Hagen Creek, Washington

Video by Tony Skrivanek.

Having recently moved out to the Pacific Northwest I've been busy exploring and paddling as many new creeks as possible. After a dry autumn and several low water runs down the Green Truss, Little White, Wind, Ohanepecosh, and Cispus the rains finally hit and I hooked up with local paddling guru and Oregon guidebook author Pete Giordano to check out Hagen Creek. With quality class 4-5 whitewater, easy access, and a location less than an hour outside of Portland I was surprised to learn that the first descent of Hagen was made just 2 years ago. Before our run Pete explained that although Hagen had been known for some time it had always been passed by as paddlers looked for first descents to the north and east. Although Hagen itself is quite short it packs in many interesting ledges and slides and is home to a great 30' cascading falls named Euphoria. You are then dumped into the best part of the Upper NF Washougal where several technical 15-20' falls with names like Tea Kettle and Double Drop await. So whether you're an expert level creeker or someone looking to build your skills on some fun (and easily portagable) class 4-5 rapids then keep Hagen Creek on your short list the next time water's rising!

Joe Stumpfel


Photo by Rachel Crowder.

In Search of Flight

There is something euphoric about getting air in a kayak. That feeling keeps you coming back time and time again in search of mankind's fleeting desire to fly. The laws of physics prove themselves strong every time--but for that moment, when you are in the air, flying, you can get a taste of what people have been trying to do for centuries: Fly.


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Some have said that the New River Dries are the best waves in North America. I certainly have not found any better to date. This was an epic March 23rd, 2007 day. I left my hometown, snow pelting me in my face as I boarded my truck, and saw the temperature on the First Mountain Bank sign read "24 degrees". I then went to pull away from the light where I had stopped, which happened to be on a very slight hill, and my tires began to spin. I thought to myself, "Today is going to be a good day."

Adam Johnson in flight on the main feature.

The landing from the previous shot.

Two hours later I found myself in a surprisingly empty parking lot at the New River Dries Put-in waves. The level was huge. It was snowing and below freezing; yet, no one was there. I was shocked. I thought to myself "F#@%", until Ben Guska, Andrew Holcombe, and Yonton Mehler showed up shortly afterwards.

Andrew Holcombe skies an Airscrew part 1.

Part 2 of the Airscrew.

Holcombe with a backstab--a scary thing to do on this uncontrollable feature!

Andrew in survival mode taking a large bounce from the wave.

Part of the crew (from right to left): Yonton Mehler, Ben Guska, and John (?) from CO.

Soon we all put on the river. The day truly was a good day (as you can see). The photos say more than words ever can. A big thanks goes out to the Fayetteville crew for setting up the fire and filming (especially to Ben, thanks dude!).

Yonton goes big on a panam.

Clean Blunt!

Adam in the middle of a large panam.

Laid out: mid Airscrew

Ben Guska with a large blunt/panam off of the surfers left shoulder.

Andrew with another panam.

Until next time...

-Adam Johnson
WhitewaterFreestyle

North Fork of the Blackwater (V+) (WV) Headcam + Freestyle Footy

Adam gyrating in Hungry Mother, Upper Gauley, WV.

Watch the full video embedded below or click HERE.

Anyone who paddles in WV knows that the Blackwater River in the northern central part of the state is of the same caliber of North Carolina's Green River Narrows (but, of course, better in every way ;-). The Blackwater is a naturally fed stream that has three different sections: the "North Fork" (V+), the "Upper" (IV-V+), and the "Lower" (IV-V).

Jake Greenbaum admires Douglas Falls, North Fork of the Blackwater, WV.

Out of these three sections, the Upper Blackwater, averaging 233 fpm, runs the most frequently and is paddleable at a wide range of levels (some people run it real high, it just depends on how crazy you are). The Lower is less frequented because you have to either run the Upper into the Lower, or hike in and down a steep 400 vertical foot mountain (see map below). The Upper and lower offer extremely challenging boulder drop rapids with a few slides and larger drops. Both the Lower and the Upper will challenge any paddler when they descend the canyon, no matter their skill level.

Blackwater Area Map. Note the sections. When the Upper and North Fork meet, the remaining stretch is called the "Lower" Blackwater.

The North Fork, on the other hand, is a completely different stream. Instead of boulder drops and hard, tight, technical moves, the North Fork, which has a max gradient of almost 400 fpm, offers steep vertical drops consistently. The big drop, called Glutial Mash, is a picturesque 30' drop that you have to either boof or enter at a maximum of a 45 degree angle to avoid pitoning potential.

Some of the best things about the North Fork is that you can run it multiple times in a day (provided that you have the corn to power up the 400' vert hill and 1.5 miles of rail trail each time), it runs fairly frequently, and, essentially, is a park and huck (due to all the hiking).

Needless to say, the Blackwater is a powerful river that should not be taken lightly. Experienced teams only. In the words of LVM, "If you don't have the skillz to pay the billz..." please admire from a distance...


OR from this video!

If you are having trouble viewing this video, click HERE.

The video is from the North Fork of the Blackwater with some headcamera footage (WV, V+) and some freestyle on the Upper Gauley. Enjoy!

Also, if you would like to see the entire North Fork of the Blackwater headcam footage, click HERE.

Happy holidays and see you on the water,

-Adam Johnson
WhitewaterFreestyle

North East Update

In the past couple months myself and Paul Twist have been traveling all over the Northeast hitting a couple of the classics. Beaver fest is like Mecca for paddlers in the Northeast, they travel from near and far to hit the one day release of the Moisher section of the Beaver River. After the Moisher and Eagle sections of the Beaver, Paul Twist and I met up with some of our favorite local paddlers, Michael H. Laflair IV and Uncle Jim "Hot Rod" Dobbins to paddle the Stone Valley Section of the Raquette. Here is the video.

Beaver and Raquette Video

beaver

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After the Beaver, it was time for Moose Fest. The Bottom section of the Moose is a classic Adirondack pool drop run with great drops. There is nothing like waking up in the morning and taking the hit at the bottom of Fowlersville Falls, a 40' slide. The Moose also includes Gorilla's sister, Magilla. Magilla is a huge ugly drop that just makes you cringe when you look at it. This year Michael H. Laflair IV was man enough to fire up this drop. Here is the video, which is a great peice of editing by Paul Twist.

Moose Fest 2007

moose fest 2007
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Be sure to look for our next post on Medina Falls, a perfect 40' vertical drop in Western New York.
Signing off for Team Riot Danny Doran and Paul Twist

Black River NY

Draught+Cruncher+Voodoo=Lots of Fun!!!!

Well it’s been a crazy summer up here in the Northeast, with the lack of rain we’ve had compared to the water we’ve had the last couple of summers. Nevertheless we have been holding things down up here. During the weekdays in Rochester, NY we paddle Lock 32 whitewater course after work which gives us dependable whitewater 6 months out of the year. On the weekends we head up to Watertown, NY where we paddle a northeast classic called the Black River.

The Black has everything you could ever want during a summer draught. It offers class three and four rapids with a couple of class five lines thrown in here and there. Also it has a stout little waterfall with a huge re-circ that gets the heart pumping if you mess up your line. Also there is a huge hole named Cruncher that destroys rafts. A lot of the rafts are pulled out with the use of ropes. Most boaters freak out at the thought of even dropping into it or running the line that skirts it. My friends and I on the other hand have a couple of screws loose I guess. For some reason we find ourselves daring each other to drop it, in order to see who survives its wrath. Hudson River rafting gives us free shuttle rides because we deliver great entertainment for their guests.

With this blog I am including a video that shows our antics on the Black River. You will notice that there is a lot of carnage and yes there is a lot of voodoo dancing going on as well. For some reason whenever someone does a dance with sticks in their hands people get destroyed. Kayakers are not the only ones affected by the voodoo curse…we cast spells on the rafters too, so please enjoy our video of our summertime run in Watertown, NY

Black river+Voodo

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This is Paul Twist Signing off for Team Riot