Tuesday, January 30, 2007

Riot Thunder and Magnum on the NFMF of the Willamette

The North Fork of the Middle Fork of the Willamette, a.k.a The Miracle Mile, is known to be one of Eugene's closest quality creek runs. Recently my good friend and paddling partner Jay Gifford and I relocated to Oregon and we are excited to sample some of the country's best whitewater. At the moment water is limited so we chose to paddle the Miracle Mile because we heard rumors that it is almost always running. The Miracle Mile is located near Westfir, OR and has some amazing scenery along with some fun, continuous whitewater. Being from North Carolina this run reminded of Big Creek without Action Alley.

Oregon is known for its lumber and gigantic trees. Oregon's creeks and rivers are no exception! The water is cold but the weather is beautiful and we were blessed with a seldom seen bluebird sunny day in the valley.




The Riot Thunder has made every river trip so far this year and has become the boat of choice at my house. The Thunder is able to jet ferry, boof, carve a line in hard whitewater, and eddy hop with the best of them. In addition, the Riot Thunder will surf, spin, and cartwheel better than anyboat in its class. I think the Thunder is the perfect boat for one who loves to playboat but is not willing to sacrifice river running ability. I am excited to put kayak instruction clients in the Thunder this coming Summer because it is stable, carves well, easy to turn, and EASY TO ROLL. While on the Miracle Mile, Jay and I decided that the Thunder was perfect for a river of this nature. The NFMF of the Willamette drops 250 ft/mile and the biggest drop is four or five feet high. Due to the Thunder's planing hull design, it was able to boof a ledge and quickly eddy out, in the smallest eddies, before the next drop. Here's Jay boofing the Thunder.


The Riot Magnum is sweet. If you have paddled the Magnum then you known what a great boat it is. If you are not satisfied with your current creek boat situation then take the Magnum for a test drive. It will speak for itself.

Yours truly boofing the Riot Magnum on the NFMF of the Willamette. This boat is super easy to boof.




Happy Winter Time Paddling. Let's paddle sometime, Jason Aytes

2 comments:

beoutside said...

Hey Jason
nice pics, have you done any self support in the magnum?
thanks Donny

MVBA said...

Hey bro, we are a coulpe of guys from New Zealand, we randomly found your blog, as you do.
Hey we boated with your mate Jay when he was down here, tell him the mot valley boys say Hi, and expect his return, found a few things he would be keen to see!
Be keen to get in touch...
Matt & Ali