Sic Day

Da Box

2011-08-16T13:12:00.000-07:00

The Clarks Fork of the Yellowstone. An absolutely amazing river. I went this past weekend for my third and best trip yet. Several summers ago I went with a group of good friends and Jackson Hole Kayak Club coach Carson King or "Snug". With high flows and me being very inexperienced, we rallied down the Day Stretch and it was GNARLY. I was scared shitless! But unbelievably juiced at the same time. The next summer I returned with another group of brews from the Jackson Hole Kayak Club. Coming off a semester at WCKA and another year of boating under my belt, we rallied to the Honeymooner section and had the best weekend ever! I was very content with the Clarks Fork of the Yellowstone, but the illusive and very hyped "Box" among Wyoming boaters lay just down stream. The thought of the beast sent chills of fear and excitement through my body. Last summer I had high hopes of returning to The Clarks Fork but I was cut short with a summer of rehab and hard chilling after a shoulder injury earlier in the season. So when the opportunity arose to go this past weekend I knew that I had to rally. Here are some of the photos and words I have to share from the trip.

Johnson sneaking up on some trout at the first camp.

The Ankle Breaker Portage. The first portage after the first camp. All of the portages on the box are unbelievably gnarly and very un-runnable.

Hydration during a quick break on the portage

A slightly awkward self portrait I took during the portage. I am not sure why, but I like it.

One of many towering walls in the Box Canyon. if you look closely you can see a white mountain goat in the right side of the photograph.

Chompers running "Double Suck" one of the first major rapids of the run.

Tyler about to go deep on "Deep Six."

Ryan gettin' ready to plug. (Deep Six from above)

Evan pulling a stroke into the lip of the drop.

The crew taking a look at "Balls to the Wall."

Ben Kinsella getting ready to route the beast.

Evan cruising down the crux of the rapid.

Tyler punching through the whitewater before the last move of the drop.

Chomps and Ryan blue angeling the drop.

Chompas cruising on line.

The canyon below the first part of "Dillworth."

Ryan Lucas planting a boof on Calender Falls.

Tyler steezing out with a brown.

Day 2 camp.

Johnson chilling by the fire.

Eating some tasty trout we caught next to camp.

A solid fire on a picture perfect night. A full moon and not a cloud in the sky.

Ryan taking a look at "Deliberation."

"A bit too rich for my blood" -Ben ( or something along those lines.)

Water pouring into the siphon next to the crux move of the rapid. Nobody ended up running the stout due to the high flows and a sketchy move that you see here.

Johnson getting a solid boof on " leap of faith," the last major rapid of the run.

A crazy rock formation near the take out.

Evan taking some shots of Sunshine Creek and the Clarks Fork Canyon. If you look closely, you can see the upper ridges of the box canyon.

A griz in Yellowstone on the drive back to Jackson.

It was by far the best trip to the Clarks Fork yet. To date it is one of the coolest places I have ever been, and the some of the best whitewater I have ever run. Can't wait until next time!

Sic Shot of the Day 7/5

2011-07-05T21:42:00.000-07:00

1/200 Sec, F/6.3, ISO 200.

Gazing over the back channels of The Nile I snapped this photo of a supa dupa sic sunsett. (Click to view in a larger size)

Sic Shot of the Day 7/3

2011-07-03T18:57:00.000-07:00

1/160 Sec, F/4.0, ISO 100.

This Photo was taken Outside the NRE Jinga headquarters in Uganda. I love the Natural red color of the flower. I played with this photo a bit in Photo Shop. I will also post the original photo. Which one do you like more? I am still quite a noob so I would really appreciate your thoughts.

This one has not been shopped at all.

Sic Shot of the Day 7/2

2011-07-02T12:19:00.000-07:00

1/2656 sec, F/3.5, ISO 100.

During the last few days that I was staying in San Sebastian,Spain I decided to take the Funicular railway to the this small peak overlooking the City. I spent several hours taking photos and looking over the Atlantic Ocean. I picked this photo out of the bunch because to me it is a much more interesting and creative perspective of the coast then the typical scenic photo.

Here is a Standard wide angle shot of the San Sebastian coast.

1/320, F/11, ISO 100.

Sic Shot of the Day 7/1

2011-07-01T19:28:00.001-07:00

1/640 Sec, F/4.5, ISO 100.

This is a picture of a Sunset session at The Nile Special wave. Surfing the Nile special wave is a must. Eddy access at high water- unbelievably massive bounces, and always a packed crowd. This is one BAD ASS wave!

Sic Shot of the Day 6/30

2011-06-30T19:32:00.001-07:00

1/125 Sec,F/5.0, ISO 400

This is a picture of a man overlooking the busy streets of Kampala, Uganda. This was the very last photo that I took in Africa and it is one of my favorites.

PS I have been slacking hard on the daily post... I have been working/ boating a ton. I will be gettin' back on my shit and keeping the daily post alive!

Sic Shot of the Day 6/24

2011-06-24T20:11:00.000-07:00

1/3200 Sec, F.3.5, ISO 320

The Eiffel Tower is an extremely over shot monument. In this photo I was trying to capture it in an interesting and different perspective.

Sic Shot of the Day 6/23

2011-06-23T21:40:00.001-07:00

1/160 Sec, F/4.0, ISO 400.

This a picture of a Ugandan child staring into a overloaded Class room. I took this photo when I visited a local school near the Nile Special Wave With huge river experiences.

Sic Shot of the Day 6/22

2011-06-22T18:45:00.000-07:00

2 sec, F/11, ISO 100.

This photograph was taken at the Dam square in Amsterdam. I originally was just trying to get a cool wide angle shot of the square but then the old man you see on the left and the blurred Train on the right got in the way. After taking a look at it, however, the exposure turned out to be one of my favorite night photos I have ever taken. It is amazing how "accidents" in your shots can make an average frame an interesting and creative Photograph.

Enjoy

Sic Shot of the day 6/21

2011-06-22T01:45:00.001-07:00

1/2 Sec, F/22, ISO 100.

This Shot was taken at the Local playspot in Sort, Spain. During the last 2 weeks I was in Spain I spent my time in the Catalan part of the country. And a week of that time I spent With Aniol at his casa in Sort. Everyday we would walk less than 5 minutes from his house to the waters edge and paddle down maybe 400 meters to this dope hole. Sort Is an amazing town for kayaking. It is located in the Spanish Pyrenees mountain range About 2 hours west of Barcelona.

Sic Shot of the day 6/20

2011-06-20T07:00:00.000-07:00

1/50 sec, F/4.5, ISO 2,000.

One day while I was living in San Sebastian, Spain I decided to go explore the Local aquarium. I Snapped this shot with my wide angle pressed against the glass of the tank.

Sic Shot of the Day 6/19

2011-06-19T15:26:00.001-07:00

13 sec, f/7.1, ISO 100.

I took this photo during a brief stay in Cologne Germany. The church you see in the background is called the Kolner Dom and the bridge is named the Hohenzollern. One of my favorite things about this photo is the the train cruising across the bridge on the right.

This Photos is the second addition to Sic Shot of the Day. I have a ton of photos that I have yet to post from the past months of travel so my new goal is to post Sic photos daily from my travels.

Enjoy

Sic shot of the Day 6/18

2011-06-19T15:14:00.000-07:00

1/2500 sec,F/4.0, ISO 200.

This photo was taken at the Hairy Lemon Island on the Nile River, Uganda. This little Guy just chilled on this flower for 5 days through rain and shine.

This photo is the first of many to come. I have Roughly 10,000 photos from the past months of travel that I still need to go through. So instead of spending hours and hours going through them I will be posting a new photo from a different location around the world each day.

Summer/Spring Edit By Risto Beatty

2010-10-02T12:06:00.000-07:00

Check out this Fresh Edit By Risto.

Enjoy

Payette River Update

2010-09-15T17:15:00.000-07:00

Check out this edit From a recent trip to the Payettes.

Payette River Update from Eric Parker on Vimeo.

Candace Sander's photos

2010-08-06T09:20:00.000-07:00

Yo,

I just got back from sweet trip up to salt lake for OR. I got to meet a ton of people, check out a ton of cool gear, and talk to some sponsors. I also met up with Evan and Candace so I was able to finally Get candaces photo's of me from the chronicles trip. Check them out and I hope you enjoy the new blog layout.

have a SIC DAY!

Sending it on the South Branch

A fun boof on this really manky creek we ran the first day

Middle mccloud falls at high flow

BOOF

The Sickest drop I have ever run

The chronicles of California and Side lined for the summer

2010-07-26T14:27:00.000-07:00

The past 50 Days I have been doing absolutely nothing. This is a result of dislocating my shoulder on the little white earlier this summer and having to get surgery because of it. It has been a rough 50 days but I will be back in my boat hopefully in a month or so. Thinking of the Past two years as a kayaker is what keeps me humble. From my first day on a river, May 16th 2008 to 50 days ago was truly the greatest period of my life. I cannot put a number to how many stoked, terrified, breathtaking, content, and adrenaline filled moments kayaking has provided for me.

Enjoy some of my photos from my kayaking adventures this summer.

The day after graduation several WCKA buddies and myself road tripped from Missoula to Bozeman where we chilled for a week. We didn't paddle any stouts, however we enjoyed getting out on the river and not dealing our teachers, classes, or being on the river ever day with 15 people.

"The Bull truck charging down the highways of Montana"

After our weeklong excursion in Bozeman, I headed back for the homeland in Jackson's Hole. In Jackson I didn't paddle much due to low levels. Nonetheless I was lucky enough to catch a rare release of the Black canyon of the Bear River. It is a fun and classic river run in eastern Idaho.

Risto about to sail a boof

Austin Rathman Charging down "boo boo"

Risto Surfin' Kings wave On the Snake River

After spending a week at home I embarked upon the biggest Road trip of my life. My buddies Griff Griffith, Erik Johnson, and I had been planning a trip to Cali since this past fall. So with a few Phone Calls, purchasing a Subaru, and packing all my essential road tripping gear I was off to Cali. With a quick pit stop in Rock Springs Wyoming to pick up Griff, We rallied twenty straight hours to Yosemite California where we meet up with Johnson,Davis Gove, Evan Garcia, Candace Sanders, and Nate Klema.

Driving Through the middle of no where Nevada

On Day one we explored the South fork of the Tuolumne. It was a pretty fun day a side from being denied from running a 30 footer we came to run and Almost totaling my brand new camera lens.

Here is The 30 footer we came for. Unfortunately it sat uncomfortably close to BURLY 40/50 footer.

The Crew scouting the run. There were some Giant frothy drainage's flowing in to the creek.

Johnson boofing a fun drop at the put in.

Sadly on day one the filter on my Lens shattered and the filter ring was stuck to my lens. Wrap your camera in as much foam as possible while in a Watershed Bag! So with that, my camera was out of commission for the moment. With no back up camera I wasn't able to take pictures for the remainder of the trip... Luckily, Candace Loves taking Photos and has mad skills with Her beautiful Cannon 7D. So all hope of documenting The Chronicles of Cali was not lost.

To conclude Day One, Evan spread the word that the levels of Big Kimshew and South Branch were dropping. So it was off to Big Kimshew! I could not believe it. We were in pursuit of arguably the two best day runs in California. It was hard to do anything but smile to thought of the Stouts that neared. We slept at the put in and prepared for the day to come. We woke up and grilled up a grand feast of eggs, bacon, and pancakes. After fueling up we headed for the river and began the hike. It turns out the put in for Big Kimshew can be a tricky place to find, so we ended up hiking little extra to get to the goods.

The whole crew getting in to the thick of it after paddling a few miles of class mank.

Nate flying of Frenchys 40.

Evan Sending it on the 40 footer.

The Day ended with a beautiful 20 footer at the take out. Big Kimshew had proved to be the sickest river I had ever paddled. The concentration of clean runnable drops is amazing! With a great day on Big Kimshew we headed for the infamous South Branch Of the Middle Feather. I couldn't wait to paddle the river, which I had heard so much about.

Griff crankin' a boof on the South Branch

Nate is one of a select few kayakers to perfect the rock plant to free wheel. Sending it off 99 problemz.

Me on the take out 50 footer. This section of the river is absolutely insane. The last mile of the river you run probably run a good 200 feet of waterfalls and take out above a triple set of enormous Water falls. All of which are 200 feet+.

Photo by Candace Sanders.

The South Branch was the shit! Paddling Big Kimshew and South Branch back-2-back was un-real! I cant wait tell I can return to these beautiful rivers.

So as it turned out every river in the western United States began sky rocketing at this time. With massive gushing brown levels all through out California we decided to head north for Hood River. Along the way we stopped in Mt Shasta to check out Mccloud falls. Generally this water fall has no more than a few trickles dropping from the lip but with hot weather and lots of snow pack it transformed to a majestic 45 footer.

Evan crushing yet another line on round 2

Photo by Candace Sanders

Check out more photos of Mccloud falls and California stories from our trip on Evan's blog at egcreekin.blogspot.com. More of Candace's photos may be seen in Kayak Session later this summer! Which would be awesome!

So with a few added miles on the trip we made it to Hood River. Hood River holds a Memorable and special place in my heart. Much of the progression and improvement of my kayaking can be traced back to the wonderful rivers of the Colombia gorge. Check out my past missions to Hood River, West coast winding down, and Spring break hood river hucking. So after meeting up with local and close friend Todd Wells we headed up to Summit Creek.

Todd Wells huckin skate park drop. Todd and his brother Brendan were the first kayakers to discover this creek and the goods it holds.

Photo by Candace Sanders

Evan running the Well

Photo by Candace Sanders

Summit Creek was Dope! I was honestly in state of euphoria after running Skate Park drop. That day and the whole week before it had been un-real! We decided to make the day even more of an epic by topping it off with a lap down the good ole L Dub. Things were going great. It was my 4th time down the little white so I was pretty familiar with the lines and with Todd leading we were cruising'. With no stopping aside from the occasional eddy to catch our breath we raced down. When we reached S Turn Todd went first and sailed a boof off the classic drop. I swept the group and peeled out the eddy feeling good. I boofed the drop as I had 3 time before but landed a little too much on my left edge. I quickly braced which turned in to a high brace. The recirculating current combined with the downward force ripped my shoulder back causing it to dislocate. Being in a sticky situation I had to immediately take a right stroke to avoid getting chundered in the sticky hydraulic. Luckily it popped back in with this motion and I was able to safely reach the shore. With a long hike out I made my way back to the road and hitch hiked to the take out. I was crushed. I knew that my season was over and that temporarily kayaking was no longer an option. So with A trip to the hospital, 4 doctors appointments with 3 different doctors, and a MRI later, I found out I had to get surgery... It has been a rough recovery. Every day I dream of kayaking and amazing things that go along with it. I strongly recommend every kayaker to go out of their way to keep their shoulders strong, avoid high braces at all costs! And don't be afraid to take days off even if you miss out on a kayaking or else you might end up taking off a few months or more...

So now I am Back in Jackson taking it easy for a while and doing a lot of physical therapy. It has been an incredible two years of kayaking and I can’t wait to get back in my boat. It sounds like I will be back kayaking by September. So I am side lined for the summer. Take care of your body!

Photos by Candace Sanders, Nate Klema, and Me

The Good years of World Class Kayak Academy...

2010-05-11T19:42:00.000-07:00

Check out some of my favorite photos and videos from Years as a WCKA student.

Spring Semester 2009- China

I went in to the China semester having no idea what to expect. I was a very inexperienced kayaker, it was my first semester, and I did not know anybody a side from my good buddy Ben Dann. To say the least, I was really nervous. But Ben and I had been anticipating China for months. Aside from China being my first semester at World Class, it was also my first international trip. I couldn’t have been more excited to go...

The whole spring semester crew on raft support overnighter of the great bend of the Yangtze. Photo By Adam Elliot.

The Yangtze is my second favorite river trip I have ever done, coming in second to the beautiful Cotahausi in Peru. We spent over six days making our way down the great bend, one of the last descents the river had ever seen. Sadly the Yangtze is no longer flowing due to a massive hydroelectric dam, which was completed this year. RIP mighty Yangtze River.

Me throwing my first blunt On "Kim Jong Ill". We came across this feature on the second day of the Yangtze trip.

The crew enjoying a nice fire on a sandy beach along the mighty Yangtze.

Photo by Adam Elliot

On the final day of river trip we all hopped on the raft for a day scenic and relaxed day.

One of the several monasteries we visited throughout the trip

During our stay at the Mekong River we did a day hike in the secluded Tibetan village of Yubeng. Yubeng sat at the base of a massive 22,000 foot sacred Buddhist Peak. While in Yubeng we hiked further up the mountain to snow level and along the way we passed through this enormous field of prayer flags. It was an amazing experience that I can't do justice through words. It's an experience anyone in the area should see for themselves.

The infamous and beautiful Tiger Leaping gorge. To this date it stands as the biggest white water I have ever seen. I will admire the first kayaker ballsy enough to First D that.

Here is a quick clip of me running the first rapid of the Magi section of the Salween River.

Taking out at one of the many sections of the Salween. We loaded up our kayaks in the large cargo bus we used for the transportation of our kayaks during the trip. Our bus drivers were polar opposites. I would describe Clark the cargo truck driver, our favorite driver, as a lovable teddy bear that always had a smile on his face while "whey-sher-fu"(bus driving master) as a small angry Chinese man that had two interests; hookers and cigarettes.

West Coast 09

Coming into the West Coast tour I had very little creeking experience and was very nervous. But I was way stoked for the rivers that we were going to be paddling. Of all the quarters during World Class I feel that I improved the most during our two month tour from California to Missoula, Montana.

Me crankin' a boof on the S. Fork of the Tule

Me on the Lower 5 on the Payettes at high water

Me dropping in for a surf on comp hole in the Alberton gorge

Me running my first waterfall. Punch Bowl falls in Hood River.

Fall Semester-East Coast '09

Night surfing at Corner wave on the Ottawa

During our stay at Lachine we took a day off to walk around the historical city of Montreal

Husdon Moe dropping in for a beating in Iron Ring on the Gauley River. We were lucky enough to time our stay with Gauley Fest which was the biggest and most fun kayak festival I have ever been to. The Gauley stands out as my favorite part of our East Coast tour.

Erik Johnson boofin' like a champ at Tygart Falls in West Virgina.

Peru 09

The crew at the put in for the 5 day multi-day down the Rio Apurimac. Peru offered an opportunity to experience some self-support trips, while checking out some of the most beautiful scenery and rivers that Peru has offer.

Here is one of the several shanties that we made during our river trip to hide from the nightly down pour. The Shanti consisted of all our kayak gear, our bivys, and a big stack of Bamboo.

Griff Griffith Packing his boat before another day of whitewater paddling. Self suppport missions our the way to go. There are not many feelings quiet like being completley secluded, after 2 full days of paddling, in the deepest gorge on the planet, The Cotahausi Canyon...

Ben Kinsella charging through Upper Pergatory on the Aupurimac

Capo Retting, World Lit and Spanish teacher at his finest.

Olin Wimberg, Cody Wasuta, and my self goofing around at "colo de mono". during the first two weeks of our stay we didnt have any kayaks so... we had to get creative to keep our selves entertained.

Taking a group shot at Machu Pichu.

Peru was logistically the most frustrating place I have ever been. We didn't have boats for the first two weeks, we had mulitple 10+ hour bus rides, and having to leave a bus at 2 in the morning and walk through riot of angry Pervians blocking the Pan American highway. But in the end it is also the most rewarding and memorable places I have ever been. We saw the scenic Machu Pichu, did a 4 night multi-day starting at the head waters to the Amazon, Completed a mulitday trip from the through the deepest gorge on the planet, and surfed some giants on the Pacific. Peru was an amazing place...

Spring Semester 2010- Chile

Todd Wells Throwing a T Dub singnature free wheel. The upper palguin was our bread and butter run of Chile.

Some carnage in the butt crack. What a dirty place...

Once again, getting creative to keep ourselves entertained while we waited for our bus driver.

Olin and Todd throwing up a WC

Me charging down the middle of Throne room on the Inferno section of the Futa

Me snapping some shots in Pucon

And last but not least "Baby". Baby was are mascot of our chile trip. Ben picked it up off the side of the Rio Maipo one day and we towed it around ever since. Baby followed us through the highs and lows of chile. Day in and day out we boated classics around Chile. As far as whitewater goes Chile was the best place I have ever been. I love the culture and the people as well. I can't wait for my return...

The Best Coast 2010

Me running money drop during my spring break with the Wells brothers

Taking off from a great day on the Feather River

Risto Beatty paddling a new prototype

Me Cruising down Hospital Rock

Seth stoenner layin' it down on the upper hospital rock section.

Josh rocking a fresh shave

Todd Wells free Wheeling Boulder sloose

Me getting spiritual on the Little white

Olin Wimberg Charging down Jakes ladder on the middle fve of the payettes

Me boofing on the clear water in Idaho.

The clear water is classic run filled with quality little boofs. It was a great way to wrap up the trip. We spent some fun nights down by the river in the big green giant. Idaho is a sweet place with some fun white water.

The past two years have been the best of my life... WCKA has lead me from the early days of kayaking in jackson hole to around the world. I have seen rivers all overs the states, China, Peru, Chile, and Canada. My love for kayaking has grown more than I thought possible. World Class has Given me more oppurtunitys than any program I have ever done. In the past 3 semsesters I have met many people and made many friends along the way. I am stoked to finally graduate highschool and to continue my travels for years to come. World Class was the best decison of my life.

Thanks to B Dann, Frazer Tear, JHKC, my family, and every one who has every been involved with World Class.

Photos by

Eric Parker, Jason Cohen, Adam Elliot, Ben Kinsella, Link and Conor Jackson.

2010-05-10T21:55:00.000-07:00

Just finished a Promo for a video project. It is some footage from the past semester at World Class. Check it out.

Eric Parker WCKA Promo from Eric Parker on Vimeo.

West coast Winding down...

2010-05-05T22:19:00.000-07:00

The frigid Rain/snow of the North West... Right now WCKA is Holding it down and Hiding from the weather at the Stoenners house. Seth Stoenner that is, Buddy and student of World Class. Before the arrival at Seth's house in Boise we were spending our time In the Beautiful Hood River Gorge. It was a great time and a great place for some quality paddling... The first few days consisted of some fun runs down the Truss. I accumulated another swim and one clean line through BZ. I now stand At 1 for 3 on BZ, 2 swims and 1 clean line. After The truss we headed up to The L Dub for some goods. The first day we kept conservative. We walked Island, Stove Pipe, and spirit. It wasn’t tell day two that I really got at after it. After getting busy Head coach Ben Kinsella and my self followed Brendan wells down island. After coming through island I was feeling great and ready for some more. We paddled down hitin’ all the lines until we reached the gorge. We bombed through Steep walls and blasted over the munchy man eater that is horse shoe. Feeling good, I fired up middle line on stove pipe and came through clean. Follow in Stove Pipe is a mile or so of boogie water and Crux of the run. The time had come. I have been thinking about spirit for around a year now since the b team days of WCKA, when I was just a Weblow kayaker. After some Minor technical difficulties with safety Brendan fired it up followed by my self.

Taken from Ben Kinsella's point and shoot. A little blurry but you get the picture.

I boofed It and cleared the boils. Flying off spirit for my first time really was a spiritual feeling, which I can't really describe. I ended the day with no portaging and my first decent of spirit. It was an amazing day of kayaking and probably one of my best for that matter.

Check out Some WCKA video updates from Risto Beatty.

Back in Cali

2010-04-15T23:06:00.000-07:00

The time has finally come... WCKA West Coast 2010. I have had much anticipation to paddle the beautiful Rivers of California once again. It feels great to be back in the creek boat and getting on some granite goods. Enjoy the photos I have and sorry for the lack of White water photos I have had some technical difficulties with my water shed bag. With that said thanks to Ben Kinsella for some sick kayaking shots.

Messing around with some slow shutter speed shots

Me hitin' a boof in the 420 gorge

A day up in the beautiful Yosemite national park

Josh Larsen with the best hair cut I have ever seen

Seth Stoener going big on out favorite play spot at the merced

Me taking some strokes on Hospital Rock. It was a great section. Its grown to be one of my favorite creek runs I have ever paddled.

seth greasin' the line on Hospital Rock

Getting ravey in the "Man"shin

Having a Good time at the put in

With only one destination left our stay in California is coming to an end. It has been a great trip so far and hoping to return this summer. After the Trinity River, our next kayak destination is the Oregon coast for some surfing. With one-month left of WCKA, my high school career is near the end. I am stoked to be at WCKA for senior year and experience West coast once again.

Photos by Ben Kinsella and Eric Parker

Hood River video update

2010-04-04T10:46:00.000-07:00

Here is a little edit I made with the footage from hood river.

Enjoy

Spring break Hood River hucking

2010-03-21T19:40:00.000-07:00

Three weeks before my arrival in hood river, Todd Wells asked, “ dude you should come out and paddle in hood river over spring break”, when I heard this, I knew, that I was going to do what ever it took to get up to the northwest. Running the little white has always been a dream of mine and I knew that this would be my chance to full-fill it. So 24 hours after returning from a our 2 month trip in Chile I was on my way to hood river for several days of epic kayaking…

Day 1-kicked off with a great day on the Green truss section of the white salmon. The truss was running at relatively high flows with some very chilled water. I was happy to have my dry suit and pogies along with me.

Brendan Wells firing up big brother

All and all it was clean through the quality rapids; Double Drop, Cheese Grater, and Upper and Lower Zig Zag, that it is until I attempted to boof the munchy hole of BZ Falls which ended in me having my only swim of the week, going really deep, and popping up with a big smile on my face.

Todd hitin' a big boof on BZ

Day 2- is when we started firing up some stouts. The Day began with a late morning wake and a grand feast at the Wells’ house.

Beautiful veiw of Mt.Adams from the wells home

From there Todd and I packed our gear, picked Brendan up from a half day of school, and drove away in pursuit of the L Dub. We quickly slipped on our gear and put on the classic strech. Heart pumping out of my chest, we entered Gettin’ Busy and plowed down the steep class five water, with little stopping until, we ramped up and flew off the boulder sloose. We eddied out and took a few laps for a qaulity photo op.

Todd Wells gettin' dirty of the L dub

from there we paddled down a few more miles of white water on arguably the best class five river in the north west, until we reached Spirit falls. The Wells brothers fired it up, bouth of which greased the line.

Brendan Wells sending it

we paddled down and ended the little white with a great vibe, eching for just a little more, so…. We decided to check out money drop. We anxiously stood at the lip of the stouter with a little uncertany due to the low flows. But Todd decided to give’er followed by Brendan and my self.

me tucked up and about to hit the pool

Hood was an awesome time and I am looking foward to returning in may. Now it is off to Cali!

Photos by Eric Parker and Todd Wells

-Eric Parker

The Futaleufú

2010-03-16T08:16:00.000-07:00

The Futa is a river that I have heard about since my first week as a kayaker. Stories of giant waves and beautiful scenery filled my mind with amazement and excitement…little did I know that two years later I would find myself in the Futaleufú River Valley.The paddling was every thing I had dreamt it would be; the bridge-tobridge section was a sweet class III-IV section with great play, towering waves, munchy holes, and beautiful scenery from put in, to take out…

the whole crew hangin out below terminator

In addition to the bridge-to-bridge section, a hand full of us made our way to the put in of the Infierno Canyon. This section is recognized as being one of best big water class five runs in South America. The canyon itself was several miles of quality white water.

Todd Wells droping in to entrada

As we went through the final rapid “Salida” the river flattens out and the canyon opens up. Blues skies and sun shining, we floated along with the beautiful turquoise water. After an hour of flat water we arrived at “zeta”. The rapid is notorious for its Swiss cheese like rock and powerful eddies that plunge in to the deep recirculating abyss of the futalefu. Though the line through zeta is manageable, the extreme consequence of this rapid makes it a standard portage. Following the zeta portage, we paddled a few miles of boogie water until we reached the river right eddy above the infamous rapid known as the thrown room. The thought of running thrown room had been on my mind the entire trip and as we stood along the banks, scouting out the line, I was amped. The line is to shoot down the river right side, punch the edges of two lateral holes, and take her home on the big pillow ferrying above the big hole at the bottom. Miss your line and your into the toaster for a hefty beat down. I was on edge of whether or not I should go for it, but after watching Todd Wells and head coach Ben Kinsella have two solid lines, I took a deep breath, and decided to fire it up.

scouting the line

I paddled hard out of the eddy with one thing on my mind hit the pillow on the left and stay clear of the toaster (a big manky pour over on river right). I flew past the massive hydraulics and hit the pillow, which set me up with a straight shot in to the big hole at the bottom. I took one last stroke and tucked into the hole hoping for the best. I resurfaced, clear of the hole, and was immediately hit with a wave of one of the best feeling of my life. Floating in the eddy below, gazing up at the steep jumble of white water I could nothing but smile and soak in moment.

Todd wells droping in

todd hitin' the move on the massive pillow

me charging down the middle

seth stoenner getting boosted on the pillow

seth sending it in to the last hole

From throne room we paddled the remaining futelefu whitewater and completed the “todo futa”. It was Sic Day that I will never forget.

During the final days of our stay we were lucky enough to compete and be apart of the second annual “futa fest”. The first day of competition, was quick sprint from cara del indio to the mundaka hole. Todd wells took home the gold in a very close final heat.

The second day consisted of a mass start down river race, on the Puente a Puente section. The race officials dropped the rope, which began the la’man start of the race. 50 or so competitors charged to there kayaks and quickly snapped on the skirts to rally off. Right away I was able to get in with the lead group of my division and from there I paddled hard to grab third place. It was a great competition and an awesome way to finish the trip. The Futa is one of the most beautiful places on the planet and with that said I plan on to returning to this unique big water river many times again in the future.

the competitors meeting

the put in for the race

WCKA Chile 2010

just another beautiful sun set in chile

Photos by Risto beatty,jason cohen, and myself

-Parker

Chile Update

2010-02-18T13:39:00.000-08:00

Here we are a month deep into Chile and it’s been a sick trip to say the least. We started the trip with on the Maipo. It was great week of river running and small play. Off the river I was fortunate enough to take part in a scenic adventure along the banks of the Yeso River, via horseback. The Maipo valley is a beautiful area that I plan on returning to someday.

Me getting ready to go take a ride Photo by ben kinsella

Josh, Olin, and myself taking in the beautiful Chilean scenery

Photo by Ben Kinsella

Next, after a five hour drive in a broken down seventeen passenger van, we arrived at The Rio Claro. The Siete Tazas was every thing I hoped for, a beautiful river with a fun set of waterfalls. For three days we shuffled and hucked ourselves off the seven teacups. At the Claro we were hoping for a possible decent of the Viente Dos section but we were shut down due to the low water levels.

The last drop of Siete Tazas Photo by Conner Jackson

Me boofing the first drop Photo by Ben Kinsella

The Rio Claro made for some great times, but after three days it was time to make our way to Pucon! I can safely say that Pucon is one of my favorite places on this planet. The women, the views, and the rivers share a foreign beauty of which I have never before experienced. Our bread and butter run was the Palguin. The Palguin consists of three super clean small waterfalls, a 65 footer, a hand full of manky rapids, and a fare share of quality class 3-4 rapids. The Palguin stands out as one of the funnest rivers I have ever paddled. Aside from the upper and lower sections of the Palgiun, our group ran the upper and lower Trancura, the Liacura, and the Machine. Off the river we tromped around town and occasionally made our way to the discos. Pucon is a beautiful place that I cannot wait to come back to…

Olin Going Big on the upper

Risto sending it

Capo showing us how it is done in the Nomad

Me Boofing on the lower

Taking out from a great day on the lower

So the past few days we have been rallying down the upper Fuy. It is a classic run with a few quality waterfalls.

Seth running the drop below the falls Photo by Evan Garcia

Me setting up to take a boof on the falls Photo by Candace Sanders

I am loving chile and ready for some more rivers. From the fuy we are going to make the three day journey down to the Futa. It's going to be a long drive...

-Parker

Teton Creek

2009-07-30T10:14:00.000-07:00

The local Newspaper was stoked to hear about our recent decent of Teton Creek.

TACO MADNESS!!!

2009-07-22T00:35:00.000-07:00

Taco is finally in! It’s about damn time for some good Jackson play boating. The high water year has been sick for river runs but there has been little play. The hole showed some big loops from Ben, Fraz, and a few from myself.

Me diggin in to taco

surfin the counter

2009-07-15T20:35:00.000-07:00

The brown, gushing, high water creeks of Jackson have slowly dropped to low flows once again. Aside from the recent adventure down Teton creek, the past few weeks in Jackson have been pretty uneventful... except for the massive blunts thrown at the Lunch Counter wave!

Frazer gettin' ready to huck

Ben surfin' at sun rise

black gear night surf!

All day Friday on the Murtaugh... Word.

2009-07-05T00:26:00.000-07:00

Thursday night... Frazer, Ben, and I chow down on some chicken fajitas after a chill day on the upper Snake River. I get a call from fellow Jackson paddler Risto Beatty. This is how the conversation went…

“ Dude wanna run the Murtaugh tomorrow?” Risto asks.

“ What! With who?” I say.

“Kayak club!”

“Hell yea! Sounds sick!!!”

“Be at the shop at seven.”

“ Alright! This is awesome! I can't believe the Murtaugh is gonna run twice in one year! That’s insane!”

“I know, we might not be able to run it again for another four years”

“Ahh! I'm so stoked!!!”

That stoke session continued for another ten minutes or so. Ever since I heard about the mighty Murtaugh I had full intentions of running it one day and that day had come! I spread the word to Frazer and Ben. They are both stoked with the news so we pack down our dinner and go to bed
early.

early morning gas run

I wake to an old car horn. It is my cell phone alarm, which reads 6:00 AM. I grab my keys and head off to Albertsons where I get some food and prepare myself for the hefty drive that awaits. Five hours and one gas tank later, seven fired up kayakers and myself sit at the heart of Star Falls, the last rapid of the Milner Mile and put in for the Murtaugh.

checking out Star Falls on a sunny afternoon

We had strong hopes of running the 25 foot Star Falls but due to the water levels we were shut down like Pedro’s 127 foot world record. So, we quickly run shuttle and put on the river.

The rapids were huge! The big water allowed for some steezy kick flips and huge macho moves. In south western china I have boated the great bend of the Yangtze, the Mekong, and multiple sections of the Salween, all big water class fun runs. But this river was no more than a several hour drive from Jackson and the 13 mile run offered all the big waves, monstrous holes, and giant swirlies one could hope for.

Kayak Club scouting paradise

Jackson Hole Kayak Club Director Dan Abraham is first to fire it off

Risto Beatty dropping

Chillin' on the docks

The day ended on the boat docks directly above Twin Falls Dam. Soon to follow was the late night drive back to Jackson. All in all, it was one SIC DAY!