Mexican Whitewater Adventure

Thanksgiving Day brought more to me this year than having turkey with the family. It brought a 30 hour drive to Ciudad de Valles, Mexico to go kayaking. Matt Wallace and Alex Zendal joined me for the drive across the border to meet up with Adam Goshorn, Jon Crain, Jordan, and Leigh. We ran several rivers over an 8 day period including Cascadas Micos, El Salto, Gallinas, Santa Maria, Ojo Frio, and El Rio Verde. This would be the first time I had ever left the borders of the United States and what a trip it turned out to be. Just for your information, if you ever drive to Mexico, you should learn the spanish word "Tope." If you don't, you'll soon find out what it means when your vehicle goes airborne on the highway and your head hits the ceiling after you jump a speed bump or should I say a speed mountain.

Upon arrival, we did some laps on Cascadas Micos. I then collapsed in the bed of my truck for a nap since I hadn't slept much during our 30 hour drive.

The next day we went to the El Salto where we ran El Luminosa and other travertine drops. El Luminosa is probably the highest drop I've ever ran but the landing was very soft.

Another drop on El Salto.

While Adam, Matt, Jon, and Jordan ran the upper sections of the Santa Maria, Alex, Leigh, and I ran the 12-mile Gallinas which consisted of a lot of flatwater through sugar cane fields with waterfalls scattered throughout.

Shuttles were quite interesting sometimes. This was the shuttle to the Upper Santa Maria where we overloaded my Nissan Truck. We managed to load 7 boats on top, 6 people inside, one person in the back along with all our gear. This shuttle took nearly 3 hours one-way.

This was one of the larger rapids on the Santa Maria. That's me dropping into a rather juicy hole. I hate to admit...it got me. As I was swimming out of this hole, Alex threw me a rope to pull me away from the undercut rocks everywhere. He instructed me to not worry about my boat and just grap the rope. I yelled to him, "I gotta have my boat!" I did not want my boat to go in a cave or under a rock because down river was the only way out of this canyon. I managed to grab my boat and he pulled both of us in.

This was the takeout for the Santa Maria. It was probably the most impressive waterfall that I have ever seen. From left to right is: Alex, Leigh, Adam, Me, Jon, Matt, and Jordan.

Then for the climb out which involved wooden ladders up the 300ft cliffs beside the Cascadas Tamul.

The next day we did the Ojo Frio which was a fun class 3 travertine creek through sugar cane fields followed by us running the Rio Verde the following day. Matt and Jordan fired up a 40 footer on the Rio Verde.

We ran the Cascadas Micos on the morning of our departure back to the US.

One of the last drops on the Cascadas Micos.

Our trip home took a little longer than our trip to Mexico. While we were in Mexico, my truck lost a lot of power. I decided to try to make it out of Mexico with the truck and hope to get it fixed in the US. On our way home our top speed was 60-65mph on level ground or down hill. We did 45 up-hill. It took us over 38 hours to get home. I put the truck in the shop to find a clogged fuel filter. The truck has 220,000 miles on it and it did great until we drove the bumpy roads of Mexico. I feel the rough roads knocked a lot of dirt and sediment loose in the gas tank and it stopped up the fuel filter.

I am glad to be back in the English speaking United States of America but I am sure I will return to Mexico someday to try what little spanish I know with the Mexicans. Until next time, continue to pray for rain because it's working!

Back on the Green

This Sunday brought a fun filled day on the Green. This would be my second run and boy was it fun! The level was around 6.5" and I was definately getting banged around with such a low level. Steve Krajewski, Adam Goshorn, Tom Rennalls, Joey Jarell, Jim Janney, Alex Zendel, and Jordan from Alabama were with me on this run.

Brandon running the race line of Frankenstein. (photo by Alex Zendal)

I didn't exactly miss the Pin Cushion rock but it turned out well. (photo by Alex Zendal)

With us putting on late and running out of time, I chose to portage Zwicks just to save time. I knew if I got out of my boat, scouted my line, then went back to get in my boat and run it, I could have already portaged it. And, of course, I portage the monkey too. Scream Machine brought a soft landing but Nieces Pieces hung on to me for a minute. I ran the right line next to the wall. When I landing the drop, my boat stopped in the hole at the bottom. I fought and fought to get out of the hole but then Adam dropped in almost on top of me and helped knock me out of the hole. I went very deep on Power Slide and went deep in the hole at the bottom...it cleaned all my sinuses out good. And then there was Rapid Transit and then there was a wall.

Rapid Transit went well except for the wall line I took with my shoulder. (photo by Alex Zendal)

I portaged Nut Cracker, Groove Tube, and Sunshine down the right trail. Before I knew it, we'd made it to Toilet Bowl and Hammer Factor. I ran the right hand boof on Toilet Bowl. That has got to be the largest boof I'd every thrown. I was grinning from ear to ear. Hammer Factor went well too. Up until this point, I had been trying to pay attention to my lines and where other people were going. Setting in the eddy below Hammer Factor was when it began to set in...I just ran the Green for the second time and I had an awesome day! Again, I was grinning from ear to ear. Till next time, pray for rain!

The Return to Wilson Creek

Looking down stream at the put-in. Photo by Steve Krajewski

It had been 2005 since the last time I had been on Wilson Creek. Saturday October 25, 2008 was the day I returned. Rain pretty much missed Tennessee but reports of 1.5 inches around the Boone, NC area and south sounded promising. Upon reaching Wilson Creek just after noon, we found the bridge gauge to read +2". Alex Zendal, Tom Rannells, Steve Krajewski, Steve Sanborn, and myself drove upstream to put-on. This would be Steve Sanborn's first creek run. The day was bright, sunny, and warm. The fall colors were coming alive and the water level was just about perfect.

Wilson Creek Put-In. Photo by Steve Krajewski

We paddled downstream and got out to scout 10 foot falls. After almost stepping on a Garter Snake, we ran the falls.

Tom Rennalls running 10 foot falls Photo by Steve Krajewski

Brandon Hughett running 10 foot falls. Photo by Steve Sanborn

Brandon Hughett running Triple Drop. Photo by Steve Sanborn

Razorback Rapid. Photo by Steve Sanborn

Razorback rapid has thrown out its share of beatings over the years. It had gotten me before and well...it got me again. This drop is a twisting slide that finishes in about a foot of water. 3 years ago, I flipped at the bottom of this rapid and tore my right labrum. Though I didn't dislocate my shoulder that day, it began to give me trouble until finally dislocating on Tallulah River November 2005. On Saturday, it was my return to Wilson Creek. After going off this drop, I flipped at the bottom. Knowing the beating I was about to receive, I tucked hard and began to take rocks to my back, hands, shoulders, and head. After losing my grip on the paddle and missing a roll, I swam. I came out of the water with a badly cut and scraped right hand and pain that really hurt. While I was emptying my boat, I saw another boater do the same thing I did.

Overall, it was a great day to be back on Wilson Creek. It was good to be back on natural flow whitewater again. Till next time, pray for rain!

Good Gauley I ran the Green!

September brought a lot of work for me but it also brought encouragement, confidence, and a stepping stone to move forward in Kayaking. The first two weekends in September brought one day adventures to the Upper Gauley while the third weekend brought adventures to the Upper Yough, Upper Gauley, Gauley Fest, and the Lower Gauley.


Brandon running Sweets Falls. Photo by Gary Mays.

I had decided early on in September that if my lines went well in West Virginia, I would be on the Green very soon. After making great lines on the Yough and the Upper Gauley's main lines, I woke up on Monday after Gauley Fest and said, "I'm gonna run the Green!"

The closest I had ever been to the Green Narrows was when I ran the Lower Green in Summer 2001. I hadn't even hiked into the Narrows. Anton and I met up with Joey Jarrell and Brad Snead for my virgin run. This would be Anton's second run. We put-on Saturday morning and made our way toward the Narrows. When Joey and I got out to scout Frankenstein, that was when it all finally registered and my knees began to literaly knock...I was entering the Green Narrows. As I looked at Frankenstein with my knocking knees, I said to myself, "you gotta keep this together, you can do it, just keep your head in the game." And that's exactly what I did. I ran the race line of Frankenstein, the sneak at Boof or Consequence, the sneak of Go Left and the far left line at Zwicks since the top hole decided that was where it wanted me to go.


Zwicks Entrance. Photo by Joey Jarrell


Zwicks. Photo by Joey Jarrell


Green Photos by Joey Jarrell

I walked Chief and of course the big monkey. The seal launch was uneventful below Gorilla, but the right of center line I took at Scream Machine made my back scream as I dropped onto the rock shelf at the bottom. I ran far right at Nieces Pieces and got my sinuses cleaned out as I submarined my Mega Rocker into a surprisingly sticky hole. I had to roll at the bottom of Power Slide as I slide into an eddy line at the bottom and had a nice bouncy ride down Rapid Transit.


Rapid Transit Photo by Joey Jarrell

It was then that Joey realized the water was beginning to drop. We hustled down stream as quickly as possible portaging Nutcracker, Groove Tube, and Sunshine down the easy portage trail on the right. I dropped into Hammer Factor where again I had to roll only this time I was up against the infamous overhanging rock in the runout. Before I knew it, we were at the takeout and I realized, I had just ran the Green.

I've been paddling now over 7 years and have had the opportunity to see some amazing places. Now I've seen the Green River Narrows, which is yet another amazing place. I can't wait to return.

Look for pictures soon of my run. Till next time, pray for rain.

I graduated!

I have not been able to boat a lot in the last while since I was finishing up my Master's degree at Western Carolina University in Cullowhee, North Carolina. I am happy to say that on May 10, 2008, I graduated from Western Carolina University with a Master of Entrepreneurship degree.

Little River Canyon

After last weekends events on Tallulah, I just had to get back on the water. Adam called me on Friday and said he was planning to do Little River Canyon on Saturday and Sunday. I thought a while and couldn't decide if I wanted to go or not. Part of me said yes and the other said no. Friday night rains brought a little more water to LRC and I decided to go and am I glad I did.

Adam, Joey, Matt Wallis, and Matt from Atlanta all gathered at the put-in for the Suicide Section for a run down to the old Chairlift. The day started a little nervously for me but I put it all together and started boating. The river level was just under 0ft which made Avalanch kinda scrapy so I walked it. I had a perfect line at Cable Falls and decided to walk Pinball since most of the river goes under a rock. I had a great boof at Roadblock and an OK line at Humpty Dumpty. All in all, I am very glad I made the trip to Little River Canyon today. The warm temperatures and sunny skies made a great day of boating with friends.

Till next time, pray for rain!

Tallulah Weekend

This weekend brought dam released whitewater on the Tallulah River at Tallulah Falls State Park Georgia. Anton rode down with me to meet up with Adam, Joey, Spence, and John & his girl friend (Sarah?). Saturday brought the release of 500cfs of whitewater into the gorge. After descending nearly 700 steps, we reached the river to put-on just 30ft from the first class IV rapid. After an interesting moment in the first rapid, we reached the main event...Oceana Falls. After scouting for a while, we all fired it up with good lines. The rest of the run was just good fun with friends and good lines.



Sunday brought more whitewater action with Georgia Power releasing 700cfs. My run of Oceana Falls didn't go so well this day. I entered the drop fine but flipped at the Thing and ran the last part upside down sliding on the rock slide and into the hole at the bottom. I got pushed into the left corner pocket eddy, tried to roll but was unable due to the rock shelf I was getting pounded on. I couldn't get my paddle into place.

I picked up all the pieces and put back on to run the next rapid "The Gauntlet." The Gauntlet is a long class IV rapid that is full of boulders and holes to dodge and ends right above Bridal Veil Falls which has a keeper hole that has almost drowned a few boaters. I've been running Tallulah for nearly 5 years and this rapid always puts me on edge due to the consequences of making a mistake. I've had dreams about what the outcome would be if I were to swim this rapid and over Bridal Veil Falls. Well...on this run, my dreams almost came true. I entered "The Gauntlet" fine and had a good run. But, as I dropped off the final diagonal ledge, I went for a little surf but managed to get free...But in the process, I flipped. I attempted 3 rolls but was unsuccessful. I pulled the skirt and began to swim for my life toward the left bank. I knew what was downstream and I knew I wanted nothing of it. I grabbed a tree on the left bank but couldn't hang on due to the swift current. Anton was in an eddy on the left and tried to get to me but I was pulled under and missed his bow. I resurfaced just upstream of Bridal Veil. I began to panic as I knew what was about to take place and I heard Anton yell, "Grabb the rock!" which was the rock at the lip of the falls in the middle of the river. I clawed at the rock but it was too slick to hang on and I began to slip. I was getting closer and closer to the lip. But then, my foot hit a rock and I got a grip on the boulder I'd been clawing at. I wedged my foot against a rock while gripping the boulder. The force of the water was trying to pull me loose but I hung on with all I had. I knew if I let go or I slipped much further, my life could be gone...I could drown in the hole that lurked below. Adam and Joey began to throw ropes but they were just too short. Anton came over in a small eddy on the other side of the boulder, climbed on top, and came over and pulled me up on top of the rock. I was so glad to be on the boulder up high and dry. I just sat there for a minute while Anton, Adam, and Joey put together a plan to get me to bank. We got a rope to the bank and I grabbed hold while Joey pulled me to the bank. I was so happy to be on shore but I must admit, I was a little shaken up over the chain of events. I knew if I had gone over Bridal Veil Falls I could have drowned. My boat and paddle made it down Bridal Veil and I walked down the bank to retrieve them and thank those that had helped. After getting my thoughts and gear together, I continued downstream to have safe lines through the remaining class IV rapids.

I am thankful to all those that helped and I am especially thankful to God for putting that boulder in the middle of the river for me to grab hold. Tallulah is finished for this spring as Georgia Power only releases water five weekends a year. I will return though in November as they release water the first three weekends of that month.

Till next time, pray for safe lines and, of course, for rain!

More Rain for more Plateau Creekin'

This past weekend brought another exciting weekend for plateau creekin'. After watching it rain all day at work Friday, I headed to Island Creek in the Obed Wild & Scenic River area for a late run. Myself, Anton, Tera, Tony Robinson, and Jim met for a 6pm run with the flow being around 0.5ft on the bridge gauge. It was an excellent fun run and we almost went for a second run but it was so close to dark we decided otherwise.

Saturday brought more action. Myself, Anton, Tera, and Jim all headed to the Tiny Piney. This was a personal first descent for everyone in the group. With the White's Creek gauge at Hwy 27 reading less than 2ft, we ran it with plenty of water. We all fired up the run's 2 class IV drops; Stairstep and Baby Gorilla. Just below Baby Gorilla is a rapid that has unsuspecting undercut-sieves. Jim had an exciting moment there with the guidance of Anton but all turned out well. The rest of the run was beautiful with cascading waterfalls dropping off the gorge walls into the river. It is one of the prettiest plateau runs I've ever done. At 11 miles long, we knew we would be on the river for a while but with good current we finished it in less than 5 hours.



After getting off the Tiny Piney, we decided to head to Wartburg to run Little Clear Creek. We put on around 6pm with the flow being on the upper end of low. We all had great lines and were tired since after both runs, we had paddled 14 miles in one day.

Sunday morning, I had to work and hadn't planned to go boating. But Tom Rennalls called and said a group was going to Ramsey's and the Greenbriar. After doing what I needed to do at work, I got my boat and head to the Smoky's to find Tom, Doug, Mary Ann, and others at the Greenbriar getting ready to start their second run. By this time it was after 3pm and I suited up to finish a 3 day weekend of boating.

Till next time, keep praying for rain because it appears to be working.

Crooked Fork Action

Today, East Tennessee boaters were left with only a few options. I, like many boaters, chose Crooked Fork. Crooked Fork is a tributary of the Emory River near the Obed Wild and Scenic River in Wartburg, Tennessee. It was running a good level at 4.65ft on the Hwy 27 stick gauge. We decided to run both Upper Crooked Fork which starts at Hwy 27 and Lower Crooked Fork which ends at Camp Austin just up stream of Oakdale, Tennesse on the Emory River. There was 9 boaters in our group today that consisted of myself, Tom Rennalls, Tera, Robert Bone, and several other boaters from the Asheville, NC area. We ran into about 20 others boaters, many whose faces I know.

We made our way down stream to the first major rapid, LaMance Falls. This 20 ft waterfalls has a very narrow landing zone as most of the falls lands on a rock shelf at the bottom. It also has a little entrance rapid that is waiting to knock you off line putting you closer to landing on the rocks at the bottom. After scouting for a while, Robert Bone and G fired it off.

G Boofing LaMance Falls (photo by Tom Rennalls)

We headed on down stream to Upper Potter's Falls. I went first taking my usual line off the center of this 15ft waterfall. I missed my usual flake rock that usually launches me and I fell off vertically, pencilling, and going over the handle bars on landing. A quick roll later, I was trying to figure out what has just happened. Not satisfied with my landing, I went back up to try it again. I missed the flake rock again and fell vertically but resurfacing fine.

Tera Running Upper Potter's Falls (photo by Tom Rennalls)

Brandon Hughett Running Upper Potter's Falls (Photo by Geoff Kohl)

Several others ran the Upper Potter's Falls uneventfully until someone went off the falls and got pushed behind the curtain. After a few tense moments, a few of us paddled through the falls to find the young lady swimming with her boat and paddle behind the falls. With the use of ropes, we retrieved her and and her boat and continued downstream for an uneventful paddle out.

It was a great day on Crooked Fork with plenty of water, lots of sunshine, and paddling with lots of friends.

Till next time, pray for rain!

Back in Action!

Over the last month, I haven't gotten to paddle that much due to illness. I fought the flu and other sinus & respiratory illnesses for nearly 5 weeks. It sucks to be sick especially with these types of illness as they don't go too good with cold water and cold air temperatures.

I did, however, do some paddling (probably when I shouldn't have). On Sunday March 3, 2008, I met up with Jim, who is new to the area, to paddle Big South Fork of the Cumberland. We ran from the Confluence down to the O&W Bridge. We only saw two other people on the river with it running at 3,300cfs which I must say is a fun level. It offered big water action, large wave trains, and stout eddy lines.

On Sunday March 9, 2008, I headed to Tellico Ledges. It was a warm sunny day which was perfect with me starting to get well again. I met up with Todd Scott, Anton, and Ken Strickland to make a run from the ledges put-in down to Turkey Creek. I had some good boofs, good laughs with friends, and just an amazing day. It felt great to be back on the river and back in action with friends. It was probably one of the best days I'd had in a while.

This coming weekend promises water with scheduled Cheoah Releases and this year's first Ocoee Releases. There's also a forecast for rain so we'll see what the weekend brings.

Till then, pray for rain.

The Creeky Part of Little River of the Smokies

Today brought another personal first descent for me. With the Little River gauge still showing 3.2 ft at Townsend, Caleb and I decided to see what the Elkmont Hike-Up section of the Little River would be like. Surprisingly to me, there was plenty of water though it didn't look so at the takeout bridge. Upstream, we found a more narrow channel and some good gradient. Overall, there are only 3 class IV rapids and a lot of class III rapids on this run but they are all fun. We had some wood to deal with but almost all of it was sneakable. Gary came along to document the run for me by taking pictures and video. This would also be my maiden voyage for my new Jackson Mega Rocker.

As you can see, there were several other boaters hiking this run too. The trail is an old railroad bed and is fairly level with only a slight grade.

I tried out my NRS backpack today too for the 2.3 mile hike. After a few times of adjusting, I finally got it dialed in. Checkout the reflective tape on my drytop...I'm fired up!

There's me getting ready to put-in. This will be the first time this Mega Rocker has hit the water.

Caleb running the Melting Pot.

Me running the Melting Pot. The large boulder behind me is severely undercut but was not hard to avoid.

We all got out to scout The Scrambler. We all tried to boof into a river-right eddy but most of us missed and ended up running the middle. At lower water, the middle line would be full of pin potentials. This day brought plenty of water though and some good lines.

The Hike-Up Elkmont Section of the Little River of the Smokies proved to be a fun class III-IV river that will run when everything else is gone. On this day, the area levels were:

Little River Gauge at Townsend 3.2ft in the morning and 3ft in the evening.
Treemont (Middle Prong of the Little River) wasn't running at all.
The West Prong (of the Little Pigeon) was 0.9ft and is only one drainage over the ridge.

There was plenty of water and the run was padded really well. I'll be returning to this run again!

Till next time...Pray for rain!

Christmas in January

Today, it was like Christmas all over again. I took delivery of a brand new 2008 Jackson Mega Rocker. I had purchased a 2007 model back in the fall but had a warranty issue on December 29, 2007...the hull cracked under the seat. I had called Jackson and talked to Mark about the issue. He informed me there would be no problem with replacing the boat but it would be a few weeks since Jackson was in the process of making some outfitting changes to the 2008 models. They wanted to wait till they had everything dialed in just right before releasing the 2008 product to the public. I was patient but felt like a kid being deprived of candy. My good buddy Gary was good enough to let me borrow his Liquid Logic Jefe Grande for the time being since he dislocated his shoulder on the same day my boat broke. He is unable to paddle since he has some nerve damage in his arm and needs time to heal. I'm still trying to figure out if his dislocation was bad for him or good for me;-)

So here it is, the 2008 Jackson Mega Rocker!

At 8' 6" long, 27" wide, and 93 gallons of volume, this boat is ready to boof, drop, or to just keep going when the situation gets crazy.

Though it's a large boat, it turns with ease and doesn't paddle like the Titanic.

The biggest 2008 improvement is the new seat tray. Previous models only had a small support beam that ran the length of the boat. When running the rapids, every time I slide over a rock, the pressure was put on this 1 inch wide beam. That' just not enough support. The 2008 models kept the 1 inch beam but also added a 6 inch wide support tray under the beam. This will support the boat much better by distributing the weight over a larger area. I think this was definately a positive step for Jackson Kayak. They also added a hose clamp on the front of the seat to really lock it into place.

This has to be the shiniest kayak I've ever seen. JK claims to have polished the molds...well they sure did. I'm gonna work on trying to keep the bottom side down so I don't scratch the shiny surface of the top. We'll see how this 2008 Jackson Mega Rocker holds up.

Till next time...pray for rain.

Low Water Cheoah

With no natural flow close to Knoxville, Anton, Todd, and I decided to go do a low water Cheoah run at just under 600cfs. With the water being low, we chose to only run the last 2 miles of the run from the forestry service road to the lake. This section of the Cheoah channels well to provide some technical creeking. The Big Un's middle double drop line was still runnable at this level and that seemed to be the line of choice for most boaters.

Brandon running the middle double drop line of the Big Un

Anton running the middle double drop line of the Big Un

This day I borrowed Gary's Liquidlogic Jefe Grande again since Jackson Kayak still has not replaced my broken Mega Rocker. I hope to get a new boat later this week. Even though the water temperature was quite cold, it was a great day to be on the river with many friends including a large crew from Knoxville (Tera, Tony, Tom, and too many others to mention).

Till next time...pray for rain!

Plateau Creekin'

On Saturday, there was still plenty of water on the Cumberland Plateau. Anton and I headed to Crooked Fork near Wartburg, Tennessee. This run offers the 20 ft LaMance Falls, 18 ft Potter's Falls, and the 10 ft Lower Potter's Falls. While scouting LaMance Falls, we were joined by another group of boaters that included Mark Hammock, Owen, Hunter, and others. After scouting the drop for a while we decided to fire it up. Anton went first with a line to the right of the rock finger. Owen sailed it straight down the middle without any effort boofing hard and landing flat. Mark got pushed left and went off the falls on the left landing on the rock shelf that lurks below without injury. Then, it was my turn. I entered a little too far left, then the current pushed me further left. A quick backstroke to bring the bow around and one final boof stroke and I was off the lip a little to the left of the rock finger. I cleared the rock shelf at the bottom but only by a small margin. As I was landing, my left paddle blade slid down the rock shelf.

Brandon running LaMance Falls 1/12/2008

Anton and I continued down to Potter's Falls for a launch then portaged Lower Potter's Falls. The rest of the crew took out here while Anton and I continue down to our shuttle vehicle at Camp Austin on the Emory River.



Sunday, Anton, Caleb, and I went to paddle Daddy's Creek. This was a first run for me and Caleb and the second run for Anton. We met up with Mark Hammock and Owen at the takeout and shuttled to the put-in for a run. The gauge was 1.9ft on the put-in gauge which is just over 600cfs. I was thinking that this "low flow" surely wouldn't be difficult but to my surprise, Daddy's Creek is a stout run. There was some big holes and Rattlesnake was very constricted which brought strong eddy lines, boils, and swirls. The water was very blue and the scenery was amazing. Daddy's Creek gorge is lined with steep cliffs on both sides. It's an amazing place!

This past weekend brought plenty of water to the Southeast. I just hope the weather pattern keeps up as it's brought some great creeking opportunities to the boaters of the Southeast.

Island Creek Creeking

I got up this morning thinking about the ton of rain East Tennessee and the Cumberland Plateau received thinking that there was no way I would be able to leave work and go boating. After a few phone calls, I was able leave work just after 1pm to go to Island Creek in the Obed/Emory System. Anton and I showed up at the bridge gauge to find a nice level.

Gary came along to run shuttle as he is recovering from a shoulder dislocation a few weeks ago. With my Jackson Mega Rocker having some warranty issues, I borrowed Gary's Liquidlogic Jefe Grande...and what a sweet boat it is.

We headed downstream to find a quiet narrow gorge with clear water and nice slides into holes. We scouted the class IV Compound Fracture and scouted the sliding ledge near the end of the run.

Island Creek is a crown jewel of the Obed/Emory Watershed. It's full of slides and non-stop creeking action. I am home now with a big smile on my face just thinking about what a great creek Island Creek really is.

2007 Year End Review

2007 has come and gone. I decided last January to start keeping up with every day that I paddled, what river I ran, and other key information. Looking back, it was an amazing year for me even though most of the Southeastern US was in a severe drought. I paddled 54 days and 318 miles. I had 5 swims and 4 personal first descents.

2007 also rung in a 1 year anniversary since having shoulder surgery in May 2006 to repair a torn labrum. The year proved a much stronger shoulder and an ability to boat class IV whitewater again. Looking back, I am very glad I had the surgery. September brought a return trip to the Upper Gauley since my personal first descent of the Upper Section in September 2005 which was prior to my injury. October also brought back a return trip to the Russell Fork Gorge since prior to my injury too.

2007 brought 4 new personal first descents. January brought my first adventure down the Suicide Section of Little River Canyon in Alabama, September brought the Upper Youghiogheny in Maryland, and December brought the North Fork of the French Broad in North Carolina and the Middle Fork of the Little Pigeon (Greenbriar) in Tennessee.

November 2007 shocked the paddling community. Georgia Power decided not to release water for the November releases down Tallulah Gorge State Park due to a severe drought in the area. The Tallulah River was only running 25 cfs.

March 3, 2007 brought back memories and completed an adventure that had started in September 2006...the first known completed descent of Saint Mary's River in Virginia. Adam Goshorn and I did the first descent in September 2006 but found the river's major rapids too high to run. In March, Adam Goshorn, Dustin Bunch, John Howard, and myself went back and ran all the rapids.

The First Ledge on Saint Mary's River, Virginia

In 2008, I am looking to strengthen my paddling skills toward more consistent class IV and class V rivers. I am hoping to return to North Chickamauga, in Chattanooga, Tennessee, this year and to run the Tiney Piney near Rockwood, Tennessee. Well see what the water brings our way!