The Return to Cain/North Chick! 3/27/2009

The first time I had ever paddled Cain/North Chick was about 5 years ago. It was probably the most challenging run I had ever paddled. Adam Goshorn, Todd Scott, and Mark Woods were along for what would be a very strenuous day for me. That trip included me running all the rapids including Vortex on Cain Creek but I ran the sneak at North Chick Falls. After putting on late in the day and blue angeling almost the entire run, we made it to the takeout as it was starting to get dark. Adam and I have talked ever since that day that someday we needed to get back in there to see what we blasted by. Well Friday, 3/27,09, was my day to make by second descent of Cain/North Chick. Adam had to work and was unable to come but there was plenty of folks along. Tony Robinson, Justin Cullars, Tera Wilson, Robert Keeble, and three paddlers from Indiana were along for the ride. Several others from Knoxville were also on the river in a seperate group. The level was perfect at just over 800cfs.

Brandon running North Chick Falls. Photo by Kemper Begley.

I had forgotten just how beautiful Cain Creek is. With it's sliding ledges through the woods and it's big drops, it just kept going and going. I ran Big Splat but decided to portage Vortex. We paddled on down to Drain Pipe and I saw some very interesting lines. My favorite was when Tera had a tango with the entrance drop, rolled up at the top of Drain Pipe and launched off the drop blind. Venturing on down North Chick, we dodged massive holes and saw some good carnage of other paddlers. We all fired up North Chick Falls but my line was probably the worst. I flipped in the landing and got pushed into an undercut ledge and was unable to roll up. Yes...I swam. We ran the main lines of all the rapids. I even ran the hero line at Cyclops. I am very happy that I got to run Cain/North Chick once again and can't wait to go back. It's a long challenging run but well worth the effort.

Here's a Facebook video that Tera took of me running Big Splat on Cain Creek.

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=1645624&op=1&o=global&view=global&subj=1468250667&id=741873363#/video/video.php?v=1123604051387&subj=1468250667

Till next time, pray for rain!

Little Clear Creek and Crooked Fork 3/16/2009

After running Little Clear Creek at at juicy level on 3/15/09, myself, Steve Krajewski, Ken, Mary Ann and Doug headed to Little Clear Creek for a lower level run at 1.8ft. It was a much less pushy level but still a lot of fun!Brandon running the first drop of Triple Drop. Photo by Doug and Mary Ann.

Brandon running the third drop of Triple Drop. Photo by Doug and Mary Ann.

Brandon seal launching Novicane. Photo by Doug and Mary Ann.



Brandon running Oh Yeah! Photo by Doug and Mary Ann.




Brandon flying off Oh Yeah! Photo by Doug and Mary Ann.



Brandon landing after boofing Oh Yeah! Photo by Doug and Mary Ann.



Brandon running Boofalicous. Photo by Doug.


After a great run on Little Clear Creek, Steve, Ken, and I headed to Upper Crooked Fork. We put-on at LaMance Falls at 5.5ft and paddled down to Potter's Falls. It was a great level and we had great lines off Potter's Falls. That was all the day light we had and we headed home.

Till next time, pray for rain because it's really working!

Island Creek and High Water Little Clear Creek

Today was a good day for plateau creeking. With a lot of plateau creeks flooded, I headed to Island Creek to see if was running. To my surprise, it was running just below 0.5ft on the put-in bridge gauge.

What starts as a calm, mellow creek turns into a fun class 3 continuous whitewater run after the first mile or so. Photo by Steve Krajewski.

Island Creek was a zoo with so many boaters, many of which I knew. We briefly scouted Compound Fracture and all ran it with descent lines. This is Brandon entering Compound Facture. Photo by Steve Krajewski

Kemper completing Compound Fracture. Photo by Steve Krajewski

Jim entering Compound Fracture. Photo by Steve Krajewski

After running 2 laps on Island Creek, several of us headed to Little Clear Creek. We were told it was too high and pushy. We decided to put on anyway with thoughts that we could hike out on the adjacent trail if we got in over our heads. The level was 2.7ft on the put-in gauge. Triple Drop was very pushy and fast but runnable. There was so many rooster tails and water flying, I had a complete whiteout upon entering the second drop. The rest of the drops were good to go. I'd definately run Little Clear Creek again at this level but not sure if I'd run it much higher.

Till next time, pray for rain!

Johnnies Creek Fun

It had been Spring of 2006 since the last time I had paddled Northern Alabama's Johnnies Creek which is a tributary of Little River Canyon. The last time I was there was shortly after my shoulder dislocation. That was when I had my famous shoulder strap to keep me from redislocating my arm again. Up until Saturday, I had never paddled Johnnies above 0" on the put-in bridge gauge. But on Saturday, February 28, 2009, I paddled it at 3" above 0.

I was a little nervous at what I might find on this whitewater gem this day. I was expecting massive holes and out of control rapids. But upon further inspection, it was a very manageable level. Lines opened up more clearly as the boulders that I used to dodge were all covered and the famous slides of Johnnies went from being scrappy to being down right fun. There were a few holes to contend with but most were avoidable and some rapids even had alternate lines to avoid the toughest parts. The main event though had to be the Big Slide. At levels below 0", the Big Slide was a scrappy, bouncy slide to the bottom. But on this day, it was a smooth FAST blazing ride that I didn't think would end. Let me say that again, it was a FAST ride to what seemed to be a never ending slide. I portaged the class V Gorilla Constrictor but think I will run it another day with similar water levels.

After running Johnnies at 0" and below and now +3", I don't think I ever want to run it at 0" or below again. This run needs water to make it fun. I can't wait till the next time it rises to 3 or 4" again!

Sorry I didn't get any pictures. I was having too much fun on this non-stop whitewater creek. But you can look at some low water pics on American Whitewater at http://www.americanwhitewater.org/content/River_detail_id_2897_.

Till next time, pray for rain!

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!