dav.e's blog

Norway Update # one

2011-07-21T08:42:00.000-07:00

Since one week we are in Norway. Wednesday last week I meet up with Thomas and Sandra somewhere north of Hamburg to hop on the ferry in Hirtshals, Denmark later that day.

sunset in the harbor of Hirtshals, Denmark

After a 3.5h ride we left off the ramp to enter Norwegian ground.....

read more on boundlessworldtour.blogspot.com - the blog for my next adventure!

Final Count Down

2011-06-25T01:33:00.000-07:00

In less then than 10h I will sitting in the plane from San Francisco to Franfurt via Philadelphia. My bags a packed and I'm ready to leave - am I really? I had a pretty good time here and wanna thank all the people I met, all the people I could spent time with and all the ones who helped me out - thanks guys!

Just a week ago I was on in the middle of a 10h drive from Cali to Portland. More about that trip in the previous post. After the Oregon/Washington trip we took one day of from kayaking and relaxed on the river. Then we teamed up with Darin McQuoid again to run two laps on Slab Creek and one quick run on Kyburz. Today we went for one last time on the Upper Middle Consumes - just fun.

Jonas boofs "Lars Holbeck fall" on the UMC Photo: David Ernst

me in "Brace with your Face" on the UMC Photo: Jonas Grünewald

Columbia River Gorge

2011-06-24T01:16:00.000-07:00

As water levels a very high in California we decided to head north to the Columbia River Gorge. The crew got together in Coloma. Jonas Grünewald (GER), Tomass Marnics (LAT), Ben York (US) and myself driving all together in Darin McQuoid's van. Starting the 10h drive in the late afternoon, just after I sold my truck, kept us the days for kayaking. Shortly after hitting the road we stopped to get food.

In'n'Out is the way to go. Photo: Ben York

Arriving at 7am at the parking lot of the trail head to Eagle Creek, we found nothing but cold weather, rain and a low flow. Nevertheless Jonas and Ben decided to give it a go. After the 3 mile hike up to Punchbowl Falls it was pretty much obvious that there is not enough water to huck Metlako. To run this 100ft (pool to pool) tall waterfall was one major goal of our trip. We will come back a few days later. Jonas and Ben gave Punchbowl a go with various success - the lines didn't look that good but the hit wasn't that hard....

Ben in Punchbowl Photo: Jonas Grünewald

After that adventure we drove to Portland to meet up with our friend Orion. He is stoked to see us and had organized 4 extra bikes for the night. This night was the World's largest naked bikeride. A protest against the use of oil. We were part of it. Together with 13'000 other naked people we rode the bikes through Portland. It was an awesome experience and worth the drive.

The next morning we put on the Little White Salmon and river a lot of people say it is one of the worlds bests. Paddling down that river is the best way to get your own opinion about it - and so we did. There are a couple of good drops in this run.

me in one of the first drops Photo: Ben York

Jonas in the same Photo: Ben York

another 25ft drop Photo: Ben York

same drop - different view Photo: Jonas Grünewald

the in between stuff - a fun boof Photo: Ben York

Tomass is going for the sick line Photo: Jonas Grünewald

stout 30ft Spirit Falls Photo: Jonas Grünewald

Jonas on the lip of Spirit Falls Photo: Ben York

Photo: Jonas Grünewald

After we were done with our lap we mostly agreed that the run is good but nothing special. But get out there and get your own experience and make your own opinion.
From the Little White Salmon we moved on to the White Salmon. There we paddled the Farmlands and the Green Truss section. Here we had a pretty high water level which made the run fast and juicy. One of the last rapids is called Lower Zick Zack. The entrance is a river wide ledge hole. I went last, got stucked and ended up swimming. I could catch an eddy myself, but my boat with camera,.... and my paddle went down the river. After a long hike through all kinds of terrains the group reunited at the take out - everybody and everything was fine.

camp in the morning Photo: Ben York

Jonas going down Big Brother Photo: Ben York

myself in Big Brother Photo: Ben York

The day after we went back for a fast lap so Orion could make it to work in time. After that we drove to Metlako again just to find out that the flow was slightly lower than the attempt 3 days ago. Back to Portland to meet some other friends and hang out at the brewery where Orion is working and then back to Cali where we arrived in the early morning.
After that I had 3 more days in Cali left. The water levels are still high - but we paddle anyways.

South Merced

2011-06-06T08:45:00.000-07:00

A couple weeks back Tomass and I did the South Merced River. Here is my write-up on it at KANUmagazin.

Tomass rippin' it.

2011-06-05T23:42:00.000-07:00

It is early June and there are only 3 more weeks left for me in California. I started this month with and awesome multiday trip down the Devils Canyon section of the Middle Feather. It was all about having fun with friends.

I also want to share this short edit from Tomass Marnics featuring South Yuba and South Merced in May 2011.

South Branch of the Middle Fork Feather

2011-06-02T13:46:00.000-07:00

Yesterday our crew headed out to run the South Branch of the Middle Feather. This small creek is one of most remarkable one-day kayaking adventures California has to offer.
Even though it is June 1st it is still cold and rainy out here. Thomas Marnics, Rachel Curtis, Laura Farrell and myself started early morning in Chico. We put in at a relatively high water level. We made quick progress due to Tomass memory of the run. After a short paddle in we soon arrived at the first waterfall. Here the run really begins. There while it was snowing, raining and even the sun came out for a second or two. We had really good times but decided to hike out just above 99 Problems due to the high water level and the slippery rocks which would have made the portage not only difficult but also dangerous. Well the hike out was not the best I ever did but not to bad either.
This run is a bless and I will for sure do it again.

Here is my favorite photo shot by Laura Farrell - check here blog: Living the Liquid Lifestyle

San Francisco layover

2011-05-17T13:44:00.000-07:00

After three days of kayaking on 49 to Bridgeport on the South Yuba, Lavozella Creek, Pauley Creek and Slab Creek on the South American we woke up surrounded by snow. This morning Tomass Marnics and I decided to not kayak and ended up in San Francisco. Here we are waiting for the weather to change. We went out to party and had some time to relax. Tomorrow we plan to head out again to meet up with Mullet-Leif & Co.

Here another Lake Tahoe photo:

Roadtrippin'

2011-05-11T14:05:00.000-07:00

Just couple days after my last blog update I moved out of myroom into my truck. Since then I did quite a few travelling. But before leavingI celebrated the awesome time on the Nor Cal with my friends.

My first destination was San Francisco. Miriam from Germanyvisited me and joined me on that trip.

Next stop was Florida. It was a blast to spend some qualitytime with my girl Sarah. Sun, beach and BBQ! It felt really good to relax.

Back in San Francisco I teamed up with my good old friendFelix and my little brother Simon. The goal of their visit is a West Coast Tourroad trip. After one day in San Francisco we hit the road. Via Santa Monicabeach in L.A. and Joshua Tree National Park, where we spent one full day, wedrove to Las Vegas. Here we met with another good old friend Nico. One eveningin the casinos and one day in the Red Rocks National Conservation Area. Then itwas time for Nico to head back to Houston, Texas.

Your next stop: the Grand Canyon National Park. Here wespent a full day hiking into the canyon and watching the sunset. This is anamazing place. From the Grand Canyon we wanted to drive to Sequoia NationalPark. Unfortunately my truck broke down in the middle of nowhere in the Arizonadessert. It was clear that the problem is the distributor but I do not have a bigset of tools so we had to get towed and the part got replaced in a shop. Thistook pretty much half a day and so we ended up spending another time in Vegas.But this time we didn’t visit the casinos but went shopping in an outletcenter.

The next day we made it to the Sequoia National Forest. HereI wanted to paddle Dry Meadow Creek. As the road was closed I didn’t want tohike so much we drove towards Sequoia National Park. On that way we tried todrive a closed road but got stopped by some road workers. Then we run intoTomass and Jared from the Adidas Sickline Crew. They had my new paddle. I wasstoked to pick up my Kober Scorpion. We finally arrived in Sequoia NationalPark. There I raced up a hill towards a stoplight where we showed up just alittle late but got waved through. There was one lane traffic cause of aroadwork every full hour only. Just around the corner a bear was about to crawlover the railing. The bear looked at us for couple seconds before he turnedaround and left. It was the first time for me to see a wild bear – and he wasjust a few meters away. Up in the park we looked at the General Sherman Tree,which is advertised as the largest tree known (large in volume).

On the drive towards Yosemite National Park we stopped inFresno to watch the release of Fast Five. The next day we spent in YosemiteValley and on the way back to our camp I paddled an easier 15mile stretch onthe Merced River. After another day hiking and chilling in the mighty YosemiteValley we headed back to San Francisco. At noon the next day Felix is flyingback to Germany while Simon and I headed north on the coast.

We visited the Redwoods and stopped in Arcata. On Fridaybefore the Cal Salmon Race I paddled the North Fork Trinity. This is definitelyone of the best runs on the North Coast. Together with Dan, Ben, Orion, Martin,Russell, Paul and Chris it was a good crew too. Thanks to Dan for the photosand thanks to my bro for driving the shuttle.

The next day the race was on. I didn’t start due to a nervepain in my left shoulder. Instead I was in charge for timing and Simon went inthe winning raft. It was a great day with friends followed by another goodparty.

On Sunday Simon and I headed towards Reno. On that way wegot forced to turn around on a dirt road due to a field of snow. Back on theroad we where driving to Lassen National Park but realized that this park isclosed in winter. So wanted to cross south from Hwy 44 to Hwy 36 to drive bysome nice camp spots on a lake. The road turned into a dirt road and evenworse. We had to cross at least three creeks and the road was washed out bad.In the end we got forced back due to a log jam. While turning the truck gotstuck. With the help of some wood and a pulley we managed to get out of thatsituation and drove all the way back. This road was the most challenging I haveever driven. Later that day we drove through a snowstorm and also the truck runover the 100’000 miles on its odometer.

In Reno we visited the Patagonia outlet. Then we cancelledour plan to go to Zion National Park and Simon changed his flight so he isleaving from Reno on Thursday. We decided to stay in a hotel for the next dayscause it was cheap and spent the next two days around Reno and Lake Tahoe.

South Fork Salmon

2011-04-11T09:17:00.000-07:00

One of my last days living here in Northern California, I had the opportunity to get on the South Fork Gorge of the Cal Salmon River. The Cal Salmon drainage is one of the most beautiful places I have visited. It has some great kayaking too.

Just enjoy the photos taken by Ben York!

Beat down

2011-04-10T18:10:00.000-07:00

Three days after I moved to Arcata in Northern California I paddled the Burnt Ranch Gorge on the Trinity River. Three days before I leave Arcata I paddled the Burnt Ranch Gorge again. In between this time BRG became my local run. I ran it so often I stopped counting. I ran it at all kind of flows - from 500cfs during late summer up to 10000cfs just a couple weeks ago. During fall I ran it about three times a week!

I never portage any rapid and I never swam until today. During my last run down the Gorge I got my ass kicked.
The rapid is called "Table Rock". I went for the mean-line on the river right. The hole down there was just waiting for me. According to my companion Damon I did a couple nice cartwheels and other tricks - but the hole didn't let me go. I was not able to control my ride very well and finally decided to go for the wet exit. I pulled my skirt, exit the boat but hold on to my paddle. I recirculed three times as a swimmer until I got out of that nasty hole. I did let my paddle go after a few recirculations and finally got out. My boat was already floating downstream.
Luckily my boat got pushed into an eddy. Damon went after my paddle while I was swimming to my boat. We got all my stuff together and finished the run. Even I had my first swim this year in that nasty spot it was a great day. We had a level of 2800cfs which is a really great flow.
I love that run - especially at a little higher flows.

Today the Trinity punished me for going for taking the mean lines.

Here some pictures of BRG:

#2 at 3200cfs
photo by Mister Mullet aka Leif Anderson

in the meat of #3

Hennessy boof

Check out some Burnt Ranch Gorge videos:

at summer / fall flows

at 2700cfs

at 10000cfs

Hell or High Water

2011-04-04T09:32:00.000-07:00

Here a link to my recent article on KANUmagazin.de - Be aware: it is in german!

For all the lazy germans and those who do not understand this language here a 5min video clip!

Nice write-up by Dan Menten in his blog "North Coast Paddleing" and more pictures than text by Mullet-Leif in his blog "the amazing exploits of Leif and Natalie"

Update!

2011-03-06T11:15:00.001-08:00

Updating this Blog was necessary! Therefore here a whole series of new posts.
Enjoy the photos....

Deer Creek

2011-03-06T11:15:00.000-08:00

On the way back from Las Vegas I stopped at Darin McQuoid's place. The next day we went kayaking on Deer Creek a tributary to the Yuba. A total of 8 boaters went on this mission. Cody Howard and Will Purett had paddled there before and had some beta. The creek is a fun run with several drops, slides and one portage. The paddle out is on a private lake of a gated community. Watch out for the security guy!

riding down big slide

sick drop #1

sick drop #2

Thanks to Darin for the photos!

Here the map:

View Deer Creek, CA in a larger map

Spring Break #1

2011-03-06T11:04:00.000-08:00

Spring Break #1 i spent in and near Las Vegas. Driving there 14h straight from Arcata was an experience itself.

In Vegas I meet with Kim from Montreal, Quebec, Canada. We went Climbing in the Red Rocks. This is a National Conservation Area 20min west of downtown Las Vegas. It's an awesome place to be.

Red Rocks and Las Vegas in the back

Sunset!

me climbing

We visited the Hoover dam and I really think they make more money with the tourists visiting, than the do with selling electricity and water. Still it is an impressive dam.

Lake Mead - the lake caused by the dam

top view on Hoover dam

The las night we spent in Las Vegas. The casinos are worth a visit - I myself can't stand this city more than 1 day.

the american smile

More photos!

2011-03-06T10:26:00.000-08:00

Here are some more photos running the lower New River. All photos by Ben York!

Lower New River Gorge and Klamath Wave

2011-02-05T18:14:00.000-08:00

Not as this Blog represents I have been kayaking a lot since my winterbreak. The weekend after I went on a 2-days wilderness trip in southern Oregon. Together with Dan Menten I paddled the Illinois River at high water. A write up including a small video clip is published at kanumagazin.de. My other weekends I spent on the lower New River Gorge, the Cal Salmon, Burnt Ranch of the Trinity and at the Klamath Wave. Enjoy some photos of my adventures. Next time with more text again!

Matt Porter in the first major rapid of the lower gorge - New River

Damon at the same

Matt after the portage of tombstone

Damon hitting the boof - New River

Matt eddying in at the confluence

me surfing Klamath Wave

smooth smoothy?!

Kyle Hull getting air - K-Wave

me again - photo by Wes Schrecongost

Winterbreak

2011-01-11T19:36:00.000-08:00

Part #1: Kayaking

University was over on December the 18th. Guess how I start my break - right kayaking. So sunday noon I left town and head to Burnt Ranch Gorge. Thats something I did a lot this summer but this time we had 3200cfs instead of 550cfs what is a typical summer flow. With me on this high water mission where Russell Kramer, his sister Natalie Kramer and Leif Anderson.

Leif is awesome and I wish I had a sweet mullet like his
Photo: Natalie Kramer

Before we started boating Russell ran shuttle and I forgot to put my gear bag back in the car. So I had to store all my stuff in the back of my kayak which made it weight like I would go on an overnighter.

getting my gear in the back of my Mystic

Photo: Leif Anderson

This Big Water run was hell of fun and so was kayaking with this crew.

Leif in the bottom of #2 - Photo: Natalie Kramer

myself at the entrance of #2 - Photo: Natalie Kramer

Russell and my watching Natalie punching trough the bottom hole on #2

Photo: Leif Anderson

Big Water kayaking is something I really enjoy. On this day we had some nice big waves and big holes. Thanks to Leif and Natalie for the pictures.

The next day I went to the Cal Salmon River with Wes and Paul Fritze. Here we paddled a class 3-4 section which was pretty fun too. This river drainage might become my favorite in northern California.

Part #2: Surfing

After two days of kayaking I finally hit the road. With me on board was Simon a friend from NZ. Our destination: surfing in Baja, Mexico.

After one long day of driving we stayed the night at a friends house in O.C.. From there we hopped over the boarder the next day around noon. Surprisingly we were waved through most of the controls at the border, just once the took a look in the back of the truck. So still stocked about the easy border-crossing we missed the first exit in Tijuana and got lost. However we made our way out of this city and kept on driving south. Back on the highway we realized that we didn't have any stamps in our passports or a permission for the car. all of this is necessary if someone travels south of Ensanada or spend more than 72h in the country - what we both did. In Ensanada we did some grocerys and than made our way to Punta San Jose. Therefore we had to pass two more military checkpoints. In time for the sunset we left the first (and one of the worst) dirtroad behind and set up our tent with the last light of the day.

The next day we start with a supreme breakfast. We checked our surrounding and found ourself on top of a long cliff right above the sea. The break was small but still surfable. After two days of driving I was looking forward to finally surf some waves. The hike down in a crack of the cliff and down and handmade wooden ladder was kind of sketchy, specially while carrying the carbon boat.

me surfing one of my first waves in Mexico

All in all we spend a chill day there. In the evening we invited our only camp neighbors over to join our fire. Vince and Tracy travel yearly to Baja for over 20 years and spent normally about 3 months there. They told us about their experiences in Mexico and gave as several advices for places to go, good camps and where to fuel up - just to mention a few. They also told us, that it is no big deal that we don't have visas or travel permission - BIENVENIDO A MEXICO!!
The next day was Christmas (December 25th). We where heading south this day. Vince and Tracy came by our camp and gave us a six pack Tecate, sun protection and some cookies as a christmas present. We stopped in the next town to get our supplies and found a phone to call home. While Simon was calling home I met this older guy named Jesus. I was able to speak some english and was very proud of his skills. In the end he asked for a $1 so he can buy himself a Tequila in the local bar to celebrate Navidad (= Christmas). We kept on driving and set up our tent somewhere on a beach next to the highway. With a campfire, roasted potatoes, marshmallows, a lot Tequila and even more beer we celebrated our Christmas evening.

Jesus on Christmas

sunset at Christmas

Early in the morning we packed our stuff in the truck and drove south to The Wall. This is THE surf spot in Baja. It is located next to Punta Rosalita. On the way we had to fuel up on next to the road where a guy sells Gasolina out of cans. In the Loncheria next door we got some Burritos and Quesadillas. At the Wall we spent 3 relaxed days with surfing, collecting mussels, playing poker, reading and eating & drinking.

wind-protected camp at the Wall

Simon on his Bodyboard

random sunset at the Wall

After leaving the Wall we made our way back north. Back in civilization we had the best Fish Tacos ever. After passing San Vicente it was pouring rain and we ran out of daylight so we spent the night in a cheap hotel and finally had a warm shower. The next day we had blue sky again but the heavy sea caused by the storm the day before. The break at Los Cabras was messed up so we decided to start reading with a beer. After a while a van with the Canadians Garett and Avery pull next to our camp. After a short conversation we pulled out the Tequila. Thats how we make friends! We enjoyed the evening on a campfire, with a veggie rice pan and mussles and Tequila.

sunset at Los Cabras

The next morning we got up just before sunset. The surf was pumpin' - nice 10ft with offshoe wind breaking in a barrel. That was what we were looking for the whole trip. Simon and I went out for an epic surf session while the Canadians left to the Wall. What a start for the last day!

barrel on our last day

shot from the head cam while surfing

After surfing we had breakfast and left to Tijuana where we wanted to party for New Years Eve. Still in camping mode, we fall asleep while chilling in the hotel room and woke up just in time at 11pm. We left to party at a random bar with a lot of Mexicans and Corona. The next morning we crossed the border without major problems besides that I needed a new stamp in my passport, we got asked 10+ times about what we carry with us and they told us several times that the car is nearly to dirty. after about 3h we where driving towards LA. Here I dropped Simon at the airport and picked up Yohann for the next adventure.

Tacos in Tijuana

the city of Tijuana

Part #2: Climbing

I hang out about 3h at the airport until Yohann arrived. Our first stop was at In&Out burgers. The best fast food burger I ever had - but nothing compared to the Fish Tacos we had in Mexico. After that we left for Joshua Tree National Park. We arrived there pretty late in the night set up the tent and went to sleep. The next day we checked out the park a little bit and went to the visitor center to get climbing information.

a Joshua Tree

prak overview

The next night was very cold and the sun didn't came out in the morning. We were pretty down and thought about leaving to either Las Vegas or even back home. Finally we got up and went to the local climbing store where we bought some warm layers. We also found some nice places to go climbing. More used to the colder weather we went climbing the next to days. Sunshine and good climbs brought back our good mood.

ice in the morning

Where exactly is the route? - me at Thin Wall

me rappelling at Cap Rock

Yohann rappelling at Short Wall

end of a good day of climbing in Joshua Tree

After Joshua Tree we left to Las Vegas where we panned on climbing in the Red Rocks. But not before a mandatory visit at the Casinos on the Strip.

Red Rocks Canyon National Conservation Area

At the Red Rocks, which are 10min out of Las Vegas, we had two really good climbing days. Beside that we had an awesome sunrise one morning. And went shopping for beer, cause the taxes in Nevada are way less then in California.

sunrise in the Red Rocks

Magic Bus in the Red Rocks

Our time went over and we had to head back to Arcata where I started with my new job at the Schatz Energy Lab. On the way back we drove through the Death Vally where we had another nice sunset and sneaked into the showers of an campsite.

Death Valley

Yohann in the Sand Dunes in Death Valley

sunset in Death Valley

Clean and refreshed we kept on driving. The plan was to drive through Yosemite the next morning. Unfortunately we passed a sign that said the road is closed all winter. So we decided to keep on driving through the night in shifts. Once when we switched driver and stopped for a pee the car didn't start again. After checking the batterie contacts and searching for the the starter (which I didn't found) we decided to push the car to the next intersection (300m) cause there the chance to stop another car would be higher. There we saw a sign that indicate a phone in 1/2 mile. We put on all our warm cloths and walked to the phone. It was 4am in the morning and freezing cold outside. I called AAA and around 5:45am a towing truck came. First we tried to jump start which didn't work. Than the guy hit the starter (which is next to the wheel on the passenger site/ opposite of where I was looking) and my truck started right away. This all happened in the middle of nowhere without cell phone service, 27 miles away from the next town. Finally we where able to continue our trip and arrived in Arcata 2h later than expected at 10am.

sunrise on the 299 just west of Redding

That was my winterbreak and the longest post so far.
Happy New Year by the way....

more TishTang...

2010-12-11T21:48:00.000-08:00

Within the last week there was some media response on the TishTang descent. I finally made it on the cover of the Times Standard the newspaper of the californian north coast on their friday issue. The credit for that goes again to Wes Schrecongost. Nevertheless the Hoopa tribe asked for not heading back in there due to the fact it is a ceremonial site for them.

here is the cover

zoom in for the text

There also where some articles in german on KANUmagazin.de, Bliss Stick Europe, playboaters.de and 4-paddlers.com.

And finally I pulled out a video clip!

Tish Tang Falls from 1596 Media on Vimeo.

Even so the adventure is going on. Today I went in the lower gorge of the New River with is about an hour away from Arcata. We had a pretty descent flow which turned out to be high. Ben swam in the first serious rapid after I went down fine and we lost his boat at this point. Paul Gamache and myself followed the boat for a couple rapids. Divided from the rest of the crew we decided to go down the river after they signaled us, that they gonna hike out. The rapids were big and we portaged a couple of times. The rapids in the New River do not end in big pools but follow right after each other. This character makes it more dangerous. Additional to this are the vertical walls on both river sides. It was scared but fun at the same time. Simply a great adventure I shared with a good friend.

TishTang Creek

2010-12-06T22:06:00.000-08:00

Yesterday we went to Tish Tang a Tang Creek. This is a small creek near Hoopa in an Indian Reservation. 3 days earlier we haven been there too but left without a descent due to a lack on safety and run out of light. There is a 70ft waterfall we want to run. The waterfall is boxed in a canyon and the second drop in a series of three. The third drop is about 12ft, jammed with two logs and leading into a cave. The entry drop is about 18ft high falling into a wall.

scouting the falls

After a long scout three of us decided to run the shit! Erik Boomer fired it up first. Keegan Grady went third and I had the last spot. Both had pretty god lines even Erik broke his paddle. The first drop was sick. After piling through the reactionary we hit the kicker to take of and fly. After this drop there was an eddy to catch. Here is no way of return so you have to go over the lip. The 70 footer was good to go and the impact was not to hard. Although it was hard enough to rip my paddle out of my hands. Resurfacing fine, but without a paddle I wend down the last drop hand-paddleing. I couldn't stick my handroll in the white wash of the pool and end up swimming. I was totally fine and did self-rescue. Only a thumb strain is remaining.

myself in the waterfall

the crew: Keegan Grady, Erik Boomer, myself

After going down the waterfalls we paddled down the river through two or three mini-gorges to the confluence. Then keep going on the Trinity River to the bridge in Hoopa where we took out.

Thanks to Wes Schrecongost for the photos and thanks to the safety crew: Paul Gamache, Wes Schrecongost, Christian Figuera-Tyler and Jon Hyland.

Thanksgiving Break

2010-11-27T16:46:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving Break is nearly over and here is a brief consumption of my adventures:

I stayed in Arcata for the whole break. This was very nice cause I got some time to rest and do things i wanted to do for a while. But of course I didn't stayed here 24/7. On saturday I teamed up with Jon Chin and Paul Gamache to run Burnt Ranch Gorge at approximately 800cfs and we had snow on both passes we have to cross when going to the river. Finally I pulled out this video from Burnt Ranch Gorge.

Burnt Ranch Gorge from 1596 Media on Vimeo.

On sunday Dan Menten and myself drove up to the Smith River drainage where we met wit Kyle & Craig Hull and Keegan Grady to run Oregon Hole Gorge on the Middle Smith and the South Fork Gorge.

Kyle Hull and Dan Menten in the Oregon Hole Gorge

On Monday I took a break from kayaking and went to the Jedediah Smith State Park to look for some huge trees. It was raining all day long and we got totally went while crawling through the woods. The next day I went north to the Smith drainage again to paddle Patricks Creek and the Siskiyou Gorge on the Middle Smith. This time with Keegan, Kyle, Wes Schreck and Jon Hyland.

snow peak on the way north

Redwoods in Jedediah Smith State Park

After three days in a row at the Smith river I finally got the chance to put on Willow Creek, the local creek less 45min away. Together with my buddies Dan, Wes and Christian I spent a great time in the River o a nice sunny day.

Dan Menten boofing a small drop

Christian enjoying the river

Willow Creek

On Thursday I left the town with Eddy a friend from university to go hunting. We drove some crazy dirt roads, got stuck in the snow, climbed a communication tower with a great view and had a lot of fun. We didn't shoot anything but we spotlighted four deers! And we saw a bunch of tracks.

bear tracks in the snow

the pacific and Mount Shasta in one photo - amazing view!

Upper South Fork Smith River - Kelsey run

2010-11-11T23:19:00.000-08:00

On Sunday 7th of November I went kayaking in the Smith drainage. The Smith river drainage is the only free flowing (means un dammed) river system in entire California. And it is for sure one of the most beautiful rivers in northern California.
I meet with a bunch of people at 8am at the parking lot of Wildberries in Arcata. From here we carpooled with three cars up to the take-out. Here we left one car to head up the road to its end. There followed a dirt road until this one ends too. From this point on we had to carry our kayaks for another 2 miles up the river on a small trail to the confluence with a small creek. We put in the small creek and hucked down a waterfall into the Smith river. This section of the Smith river is class 4 (5). We went down rapid for rapid. In an epic scenery - it's fall; indian summer!

Miguel during the hike in

the crew at the put-in
(left to right: Brondon, Christian, Dan, Frazer, Miguel, Paul, Wes, myself)

Frazer killing the drop

random rapid on the upper south fork smith

The hardest rapid is called Island Rapid. Here the river splits into two arms. Both are runnable, but the left arm has more water and is the more difficult one. Dan and I decided to give it a go. We both didn't made the lines the way we planned them. After rejoining with the rest of the group we found ourself on top of river wide horizon line. We scouted this one and found several lines to go down.

me dropping down

Just before the easy class 2 paddle out is the longest rapid of this section. It was a series of holes and drops. If you stay on the left side next to the wall it is good to go - if not, ask Brondon. He got beaten up several times.

me in top of the longest rapid on the upper south fork smith

The trip was awesome. We had perfect indian summer weather with a little bit of rain and a lot of sunshine at a great level for the river. Thanks to the crew and specially to Dan Menten for the photos.

Life in Humboldt

2010-10-18T00:30:00.000-07:00

It has been a while after my last post. Life here in Humboldt is getting normalized, I guess. I'm studying, go kayaking and climbing on a regularly basis. I enjoy to have dinner with friends and so on. Today they shut down the gauge on the Trinity River so the levels are now to low for the Burnt Ranch Gorge. Instead of kayaking on the river I went surf kayaking in the ocean today. That was amazing. The weekend before there has been the Cali Burn Fest a river festival on the Burnt Ranch Gorge, the weekend before that I had a surfing class with the university and the weekend before that I had been at the Feather Fest a river festival on the North Fork Feather River. Here are some random pics from my last adventures:

Me a the climbing wall

Mount Shasta!!!

Tobin section of the North Fork Feather River

Sweet sunset ont the way back from the Feahter Fest

random shot @Burnt Ranch Gorge

finish at the race during Cali Burn Fest

# 3 during the race day

Brown Claw

Labour Day Weekend

2010-09-07T11:37:00.000-07:00

This weekend started with a camping trip. a bunch of people from Campus Appartment were heading north towards the Smith River. There we a some party time at our campsite and an amazing saturday on the banks of the river.

enjoying the bbq

enjoying the sun

enjoying the river

kayak instructions

On sunday we made our way back to Arcata with driving trough the Jedediah Smith Redwood State Park. Here are some big Redwoods located. We also stopped at some amazing beaches.

walking through the woods

trinidad beach

The next day I spend at Burnt Ranch Gorge - where else. Awesome summer day on the river.

Burnt Ranch Gorge

2010-08-31T00:02:00.000-07:00

Burnt Ranch Gorge aka BRG is my homerun here in Arcata. It's a 1 hour drive up into the mountains to get to BRT. It is a class 4-5 section and I did 3 amazing runs down there this weekend. This time with a bigger group of 9 boaters.

Lesley ready to punch the hole at #2

Paul in #3

Jon made it down #3

Welcome to HSU & Arcata

2010-08-25T11:09:00.000-07:00

I'm in Arcata, Ca. I arrived one week ago and moved into my new room in the oldest building on campus the Campus Apartments residence hall.

HSU - my school for the next 4 month

Campus Apartments - my home for the next 4 month

After a packed schedule of orientation and parties until last friday I managed to go boating on saturday. I had two nice runs on Burnt Ranch Gorge of the Trinity River with some local boaters. Since monday classes have started but due to my easy going schedule I went to the beach yesterday afternoon. Although I have already started my PV project the same day in the morning.

heading north

2010-08-23T13:45:00.000-07:00

So time in the Bay Area is over and I had to head north to go to university in Humboldt County - northern California.
I decided to take the longer drive but the nicer one. San Francisco first including a ride over the Golden Gate Bridge. Then I went for Highway 1 the "Coastline Highway" and continued on Highway 101the "Redwoods Highway" trough the Redwoods and along the famous "Avenue of the Giants".
Enjoy the pics I shot during that time!

San Francisco skyline

Golden Gate Bridge

California's coastline @ Highway 1 north of San Fran

Redwood @ Richardson Grove State Park

Avenue of Giants

watch out for my truck

My new old truck

2010-08-14T23:41:00.000-07:00

I bought a new old truck!!
A GMC, S15 Pick Up, from 1985, with low miles on it, with camper shell and a V6 2.8l engine.

This is my baby as it was after I bought it!
Today I went to "The Home Depot" that's the american "Praktiker". There I Bought some wood and build a bed at there parking lot.

So here we go! I'm ready to hit the road now!

First California Kayak Adventure

2010-08-14T23:09:00.000-07:00

On wednesday august 11th I met up with Darin McQuid at his house in Davis to go kayaking the North Fork Stanislaus River "Hell's Kitchen. At the take out we met with Jason Craig. The North Fork Stanislaus River is an overnighter, what means that we have to carry all our sleeping gear as well as food in our boats.

The adventure started with a hike in of approximately 1 mile. This was hard for me due to the fact I'm not very used to carry my boat for that long so I got a wound shoulder. At the first day we had some portages and some nice whitewater, too. We set up our camp at a sweet spot next to the river, where we had a campfire to BBQ and cook at.
after a deep sleep we started the next day of kayaking. The start of this day was amazing. Lot of nice runnable rapids, including a 20", a 10" and other stuff like "Astrobiologist Creep".

me dropping "Perfect 20's"

Jason running "Astrobiologist Creep"

me running "Astrobiologist Creep"

The end of the trip turned out to be rocky boulder gardens, but still runnable.
All in all a nice trip, which is definitely worth doing it.
Thanks to Darin for the photos!

First adventure in California!

2010-08-14T22:35:00.000-07:00

My California adventure started in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, at the airport. The flight from Frankfurt to Pittsburgh with US Airways had a delay about 30min. So there where only 1:20h remaining to catch my flight to San Francisco. After immigration I had to wait for my kayak. Then I grabbed my luggage and run to the Check-In for my next flight. There I have to unpack my hand carry to got it double checked and finally made it into the airplane just 4min before departure.
After arrival in San Francisco I recognized that my kayak didn't got the flight and is supposed to come with next flight 2h later. So there is enough time left to pick up my rental - a Ford Escape (SUV, with roof racks). In the end I got my kayak and drove to Jule, where I can stay for the next days. At Jule's is a little party going on and I got some birthday and welcome greetings.
The next day we drove to Monterey the former capital of California.

After some time there we got in the cars again and drove south along Big Sur a famous and impressive coast. There we camped at Nacimiento Camp where we had an amazing campfire.

The next day we visit Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park and did some stops along Highway 1 at Big Sur.

Jose, Jenny, Ruben, Emelie, Nicole, Maike, Jessica, Jasmine, Jule, ich

After all those action I didn't had any time for jetlag so there where no jetlag!

Nice start in California - thanks to everbody who joined the trip!