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

Looping on the Upper Gauley

Adam Johnson Loops in Hungry Mother Hole, Upper Gauley, WV.

This fall, after the huge crowd had left town post Gauleyfest, Stephen Wright, Tanya Shuman, Kelsey Thompson, and myself (Adam Johnson) had the opportunity to cruise down the Upper Gauley during near record high temperatures. The day proved to be filled with lots of gyrations, flips, and flops from each person in our party.

Stephen Wright going big in Geeks Hole.

Kelsey Thompson looping in Hungry Mother

Adam Johnson loops in Hungry Mother.

Tanya Shuman, recently retired, heading for the hole.
This is a great sequence

Stephen, completely aerial, about to land on his face after a *huge* ender

Stephen was super fired up about that last ender. We got to catch him in a rare moment of exuberance.

Stephen Loops big in Hungry Mother, and, well, pretty much anywhere.

This was certainly a great day to be on the river. I cannot remember the last time it was late October and I was paddling in a shorty splash top on the Gauley. This past weekend a crew which included David Finney, among others, descended the Upper Gauley from the meadow down at around 12,000cfs (the normal fall flow, pictured here, is 2,800cfs). The following few days were preceded by a 5,000 to 6,000cfs day, as well as a 4,200cfs and a 2,900cfs day. A truly classic river.

Looping Tips:
1. The biggest thing to remember when looping is keeping your boat straight when you drive your bow under water. You can control your lateral movement with braking and ruddering strokes as your bow travels towards the seam of the feature.
2. When you reach the seam, lean forward, keeping your boat straight. Your boat will soon start the ender. As soon as you start to ender upwards, stand on your feet and try to "jump" up and back into the hole to get your boat out of the water.
3. As you start to go over vertical, tuck back up and throw your paddle into the water. Do a stroke that starts at your bow and travels in an arc over your head to your stern (think of it as making a half circle with your paddle). This stroke aids in pulling your stern through the water. As this stroke travels towards your stern, lean back and help get your boat back upright.
4. Once you have completed the loop, be sure to get back forward and on top of things as the feature will want to mess with you while your are on your back deck. And that is how to loop in a nutshell.

See you on the water,
-Adam Johnson
WhitewaterFreestyle

Photos and a Clip of Worldly Travels 2003-2007

Here is a video from some of my travels from the past few years. It documents travels from Africa, the USA, Chile, Canada, Ecuador, as well as several other places. Enjoy! (Note: if you are unable to see the embedded video, click HERE)Dropping off of Big Brother, White Salmon, WA
World Class Kayak Academy Van in the home state, West by god Virginia.
Adam Johnson boofs #5 on the Zambezi, Zambia, Africa
Adam Johnson looping in Right Side, Ottawa River, 2004.
Flipturn on the Dries of the New, Gauley season 2004.
Epic shuttle driving in Mexico for a playrun. 4 hours in, 4 hours out, +1 to the takeout.
Adam on Sunshine, Green River, 2003.

Lockapalooza 2007 Follow Up

In the words of Borat, "Great Success". Lockapalooza had a huge turn out. Lock 32 white water park in Rochester, NY was packed with over 800 people and 50 competitors.


The competition was fierce in all divisions, youth, junior's, women's, and men's. All were battling for the gold, but more importantly the bragging rights. It is truly exciting to watch and be part of with probably the best group of under 16 year old kayakers in the Northeast. Combining slalom, boatercross, and freestyle events, Lockapalooza determines the best all around boater. The first place in each event received 5 points, 2nd place: 3 points, 3rd place: 1 point.


The freestyle was the most successful event with competitors from all over the world, an amazing sound system, and who can forget our awesome MC, Fergus Coffey. The freestyle consisted of a ten minute jam session where everyone showed off there most impressive tricks. The top 5 were then chosen from a carefully selected panel of judges. These judges then scored until there were 2 left. I (Danny Doran) was faced with some very tough competition and it came down to me and fellow Team Riot member Aaron Roney. We had a head-to-head battle for the title of "Rodeo Champion of the World" In the end I won the title by a slim margin.


Even at one of the worst water levels (but still good) some of the biggest tricks were being stuck by 12 year olds. Air flips, space godzillas, split wheels, and phonix monkeys were common tricks in the youth and junior divisions. The men's division consisted of these tricks and more. The men's division came down to a battle between local paddler, and member of Team Riot Paul Twist, and Team Dagger member, Tino Specht. It was quite a spechtical (pun intended) to see these two pro boaters go off. Tino was hitting loops, space godzillas, and maybe even a switchflip, while Paul was hitting rides with loops, phonix monkeys, cartwheels, and a mcnasty or two.



Overall Results:

Youth:
1st Place- Tyler Deets
2nd Place- Ciaran Brown
3rd Place- Gardy Webber

Juniors:
1st Place- Danny Doran
2nd Place- Aaron Roney
3rd Place- Chris "Sla" Laflair

Mens:
1st Place- Paul Twist
2nd Place-Tino Specht
3rd Place- Andy Cook

Womens:
1st Place- Jenna and Ruth
3rd Place- Amy Brown

Thanks to Norm Deets for the pictures.
www.prestophotovideo.com

Check out the video made by Paul Twist

lockapalooza 2007

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Danny Doran and Paul Twist signing off for Team Riot

Tygart River Photo Bonanza...

This is the Arden section of the Tygart River (WV) in all of its glory. Here are some photos of the river and a bit of video. Enjoy!

Adam Bow Stalling Below Moats Falls

Adam Freewheeling Moats Falls (1)

Adam Freewheeling Moats Falls (2)

Can you see me? Dropping into the depths of Undercut Rapid.

Boofing Moats Falls

Cleaning it up at the putin.

Getting some loop time in the Astro 58.

A cool shot from the Bridge

Nothing like a good ol' ender.

Resurfacing from Undercut Rapid.

Moats Falls 3, Wide angle

To see a short Freewheel Clip, CLICK HERE

All photos and video by Ryan Busch and Barry Miller. Thanks for capturing the moment fellas'.

See you on the water,
-Adam Johnson