Sunday, December 7, 2008

UUC - It all started with a drainplug?

So I haven't posted anything in a bit for the same reason most whitewater blogs have been getting rusty and neglected. No Water!! We did get a good dumping several weeks back and got on Opal Creek a few times before it snowed in, Upper Wind once, we've have gotten on the Truss section of the White Salmon 3-4 times in the past several weekends. At 1.75' and all coming from the top, it's been really good. (except the day me, Devin and Michael Williams all forgot pogies and with 39 degree air and low 40 water it plain sucked. I opted to not run Big Bro' that day cause I could not grip my paddle for sure get the boof off the flake. Sp far I have a good half dozen runs over Big Bro' with improved lines each time. Last weekend it was the Truss on Sat and N Santiam from Big Cliff Dam down to Mill City. Devin took that run off to hang with friends. Friends that don't kayak? Poor kid!! Just kiddin' Dev.

So now ur up to date with the past month.

Devin had gotten sick towards the end of this week so he was MIA on this Sundays trip down the Upper Upper Cispus. Levels for this stout class V run started at 740cfs on the gauge and rose up to near 1000cfs during the day. We expected it was rising with the light rain we had the entire time up there.

UUC 12/7/8 GAUGE

I myself have been fight walking pneumonia the past three weeks and haven't been to the gym during and my skinny ass can use all the muscle it can get. Lung capacity was been the biggest issue and energy levels have been slacking. This trip to the UUC was the first test of my low energy output on a stout run.

After several people fell off the trip emails due to sickness or broken boats it came down to myself, Chris Arnold and Eric Arlington. We all are fairly new to the UUC and plaid it safe most of the way down. The run is by far the most wood infested I have yet to run. Add the steep boulder gardens and things can go wrong quickly. The first warm up waterfall has wood just downstream and while Devin and Joe Stumpfeld ran it my past trip we all walked it on the left with ease. The run was going good and I felt pretty strong which I was happy to see.

I knew of possible wood in the bottom of a drop I believe is called "prelude to island". Oregonkayaking.net shows Jesse Coombs running it in the write up on the far left. Anyway, there is a tree blocking the left to center of the river making you run a sketch middle right line boofing right to cut far river right directly above a wood/ rock sieve. I told Chris and Eric the line we took and they both went without incident and it was my turn. As I made the right boof turn my right blade was too close to the hydraulic and my planned stroke turned into a flip and I got quickly pushed the 5 feet into the sieve! As soon as I touched the wood I knew where I was and pulled my skirt and grabbed onto one of the 6" pieces of wood sticking out of the water to stabilize myself. My boat went into the rock sieves a few feet away. I still had my paddle in my hand. I was able to get myself up onto the bigger rocks and Chris hopped rocks to help me get it unpinned and drained. I'd highly recommend just portaging the whole rapid till the wood is gone on the left. We knew better! Eric while draining more water out while I got over to river right bank dropped my drainplug in the water and was never seen again.

With a little less energy we headed downstream. Another piece of wood "the 3 foot variety" is blocking the center left to right bank. Last time with EJ having more water at that point the line was safer running far left. We all ran it OK but we all kinda boofed up onto the tree with the ability to get denied and pinned. Portagable on the right and visible prior to committing.

Island soon came up and I could feel my lack of motivation setting in. I hate the left slide line as it usually drops you into the bottom hole of the right channel. The right line runs you through a narrow pothole drop about 6' wide. I have yet to see anyone style the first drop hitting their boof. Eric went first. Flipped between holes but rolled up before the second one. I hesitant, went second. I just don't like the drop but portaging is a pain. I had a descent line not flipping or getting stuck in either hole and Chris went last with good results.

At a rapid called "the squeeze" where the river constricts again into a s-turn that slams you into a rock outcropping on the right wall. I once again didn't get the best line and hit my bow on the right wall. It shot up onto my stern, smacked by bow on the over head tree and got violently endered. My back was a little sore from that one. This time I just couldn't get a god setup and had my first swim in a benign runout in quite some time.

More boulder gardens and we had one last portage around more wood. Portage on either side. That and the right hillside slide downstream signals the entrance to the Behemoth Gorge. A fun stretch of holes that would be a lot more fun to get stuck in if Behemoth Falls wasn't but 20 yards downstream!! Christie Glissmeyer and myself both got a quick tour of the last big hole on my last trip. Eric set safety at that hole today which was great to have. I got flipped in the hole but rolled up to catch the right eddy in time.

Chris was on the left bank after running the gorge first and Eric was above me. They both asked if I was gonna be the probe and I decided. Sooner the better I felt. I charged out from the right eddy with good right to left angle over the entrance slide portion of the drop. Last time I fell off the slide into the meat of the falls. Didn't want a repeat!! I charged a bit too hard, hit the flake and shot of the remaining 15'? sideways. Landed upright but the hydraulic quickly flipped me being parallel to the curtain. Rolled up quick to find to my horror the boils were forcing me into a part of the falls I'd only heard about. The eddy pocket left of the curtain!! I tried with all I had, even at 100% I'm doubtful the outcome would have changed.

The eddy is a place one doesn't want to visit! It's about a paddle width wide from left wall to the curtain of the falls. The boils continue wanting to shove you along the wall and into the curtain. I was still in my boat but trapped without either paddlers able to see me or know anything. Chris could see the exit of the falls and knew I hadn't made it out while Eric had no way to know. For the next several minutes I would try to paddle out, get rejected, forced back into the curtain, go up either end that it hit and paddle back away to get spun 180 and repeat. I was not coming out of the eddy without two options: Chris that was on my side of the river got down along the cliffs. I near impossible task without himself falling into the the river or I paddled into the curtain and got the beating of my life and with a slim chance in my mind come out downstream without imploding my skirt, getting shoved behind the curtain in the back in or out of boat. Swimming downstream means I'd be swimming towards my favorite "bastard hole" and a solid class V boulder garden while Chris and Eric could do nothing.

I took being in my boat and stuck till I got put into the curtain against my will or ran out of energy. After what seemed like a lifetime I saw Chris' head above me!! He threw down a rope he'd already anchored off to me. There were not grab point on the wall with the exception of a small pothole a couple of feet up. I tried several attempts at getting my paddle to stay and finally did. The boat was not a option for me to anchor into the rope so I pulled my skirt, holding onto the rope and pulled myself up onto the pothole and my boat disappeared into the curtain. Oh well!

This only provided a short term fix with Chris unable to pull me up from directly above via that rope. I used a carabiner and my safety anchor on the front of my Astral PFD to tie me to the rope. Chris then quickly worked his way downstream and lower to a point he could pull from and wanted to throw another rose to me. The plan: untie myself from the one rope and jump towards downstream aka the curtain and boils. I kept trying to get him to pull me straight up but he said that wasn't a option and after a few attempts to get me the rope. I did want didn't come willing or naturally. Jump. I finally did and I'm glad Chris is big enough anchor to pull me away from the curtain. That then sent me swimming the left line by the "bastard hole" Out of sight I made it to the left bank but the eddy wanted to not make it so easy.

Now safe and below both drops I found my boat and paddle were in the large recirculating eddy on river right next to the falls. I later found that they had decided to throw my paddle from above into the eddy after I'd tied the paddle to the rope I'd been anchored to. I was confused for a second till I found out why. Both Chris and Eric had good lines over the falls. Chris ran the "bastard hole" eddying out river right and Eric paddled into the right eddy to attempt to get my gear out of it's grip. In the end Chris with my PFD throw rope went up over the right cliff to the eddy within a punchbowl and the two of them retrieved my boat and paddle. Chris made a good call and hopped into my Nomad and with my paddle ran the "bastard hole" Eric had already ran it and got stuck in the hole. When he came out of his boat he was briefly stuck in the hole and I found I had neither ropes with me and could only watch hoping for the best. He and his boat flushed out and he self rescued all but his paddle that I could only watch it head through the class V boulder garden till out of sight.

Chris roped me over to my boat and we quickly headed down through the rapid. At one point I ran a drop, flipped getting pushed up against what felt like a large boulder with a small diameter piece of wood against it. I quickly pulled my skirt, flushed around it with boat and paddle into a eddy.

We charged down through the mile or so runnout and got to the take-out at 4:10? It was dark by 4:30! Scary....... :(

That now makes for the worst day paddling in my life. But at least my life goes on!!

Tally for the run:

me - wood/rock sieve rescue
me - 2 swims out of my boat
me - getting stuck in the left eddy of Behemoth
Eric - lost throwbag at Behemoth
Eric - lost paddle (last seen traveling through the last class V boulder garden
Chris & Eric - a shit load of river karma for helping me

me - oh, did I mention my Nomad 8.5 ended up with two large cracks under the seat during the run. I noticed the biggest prior to Behemoth Gorge.

Lesson learned:

Safety classes and continued practice of rescue skills can and will save a friends life.
Always wear a drysuit or equivalent in cold water. It quite possible saved my life several times on the UUC today from hypothermia!!

Video of Chris Arnold on Island rapid.