Early Fall in the Sods

Bear Rocks Trail

Kerry and I hit the road on Saturday morning.  We quickly gathered up our backpacking gear and threw it in the back of the pickup truck for a weekend of wandering around in the Dolly Sods.  I was excited to get away for a long weekend after two weeks of being reimmersed in life at school.

We met Katie and Scott in Friendsville around noon.  Katie, Scott, and I were set to spend a few hours paddling the Upper Yough.  We consolidated all of our kayaking gear and headed for the put-in.  There was an early fall chill in the air.  A cold front was blowing through the area.

Mogul's New Friends

Mogul made a few new friends in the parking area.  One dog was a perfect doppelganger.  They chased sticks around while we were suiting up.  The Upper Yough was great as always.  I saw Travis Overstreet at National Falls, always great to see him.  We paddled so quickly we ended up catching up with the release bubble.  It was a slow slog to the take-out, but the beautiful day made it more than bareable.

Once we were off the river, we met up with Kerry and headed to the Riverfront Hotel for soup, salad, and delicious homemade bread.  Maggie and Jeff were sitting at the table next to us, and we all talked while we ate.

Goldenrod

We hit the road for Canaan Valley, stopping at the local Wal-Mart in Oakland to pick up a few provisions, most importantly a sleeping bag for Kerry.  We thought about hitting up the Purple Fiddle to catch the evening show, but decided to build a fire, kick back and relax; a good choice.

Amber Waves of Grain in the Dolly Sods

In the morning we geared up and headed up to the Sods.  I had never before seen so many cars on the access road.  It was so dusty we were coughing the whole way to Bear Rocks where we ditched the cars.  We decided to do  a huge loop in the northern part of the Sods, a few trails I had not done before.  The vistas and wide open plains in the first few miles were stunning.  I could not help but think how badly I wanted to go back and mountain bike the same trails.

Intersection of Bear Rocks and Raven Ridge Trails

We hiked at an unhurried pace, and took plenty of time to take it all in.  We were unsure of where were going to camp, given the incredibly large amount of people in the area.  We decided the best spots were likely taken, so we settled on a site off trail near Blackbird Knob.  It worked out perfectly.  We built a great fire, ate some backpacking meals, and wiled away the evening looking at the stars.  The cold set in as our fire wound down, and we were eager to get into our sleeping bags.

In the morning we hiked out and hit the road.  It was the perfect way to spend the weekend before the start of the school year.

Kerry Crossing the Beaver Dam

Scott and Katie near the Finish

Good company and good times.   

Skull Island

Mark Loefler, Scouting Glen Park Falls on the Black River

Homegrown Locals held its first official, all hands on deck gathering in two years. The boys flew into upstate New York a few days before the wedding so we could paddle the Black River, and camp out on a small island in the middle of the St. Lawrence named Copperas.  We renamed it Skull Island in the wee hours of the morning when we became pirates and were trying to defend our turf from a wild pack of invading cousins.

Billy arrived on Tuesday night.  He had not slept in days due to celebrating his birthday.  He sounded a bit stressed on the phone, so I put his mind at ease and ordered him a limo.  He stepped off the plane and met the limo driver Neil who was holding a sign that said STRONGARMS. 

Neil dropped Billy off at the Black River and we enjoyed a long playboating session at Hole Brothers.  Afterward we went and picked up Mark and Lauren and took them back to Tip Camp.  Mark, Billy, and I took the boat out to cruise around the islands for a while.  When we got back to Tip Camp Billy promptly passed out. 

In the morning we woke up and drove back to Watertown to meet the rest of the crew.  Ian, Curt, and John pulled up in Ian's Subaru.  We had to move quickly so we didn't miss the release.  Unfortunately, Scott was still en route and we had to hit the river without him.

the whole crew getting ready to hit the Black River

The Black River is an awesome run.  The river starts off a bit slow, but picks up the pace when it starts to gorge up after Glen Park Falls. 

Mark Loefler, Glen Park Falls

Curt Joyce, Styling Glen Park Falls

Ian Buckley, Glen Park Falls

Billy Armstrong, Glen Park Falls

Glen Park Falls was a nice start to the gorge section.  We hit a few nice quality class three rapids before pulling off to hit up a fifty foot cliff jump.  A few local guides were paddling down river with us.  They were super cool and shared the local beta. 

Mark Loefler, Backflipping the Fifty Footer

The river kept getting better.  The next big rapid was called the Poop Chute, and we all found out why.  The rapid is kind of like a sloping waterfall into an offset seam, hole thing, that sucks you down to the bottom and spits you out after a few seconds. 

The Poop Chute is Kind and Lets Strongarms Go

The river soon came to an end and courtesy of the local guides, we had an entire shuttle bus waiting just for us at the bottom.  It was an amazing day on the river, and a special moment to have all of us on the water together again.

Homegrown Locals

Mark Loefler and his daughter Lillian in Clayton

We hopped in the cars and headed north toward the St. Lawrence.  We arrived at Rockledge and picked up some firewood for the night's bonfire.  Scott joined us in Clayton, and the entire crew was in one piece.  The boat ride out to Copperas Island was really slow, but no one cared. 

Landfall on Copperas Island

We arrived on Copperas and immediatley built a fire.  As the fire burned, we hopped in the water for a swim while the sun was going down.  Things began to get a wee bit foggy after the swim.

Skull Island Revelry

Just when we thought no one else was showing up, fireworks exploded overhead.  Kerry's cousins were on their way.  At this point we declared ourselves pirates and prepared to defend the island while they tried to make landfall.  After a bunch of nonsensical grumbling, we greeted them in merriment. 

Apparently the cooler kept moving in the middle of the night.  All of us tried to wrestle it, but we lost.  We woke up in the morning to a smoldering fire and heavy eyelids. 

Just like old times. 

Homegrown Locals, French Creek Marina Docks

The Notch

After almost two months away from the Falls, I finally made my return.  I joined Scott Anderson, Sean Devine, Mark Loeffler, and Eric Ornsetin for a few laps on the Maryland side.  It was a beautiful evening, and as the sun was setting, Pummel was perfectly lit. 

The photo series from the evening:

Sean Devine, the Notch

Scott Anderson, covered up in the Notch

Eric Ornstein, the Notch

Sean Devine, entering Pencil Sharpener

Scott Anderson, entering Pencil Sharpener

Mark Loeffler, entering Pencil Sharpener

Sean Devine, in the Notch

Scott Anderson, in the Notch

Mark Loeffler, in the Notch

Eric Ornstein, in the Notch

Epic Ascent

Heading into Dean's

I arrived back in town a few days ago after a long summer away.  I spent two weeks wandering through Virginia and West Virginia, a week training for the Great Falls kayak race, and then went north to the St. Lawrence river with Kerry.  We spent a few weeks getting ready for the wedding, got married, and then flew south to one of the Bahamian out islands for our honeymoon.  There are many stories to be told, so I will have to chip away slowly at the task of recording it all. 

Kerry, Cape SantaMaria

The trip to Long Island in the Bahamas was incredible.  Kerry's best friend Lindsay was kind enough to offer us her family's house on the beach.  We rented a car and explored the island.  The island is eighty miles long and only four miles wide. The Bahamas are home to one of the world's largest concentrations of blue holes, essentially large underwater cavern systems and sinkholes.  Dean's is the deepest in the world, close to seven hundred feet deep.  We traveled down to Dean's twice.  The first day we arrived we threw on our snorkeling gear and swam toward the edge of the abyss.  Blue holes are super eerie places.  Large concentrations of fish hang around the outer edges of the holes.  The ocean floor goes from knee deep to several hundred feet  within several yards.  Dean's is about thirty yards across.  When the sun shines directly on the hole you can see clearly to the other side.  Kerry and I swam the perimeter first before I ventured into the middle.  I was honestly kind of nervous as I flippered my way from one side to the other.  There is an incredible sense of quiet and calm, but mostly an overwhelming sense of an unknown world that feels like it might swallow you whole. 

On the far side of the hole, a limestone cliff rose about forty feet out of the water.  The limestone was incredibly sharp.  A rope ladder hung from the top, and after climbing it a few times to take the plunge from the top, I could not resist the temptation to try and climb the rock.  A spire hung from the ceiling, about four feet in diameter and reached down about fifteen feet above the water.  I climbed the pitch next to the spire until I was even with it, and then leapt toward the spire and tried to hold on.  I missed on the first few attempts, and decided to abandon my efforts for the day. 

Kerry and I headed into a small little village called Clarencetown to grab some dinner.  We met a potcake

dog named Happy, and ate fresh conch salad from the Rowdy Boys of Long Island.  We thought about spending the night, but decided to drive back north.  In the morning we woke up and headed south again.  I wanted one more shot at climbing Dean's.  We ate lunch at a place called Max's Conch on the way down.  As you might imagine, we ate more conch there. 

Potcake Dog, Happy

Most people go to Dean's to snorkel and free dive.  I imagine it is quite possible no one has ever climbed the route I was attempting there.  It would seem a strange idea for any climbers to venture to Dean's because it the only climbing around.  The idea of being the first or one of only a few to climb at this world class place was incredible. 

Sunset at Rowdy Boys

I put on my snorkel gear and headed to the cliff on the far side.  I made my way up to the dyno, but fell on the first two attempts.  It was pretty difficult climbing and I knew the dyno was going to take everything I had.  On the third attempt I finally nailed it.  I was super psyched and began climbing up the rest of the spire.  I reached the top and was able to rest under a large roof.  There were a few dicey looking holds that would have been bomber if I knew they would not crack, but I was not sure.  I decided to make a huge throw for the top.  I took a few deep breaths and leapt out to reach above the roof...

and fell. 

The water was crystal clear and before I surfaced I opened my eyes, surrounded by fish. 

Kerry and I decided to call it an early day and headed back to the house on the north end of the island.

It was an epic ascent, and one of our first adventures as a married couple.

I will never forget it.

New Friends and New Horizons

Tim Madison, 'Grace Under Pressure'

Over the past two months I have been out on the Potomac almost every day.  I started a kayaking program with a few students at school in early March, and have been out on the water on a regular basis ever since.  I took a solid break from paddling this winter, and it turned out to be a great idea.  I returned to the water this spring with new inspiration and motivation to enjoy the water. 

In the past month I ran close to forty laps on Center Lines, and recently as water levels have dropped a bit have had the opportunity to fire up Virginia side again.  Today, I set out with Tim Madison and John Greer.  Tim is from Georgia and arrive in early June.  Eric and I showed him down the Falls.  He was super stoked and we have had some great paddle sessions since then. 

Today was no different.  It was a beautiful, hot day out on the river.  The level was hovering around 3.2, maybe a bit below, so there were plenty of options.  We started off running a lap on Grace, before heading over to the Virginia side.  Tim and I ran the Virginia side a week earlier and fired up the 'Crack' around 3.4.  I never thought I would say this, but at 3.2 things are starting to feel really low out there.  We ran the left line at U-hole, and all had smooth lines through S-turn.  I squeezed through the 'Crack', and John followed.  Tim was fired up to run the meat of the 'Spout'.  He would have none of the typical right to left move and decided to try his luck plugging it straight down the middle.  In the eddy below, I watched him shoot of the lip, paddling ferociously through the air and forty fiving into the deep dark lair of the unknown.  He shot up to the surface and was violently pulled back into the curtain.  He hung on for a few moments blasting the bottom.  His boat was cartwheeled four of five times with audible thrashings.  It seemed like a long while before his head popped up twenty yards downstream with a huge smile stretched across his face.  His boat filled with water and was finally released from the Spout's jaws.

John Greer, 'Grace Under Pressure'

John coralled Tim while I chased his boat down.  The bow was nearly bent half from being tossed around, but it luckily he was able to climb back in and keep paddling.  John had to bust a move, but Tim and I had some more time, so we scoped out the Alpine line.  We hiked back up and fired it up.  The wave through Z-turn was sweet, and the 'Point' boated easily.  We were stoked when we reached the bottom.  We finished up the day with one more run down the Virginia side.

Tim Madison, 'the Crack'

I'm taking the next two weeks off from boating.  I'll be on the road with students running a summer program through Virginia and West Virginia.  The time off comes at a good time.  I took a really big shot to my ribs a week ago and am still in a lot of pain.  I flipped below Grace and took it hard from the rock in the runout.  It still hurts to roll.  I am hoping it will be in good shape by the Falls race. 

Me, Squeezing through 'the Crack'

Peace.