Wednesday, May 16, 2007

No Longer a Lower Louis Virgin

WhooHoo! What a great day for paddling. Scott and I were going to do the upper today but as things go...plans changed. We did the lower instead. When Scott told me the plans changed I immediately took my creek boat up to the reservoir and practiced my rolls...didn't miss a one. I figured since I was paddling with Scott and Jeff from my Swiftwater Rescue class I would be in good hands. Andy and Dave I hadn't paddled with before but Andy turned out to be an excellent solid boater and Dave for being new did a great job! I was wanting to paddle today to get more time in my creek boat...I need to get it dialed in for Colorado. Well the first drop we ran was the Tongue. Whoops...I got turned sideways sliding down the tongue. On my way down I figured I'd learn really fast how this creeker handles when I slipped off the bottom. No problem...brace and a stroke..on my way. The rest of the drops went great! I am stone cold in love with my Habitat! The guys were throwing it around on a wave down below 210. Andy was showing us how to play a Burn. We ran the Louis down to Octopus and pulled out above. Andy was going to do his first run of the Beak. The rest of us set up safety. He did a great run! Extremely exciting to watch. Well next time I'll have to do the slide route on Octopus. Oh yes I have a feeling that there will be many more times on the Lower. I am a ruined woman now...Verm is OK but I need more.













































































4 comments:

TheBC said...

Well, I'm jealous. I've wanted to try that run for a year or so now. It's getting to be winter here in New Zealand, and the runoff from the glaciers is freezing instead of reaching the rivers. I went out and did some surf with some friends last Saturday. It was WILD. Apparently it was a "Big" day even for locals (4ft backs and 8-10ft faces). We didn't even arrive until the tide was going out. Anyway, it was sweet. I only manage to sqeeze off a picture or two, I'll hopefully have them posted in a few days. Take it easy.

Nora Whitmore said...

Hey Ben!
I love surfing kayaks so I'm a bit jealous on that point. I can't wait to get up to the Lower again. Too much fun!

Anonymous said...

Nora,

I am also jealous. I did the lower last year with Brian (PWP), Kari and several other kayakers and had a great time. I am thinking about the lower st louis on Saturday the 26th. I may have my 15 year old with me so I may only be able to do a portion of the lower while she walks along the river.

Tom M

mnkayakingfool said...

Nora,

I forgot to ask. When is the CO trip planned? Is it around the 4th of July?

Tom