Tallulah Fest and a test run in the Recon and Ethos.

Unknown Paddler making his way Right of the Thing!

Tallulah fest

Paddling with a ton of buddies from all over the world on a great river is always a blast, especially when there is a couple fresh boats from Wave Sport to test out. Bryan Kirk, Chris Wing and I set out on day two of Tallulah Fest, with a second generation Recon ( the new creek boat ), an Ethos ( the new cross over boat ), and a Project X. Needless to say the quiver was loaded and it was about time to test out some new Boats.

Walking down the immense stair case to the put in, Bryan, Chris, and I were hounded with questions, What boat is that? How big is it? When is it going to come out? I want one!

Bryan Kirk launching the new Recon Creek Boat

I started in the Ethos cross over boat, which was a quickly produced prototype boat. The out fitting felt great, and the shape looked good; the only problem was the quick activating drop down skeg didn't have a control. A few strips of duck tape later and I was feeling confident that the skeg wasn't going to self deploy half way down Oceana... I was wrong.

Upon sliding off the put in stairs into the river I felt a very odd sensation, the back of the boat wouldn't go anywhere. The duck tape had removed itself and the skeg that is supposed to lower a few inches into the water, was submersed 18 inches. The thought of hiking the boat to the top of the stairs was ridiculous. After a quick deliberation Bryan Kirk and I decided to shove the skeg back up into the boat and to break little branches off on both sides of it. The thought was that we could wedge the Skeg back up and into the boat. I was pretty sure this plan wasn't going to work, but to my surprise, the little sticks held way better then the Duck tape.  The Skeg stayed up, and I got to paddle the huge Ethos Cross Over boat down the Tallulah gorge.

Unknown Paddler in a Dagger Green Boat entering the THING

Paddling down, we took the time to check out each others boats and give some great feedback that will certainly be used in the final products.

Unknown Kayaker blasting past the Thing on Oceana

The Recon

This boat is going to be amazing, the tiered rail on the back of the boat allows it to aggressively carve. The nose is soft with plenty of rocker to get up and over anything in it's path. The best part is there is plans for a 90ish gallon model that is going to be great for self support, the big guys out there, or any one that love to float supper high.

Bryan Kirk with a prototype Recon at the base of Tallulah falls

The Ethos

I almost hate to call this a Cross Over boat, except for the fact that it has a drop down skeg. I truly could paddle this down most class 5 and it will be an exceptional 5- muti-day self support boat. I am already dreaming of a solo self support Grand Canyon trip.

Check out what Wave Sport has to say about the Ethos, along with some other video of it charging down Tallulah Geoge here.

Most importantly well at the Tallulah check out the rowdy rope swing, it's right before the take out on the right. This swing is impressive!

Another adventure brought to you by Chris Baer

Cheoah, North Fork of the French Broad, and the Little River Canyon

Chris Baer, Charging the middle line at Bear Creek Falls on the Cheoah

Here is a quick kayak video from North Carolina, Georgia, and Alabama, paddling with a super wide variety of my favorite characters.

Chris Baer, sitting atop an amazing rubber chicken launcher

The North Fork of the French Broad
Paddling with Paul Buttler, and Hank Rankin is a blast, they are young and full of go getter energy. After finishing our first lap the day light was dwindling. I almost couldn't believe my lips, "We ought to go for another lap". I was pushing the day light again. We slid off the embankment for another hot lap, we had barely finished the last major drop and it was basically dark. We bebop-ed our way through the long run out and hiking up the takeout path in the pitch dark.

Cheoah
Be careful out there, coming down my very first ever Cheoah lap, there was a large tree pinned just below the surface of the river. I eddied out and got on a small rock overlooking the strainer. I was absolutely disgusted by what happened next, one by one and some times two at a time struggling class 3 boaters washed in to the tree and became pinned. Thankfully Andrew Holcombe, and a hand full of other kayakers had placed them self's near the strainer, and where able to pull the would be victims up and over the log. After an hour of carnage Andrews team moved down stream and left me to play with the few people making a late second lap.

A couple days later I received this email from Matt Dolian,

I just wanted to send you a quick note and tell you how great it was to see you and the other guys with the training and skills required take time out of your day on the Cheoah to make sure everyone was safe at that strainer. 

I also wanted to express how great your enthusiasm is when it comes to whitewater. Your excitement is contagious and it definitely led to me bucking up and getting my ass in a kayak. After one year of solid boating, I can honestly say it's the best thing I've done with my life and I really wanted to thank you for being a great ambassador to the sport.

Jacob Kowalewski, Brad McMillan, and Chris Baer routing through Bear Creek Falls

Little River Canyon
Finishing up a great weekend on the Cheoah Wes Dewit offered up another adventure, The Little River Canyon in Alabama. The flow was exceptional low, Wes hadn't kayaked it in 10 years, and I had never seen the river. We treated it as a personal first descent scouting almost everything and realizing that the river flowed equally above and under rocks. The rapids were sieved out, with major hazards only a couple inches away. Slowly we made our way down the river, and six hours after putting on we had completed the entire 11 1/2 miles of white water.

Another Adventure brought to you by Chris Baer

South East Tour

A couple of rafters approaching the Thing

Back in the south east, there is only one thing to do, well there is a couple things to do. Mainly hope for rain and when that doesn't happen enjoy the garrenties, the Green Race and Tallulah release.

My head was still spinning from three days of travel, returning to the States from Africa. I left West Virginia after Halloween with costume makeup still on my face, I had to get moving again. I swung through Kentucky for some White Lightning that would help fuel the next few weeks. First up was the Green Race, I have never taken the run lightly but I make the race into a joke. Last year I had a fun whistle in my mouth while launching off of Gorilla, this year I was trying to figure out how to one up myself. It was time for pyro techniques, roman caddles to be exact.

Chris Baer, with a Roman Candle attached to the back of the helmet, thanks again WRSI for protecting my head against all sorts of danger.

I came through Chefs, and eddied out to have a cohort place a roman candle in a sleeve on the back of my helmet. As the first round from the roman candle went off I knew I was back at home. The crowd grew loud, and I had an ever expanding smile on my face. I had explosives going off on the back of my head all while paddling towards Gorrila the crux of the entire race.

Chris Baer, getting my nose down on Gorilla

 My finish time was toward the back of the pack, but I had a smile knowing that I had more fun then most of the competitors combined... and that I was about to win the after party.

It was time to do a little planning for my next big adventure... Chile. I also had to plan the next weekends event Tallulah fest. I sat in the Henderson Ville library for three days of transferring video clips editing photos and checking on air plane tickets. After three days of sitting I was ecstatic for the weekend.

The South East runs are usually damn releases, and that means that all two hundred boaters put on the river together. Tallulah is a prime example, lots of officials, lots of lines, and lots of sketchy boaters. Tallulah also draws an amazing amount of friends, between Green Race and Tallulah I was able to see more then a hundred kayaking buddies. That amount of paddlers in a small place usually leads to after parties. Late evenings sipping on white lightning and speaking of different adventures, past and present.

Random kayaker getting intimate with the Thing

 Tallulah's white water is super high quality, who doesn't love sliding down a steep bedrock slide into a gigantic explosion called the "Thing".

The Tallulah river is dewatered for most of the year, there is a damn and hydro electric plant that divert the water from it's normal course. For a couple weekends in the spring and fall there are recreational releases. These releases will never replenish the ecological damage done by dewatering a delicate ecosystem. These releases do give us a chance to enjoy a spectacular valley and hopefully leave a long lasting impression that dewatering rivers, is not a sustainable energy option.  

These guys had a interesting craft, it was originally from Russia and was over twenty years old

 

Two days of paddling on Tallulah and the weekend was over, time to repack the bags and get ready for my next adventure... Chile.

Another adventure brought to you by Chris Baer.

Tallulah,

yea its Oceana and yea it's rowdy, Jeff Clewell dropping left


random dude sending the right side, this side is easier but puts you scary close to the ledge in the "Thing"


Drew Austell, I thought he was going to start threwing cartwheels in one of the gnarliest eddys any where


Drew Austell making the left line look smooth


more randoms in a shredder
That is that short and to the point. This run is supper fun the walk down the stairs is beautiful, and there is plenty of goobers walking the big drops and swimming all over the place.
Stay posted as I am currently in the airport headed to south America