tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23345560442045339372024-02-07T18:49:19.925-05:00Team Potomac PaddlesportsMaggiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09307387737530007266noreply@blogger.comBlogger75125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2334556044204533937.post-84579420456067540832011-12-14T21:35:00.004-05:002011-12-14T21:40:55.584-05:00The LiquidLogic Composite PrototypeIncase you haven't heard of it, or haven't seen much about it here is some Info about Liquidlogic Kayak's newest creation, a Composite freestyle boat! <div><br /></div><div><a href="http://shanesliquidlogic.blogspot.com/2011/12/composite-playboat-prototype-1.html">http://shanesliquidlogic.blogspot.com/2011/12/composite-playboat-prototype-1.html</a></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><br /><iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/jRLoELEmJ44" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><br /><iframe src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/28913459?title=0&byline=0&portrait=0&autoplay=1" width="398" height="224" frameborder="0" webkitallowfullscreen="" mozallowfullscreen="" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>Jordan Phttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00654484957386111356noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2334556044204533937.post-21203452473688426502011-09-12T13:33:00.002-04:002011-09-12T13:42:57.120-04:00Video Updates from CanadaThis summer I made it up to Quebec, Canada to do some creeking. I managed to run some of the biggest and hardest whitewater I have ever paddled. I got up there with Nathan Sass, Brett Mayer, and a Brand new Liquid Logic Stomper. Here is a video of just a few of the drops we paddled. <div>Enjoy!<br /><iframe width="560" height="345" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/WGGZF5Nj0wg" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>A week after creeking up in Quebec, I actually went back to Canada, this time to do some Playboating! I got to paddle the second prototype to Liquidlogics newest creation. So new it doesn't even have a name yet.</div><div>Enjoy!</div><div><br /></div><br /><iframe src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/28913459?title=0&byline=0&portrait=0&autoplay=1" width="398" height="224" frameborder="0" webkitallowfullscreen="" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>Jordan Phttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00654484957386111356noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2334556044204533937.post-80952703039841509292011-08-30T09:26:00.017-04:002011-08-30T13:57:42.085-04:00The Top 10 Places to Eat Before and After Boating in the Mid-Atlantic<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPbtfFvIViRJWN7x7yndBeh_Oa_2gYNB0P8karSrJ2ipz2vxKrRBbU-54XnL0nm8DLS7ZcJumsTTViCgfY1vFjc8qEk_SOoOVCVfOSKfTT4_XFXa2-djnkcVBMtbq_ShIklh0Fw5TO7Zc/s1600/IMG_3073.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPbtfFvIViRJWN7x7yndBeh_Oa_2gYNB0P8karSrJ2ipz2vxKrRBbU-54XnL0nm8DLS7ZcJumsTTViCgfY1vFjc8qEk_SOoOVCVfOSKfTT4_XFXa2-djnkcVBMtbq_ShIklh0Fw5TO7Zc/s320/IMG_3073.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5646642461362432386" border="0" /></a>I know all of you are super hardcore and fine dining doesn't factor into your decision about where to boat each weekend (yeah right), but once you're there you've got to eat something. Zagat's couldn't be bothered to write reviews of these restaurants—or if they have, I couldn't be bothered to check—so I've written them myself.
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<br />I'll be the first to admit that this list is subjective and heavily biased in favor of the places where I boat the most. A more appropriate title for this blog post might be <span style="font-style: italic;">The Top 10 Places to Eat Before and After Boating in Garrett, Tucker, and Fayette Counties</span>, but that doesn't have the same ring to it. For those people who feel slighted by the omission of their favorite restaurants, I'd be glad to hear your suggestions. My goal is simply to provide some helpful recommendations in case you ever find yourselves in the vicinity of these establishments, and to send some business their way in gratitude for feeding me well.
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<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">The Top 10</span>
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<br />1. <span style="font-weight: bold;">In camp with your friends</span>
<br />Anywhere
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<br />Not even the best restaurant can beat cooking and eating in camp with your friends. Sure, it can be hit or miss. Some nights you'll have a seven course meal consisting of a cold cheesy weenie and a six-pack of warm Bud Light (true story). But on other nights you'll have grilled chicken and vegetable kabobs with twice baked potatoes and dutch oven pineapple upside down cake. Either way you get to spend time with your friends, which is what it's all about.
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<br />2. <a href="http://www.riversidehotel.us/">The Riverside Hotel</a>
<br />Friendsville, MD
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<br />This is a vegetarian restaurant and I'm a carnivore. Just think how good it must be for me to rank it above every other restaurant! It's walking distance from the Upper Yough take-out with front porch seating overlooking the river and family style dining. It serves all-you-can-eat meals featuring hearty soups, home baked breads, organic salads, and your choice of fantastic desserts all for $11. Some people treat the Tomato Basil soup like the Second Coming, but all of the soups are delicious. Whichever one they're serving is my favorite until the following weekend. The bread and butter are always soft, and if you're lucky you might even get the blue cornbread with honey. The salad ingredients are picked fresh from the backyard (including edible flowers), and the cayenne brownie is to die for. They don't serve alcohol, but you can bring your own, and the other beverages are refreshing. The only complaint I can think of is that they're not open year-round, but absence makes the heart grow fonder.
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<br />3. <a href="http://www.hellbenderburritos.com/">Hellbender Burritos</a>
<br />Davis, WV
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<br />When I first started running the Blackwater, people directed me to Siriani's—and for good reason—but one night the expected wait was over an hour, so I walked across the street to Hellbender's, and now it's almost always my first choice. There's rarely a wait, the service is friendly, the wood-burning stove takes the chill out of your bones, and they have giant inexpensive burritos. “How giant?” you ask. Well, the first time I went there I asked our waitress that very question. She held out her arm and gestured roughly between her elbow and her wrist. Hell yeah! After a long day on the river that's exactly what I wanted to hear, and the burrito didn't disappoint. I'm a creature of habit, so I usually get the Chicken Hellbender, which has a nice kick to it, but there are plenty of other options. If I'm really hungry I'll also get a bowl of green chili, which has an even nicer kick to it. They used to have a delicious brownie for dessert, but the lady who baked them at home couldn't keep up with demand, and if you're still hungry after the burrito I'll be impressed. Did I mention they serve local beer from the Mountain State Brewing Company?
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<br />4. <a href="http://www.piesandpints.net/">Pies and Pints</a>
<br />Fayetteville, WV
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<br />Some rivers always keep you coming back for more, like the Gauley; some restaurants always keep you coming back for more, like Pies and Pints; and after drinking yourself under the table with the wide selection of barley pops they have on tap you may start wondering if you've been swept into a friendly version of the Gauley's famous undercuts. The Cuban Pork Pie is my favorite pizza anywhere with its marinated pulled pork, caramelized onions, pineapple slices, jalapeno peppers, fresh cilantro, and crème fraiche. The Black Bean pie is also superb. The only problem with Pies and Pints is that everybody else knows how good it is too, so the wait can be rather long on busy weekends; however, their new location has more seating than the old one and the hostesses/waitresses are good at moving things along without making anyone feel rushed. Pies and Pints is truly a classic and I wouldn't be surprised if other people list it at #1.
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<br />5. <a href="http://www.purplefiddle.com/">The Purple Fiddle</a>
<br />Thomas, WV
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<br />Full disclosure: I've never eaten at the Purple Fiddle. It embarrasses me to say it, but it's true. I walked in the door one morning for breakfast, and the guy at the counter told me to go down the street to the Flying Pig, but that I should come back in the evening for dinner and a killer bluegrass band. He was right about the Flying Pig, and I appreciated his honesty, but I didn't come back in the evening and strangely I never have. On many occasions I've meant to come back, but I'm an early-to-bed and early-to-rise kind of guy, and Hellbender's pulls me in like a tractor beam, so I usually end up crashing early in the wildlife refuge outside of Davis while my more rambunctious friends have a great time there and speak about it afterward with reverence. The way they tell it, the Purple Fiddle is the best bluegrass venue in all of West Virginia. One of these days I'll find out for myself, but for now it makes the list on word of mouth alone.
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<br />6. <a href="http://www.cathedralcafe.com/">Cathedral Cafe</a>
<br />Fayetteville, WV
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<br />Cathedral Cafe gets my vote for best breakfast in West Virginia, and no trip to the New River would be complete without a stop here. Housed in a converted church with tall ceilings and stained glass windows, the atmosphere is unique. The food is uniformly good and I can never decide whether to order something sweet, something salty, or both. The prices are also very reasonable because they cater to the dirt-bag boater and climber crowd. In fact, people watching is one of the best things about Cathedral. For boaters like myself who don't climb, it's an opportunity to see another culture and eavesdrop on conversations that are remarkably similar to our own. The restaurant fills up quickly, so I recommend going early to make sure you find a table, especially if you have a big group.
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<br />(Expert tip: don't give your bride-to-be a taste of the sweet potato pancakes if she has a tree nut allergy, or you might be accused of attempted homicide. “But I didn't notice the pecans!” won't hold up in court.)
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<br />7. <span style="font-weight: bold;">Canoe on the Run</span>
<br />McHenry, MD
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<br />The menu is short, but every item on it is good. I particularly recommend the breakfast combo with the Morning Sandwich, roasted red potatoes, and slice of melon. Your passion for cinnamon rolls will also be richly rewarded. Don't despair if you see none beneath the glass; they usually have more in the back. Sit outside on the deck and enjoy the light breeze while your mouth waters in anticipation... This place gets bonus points for having “canoe” in its name, even though I don't canoe.
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<br />8. <span style="font-weight: bold;">Siriani's Pizza</span>
<br />Davis, WV
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<br />This Canaan Valley favorite is always busy, so you might have to wait to be seated. Service can be slow, but the pizza is excellent, the atmosphere is fantastic, and you won't be in a hurry to leave anyway. Skiing photos, equipment, and memorabilia line the walls. Sitting at one of their tables gives you a warm feeling that erases all thoughts of the harsh winter outside. They are known for their pizza but their pasta is also quite good, and I often order the O Mike Goss. One thing worth mentioning is that Siriani's is CASH ONLY. If you don’t have any cash, they’ll tell you to swing by the bank in town. Don’t even bother because the bank ATM never has money. Go to the bar across the street from the bank instead.
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<br />9. <span style="font-weight: bold;">The Flying Pig</span>
<br />Thomas, WV
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<br />As mentioned previously, the Flying Pig was recommended to me by a guy at the Purple Fiddle. Now it's my go-to place for breakfast whenever I'm at the Blackwater or one of the wilderness creeks nearby. The atmosphere is very laid back—it feels almost like you're sitting in the bay window of your mom's kitchen, and the proprietress isn't afraid to get sassy at your friends if they can't make up their minds about what to order. The menu is no frills, but the food is high quality and there are little flourishes like the dill in the egg scramble that make this place a winner. Plus it's cheap!
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<br />10. <span style="font-weight: bold;">Dirty Ernie's Rib Pit</span>
<br />Fayetteville, WV
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<br />This has to win the Best Name for a Restaurant award. “Dirty Ernie” evokes images of a guy out back with a smoker made from an oil drum. It's not a restaurant either, it's a “rib pit.” Even if the food was terrible I'd still go there. Fortunately it isn't. I may not be a barbecue connoisseur, but the ribs taste great and fall off the bone. This is a great back-up option if Pies and Pints is too crowded, or a great first choice if you're in the mood for some ribs.
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<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Honorable Mention (in alphabetical order)</span>
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<br /><a href="http://www.blackbearburritos.com/">Black Bear Burritos</a>
<br />Morgantown, WV
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<br />I've only been here once, and that was years ago, but I understand the burritos are still good and they have live music on Saturday night.
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<br /><a href="http://www.thecrabbypig.com/">The Crabby Pig</a>
<br />Cumberland, MD
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<br />I was introduced to the Crabby Pig only recently, but it's quickly becoming a favorite. I haven't tried the seafood yet, but the barbecue is very tasty and the pulled pork sandwich is awesome. The restaurant also has easy access from I-68, which is a plus.
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<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Fat Eddie's</span>
<br />Mt. Nebo, WV
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<br />This is a mandatory pit stop during Gauley Season before heading home. It's located just east of Summersville Dam on Rt. 129 and serves up burgers, hot dogs, fries, and shakes. Try ordering the hot dog with “Full English.”
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<br /><a href="http://thefireflygrill.com/">The Firefly Grill</a>
<br />Ohiopyle, PA
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<br />Nice place to grab lunch with outdoor seating in Ohiopyle.
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<br /><a href="http://www.luckydogcafe.net/">Lucky Dog Cafe</a>
<br />Confluence, PA
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<br />If I went to Confluence more often this restaurant might make the top ten, because it meets all the requirements: good food, good atmosphere, and good people. I've only been there once, so I'm not sure what to recommend, but if you're hungry after running Drakes Creek or just took your family/co-workers rafting on the Middle Yough, this is your best bet.
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<br /><a href="http://www.mountainstatebrewing.com/">Mountain State Brewing Co.</a>
<br />Thomas, WV and McHenry, MD
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<br />The pizzas aren't quite good as the ones at Pies and Pints or Siriani's, but they're no slouches either, and Mountain State brews its own beer, which the other two restaurants can't boast. They frequently have live music as well.
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<br /><a href="http://www.puccinirestaurant.com/">Puccini</a>
<br />Cumberland, MD
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<br />Friends tell me it's not the same as Uncle Tucker's, which used to occupy the same building and brewed its own beer, but Puccini's still makes delicious wood-fired pizzas.
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<br /><a href="http://www.queencitycreamery.com/">Queen City Creamery</a>
<br />Cumberland, MD
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<br />This place is known for its custard, but the deli sandwiches are excellent too.
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<br /><a href="http://potterflats.com/rustyfork1.htm">Rusty Fork Cafe</a>
<br />Elkhorn City, KYl
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<br />There aren't many dining options near the Russell Fork, but this one seems to be the best. It's a great place to grab breakfast before the release starts. And I love the name!Scott Ahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15346938756856444249noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2334556044204533937.post-50507036521620925912011-08-26T13:09:00.011-04:002011-08-26T13:50:22.985-04:00Ohiopyle Falls Fest and a view of what goes on Behind the Curtain.<img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB4zYz25fiVCB00SurI_xnOVLZr5BbHlCUULuKrV458yTdBfhuPUWN_49v_BprBQzzFXWZwXqKvb4TjOL-3-SGLH2Mg5iudvSZ5pdGPPFhQOCI1Ud64VzAcFnyJBfgqIszBuFa82GCk1k/s320/287511_1711571329123_1833346814_1129383_4536089_o.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5645215577930902754" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 136px; " /><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small; ">Photo-Lynn Mason</span></div><div style="text-align: center;">The Annual Ohiopyle Falls Festival on the Lower Yough in Pennsylvania was as ever, a super fun and spectacular event. It was just a little bit chilly when we left my house at around 5 am for the 3 hour drive to the beautiful little town of Ohiopyle in PA. We made just a quick pit stop about 10 minutes away from my house to pick up my good friend Gabriel Guzman. Gabe doesn't kayak that much, and barely knows how to roll, however that doesn't stop him from firing up the 18 foot tall Ohiopyle Falls during the festival for the second year in a row. When we arrived around 8:30 we ran over to the registration booth to sign our forms, and for me to get my bib. This year I decided to compete in K-1 and C-1 for the falls sprint as well as the freestyle over the falls. After a quick bite to eat I jumped in my boat for a quick run in my brand new Liquid Logic Stomper!(not so brand new after a few days on the green and a week in Quebec) My First run was sweet, I somewhat overboofed, but stomped back down to flat and skipped away from the base of the falls.</div><div><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicF6_sW7ZIBwZrspXcppVAx7oWTPwkAWcxRxTDIzogRCgQPsMiKlY-85nng90o4-jFg_KaRqjQwT8KskCOeFaQgj2VgAu3GA-qnO5Jn5qXXDxKQcNyVibWmdEF4I9HByTC5EMCqJ0Yrxg/s320/me.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5645215689365917474" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 180px; " /><p style="text-align: center;margin-bottom: 0in; "><span class="Apple-style-span">Photo-Clara Poffenberger</span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0in">I trotted back up to the put in and waited for Gabe to get his gear on. Gabe was psyched on hitting the water after watching my first run. He got in our boats, and pushed off into the river. We got over the first two ledges without a hitch and waited for our turn to go in the pool above. When it was my turn, I gave some reassuring advice to Gabe and rolled over the lip with another huge boof. Gabe came rolling off the lip and plugged the seam of the waterfall. He went deep, really deep, but popped up after 3 or 4 seconds and promptly swam.</p><div><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm0Zu778fWLA78BnmDtV-D_JkD5NyXkiUraXoZdkpMOTBYGYXeChttX4L8TcZvzrHpkB4C5kxWiFiggupsZi6X7KByAA0yD1zZiMgDj1wBv6MZSitl2Jd3k6QT3OhtP5t8D4X61HpHIHc/s320/gabe.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5645216015699382242" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 180px; " /></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span">Photo- Clara Poffenberger</span></div><div>His second run didn't go quite as well, he flipped in the rapids above, hit a rock while upside down and swim. After a quick pep talk from me, he jumped back in his boat for one last run of the falls. Gabe came rolling down the slide and hit the curler, and flipped. While upside down he chucked his paddle and tucked up just like I taught him! We went over up side down fully tucked up and poped out of his boat a few seconds after resurfacing. I was proud and he was done.</div><div><div></div><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRRVva5WujGUWGBQc8ob9KNg0_yKFfVSwe8xuzAFvZQu68RKqmnxFjCLUVBdlH2Z-wOEWGeFA7rGjFInr7FeUpU5FKwlY4lfe4Wow2r4bQ3RcFp4gud8cbVvBXKcBStMvEWxwDRbYhyphenhyphenQg/s320/gabeupdown.jpg" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 180px;" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5645216015104800546" /><p style="text-align: center;margin-bottom: 0in; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small; ">Photo-Clara Poffenberger</span></p><p style="text-align: left;margin-bottom: 0in; ">The Over-the-falls Sprint-</p></div><div> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in">At 12 o-clock the competition began with the over the falls Sprint. I had a very good c-1 run in the Liquid Logic Stomper. The boat seemed to just skip out and away from every drop, its definitely the fastest creek boat I have ever paddled. I managed to secure 1<sup>st</sup> place in the C-1 class..... yes I was the only c-1er.... but still ;).</p><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUQ7eghSfhMzzd4ytLrIx0Qa6AH3cvToNHQ334JItS6m-jg-NdKJoUvfcloQZen2G7N7XrJ373HFLSpwLFw0Xe6vSzdufjisDFKQGmRzUd42siX7ALzVe7mKg0LTK__2naC-spb7U6j9A/s320/294281_274048139278866_100000210450231_1336542_3949729_n.jpg" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5645216423941704178" /><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small; ">Photo-Lynn Mason</span></div></div><div><p style="margin-bottom: 0in">I also did a k-1 run in Gabe's Jefe Chico, which went pretty well. Overall results- 1<sup>st</sup> C-1, 5<sup>th</sup> in K-1 short boat. My C-1 time would have come out 7<sup>th</sup> in the K-1 short boat class. </p></div><div><div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8nV1iEkvbdqy2xmteHmkZ0Zp7z_ZCoA-35KxWuYN0tp0pDrpQxG3rYKLD598Hn_eYR0jmo70_ds9TLHGYg0brJhNCq38KMwMIFOxdfm9TDK78Rwig1ykSig72hAaTHXtO1U36z_H_rgg/s320/313086_10150349670978000_506642999_9751530_4418423_n.jpg" style="text-align: left;display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5645216687255964370" /><p style="text-align: center;margin-bottom: 0in; "><span class="Apple-style-span">Photo- Radley Edward Miller</span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0in">The Over-the-falls Freestyle-</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in">My first run was not fantastic, it was my 6<sup>th</sup> run down the falls and all I managed to do was a few cartwheels on the slide and a freewheel over the falls. My second run however was pretty interesting, though didn't really score me any points. </p></div><div><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXEn1bAgDKSGLS6wBRrprVyhyphenhyphenTPArGpu9ZkLc3Zn4IsTVlhFDUvIy_0EyOSY15iU0QfSPr9XZrawZO_JoqhP6MjQeMb06wG_ESRRkk-9GA9utWC3hHhOI3yazgyNYoYB25MxtVWo0XZ7g/s320/mefreewheel.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5645218332345455010" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 180px; " /><p style="text-align: center;margin-bottom: 0in; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small; ">Photo-Clara Poffenberger</span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0in">The Disappearing Act- </p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in">During my second run during the Over-the-falls freestyle competition I decided to take the river left line down the falls, I managed to hit a sweet rock spin and paddle spin down the next slide. I caught the little hole and tried to surf over to the main wave right above the lip of the falls. I missed the wave, turned around, and tried to freewheel the falls. As you can imagine, trying to freewheel a waterfall with no speed doesn't work all that well. It ended up as more of a back boof into the curtain of the falls. To me, I felt my boat plugged and felt like I was getting hammered in the hole at the bottem of the falls. When I felt the curtain of the falls slowly stop hammering on the bottom of my boat, I thought to myself a sigh of relief. I was done, no more falls running for the day....</p></div><div><img style="text-align: left;display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 222px; " src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzRHGfh0EsFv2GnzKIeOyVbM7hblCzYBfcTObUeNOSiYsx26bh27NkTvSYvGqfvXu-XqlCneZX6zDlHLGBGVFMnBTJ4fvsXAS4J1aQYGm_VkMybagAWszzU_b_hCWlPI5CU7UHMxeZFTQ/s320/325418_1712433470676_1833346814_1130234_3305132_o.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5645216681338003986" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span">Photo-Lynn Mason</span></div><div>Then I rolled up and when I opened my eyes, I pretty much shouted out- Ohhh S**T!!! I was in a little 6 by 8 foot pocket behind the curtain. Pretty much one of the worst things that can happen to you on Ohiopyle falls. I sat there in my boat, between a vertical rock wall and a semi-spherical wall of water that blocked me from the rest of the world. I sat there in the somewhat calm, but surgey eddy for about 20 seconds, catching my breath and trying to figure out what I was going to do. I knew that there was absolutely nothing anybody else could do for me. So their was no point in waiting for anything to happen. I paddled as hard as I could towards the river left side curtain, as it seemed thinner than the main curtain in front of me. I immediately got flipped upside down and smashed by the water falling 18 feet onto my boat. I ejected out of my boat and tried to swim as hard as I could down and out. I was looking for the little bit of green water at the bottom that might flush me out. It didn't work, I resurfaced in the same pocket that I had started with both my boat and my paddle, except this time out of my boat and struggling to keep my head out of the water so I could catch my breath. I had no plan, but there was a little bit of current flowing towards the right. I had no choice but to go with the current. When I got to a certain point I pushed my boat up against the rock wall and kicked off it as hard as I could and swam straight down. I went deep, very deep. I was probably down for 10 or so seconds before I came out 20 or 30 feet below the waterfall to a huge cheer from the crowd on the observation decks.<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; "><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span">Jordan P about to disapear over the falls- Photo Lynn Mason</span></div></span></div><div><p style="margin-bottom: 0in">
<br /></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in">From the outside it looked as if I had just disappeared, and was under water for 2 minutes. After a minute a man who had had a much worse behind-the-curtain experience than I had 2 years for got on the microphone and started yelling at the safety man on the rocks next to the falls to throw in a rope. He was later fined and thrown out of the park by the Park Police for Belligerent behavior. And apparently everyone saw my boat come out of the falls before I did. </p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in">
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<br /></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in">Anyways- I'm very thankful for all those out there that helped me out, tried to help me or really did anything else. Every day you survive is a great day, just something to remember. Even with that little 2 minute indecent I still had a sweet day, and managed to come out of it with nothing more than a sore back. Thanks A Lot Ohiopyle Falls Fest organizers and safety crew!</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in">
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<br /></div></div>Jordan Phttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00654484957386111356noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2334556044204533937.post-62946431052050817692011-07-29T13:50:00.004-04:002011-08-30T13:57:42.085-04:00You know you haven't been paddling enough when...<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5F7oP-qiYffPB-I4Gbl8hbsAUsi5vp8WoSuQExsLk86m2zqMwWnfVYvFAlQWULObAbGd5TQ_jIGMRa_lNklID45BIE6lzzh0AcPn3VhdOsp9gioE1E7dup6laQ3tGVUC3EPeosNPmRzo/s1600/IMG_2673.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5F7oP-qiYffPB-I4Gbl8hbsAUsi5vp8WoSuQExsLk86m2zqMwWnfVYvFAlQWULObAbGd5TQ_jIGMRa_lNklID45BIE6lzzh0AcPn3VhdOsp9gioE1E7dup6laQ3tGVUC3EPeosNPmRzo/s320/IMG_2673.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5634837208595675794" border="0" /></a>You find a bird's nest in your kayak... WITH EGGS. I found this in my Green Boat the night before the Great Falls Race on my way to do practice laps. This was actually the second time I've found a bird's nest in my kayak this year. The first time was after returning from a month in the Grand Canyon.<br /><br />I store my kayak outside, standing up vertically, and birds probably like it because the cockpit is like a tree hole. It's protected from the elements and high enough off the ground that predators can't get to it. We also have a bird feeder out back, so seeds are readily available. What more could a bird want?<br /><br />Unfortunately, I do want to kayak from time to time, so I had to evict them. The mama bird actually hit me in the chest in her rush to escape (I didn't know the nest was there). I carefully removed the nest and put it somewhere else, but I've heard that birds won't return to a nest after it's been disturbed, so I probably just made some raccoon's day.<br /><br />The moral of the story is... if you're going to store your kayak outside, either buy a cockpit cover or get used to animals using your kayak as a flophouse.Scott Ahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15346938756856444249noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2334556044204533937.post-799204377933399052011-06-11T12:31:00.004-04:002011-06-11T12:50:39.773-04:00Plattling: Week 1<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDobk4xhOsQinqWWOy9-wkCyTjuNDQrw7GarsnryqCVP0QGTTZjsOeMbFo3q22Glx3-XZLH_yrbPl3KAcUk65XhyphenhyphenL7NwPkQxosMhd4ZuVWtSKAXZLswJTBDyNnD65fcRRkJmkxI6_ADWk/s1600/P1000232.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDobk4xhOsQinqWWOy9-wkCyTjuNDQrw7GarsnryqCVP0QGTTZjsOeMbFo3q22Glx3-XZLH_yrbPl3KAcUk65XhyphenhyphenL7NwPkQxosMhd4ZuVWtSKAXZLswJTBDyNnD65fcRRkJmkxI6_ADWk/s320/P1000232.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5617002281297156898" /></a><br /><p style="margin-bottom: 0in"><br /></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in">I am currently here in beautiful Plattling, Germany. In German, the word Plattling means flat, which pretty much describes this town perfectly. Not to say that it is a bad thing in this, somewhat small German town. In fact it makes it quite a lot easier to get around and see where your going. The main town of Plattling is along a short section of a busy 2 lane road running through a small canyon of 3 story high buildings. Much like most American towns main streets, except for the fact that everything is written in German. With pretty wide cobble sidewalk/ parking areas on either side of the road with an occasional little flower garden and a statue or fountain. The main part of town ends with a bridge that crosses the river the hole is on. Take a left before the bridge and drive through some nice looking houses, down a curvy little road and under some very busy train tracks, up a little hill and down the other side and your at the feature. Between two large grass fields lies a river with, what appears to be a small, low head dam, though is actually a pretty sweet hole, at least on the river left side. The rest of the dam has a few fun surfing spots, a few flushy green tongs and a few steep little holes, all of which is quite shallow except at high water.</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in"> The World Championships Feature is a sweet hole which is only about 20 feet wide, with, at the current water level, a flushy tong on the surfers left side, a very shallow rock in the middle and a deep spot just to the left of the rock. Though even with the flushy left side and the rock in the middle, when one finds the right spot it serves up some pretty huge loops, space godzillas, mcnasties and every other trick in the book. I have been working on a pretty solid routine, which if I can get every trick, will hopefully put me in the top five for C-1. My loop, left space godzilla and left mcnasty are all pretty solid at this spot, I have been working pretty hard trying to train up my right mcnasty, phonix monkey, backloop, and orbits here and have some of those moves starting to stick really well at this spot. I have been here for about 10 days and still have 9 days until the competition starts. Hopefully I can get some more training in, and get some of my less consistent tricks to come through better by the time competition starts. Lines are already getting bigger as the majority of the US, Canadian, British, Russian, German, Japanese, and several other countries teams are already here. It is definitely awesome to be able to meet all these spectacular paddlers from all over the world and have the opportunity to paddle with them. </p><p style="margin-bottom: 0in">Pics-</p><p style="margin-bottom: 0in"><a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/THEPoffenburgler/Germany?authkey=Gv1sRgCPbY1-XE9NGgag">https://picasaweb.google.com/THEPoffenburgler/Germany?authkey=Gv1sRgCPbY1-XE9NGgag</a></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in">Thanks again to my sponsors, Liquid Logic Kayaks and Potomac Paddlesports. </p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in">Jordan P</p><p style="margin-bottom: 0in">Ps- will try to get more pics up soon</p>Jordan Phttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00654484957386111356noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2334556044204533937.post-32992711962588302352011-06-05T12:30:00.002-04:002011-06-05T12:36:27.065-04:00Liquid Logic Kayaks Boat Raffle<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-Sj5UuEoSmMu2-AQKYFy3V51QzJ7bRIdF3D_tBV_NqFa2uxDFI57kqxrbZwd2ofvHElR_jj2kf4vGSszVL2Pm_gxFN5I5TD3EEY-lb_QfPKhoDS-3usZ2_PssvF6qyWH2-mtCYZoIWQ4/s1600/DSC_4551.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-Sj5UuEoSmMu2-AQKYFy3V51QzJ7bRIdF3D_tBV_NqFa2uxDFI57kqxrbZwd2ofvHElR_jj2kf4vGSszVL2Pm_gxFN5I5TD3EEY-lb_QfPKhoDS-3usZ2_PssvF6qyWH2-mtCYZoIWQ4/s320/DSC_4551.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5614775423060304674" /></a><br /><p style="margin-bottom: 0in">On May 26<sup>th</sup> at the end of the Maryland Chute-out on the Potomac River we drew a raffle ticket for a liquid logic kayak of some lucky person's choice. Thanks to Liquid Logic we managed to raise $1300 dollars, out of which 1/4<sup>th</sup> would go directly to the United States Freestyle Kayak Association, which will help fund the 2011 US Freestyle team at World Championships in Plattling, Germany. The rest of which will help me personally to pay for my plane ticket to Germany. The tickets were sold at $10 dollars a piece or $25 dollars for 3. Between my family, Potomac Paddlesports, and the help of Risa Shimoda we managed to sell 120 raffle tickets. </p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in">The Winner of a Liquid Logic boat of her choice was April George from Portland, Oregon-Now all we have to do is figure out how to get the boat to her. </p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in"><br /></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in">A Huge thanks to my sponsors Potomac Paddlesports, for helping us sell some tickets. And an Especially huge thanks to Liquid Logic Kayaks for putting up a boat to help the Myself and the US Freestyle Team at the ICF Freestyle World Championships in Plattling, Germany.</p><p style="margin-bottom: 0in">Jordan P</p>Jordan Phttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00654484957386111356noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2334556044204533937.post-3130044742695484662011-05-16T16:49:00.000-04:002011-05-16T16:50:19.134-04:00Hunt's Shorts: How to Brown Claw<iframe width="560" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/WOdbGVJGdHU" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>Jordan Phttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00654484957386111356noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2334556044204533937.post-32267688585628461952011-05-05T15:13:00.001-04:002011-05-05T15:16:30.598-04:00Last Descent: Silverback Section of the White Nile<iframe width="560" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/A3ejNetDhN0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><br /><br />This is a short Video of my experience on the now underwater Silverback Section of the White Nile.<br /><br />Enjoy!Jordan Phttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00654484957386111356noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2334556044204533937.post-69275903158454510962011-02-19T04:34:00.005-05:002011-02-19T04:39:43.763-05:00Africa: Nile Special Night Sesh<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAxk2T_zyTgE4bmlPsvrKUQ25JR4yzwUmR3wlqmHuLGjl7wyS1gmkeRABMKosQbGpXGXMzSIgKfrqN5cu7wlY5WUN3WHa9PTPZlov3cVpxUj4GnrhHWd9mVcqDZmKxz2gZR2IGwyrUChQ/s1600/185941_10150408608000364_609010363_17149539_6527421_n+%25281%2529.jpg"><br /><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAxk2T_zyTgE4bmlPsvrKUQ25JR4yzwUmR3wlqmHuLGjl7wyS1gmkeRABMKosQbGpXGXMzSIgKfrqN5cu7wlY5WUN3WHa9PTPZlov3cVpxUj4GnrhHWd9mVcqDZmKxz2gZR2IGwyrUChQ/s320/185941_10150408608000364_609010363_17149539_6527421_n+%25281%2529.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5575331931859021522" /></a> <p style="text-align: center;margin-bottom: 0in; "><span class="Apple-style-span" >Photo- Jacob Slobodian(left) Kalob Grady(centerleft) Nick Simpson(centerright) </span></p><p style="text-align: center;margin-bottom: 0in; "><span class="Apple-style-span" ><span class="Apple-style-span">Alex Anderson(right)</span><span class="Apple-style-span"> Jordan P( bottem)- Courtesy of Jacob Slobodian</span></span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0in">It was 9:30 on a Tuesday night, sitting at the bar sipping a coke and talking with Jason, a Brit who had been working here for the past year. Along with me were a few other New River Academy students. Lorenzo, one of our coaches was sitting at the table talking with some of other NRA teachers. We were discussing the wave just 5 minute paddle up the river, one of the best waves in the world named after a beer, Nile Special. Generally its about a 9 foot tall, tow on wave. Meaning you have a rope attached at a point up stream, and in order to get onto the wave from the eddy, you hold onto the rope, swing out, and surf onto it. Jason was telling us about how, because the river is dam release, it hits maximum flow at night, and when it peaks out the wave gets stickier and you can surf on. Most of the time the left shoulder is flushed green, so if you ever throw, and land too much to the left you will flush off. He told us that when the river went up, the left shoulder formed and the wave got wider, stickier, and we wouldn’t have to use a rope around midnight. 5 of us walked over to Lorenzo and began to beg for him to let us go out with Jason to the wave. After all, it was a full moon. We could all tell he really wanted to go as well, but as we were all still with the school it was a hard decision. After much discussing with Jason and the rest of us he finally said yes. Though the water was not quite high enough yet. We knew that the water on the beach had to touch a stump, it was about 2 inches away. Lorenzo said that if we were going to go we had to go now, otherwise he was going to go to bed. Though Jason said it was not going to be worth it. So our group slowly disbanded and drifted back to their tents. Alex, a student at NRA, and myself decided to stay at the bar and talk with Jason for a while. After about an hour, around 11, he went off to check the level. He came back looking somewhat excited and saying that it was just barely touching the stump and that in about 30 minutes it would be perfect. We ran over to see if Lorenzo was still awake. He was so we told him the news, he told us to go round up the troops. After telling the others we sprinted to our boats and threw on our gear, jumped in. We went over a quick buddy system so that we would lose anyone and paddled up. It turned out it was not quite high enough yet, luckily we brought the tow rope up. So we took turns for about an hour and a half operating the rope. Even though the wave was not yet paddle on, it was still the best level we had ever been at it. For the first hour the wave had a big, sick green face to launch off of and a solid pile at the top. For the last bit of our session, the water had come up even more and it was not just about paddle on. The wave also got much stickier, and even a little trashy, I had a few pretty hardcore window shades. Tired out we finally headed back in, all exclaiming about the sick paddle session. Definitely one of the more memorable events so far on the Uganda Semester of New River Academy. </p><p style="margin-bottom: 0in"><br /></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0in">Jordan P</p>Jordan Phttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00654484957386111356noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2334556044204533937.post-87052173558470483182011-02-08T06:35:00.000-05:002011-02-08T06:36:29.559-05:00Africa: Week 1<p style="margin-bottom: 0in">Winter is over, at least for me. After a sweet six weeks of winter vacation, snowboarding whenever, and sleeping quite a lot, now its time to get back to work... If you can call it that. For now I am sitting here, on an island, in the middle of the White Nile river, in Uganda, which in fact is in Africa, in an everlasting summer. It's the dry season, so the suns out, hot as can be palm trees all around. The nice part about dry season is the lack of mosquitos, at least during the day. Though every night they come out in swarms. Though by sunset I am generally already asleep, safe in my tent. Wake up in the cool morning air, just as the sun begins to tip the horizon. Monkeys running through the trees(somehow they made it onto the island). During the day, while we have classes, whether they be in the shade under a tree, in one of the few chill spots(domes with a roof and couches, pillows or hammocks) or maybe next to the river, sometimes even in the river. Generally, even with school, its a very relaxing day on the Harry Lemon( yes that is the name of the island we are staying on). Only every once in a while will we come in contact with a Cobra swimming in the water, though it is advised to use caution when sitting on the grass due to the large biting ants. Overall just a chill day, until we get to the river that is.</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in">The White Nile is a very high volume river. The Nile Special rapid, named after the beer, is about a ten minute paddle upstream, and a ferry across the current to get to the waves. There are two waves the come in at a different time of day. The first wave, Club Wave, comes in around 8 or 9 in the morning and stays in until about 12 to 1. The second and more famous wave, Nile Special, comes in around 2 or 3 and stays in past dark. Club wave is a pretty sweet, 30 foot wide, 5 or 6 foot tall wave/hole (river right is a wave and river left is a hole) This wave is sweet for the begging/intermediate play boater, as its fairly sticky, with a good pile and bouncy. Nile Special on the other hand is a tow in wave, and is a 9 foot tall green monster, and if you know what your doing you can get some of the biggest tricks there.</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in">Every day we switch between the two, due to having to do school we are only able to go to one. The waves are some of the best I have ever surfed, and with switching to a the bigger Biscuit 55, I am able to get huge amounts of air with some of my tricks. I am not much of a wave boater but I have been able to hit some massive air, Pan ams and Blunts, and every once in a while I can hit a huge snappy Blunt-Nasty Combo. </p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in"> </p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in">So far, though only my first week here in Africa, it has been one of the more spectacular weeks of my life. I am afraid I am currently unable to continue writing about what amazing experiences I have had here already, due to a lack of battery power and time. But definitely check back in for another post next week.(which will hopefully be accompanied by pictures.)</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in">Jordan P</p>Jordan Phttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00654484957386111356noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2334556044204533937.post-42994839117963155222010-12-07T17:40:00.008-05:002010-12-07T17:59:34.432-05:00Rio Claro<div><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: left; ">The Rio Claro is a beautiful gem of a river in the Andes Mountains south of Santiago. This river valley is surrounded by, though not entirely huge, impressive rocky mountains with an arid, desert like forest. The river has crystal clear water, by which I mean you can see straight through it down to the very bottom. Which makes jumping off of high rocks and bridges quite scary due to the fact that you can see every rock as if no water lay between. The deep gorges are carved through black volcanic rock and granite to create one of the most unique rivers on earth. The canyons here are anywhere from twenty to a hundred and fifty feet tall, generally no more than ten feet wide, with huge pot holes carved in between drops. There were four sections in which we got to run with New River Academy, Siete Tazas(seven teacups), Garganta Del Diablo( throat of the devil), Entre Saltos(Entry Waterfalls), and Veintidos Saltos(twenty-two waterfalls).<br /><br />Siete Tazas:<br />The Siete Tazas or seven teacups are seven of possibly the most perfect waterfalls ever seen. Though in reality there are only really three real waterfalls, and the other four are very fun little two to eight foot ledges. The run starts off with a bit of a hike through the Siete Tazas national park then down a near vertical dirt cliff face down to the river. We would generally carry our boats down a very steep dirt path through some trees and bamboo to a small platform halfway down the slope. From there we would lower our boats down with a throw rope into the deep black volcanic canyon. The canyon walls are vertical, extending far above us. The put in is a small eight foot seal launch and then about a fifty foot paddle over two small rapids to the cauldron above the first drop. The first drop is by far the hardest of all the teacups, it is a waterfall with about a eight foot sixty degree slide to a twelve foot drop into a tight ten foot wide gorge with water boiling off both walls pushing into a small cave on the left as the river bends. Though the cave is not bad while in a boat, it is somewhat unpleasant to have to fight out of it. This flows out into another flat cauldron and then into a sick eight foot sliding boof into another perfect cauldron. Then a small ledge which must be portaged due to a bad placed log across the entire river. Luckily there is a nice little spot where it is possible to push your boat up and over the rocks instead of getting out and walking around. The next one is another fun seven foot ledge, which one can either boof or attempt a pogo flip out of a plug. Then after that is a sick little three foot ledge into an awesome cave right above the first twenty footer. The twenty footer is insanely clean from top to bottom and lands in a perfect, large flat pool. After that is the second perfect twenty foot waterfall with a vertical slide into about a eight-teen foot free fall into a second huge flat pool. Before and after every single drop is a perfect flat cauldron, and every drop is as beginner friendly as it gets. Then the take out is to hike along the edge of a sketchy cliff above a deep gorge to the viewing platform. If one were to keep paddling into the gorge below the last waterfall it would lead into an inescapable gorge which leads into some class V+ rapids and a sixty foot waterfall. Non of which is portagable.</div><div style="text-align: left; "><br /></div><div style="text-align: left; "><br /></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbTDEtTho5kyP27DKnDk_vs2A2X7idfV5goAkjGpJWNX5FkhaYM0D3ki1dU7gY2OnSxz3lXLHBrw-PNY4Hp8o6_jCci5TV39Jm1HTNpogpx7X8eKSk835YqHSMlPMHC5-GV8jfOhb5xmg/s1600/Jordan%2526clay.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbTDEtTho5kyP27DKnDk_vs2A2X7idfV5goAkjGpJWNX5FkhaYM0D3ki1dU7gY2OnSxz3lXLHBrw-PNY4Hp8o6_jCci5TV39Jm1HTNpogpx7X8eKSk835YqHSMlPMHC5-GV8jfOhb5xmg/s320/Jordan%2526clay.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5548074945027796642" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 214px; height: 320px; " /></a><div style="text-align: center; ">Last drop Siete Tazas Jordan & Clay Whitaker- Photo- Jason Terry</div><br /><br />Garganta Del Diablo:<br />Our last two days in the Rio Claro valley, the coaches decided to take all of the more experienced paddlers down Garganta Del Diablo, or the Throat of the Devil. They decided to split up the group so there would not be so many people in the canyon at one time and so the other half of the group could get pictures and video. I got video of them on the most famous drop in this run and then ran it the next day. This run is further up river from Siete Tazas, though is separated from the Seven Teacups by a class VI, unrunnable gorge. The run begins immediately after Entre Saltos ends. The first drop seems to fall off the face of the earth into a huge ominous cavern with mist exploding up from the bottom of he drop. From above the drop, it truly feels as if you are dropping into the Throat of the Devil. As soon as you drop into the gorge there is almost no chance of being able to get out of he canyon until you have finished the run. The first drop is called the ski jump, and it is a sick twelve foot slide into a twelve foot boof. It is definitely one of the cooler drops I have run. Once I hit the huge boof I was stuck in the gorge. When in the gorge it does not feel much like a regular river canyon, it feels much more like being in a cave. The cliff walls extend far over our heads and only ever so often can I see the sky. Just around the bend is one of the most famous slides in the kayaking world. As we came around the corner we spotted all of our fellow students who had run the drop the day before waiting to get their shot. Each of us down in the water took turns drifting up to the edge of the drop to peer over and attempt to see the slide. When you see the pictures and videos, even when you are just standing on the cliff above looking down at the drop, you have absolutely no idea what this water fall actually is. When you see a picture of it, it seems like the sickest drop known to man, in reality, it is far better than you could tell from any picture. The curving slide itself drops around twenty-five feet into a free fall of another twenty-five feet. Now when I say this I don't think one could possibly understand how big this is, especially after looking at a picture. The amazingly perfect banking slide, is almost less of a slide and more of a vertical waterfall. By the time I reached the bottom of the slide I had already fallen twenty-five vertical feet in less than twenty horizontal feet. The hit at the bottom is very hard and feels much like hitting a brick wall. Once at the bottom of this drop the supreme feeling of awesomeness hits me. By that I mean it just feels really good to be at the bottom of this amazing drop in the most amazing gorge I have ever seen. There are several more drops in this generally less than ten foot wide canyon. There are two rapids in which requires a boof into a four foot wide, barely wide enough for your boat slides, one is about seventy feet long and I managed to flip halfway down it and get dragged on my face until the end when the river widens back up to seven or eight feet wide. There are a few more boofs placed randomly throughout the rest of the run. At one spot in the gorge a huge waterfall falls from the darkness high on the cliff wall and creates, if you believe in it, one of the most spiritual places on earth. Siting behind behind this waterfall with windy spray sparkling on ones face in the darkness of the “cavern” with black walls stretching far far above me pushes me into pondering the marvels of mother nature.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqiXX2KhIquN3iUEkVwyxtlnkFFliItushbeD4KTIRGBvMTb_kG1E3Sj452bTihi0SnfhIfmxE_GGIbbmlLz9k-Kwjq4tiVhMoiNyuAQIVZSWqFE3pi01ElWAaxUGJDX6ObTKJebuhZ7g/s1600/Jason+Garganta.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqiXX2KhIquN3iUEkVwyxtlnkFFliItushbeD4KTIRGBvMTb_kG1E3Sj452bTihi0SnfhIfmxE_GGIbbmlLz9k-Kwjq4tiVhMoiNyuAQIVZSWqFE3pi01ElWAaxUGJDX6ObTKJebuhZ7g/s320/Jason+Garganta.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5548075618300853954" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px; " /></a><div><div style="text-align: center; ">Garganta Del Diablo Jordan Poffenberger- Photo- Jason Terry</div><div style="text-align: center; "><br /></div><br />Entre Saltos:<br />Entre Saltos is an extremely fun, no particularly hard run with some fun rapids and a very fun waterfall. There is a short class V+ section near the beginning that we always walked with New River Academy. Then as soon as we put in after walking around the class V section, we put in right above the biggest drop on Entre Saltos. The drop is about a seven foot boof/slide into another twelve foot boof into a large pool at the bottom. After the big drop are a bunch of smaller ledges and drops between two and eight feet tall. Then there are three tougher drops at the end. One, I call Gnardrop is a very tough drop, you have to push your self over some rocks and then charge left as the river turns right, most of the water goes into an undercut wall, so you have to boof this very sketchy ridge rock that sticks out on the left side of the river. Most of the time a line through this will not look very clean, the ridge rock isn't exactly a straight forward boof, and to make it even worse there is barely any water flowing over it. Also, because the rock isn't a straight drop off all the way around, when one boofs it, one tends to reconnect with the rock right before landing, which is a pretty terrible feeling. The next drop is called Cool Eddie drop, once again, named by me. As in the name the drop has a very cool Eddie. It starts off with a cool six foot slide and then the river makes a hard left turn into a five foot boof into a large hole in a small seven foot wide walled in canyon. There is a huge pot hole eddie on the right guarded by a really cool curler made by the slide. One can catch the eddie in between the first slide and the second five foot boof. The eddie is perfectly calm and as a overhanging wall over stop of it. The last drop, I call Boca drop for some reason or another, is a twelve foot near vertical slide into the pool immediately above the entrance to Garganta Del Diablo</div></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcnXJpkv8TgfjQJH7-rmbdEvH9-kXpuCIUXDNI7xMCma5CLhcJPQmvqzxzQgPe9RmFK5vLZCF4FFFaiFC4EHydbKwH_kyLKI6rF71y0BN2Abbis6EF9WvB2is8_z5RW944iaGSEQqK6pI/s1600/005.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcnXJpkv8TgfjQJH7-rmbdEvH9-kXpuCIUXDNI7xMCma5CLhcJPQmvqzxzQgPe9RmFK5vLZCF4FFFaiFC4EHydbKwH_kyLKI6rF71y0BN2Abbis6EF9WvB2is8_z5RW944iaGSEQqK6pI/s320/005.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5548077504663629970" /></a><div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: center;"> Biggest drop on Entrea Kai Wen Pai- Photo Jordan Poffenberger</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></div>Veintidos Saltos:<br />Veintidos Saltos, in English, means twenty-two waterfalls, and is definitely one of the coolest runs on the planet. It starts off with a class V seal launch right above the first eight foot waterfall. If one were to screw up this seal launch one could end up going over the waterfall in some very strange positions, as the landing of the seal launch is less then three feet above the lip of the drop. As soon as you drop off the seal launch you are already deep in yet another, for the most part, inescapable gorge. There are eighty foot tall vertical cliff walls around, all the way until the end of the run. Almost nothing is scout-able and the run is completely committing with no chance of escape from this amazing gorge. After the eight footer which has sick boof line off of the left side which lands in an eight foot wide canyon, roll around the corner into a small cauldron right above a large horizon line. This is the twenty-five footer, possibly the cleanest twenty-five footer known to mankind. The line is center left, or center right, or anywhere one could want to go. It is possible to boof or to pencil, the waterfall lands in a massive pool with almost no consequence at all. After that, there is some fun little boulder gardens with small boofs hear and there. The entire time on the Rio Claro, nearly every rock that makes up these rapids and waterfalls is easily visible because the water is just so pristine and clear. After some boulder gardens the Veintidos Saltos Ski jump comes up. The Ski jump starts below a really cool little pool under an over hanging wall, the top of the drop is about a six foot gentle sloping slide, the right side of the slide simply drops off, where as the left side rolls up the side of a wall and kicks the water out and away from the twelve foot drop. If one banks up hard on the left side, it is possible to launch yourself off and have one of the biggest boofs of a lifetime. The Ski jump lands in a perfect pool with a large rock shoal that one could hop out to get pictures or empty a boat. The water rolls around the right side of the rock shoal under another overhanging wall. There is a large rock, most of the water is going through a small crack between the overhanging wall, and the huge rock. A kayak may or may not fit through that crack, so in order to avoid finding out, it is best to run into the small channel in front and to the left of the boulder in the middle of the river. Then on the other side of the rock the best way to have a clean line is to get backwards into the water flowing out of that crack and hit a left boof in about two strokes to avoid the undercut wall on the right side below the ten foot drop. Below this, paddle through the steep narrow canyon and come upon a small horizon line right before the river makes a hard right hand turn. About five feet past this three foot boof around the blind corner there is an eddie on the right that is worth catching to take a quick look at a massive horizon line that appears to be heading straight into the cliff wall a little less than five or six feet downstream of the eddie. Now the reason it appears to be running directly into the wall, is because it is, at least partially. This is the thirty foot waterfall, and the right side does bank off the wall, though the left side is not much better as it connects with rocks halfway down. So the best line is to attempt to go right off the middle and simply tuck. Now after this traumatizing experience of surviving one of the scariest thirty footers in chile, paddle on down to the final hard drop on the river, it's the double drop. It starts off with a weird little ledge into a hole that drops immediately off into a eight foot ledge that lands in a small pool right above another seven foot, very clean drop. The first half of the rapid is nearly impossible to do cleanly. Though it is fun none the less. After this it is a short paddle through the rest of the canyon which slowly fades down. Paddle the last few small drops and then hope out right above this bridge that crosses the river, which also happens to be the put in for Entre Saltos.</div></div><div><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVrrjTI8gXL280a6RSUmx9uogFEpRbFV-_gVx5iBfBmf3-5wjCKtn4ilODtWHoqjBG6J4qqsPkuPSsyiE031DTK36fAt8YZUzITLASfi64CMMqM-SK1Nq6C5wmaDTUAwIxNAcdLFcQoEs/s1600/IMG_6657.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVrrjTI8gXL280a6RSUmx9uogFEpRbFV-_gVx5iBfBmf3-5wjCKtn4ilODtWHoqjBG6J4qqsPkuPSsyiE031DTK36fAt8YZUzITLASfi64CMMqM-SK1Nq6C5wmaDTUAwIxNAcdLFcQoEs/s320/IMG_6657.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5548075832563719026" /></a><div style="text-align: center;">Ski Jump Jordan Poffenberger- Photo Tino Specht</div><div><br /></div><div>For more photos- <a href="http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2102816&id=1466030811">http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2102816&id=1466030811</a></div>Jordan Phttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00654484957386111356noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2334556044204533937.post-1679749041702755952010-11-13T18:40:00.000-05:002010-11-13T18:41:18.492-05:00Pichilamu: A Day in the SurfIt's a beautiful warm sunny day in the surf town of Pichilamu, Chile. Jacob, a fellow NRA student and I are walking on the beach towards the ocean. When we notice the size of the waves we begin to run across the sand. Before we can put in however we must walk along the beach towards a huge rocky point. We walk quickly along the water searching for the 3 people who we know are already out in the water. We managed to spot Kira, our English teacher, and Wayne another student way out several hundred yards away from shore, so far away that they are just little specks bobbing up and down against the massive waves coming in. Our head coach Tino is just putting in on the point. We finally get to a spot that appears to be a manageable place to paddle through the large 5-8 foot waves coming in. We make it out and surf the waves close to shore before Jacob decides to go back in due to problems with his boat. After I watch him surf in and hop out of his boat I decide to attempt to paddle out to where Tino, Kira and Wayne are. A seemingly easy task yet in-fact it is a major undertaking. It takes me nearly 15 minutes to make it past the breaking waves close to shore and out to more open water where only the truly huge waves will hit you. After a long while of paddling towards the small specks in a massive whitewash that are Tino, Kira and Wayne. A Seal pops up only about 30 feet away. I keep paddling slightly nervously because of the seal. All of a sudden a set of huge waves comes in, I boof the first one just as it is about to crash and fall 6 or so feet off the back side. That was Sick!, I try to do the same to the next one, however the next one is a bit bigger and my timing is just a little bit off. I paddle up to it and prepare to boof when all of a sudden I notice that I'm too late and it is about to crash on me. “Ohh FU.......!!!” is what comes out of my mouth when this 8 foot wave crashes right onto my chest and picks me up and thrashes me for a good 15 seconds and 100 or so feet. After that, luckily the ocean flattens a slightly and no more waves crash on me. Though as I make my way closer to my friends I notice the Seal popping up consistently 15 feet behind me for at least 15 minutes during my paddle. After a long long journey I have finally made it to the BIG waves and my friends. I notice the Seal pops up 10 feet in front of me, however the seal no longer worries me as I see Tino come down the face of a MASSIVE 15 foot wave and hit one of the bigger clean aircrews I have seen. We spent a few hours here. The waves at least the size of school buses. It is out here you notice the real power of the ocean. I cannot begin to describe to you what it feels like to come down the face of a 14 foot ocean wave, nor can I describe the feeling of the ridiculous beat downs that are delivered every time you attempt to surf one of these magnificent waves. Though there are two moments that I can remember that may help to portray the feeling of these waves. <br /><br />The first one involving a massive 14 foot wave and possibly the biggest pan am/ airscrew of my life, if at least the loudest. I catch this huge wave, Tino goes over the green to my left. I am surfing on the border between the foam and a ridiculous 12 foot green face on my left. I edge and through the biggest pan am I have the ability to through. If I could guess at what I thought the size of it was I would say there must have been 8 feet of air under my head. I land slightly edged but mostly flat on the hull of my boat and peel off the wave. The landing Hurt, it half knocked the breath out of me and I don't initially notice the apparent earsplitting slap my boat made when I landed, But as I peel off the wave I see Tino and he has an aw sort of face. I paddle up to him and he exclaims that he heard it from behind the wave. Which if you have ever been on the ocean in waves such as those, it is often tough to hear things over the sound of the waves. <br /><br />The second one is of a moment during a severe thrashing of mine, once again in a huge 12 or 13 foot wave, this time in the foam pile. I am upside down with my bow pointed towards the beach being dragged on my face by the enormous wave. All of a sudden I open my eyes and notice the water and foam a good foot or so below me, I see it coming towards me extremely fast and close my eyes. I feel the water hit me in the chest and continued to get Destroyed. <br /><br />After many surfs and horrendous beat downs Tino decides that we should go in, due to non of us having a watch and knowing what time it is. So we paddle in attempting to catch rides on every passing wave. After about 15 minutes we make it close to shore, Tino and Wayne surf in and hop out of their boats.(Kira having gone back in earlier.). I catch a good sized wave and as it crashes plug for a loop and get a ton of pop out of it and bring it around to smack my hull back onto the water and surf the rest of the way up onto the sand and jump out of my boat. We hike up to the sand marveling at the magnificent day we have all just had out on the surf of Pichilamu.Jordan Phttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00654484957386111356noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2334556044204533937.post-68851060069941661812010-11-13T17:20:00.004-05:002010-11-13T17:23:14.792-05:002010 Season VideoJust a video I found that I made of the 2010 paddling season, totally forgot to post it up.<div><br /></div><iframe src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/14143239" width="600" height="338" frameborder="0"></iframe><p><a href="http://vimeo.com/14143239">2010 Season Video 1</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/user1388143">Jordan Poffenberger</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com">Vimeo</a>.</p><div><br /></div>Jordan Phttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00654484957386111356noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2334556044204533937.post-31591725002756221732010-11-11T14:40:00.001-05:002010-11-12T09:31:57.058-05:00The Maipo Valley<p style="margin-bottom: 0in">This year I am attending New River Academy, a high school that travels around the world to paddle while at the same time being able to do school where ever we go. This Semester we are in Chile, the past 10 days I have spent in the beautiful Maipo valley an hour from the capital city of Santiago. For the first seven days we slept under small pavilion, some of us on the ground, others in tents, and a few of us(me) would hang hammocks up between the wooden columns that hold a tin roof above our heads. The camp ground “Cascades De Las Animas” is owned by our Spanish teachers family. It is an amazing place, surrounded by massive mountains and place right on the Maipo River. On one side of the river is the entire facility, wonderful wooded Campground, an awesome restaurant with live trees ticking out of it and the inside is all masterfully carved wood, a huge pool(though the water is frigid), a sauna, and a bunch of half built but beautiful cabins which will most likely be finished by the end of the year. On the other side of the river behind a locked gate at the edge of a bouncy wooden bridge there are the Estorga Family houses. They also hold a Mountain Lion, and two giant eagles in a cage, along with 150 horses and many other amazing things. We got a chance to take a hike up to our Spanish teachers house, it was about a ¼ mile hike up the side of a mountain to his ridiculous house. The craftsman ship that goes into these houses is superb. His house is made from stone and amazingly carved wood, and it is built around a massive boulder. From his house is an absolutely stunning view of the arid desert mountains and the single massive snow capped monster of a mountain in the distance.</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in">Every day we wake up in the insanely cold morning are and have morning workout, which is either running, yoga, or arms and abs, which is pushups and ab exercises. Then we have breakfast and the first 3 classes. Then lunch time, and the next 4 classes. Finally, its paddling time. The first day we all paddled the lower Maipo, which is a sick class 3-4 super continuous run. It is nearly non stop he entire way, though there are no dangerous rapids. For the rest of the time we were allowed to choose whether we wanted to do the lower, or the much harder Upper Maipo. For the rest of our stay in the Maipo valley, I paddled the Upper Maipo everyday. The is much like the lower, except the smallest rapids on the upper are twice the size of the biggest on the lower. The entire river is like class 4, 6 mile long roller coaster ride of a rapid. Huge wave trains and large random holes, along with tons of super fun boofs placed every 20 feet is the trademark of the Upper Maipo. Right smack dab in the middle of the 6 mile run is a large class 5 rapid called the French Curve. The rapid involves a boof over a large hole into a extremely quick twisting rapid with a must make boof over a large curler. The consequences of not making it to the left side of the river is going into this massive curler in front of a massive boulder that feeds straight into a huge undercut.</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in">We took a day off in an attempt to make it to the Thermas up in the mountains, but unfortunately did not make it due to rock slides across the roads. Instead we went the opposite direction up the Yeso river to check out some cool concentration camps of a old Chilean dictator and an awesome waterfall just across the road from it.</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in">Here is a video from that day.</p> <iframe src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/16736301" width="400" height="300" frameborder="0"></iframe><p><a href="http://vimeo.com/16736301">A Day in Chile</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/user1388143">Jordan Poffenberger</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com/">Vimeo</a>.</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in">Now we have moved to Pichilamu, a sick little surf town on the pacific ocean. An update of this awesome town will come later once I have had some time to go kayaking and check out this sick place.</p>Jordan Phttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00654484957386111356noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2334556044204533937.post-70549982578873421062010-04-13T16:27:00.019-04:002010-04-13T19:21:35.961-04:00Spring Break<div>Two weeks ago my friend Dylan Evans and I, along with my dad made a trip to the New River Gorge area. What would follow the 5 long hours of driving to get there would be 4 days of epic brown making.( Brown being a kayaking term not <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_0" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">referring</span> to poop ;)<br /><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 214px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5459765625943408290" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYqlg7xmPeiNtr7pS_q62y64r28kHiJRgvDNU79VQrxSv6H0a3RAdf6SP1y9o9qSRRI8jGyrQNvmYS7AIuuX07zT4bPsL2OTO5HsoiLZ9Ef29jC-d6srdxOILToXFzbXdNLwVxVFCjAIY/s320/24262_384017596737_652351737_3693398_2209727_n.jpg" /> <div><p align="center"></p><p align="center">Me and Dylan at Grist Mill falls in Babcock state park</p><br /><p>Day 1(Sunday): Got up somewhat early, packed up and hit the road. 5 hours later we make it to the New River dries with an hour or two of day light left. We played around up top for a little then decided to venture down deeper into the gorge in search of better waves. Because it was at around 8 feet on the Gorge gauge there <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_0" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">wasn't</span> much up top but we found some sick waves downstream a ways just as it was getting dark at what I believe to be the Kahuna waves. Dylan Hiked out early but I decided to stay a little while because I was having a blast on the top wave. It was <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_1" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">definitely</span> one of the easiest waves to set up for a trick I have ever been on. Perfectly green I managed some really big air blunts and nice pan <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_2" class="blsp-spelling-error">ams</span> and I think one <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_3" class="blsp-spelling-error">Mcflush</span>. Sadly no pictures. After the treacherous hike out just as the light was completely fading from the sky, we got some dinner and found a hotel.<br /></p><br /><div><br /><div>Day 2: We woke up around 9ish, stopped at the Biscuit World for some delicious breakfast biscuits and headed to the dries. The Dries were still at a bit of a low level so we decided to go and check out one of the creeks on our hit list. Due to the lack of a massive rainfall the night before we decided to be someone conservative and go with the creek that was most likely to be running. We drove about 30 or so minutes to Glade Creek AKA Upper Manns Creek, in Babcock State Park. It was a little low and bumpy, espescially Grist Mill falls which was a 13 foot waterfall that pretty much lands on a big flat rock slab, except for maybe a 2 foot wide slot. Which after running it twice before dylan and thought it was impossible, then ofcourse, finally, dylan, getting the guts to run it hits the line perfectly off the 2 inch deep lip and boofs the Sh%& out of it. The rest of the rapids, even though low and scrapy were pretty sick. There was a nice little 5 foot boof onto a kewl little rock slide. Then a neat double ledged drop totaling about 8-10 feet, a 2 footledgeslide to a 5-7 foot drop. Straight into a weird little manky rapid straight into a boof where 80 % of the water flows straight into an undercut rock and the other 20% lands on a rock. Dylan had 2 laps on it and I managed 3 on this .5 mile run. <img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 180px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5459762637732393570" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxDfTQx_dceU29Kx7XkTChtotaITiFFXuAdRvRecTdALy_1ejS3p1U6BEnCt0LPrC63bc2C-9OzfiPy_ain2dFpqjhLLROSJsJ4eSmzvil2Nzd5u6zOop-_3GrqbhQiuA8QwNjX0dFqd8/s320/20100331151653(1).JPG" /><br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 180px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5459762630316466994" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfALUSCkJbGnQONDonjQBHjPa81sKC9CZdFAel-xeB0ICfDnt9EWTFowPIVybQh0rluwkkXKtZ4aKDPjiXBxPj44TMigXMoBE-w6udGyae2vPHPDq0uS5H2ENRkaPS_hJtmTC-OGCkE8I/s320/20100329130011(1).JPG" /></div><br /><div>Day 3: On day 3 we woke up and headed to the Dries again to check the level, a bit higher but we decided to give it some more time to rise some more. So we headed to nearby Mill Creek, which flows into the New River Gorge right above Hawk Nest Dam. Mill Creek was also pretty low, but we managed some sketchy lines down F*&^ Up falls and made it down some neat little slides and a few other smallish drops. We made it to Mill Creeky falls, spent about an hour clearing a log out but after we cleared the log out determined it to be to sketchy due to what appeared to be a very shallow landing. The possible deep spots were not very wide and it was obvious that there was very shallow(2-6 inchs under the surface) rocks pretty much everywhere around it. So we choose to just hop out there and head back to the dries.</div></div><br /><br /><div align="center"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 180px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5459755955753955714" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7ZrSEYIweiuPsrV6VFQSvnwLtZ1xxUNNSzpnFq37tkSMBTsx9u-JzFc_aYilnZ8M6qq2aWKe0H1hDZXSjc6A0ukbQjG7FKw0CmyRNwLPXRFsJRqTA_eS1lTYFcyp4jMTH-j6-vGb8slM/s320/24262_384016311737_652351737_3693353_695849_n.jpg" /></div><br /><div align="center">Dylan Evans<br /></div><div align="center">F&*^ Up Falls<br /></div><div align="center">Me<br /></div><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 180px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5459755948815037298" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDlxlcs8LsXOnRIqWWmCwZpyl_r7nVQyLo92va-N1hKH3uOFC6YoMaVAgY13TseSaM09kzGvjOQzfusCnLEZY96sqcNb6HlbTWRudkXETEkzHZbj0tNK_Y4ymSK5P00HEKOyNkzEv02Z0/s320/24262_384016286737_652351737_3693348_4894649_n.jpg" /><br /><div>The Dries were at a near perfect level of 9.5 feet when we got there. Put in waves were SICK, we met Dave Fusilli there and threw down some seriously big tricks there. I managed to get some Big pan ams, blunts and a few blunt nastys. Definitly a sick day. </div><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 180px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5459762624368823698" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVNcpbfQj23BgstRhHH1_rqfQ1dxcJc3LCGNyL75DFQfc1dcmKJSVtOZNVscfeYjF9hJq24Ojt9OKrVlGKymcaQuBekjnD02U0fZj53rwXhDoZNmJ3gbsy8K-qQvzjAMjp3W9Zd_iSSi8/s320/20090101004608(3).JPG" /><br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 180px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5459762607296401858" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTJWvMdIHKJvn5r-qWwMJyulC8xOnLKUSNlHyJFlzfQUkt38_L4iPCfZgZJ38MaMo5l3T35VeDNqB327s3nsDS6VWFwliSySiqehfjXf2BwpDMXSGxune4TtuFS8cy2DX_FlxfD1W9X7M/s320/20090101003632(1).JPG" /><br /><div>Day 4: This was our last day and the New had droped but we had checked the gauge of Glade creek and it looked higher than the first day we ran it so he just headed back there for a few more runs before heading back home.<br /></div><div> </div><div align="left">Jordan P</div></div></div>Jordan Phttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00654484957386111356noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2334556044204533937.post-64721630808507049962010-03-26T18:38:00.006-04:002010-04-13T16:26:09.256-04:00New Year, New places to go.Sorry it's been such a long time since the last post. I hope to begin posting every other week.<br /><br />Since January 1st, I've been up to quite a lot. For the most part untill March I have been sort of taking a little bit of time boating. I tried to get out to Ski Liberty as much as I could this winter for some snowboarding.<br />During March I got back into boating and have been hitting a few creeks here and there, includeing a possible first D on Marl Creek down near charlottesville VA. My friend Dylan and I have also managed to catch the gorge on the Potomac at 12 feet or 200,000 cubic feet per second. At that level the island between the chutes is completly underwater and creates a MASSIVE hole over 200 feet wide. The water level in the gorge is probably about 50 feet up the cliff walls compared to regular summer levels.<br /><br />Last weekend was NAWFest(north alabama whitewater festival) which was definitly one of the sickest events I go to all year. The Huckfest, one of the main events at NAWF was an amazing specticle. It was too bad however due to land issues, no spectators were alowed. Though I managed to get a ton of video and will try to post some of it soon. The waterfall huckfest consists of two evens. The main one being the huckfest itself which consists of everyone trying to throw the craziest trick off the 14 foot waterfall, the second being a boatercross down the waterfall around a rock and behind the curtain of the waterfall and touch a rock on the other side.<br />I managed to get 2nd in the c-1 boatercross, Probably would have gotten first if I hadn't forgotten to go behind the curtaino the waterfall.<br />The next event I did was the Freestyle competition. I barly got second scraped out by Dane Jackson by about 10 points for the first place spot in the c-1 catagory.<br />They had a ton of other events including a mountain bike race , which they had some absolotely sick courses set up, a slalom race, a pro wakeboarder competion, and a rock climbing competetion. There was tons of free swag geting thrown, launched, or tossed all over the place. Overall definitly one of the best events I've ever been to.<br /><br />Today is the first day of Spring break so I will be running loads of creeks in this nect week. Will post hopefully by the end of the week again.<br /><br />Will also try to get some pictures and video up sooner rather than later.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii1pR2RnvOoAb1DIzXWfEzGo7isV6rYVr8J975hc02P3czZK-57KLSuuwqGoLNVYiU4ZK22NzmOB3OMg7Zo4IPagINjDNUL_3yGt17IBysvxwYk1F6XTqTjTazuIFshpXYcC-8wxOtCzg/s1600/20090729202326(6).JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 180px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5459720218563856754" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii1pR2RnvOoAb1DIzXWfEzGo7isV6rYVr8J975hc02P3czZK-57KLSuuwqGoLNVYiU4ZK22NzmOB3OMg7Zo4IPagINjDNUL_3yGt17IBysvxwYk1F6XTqTjTazuIFshpXYcC-8wxOtCzg/s320/20090729202326(6).JPG" /></a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgacmdHrl3aKzdKDKNDQW5LT6WVXxv2mooRBz1dgd_iEtUgZpa_b6VJVQ0s1aR_RsqwxYYsNtGrFyP8-Cx6y1OEljKbER0QV164WNj1PvLS9rL4YHhuQkiQOVHTFva4VKIehOwXeyGe4-0/s1600/20090729211830(3).JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 180px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5459720235305053650" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgacmdHrl3aKzdKDKNDQW5LT6WVXxv2mooRBz1dgd_iEtUgZpa_b6VJVQ0s1aR_RsqwxYYsNtGrFyP8-Cx6y1OEljKbER0QV164WNj1PvLS9rL4YHhuQkiQOVHTFva4VKIehOwXeyGe4-0/s320/20090729211830(3).JPG" /></a><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJUVnp4Knwc0Ol0F9SORHIsfXTBBX01XoUhFhCL_XqOescRE0HhjfhiYOyTs1SY_hCvvq8VoEWfWbTsGUz-MsyXsaQ27FahjYBcxUUQJuoLSGBSno468audqRBRWvo-FjLFg4uYZ-PunE/s1600/20090729223147(2).JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 180px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5459720225424733874" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJUVnp4Knwc0Ol0F9SORHIsfXTBBX01XoUhFhCL_XqOescRE0HhjfhiYOyTs1SY_hCvvq8VoEWfWbTsGUz-MsyXsaQ27FahjYBcxUUQJuoLSGBSno468audqRBRWvo-FjLFg4uYZ-PunE/s320/20090729223147(2).JPG" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Bye for now,<br />Jordan PJordan Phttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00654484957386111356noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2334556044204533937.post-86505123120782195372009-12-12T19:13:00.004-05:002009-12-12T19:21:06.251-05:00Center Chute Comes Back In!!For the first time since earlier this spring the potomac rose above 5 feet and one of the best waves on the potomac came back in. My dad, dylan, and myself decided to go hit it up despite the cold conditions. I was really the only one who was having much luck, the other two werent trying much because it was so cold out. I managed to hit a few pan ams, a bunch of blunts, one blunt-nasty( a blunt combined with a mcnasty, and a semi accidental blunt-airbackloop combo.<br /><br />Heres a very short video, showing one of my pan ams, and the blunt-nasty. This video is also the start of a series of short videos called "A Moment Of Brown" by TP Productions.<br />Enjoy!<br /><br /><br /><br /><object height="300" width="400"><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><param name="movie" value="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=8139209&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=0&color=&fullscreen=1"><embed src="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=8139209&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=0&color=&fullscreen=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" width="400" height="300"></embed></object><br /><p><a href="http://vimeo.com/8139209">A Moment Of Brown</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/user1388143">Jordan Poffenberger</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com/">Vimeo</a>.</p>Jordan Phttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00654484957386111356noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2334556044204533937.post-91495030770031348772009-11-18T17:08:00.001-05:002009-11-18T17:09:32.978-05:00Season Video No. 1<object height="300" width="400"><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><param name="movie" value="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=7691133&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=0&color=&fullscreen=1"><embed src="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=7691133&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=0&color=&fullscreen=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" width="400" height="300"></embed></object><p><a href="http://vimeo.com/7691133">Summer Video No.1</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/user1388143">Jordan Poffenberger</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com/">Vimeo</a>.</p>Jordan Phttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00654484957386111356noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2334556044204533937.post-67136710915362498782009-09-28T00:22:00.003-04:002011-08-30T13:57:42.085-04:00Gauley Double Marathon[ Upper Gauley (10 miles) + Middle Gauley (5 miles) + Lower Gauley (11 miles) ] x 2 = Gauley double marathon (52 miles)<br /><br /><strong>THE WHY</strong><br /><br />I've wanted to do the Gauley double marathon ever since I heard that kids from the World Class Kayak Academy did it during the 2007 Gauley River Festival. When I tell people this, the response I usually get is "Why?" or "You're crazy." For them, a single marathon sounds bad enough, and a double marathon sounds like torture. But that's not the way I see it.<br /><br />There's something really cool about running the whole river in one day. It gives you a different perspective. As boaters, we sometimes forget that the river sections described in our guide books (e.g. Upper, Middle, Lower) are arbitrary designations, and we talk about them as if they were completely different rivers. But that's not the case at all. The Gauley doesn't hit a dead end at Panther Creek, and it doesn't bubble up from nowhere at Bucklick. Every point on the river is connected. And if you do the Gauley marathon, it gives you a greater understanding (and appreciation) for the river as a whole.<br /><br />I say the "whole river" with some reservations, because obviously the Gauley doesn't start at Summersville Dam. It starts many miles upstream on Gauley Mountain and picks up several tributaries that are interesting in their own right before reaching the dam. They are unaffected by the fall releases, so they're not included in the Gauley marathon. But if the dam wasn't there, I'd start higher up!<br /><br />OK, so that explains why I'd want to do a single marathon, but why a double? That question is more difficult to answer, but I'll try.<br /><br /><ul><li>For the whitewater. If I'm going to drive 5 hours each way, I want to get my money's worth. I want to run as many rapids as possible. 26 miles of whitewater is great, but 52 miles is even better. I think the Jackson Kayak crew has the same basic idea when they do an "all day play run." It's all about going home tired and happy.</li><li>For the challenge. I'd never paddled 52 miles in a day before, or even close to it. Could I do it? Was it possible?</li><li>For the novelty. When you run the Gauley every weekend in September it gets a little bland, and you start looking for ways to spice it up. I'd never run the Gauley in a long boat before, and I'd certainly never done twice from top to bottom, so the double marathon was a way to make the Gauley feel new again.</li><li>For the solitude. As everyone knows, Gauley Fest weekend is a circus. With the right mindset it can be a fun atmosphere, but boaters who enjoy the wilderness experience usually stay the hell away. However, I discovered that you can still find solitude on Gauley Fest weekend. You just have to work a little harder for it.</li></ul><br /><strong>THE HOW</strong><br /><br />If I was serious about completing the double marathon, I had to do some research first. Here are some of the questions that I had:<br /><br /><ul><li>When does the release start?</li><li>When does it end?</li><li>How long does it take the water to get from the dam to Bucklick?</li><li>How long does it take for the water to get from the dam to Swiss?</li><li>How long does it take to do a marathon in a long boat?</li><li>How long does it take to drive from Swiss to the dam?</li></ul><br />Fortunately there are a lot of resources on the internet that helped me answer those questions. The Army Corps of Engineers posts the <a href="http://www.lrh-wc.usace.army.mil/wc/wwsched.html">whitewater release schedule</a> every year. Saturday releases are normally from 6AM - 2PM, but on Gauley Fest weekend the release ends at 3PM. That extra hour is crucial for the double marathon, as you will see. Chuck Brabec has written an excellent overview of Gauley River hydrology called <a href="http://www.thebrabecs.com/Gauges_101_Gauley.htm">Gauges 101 - The Gauley River</a>. This is where I learned that it takes 3-4 hours for the water to reach Bucklick and 8 hours to reach Belva (which is about 4 miles downstream of Swiss). It usually takes me 5.5 to 6 hours to do the Gauley marathon in a playboat, but I'd never done it in a long boat before, so I asked some friends. They told me 4.5 hours was a good estimate. Finally, I got directions from Swiss to Summersville Dam on Google Maps, which told me the drive took 33 minutes.<br /><br />With this information in hand, it was easy to determine that if the release started at 6AM and took 8 hours to reach Belva, it would get there around 2PM. And if it took 4.5 hours to do the marathon in a long boat, I couldn't start before 9 or 9:30 or I would catch the bubble. After finishing the first marathon around 2, I would have to quickly load my boat on the car and hightail it back to the dam before the water shut off at 3. Then I would paddle another 4.5 hours and take out between 7 and 7:30 (just before sunset). Getting the timing right was very tricky business. It was reassuring to know that the water never really turns off completely on Gauley release weekends; the Army Corps of Engineers releases 600-700 cfs overnight to prime the pump for the next day. But a double marathon on 600-700 cfs would go a lot slower than 2800 cfs, so I didn't want to miss the bubble.<br /><br />As it turns out, the hardest part of the Gauley double marathon is setting the shuttle. Not many people do it (the kids at WCKA are the only ones I've heard of) so you'll probably have a hard time convincing your friends to join you. Nor do you want to impose on anyone by asking them to sacrifice their own festival plans to pick you up. Furthermore, it would be very difficult to hitch the shuttle -- even on a busy weekend like Gauley Fest -- because the first shuttle is so time sensitive and on the second you're trying to retrieve your car from the dam when everyone else is heading straight to the festival.<br /><br />There are two ideal situations for setting the double marathon shuttle: either have a shuttle bunny, or have two cars and two friends willing to drop them off at Swiss on their way to running the Lower Gauley (that way you don't have to set shuttle at all and they don't have to go out of their way to help you). Billy Armstrong wanted to do the double marathon with me, so we drove down to the Gauley together. Our shuttle situation wasn't ideal, but we made it work. First, Jeff Kahn and Sean Devine gave us a big assist by dropping Billy's car off at Swiss for us. (Thanks guys!) That took care of shuttle #1. But we didn't have a second car, and we didn't have a shuttle bunny. We decided to wing it. If Billy wasn't feeling up to a second marathon, he'd run shuttle for me. And if he was feeling up to it, we'd try to hitch back. We both left changes of dry clothes at the festival in case we couldn't hitch back to the dam, and I brought my cell phone and some money which I could use to entice people to give us a ride.<br /><br /><strong>THE FIRST MARATHON</strong><br /><br />We got off to a late start because of the delays that always go hand in hand with Gauley Fest. It was nothing major, just a minute here and a minute there. Billy saved us some time by running down the put-in road instead of waiting for the park ranger's shuttle, but we didn't put in until 9:39 AM. Once on the water, we made quick work of the warm-up rapids. A common misconception is that you have to paddle hard the whole way to do a Gauley marathon. That is not the case. All you have to do is stay in the current and pace yourself. It is generally a good idea to paddle the flatwater and rest in the rapids. But you don't have to sprint. In fact, you shouldn't sprint or you'll wear yourself out.<br /><br />Below Pillow Rock Billy got out of his Dancer to adjust the outfitting because his feet were being rubbed raw by the foot pedals. I was sensitive to the lost time, but I knew that 4.5 hours was a long time to be uncomfortable, so it made sense to take care of it right then and there. Unfortunately that wasn't the end of it, and Billy had to adjust the outfitting again below Lost Paddle. In addition to the foot pedal problem, he was sliding around on the seat, which threw him off balance and made him feel out of control in the rapids. It was clear that he was getting frustrated with all the outfitting issues, because he's a great boater and he just wasn't himself in that boat. I was impressed by how he toughed it out and did everything he could to make the double marathon happen.<br /><br />When we got to Panther Creek, we both knew that we were running behind schedule. In fact, we were so far behind that we were jeopardizing our chance to finish the double marathon. So we started paddling faster to make up for lost time. If we could make it from Panther Creek to Swiss in 2:45, we just might be able to pull it off. Somewhere in the Middle Gauley we crossed paths with Jason "Paris" Hilton and John "The Rudler" Rudland. It was John's bachelor party, and they were doing the marathon too. (Congrats John!) We told them what we were trying to do, and Jason told us, after looking at his watch, that we'd better hurry.<br /><br />Shortly afterward, we pulled over at a beach to eat a quick snack and stretch our legs. I started peeing next to a rock, and jumped back when I realized that I was peeing on two coiled copperheads! They weren't very pleased with me.<br /><br />The Lower Gauley went by in a blur. We kept passing people and passing people. We didn't stop anywhere. We saw people that we knew, and we shouted hi, but we didn't stop. After Diagonal Ledges the river was empty. We saw a boat floating upside down below Lower Stairstep with nobody in sight, so we pushed it to shore, drained it, and propped it up on a rock so the owner could find it. We saw two river boarders below Rooster Tail, and they were the last people we saw. We arrived at Swiss around 2:15. I don't know if we were the first people off the Lower Gauley, but it seemed like it.<br /><br />Billy decided that he'd better not do the second marathon. He was coming off a shoulder injury and didn't want to reaggravate it. But he was happy to run the shuttle for me. As Billy drove me back to the dam, I devoured a banana and three peanut butter and honey sandwiches. Then I drank straight from a gallon water jug to rehydrate. We made it back to the dam by 2:50. I reloaded on granola bars and Gatorade. After agreeing on a rendezvous time, I headed down to the put-in and slid into the water. It was 2:56.<br /><br /><strong>THE SECOND MARATHON</strong><br /><br />The second marathon was almost eerie. There I was, on Gauley Fest weekend -- the busiest weekend of the year -- and I was all alone. The river felt like a ghost town. Nobody was at the dam. No rafters, no kayakers, no rangers. It was quiet. All I could hear was the rushing of the water. Nobody was fiddling with their spray skirt at the put-in. Nobody was surfing the wave in the first rapid or hanging out in the eddy. Nobody was doing flatwater tricks in the first big pool. Nobody was warning the newbie in their group not to surf the wave at Initiation. Rafts weren't lining up like school buses. It was just me and the river.<br /><br />With only a 4 minute head start, I knew that I had to keep paddling to stay on the bubble, so I just got into a rhythm and went. Left blade, right blade, left blade, right blade. Splash in the chest. Stay in the current. Left blade, right blade. When I got to Geek Wave, I saw Adam Johnson throwing down like it was nobody's business. He had it all to himself. I don't know who was more surprised to see who. I also don't know if he paddled out after me or just stayed there until the water was gone and hiked back to the put-in. I just nodded my head and kept paddling. When I looked back over my shoulder, he was throwing loop after loop after loop.<br /><br />I didn't stop paddling or see another person until I reached Pillow. Luke Hopkins was standing on the rock, and there were a few other people as well. I was getting tired and sloppy, so I flipped in Pillow, which was a wake up call that I needed to pay more attention to what I was doing.<br /><br />Paddling through the pool above Lost Paddle with nobody else around caused some anxiety. I feel very comfortable on all of the Gauley rapids -- including Lost Paddle -- but I was tired, alone, and worried what would happen if I flipped in 2nd drop, hit my head on the rock shelf, and lost consciousness. Talk about a worst case scenario! I eddied out on the right to catch my breath and to make sure I had a good line. It was probably the first eddy I caught on that second marathon. I was able to block out the bad thoughts and everything was fine.<br /><br />A little later, I saw a guy portaging around Tumblehome. He was paddling a C-1 for the first time ever and had gotten his @$$ handed to many times that day. My hat's off to him, that takes cajones. I asked him if he was OK and he said yeah, his buddies were waiting for him below the rapid.<br /><br />I passed a group at Iron Ring and another group at Sweet's. From there it was smooth sailing until Backender on the Middle Gauley with not a soul in sight. There I saw Kevin Vesely and crew. It was around 5:15 at this point. They had a car at the dam and a car at Wood's Ferry, but nothing at Swiss. They also had playboats and a guy with them who'd only paddled three times before. It sounded like they'd be getting off the river really late. I told Kevin we could probably take a driver back to the dam if he could make it to Swiss by 8 PM, which is when I was meeting Billy. But that was the last time I saw them. I heard the next day that they'd made it out alright.<br /><br />From Koontz's Flume to the flatwater above Swiss I saw nobody else. Nobody. I had the whole river to myself. If you go outside of Gauley Season, that's what it's like. But on Gauley Fest weekend? That was amazing. I just kept chugging along, and made it to Swiss at 7:22. I walked over to the Church to see if they had any food left, but they'd been sold out for over an hour. So I stretched and I waited for Billy. Fatigue set in on the way to the festival. When we got there, I ate some more sandwiches, did one circuit around the festival grounds, and then crashed. Despite all the surrounding noise, I slept like a baby.<br /><br /><strong>CONCLUSION</strong><br /><br />I don't know if the Gauley double marathon will ever catch on, but that's part of the allure. To paddle 52 miles, you have to really want it. That said, it is very doable, and I think it's worth doing -- even if it's just to get the river to yourself on a busy weekend. The only drawback is that you're too tired to really enjoy the festival on Saturday night (I was never much of a partyer anyway). The single marathon is a good way to train for it, and I see more and more people doing that every year.<br /><br />Thanks to Jeff and Sean for setting our first shuttle, and special thanks to Billy for doing the first marathon with me and setting my shuttle for the second. You guys made it happen!Scott Ahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15346938756856444249noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2334556044204533937.post-57708945059781208832009-09-13T15:29:00.004-04:002009-09-13T16:22:12.758-04:002009 Freestyle World ChampionshipsI just got back from the 2009 Freestyle kayak world championships in Thun, Switzerland. Thun is an amazing little city on the edge of the alps. The wave is made by the gates of a bridge dam that allows water into one of the two canals on the Aare river that passes through Thun. Even though the water is glacier melt from a massive glacier that you can see on the mountains practically overlooking Thun, the water is still about 65-70 degrees Fahrenheit, mostly because of the huge beautiful neon blue lake in between the glaciers and Thun where the water sits in the sun all day.<br /><br />In the event itself there were over 250 competitiors from 30+ nations. The competition was held with 3-4 stages depending on how many people were in each class. For Men and Womens there were 4 stages, Prelims( 4 rides 2 count) Quarter Finals (3 rides 2 count) Semifinals( 2 rides 1 counts) and Finals ( 3 rides 1 counts). For the rest of the classes, c-1, junior men, oc1, and junior women, there were only Prelims, Semifinals, and Finals.<br />The results of the ICF 2009 Freestyle kayak World Championships are:<br /><br />K1 Men<br />1 Troutman Nicholas 1.510,000Pts Final CAN<br />2 Jackson Eric 958,333Pts Final USA<br />3 Wright Stephen 790,000Pts Final USA<br />4 GALLAIS Jules 466,667 Final FRA<br />5 Kowalski Joel 410,000 Final CAN<br />6 Meyers Jonny 633,333 SemiFinal USA<br /><br />C1<br />1 Bainbridge David 465,000 Final GBR<br />2 LaRue Guillaume 381,667 Final CAN<br />3 BESSEAU Alexandre 376,667 Final FRA<br />4 Hummel Markus 193,333 Final GER<br />5 Areta Odei 40,000 Final ESP<br />6 Jackson Dane 310,000 SemiFinal USA<br />13 Poffenberger Jordan 251,667 Prelims USA<br /><br />K1 Women<br />1 Jackson Emily 553,333 Final USA<br />2 Gordon Ruth 348,333 Final CAN<br />3 Faux Tanya 340,000 Final AUS<br />4 SAETHER MARIANN 263,333 Final NOR<br />5 Wegman Martina 160,000 Final NLD<br /><br />K1 Junior Men<br />1 Craig Jason 873,333 Final USA<br />2 Jackson Dane 670,000 Final USA<br />3 DEVRED Sebastien 640,000 Final FRA<br />4 Fontane Joaquim 560,000 Final ESP<br />5 Rowlinson James 493,333 Final AUS<br /><br />K1 Junior Women<br />1 Newman Nouria 400,000 Final FRA<br />2 Hornhardt Sandrina 50,000 Final GER<br />3 Häberling Leoni 33,333 Final SUI<br /><br />OC1<br />1 Laucks Jeremy 115,000 Final USA<br />2 Pätsch Stephan 90,000 Final GER<br />3 Areta Odei 25,000 Final ESP<br /><br />K1 Squirt Men<br />1 Reeves James 127 Finals GBR<br />2 Toru Ishihara 93,33 Finals JPN<br />3 Laucks Jeremy 88 Finals USA<br /><br />K1 Squirt Women<br />1 O'Hara Claire 80,23 Finals GBR<br />2 Runciman Emma 47,6 Finals GBR<br />3 BERTRAND VALERIE 46 Finals NOR<br />(for full results go to <a href="http://playak.com/article.php?sid=1448">http://playak.com/article.php?sid=1448</a> )<br /><br />Here is a short video I made of Worlds, I hope to make a few more because I have over 1000 minutes of video and I don't feel 3 minutes is enough to show even a little of Thun. Enjoy!<br />(Turn on HD for much better video quality)<br /><br /><object height="300" width="400"><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><param name="movie" value="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=6558941&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=0&color=&fullscreen=1"><embed src="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=6558941&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=0&color=&fullscreen=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" width="400" height="300"></embed></object><br /><br /><p><a href="http://vimeo.com/6558941">Worlds Video No. 1</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/user1388143">Jordan Poffenberger</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com/">Vimeo</a>.</p>Jordan Phttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00654484957386111356noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2334556044204533937.post-37637748377558890302009-09-08T22:40:00.041-04:002011-08-30T13:57:42.086-04:00Labor Day Weekend at the Upper YoughThis past weekend I ran the Upper Yough with Katy, Bion, Ally, Dan, and Jim. The weather was perfect and the river wasn't very crowded because a lot of people went to the Beaver and Raquette releases in New York. Below are some pictures of our run.<br /><br /><table border="0"><tbody><tr><td><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5379690509567987618" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 214px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijXsVkGnfPZ4bt9iufyT3oxLeV4xuqMOD0kI5SUF8QNolVuLinnwoWmN4mrjeuiH45qoXH2OUTqj3axGX-WyA6pEkoJ6cUlBfFPy-WJVkh7yEU7KoHv4Iw05zbjzn1wjrL-N6Bv9QlGzc/s320/IMG_0913.JPG" border="0" /> <p align="center">Bion boofing Bastard</p></td><td><p align="center"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5379690519986360018" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 214px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUfe2ihOxYCWk4oBkRQOtOr0FGvIRIKuDZUbCFBezqMl576PNvcCEG-gGdHWnajAbUBCTMF_mvVg_fjrKkgIyJFy97OVzcvJiemXq89yGeco5UPt28TedOsIsMNOwMonsc2YvPEHDnKSg/s320/IMG_0917.JPG" border="0" /></p><p align="center">Katy boofing Bastard</p></td></tr><tr><td><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5379690534864498258" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 214px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_zO3f9WQEXK3Y2hwj1MoPP1f7tqrk6ScQ5d-jkStVocfUhKRNof18xfhO1Hxn96-DQgxwrW8xBP0_zsGRwsW9Fk8gOZ3hQz2daVcK9euKGLSUAq4uJR2Jy9OB9EG50FPnHVrOLUUuM2c/s320/IMG_0935.JPG" border="0" /> <p align="center">Katy paddling the runout in Bastard</p></td><td><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5379691173153842530" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 214px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4na3kZfqKpVN_sRgBoOFv2ns_YRC7rQKyk75TNgCORinDAHHSCRLjHS4U8wrZQ_vUDeyroNGPAej1eu9nxBZtZT9nJnYXa8p5jX79S86Iz4Kra-zgFf7CSUMHJdIuXRcIHHNVr_mTmpA/s320/IMG_0940.JPG" border="0" /> <p align="center">Dan running a narrow slot in Charlie's</p></td></tr><tr><td><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5379690553370376546" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 214px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtPkPNaMXQ9OmBcgW5R3A66zYxZv6Ij4kj0H8UiPEIF0hmPB9iuN8N1l3jhXRMieaH3uXCVbSKF5EfBvHV5_V5lFL7-WIhksA7HPHHGqFjSdbnkXXb-JMys9ukTfhkvx5nTkjF-6C1j5w/s320/IMG_0963.JPG" border="0" /> <p align="center">Katy lining up for the Mushroom Cloud</p></td><td><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5379691464390358866" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 214px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjx3yJ1yj3Bb92UVhnpMZQW6XtGtnGeDxq4Toq9p0skUFMtrq2wgxSF72JQvzB5pU7wTfbAsu7wiyJ56qzJIrcQwURX0xqC7doOBiwNoJ1oEEehcCl4MuzXvwikOItTAzAUtziyJwQxIKo/s320/IMG_0964.JPG" border="0" /> <p align="center">Katy running the Mushroom Cloud</p></td></tr><tr><td><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5379691472403964594" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 214px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPkDS8EQPrxONJ_4aOY8Tu2FfLCvSQny0PItvQ3FA6w7-xqgWqrPWXBtBqUoQtovU7bWGsBhRH8KrbqlUr2o1vfmuA1zRyX-y5sXxKNGAlSUOVLNblWFn6pK5FPASpFi-F1UE3YFMkVdI/s320/IMG_0978.JPG" border="0" /> <p align="center">Bion running the Crack at Triple Drop</p></td><td><p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5379691484013128466" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 214px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvaNzfKVzZo7x2O1w9_eBV-GxtluvBdV5JMihSv_cveuB5q0bXIqhI6r5eikTtJplyaQZ_2xut7QDslDSaCV4Dnix-gSt0WbrZnvbWHW7W2Z5oAlDbzwc5B05MtXUyc1MsGZCpdiOMLjE/s320/IMG_0995.JPG" border="0" /></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p align="center">Dan boofing National Falls</p></td></tr><tr><td><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5379691490121644722" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 214px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNkX5QjrA_7RqbZzZ8NDuELyY0ka7j3KUigGkQcpLdn9Kg7AueU_9koHBqNZ9GGBtAUkJ5WZq75Blz_fXvolkaMchbAtCzPCsarElllN73xit1kOzWPXRLTjpPYeEqpa_8c1Jp7Xj018E/s320/IMG_1020.JPG" border="0" /> <p align="center">Ally running National</p></td><td><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5379691500810664146" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 214px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvnOnf-hIXi_osIsajSiHtAiiWwumEyoY0KdE-SfU7RNN1e39771t5Plc4YR_BLmPpJu0Gi0YAUORXn5ro9HvwHYpil8lUBySCPGHseSImhdNx7svn2fDB0oZnm70uKf_Wd6y_oJGIJjs/s320/IMG_1026.JPG" border="0" /> <p align="center">Jim running National</p></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br />There wasn't a release on Sunday, so Katy and I hiked into the Upper Yough to see what it looks like at low water. Needless to say, it looks a lot different! On our way out we removed the log in the river right slot of Triple Drop, which has been the scene of at least two close calls this summer. Now Gauley season is upon us. Be safe out there!<br /><table border="0"><tbody><tr><td><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5379685862045385970" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 214px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn2tJOEl38yesW16US-eXRXPIzoZVlCiu5h2fbUb4vMJjv3pq1B2ByplTRTLUTaWMH6gpBIwf11zjdqTTYXiaHJ0jFXbuC47knUvAMgopYetCppihnnYi7Mk_5F5Uab5e8hf_5ZIYr4-s/s320/IMG_1053.JPG" border="0" /> <p align="center">Charlie's Choice from above</p></td><td><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5379685866836086642" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 214px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyJx0bHRAx9xCIXjlupEBMMPLxR3WjPk5M3QdVbSMNwDeDq6OqlwSzXq6i2YXnriES2cfBWQE_VUpjHh3a_iV8-hTblwiVyRJmVWTXBdA2MMk3XnNgZ7tYwBdaoHPCHK6zL8ceal3amms/s320/IMG_1060.JPG" border="0" /> <p align="center">Charlie's Choice from below</p></td></tr><tr><td><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5379686777179575954" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 214px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwF0EHmtBMmVnfD5tvZvOA1v0-TowSGPQdFKhNmVmyo_xtFOjxFJC4Ei-k6drYSIN1Rqdl8YeIV-vQ9ygTm46cG0Qv_e1jV2GCcvt1kjKFlEOUjXutzLORE_7PFi56rEZLA8hE_beRrhw/s320/IMG_1070.JPG" border="0" /> <p align="center">Mel's Toilet Bowl</p></td><td><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5379685878097870962" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 214px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmVqmOoefbKYIGY4l4R_uG-lzbZlzTcZLzuN-bEk5BDgqy6wCWAAcvYtT_z9_CvEobX2yt1x7WDNd-UOjtK6f-8pPZbuDNcTkTD5knwE1AgJl0A3c1DoHdxizLj1xY6H6UE42nBlXesXM/s320/IMG_1061.JPG" border="0" /> <p align="center">The Crack at Triple Drop from below</p></td></tr><tr><br /><td><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5379685887835081426" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 214px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBs8b4wJzlgDzQYIyJhH5-yKqi8e9pzj-gFVpT1ASR-qjyeMJoD3bxYfi8xEGshMdvrPHuMuTYDoGhdgrY1nquFj4jp5J6itW7IR0du6K9LkhcIpFwYIQ47r8LyFQzHJCBshoQv_xg0MU/s320/IMG_1062.JPG" border="0" /> <p align="center">Triple Drop from above</p></td><td><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5379686772119540370" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 214px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzAe1dvL2xdapiPpiZLL1b9Vv0tkqw51CBxSaUbLnf76DHOttU5B7lBOYLkv6OcVZd-QZKC1VBT9KJgb_jsUQO1dmT24h19yk7ePvcXWWHCcBEpfiwSnjKEXdg9-CFN0xsJnEQPFTBBB0/s320/IMG_1069.JPG" border="0" /> <p align="center">The log we removed from Triple Drop</p></td></tr><tr><td><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5379697198137617890" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 214px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiofp_6oyWZaclTqhCXjcJXfHAWrYrahL7l1tvUFAugaOfGG0Vxnbaj873zMTIxka2Jq8IS00BCfQM4FLgpxZfnwdGGdA4tjuUU1CPm9geNk5M6gX5bDuBMiJCtEsxv0HQSk6DcGCpw0ic/s320/IMG_1066.JPG" border="0" /> <p align="center">National Falls at 57 cfs</p></td><td><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5379697209426746098" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 214px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOGUAYiPpQpncI72MgDkFDhwEsVgaevD4djO8eHky1BEromGvA-6hZgdL8Qc3lu9hBQGvrx0j3km-20eB82lbkV4iHXBgQfnpN64euvM70hV38xGtcaf5iQnECasyP2AvPnr9pkwEBEiQ/s320/IMG_1046.JPG" border="0" /> <p align="center">A field of sunflowers in McHenry</p></td></tr></tbody></table>Scott Ahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15346938756856444249noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2334556044204533937.post-70957128860550848322009-08-07T10:10:00.004-04:002009-08-07T10:28:23.809-04:00Potomac Fest 2009The 2009 Potomac Whitewater Festival was a great success. Team Potomac Paddlesports eagerly participated in numerous events and helped with coordination, setup and cleanup. Below are descriptions from each of the major events we took part in.
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<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Great Falls Race</span>
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<br />The Great Falls Race was held on the Virginia Lines for the first time since 1993. We were blessed with relatively cool weather (for DC in July) and blue skies. As always the race had a great turnout and it was one of the closest races ever, with only twelve hundredths of a second separating 1st place from 3rd. Jason Beakes eked out a win with a time of 51.85 seconds in the finals and Geoff Calhoun won the short boat class in 57.37 seconds. All the big dogs (and many of the smaller ones) were firing up the super-fast (and photogenic) right line at the Spout. Team Potomac Paddlesports eagerly joined the large group of competitors. Jordan rocked the C1 class, beating out Seth Chapelle for first place, after just having run the Spout for the first time the night before. Maggie once again represented as the only female racer. Scott and Pete held there own, both finishing in the top ten in the short boat class. Scott also held the distinction of being the only racer to run the center line on the Spout. Cherie wisely chose to save Falls racing for her 2nd full year of paddling but plans on giving Maggie a run for her money next year! Congratulations to all racers and special thanks for Tom, Nathan, and all those who organized the race and vigilantly set safety to ensure everything went smoothly. For complete results and photos, visit the Potomac Fest website.
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<br /></span><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2644/3713792749_3f1bb3bfc0_o.jpg%20"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 461px; height: 307px;" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2644/3713792749_3f1bb3bfc0_o.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a></span><meta equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><meta name="ProgId" content="Word.Document"><meta name="Generator" content="Microsoft Word 11"><meta name="Originator" content="Microsoft Word 11"><link rel="File-List" href="file:///C:%5CDOCUME%7E1%5CMaggie%5CLOCALS%7E1%5CTemp%5Cmsohtml1%5C01%5Cclip_filelist.xml"><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:punctuationkerning/> <w:validateagainstschemas/> <w:saveifxmlinvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:ignoremixedcontent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:alwaysshowplaceholdertext>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:snaptogridincell/> <w:wraptextwithpunct/> <w:useasianbreakrules/> <w:dontgrowautofit/> </w:Compatibility> <w:browserlevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:latentstyles deflockedstate="false" latentstylecount="156"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--><style> <!-- /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:#0400; mso-fareast-language:#0400; mso-bidi-language:#0400;} </style> <![endif]--><span style=";font-family:";font-size:100%;" >Scott firing up the center line on the Spout, photo: Thilo Rusche
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<br /></span> </div><span style=";font-family:";font-size:100%;" > <!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--> <!--[endif]--></span><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://thinkrain.smugmug.com/photos/588109828_b2X2P-M.jpg%20"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 460px; height: 308px;" src="http://thinkrain.smugmug.com/photos/588109828_b2X2P-M.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a></span><meta equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><meta name="ProgId" content="Word.Document"><meta name="Generator" content="Microsoft Word 11"><meta name="Originator" content="Microsoft Word 11"><link rel="File-List" href="file:///C:%5CDOCUME%7E1%5CMaggie%5CLOCALS%7E1%5CTemp%5Cmsohtml1%5C01%5Cclip_filelist.xml"><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:punctuationkerning/> <w:validateagainstschemas/> <w:saveifxmlinvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:ignoremixedcontent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:alwaysshowplaceholdertext>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:snaptogridincell/> <w:wraptextwithpunct/> <w:useasianbreakrules/> <w:dontgrowautofit/> </w:Compatibility> <w:browserlevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:latentstyles deflockedstate="false" latentstylecount="156"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--><style> <!-- /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:#0400; mso-fareast-language:#0400; mso-bidi-language:#0400;} </style> <![endif]--><span style=";font-family:";font-size:100%;" >Pete boofing bottom of U-hole, photo: Maggie Snowel
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<br /><!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--> <!--[endif]--></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://thinkrain.smugmug.com/photos/588093164_9DJjf-L.jpg%20"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 461px; height: 308px;" src="http://thinkrain.smugmug.com/photos/588093164_9DJjf-L.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a></span><meta equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><meta name="ProgId" content="Word.Document"><meta name="Generator" content="Microsoft Word 11"><meta name="Originator" content="Microsoft Word 11"><link rel="File-List" href="file:///C:%5CDOCUME%7E1%5CMaggie%5CLOCALS%7E1%5CTemp%5Cmsohtml1%5C01%5Cclip_filelist.xml"><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:punctuationkerning/> <w:validateagainstschemas/> <w:saveifxmlinvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:ignoremixedcontent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:alwaysshowplaceholdertext>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:snaptogridincell/> <w:wraptextwithpunct/> <w:useasianbreakrules/> <w:dontgrowautofit/> </w:Compatibility> <w:browserlevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:latentstyles deflockedstate="false" latentstylecount="156"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--><style> <!-- /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:#0400; mso-fareast-language:#0400; mso-bidi-language:#0400;} </style> <![endif]--><span style=";font-family:";font-size:100%;" >Maggie heading into S-Turn, photo: Jeff Smith </span> </div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style=";font-family:";font-size:12;" ></span></div><span style=";font-family:";font-size:12;" > <!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--> <!--[endif]--></span>
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<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2470/3714583310_8ca226f5ea.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 460px; height: 306px;" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2470/3714583310_8ca226f5ea.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>Jordan conquers the Spout, photo: Thilo Rusche
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<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Community Gorge Paddle</span>
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<br />After the Falls race Scott headed down to Sandy Beach to coordinate the Community Gorge Paddle. The turnout was great, with somewhere in the neighborhood of 60 participants. Ed Ruiz convinced 17 of his closest friends to come dressed as cows, which was truly a sight to behold! After handing out the costume prizes (you HAVE to see Gilligan and the U.S.S. Minnow!) we paddled down Mather Gorge as a group, stopping to do a kayak boom run, squeeze 8 people onto a Dagger Green Boat, play a massive game of kayak basketball (cows vs. everyone else), and hold a sunken boat race through Maryland Chute. It was quite possibly the best Community Gorge Paddle ever!
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<br />Following the Community Gorge Paddle Scott held an "Eddy line Play" clinic for a few adventurous souls. They practiced stern squirts for a while, and then filled their boats with water and practiced stern stalling. There were some wide eyes at first, but everyone had a blast.
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<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Boatercross</span>
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<br />The boatercross was held Sunday afternoon. Normally people don't show up because it's the last event of the weekend and everyone is tired, but this year 24 people found the energy to compete, and it's a good thing they did, because this year's boatercross was awesome. The first round was held in the Feeder Canal, with a devilish course devised by volunteer extraordinaire Emily Cohn to test the competitors' mental acuity as well as their stamina: all even gates between #2 and #14, plus an unnumbered upstream gate between #6 and #8 and another upstream gate at #9 (which wasn't red). After narrowing down the field, the second round was held in Z-Channel, with two beach ball buoys and a tight turn around the rock at the bottom. The finals were held in Little Falls, with a very challenging course that forced competitors to run a steep chute into the big river right eddy, ferry out, split the island and Meatcleaver rock, and punch the big hole at the bottom. In the end, it was Jeremy Laucks, Steve Graybill, and Collin Swan finishing 1st, 2nd, and 3rd.
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<br />A big thanks goes out to Scott for coordinating the Community Paddle and the Eddy line clinic and to Cherie for doing a fabulous job of coordinating registration and the silent auction!
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<br />~ Team Potomac Paddlesports
<br />Maggiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09307387737530007266noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2334556044204533937.post-15394569959912804762009-07-04T13:40:00.008-04:002009-07-06T14:22:46.803-04:00A Colorado Tour ReviewMy Colorado Tour started out May 13th, 32 hours of driving later and we reached Denver Colorado. We kept on driving past Denver to reach Glenwood Colorado the location for the 2009 USA Freestyle Team Trials. I spent a week training there and then went back to a little town on the outskirts of Denver for the annual Golden Community Rodeo, the goes on once a week for 4 weeks starting in the middle of May. Then over to Beuna Vista for the BV Pro rodeo, which I placed 10th in the Men's Pro k-1 class. Then back to Glenwood for a week of training before Team Trials. I managed to secure 2nd place and a spot on the USA Freestyle Team. Then we went to Vail for Teva Games, probably one of the largest paddling events in the world. Then after that we drove to lyons for lyons fest, and after that over to Salida to begin training for FIbark. Also securing 2nd at Fibark we then went to our last competition, the Gunnison River Fest, managing to grab 4th place in the Men's Pro K-1 Division. After a quick stop at the M-wave, 2 days of driving later, back at home on July 1st.<br /><br />Colorado was definitly an awesoume trip this year, I got to meet many really cool new people. I definitly have a few people to thank for helping us out during this trip, including Gary Mullins, Elain and Jeff Cambell, Johhny Meyers and Lief Anderson. There was alot of ups and downs but overall the trip was a sweet deal, ran lots of new creeks like Oh be joyful, homestake, and South Boulder Creek. And learned a bunch of new tricks like the Blunt-nasty and clean pan ams.<br /><br />Heres a short video on some of the creeks and places I got to go in Colorado, Enjoy!<br /><br /><object height="300" width="400"><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><param name="movie" value="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=5446579&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=0&color=&fullscreen=1"><embed src="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=5446579&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=0&color=&fullscreen=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" width="400" height="300"></embed></object><br /><p><a href="http://vimeo.com/5446579">Colorado Tour Video</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/user1388143">Jordan Poffenberger</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com/">Vimeo</a>.</p>Jordan Phttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00654484957386111356noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2334556044204533937.post-49710636143184892642009-06-12T13:19:00.002-04:002009-06-12T13:28:15.714-04:00US Team TrialsMay 30th-31st was the USA Freestyle Team Trials to pick the paddlers that will represent the US in Thun, Switzerland for Freestyle World Championships. <br />Here are the Results:<br /><br />Competition Results Sunday May 31st<br /><br />Adult Men's FINALS<br />Place Bib # Name Score<br />1 7 Bryan Kirk 910.00<br />2 27 Stephen Wright 820.00<br />3 9 Jonny Meyers 445.00<br />4 36 Chris Stafford 300.00<br />5 59 Rush Sturges 125.00<br /><br /><br />Adult Women's FINALS<br />Place Bib # Name Score<br />1 30 Emily Jackson 175.00<br />2 88 Adriene Levknecht 85.00<br />3 53 Elaine Campbell 75.00<br />4 92 Jessie Stone 60.00<br />5 50 Devon Barker 50.00<br />6 83 Lauren Burress 35.00<br /><br /><br />Junior Men's FINALS<br />Place Bib # Name Score<br />1 81 Jason Craig 655.00<br />2 6 Dane Jackson 475.00<br />3 76 Michael Palmer "LP" 445.00<br />4 22 Quinn Connell 290.00<br />5 39 Isaac Holden 160.00<br /><br /><br />Junior Women's FINALS<br />Place Bib # Name Score<br />1 93 Tracy D'Arbeloff 30.00<br />2 75 Emery Tillman 20.00<br />3 48 Hannah Kertesz 15.00<br /><br /><br />C1 FINALS<br />Place Bib # Name Score<br />1 6 Dane Jackson 650.00<br />2 92 Jordan Poffenberg 330.00<br />3 43 Jeremy Laucks 175.00<br />4 77 Eric Jackson 40.00<br /><br />I am still on tour in Colorado and will post lots of pictures and video when I get back in about 2 weeks.Jordan Phttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00654484957386111356noreply@blogger.com0