Issue Two of Dreaming of Whitewater is ready.

Over the last four months Jess and I have been working hard to bring you Issue Two. The Dreaming of Whitewater magazine is a free digital magazine, you can view it online or download to read later.

http://www.dreamingofwhitewater.com/resources/DW-Magazines/Issue-Two/DW-Issue-Two.pdf

We hope you enjoy reading it as much as we enjoyed making it.

Daan Jimmink and Jess Matheson

The Mighty Waitaha

With a bit of time off and a bit of money in our pocket it was time to head to the West Coast. With Dando out of the air this year it has meant more time flying with Danny Reedy. The downside to flying with Reedy is that he parks his helicopter in Hokitika which adds to the both the flight time and cost of flying. Dando parks his helicopter 20 kms closer to the mountains thus closer to a bunch of kayaking runs. To keep costs down we have been joining with other groups to share the cost of flying - and then doing our own thing once on the river.

The weather looked good and the Waitaha was a run that I hadn't done before. In my team was Pete Lodge, Toni George and Mike Verberne. I also managed to find a team of five who were keen to share the chopper to the put in.

The Waitaha started off with lots of awesome boofs and picking lines through boulder gardens. As a team we were able to stay in our boats most of the time and boat scout most of the rapids.

Pete Lodge riding the wall

(Photo//Daan Jimmink)

Toni giving it some style

(Photo//Daan Jimmink)

 Toni letting her hair down

(Photo//Daan Jimmink)

Me on a clean sliding boof

(Photo//Toni George)

After about half an hour of paddling we got the "Big Drop" or "Nikki Kelly's Drop". This rapid seems to have changed a lot, which I wasn't complaining about. It was a very nice ramp to a clean boof, a very fun rapid.

Scouting the Big Drop. Toni thinking about how much Si would have loved this run

(Photo//Daan Jimmink)

Pete Lodge showing us how it's done

(Photo//Daan Jimmink)

Toni showing me the line

(Photo//Pete lodge)

Halfway down the slide

(Photo//Toni George)

 Getting into the clean rapids and leading up to the Cave Drop

(Photo//Pete Lodge)

Lining up the hole before the Cave

(Photo//Toni George)

Entering the Cave

(Photo//Pete Lodge)

Toni have a casual surf in the hole after the Cave

(Photo//Daan Jimmink)

Mike clearing the hole

(Photo//Daan Jimmink)

A nice slot rapid

(Photo//Pete Lodge)

More classy drops

(Photo//Toni George)

Coming up to the second portage of the day

(Photo//Toni George)

From the put in we made great time to Morgan's Gorge. At the entrance to the Gorge we spent a while looking in to see if we could find a way through. With the our team not wanting to commit and not having any information on what the Gorge currently has in store, we decided to walk around it. The guide book says it should take an hour to walk around but it took our team closer to two hours. We liked the look of the last rapid of Morgan's George so seal launched into the river for the last part.

The last rapid of Morgan's Gorge
(Photo//Pete Lodge)

I probed the first hole with a below-average line and ended up geting a solid beating which was close to a minute. I was stable a couple of times but it wasn't letting me out. After about 30 rolls I put my knee through my skirt, went deep and flushed downstream. Swimming/falling off the next three ledges got me to the flat pool at the bottom. My boat stayed in the hole for another five minutes before flushing down to me and my rescue team. Probing means you go first, which is all good until it isn't. In this case the only way to have been rescued from the hole would have been from downstream side, but everyone else was still upstream - it's not usually a good idea to paddle something while someone is getting thrashed in there.

From the bottom of Morgan's Gorge there was still an number of awesome rapids down to the take out.

Me doing what needed to be done... The whisky went down well

(Photo//Jess Matheson)

Later that night we started getting phone calls from friends of the other team that flew up the Waitaha after us. They weren't back yet (well past darkness) and people were getting worried. It turns out that they got lost on the portage around Morgan's Gorge and ended up spending an impromptu night out. They paddled out safely the next day.

The Waitaha is an awesome day out and next time I will be asking what Morgan's Gorge holds in store.

Cheers to the Rotorua crew for turning left at Taihape and ending up on the Coast! 

The Styx

Heading out to the Kokatahi, I thought the river looked good to go. On second opinion, Jess thought it was a little high. On third opinion (Barny and Jordy) it was on the high side of good. The outcome? A better option of walking up the Styx river. 

The Styx river is in the next valley over from the Kokatahi, and it usually takes about an hour to walk to the put in. We were driving up the 4x4 track to the start of the walk and had got most of the way up when our trusty Landcruiser managed to get itself stuck (who would have thought?). We tried for an hour to get it out but the 4x4 wasn't engaging and therefore we weren't going anywhere. Going paddling and leaving the truck where it was (waiting for the sun to dry the mud) seemed like the best idea. 

Well stuck in the mud

(Photo: Jess Matheson)

From the truck we walked the hour to the put in. The track has changed a lot as many of the side creeks have blown out in recent floods, making the track hard to follow. At the river, the flow seemed to be a good medium. Once at the put in I looked around to find Barny and Jordy - they were pulling a tree out of the first rapid to create a clean line. We got changed pretty fast to stop the sandflies from attacking us. From here we had a couple of very clean rapids.

Jess on the first rapid

(Photo: Daan Jimmink)

Barny with Skux in the background

(Photo: Daan Jimmink)

Jess in the good bit

(Photo: Daan Jimmink)

Jess lining up the boof for the camera

(Photo: Daan Jimmink)

Skux in the same spot
(Photo: Daan Jimmink)

 Jordy, wishing he had his Tuna...

(Photo: Daan Jimmink)

 Looking downstream

(Photo: Daan Jimmink)

After the first kilometre the river started to become pretty manky. Recent flooding seemed to have brought down a lot of sediment from the side creeks and filled up the main river. The river felt like it wasn't as steep and some of the great rapids on the run were no longer there. We were disappointed to say the least as the Styx has forever been a bit of a West Coast classic walk-in. Right now? All in all not really worth the run. Maybe in a flood or two... Who knows.

When we got to the truck the mud had dried a bit. Listening to the instructions from the team, I tried again to drive us out. All of a sudden every one was yelling and all I heard was to "drive backwards." Doing as I was told, I drove back and got the truck even more stuck. It was time to get help. Jordy was the chosen one for this task because he is the fastest runner (all that training Jordy). Everyone else enjoyed the cold beer and wine that we had left in the river.

Lining up the tractor

(Photo: Jess Matheson)

Jordy returned with a famers tractor that made light work of getting the truck out. It was now time for more celebrations before the drive to Barny's house.

Celebrating the extraction of the truck

(Photo: Jess Matheson)

Grand Canyon 2011

While I was in the States this year, I spent 15 days safety kayaking on the Grand Canyon of the Colorado. The Grand Canyon was the last trip that I did before returning to New Zealand. I went down there with a great bunch of people and the flow was a healthy 16,000 cfs. 

Here are a bunch of photos I took. 

Hope you enjoy...

 

Salmon Valley Assault: The Classics

The last few weeks have seen fantastic flows on the Cal Salmon river. It has been sitting around 5000 cfs, which means that everything has enough water for great paddling, plus a bit extra. With multiple runs on most of the rivers, here are some pictures of the last couple of weeks. 

North Fork Salmon: 10 Mile to the 4 Mile marker

The North Fork has a very awesome section, particularly the top two miles. Lots of boulder garden rapids that flow quickly into the next rapid. The run has a few must-make moves which become easier during lower water. I got down this run four times in two weeks, all at different levels and usually taking an hour or so. From the seven mile marker to the four mile marker is a bit easier, with long rapids bouncy rapids and some good boof moves. Most of the rapids have a shallow feel, with a steep nature.

Me getting the line right (P: Zak Shaw)

 South Fork Gorge of the Salmon: Limestone Buffs to Mathews Campground

This run is my favorite run in the Salmon Valley because it is accessible, you can see a couple of the rapids from the road and it has lots of cool boofs. Woolly Creek has some better rapids, but you have to hike in to get there (which is hard to justify when it's a hot day and all I want to do is be on the water). South Fork Gorge takes about an hour to paddle once you know the lines. I think we took 45 minutes when it was flowing higher - about 5000 cfs at Somes Bar.

When the run is high, the rapids come at you quick and the flat water can still back loop you. When it starts to get to a medium flow (3500) the holes have more punch and a bit more suction, but the rapids slow down a bit and there's a bit more time to think.

This run has a lot of character, with rapids called Fake Amusement Park and Amusement Park (proper). The last three rapids are in a vertical walled gorge, which is very cool to paddle through.

Me (P: Zak Shaw)

Me, halfway through the first major rapid (P: Zak Shaw)

Zak poised to paddle

Lining up one of the many boofs (P: Scott Harding)

In the thick of the last rapid (P: Scott Harding)

Nordheimer (Main Canyon on the Salmon)

This run is great. It has a big water feel while still having lots of boofs and creeky movies. It has some fantastic rapids like Bloomer Falls, Airplane, Cascade, Achilles, Grants and Freight Train. The run takes about an hour if you know the lines, longer if you want to surf along the way. To make the run a bit longer you can carry on down though Butler to Brannon Bar. This gives you an extra 45 minutes and The Gaping Maw. This has been a great afternoon run as the water has been warm and a shorty is all you need. 

Me boofing Airplane

Jess on Cascade (P: Zak Shaw)

Jess lining up the tongue on the new rapid

Me chasing down Ben Jackson

Hitting and side surfing The Gaping Maw

Thanks to Jess Matheson, Ben Jackson, Zak Shaw, Peter Kettering, Rush Sturges, Ben Marr, Matt Coles, Scott Harding, Dave Farkas, Silas Beaver and Graham Charles. It has been awesome to get so many laps on these classic runs with great people. I've had a really good time in the Salmon Valley.