Yesterday I paddled the “Chili Bar” run on the South Fork of the American River, outside of Sacramento. This is a hugely popular run (one source calls it the most popular stretch of whitewater west of the Rockies), but despite it being a holiday weekend, it really wasn’t too crowded- a few rafts, a few kayakers. It was a great chance for me to get into some more challenging water. Several rapids were class III or III+, with one IV. And the names of the rapids didn’t exactly inspire confidence- we’re talking names like Meatgrinder, Triple Threat, Troublemaker, and Satan’s Cesspool.
Here’s what my friend Larry told me in an e-mail before we went:
“You should prepare yourself, mentally, for a swim. I don't expect you to swim this weekend. The river is at a skill level that you'll be challenged, but will do well. I'm just mentioning the swim because you haven't had one yet. A swim isn't indicative of your skill level at all. "Everybody" swims. It's just a matter of when. I hate swimming. If I hadn't thought I was going to pass out last week I wouldn't have gotten out of my boat.”
“My head continued to swell up the next day to a baseball sized welt. The area around the back of my ear got swollen later too. I didn't do anything the next couple of days. Almost all of the swelling is gone and it is just a little tender now. As soon as the seizures stop I'll be good to go. Just kidding.”
Obviously Larry has a sense of humor. When we were on the Kings River last week he flipped and smacked his head hard against a rock. That’s what he was talking about in the e-mail above. Now you may think, “What’s the big deal about swimming?” I personally love to swim. But while swimming is a great sport and recreation in its own right, it’s to be avoided if at all possible when you’re paddling whitewater. Unless you like bruising your knees, tailbone, and elbows, that is. Not to mention the delightful possibilities associated with foot entrapments.
Anyway, on the river yesterday I rolled a number of times, but thankfully I didn’t have to swim. We had a fantastic day, and the 3 hour’s drive each way from Fresno was totally worth it. I think we paddled about 11 miles all told. Daniel, another experienced paddler from the kayak club, gave me some tips on how to do a “stern squirt,” and Larry loaned me a basic playboating DVD, so I’ve got plenty of material to work on in the pool.
Here’s what my friend Larry told me in an e-mail before we went:
“You should prepare yourself, mentally, for a swim. I don't expect you to swim this weekend. The river is at a skill level that you'll be challenged, but will do well. I'm just mentioning the swim because you haven't had one yet. A swim isn't indicative of your skill level at all. "Everybody" swims. It's just a matter of when. I hate swimming. If I hadn't thought I was going to pass out last week I wouldn't have gotten out of my boat.”
“My head continued to swell up the next day to a baseball sized welt. The area around the back of my ear got swollen later too. I didn't do anything the next couple of days. Almost all of the swelling is gone and it is just a little tender now. As soon as the seizures stop I'll be good to go. Just kidding.”
Obviously Larry has a sense of humor. When we were on the Kings River last week he flipped and smacked his head hard against a rock. That’s what he was talking about in the e-mail above. Now you may think, “What’s the big deal about swimming?” I personally love to swim. But while swimming is a great sport and recreation in its own right, it’s to be avoided if at all possible when you’re paddling whitewater. Unless you like bruising your knees, tailbone, and elbows, that is. Not to mention the delightful possibilities associated with foot entrapments.
Anyway, on the river yesterday I rolled a number of times, but thankfully I didn’t have to swim. We had a fantastic day, and the 3 hour’s drive each way from Fresno was totally worth it. I think we paddled about 11 miles all told. Daniel, another experienced paddler from the kayak club, gave me some tips on how to do a “stern squirt,” and Larry loaned me a basic playboating DVD, so I’ve got plenty of material to work on in the pool.
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Me right after I got flushed out of Chili Bar hole.
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Trying to surf a hole. I'm leaning back to try to keep my upstream edge (bow) from getting driven under.
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"Maya," a famous surf wave on this run. If you're good you can just sit there all day with very little effort.
Larry and I.
Not sure where this one was at. Looks like I'm about to go under.
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Here's another kayaker getting buried in Chili Bar Hole. When we came back to the put-in to complete the shuttle, the dam release for the day was over and the water level had dropped so much that all you could see where this hole had been was a big boulder just upstream.
Dad was asking me about my “Eskimo roll.” I managed to get a clip in the pool earlier today. I also have a clip from the river yesterday but for some reason it won't upload properly.
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9 comments:
Never knew you were allowed to kayak in a pool! When I look at your blog, I learn and see new things! As usual, great pictures and unusual pasttimes! Don't you ever just go bowling? Just teasing, of course! You are so adventuresome and I admire that and enjoy seeing it via pictures!
Sweet video, bro! Wow, you're good! Loved seeing the pics on the river, too. I'm going to bookmark your blog and check back regularly. =)
Mrs. A- yeah, who knew about boating in swimming pools. I've looked around and haven't seen any "No Kayaking" signs. Nobody's kicked me out or said anything yet, and it's a great place to practice strokes and technique.
I do normal stuff like bowling too- it's just not as much fun to do or to blog about =).
Oh my goodness Sean, where's the boat? It looks so small - you have to "put it on". In some of those pics the kayak was entirely under the water. You must have a lot of control though, unlike ours.
My question is how fast can you take it of, or I should say, get out of it if you had to?
We're really glad you had so much fun - the river looked awesome!
Also thanks for the video - we loved it! So funny, nobody even cares what you're doing with a kayak in the pool. I guess anything's "normal" in CA =)
Hey Sean, I must say I've looked at your video a couple of times now, and you're really good! (Gave my (mother's) heart a couple of palpitations when you stayed upside down for those few seconds with the "hands free" rolls though =)
Sean, you better make hay while the sun shines. Who knows they may have employed a lawyer to make a sign for the pool that legally covers all bases (just for you).
It probably will read something like this:
POOL RULES
NO kayaking, motor boating, horses, washing laundry, no visigods, walking on water etc.
I'm sure you'll have some time to perfect your skills, because that sign will take a while in order to cover it all for their attorney tenants, or tenant.
Sean, you are either amazing or crazy, I'm not sure which!! I LOVE the video!! That is so totally awesome. And the pictures as well. Looks like you are doing well and enjoying life. God bless ya!
Sean, those rolls are awesome. You are amazing, bro. I loved how you set your camera up on the side of the pool... paddled out to front and center... and started the show. It's great that we can see how you're progressing too. Great post!
Wow Sean! That was pretty entertaining..how are you so white for living in CA? Just kidding. Glad to see that you can use a swimming pool for anything! Come back and play halo soon (my brother's have a 360 and are getting H3)!!
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