Heres the Tatlow section from my movie Cascadia.

And heres a couple grainy pics from this weekend.

See you up there for another lap.

C.

Hopeful scouting.

July 4th, 2008.
Since the bulk of our kayaking season is spent boating in the rain and/or snow here on the west side of the Cascades, many of us look forward to small outings in the hot, arid canyons of the east Cascades. Sunshine, sweet camping and the wonderful scent of pine forests creates a relaxing atmosphere in which to savor the mix of fast clear water in steep, granite-filled canyons.

After a few trips to run the usual Icicle, Lil’ Wen. and the ’snatchee I was getting the itch to check out something new, so, - still wanting to escape the wet-side - I looked to some possibilities of some east-side hike-in options that seem to escape most peoples radars.

With Justin Tatosian just in from Wyoming, he and Andrew Oberhart were up in B’ham, ande we were using some of their vacation time lapping Clearwater when we hatched the plan to make the 6 hr drive to check out this new section of creek that we had scouted on a previous mountain bike ride.

We started out the trip heading east on Highway 20. Most of the time when driving this stretch of road the conversation starts to flow to the de-watered section of the Skagit river. This amazing canyon - and one can only imagine what the canyons above it looked like before the dams filled them in - has been dewatered since some time around 1920. Of all the trips we collectively had taken across the pass we had never once seen water flowing down this riverbed, this was our lucky day.

Definitely lots water and lots of gradient.

We stopped in a few spots to scout and consider if this section would be worth running at these flows. Almost immediately we were sure that putting on was not going to happen. What looked to be between 5 and 10 thousand cfs was raging through the canyon creating some impressive almost unrunnable rapids. We enjoyed scaring ourselves for awhile but the light was waning and we had a few hours drive left ahead of us.

1st half of one of the decent looking rapids.

Second half of the same rapid.

I know what you’re thinking…I thought it too.

The next morning after a quick breakfast we headed for the trailhead to get started on our 4 mile hike. The trail was in good shape and we made good time getting to the put-in. It seems like the first hike of the year is always the worst; your pack isn’t dialed, you carry too much stuff, and you generally just don’t remember how bad it can hurt.

Ryan Bradley looking a bit uncomfortable. Andrew O. photo.

Anyway, we arrived at the put-in around noon and after a quick lunch we dropped in. The creek took off through some class 3 and 4, then almost immediately we encountered a tall looking rapid with a bunch of wood at the top. After quick scout by Andrew and a few hand signals we had a great line through the twisty, ledgy rapid. Below this the creek just kept on cruising through unceasing class 3-4 with tons of blind-corners, small eddies and the occasional 4+ drop.

On the hike up you have the chance to scout the crux mini-canyon with a few stout drops and a waterfall. At first glance the falls looks like a perfect 15′ catwalk type slide with a fun 8′ ledge above it, but, when we got there, and upon closer inspection it tuned out the ledge was beefy, and there was a bad piece of wood just below it. To make matters worse if you didn’t style the first ledge you would have a hard time making it to the left side of the waterfall where the only semi-acceptable line was, acceptable only if you were O.K. with the possibility of falling off the slide and getting an unpleasant stuffing into the undercut below the slide/catwalk. We opted for the pain in the ass portage on the wrong side of the river. Oh well, you win some you lose some.

Andrew scouting.

This boof incited feelings of joy for Andrew…

Justin Tatosian on a fun ledge drop.

Ryan scouting the big hole.

Justin about to fly on the great cross-current boof.

Chris from below. Andrew O. Photo.

Just downstream of this mini gorge is one more walled-in series of ledges. The first ledge is full of wood, the second is an 8′ river wide ledge with a BIG boof but an even BIGGER hole. Just below the ledge is the sweetest cross-current boof into an eddy, super clean. After the mini-gorge we were fired up for some more fun rapids, unfortunately we had used up our gradient, and thus only had one more long, fast, 4+ rapid before our take-out at camp.

Cayoosh worn out from a 15 mile bike ride.

Our aim was to go to the Gold River area and explore a few rivers that had, or hadn’t been paddled before. Either way, when we awoke in the morning and started our search for a put-in, we knew that the days would be nothing short of epic.

The camping was easy and pleasing.

Bryan S. starting the day off right. Pamela creek.

After a bit of mank came this fun slide just above a double-falls. Shane R. Pamela creek.

Shertzl stomping out the first of the double-falls. Pamela creek.

Togg G. I think this is the rapid we named “Tommy Lee.”

After “Tommy Lee,” the difficulty eases up to boogie water all the way to the confluence with the Ucona. Just downstream of the confluence we entered a nice canyon with a few fun class 4 rapids untill we arrived at a horizon line.

Let me just say that I love the feel of paddling across a pool, the river all slack and lazy due to some impediment in the river bed, and looking ahead to see nothing but the tops of trees, sky, and maybe some rock. Throw in a log chocked 30 ft in the air and I know why I love the N.W.

So I took a picture.

Bryan from below.

Just below this falls was another fun, stress free falls with a sweet spot that was tricky to line-up for.

Jakub D. boofing the lower of the 2 falls on the Ucona.

Todd. The sweet spot.

Shertzl. U.T.R.

Our stratagem at this point was to paddle the next 4 or 5 km through a lower canyon which we were unsure wether it had ever been run. Most of the group decided that 5 o’clock in the evening was too late to start a exploratory run down a steep, remote, canyon in the heart of bear country. They could not be cajoled, and so a decision was made to leave our boats for the night, paddle the canyon the next day. To be more efficient half of us would hike to fetch the truck at the put-in and the other half were to spend some time hiking downstream for a scout to see what the canyon looked like. Heres how the scouting went:

No scary, class 5 canyons here.

View from camp that night.

Ryan B. finds a clean boof in a dirty rapid.

The next morning as we made our way downstream the nice granite we had been sliding and boofing on the previous day disappeared and some gnarly, sketchy, rock took its place.

We had to get creative to find routes through this.

Big and clean. Bryan stomping it.

From upstream it didnt look like we would make it past this rapid with out going way up and around. Fortunately it turned out to be good. Shane R.

After the rapid with the chock rock the river found its gradient and took off through a total P.O.S. jumble. We portaged -for about 2 or more hours- right down to the take-out basically. All in all the canyon was pretty but the rapids weren’t that clean and portages were to long for me to return.

After the long day on the Lower Ucona we came up plan to paddle the Gold River Trifecta: The Gold river, the Upana, and the Heber. All in one day. This was a pretty audacious goal considering the Gold had only been run once before, and the beta came in the typical B.C. form: “Nice canyon mostly class 4 with a couple 5’s.”

Entrance rapid into the canyon. The must-make eddy is at the top on river left.
The first half hour was fun, boogie class 3-4 until we round a corner and are faced with box canyon and high-speed, wavy, hole filled rapid leading in to it. It was the absolute typical ” Round the corner and barely catch the last eddie,” kinda scene, complete with a micro-pulsing eddy. After a long scout we decided to portage the rapid in the canyon and put-in below it. However the “put-back-in options” sucked.

Option 1: Sketchy seal launch to pinch rapid.

Option 2: 30ft + Chuck-n-Huck.

Decent rapids in the middle of the short canyon. Bryan.

Then a big one at the end of the canyon that was difficult to scout and portage. Those who portaged had to do another 20+ Chuck-n-Huck. Those that ran it made it through but not in style.

We spent most of our day dorking around on the Gold river and knew we weren’t going to complete the trifecta. We were OK with that but we wanted to paddle the Upana since Jakub knew it and it was only 2 km long with a sweet 8 meter falls in the middle. We quickly ran shuttle and made the 10 minute drive from the Gold take-out to the Upana put-in.

The Upana started out manky, then slammed into a canyon and got interesting. We didn’t take alot of pictures here, just the best rapid at the end and the falls.

Todd droppin’ the falls.

And Mr. Bradley.

Todd flyin’ on the super sick sideways boof!

And Bryan.

We go where eagles dare.

Van. Island is absolutely an amazing destination for remote, beautiful whitewater. I’ll be back every year.

SHORT TERM…SINCE I COULD SEE MY BREATH ON THE WAY IN TO WORK LAST
NIGHT I DECIDED TO LOOK UP THE RECORDS FOR COLD JUNES. SURE
ENOUGH…THERE IS A GOOD CHANCE…DEPENDING ON THE TEMPERATURES
TODAY…THAT THIS WILL BE THE COLDEST FIRST WEEK OF JUNE ON RECORD
IN SEATTLE INCLUDING THE FEDERAL BUILDING RECORDS WHICH GO BACK TO
1891.

But a month or more had gone by since we had done some “adventure” style boating and the decision to continue on with the plan to run the upper and lower canyons of Silver creek was made.

In a effort to save fuel and cash during these times of rising costs, Erik S. and I decided put aside his gas guzzlin’, styly’, and comfortable “Man Truck,” to drive my 35+mpg, damp, heater-less, defroster-less, 87 Suby wagon on the way to meet up with Andrew and Todd. However while gearing up in the rain and fumbling with my new boat-pack with numb hands I was beginning to regret our decision to drive my Suby and was left without recourse when everyone began s@*% talking about my squeege-come-defroster.

It was obvious early on what we were in for.

The trail is littered with old mine shafts.

Cold wet shlog.

The 2+ mile hike along the canyon rim of Silver creek provides numerous enticing views of the creek and canyons. With the exception of the scramble across the landslide -and a creek crossing or two- the whole trail is an old railroad grade and is a pretty easy hike. We spent around 2.5 hours hiking and scouting our way up the creek. We could have made better time but with nearly 2ft of snow on the trail and along the rim of the creek our scouting and walking became sluggish. As if the snow didn’t slow us down enough, our few glimpses into the canyons provided us with enough views of new wood to know we needed to take it slow and scout carefully while on the water.

By the time we got to the put-in above the upper canyon we were all pretty wet and cold, so we ate a fast lunch and peeled out into the current and launched off the 1st sweet boof of the day. Almost immediately downstream of the 1st boof we were out of our boats and scouting some semi-manky boulder jumbles, our progress below here was further impeded by large downed trees freshly fallen into the creek from the river banks.

Todd 1st boof.

Erik same.

Todd probing the pinch that used to be a falls.

Deep in the upper canyon.

Todd at the top of the biggest rapid in the upper canyon

And at the bottom.

Amazing water color.

Generally, all the best rapids in the upper canyon were in good shape, but we were careful not to let our guard down and so spent a lot of time out of the boats checking for wood -this did nothing to help us warm up. Our original plan was to run at least 2 of the 3 big drops that divide the upper run from the lower, however, by the time we got to the first pinch falls we were freezing and just wanted to get to the lower where we could hopefully stop “dealing” and just rally through some of the classic drops. So, we climbed up and around the crux zone and seal launched back into the canyon just above the sweet put-in falls.

Erik from one angle.

And from another.

And then Todd.

Just downstream of the put-in falls our plan to rally through the lower canyon was blocked… by an avalanche. Apparently this winters substantial low elevation snowpack in conjunction with a devastating late season avalanche cycle, produced a large enough slide to fully cover the creek with 20+ feet of snow and debris. A quick scout of the tunnel that the creek has cut out of the slide revealed a clean class 3 rapid in about 80ft of tunnel. Todd set up for photos and I readied myself to probe it.

Todd checking out the snow slide.

Andrew from the top.

Andrew at the bottom.

Lucky he made it.

Todd.

Now I am not entirely superstitious but one thing I try to avoid when on the river is to not jinx myself, or the group. When attempting to not jinx myself I may avoid expressing statements such as: “Oh, no one ever gets stuck in that hole,” or maybe “This gorge isn’t as steep as I thought.” The possible ironic action associated with these statements would obviously be me getting beat down in that very hole, or, an unrunnable, unportageable canyon. This superstition was put to the test in the upper canyon when I was told by one of our group that “[what could happen] its only 100 cfs,” and then not 30 seconds later I was boofing over said boater while they were getting a very nasty beat down in a small pocket hole. So when, just before I drop in, Erik says, “If that [snow bridge] collapses on you while your under it, you will know it was your time to die,” I had pins and needles racing up and down my spine. Despite the horrible timing of Erik’s comment, we all made it through the tunnel unscathed, and felt really lucky to have the unique opportunity to encounter such a feature while on the river.

From the avalanche through the crux triple drop -and all the way to the landslide zone- the creek was in decent shape. Unfortunately we had miserable luck below here. Immediately downstream of the landslide the creek turned into a absolute wood-filled mess, on our way to the confluence with the NF. Skykomish we portaged over 10 times and did some creative rock sliding down the side of some rapids just to stay in our boats. There was one good double drop that improved our moral for just a moment but then we were back to dragging our boats around class 3 rapids filled with wood.

Todd in the frothy rapid just below the snow slide.

Andrew dropping into “Dewey.”

Punching the hole.

Todd about to do the same.

This was the best rapid below the landslide.

Lower ledge.

Someday if the wood ever cleans out of the upper and lower canyons, and the main road opens up, Silver creek could really be a classic, but until then its a ton of work for a short stretch of pretty whitewater.

One last thing: Bruce and the kids, Thank you for all your help!

Tri.fect.a (tri-fekt-a)

-(in sing.) A run of three wins or grand events.

Origin 1970’s: From Tri- (three) + Perfecta.

9:00 AM - Mt. Baker W.A., 3 friends drop into “Gordys” on a 25 degree morning with over a foot of new pow, slashing the backside wall and running through thier own “tube” of white fluff before stomping one of the many “diving board” style hits on the frontside wall. The backcountry crew is already breaking track up Mt. Herman; a train of nearly a dozen people with an untouched canvas of white laid out before them, an adventure in the making…

Earning turns with Mt. Shuksan in the background.

Todd Gillman laying one down.

On the way to making turns on the untouched sweetness in the background.

1:30 PM - Snow and sunshine are prevalent at the put-in for the Bend, as is the sound of laughter and people re-living thier accounts of the mornings most epic turns, and epic carnage. The flows are low, but it doesn’t matter, while on the river everyone is busy chatting or enjoying the view of 17 people blue-angeling the “Bender” rapid, “Bench drop”, or “S.A.T.” Bottles get tipped at the take-out, its already been an amazing day, and now we are off to the next leg…

Great showing despite the low flows.

Amy Brown @ the Bench drop.

Don Dickinson in S.A.T.

What is this guy thinking??!!

Jenni Pelc showing the crowd how its done in S.A.T.

There were some “Un-desireables” hanging around the river that day.

Let the beer flow…

3:30 PM - The competition is stiff at the glacier disc golf course. A course well know for punishing a person with a wild throw; bushing whacking, mud traps, and lost discs being the normal penalties. The beer is now flowing pretty well, Donnie and Eric are neck in neck but Donnie finishes out the game in style with a 6 under. Everybody is muddy, tired, and hungry and looking forward to the spread that awaits us at Ryan and Jenni’s house.

Amy showing how its done

Dufay with the proper disc golf implements.

7:00 PM - Ryan’s parents Dick and Bonnie win as cooks of the year in my book. While we were “playing” they were slaving away in the kitchen so that we could come home to a smorgasbord of salmon, chicken, steak, along with deluxe salads and cooked veggies. Many other participants contributed an amazing array of creative desserts to share. The party raged hard and ended fast as the days events caught up with everyone and gave them the proverbial kick in the ass.

Bad photo but you get the idea.

Ryan helping out with the cooking.

I think that everyone involved had a awesome day, and, once again spent the day living life to its fullest. This is exactly what our brother Brent did with his life, and I feel its an honor to experience a day in those footsteps. Thank you everybody for coming out! And thank you Ethan Smith, Eric Mickelson, Hilary Neevel for all the photo’s.
NEXT:

Thursday the 24th, BWW held our annual video premiere in Bellingham. The main attraction for the evening was Hotel Charley 3, an adventure film by Ben Stookesbury and Jesse Coombs. The turnout for the evening was awesome as usual, the stoke was high, the movie entertaining, and a good time was had by all. We raised over $700.00 for AW and signed up 10 new members!

I want to put out a big Thank You to all our sponsors: Yeagers, Johnson Outdoors, REI, New Belgium Brewing, Bandito Burrito’s, Backcountry Essentials, and the Outdoor Center. Also a Thanks to the volunteers who helped make the evening happen. Thanks!

THEN:

Saturday afternoon the first (of many, hopefully) Robe canyon race was held. Racers started just above the Tunnel rapids and finished the race 30+ minutes downstream after Conversation. This section on the S.F. Stilliguamish, being one of the best sections of river in the state, is a perfect host for this type of event, with good, clean class 4-5 in a pushy river canyon, its not surprising the level of athletes that showed up for saturdays race.

Hats off to Ben Hawthorne and Rob McKibbin for taking first place in what may turn out to be one of the most grueling races around. For more about the race and to see some more sweet photos check out The Range Life.

Hilary Neevel stomping out Last Sunshine.

The starting line.

Garbage.

Next years womens team?

Hilary Neevel. Support crew.

Robe Canyon.

AND FINALLY:

With hopes that this will be the first of many fine spring time runs down our favorite local creek, a few of us braved the snow ladden banks of Clearwater Creek on Monday for a “Second D” of the season. The flows were low but good enough, with .5 on the new guage being similar to the old 3.2. Along with sliding and boofing our way downstream, we were hooting and hollering with joy to have the chance to dip our paddles in this excellent stream after along winter hiatus.

Heres some pics from the day:

Rocky Road.

This photo taken on APRIL 29th!!!…????

Hilary Neevel b-low Orange Slice.

Below Orange Slice again.

Ryan Bradley boofing the new line on Owen’s drop.

Hale Hanaway stylin’ my favorite “Tweener rapid.”

Ryan Bradley on Ski Jump.

Our U.T.R. Captain provided us with ample Shertlvision for the day when he forgot the keys at the put-in….

Stay tuned, our next mission is coming soon!

It’s just $6 to get in ($5 if you’re a student), and we’ll have beer ($3 with ID), snacks from Bandito’s Burritos (free!), and tons of outdoor and paddling gear to raffle off, including a shiny new Lendal paddle! All proceeds from the event will be donated to American Whitewater to help them promote river access and stewardship.

We’ll be opening the doors at 6, and the film will start at 7. Thanks to our sponsors: Yeagers, Backcountry Essentials, Small World Adventures, Johnson Outdoors, Western Washington University, and REI. Check out the poster below, and click here for more event details, maps to the venue, and a trailer. We hope to see you there!

First, a sweet double feature will be playing April 10 at WWU. The Doof and the Outdoor Center will be hosting LVM 25 along with Cascadia, a flick by BWW’s very own Chris Tretwold. This film is great- tons of footage of spectacular BC and Washington runs, including Tatlow and Big Silver, and featuring local boaters. Here’s the poster:

Second, the RPP will hosting its fourth annual film/AW fundraiser/raffle event on April 24th at Broadway Hall in Bellingham. We’re still getting the details ironed out, but we’ve already got some terrific prizes lined up, so we’re on track for another great event. This year, we’ll be showing the latest Hotel Charley film: The Lost World. 2007 National Geographic Adventurers of the Year and all around good guys Ben Stookesberry and Jesse Coombs will be on hand to present their film. These films have always been amazing, and this years’ edition promises to be no different, with footage from first descents in Newfoundland, Brazil, Colombia, and India. Check here for more info about the event.

Chris Korbulic going big in Newfoundland during the filming of
Hotel Charley 3: The Lost World. Photo by Darin McQuoid.

Third, Backcountry Essentials, Kavu, and us here at BWW will be teaming up to present Oil + Water on May 22 at BE’s shop on Holly Street. This film chronicles the journey of Seth Warren and Tyler Bradt as they travel the length of North and South America in Baby, an old fire truck that they converted to run on vegetable oil, kayaking along the way and promoting freedom from reliance on petroleum products. This film has won tons of awards, and promises to be both educational and entertaining. It’ll also be a fundraiser for American Whitewater, and just happens to feature some top-notch kayaking. Here’s the trailer:

Finally, don’t forget about the second annual Trifecta, coming up on April 19th. Hopefully we’ll have some snow on the mountain, some water in the river, and a dry course for some good disc (those three things sound mutually exclusive, but that’s exactly what happened last year. Here’s to a repeat!).

Stay tuned for more info as these events get closer. Spring is here!

“A few years ago I heard the story of a trio of friends accomplishing the Trifecta, a monumental occurrence that has only been done one time. One of these individuals sparked many epic days for all of us, and in the spirit of Brent R. Bradley (Bert), it’s time to commemorate this event and never forget to live in the moment!” - Hale Hanaway

Brent (r) and Ryan thumbing a shuttle ride

Trifecta: A one day marathon combining three of our favorite activities; Mt. Baker in the morning, boating The Bend in the afternoon, and finishing with disc golf in Glacier!!!

All who are interested are invited to attend, and the only requirement is to enjoy this day to the fullest, however you can. Either participate in all three events or what ever you care to take on! Last year we all ended up skinning up Mt Herman together, and then rallied down to the Bend (mile marker 37) at 12:30 for both kayaking and rafting. Feel free to join the skin or just take some turns at the mountain! Disc golf after boating, 18 or 36 holes for the manliest or womanliest of frolfers!!! Parking at the ranger station for frolf might be a good idea depending on the numbers we have. We’ll finish the day with a BBQ, or beer and pizza at the North Fork.

Last years’ Trifecta was a blast! We hope that you’ll be able to join us for this years’ event. Feel free to comment here if you have any questions, and we’ll post more details as we get closer to the 19th.

Here’s a few pics from the Inaugural Trifecta:

Round 1: Skinning up Mt Herman

The group on top of Mt Herman

Round 2: The group at the Bend put-in

Jenni boofing at Bench

The group below Bench

Rafting the Canyon

Round 3: Disc golf in Glacier

See you there!

The Rio Jondachi is one of the classic Ecuadorian rivers. In fact, it’s not uncommon for boaters staying in the the town Tena to do nothing but the Jondachi for days on end. This phenomenon is partially due to the fact that it is a friendly class 4-5 run with a bus shuttle right from town. The main reason is, of course, the character of the river. Nowhere else in the surrounding area is there the same mix of gradient, granite boulders, and jungle scenery, which is what really makes it the classic it is.

The first month down here I found myself too busy for a chance on the Jondachi, but finally my day came in December.

With a typical boater start, we were on the bus by 11 o-clock in the morning. I was a bit nervous, as Hilary and I had never paddled the Jondachi and were in playboats, Logan, our guide, hadn’t paddled it since the year before, and that on top of a late start, changes in the river since last year and the notorious afternoon flash floods kept the tensions high.

As the bus drove over the take-out bridge our glimpse of the creek revealed the flow to be just about perfect ¨Sweet, I thought, as long as it doesn’t flood on us and nothing goes wrong, we’re set.¨

The bus dropped us off on the side of the road and we began to suit up for the 20 minute muddy shlog to the put-in. In the future we would play a game on the way to the put-in where the 1st person to fall had to buy beers for everyone, if another person fell they would split the cost, etc..

Jondachi hike in.

Arriving at the river at 2 o clock, we all quickly made the decision to skip the 1st half of the 1st rapid below the bridge and get moving.

Immediately we found ourselves in some great class 4ish rapids with great technical moves. Logan was doing a great job remembering the rapids, though we did have one close call where Logan went under a small log that was just above the water. Logan lost his paddle and went over the ledge nearly upside down, handrolled and got his paddle back before the next drop, luckily. I bought a saw and took care of the tree the next time we were on the Jondachi; it’s a really fun boof now.

The rapid known as ¨Sideways boof.

We worked our way through the crux half mile with a few quick scouts, and a sneak past the undercut-hole combo known as ¨Sticky-fingers.¨

In the crux zone now!

The rapids mellowed out a bit, but, they never stopped coming; this run is stacked with rapids and even when they are not difficult you still can’t always see around the large boulders to know if the rest of the rapid is free of wood or not.

At around 4:30 we made it to the 1st portage, known as ¨Tres Huevos (3 eggs)¨. This year, Tres Huevos had a log in the entrance ledge, making it a difficult move to stick; the out-come of an un-stuck line was to be flushed toward a sieve-crack between 2 of the 3 ¨Eggs¨ with only one chance to catch a eddy above it. This is also near the halfway mark, and with dark coming around 6 o- clock everyday it also meant we needed to start boogieing.

Rail grabs still rule.

Hilary coming thru.

Theres scenery like this in every eddy.

About 20 minutes downstream was ¨Typhoid falls,¨ which had a sneak-portage line down the right. From Typhoid falls down, the river eases up to class 3 plus boogie water with a few decent rapids thrown in here or there. We made good time through here but still ended up at the take-out bridge at 6 o-clock. Close one.

Lucky for us, a bus came by immediately. Hilary passed boats up to Logan and I, and as we were working on tying the boats down to the top of the bus, the driver must have gotten antsy and started to drive off. With no other option, we finished tying down the boats and sat on top of the bus for the hour long ride back to Tena. It was a beautiful sunset that night and we had the best seats from which to view it from.

The ride home…

kayakers on the lower Jondachi.

Here’s a couple images from Feliz Año Nuevo (New Years). The local custom is to make a doll of straw and dress it up with masks and clothing to characterize the change, or habit, you hope to make or see in the new year. Then you burn it!

Decorating…

Dousing…

Burning.

During another week off Hilary and I had a chance to hook up with Pat from the Wesnatchee zone and Marco from B.C. They had a couple of weeks of vacation and were looking to get after it. After a couple laps on the Jondachi and a ridiculously long 28 mile day on the Rio Hollin, we headed back to the Quijos drainage and fired up the Papallacta, a major trib of the Quijos.

The Papallacta is a steep small creek that is roadside if you don’t mind hiking up 1000 ft from the river to the road. The creek starts off mellow enough for a half mile before dropping into a mile long gorge full of twisting ledges, menacing holes, and very few eddies; all of this makes up the crux of the run.

Stopping for some media.

The rest of the run eases up a bit, but continued to challenge us with some complex boulder gardens that had super classic boof moves interspersed with must-make moves. A sick boof into the Rio Quijos marks the end of this run.

Brian killing it.

Another classic run we hit up was the Rio Oyacachi. The Oyacachi has a great multiday upper section that rarely ever gets done. Most boaters head to the put-in 8 miles up from its confluence with the Quijos where the Oyacachi immediately tilts downhill and into high gear, sliding around, over, and sometimes under a streambed of medium-sized boulders.

Hilary in the maelstrom.

When the Oyacachi is running high it is an unstoppable maelstrom of monster hole after monster hole with tight twisting lines between them. It F&$! rules. Highly recommended.

Yup thats a ¨Y¨ boat.

In January the Ecuadorian Rivers Institute holds the annual Napo Fest. This festival is to raise awareness for the Napo river and its tributaries. The main issues of awareness are pollution of garbage, fecal matter, and rising sediment levels due to in-river quarries.

Pat on a Rio Napo tributary. Land of Giants, Rio Misahualli

The festival started in Tena on Friday night with some music and dancing in the town square. On Saturday the festival moved down to Puerto Misahualli for a day full of river games. Lets see, there were free kayaks for kids to play with, which was probably the most popular activity all day. There were also a handful of competitions: raft races, balsa wood boat building race, kayak sprint and of course a rodeo, which was won once again by Jaime, a Tena local who has been winning the rodeo for the past few years. The evening held a candlelight vigil and local indigenous dancing.

Locals on a balsa wood raft.

Chillin in Ahuano.

On the 3rd day anybody who could find something to float on was invited to join the mass flotilla from Puerto Misahualli to Ahuano. In Ahuano there was painting for the children and more local indigenous dancing. All in all it was a great weekend: lots of fun to see the locals so excited about the preservation of their river, and I think they just like a reason to party too.

Don, Darcy, Hilary, and I spent a few days doing some paddling on the Rio Coca and its tributaries. The Coca is amazing remote overnight jungle run with some of the grandest scenery I experienced in Ecuador. A quick look at a topo map will show you the run is in the deepest canyon of the Rio Coca and every part of it is an adventure. First you have a 1.5 hour hike in with a quick side trip to look down into the craziest chasm I’ve ever seen: the whole river (and when I say river I mean like 20-30,000 cfs) gets squeezed down into a chasm 4-500 feet deep and only 10-20 feet wide. It is an amazing scene, and you put in right at the bottom of it.

A really big river in a really small canyon.

The Coca put-in. Above here the river is called the Quijos.

Below the put-in is 4 hours of huge water read-n-run class 4-4plus in a sick canyon. Besides the canyon and the whitewater, this river corridor is infested with tons of monkeys, birds, and other random jungle dwellers.

Hilary floating out of the Coca canyon.

Big water surfing.

Heres a few other random pics from our travels:

This is what happens to you when boating in the jungle of Ecuador.

Chichi monkeys. I would make that face too if I had that much banana to eat.

This is what happens when kayakers have to play with rafts.

Well, that’s it for the Ecuador updates for this spring. Sometime this fall I will post video of the rivers and surrounding area.

Hasta luego.

Make no mistake – I love a proper winter!

But there are some drawbacks. These conditions have not only shut down boating on Clearwater, but have also prevented new, local material from appearing on our web page. Instead, Chris and Hilary have bean able to taunt us all winter long with pictures of happy short sleeved boaters and stories of beautiful canyons in South America, while we remain BOOF-less.

I believe this situation is morally wrong, so I was inspired to take action. Posted below are a few of my favorite boofs from 07. Hopefully it will encourage some of you who take your cameras out more than me to take a break from waxing your boards and post some of yours. Then there will be a fresh place to turn when the Middle Fork gage is reading below 300, again…

Donnie Dickinson celebrating Bert day at first annual Trifecta in April! Bench Drop, NF Nooksack River

Owen Callahan sticking two in a row (actually three, but only two are shown)Rutherford River, BC.

Eric Mickelson, clearly looking forward to the foam pile on this one. The big waterfall, Callaghan Creek, BC.

Justin Cook styling some unexpected air time (photo: Denny Lunge)”First Falls” Middle Callaghan Creek, BC.

Jon Dufay — the Doof nails his boof. Put-in waterfall, Cheakamus River, BC.

Ryan boofing “Little Beaver Falls”. Little Beaver Creek, North Cascades.

Chris Tretwold, stepping up for this 1st D. Trial Falls, Thunder Creek, North Cascades.