapid.

This drop is rated a V on the Professor Paddle page, Charles says it’s actually less than that (depending on flow, of course) because the lead-in is not complicated and it’s not a super-technical drop.  What I know for sure is, really good Class V boaters like Marco and Darren make everything look easy, and given the right circumstances I could make this look like a Class VI.   But I’d still love to try it.

Thanks to Charles Graves for filming this!  (Due to having to skip the paddle after tweaking his back out getting stuck in a hole for 30 seconds on Tumwater that morning looking for my paddle that broke in half and resulted in my swim through Dam rapid – ouch! But that’s another blog post….)

Anyway, Sam’s in the lead, I’m in the blue and white boat that flips (huge surprise) followed by Rob in the red playboat and then Dave.  Notice how I completely don’t paddle going into that drop that flips me, and then you can hardly see it but after I roll up I do the next drop backwards.  Which surprisingly often works out pretty well – I’ve done it enough times that I’m telling Rob my goal is to eventually do all of Tumwater backwards.  And now maybe Icicle too.   Anyway, first time on Icicle and it was definitely a stretch for my skill level but it was a blast and I would love to do it again, as scary as it was.  (If you haven’t done it yet, it’s definitely a lesson in the ‘it’s bigger than it looks from the road’ department.)

P.S. I should mention that we put in at RV and I walked Limbo and took out at Ricochet.  Then Sam broke HIS paddle on Son of Ricochet.  It was just one of those days when things break, I guess!  Also, this was 875 cfs on the Professor Paddle virtual Icicle gauge.

“Someone was asking me about my class IV comfort level the other day, and my answer was something like “I’m comfortable that I can usually find an eddy to swim to.”  This inspired me to write, ‘Dave’s International Scale of River Difficulty’:”

Class I: Easy.

Fast moving water with riffles and small waves. Swimming is pleasant, shore easily reached. A nice break from paddling. Almost all gear and equipment is recovered. Boat is just slightly scratched.

Class II: Novice.

Straightforward rapids with wide, clear channels which are evident without scouting. Swimming to eddies requires moderate effort. Climbing out of river may involve slippery rocks and shrub-induced lacerations. Paddle travels great distance downstream requiring lengthy walk. Something unimportant is missing. Boat hits submerged rock leaving visible dent on frame or new gash in plastic.

Class III: Intermediate.

Rapids with moderate, irregular waves which may be difficult to avoid. Water is swallowed. Legs are ground repeatedly against sharp, pointy rocks. Several eddies are missed while swimming. Difficult decision to stay with boat results in moment of terror when swimmer realizes they are downstream of boat. Paddle is recirculated in small hole way upstream. All personal possessions are removed from boat and floated in different directions. Paddling partners run along river bank shouting helpful instructions. Boat is munched against large boulder hard enough to leave series of deep gouges. Sunglasses fall off.

Class IV : Advanced.

Water is generally lots colder than Class III. Intense, powerful but predictable rapids requiring precise swimming in turbulent water. Swimming may require `must’ moves above dangerous hazards. Must moves are downgraded to `strongly recommended’ after they are missed. Sensation of disbelief experienced while about to swim large drops. Frantic swimming towards shore is alternated with frantic swimming away from shore to avoid strainers. Rocks are clung to with death grip. Paddle is completely forgotten. One shoe is removed. Hydraulic pressure permanently removes waterproof box with all the really important stuff. Paddle partners running along stream look genuinely concerned while lofting throw ropes 20 feet behind swimmer. Paddle partners stare slack-jawed and point in amazement at boat which is finally pinned by major feature. Climbing up river bank involves inverted tree. One of those spring loaded pins that attaches watch to wristband is missing. Contact lenses are moved to rear of eyeballs.

Class V: Expert.

The water in this rapid is usually under 42 degrees F. Most gear is destroyed on rocks within minutes if not seconds. If the boat survives, it is in need of about three days of repair. There is no swimming, only frantic movements to keep from becoming one with the rocks and to get a breath from time to time. Terror and panic set in as you realize your paddle partners don’t have a chance in heck of reaching you. You come to a true understanding of the terms maytagging and pinballing. That hole that looked like nothing when scouted, has a hydraulic that holds you under the water until your lungs are close to bursting. You come out only to realize you still have 75% of the rapid left to swim. Swim to the eddy? What #%^&*#* eddy!? This rapid usually lasts a mile or more. Hydraulic pressure within the first few seconds removes everything that can come off your body. This includes gloves, shoes, neoprene socks, sunglasses, hats, and clothing. The rocks take care of your fingers, toes, and ears. That $900.00 dry suit, well it might hold up to the rocks. Your paddle is trash. If there is a strainer, well, just hope it is old and rotten so it breaks. Paddle partners on shore are frantically trying to run and keep up with you. Their horror is reflected in their faces as they stare at how you are being tossed around! They are hoping to remember how to do CPR. They also really hope the cooler with the beer is still intact. They are going to need a cold one by the time you get out! Climbing out of this happens after the rapid is over. You will probably need the help of a backboard, cervical collar and Z-rig. Even though you have broken bones, lacerations, puncture wounds, missing digits & ears, and a concussion, you won’t feel much pain because you will have severe hypothermia. Enjoy your stay in the hospital: with the time you take recovering, you won’t get another vacation for 3 years.

Class VI: World Class.

Not recommended for swimming.

OK, they’re not really whitewater kayaking quotes, but they should be.  I checked out Ky Delaney’s blog and she has a great article with quotes from 1800′s miners that apply really well to kayaking.  Check out the whole River Chica blog post for 1800′s miner quotes on ‘paddling the gnar’, ‘being a dirtbag’, and ‘on the topic of women’ – funny stuff.

Also, I have finally added OregonKayaking.net to the sidebar links, that is a great blog with many good river trip write-ups.

This one talks about boofing in general:

Here’s one that talks about how to boof into an eddy:

There’s more on their Vimeo page, here’s a link to all of the Whitewater Instruction videos on Vimeo.

(Not my video, not my trip – but since I’m short on photos I had to put something on here, and not only is this Ladle Rapid on the Selway, it’s also an amazing testimonial to hanging in there on the roll – gotta love it. )

Anyway, I’m using the fact that I did a 3-day self-support whitewater kayaking trip on the Selway River at the end of May as a partial excuse for not writing even one blog post during that entire month, even though there were plenty of things I wanted to write about.  (And the Selway River trip is a total cover – chalk the non-posting up to basic disorganization, of course.)

Since I managed to do the entire trip without taking one photo I’m hoping some of my paddle-mates cough some of theirs up soon, and in the meantime I’ll point out some cool links about other people’s Selway River trips that I found before I went there in case they’re helpful to anyone planning a trip:

Selway River Photos and Trip Descriptions:

There’s a great article on OregonKayaking.net with really nice Selway River photos of a trip that went from 4.5 feet to 5.5 feet on the Paradise (put-in) gauge.

And there are some good photos on Robin Carleton’s Infinity Mountain site from when he did it at very high water, although I wish he said on there what level that was.

Selway River Info:

The number for the Selway River Office that can tell you what the visual level for the gauge at the put-in is 406-821-3269.  From what I hear up to 3 feet is Class III-IV, 3 to 6 feet is Class IV, and over 6 feet is Class V.

Here’s the page where you can apply for permits for the Selway River, as well as several other permit-only rivers.

The Three Rivers Resort is at the start of the Selway River Road, 18 miles from the take-out.  They have camping, motel rooms, showers and hot tubs – just something to consider if you’re coming off of a multi-day self-support trip.  (Memorial Day weekend is insane there, just so you know.)

How It Went:

This was a really great trip with an awesome group of people, eleven of us total.  When we put on it was 2.9 feet, so a bit on the low side, and basically there were a fair number of beefy class IIIs and some reasonable Class IVs, only two of which really felt kind of hard at that level (for me, not really for anyone else ) – those were Ladle and Wolf Creek.  I can definitely see how at higher flows it could get substantially beefier and there would be some pretty big whirlpools in some of those eddies.  The great news is that the Pyranha Burn rolls just fine with 30 lbs of gear in the stern – what a great boat.

I’ll keep this short since I don’t have photos and who am I kidding, without pictures it’s just me bleating away.  But I really want to thank Dan Patrinellis (the Dan formerly known as Parnell) for organizing the trip and making the whole thing possible as the permit-holder, and also for staying awake and reasonably sane on the 8 hour midnight drive through the back-country of Idaho that ended up with us at the take-out at 5 in the morning.  Also thanks to Charles from AquaSports in Redmond for lending a treasure trove of REI gear for the trip, not to mention a boat for Dan, Darren Albright for organizing transportation and a bunch of other stuff, and to the other eight guys who were on the trip, most of whom I had never met, they were a great group to paddle with and just by being normal and polite they made the fact that I was the only girl on the trip a non-issue, which I really appreciated.  Another reason I love kayaking – it seems to attract really great people.

After the trip Devon, Dirk, and Jon Dufay showed some of us down the Lochsa River, another really fun run.  And it didn’t start raining until we were all done!

If anyone’s planning on heading out there to watch it should be fun, the race will probably start around 10:30-ish 1 pm-ish (pushed back because flows were too high in the morning, if in doubt check Professor Paddle) and a good viewing point is supposed to be just after the first railroad tunnel on the Robe Historical Trail, about a 1.5 mile hike in I think.

Marco, NOT on the Wenatchee run.

Last Sunday when I was videoing a bunch of guys running Tumwater I ran into Marco Colella and Jean-Luc Robicheaux, two amazingly good Leavenworth paddlers who are working at getting more people involved in whitewater kayaking through their World Kayak ‘Paddle the Wenatchee’ blog and various events.

Marco asked me to pass along an invite to one and all to join them on a beginner-friendly Paddle the Wenatchee play run this Saturday, April 24, 2010, brought to you by World Kayak, Crossfit Cashmere and Leavenworth Moutain Sports, here’s the scoop:

Jean-Luc, NOT on the Wenatchee run.

- Meet at 10 a.m. at the Cashmere Riverside park (click here for the Google Map link).

- Show up as early as 4:30 pm at Crossfit Cashmere for a 6 pm showing of “Dream Result” by River Roots.  Crossfit Cashmere is located at 253 Independence Way, behind the Cashmere Valley Bank in the big red and white buildings (they say it can be confusing but just look for the red and white buildings and they are in there – here’s the Google Map link.)

Bring your own chairs, and kids are welcome.  I got sidelined this week by the Mother of All Colds so don’t know if I will make it, but I think this is a great opportunity to make a first spring run down the Wenatchee with some world class paddlers, so I highly recommend!

For more info you can also call Marco at (509) 699-0413, or Jean-Luc at (360) 319-2865.

I just helped AquaSports Kayak Shop in Redmond upload a bunch of used and discounted new kayaks for sale onto their website, and since a) I think it looks pretty nice, and b) Libby is prominently featured in a few shots (looking more and more jaded as you go down the page, you’ll notice) I thought I’d give a shout out for it here.  Here’s the link to the used and discounted kayaks page at AquaSports, or you can just click the photo above.

(There are more boats than the ones on this page, including some sea kayaks and rec boats that we haven’t put on there yet, so give them a call at 425-869-7067 if you are looking for something you don’t see.)