Valley Falls – 8/17/2008

We attended Jeff Prycl’s “How to run a waterfall clinic” at Valley Falls State Park, WV on Sunday, August 18th.  I ran the 1st Falls twice which you can check out on my blog page www.theriverrat.wordpress.com.  Bruce ran the 1st Falls and the “Spout” multiple times.  He even attempted the “Spout” in his OC-1 Mohawk Viper-12 but was not as successful as every one of his other runs in his Thrillseeker that day.  Unfortunately, because of my incompetence usingmy new camera, the only part of his maiden open boat falls run that I did catch was the unsuccessful landing which I refuse to show.  So we will just have to wait for next year for open boat pictures unless someone else can provide me with some pics or video footage that they may have.  Below is a link to pictures taken by Jeff Macklin & me and some video clips of Bruce, myself and some other paddlers that we did manage to get, so check them out!  Submitted by: The River Rat

http://picasaweb.google.com/pgh.riverrat1969/ValleyFalls8172008#

Lower Yough – 8/9/2008 & 8/10/2008

After a month of paddling new boats, Bruce decided he just wanted to have some fun.  So this weekend he went back to his tried and true Probe-12.  He met up with Rodney, Bob, Brad and a few others from the WVWA for an absolutely gorgeous day of paddling on the Lower Yough.  The level was 1.98 ft, 987 cfs when they put on at 3:00 PM, providing a fun run all the way to the Bruner Run take-out.  Here is a link to the web album of the pictures from the trip http://picasaweb.google.com/pgh.riverrat1969/LowerYough892008# & below are a few video clips from “Swimmers”

The next day  would be a two man paddle, Bruce in his Probe-12 and Dave Brissell in his Nitro.  It was a little beefier at 2.13 ft , 1080 cfs but just as beautiful although slightly on the chilly side.

We’re planning a paddling trip.

We are planning a 5-7 day paddling trip tenatively scheduled for the week of Labor Day.  It would possibly be on 75 miles of the New River in Virginia.  The only thing that could stop us right now is that we need to get our hands on a tandem tripping canoe which can handle whitewater.  We live in Pittsburgh.  Is there anyone in the area who can help us out?  I used to have a Mad River Teton that I sold two years ago which would have been perfect for the occasion.  I have been trying to get in touch with the person I sold it to, Bill Jester, to inquire about it’s availability but am not having much luck.  If you or someone you know can help us out, please post a comment or e-mail us easternpaddling@comcast.net.

Thanks – Bruce

Lazy day at camp – 8/3/2008

On our way back from the Casselman I called our friend Kevin and asked to borrow his shredder so that Bruce and I could shred the Savage during the scheduled release on Sunday.  We picked up the shredder and headed to Big Run to set up camp and relax for the night.  I spent the night getting myself psyched up sitting by the fire, toasting marshmallows and drinking margaritas.  For once, it was a beautiful night.

I had been getting really good sleep in the tent but not this time.  I woke up feeling awful.  My first thought was “Oh, no.  I don’t think I can do this but I can’t let Bruce down.”  So I got myself up and tried to get moving.  I was feeling really fatigued and weak and just kept hoping I would start feeling better but it wasn’t happening.  As I was cooking breakfast Bruce said that he was feeling real lazy and half-joked that he may not even be able to get out of his chair.  I let him know that I wouldn’t be disappointed if we didn’t make the run and about how terrible I was feeling.  We decided to wait a while and see how things went.

We never did make the run.  We spent the day at camp relaxing and discussing what we wanted to do for our vacation.  It was a nice time.  Today I am a little disappointed in myself for not being able to run the Savage when I had the perfect opportunity but I know that it wouldn’t have been the wisest thing to do.  I do know my limitations.  There is another release.  Maybe I’ll feel better then and have the opportunity to shred it then.  Submitted by: The River Rat

Pictures from our Big Run campsite

The Casselman – 8/2/2008

We woke up Saturday morning planning to spend another weekend on the good ol’ Yough but after checking the gauges, Bruce found that he would have other options.  The Laurel Hill gauge was reading 2.38 which meant there was a possibility that Indian Creek could be running.  Creeking in the summer!  Unfortunately once we arrived at the bridge to actually check the gauge, we found that Indian was not running.  Not wanting to pass up the opportunity to run something other than the Yough, we headed for Laurel Hill and found that it had dropped quickly and was too low also.  Next stop – Markleton and the Casselman.  We arrived around 11:15 and found a crowd.  Groups of paddlers from the Three Rivers Turkey Bash were getting ready to put on.  We watched as the first group paddled through the first rapid which looked somewhat rocky.  Although Bruce had expected there to be more water, he still felt there was enough for a good run so he decided to get ready for a solo Markleton to Fort Hill run.  We took a look at Iser Run to see if there was enough flow to put on there, which there wasn’t, and then Bruce started to get ready.  I left him to put-on and set off for the take out to relax and read – prepared for a couple of hours wait.  To my surprise, he was knocking on the window within an hour and fifteen minutes and ready to head to Rockwood to run the top section!  He explained that by the time he put-on, the river had come up about 6 inches and had continued to rise.  So off to Rockwood we went.  Here the water was brown and swiftly moving.  It looked like he was in for a fun run.  He put on and once again I was off to the take out and my book.  This time it took him about an hour and a half.  He ran into some paddlers that had put on shortly after him on his first run from Markleton to Fort Hill as he was taking off.  They looked completely confused and asked if he was paddling in circles.  He decided to have some fun with them and told them that he was paddling the “Casselman Loop.”  I wonder if they ever figured it out!  Below are some pictures Bruce took using my new Pentax Optio W30 on the Markleton to Fort Hill run.  It’s an awesome waterproof camera.  Submitted by: The River Rat

Roll practice on the Yough – 7/26/2008

Bruce spent most of Saturday afternoon getting acquainted with his new kayak at the Lower Yough put-in.  He paddled around some getting the feel of the edge then spent the remainder of the day on wet exits, bow rescues and attemted rolls.  I also got a chance to paddle the new boat.

Rat n' Roll

Welcome one and all!

Hello everyone and welcome to the new Eastern Paddling Blog.  It’s The River Rat here just testing it out.  Check out this awesome picture of Bruce paddling his new Wave Sport Habitat 80 in my livingroom Friday night.  You all don’t think the Patron Margarita’s could have had anything to do with this, do ya?

Bruce paddling the treacherous "Livingroom" rapid.