RIVER LOG
I.
Total
Number of Rivers Paddled and List of Rivers by State
II.
Rivers
and Sections by State
III.
Rivers
by the Year I First Paddled Them
IV.
Chronological
Log of Trips with Brief Descriptions and Notes
V.
Commercial
Trip Numbers by Season (includes Commercial Mileage)
VI.
Wish
List
I.
I
have paddled 50 river sections on 40 rivers, including the following sections listed
by state. Class ratings are from the American Whitewater directory. I have guided
3 sections of the Youghiogheny commercially for 5 seasons. I have 2 first
rafting descents on Glade Creek in West Virginia (IV) and McClintock Run in
Pennsylvania (IV).
II.
Rivers by State
New
York
Ø
Moose
River – Bottom and Bottom Bottom (Class V)
Ø
Raquette
River – Stone Valley Section (Class V)
Ø
Beaver
River – Eagle Section (Class V)
- Moshier Section (Class IV-V)
- Taylorville Section (Class
III-IV)
Ø
Black
River Canyon (Class IV) w/ Glen Park Falls (Class IV+)
Ø
Indian
River (Class II-V) including Otter Slide (Class V)
Ø
Hudson
Gorge (Class III-IV)
Pennsylvania
Ø
Youghiogheny
– Ohiopyle Falls (Class IV)
- Lower Yough (Class III) –
Commercially for 5 seasons
- Middle Yough (Class II) –
Commercially for 5 seasons
Ø
Meadow
Run (Class IV-V) with the Meadow Run Slides (Class V+)
Ø
Stoneycreek
Canyon (Class III-IV)
Ø
Slippery
Rock Gorge (Class III+)
Ø
Connoquenessing
Creek (Class II-III)
Ø
Casselman
River (Class II-III)
Ø
McClintock
Run (Class IV) – First Raft Descent by Anyone 2/17/2018
Ohio
Ø
Cuyahoga
River – Upper Gorge/Cuyahoga Falls (the “Sheraton Section”) (Class V)
Ø
Tinkers
Creek Gorge (Class IV-V) – Highest Raft Descent, January 2018 (1400 cfs)
Ø
Big
Creek (Class III)
Ø
Mohican
River – Clear Fork (Class II)
West
Virginia
Ø
Gauley
River – Upper (Class IV-V) including the “Marathon”
- Middle (Class III+(IV))
- Lower (Class III-IV(V))
Ø
New
River Gorge (Class III-IV(V))
Ø
Big
Sandy Creek – Lower (Class IV-V) with Big Splat! (Class V+)
- Upper (Class III-IV)
Ø
Cheat
Canyon (Class III-IV)
Ø
Shavers
Fork of the Cheat (Class III-V)
Ø
Laurel
Fork of the Cheat (Class III-IV)
Ø
Dry
Fork of the Cheat (Class III-IV)
Ø
Lower
Blackwater Canyon (Class III-V)
Ø
Middle
Fork of the Tygart (Class III-IV)
Ø
Tygart
– Tygart Gorge (Class III-V)
- Valley Falls (Class II-IV)
Ø
Glade
Creek (New River Trib.) (Class IV) First Raft Descent by Anyone 2/13/2018
Ø
Kanawha
Falls (Class IV-V+)
Maryland
Ø
Youghiogheny
– Upper Yough (Class IV-V) – Commercially for 2 seasons
- Top Yough (Class IV-V)
Ø
Savage
River (Class III-IV)
Ø
Bear
Run (Class IV)
Virginia/Kentucky
Ø
Russell
Fork – Breaks Canyon (Class IV-V+)
North
Carolina
Ø
Wilson
Creek Gorge (Class III-IV)
Ø
Big
Laurel Creek (Class III-IV)
Ø
Cheoah
River (IV-V)
Ø
Nolichucky
Gorge (Class III-IV)
Ø
French
Broad Section 9 (Class III-IV)
Ø
Nantahala
– Lower Canyon (Class II) with Wesser Falls (Class V)
South
Carolina/Georgia
Ø
Chattooga
Section 4 (Class II-IV+)
Georgia
Ø
Tallulah
Gorge (Class IV-V)
III.
Rivers by Year of Personal First
Descent
~1995
(1)
Black
Fork of the Mohican (OH)
2005 (1)
Middle Yough (PA)
2006
(2)
Lower
Yough (PA), Clear Fork of the Mohican (OH)
2010
(6)
Upper
Yough (MD), Meadow Run (PA), Upper, Middle, and Lower Gauley (WV), New River
Gorge (WV)
2011
(2)
Stoneycreek
Canyon (PA), Slippery Rock Gorge (PA)
2012
(2)
Valley
Falls (WV), Cuyahoga Falls (OH)
2013
(2)
Savage
River (MD), Cheat Canyon (WV)
2015
(6)
Lower
Big Sandy (WV), Middle Fork (WV), Tygart Gorge (WV), Top Yough (MD), Russell
Fork (VA/KY), Upper Big Sandy (WV)
2016
(5)
Lower
Blackwater (WV), Laurel Fork (WV), Bottom Moose (NY), Cheoah (NC), Tallulah
(NC)
2017
(14)
Tinker’s
Creek Gorge (OH), Chattooga Section 4 (SC/GA), Casselman River (PA), Shaver’s
Fork (WV), Indian River (NY), Hudson Gorge (NY), ASCI (MD), Meadow Run Slides (rapid)
(PA), Black (NY), Raquette River – Stone Valley (NY), Beaver River – Moshier
Section (NY), Beaver R. – Eagle Section (NY), Beaver River – Taylorville
Section (NY), Kanawha Falls (WV), Nolichucky Gorge (NC)
2018
(10)
Big
Creek (OH), Connoquenessing Creek (PA), Big Splat! (rapid) (WV), Nantahala
Gorge (NC), Big Laurel (NC), French Broad Section 9 (NC), Wilson Creek (NC),
Glade Creek (WV) first raft descent by anyone, McClintock Run (PA) first raft
descent by anyone, Bear Run (MD), Dry Fork of the Cheat (WV)
IV.
Chronological Log
(Rn, means “raft” and n=the number of riders, “S” means “shredder”, a type of paddle cat,
Sn follows the same convention as Rn, “P” stands for “Aire Puma”, Pn, likewise, follows the same convention,
“com.” stands for “commercial”, “PFD” stands for “personal first decent”, “K1”
means “kayak”)
I
didn’t begin to keep a river log until 2015.
2015
(In 2015, I only
made notes of private trips, focusing on runs of the Upper Yough. I started a
log in order to help learn that section of river and to argue for my ability to
guide it)
May
25th- Upper Yough, R4, Ana guiding,
private, 2.4’
30th- Upper Yough, R4, Nate (“Razor”)
guiding, commercial, 2.4’
June
5th- Upper Yough, R2 w/ Dan Hartman,
I guided, 2.3’
6th- Upper Yough, R2 w/ Dan, I
guided, 2.3’
17th- Upper Yough, S2 w/ Anika, I
guided, evening run, flipped at Phil’s Hole in Fuck Up Falls, 2.7’
August
21st- Upper Yough, R1, first time,
Splash Boat, smooth, 2’
28th- Upper Yough, S1, first time,
smooth, 2’
31st- Upper Yough, R1, Splash Boat, Caught
the Cave Eddy at Zinger, 2’
September
4th- Upper Yough, swam rock slide
[off boof rock] at National and Heinzerling Pillow (for fun), 2’
5th- Upper Yough, S2 w/ Clint, I
guided, 2.1’
7th- Upper Yough, S2 w/ Anika, 2.1’
11th- Upper Yough, R1, Booster’s NRS
4-Man (“The Blooster”), ran Squig Squiggle for the first time and Left Right at
Tommy’s Hole, 2’
12th- Upper Yough, R2 w/ Ana, puma,
I guided, rock spins at National, Heinzerling (there’s a picture of this), and
Backender, 2’
16th- Upper Yough, P1, ran Death
Slot for first time, 2’
17th- Upper Yough, P1, surfed
diagonal waves above Gap Falls and at National Falls, 2’
18th- Upper Yough, P1, 2’
19th- Lower Yough, R5, commercial,
1.9’
20th- Upper Gauley, R5, Upper, Jake
guiding, NRS 6-man, Gauleyfest Weekend, 2800 cfs
21st- Upper Gauley, P1, clean except
for swim below Insignificant at surf spot, 2800 cfs
25th- Upper Yough, California Puma,
lost a lot of air, swam at Race Line in Heinzerling, 2’
26th- Gauley Marathon (Upper,
Middle, and Lower, 24 miles), w/ Nic and Justin in kayaks, P1, swam at same
spot below Insignificant, helped two people back to their raft below Iron Ring
and helped right a commercial raft below Fluffy Box of Kittens, 2800 cfs
30th- Tupper Yough (Top+Upper), P1, wonderful
trip, first time on the Top Yough, clean lines, 400 cfs on Top, 2.7’
October
3rd- Upper Yough, P2 w/Alexis, she
swam Mega Death Slot, we both got dumped in Bastard’s 2nd Exit to
the Left Boof, rough day, 2.3’
9th- Upper Yough, P2 w/Clint, I
guided, excellent day, huge improvement from last R2, 2’
10th- Russell Fork, P2 w/Herbie
guiding, clean, ran right at Fist, 820 cfs
11th- Russell Fork, P2 w/Herbie,
clean, walked Fist, rescued a swimmer below El Horrendo, 800 cfs
November
3rd- Lower Yough, R1, NRS 4-man, 2’
December
2nd- Top Yough, P1, swam right above
Swallow Tail Falls, made it to the side by grabbing the rocks on bottom, 900
cfs
3rd- Meadow Run, P1, clean lines,
take out sucks [before slides], solo, 1.5’
19th- Lower Yough, P1, w/Nic, Herb,
Dylan, Justin, and Brant, smooth back in to Schoolhouse Slots, 2.3’
20th- Lower Yough, P1, solo, 2.1’
27th-
Middle Fork of the Tygart into Tygart Gorge, P4 w/Herbie, Justin, and Alexis,
4.5’ on Middle, 8’ on Tygart Gorge to Phillipi.
29th-
Upper Big Sandy, P2 w/Jake, read and run Class II/III, 6.75’
30th- Upper Yough, P1, first solo
run, Jake dropped me off at Sang, smooth, 2.3’
2016
April
20th- Cuyahoga Falls, P1 for first
time, clean, 470 cfs
22rd- Upper Yough, P1, Nic kayaked,
lowest one ever [until this point], 1.7’
23rd- Cuyahoga Falls, P4, guided
Donald, Anika, and Matt down before 1st Cuyahoga falls Kayak Race
organized by Nic, coordinated safety, clean run, 650 cfs
23rd- Cuyahoga Falls, CFKR, P1, swim
below Jumble, 650 cfs
24th- Lower Yough, R1, 2.5’
27th- Cuyahoga Falls, P2, guided
Brad McBride from Burning River Adventures down gorge, 400 cfs
27th- Cuyahoga Falls, P1, cleanest
yet, 400 cfs
29th- Upper Yough, R2, guided,
w/Mar, ran Left Left at Tommy’s Hole, 2.6’
29th- Top Yough, P1, all clean
lines, 690 cfs
May
1st- Lower Big Sandy, personal first
descent, P3 w/Herbie and Anika, ran Wonder Falls, walked Big Splat!, 6.45’
Rockville gauge
7th- Lower Yough, R5, commercial,
double trip, 4’
8th- R3 w/Hoot and Mark [as trainees,
still], 5’
8th- Lower Blackwater, first time,
P1, smooth, 330 cfs at Davis gauge
9th- Lower Yough, R1, 5’
10th- Lower Yough, commercial, 4’
15th- Upper Yough, P2 w/Clara, 2.5’
16th- Top Yough, 2 Laps, 550 cfs
17th- Tupper Yough – R3 w/Anna, and Anika
(who slept from Wait Rock to Take Out), Puma, smooth, 445 cfs on Top, 2.1’ on
Upper.
19th- Lower Yough, R1, wall ride at
River’s End, 5’
20th- Lower Yough, commercial, Trip
Leader for the first time, 2 boats w/ Stevie Ray, 4.8’
21st- Lower Yough, commercial, 5’
22nd- Laurel Fork of the Cheat, P1,
w/ Nic, smooth, ran Falls, 4100 cfs Hendricks
24th- Lower Blackwater, P3, guided
Alexis and Anna, Alexis and I swam at bottom hole of Krakatoa, 650 cfs Davis
25th- Middle Yough, commercial, family
w/ Rottweiler, 6’
30th- Laps on Upper Yough (2), first
time lapping it, P3 w/Ana and Hannah on first, w/Clint on second, 2.1’
June
3rd- Upper Yough, P2 w/Alexis, 2.1’
4th- Lower Yough, commercial, 2.6’
5th-
Lower Yough, commercial, 2’
6th- Laps on Upper, first P1,
second P2 w/Heather Homberg, 2.1’
7th- Meadow Run, P2 w/ Anika, 3
laps at Flatrock, pin above 7’ Falls, 1’
11th- Lower Yough, commercial,
double trip, 3’
12th- Lower Yough, commercial, 3’
13th- Upper Yough, P2 w/Clara, 2.1’
17th- Tupper Yough, P2 w/Herbie, ran
Big Brother Line on Swallow Falls smoothly, Love Slot at Triple Drop, and
Higher Entrance to the Rifle Barrel, “screw up” (flip upwards) at Powerful
Popper, Herbie swam over Fuck Up Falls, 800 cfs on Top, 3’ on Upper
18th- Lower Yough, commercial, double
trip, 2.1’
19th- Lower Yough, commercial, 2.1’
20th- Lower Yough, commercial, 2.4’
21st- Lower Yough, commercial, 1.8’
22nd- Lower Yough, com., 1.9’
23rd- Lower Yough, com., mother
duck, 2.1’
24th- Lower Yough, com., Dimple
Shuffle, 3.5’
25th- Upper Yough, com., first time
guiding on the Upper Yough, P3, $60 tip, smooth, 2.4’
26th- Lower Yough, com., left of
Wash Over and through Left Slot without touching rock, 2.5’
27th- Upper Yough, com., junkies,
2.1’
28th- Lower Yough, com., 1.7’
29th- Lower Yough, com., Jermiah, left
of Table rock through creek line at Cucumber smoothly, 1.67’
30th- Lower Y., com., Jeremiah, 1.6’
July
1st- Lower Y., com., Justin, 1.95’
2nd- Lower Y., com., Jeremiah,
smoothed John Cobb Slot, Pharoah’s Tomb, front flip at Jump Rock, rock spin at
Million Dollar Wave, 1.9’
3rd- Lower Y., com., Chaz, huge
escort trip, 1.95’
4th- Lower Y., com., Jeremiah,
1.97’
5th- Top Yough, P1, Big Brother,
650 cfs
6th- Lower Y., com., Chad,
Norwegian family, $40 tip, Cobb Slot, 1.85’
7th- Lower Y., com., Justin, MD
family, $40 tip, 1.75’
8th- Lower Yough, Justin, com.,
great R2 surf at Swimmer’s Rapid with Stevie Ray during lunch, 1.6’
9th- Upper Yough, com., big 10 boat
trip, Splash Boat, one swimmer at the Bird Bath, 2.1’
10th- Lower Yough, com., Chad, R1,
NRS 4-man, sweep, awesome day, 1.8’
11th- Upper Yough, com., flip at
Tangway, too parallel to rock, P4, 2.1’
12th- Lower Yough, com., Jeremiah, 1.42’
13th- Lower Yough, com., Chad, 1.92
13th- Loop, K1, in Aire Force, 1.9’
14th- Lower Yough, com., Chad, 1,8’
15th- Lower Yough, com., Jeremiah,
rock spin at Railroad Rapid, 1.8’
16th- Upper Yough, com., Joel’s THIS
Boat, no swimmers, older couple, pics at Cheeseburger, 2’
17th- Lower Yough, com., Jeremiah,
ran Stairstep backwards, rock spin and backwards at Bottle of Wine, 1.8’
18th- Upper Yough, com., great day,
two swimmers coming off Heinzerling Pillow, 2’
19th- Lower Yough, com., Jeremiah,
1.94’
19th- Loop, Aire Force, 1.9’
20th- Loop, K1, Green Boat, Headless
Horseman Boof at Railroad Rapid, 1.88’
20th- Night Loop, K1, Green Boat, Headless
Horseman Boof, Brant and Tommy from Wilderness Voyageurs combined Brant’s kayak
and ducky after Brant swam twice, 1.9’
21st- Lower Yough, fun, K1, green boat,
1.8’
21st- Loop at Night w/Clara, green
boat and Aire Force, 1.82
22nd- Lower Yough, com., Jeremiah,
1.8’
23rd- Upper Yough, com., good day,
2’
23rd- Loop w/ Justin, K1, Perception
Dancer, 1.8’
24th- Lower Yough, com., K1, safety
boater, first time, went great, 1.8’
25th- Upper Yough, com., P3, ran
Martin’s, gutted Triple heading left, ran Death Slot, no swimmers, clean, 2’
26th- Lower Yough, com., Chad, 1.77’
27th- Lower Yough, com., Herbie,
1.7’
27th- Two Laps on Ohiopyle Falls,
K1, Green Boat, w/ Nic and Dylan, smooth, Loop, ran Heaven’s Gates Slots at
Railroad Rapid, 1.7’
28th- Loop, S2 w/Rosalee Hazelett,
surf in Donut, right at Eddy Turn, 1.7’
29th- Lower Yough, com., Jeremiah,
John Cobb Slot smooth, 1.97’
29th- Loop, K1, 9r, w/ Nic, Anika,
and Kevin Dupre, 2.05’
30th- Lower Yough, com., Jeremiah,
express trip, 2’
30th- Upper Yough, com., great day,
Left Left at Tommy’s Hole, blocked by rock, forced to spin and exit right, 2.2’
31st- Lower Yough, com., Chad,
awesome day, let kids guide doldrums, ran Cobb, escort flip at Piddley, two
duckies launched 10’ vertically and parallel to each other at Double Hydraulic,
2.6’
August
1st- Upper Yough, com., cops from
Canton, OH, splash boat, R3, 2.15’
2nd- Lower Yough, com., Jeremiah,
cool family, 1.6’
3rd- Lower Yough, com., Dylan, Seven
Springs, 1.4’
4th- Lower Yough, com., Herbie, good
day, both slots at Dimple, left of Wash Over, and good surf, 1.8’
5th- Upper Yough, com., father and
son, splash boat, 2.1’
6th- Upper Yough, com., Indian
family, R4, Splash Boat, 2.1’
7th- Lower Yough, com., Chad, 2.3’
8th- Upper Yough, P1, fun, ran right
at Snaggletooth next to Mel’s Toilet Bowl, saw Charle’s pull out a 3 eddy move
at National Falls, surfed Heinzerling Pillow briefly, went super big at
Cheeseburger Falls, ran new slot in last warm up, right to center at Squig
Squiggle, 2’
9th- Lower Yough, com., 1.7’
10th- Lower Yough, com., Jeremiah,
lunch at Dimple, 1.8’
10th- Ohiopyle Falls and Loop, K1, braap,
clean, 1.75’
11th- Lower Yough, com., Chad, best
surf, 1.75’
11th- Loop, K1, braap, w/ Nic, K1,
surfed Nemo’s twice, surfed green wave below Cucumber, surfed Donut Hole, 1.75’
12th- Upper Yough, com., R4, Splash
Boat, 3 big guys, one guy swam in Bastard and in Boulder Dance, and there were
5 swims by 3 people in first cool down, 1.9’
13th- Lower Yough, com., Chad, 1.9’
13th- Upper Yough, com., R4, Splash
Boat, cool crew, Martin’s, Death Slot, found a green paddle below Snaggletooth,
pulled a rope off a guy’s neck that was taught below Heinzerling, probably the
only time that I have saved someone’s life, 2.05’
13th- Ohiopyle Falls at night, K1,
dagger nomad, w/ Nic and Dylan, 1.95’
14th- Lower Yough, com., Chad, 1.9’
15th- Upper Yough, com., P3 w/ high
schoolers rafting for first time, awesome puma day, boat was so light that I
could rock my hips forward and stand the boat up, ran squig squiggle with
custies for first time, epic high side in Death Slot, almost dry flipped boat,
2’
16th- Lower Yough, com., Chad, 1.9’
17th- Upper Yough, P2 w/Clint,
surprise weekday release, lots of surfing above Gap Falls and in Warm Ups,
above Double Pencil Sharpener, and at Wildcat Hole, went huge at Gap Falls and
ended left of exit rock, eddied out on right after Roostertail and looked at
Charlie’s Choice, ran kayak slots all the way right down the side of Charlie’s
and made sharp right into Squiggle, flipped at bottom, huge boof at National
Falls, sat on Big Rock and had a beer then jumped in, great ride at
Heinzerling, ran the Ledges under downed tree, Death Slot, Baseballs, as big as
possible over Cheesburger Falls, big rock spin at Backender, got both Pencil Sharpeners,
awesome run with a slight chill and rain, feeling like Fall, 2’
18th- Lower Yough, com., Chad, R2
w/Ana, 1.9’
19th- Upper Yough, com., pin above
Martin’s entrance, guy from another raft jumped into my raft from divider rock
at Fuck Up Falls but bounced right out because he landed on the tip of the boat,
2’
20th- Lower Yough, com., Chad, 1.9’
21st- Lower Yough, com., Chad, 1.8’
22nd- P3 w/Heather and Iris at ASCI
22nd-
Upper Yough, fun, P2 w/Iris ran everything, 2’
23rd- Lower Yough, com., Chad, 2’
24th- Lower Yough, com., Chad, 1.8’
25th- Lower Yough, com., Chad, 1.8’
26th- Lower Yough, com., Jeremiah, 1.8’
27th- Upper Yough, com., Splash Boat,
R4, helped Smitty build rock dam at Put In and soaked in the new pool, ran
Tombstone and spun and ran the rest of Fuck Up Falls, even Phil’s Hole,
backwards which was awesome, 2’
September
2nd- Upper Yough, P1, fun, ran Squig
Squiggle, 2’
3rd- Upper Yough, com., couple, 2’
4th- Lower Yough, com., 1.8’
5th Upper Yough, com., P4, Indian
bachelor’s party, lots of fun, ran Death Slot, rock spin at Backender, escaped
surf at the Bird Bath caused by Herb getting stuck in there in front of me, ran
tiny slot at Snaggletooth, 2’
9th- Upper Yough, fun, P1, ran
everything, tried catching eddy above National, Left Left, ran slot on right by
the boof after Trap Run (the “Life Slot”, “Keep Your Elbows In”, or “Tink’s
Magic Lantern”), ran what I felt might be the perfect Bastard Falls line,
S-Move at Fuck Up Falls, found undercut in eddy on right atop Cheeseburger
Falls, found Secret Falls at Backender, Ran the Right Side of Zinger, 2.05’
10th- Lower Y., com., great
commercial trip, left of Wash Over, shuffled twice, 1.8’
11th- Upper Gauley, R4 w/Collin,
Ellen, and Alexis, NRS 6-man, clean day, I guided up through Iron Curtain and
after Pillow through Lost Paddle, 2800 cfs
16th- Upper Gauley, R2, NRS 4-man,
w/Ana, 2800 cfs
17th- Upper Gauley, R5, flip at
Pillow, too far left on Hero Line, upstream rock, 2800 cfs
18th- Upper Gauley, R4, clean, 2800 cfs
23rd- Upper Yough, P1, 2’
24th Lower Yough, com., 2’
30th- Upper Yough, lots of surfing,
new slots in Rockies #2 (the “Beehive”), P1, 2.1’
October
2nd- Cheat Canyon, P2 w/Iris, visited
entrance to Cornwall Cave, 3.5’
14th- Bottom Moose to Shurform, P2
w/Ana, got dark in pool above Agger’s Falls, ran it in the dark, took out at
cabin above Shurform on the right, 2.7’
15th- Bottom Moose, full, ran all
drops, P4 w/Ana and new friends from Maine (Morgan Bayreuther, Destrey Enders,
and Sierra Leavitt, they swapped out after Double), met other rafters (Yonnas),
ran two laps on Agger’s Falls, only raft to run Crystal (P2 w/Ana), went to
MooseFest and it was great, met Evan Garcia, 2.8’
November
5th- Tallulah Gorge, P2 w/Ana, ran
Oceana for the first time, flip at Bridal Veil, 580 cfs, went to Green Race
After Party
6th- Cheoah River, P2 w/Ana, smoke
from wildfire creating ash and orange sky, Devon K1, Griz and Charlotte S2, ran
boof at Bear Creek Falls, 1000 cfs
19th- Lower Yough, Friendsgiving w/
OTP crew, P4, hot tea, 2.5’
December
31st- Top Yough, OTP NYE Get Together,
2 laps, P2 w/Nat, 325 cfs
2017
March
25th- Cheoah River, whole thing, P1,
Nic K1, 1000 cfs
26th- Cheoah River, lower section, P1,
600 cfs
30th- Chattooga Section 4, P1, Nic
kayaked, met Dylan Terrell who showed us the lines and told us the rapid names,
clean, 1.15’ at bridge
April
16th- Cuyahoga Falls, P2 w/Allison,
two laps, Nic kayaking, 650 cfs
19th- Cuyahoga Falls, R4, Guided
Cuyahoga Falls firemen in their new NRS otter raft (there are pictures of
this), 400 cfs
21st- Tinker’s Creek Gorge, PFD, P3
w/Anika and Ben, Dylan K1, A. & B. ejected at Tunnel Hole into Foam, 800
cfs
21st- Cuyahoga Falls, P2 w/Anika,
Dylan K1, by far the fastest one ever, 920 cfs
22nd- Cuyahoga Falls Kayak Race,
Safety Coordinator, P3 w/two firemen, clean, 820 cfs, personally set safety
below Rookie Drop, rescued two firefighters and Allison when other rescue raft
guided by Justin Jeffers flipped (there’s a video of this), I had three people
on rope above Staircase Falls
23rd- Cuyahoga Falls, P2 w/Alexis,
Nic and Justin kayaking, 740 cfs
[Lacuna,
no record from April 24th to May 26th, I was probably
distracted by Spring semester finals]
May
27th- Lower Yough, com., 3.1’
28th- Upper Yough, com., P3, clean,
2.3’
29th- Upper Yough, com., great day,
picked up all Chaz’s swimmers after he flipped in Sticky Hole, I flipped too at
Heinzerling in the crease, P4, 2.4’
29th- Top Yough, P3 w/Ana (PFD) and
Mar, 560 cfs
30th- Lower Yough, com., R6 in 6-man,
ran Whale’s Tail at River’s End Rapid, looks like at 5.5’-6’ there’s a
Heinzerling move at Piddly, best line at RR is center, drive right through
jumble, Pharoah’s good, 5.4’
31st- 2 Upper Yough laps, P2 w/Ana, clean,
at high to medium levels need to hit Heinzerling with 11 o’clock angle on left
side, Sideways Slot in Warm Ups, ran Tommy’s Hole smoother by starting farther
left and charging more sideways, left line at Cheeseburger Falls into Left
Slots, 2.4’ and 2.3’
June
1st- Casselman River, PFD (personal
first descent), Markleton to Fort Hill, Pinkerton Loop, P2 w/Ana, Began with no
paddles, the trainees did not bring enough and we launched last, we found
sticks on the river and used them, then got an extra from Kiersky, ACA
Swiftwater training, 2.6’
2nd- Upper Yough, fun, P1, solo,
everything, smooth, Squig, Center Snag, Big Boof, Left Left, Big Heinzerling
Ride, Death Slot, All the Warm Up Slots, which need names!, real clean line
through Fortune Cookie, very fast R1, beat trip by 30 minutes to Friendsville,
2.4’
3rd- Savage River, 1000 cfs, P3
w/Jake and Ana first lap, P2 w/Jake second lap, fun, my boat, nice to hangout
with Jake.
4th- Lower Yough, com., 2.6’
5th- Upper Yough, fun, P2 w/Anika, 2’
6th- Lower Yough, com., 2.5’
8th- Lower Yough, com., 1.6’
9th- Upper Yough, fun, P2 w/Ana,
2.3’
10th- Lower Yough, com., 1.7’
12th- Lower Yough, com., Trip
Leader, 4 boats, 2’
12th- K1 surf, Bridge Hole in
Ohiopyle, swimming below Z Rapid and above Falls with the crew, Clint, Anika,
Mar, Dan, and Hoot.
13th- Lower Yough, com., 1.8’
14th- New River Gorge, fun run,
camped the night before at Brooklyn, OTP Adventure Club outing, great time,
~3.5’
15th- Lower Yough, com., 1.6’
16th- Upper Yough, fun, P1, Fat
Man’s Squeeze backwards, Squig, LL, Reagan’s Line at Meatcleavers, Baseballs at
Fuck Up Falls, 2.3’
17th- Upper Yough, com., Splash
Boat, R4, 2.5’
18th- Lower Yough, com., 3’
19th- Upper Yough, com., P4, Laura,
Emma, and Crisitina, close to flipping before high siding by climbing all the
way up onto side of raft at Tommy’s Hole, 2.3’
20th- Lower Yough, com., 2.2’
20th-21st- Cheat Canyon Overnighter w/
OTP Outdoors Club, P2 w/Ana, 3.8-3.2’
22nd- Lower Yough, com., Trip
Leader, 3 boats, lunch at Dimple, $85 tip, 2.3’
22nd- Upper Yough, fun, after work
w/ Ana, P2, 2.1’
23rd- Upper Yough, com., 2.1’
24th- Lower Yough, double trip, 10.15’
and 10’, flood stage, barely legal water level, only two companies on the
water, 6-man and 4-man, HUGE LEVEL, big lady swam at Entrance on first trip,
called Adam, he got her on kayak in Entrance, she wasn’t back in my boat until
eddy above Railroad Rapid, she swam 5 rapids in less than a minute, boat too
weak to get out into current, too far left coming into Railroad, HUGE ride up
over nearly vertical 10 foot pillow on tower rock, rode from the top, down the
side into two massive holes below, smooth, but very intense, it worked with a
very unlikely crew. 2nd Trip was a Drug Recovery group, tough guys,
small boat, huge river, killed everything, little 4-man’s worked surprisingly
well in big surf, lots of speed to zip in and out of situations effortlessly no
matter the size of waves, some, like Walrus, ~20 feet tall, crested them,
escaped the holes.
25th- Lower Yough, com., double
trip, 5.9’ and 5.5’
26th- Upper Yough, com., Splash, R4,
2.5’
27th- Lower yough, com., 5’
27th- Upper Yough, fun, after work, P4
w/ Ana, Morgan, and Anika, Morgan swam twice, Snaggletooth center slot, from
front left seat, great time sunset.
28th- Upper Yough, fun, P2 w/ Ana,
and the Jammers
29th- Lower Yough, com., double
trip, 4.5’ and 4’
30th- Upper Yough, fun, P1, ran
“Elbows In” clean, LL, Squig, Death Slot, S-Move, Fat Man’s Squeeze backwards, 2.2’
July
1st- Upper Yough, com., 2.2’
2nd- Lower Yough, com., 2.39’
3rd- Upper Yough, com., Hoot and
Clint’s debut trip, 2.1’
4th- Lower Yough, com., 2.1’
5th- Lower Yough, com., 1.9’
5th- Loop, K1, Loki, watched Loop
Race at Whale Rock in RR rapid with Heather, 1.9’
6th- Lower Yough Fun Run, K1, green
boat, Tommy showed me the rock grind/slide at Schoolhouse Rapid on left, Caught
Danger Eddy at Dimple, surfed Swimmer’s, boofed Bottle of Wine and Stairstep,
ran Pharoah’s Tomb, Mousetrap, Snaggletooth, surfed at Dairy Queen, ran
Heaven’s Gate twice at RR, Got bottom left boof at River’s End, Mar, Emma, Ana,
Anika, adam, Tommy, Nate, Cody, and I hung out on Big Rocks in River’s End by
the Creature’s Lair
7th- Upper Yough, com., P4, two
swimmers at Snaggletooth, ran R to L line but with too much speed and upstream
angle, hit rock upstream on river left, bumped it, two on left lost their seats,
fell out, clean elsewhere, ran Rifle Barrel, R of Heinzerling, Ledges, 2.5’
8th- Upper Yough, com., P4, ran
Squig Squiggle, LL, and the Death Slot, 2.27’
9th- Lower, com., 2.8’
10th- Upper Yough, com., cool,
flipped at Tangway in Charlie’s Choice, almost flipped again in the Campgrounds
but mega-high-sided and lost a rider who I got up and then we pinned in the
slot, 2.2’
11th-13th- Adirondacks Trip w/ Ana
11th - Scouted the Raquette River,
Stone Valley Section at 2500 cfs, way high, It’s like the Moose but a psychotic
version of the Moose. The rapids are twice as tall and the lines are half as
clean.
12th- Bottom Moose, P2 w/Ana, to
Double Drop, P1-ed main line at Knife’s Edge, first time running the main part
of rapid, got stuck in the Cauldron for 2 minutes, scary, run ended at
Lyonsdale after Double because there was no release on the Bottom Bottom, 2.8’
13th- Indian River into Hudson
Gorge, PFD, 3.8’ on Hudson prior to Indian release, put in right at dam as P1
on Indian, ran Otter Slide (V), the Indian has two very long rapids spread out
over 3 miles, with a short break in between them, its non-stop Class II-III
like the Savage. The Hudson Gorge is beautiful, but pretty easy, Class II-III
at 3.8’, P2 w/ Ana. The Kennedy family used to boat the Hudson.
14th- Upper Yough, com., two boats,
me and Ana, Splash, clean, one swimmer in Charlie’s, Devon safety boater, Chaz
jealous of missing high-water trip, 2.75’
15th- Upper Yough, com., P4, Martin’s, LL, Death
Slot, great day, left at Heinzerling, best pillow ride of the season, 2.5’
16th- Lower Yough, com., Snaggle,
center of Entrance, 4.8’
17th- Upper Yough, com., Nic and I
ran with Wilderness Voyageurs and their customers in our boats, I took my own
puma on a commercial trip, only time, ran LL, tried Death Slot but got sucked
backwards through Mega Death Slot, and then dumped off of Brant’s raft in
Backender because he got unpinned and pulled out right in front of me into the
current, we hit pretty hard, good day out there, 2.4’
18th- Lower Yough, com.
19th- Lower Yough, com.
19th- K1, surfed above Entrance and
watched Le Tour de Loop #3 Rodeo Comp in Donut Hole
20th- ASCI w/ Ana, 2 P2 laps, 2
ducky laps, surfed in Feature “A” for over an hour in ducky, with Ana, Vinny,
Tommy, Farmer, Nate, and Anika, tried standing up in duckie and got close
20th- Upper Yough, fun, P2 w/Ana,
1.8-2’
21st- Upper Yough, com., puma, no swimmers,
2.4’
22nd- Upper Yough, com., Splash,
helped Ellen get unpinned in Campgrounds by swimming in from above, then,
Collin got stuck in the same spot, so I swam out again and got him unstuck,
Ellen got pushed through the Race Line and made it through with a right hand
angle. UY Race Day, no swimmers, 2.3’
23rd- Lower Yough, com., 3.5’
24th- Upper Yough, com.
25th- Lower Yough, com., Ranch Prom
26th- Lower Yough, com.
27th- Lower Yough, com.
27th- Upper Yough, fun, P4 w/ JP,
Anika, and Morgan, dark at Heinzerling, very low, but kind of fun to see it get
so low, Morgan fell out twice at Snaggletooth and at Not-Vietnam, 1.7’
28th- Lower Yough, com.
29th- Lower Yough, triple tripped, no
swims, 9.5’ plus trib.s
30th- Lower Yough, Triple tripped
for second day in a row, one swimmer at Entrance, 8.5’ plus trib.s
30th- Meadow Run Slides, Personal
First Descent, R1 in my puma, 1’ on bridge gauge, Danny helped me carry my boat
out on service road at Entrance. There’s a video of this.
31st- Upper Yough, com., LL, Love
Slot, I filmed this trip, 2 guests, one a college rugby player, and Anika,
Splash Boat, Nic in a Splash, Chaz in a This Boat, no swimmers, paddle high
fives all day, Laurel Highlands has Disaster Trip, tons of carnage, 2.9’
August
1st- Lower Yough, com., Trip Leader,
2 boats, 7’, Fayette County Fair with Morgan and OTP crew
2nd- Lower Yough, com.
2nd- Upper Yough Night Run,
starting in the dark for the first time (~11-1 at night), with Morgan, Vinny,
and Heather in puma, and Nic in a hard boat, no swims, and no light, didn’t use
head lamps until Heinzerling, 2.5’
3rd- Lower Yough, com.
4th- Lower Yough, com.
4th- Upper Yough, com.
5th- Lower Yough, com.
5th- Upper Yough, com.
6th- Lower Yough, com.
7th- Lower Yough, com., run on
Ferncliff Trail
8th- Lower Yough, com., camped on
beach at Cucumber Rapid, full moon
9th- Lower Yough, com., double
trip, 3.8’
10th- Lower Yough, com., 3.3’
11th- Lower Yough, com. 2.7’
12th- Upper Yough, com., Splash,
2.3’
13th- Lower Yough, com., ran slot
below Dimple on left, 2.7’
14th- Lower Yough, com., Trip Leader,
3 boats, fully guided with Vinny and Matt, swam out to the Jumble during lunch
with Vinny who smoked a cigarette, 1.8’
15th- Lower Yough, com., rock spin
at Million Dollar Wave, 1.8’
16th- Lower Yough, com., $60 tip,
1.8’
17th- Dry Day, hung out at Entrance
rocks and read “Flow” by Csikszentmihalyi, sunny
18th- Lower Yough, com.
19th- Lower Yough, com.
20th- Lower Yough, com.
21st-Upper Yough, com., P4
22nd-Lower Yough, com.
23rd- Lower Yough, com.
23rd- Upper Yough, fun, 2.6’
24th- Lower Yough, fun, S1, 2.5’
25th- Lower Yough, com., 2.1’
26th- Lower Yough, com.
27th- Lower Yough, com.
28th- Upper Yough, fun, last day
before the beginning of my last semester at Kent State, the funnest Upper run
I’ve ever made, great day with friends.
September
1st-4th- Beaver Fest Weekend
1st- Black River, P1, first in
group to run Glen Park Falls, PFD
2nd- Raquette River, Stone Valley
Section, P1, PFD, likely first raft descent by anyone, “Raquette” means
snowshoe in French.
3rd- Moshier Section of the Beaver
River, ran Moshier Falls, probably the hardest rapid of the whole weekend for
an R1, PFD
3rd- Eagle Section of the Beaver
River, P1, PFD
4th- Taylorville Section of the
Beaver River, P1 PFD
15th- Upper Gauley, P1, 2800 cfs
16th- Upper Gauley, P4, 2800 cfs,
Gauley Fest Weekend
17th- Upper Gauley, P2 w/ Ana until
Lost Paddle, then she shredded with her friend who we ran into and I P1ed the
rest of the river, ran the meltdown at Sweet’s cleanly.
18th- Kanawha Falls, PFD, ran two
lines twice each
29th- Upper Yough
30th- Upper Yough
October
2nd- Upper Yough, last Monday
release, 2’
6th- Upper Yough
7th- Upper Yough
14th- Upper Yough, P1, before Ellen
and Collin’s wedding, 2’
15th- Loop, K1, green boat, 2.5’
30th- Russell Fork, Breaks Canyon,
P1, Russell Fork Rendezvous, w/ Col, Nic, Griz, and Danny, 800 cfs, rained over
night and was at 2500 cfs the next day.
November
2nd- Nolichucky Gorge, P4 w/Harris,
Emily, and Ana, PFD, Brant and Griz in hard boats, 1500 cfs
3rd- Cheoah, the whole stretch, P1
first half, P2 w/Ana for second half, Griz in hard boat, Michael Fisher in hard
boat, 1000 cfs, Green Race After Party
4th- Tallulah Gorge, P3 w/Kelsey
Brown and Ana, ran Oceana cleanly, 800 cfs
19th- Cheat Canyon, P2 w/Ellen, 3’
December
17th- Cuyahoga Falls, P1, flipped on
Rookie Drop, not enough left-hand angle coming off the ledge, made it to
circular eddy in cliff to the left, 750 cfs
18th- Cuyahoga Falls, P1, clean, 550
cfs
22nd- Upper Yough, P1, 2.2’
23rd-Loop, K1, Braap, w/ Brant, 3.5’
2018
January
11th- Tinker’s Creek Gorge, P2
w/Heather Homberg, 700 cfs
11th- Big Creek, PFD, high medium
flow
12th- Tinker’s Creek Gorge, P2
w/Anika, highest raft descent ever, 1350 cfs, Ryan hit by train while portaging
the tunnel.
20th- Top Yough, two laps, P1, w/
Col and Brennan, lots of snow and ice, 270 cfs
21st- Top Yough, one lap, P1, 250
cfs
26th- Connoquenessing Creek, PFD,
K1, braap, high medium flow, fun.
27th- Lower Big Sandy, P2 w/ Donald,
R1ed Big Splat! for the first time, picked up Anika and her boat midway through
Class III stuff after Splat! after her boat broke, P3 to the takeout, fun day,
6.5’
28th- Top Yough, two laps, one as
P2, one as P1, showed a kayaker down the run, it was his first time rafting and
first time running anything bigger than class 3, never saw the Top or Swallow
Falls before, he was just waiting on kayaker friends in the parking lot, he had
bad knees, with five surgeries, kept him in the raft really well, 400 cfs
February
10th- Nantahala Gorge, PFD, P3 w/
Olivia and Erin from SOLO WFR course at NOC, P1 Wesser Falls below Take-Out,
750 cfs
11th- Big Laurel Creek into French
Broad Section 9, Laurel was at 1”, the French Broad was at 10,000 cfs, P1, Big
Laurel was a fun creek, FB9 at 10K was scary, I tried to sneak the holes as
best as I could, got a shower at Laughing Heart Hostel in Hot Springs on the AT
after the river, cool spot.
12th- Wilson Creek, PFD, P1 plus
4.5-3”, 3 laps, met John and Christine Vogler and Dennis. Hiked to Linville
Falls afterwards.
13th- Glade Creek (New Trib.), first
raft descent ever by anyone according to local paddlers in Fayetteville, P1, 1.8’,
2’to 2.5’ would be the ideal range. Still fun at 1.8’ but some slides were
scrapey.
16th- McClintock Run into Casselman
River, first raft descent ever, P1, walked slides at the end due to two
strainers, high level, boated with Griz (K1).
17th- Bear Run, PFD, P1, started
right above church, big fun, two good slides, lots of Class III boogie, better
than the Savage, but similar, 800 cfs
17th- Meadow Run, P1, w/ Col,
Brennan, Danny, Tommy, and Adam in hard boats, snowing hard, lots of fun, 1.3’
18th- Dry Fork of the Cheat, PFD, P2
w/Casey, Collin and Ellen used their shredder for the first time, surfed a lot,
Casey smoked an entire cigarette while we surfed one wave, found a rope swing
by the river, it got chilly at the end, fun day, went to CJ’s Pizza in Parsons
afterwards, cool spot, it was good to see everybody, stayed at Jake’s house on the
way home, 4.15’
V.
Commercial Trip Numbers by Season
Seasons
Guided: 2010, 2014-2017, 5 total, all for Ohiopyle Trading Post and River Tours
on the Youghiogheny River in PA and MD. 2011 and 2012 were spent whitewater kayaking.
In 2013, I returned to raft guiding, because of injuries to my shoulder while
kayaking. I did not work in 2013 due to a final shoulder injury during training
on a high-water day at the Left Left Slot in Tommy’s Hole on the Upper Yough. My
shoulder recovered, I quit kayaking (for the most part) and returned to raft
guiding in 2014. No records for 2010 or 2014 trip numbers. 2010 numbers would
be high (full time) and 2014 low (weekends only in 2014). Numbers for
2015-2017:
2015:
39 trips on the Lower Yough (PA, Class III) (weekends only)
2016: 72
trips on the Lower Yough, 19 trips on Upper Yough (MD, Class IV-V) 1 tip on the
Middle Yough (Class II) (full time)
2017: 69
trips on the Lower Yough, 24 trips on the Upper Yough (full time)*
*These
are commercial trips only. These numbers do not reflect private trips.
Commercial
Miles by Year:
Lengths
of River Sections (according to the American Whitewater directory):
Lower
Yough = 7.4 miles, Upper Yough = 9.9 miles, Middle Yough = 9.1 miles
2015:
288.6 commercial miles
2016: 730
commercial miles
2017:
671 commercial miles
Total
from 2015 to 2017: 1,689.6 commercial miles, including 415 commercial Class
IV-V miles, and 1,265.4 commercial Class III miles, and 9.1 commercial Class II
miles.
VI.
Wish List
Maine: Ripogenous Gorge of the
Penobscot, Kennebec, Dead w/ Grand Falls, Smalls Canyon
Pennsylvania: Raymondskill, Hornbecks, Shohola,
Fikes, Paint, Drakes
West Virginia: Upper Blackwater Canyon, North
Fork Blackwater, Red Creek, Cranberry, Mill, Lower Meadow, Daugherty, Arden
Maryland: Tippy Top Yough
Virginia: John’s Creek, Bottom Creek
North Carolina: Watauga, Linville Gorge, Green
Narrows, Nantahala Cascades, Raven Fork, West Fork Tuck
Georgia: Overflow Cr.
Tennessee: Tellico, Citico Cr., N.
Chicamauga, Little
New Mexico: Taos Box, Embudo
Colorado: Yampa, Numbers, Gore, Pine
Creek, Royal, Bailey, Animas
OBJ,
Vallecito, Dolores
Utah: Cataract, Green
Arizona: The Canyon, Salt
California: Pit Falls, Burnt Ranch Gorge,
Cherry Creek
Washington: Little White, White Salmon,
Wind
Oregon: Canyon Creek
Idaho: Middle Fork Salmon
Alaska: Six Mile Creek
Canada: 7 Sisters of the Rouge
Wales: Fairy Glen
New Zealand: Wairoa
Africa: Zambezi, Nile
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