Copper Creek Action

After our Canyon Creek adventure on Saturday, Christina and I joined forces with a few others to do a run down Copper Creek on Sunday morning. The place we camped the night before put us a quick 15 minute dive to the put in. So why wouldn’t we try and hit another great creek? When 9am rolled around the group all rallied up to the put in for a quick run down.

Christina Getting ready at the Put In
Photo: Josh McKeown

The first rapid that you come to on Copper Creek is known as Certain Death. Usually there are one or two people out of the group that will fire up this drop. Today Todd Baker was our lucky number one. Like usual, he made the drop look easy.

Looking Down the Main part of Certain Death
Photo: Christina Russell

Christina Scouting Certain Death... And taking Pictures
Photo: Josh McKeown

Todd Baker in the middle of Certain Death
Photo: Josh McKeown

Ryan Scott Putting in Below Certain Death
Photo: Christina Russell

After Certain Death the water is pretty calm for the next mile with class 2/3 rapids. This section of the creek is beautiful and is worth seeing even if you don’t run the main drops. After the mile is over you come to the next section of rapids/falls known as “The Big Falls.” This consists of a small slide into an 8 footer, then into a 18 footer. Everyone in the group fired off this drop perfectly.

Me scouting the drop with a fellow boater
Photo: Christina Russell

Christina Scouting/Filming People Running The Big Falls
Photo: Josh McKeown

Ryan Scott Boofing the 8 Footer
Photo: Josh McKeown

Christina about to Boof off the 8 footer on The Big Falls
Photo: Josh McKeown

Christina boofing off the 18 footer
Photo: Josh McKeown

The Crew Looking back upstream at The Big Falls
Photo: Conner

Once The Big Falls are done with, the next mile or so consists of some more class 2/3 rapids. All of this is fun read and run rapids that is continuous over the whole mile. This leads into the final rapids for Copper Creek known as The Final 5. It sounds exactly how it plays out with 5 different drops stacked on top of each other. The first drop is a small ledge boof that can be run in a number of different spots (Just make sure to boof, one of our crew got a nice beat down in this first drop). The second drop is a sloping hole that requires a nice delayed boof stroke to skim over the recirculation. After this you drop directly into number three which has a steep gradient into a hole backed up by a wall that turns left. Finally you get 50 feet of flat water before the last two drops. These two are pretty much one drop that has a sloping 6 footer into a 8-10 footer with a hole on the right side. Overall the drops or pretty straight forward and it is easy to scout or portage if needed. Just fyi, if portage or scout, be quiet because the side you do this on is private land. Anyway, everyone that decided to run these drops had great lines and concluded the run gracefully.

Ryan Scott on the First Drop of The Final 5
Photo: Christina Russell

Todd Baker and Ryan Scott Below Number two and in Number 3
Photo: Christina Russell

Me Dropping into Number 3
Photo: Keel Brightman

Some of the Crew below Number 4 and 5
Photo: Christina Russell

Christina and I below Number 4 and 5
Photo: Christina Russell

The Take Out for Copper Creek
Photo: Christina Russell

The Take Out!
Photo: Christina Russell

From The Final 5 you have a few hundred yards to the take out. Copper Creek runs into the East Fork of the Lewis and many people like to continue down that section to run Horseshoe Falls. On this particular day we took out at the bottom of Copper Creek due to some people wanting to get back for the Huck Fest at Sunset Falls. Christina and I decided to hit up the full run on the East Fork of the Lewis with a few other people.

So Stay tuned for the next post on the East Fork of the Lewis!

Races and Carnage

So Christina Russell and I got the chance to head over to the Canyon Creek race this past weekend. The race had about 85+ people to show up and compete in R2, IK, and K1 events. We had some gorgeous weather that made the day that much better along with some good flows on Canyon Creek. Christina and I left Friday night after classes and drove up to the take out of Canyon Creek to camp for the night. Arriving at the take out we found around 35 other boaters doing the same thing. Both of us called it a night due to having an early start the next morning. Waking up at around 7am we got some breakfast and headed up stream for a quick warm up run down. This was only the second time Christina had seen Canyon Creek and my first. So it was in the best interest for both of us to get a quick lap on it before we decided to race down it. With a few other people, we got on the water at about 10am and started to bomb down the run.

Arriving on the first real rapids for the day, everyone made there way through with good lines. At this point we came to the rapid known as Prelude Thrasher. Unfortunately someone put the beta out there that it was Thrasher instead of Prelude. Todd and Conner went first followed by me. In my mind I was visualizing thrasher and the move that I needed to make for the rapid that I had seen in pictures.

Let me say real quick to I brought a new boat for the race, a Liquidlogic Remix 69, to get a little more length and speed for the race. This proved to be a bad idea due to the boat handling much different than my Liquidlogic Jefe that I have been paddling for the past two years.

The Picture Above is Prelude. I was stuck in the hole on the right side of the Picture. Thanks to oregonkayaking.net for the picture


Anyway, I dropped into Prelude Center Left/Left with a right angle which ended up putting me perfectly sideways into the worst part. Note that this rapid is supposed to be run center Right/far right! The left side of Prelude consists of a nasty ledge hole that is backed up by a rock wall creating a pocket hole that is nearly impossible to get out of without help. I ended up in a side surfing position with my head down stream against the rock wall. I could mange to hold my head above water with a solid brace and tried this for about 30 seconds or more. I tried to throw my bow/stern into the ledge hole to work myself free. Every time that I tried this, it pretty much did nothing to help my situation anymore due to the angle of the hole and rock wall. During this side surfing action Todd Baker was paddling up stream to try and give me his bow to pull me out. I saw him coming up and decided that it might be the best time to swim and try to grab onto his boat to get out. In my mind that process that would take place when I swam was that I would fall/push myself out down stream towards Todd’s boat and be able to grab onto it and escape the hole. The actual event was MUCH different than I expected!

When I pulled my skirt and pushed myself out of my boat I instantly got sucked underwater and lost all direction. I was caught extremely off guard and began to get recycled in the hole. The ledge hole began to push me down deep and let me up every 8 seconds or so to get a very very small breath of air before I would go under water again. After about 30 seconds of being recirculated I realized that I was not coming out of this hole by myself. I tried to go deep to escape the recirculating water but only hit the wall. The pillows of water coming off the wall push me back into the hole again. Getting another small breath of air I went deep again and I tried grabbing the wall to pull myself out, but only found smooth slippery rock. At this point I began to lose my energy due to not getting enough air. I kept trying different positions to get myself flushed out of the hole but nothing proved to work. A minute passed by and I came to the realization that this might be the place where I was going to die. Everything started to become a little more peaceful and I began to accept my fate. I lost almost all strength and things started go become black.

During my time in the hole Todd Baker was paddling like crazy below trying to get his boat in the position for me to grab when I was both in and out of my boat. He literally paddled back into the hole more than once to try and get me. The last time that I resurfaced, after the long struggle in the hole, he managed to be in the right place when I came up. His boat bumped me in the head (I don’t remember this) and I somehow got the strength to grab his boat. Todd paddled like hell backwards and pulled me free from the hole.

I know when dramatic things happen to you it is much different when your watching it vs. experiencing it. But I know for a fact that I was one recirculation away from drowning and Todd Baker truly did save my life.

After getting myself on shore I took awhile to recuperate before figuring out where all my gear had gone. Conner had managed to rescue my paddle but lost the boat down stream. Hiking down the side for a little while, I decided that I should head up and out of the canyon. Kim and Christina were both shaken up by the event and offered to hike out with me. We all started the bush whacking process up the hill until we came to a old 4 wheel drive road. We hiked along this road for an hour or so and managed to reach the main highway. Sitting along the highway a little while, we got a ride from a fellow boater down to the take out. Once we reached the take out it was already 12:30 and the race had begun. Unfortunately we were unable to compete for the day, but there is always next year!.

The next few hours Christina and I spent recuperating and talking with fellow boaters. I got some beta from people at the take out that my boat had been pulled out by Nate and Heather Herbeck and was sitting on shore above Champaign. We all sat around for the next few hours trying to find a ride back upstream with one of the motor boats taking spectators to the finish line.

With no luck, I decided to take my playboat and paddle the hour flat water to the finish line to try and rescue my boat. An hour or so later I reached the finish line of Canyon Creek which consists of a rapid called Toby’s. When I was paddling up, all the racers were coming down for the day. I got different beta about the hike up from Toby’s to Champaign, from one person saying it wasn’t to bad of a hike, and many others saying it would be an adventure trying to get up stream along the bank. The majority of the people were right, for when I got myself up there, it proved to be a lot more than I was expecting. Stashing my playboat at the bottom of Toby’s rapid, I started my hike up along the cliffs of Canyon Creek. Of course with the luck of the day, I ended up being by myself with no support if something went wrong.

Above is Champaign and Hammering Spot. I hiked up the left side of the picture along the cliffs. Thanks to oregonkayaking.net for the picture

Above is Toby's Rapid: Thanks to oregonkayaking.net for the picture

All I can say is that the hike back up stream is possible but has some scary parts that require rock climbing above a class 5 rapid. Climbing on vertical walls and bouldering my way through small cracks, I finally reach my boat above Champaign. All in all the hike back up stream took me 30-45 minutes. My boat was in good shape and I knew the only way to get it out was to paddle the last three rapids on Canyon Creek. Luckily I thought of this before my hike up and ended up wearing all my gear. So I jumped into my boat and paddled down to the lip of Champaign. I had talked with a few people about the lines you needed to take on all the rapids earlier that day, and remembered I wanted to go center left at Champaign, Right at Hammering Spot, and a center right boof at Toby’s. Feeling really nervous about being solo and just escaping death earlier that morning, I managed to fire off all the drops perfectly. I grabbed my playboat below Toby’s and towed it behind me for the 45 minute paddle across the lake water to the take out.

I reached the take out for the day thankful to be alive and exhausted from the events of the day. Everyone was in a good mood and ready to go party at Oly’s house. Christina and I jumped into my Tacoma and did the 25 minute drive to the party. The night was filled with live music, good food, and plenty of beer. That night both Christina and I slept like rocks from an adventurous day.

Vancouver Island BC: Part 3

Thursday in Vancouver:

By: Christina Russell

A snowy Thursday morning
(Above) Photo: Christina Russell

We woke up Thursday morning to some hard facts: 1) we were down two vehicles 2) there were three inches of snow on the ground 3) the creeks were dropping out on us. Yes. It was sad. After a short discussion of our options, we decided to head to Victoria and take the ferry back to WAshington. Our reasoning: the Robe was coming in....er it was supposed to be in. Josh and I had a very difficult time leaving because we still had a perfectly functional vehicle and knew there were some great park and hucks outside of Victoria...nevermind the three hour drive, we wanted to paddle! BUT this is when it is important to understand the needs of the group and do what is best for everyone. We will be returning for a couple weeks in August/September so Im ok with the decision to head home.

Back to the story....

Ryan Scott drove Austin Rathman and Christie G up at their FJ cruiser that was so delicately pushed off the side of the road. (If you dont remember from our last post, the FJ's clutch went out on Kim, Christina, and Laura. ) Christie and Austin were to wait for the tow truck to come in from the nearest town. Unfortunately, we later learned that the tow truck never arrived and Austin and Christie had to hike back to town...bruttle. Team Aldercreek split after Austin and Christie left and headed to the port at Victoria. We took the 7pm ferry that night after a short stop in downtown Victoria. If you are ever in Victoria, make sure you stop by the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory....amazing fudge!

(Above) Photo: Christina Russell

Cooking mac 'n cheese at the loading dock in Victoria

Because of time constraints and the fact that we were going broke buying our return ferry tickets, we decided on cooking dinner with my Jet Boil stove before we boarded. This worked out perfectly and two boxes of cheesy goodness was just right. Pretty sure we made the truckers jealous.

Once we got on the ferry, we realized how bummed we were to be going back to the states. We REALLY wanted to paddle. The expressions in the shot below perfectly describe how everyone was feeling.

(Above) Photo: Josh Mckeown

Kim and Christina in the cargo hold...the expressions speak for everyone

(Above) Photo: Josh Mckeown

Checkin' out the ferry....

Photo : Josh Mckeown

On the ferry back to Washington

Photo: Josh Mckeown

We arrived at our port around 8:30 and promptly crossed the border. Our group was to meet up again at a fellow paddler's home just outside of Bellingham, WA. The four of us rolled in to the driveway around 10pm and discussed the plan for the next morning. We would get up early and check the flows to make sure the Robe was still in...

Early the next morning...

Ah how life can be cruel- we woke up to MORE snow. NOT a good sign. The Robe had dropped out over night due to low freezing levels and was not runnable. At this point everyone was exhausted from the entire trip and as a group, we decided itwas best to end the mission and head home.

Photo: Christina Russell
another snowy morning

Josh and I are feeling ok about the whole trip. We did well in staying positive and have decided we will return in the fall again. If you head North to BC, make sure to put the right tires on your vehicle! Dont forget an air compressor!

Happy Paddling,
Christina

Vancouver Island BC: Part 2

Point Renfrew Cabins
Photo: Christina Russell

So the next day we all woke up to a lot of snow... Then it started to rain and we all felt a little better that flows would go up. At this point we found out that Austin had a total flat tire and Ryans car also had an almost flat. This became our priority over any creeking and took up most of the morning. By the time we got the tires fixed it was getting late to put onto other creeks, so we all decided to hit up the Middle Gordon agian.

Christina and Laura
Photo: Kim Russell

Austin Fixing his Flat
Photo: Kim Russell

When we reached the put in it was snowing really really hard and made a few people drop out for running the middle section. It was like boating back in Oregon agian and all the wonderful snow we get here during the winter months. Thankfully we had seen all the drops the day before which made the scouting and portaging a lot easier in the snow.

Put In for Middle Gordon Creek
Photo: Kim Russell

Put In for Middle Gordon Creek
Photo: Kim Russell


Crew Paddling down a Tributary into Gordon Creek
Photo: Kim Russell

Here are a few more Pictures from the first Drop of Middle Gordon. I really didnt get any pictures this day due to the crew trying to keep a good pace and it being so cold.

Me on Drop 1 Middle Gordon
Photo: Kim Russell

Me on Drop 1 Middle Gordon
Photo: Kim Russell

Me on Drop 1 Middle Gordon
Photo: Kim Russell

When we all reached the take out the worst news of the entire trip came to pass. Austins clutch had burnt out on the shuttle and was completely immobile. The girls (Kim, Christina, and Laura) doing the shuttle pushed the car a couple hundred yards up the hill to get it out of the way and safly parked! Yeah, they are bomber!

The FJ with no more Clutch
Photo: Kim Russell

At this point some of the group went up to the FJ and figured out a solution and everyone else finished the planned run for the day. My truck was still at the take out for the Lower Gordon. The game plan ended up being that half of us would ride in my truck back to the cabins and the other half would deal with the FJ problem. Overall it worked out well and we all were back at the Cabins by 6pm. The FJ was still up on the logging road and proved later to become a big problem in getting a tow truck to get it out. That evening some of us decided to go on a drive to find some surfing spots on the coast to hopefully do some playboating. Kim, Christina, Todd, and myself jumped into Todds subu and headed down the road. About 20 minutes into the drive Todds rear left tire got a nasty flat. This became flat number 3 for the trip.... Thanks to Kim and Christina, the spare tire was put on in a matter of minutes and with an excited attiude.

Pumping up the Spare Tire
Photo: Kim Russell

Still Pumping up the Spare Tire
Photo: Kim Russell

After the flat number 3 was fixed we headed back to he cabins for he night to get some food and relax. We had to figure out a game plan for the next day, and it was not looking to be a good one. 2 cars were working off of flat tires with basic repairs and 1 car was completely immobile. With much discussion we all decided that fixing the cars was the number 1 task for the next day.

Team Alder Creek!
Photo: Christina Russell

Marinating at Juniper Pool

By: Christina Russell


Last night, Josh and I headed to Juniper pool to cure our itch to paddle. We just returned from a spring break paddling trip to Vancouver Island....unfortunately flat tires got the best of us and we only made it on the Gordan River. Back in Bend, and paddling deprived, went went to Juniper pool for an evening of marinating in chlorine.

(above) I have scary feet...josh agrees
Photo By: Christina Russell

It's been well established that my feet are, how should I say this, messed up. I got bunions and bone growths where there shouldnt be...but then again, what paddler has pretty feet?!

(above) Josh showing the group how it's done
Photo by: Christina Russell

Josh took the time to help me work on my (non-existent) flatwater loops. By the end of the session, I had attempted two loops- one of which sort of worked out! :) Now I just have to practice, practice, practice. To anyone who wants to learn how to flatwater loop, check out the Bend Aldercreek for private lessons.

(Above) Me deciding that the new boat bow stalls like a champ
Photo by: Josh mckeown

(Above) and it also stern stalls well
Photo by: Josh Mckeown

Next Sunday evening, Team Aldercreek will return to the pool . Come join us!

Happy Paddling,
Christina Russell