Thank You Kenny Bloggins

"Kenny Bloggins", my trusty PowerBook G4 Bloggin' Machine which has created &/or edited so much TRL content over the years, has gotten to be very old & tired. It seems like I average a blog post every 4 months or so these days. But then I realized that's because 4 months is how long it takes Kenny Bloggins to power-up & launch the most basic applications. As a result, I've been avoiding Kenny & therefore have ended up with a bunch of photos from the summer & fall just collecting dust.

Sometimes, like today, I put the key in the ignition & Kenny fires right up. I don't get it. But when it happens, I know I just have to take advantage of the opportunity. So here's some stuff from as far back as June...which just occurred to me that in today's uber-up-to-the-minute online content environment, would make all this stuff "archival" & even "dated". Oh well, so it goes...


I. Another One Bites The Dust
We learned this last week that another world-class BC creek will be lost to the "clean energy revolution". Given the pace of hydro development in BC, this didn't come as much of a surprise:

"The 25 MW Mamquam project will utilize the flow of SKOOKUM CREEK to generate annual green energy for roughly 9,500 homes and will create 140 direct and indirect jobs for local and First Nation communities..."

Follow the above link for the full article & be rewarded with all sorts of self-congratulatory, flowery language about sustainability & jobs creation.


II. Dipper Creek Video!
Bryan got around to editing some of our footage of last year's Dipper Creek explorations. Follow the above link to Vimeo where you'll find a short compilation of Bryan's best shots from the as yet un-dammed Dipper Creek.


III. And speaking of creeks on the chopping block, Callaghan Creek on the municipal outskirts of Whistler is one of the region's most reliable & well known boating opportunities for locals & visitors alike. The 2010 Olympics development in the valley provided super nice new pavement up river-right (though most boaters still use the logging road on river-left to access the put-in) .. & last I heard, a run-of-river hydro project had been APPROVED but was under moratorium until after the circus had left town. Maybe Bryan or someone else up there can confirm that for me?

Anyway, here are some shots Bryan & I got from a fun day on the super awesome Callaghan this past summer.

My shots:



Make a mental note of this shot ...









Bryan's shots:

Ryan & Hale shot at the same instant as my shot above, but from other side of river.






IV. And, as for our favorite BC river that's currently being raped, Ye Olde Ashlu was the subject of one of Bryan's ever-growing list of film assignments from National Geographic. For this project, he assembled a team of kayakers, including Shane, Tretwold, Schertzl, Max K. & me .. & a land-based team of shooters, including Matt Maddaloni, Tim Loubier & Fitz Cahall, to capture the true essence of Commitment Canyon over the course of a weekend this past Fall. He & Maddaloni unveiled their wicked-cool new cable-cam contraption to get some unreal shots of Last Tango, 50/50 & Corner .. as well as river-level shots on multiple cameras throughout the rest of the run. The very talented Steve Rogers also came out for a day & got some incredible still images he generously shared with us (& these are his "B" shots!):


When I talk, people (pretend to) listen.






Max Kneiwasser rolling into 50/50


For 6 years, every time I ran the Box, I dutifully walked out to the big granite slab that forms the river-left of 50/50 & looked down at the seething mess of froth below. And for 6 years I always continued walking right on past that sumbitch saying "maybe next time". Well this year I finally accepted the inevitability, & dropped in & stomped it.

Daydreaming

Mid-November in Western Washington can be a bit of a drag. It's right around this time of year when most people around here seem to disappear completely. It's not that they leave town, but more that they just hunker down indoors with tons of coffee, heavy winter ales, boozes, blankets, movies, etc. It's like most of the population succumbs to a collective metabolic downturn similar to bear hibernation .. but more like a 5-month transformation into a state full of pale zombies. People actually refocus on their jobs once again. Lots of books get read. Weight is gained.

I'm a pretty active fella, but even still, it can sometimes be such a struggle to maintain my enthusiasm & motivation for activities & adventures when it's 45 degrees & drizzling all the time. On the other hand, it's this time of year when our mountains start to get hammered with the first winter storms of the year .. which also means the lowland rivers are full of water, & that our coastal zones light up with big swell from the North Pacific caused by the same storms that deliver so much snow to the Olympics & Cascades. Mt. Baker just opened up this week with a 70-inch base & reports of gagger pow turns in & out of bounds. I'm looking forward to some powder slashes & to reacquainting myself with my favorite whitewater paddleboating run, Robe Canyon, in the very near future. However, at the same time, I'm also looking back & reflecting on the warm, sunny, salty goodness that California offered up on a recent surf trip Matty G. & I did. Having just now come in from a cold wet dog walk, I'm really missing the shorts & flip-flops lifestyle we had for that week right about now. Here's some pics from our trip..














old-growth live oak grove on our buddy's property where we stayed on The Ranch


300 yr-old tree










Nothin' quite like a golden sunset szechuan with no one else out & screamin' rights & lefts




This is pretty much exactly what I'm talking about .. totally daydream-worthy


..yep...



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So while I'm posting surf/beach pics, I might as well go ahead photo-dump some of my others from the PNW coast ..


In the NW, you often have to work a bit harder to find waves


But then you can end up at a place like this with no one else around ..



















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Around here late fall, as harsh as it can be, is very much a season of possibilities. So as I'm daydreaming about warm sunny head-high glass, I definitely still have one foot planted firmly in the reality of my current situation .. I went out today & got my snow-shredding setup all dialed-in & am anxiously awaiting my first deep turn of the season!

Tantalus

In Greek mythology, Tantalus was a son of Zeus and of the nymph Plouto. He was favored by Zeus and allowed to feast on otherworldly Mt. Olympus with the gods. Myth has it Tantalus committed the crime of pocketing some of the food of the gods (nectar and ambrosia) & returned to the mortal world to share amongst his friends. Upon discovering his crime, the gods sentenced him to a rather difficult punishment: he was sentenced to Hades where he was immersed nips-deep in water and was surrounded by trees with ripe low-hanging fruits .. but every time he bent to quench his thirst, the water would disappear leaving him parched .. & every time he reached for a delicious fruit, the winds would lift the branches just out of reach. Thus Tantalus became the root word of "tantalize". Think about that the next time an advertiser pimps a "tantalizing" steak or creme brulee, and all you have to do is throw down your credit card.

In our non-mythological modern times, the Tantalus sub-range of BC's Coast Range is a spectacular vertical explosion of rock and ice running for about 35 km northwest from the town of Squamish into the upper reaches of the Squamish River valley. The range was allegedly named by a local climber who was "tantalized" by its soaring peaks and icefields, but who was unable to access the base of the mountains from across the wide, cold, turbulent Squamish River. Mt. Tantalus is the reigning peak of the range, but the lesser peaks are named after the ancient criminal's wife (Dione), daughter (Niobe), son (Pelops), as well as Pelops' son (Thyestes).

Anyway, here's a couple pics of the Tantalus that I shot from across the valley.

The Chelan Gorge is Neat-O

I learned to boat in Colorado, and spent the majority of my first decade kayaking in there, so that's my main point of reference in this activity we call "kyaking" [sic]. That's also where I met Todd. We often reminisce about, and occasionally poke fun at the Colorado boating scene - perhaps even on this blog from time to time. Recently, the PacNW's latest Colorado transplant chimed in on the comparisons of the two regions with this post. It got Todd and I talking about Colorado boating again on our latest trip over to the East side of the Cascades, which happens to be very Colo-esque in climate. One conclusion we settled on was that, by comparison, photography is extra challenging over here in the deep, dark, well-forested runs of Western WA. Such would not be the case last weekend, however, as the Chelan Gorge has nary a tree nor a shrub in its bedrock crack, and nothing but crystal clear blue skies above. It also possesses plenty-o-sol allowing - practically requiring - shorties to replace the standard issue drysuit.

Prior to last weekend the Chelan gorge had only been run on one other occasion - during a flow study almost ten years ago as part of its Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) re-licensing process. Yet, this may be one of the most well documented rivers in the nation. This stretch is now in a three year review process with many stakeholder groups evaluating our actions on and off the river, which means even more documentation (such as here and here). And now, I guess, adding my own two centavos, and Todd's photos, makes it that much more documented. Hopefully all this will help future boaters determine if this is a run they are interested in and qualified for, as safety is the number one concern for boating this run, but it would also be good to show as much interest as possible over the course of these next three years.

A final note on the nature of this run during the review process. The agencies involved in these releases have been particularly concerned about liability issues surrounding our recreational activities. Participants must register on the Chelan PUD site, sign waivers, and check-in the day of boating. Realize that this is one of the more difficult sections of water to boat on FERC releases, and it is located in an area with no other class V boating options, so the community is not accustomed to the likes of us waterfall-loving types. However, you wouldn't know this by the welcome you will receive. The waitress at the Apple Cup Cafe asked about our adventure, a crowd of thirty or more spectators gathered on the bridge spanning the canyon, and the PUD folks were very excited to facilitate the process, working over the weekend and even baking us brownies. So, play by the rules, be patient with the paperwork, and come out to support this decade-long effort by AW!

I don't have a ton to add to the previously mentioned commentary. The run is fun. It's probably not destined for the fame of Tatlow or the fanfare of Robe canyon, but it is a truly unique gorge with amazingly beautiful water ... and did I mention that its hot and sunny over there. Time for the photos! (all photos by Todd Gillman)






Sequence of Bellingham-by-way-of-CO resident Leif Embertson in the 3-part first rapid.




Jonathan Ehlinger in the middle of the entrance rapid.


Tretwold




The bottom of the first rapid is formed by a tight constriction with plenty of funny water in front of it. The hole, at 350 cfs, is small in size, but curiously strong .. and difficult to hit with the proper combination of speed and angle, which produced some interesting results. Above is Scherdle on the approach.


There was one really nice cross-current boof..


... and a drop that was eerily similar to Monkey Cage on the Top Tye...


Chris on the Monkey Cage doppelganger.


The water spilling off the top of Lake Chelan was around 60 degrees, which, with the 95-degree air temp, was almost too warm. In fact, the excessive heat at one point had me feeling lethargic and lazy. On a day like we had you could easily get away with paddling in just a PFD.






The Chelan's stunning color and clarity is something more commonly associated with "butt-ass-cold," not "my-skin-is-melting-off-hot."




Directly below the Monkey Cage look-a-like rapid, there's a not-so-bueno big rapid that leads into a portage around a sieve. I think everyone portages both rapids all the time.


Some locals told us of the old days, before the dam, when as kids they'd hike into the gorge and play in the swimming holes. A member of our group discovered at least one "swimming hole" designed, it seems, just for kayakers.


The Chelan Gorge with water in it is indeed a "Chelan Beauty", but be advised if you're contemplating a long drive to take advantage of one of the scheduled releases: the run is short, like only 5 rapids short; there's a bit of mank to contend with on the way into the gorge; and there are 2 advised portages, one of which takes some time to move a group through. None of this is meant to dissuade anybody, just being clear about it.

On Relevance, Style, Semantics & Carnage-Filled Attempts

I like when friends come to visit me here in Seattle. Whether it's for a specific purpose like kayaking or surfing or snowboarding -- or for no real purpose at all -- I can almost always find us something fun &/or troublesome to get into. And with the always entertaining cast of characters I run with, I can usually guarantee that my boring demeanor will be more than made up for by the likes of people like "Utah", "Shrtl", & "B-Rock".

Such was to be the case last week when my pal Evan, from the dry, brown, state of Colorado, came out to immerse himself in the essence of life, which flows in such abundance here in the Promised Land. From the git-go, the plan was focused on our annual Spring pilgrimage to that great Island of Fantasy to our north, which has provided reliable adventure, discovery, & story fodder in years past .. so it seemed a logical destination for early May, but with the caveat that the ever-wonky NW weather would almost certainly keep us on our toes up til the very last second. Heading over to the Island can be a bit of a financial investment & time-suck, so best we make certain them rivers is full before committing. And besides, mainland options would abound, so at least Evan was assured some good BC kayaking no matter what. From the git-go this was the plan, & a team of 8 was on board.

As luck would have it, neither rain nor sunshiny heat would hit the Island in time to justify our intended departure .. so the Mainland would have to suffice in the meantime. We could always just blast over to the Island for a quickie if flows cooperated.

Our 5-day trip began as a leisurely afternoon on the local favorite Robe Canyon. Prior to our trip, I'd only been kayaking like 3 times since Fall, so Robe's a good way to clean out the cobwebs & great introduction for our desert-livin', low-water mank-lovin' friend to the watery ways of the NW. From there we'd blast north to B'ham to drop off the Corey-dog at the dogsitters. It was there that we learned from our non-kayaking dogsitter friend that our trip -- before it had even begun -- was already being called a skunk fest. I was kind of shocked at her ability to see so clearly into the future & so I asked her if I would ever make enough money to buy a nice 3 BR craftsman in Seattle. Turns out, she didn't have the clairvoyance superpower, just a direct line of communication to one of the naysayers who had apparently decided early on along with 2 others to opt out of the plans.

No matter. In reality the exclusion of those guys almost certainly simplified things in a lot of ways. Coming to consensus on anything amongst the existing group of 5 was difficult enough without the addition of 3 more equally opinionated dudes:

"Where are we going today?"

"I dunno, I'll do whatever, as long as it's not this or that .."

"Can we stop & get some coffee?"

"No, seriously, it's almost noon, where are we going today?"

"I dunno. What's even running anyway? Maybe we should go into town & get online & look at the levels.."

"And get coffee!"

So at this point, the crew would be set at Schertzl, Tretwold, Evan & me .. & so onward we pushed, headed for Bryan & Lise-Anne's place in Squamish, with the promise of sunny skies & boring Elaho/Ashlu stuff in the a.m.


Just for fun, here's Sherdle cozying up with the unpredictable Stein Weasel

Just before our trip, I picked up a copy of the recent "whitewater issue" of Canoe & Kayak magazine, & was pleasantly surprised to find that The Range Life was mentioned by writer Joe Carberry in a list of "best whitewater blogs". Since TRL’s inception, we've invested lots of time & energy into building this site. But obviously, in the last year our bloggage has been a lot less prolific. One reason for that is cuz I work full time. Another reason is because we are, collectively, kayaking less; there's a lot of other fun/exciting/adventurous stuff to do other than just kayaking. And yet another reason is that the proliferation of kayaking blogs has kind of turned me off to polluting the airwaves with more of my own mediocre drivel.

Seems the only way to get a leg up in the blogosphere these days is to either point it off a really tall waterfall (preferably with a minimum of 3 Hood River photogs/filmers/bloggers on hand to document it), or more importantly, by loudly proclaiming how "sick", "hella big", "extreme", "dope", "next level" "gnar", "core", etc you & your friends are when you “give ‘er” & “fire that shit” & "get it done".

For every decent, humility-infused story that Darrin or Kirk posts, there’s like 25 other chest-poundin’, fist-pumpin’, “next level” bloggers cloggin’ up the Intertubes like cholesterol. That TRL is even considered relevant in this environment is very flattering, but definitely a little puzzling -- not only have we not been posting regularly, we haven't kept up with conventional WW blogging techniques.

And apparently we created an unintended outcome: Joe’s comment about our “carnage-filled first-descent attempts” gave us some laughs. And a little bout of indignance, like, "Dang! Really?? People read us for the carnage? What carnage??" Hmmm... first off, our trips are rarely carn-fests. No, really, they're not. Seriously, guys, they're not, I swear. Stop laughing.

Also because we rarely label our exploratory missions as "first descents", so how would you even know we're doing 1D attempts when we carn out? How did this happen in spite of all my efforts to the contrary? Shit.

Anyway, getting back to the point .. driving up to Squampton with the crew, comments about our impending "carnage-filled thousandth-descent attempts" were being tossed around liberally. As well as comments about carnage-filled "most-complete descents", "most-successful descents", "first complete-descents", "possible first-descents", "highest-water descents" & "second-descents".

You've spotted this trend, right?

If you're a sponsored kayaker, or even one of the top pros, it's not enough to go explore a river & document it for public consumption; you apparently must brand the experience so the reader makes no mistake as to exactly how "hella sick" you are & how important your kayaking trip will be to the future generations of kayakers. Sometimes it's also important to point out that you're just doing it for the love of the sport & that you're just trying to "progress" the sport. A "second-descent" of any river or big drop, while not as earth shatteringly “killin’ it” as a 1D, apparently serves to bolster the credibility of what would otherwise be a totally pointless day of kayaking .. so you gotta claim that shit! Claiming "highest-water descent" will surely earn you a spot on the Badass List, when you run something that has been paddled more than once or twice before. I was impressed recently to learn about the "most complete-descent to date" of an exotic river .. which is just like saying, "We weren't the first to try this run & we didn't run everything, but we're pretty sure we ran more drops than those last guys who tried it, so, clearly, we're more awesome."

Publicly qualifying your carnage-filled attempt of a river in any of the ways described above (& if you could invite a minimum of 3 Hood River photogs/filmers/bloggers, that would work best) will ensure that your trip to Tibet or Sumatra or Bolivia or Yakima is justified in the eyes of your sponsors, ingrained in the collective conscience, and that you are legendary on the World Wide Web. Just lay down some hella tight beatz on yo film footy & you got a next level trailer to drop on all those headz in the forumz.


“Good morning, Viet-Squam!” Irony is when the UV-addicted Rocky Mountain kayaker comes to the PNW looking for “hella sick” rain-fed rivers & all he gets is dry & sunny, just like back home ..

But that ain’t so bad, really .. is it?

Shrtl ain’t skeert.


Is this “the brown”?? I dunno. And where the hell is Mt. Zion, anyway?



Tret getting squirrelly on Fear


Evan splatty in the funny water


Shrtl lookin’ good in the run-out after stompin’ out the portage. Quote of the day: “My lady loves it when I style the portage line on the big drops!”


Chris in the pinch


Evan, with what we think might be Mt. Zion in the background .. For all you Ras Trent’s out there, stay true to the path ..




Pretty nice little afternoon we had .. but we weren’t done yet. Bryan was doing some carpentry work out the Squamish valley & wanted to meet us for an evening blazer down the Ashlu Box. We got to the bridge & the level looked good enough. I mean, we were hoping for “highest-water descent” material, but that wasn’t the case, it was just a boring old “medium-perfect”. We’d have to go for some other monumental distinction on this run.

Turns out, we nailed it! I successfully logged my “most incomplete-descent” of the Commitment Canyon of the Ashlu when, after blowing it at Kernage, I ended up in a hungry hole & became permanently separated from my vessel. Complacency is a crime. ”Running the brine”, it turns out, is not. The upper canyon of the Box is not an easy solo egress. I made it up a little crack in the wall a couple hundred feet to a ledge where my hopes of “walking” out would be dashed. I’d have to hunker down & wait for my pals to return on foot, with ropes. I ended up ascending the last little bit of slimy vertical wall with the aid of a pair of Tiblocs.

So there’s the “carnage-filled” epic our loyal readers have come to expect from us! Now where’s my effin’ boat? Count that as my first-ever real sacrifice to the river in many years of whitewater paddleboating, cuz that Everest was never seen again. And I hate littering.

Next day was more Ashlu Box. Here are some “hella sick” angles.. these angles are definitely “next level shit” only available to the hardcore pro photog on foot who isn’t encumbered by a heavy plastic boat.


Kato


Tretwold finishing up Triple Drop


Dang! This angle on Kernage definitely illustrates how a fella might free himself inadvertently from his vessel, right? Is it “the brown”?? I think it could be ..


Man Chris, this is some "extreme brine"


Evan Dotcom, guide book author, “fired that shit” whether it was “the brown” or "the brine" or not.


So did Schartel.

First drop of Twin 10’s as illustrated in-sequence by several different paddlers.






Looking up the lower canyon at what could be Mt. Zion in the background


Interestingly, Shertyl logged his own “most complete descent” of the Box just a day after I logged my “most INcomplete descent”.




Last thing on the Box..

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Oh man oh man! I was really hoping to get to say “huck” a whole bunch! That’s another one that’s a guaranteed winner for bloggers. I’m in luck with huck, cuz we spent an afternoon conducting a “huckfest” at Britannia.


Huck!


Huck!!


Huck!!! Even though I love this shot, this is actually kind of embarrassing. Media Frenzies ‘R Us! This isn’t even kayaking. Next time, let’s go kayaking eh?

Bonus: Furry goes un-hucked

Try as I might, couldn’t convince anyone to "give 'er" or "fire that shit". Guess it was too “brown” to huck.

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The last day of Evan’s little vacay would be a bit more exploratory. I think we can safely call this one a “possible 5th descent” of Ruby Creek, which is pretty rad because the “possible” implies that we could actually be farther up the chain than #5. Maybe we were #3, which is only one slot down from the coveted “second-descent”. And since no one really knows much about this creek, I might as well go ahead & claim the “possible 2nd descent” & throw that out to the forums, cuz no one will argue. Booya!


Shrtl.


Ev


Tret

We knew there would be a nice waterfall series in here. It was kind of hard to scout from above, but what we could see looked pretty great. I volunteered to go first, mainly cuz I wanted to take photos from downstream, but also cuz I hate dilly-dallyin’ above big rapids & I wanted to just get it over with. I got pretty nervous while I was trying to scout, but that’s exactly when I realized that someone had just survived a 186-foot waterfall & that it was totally ridiculous for me to kook-out about a 30-footer. Seriously, think about that the next time you’re in your boat above that 15-footer that’s giving you the willies – 186 feet. Thanks for that Tyler.




Ev in sequence.


Shrtl.


Chris

After this thing, we had to portage a ginormous cascading mess. Chris was expedient in setting up the rappel. I went down first & received 3 out of 4 boats before requesting another man. Again, I wanted to take pics. The next hour was spent getting hypothermic in the mist zone while god knows what was taking so much time up on top of that cliff. I never got the real story on what the hold-up was, but I have a suspicion it might have been the result of a fierce Stein Weasel attack, but maybe we’ll just never know..




Evan finishing the rappel


View of zone from downstream


You can barely make out Chris rapping down in the upper-left of the shot


Nice little thing to exit the waterfall series.

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So that was pretty much our skunk-fest of a weekend.

One week later, *everything* is running at primo levels, it's sunny & warm ... but all I can think about is going surfing. Why is that? Maybe that's what is causing my blogger-relevance-insecurity complex, Joe Carberry. The swell sucked this weekend so i should've gone boating with my friends .. but I ended up riding my bike a lot, eating too much food, & drinking too much beer. I think I can honestly claim a "most successful run to date" of the Ballard Farmer's Market today. Seriously, when you factor in the out-of-season organic beets I magically scored, & that I sat next to & ate pizza with that hot, tattooed, Uma Thurman lookalike girl that I see around sometimes, man, it was a pretty successful & relatively carnage-free attempt. And to you folks who doubt the intensity level or "brown-ness" of it, try riding fixed, fast & brakeless through the hordes of Fremont gapers on a sunny Farmers Market day, with a bag full of fresh organic produce & farm-fresh cheese, & a beer in hand. Hey, move it, man! There's a beverage here!

So sick.

PSA: Robe Race Details

Happy Spring everyone. We're targeting Saturday May 16 for the 2nd (possibly) Annual Robe Canyon Downriver Race.

Here are some relevant details:

* Teams of two

* Staggered start above Tunnel; finish at the beach below "Conversation"; +/- 5 mi.

* "Landslide" = mandatory portage

* Actual race date may be pushed out at 11th-hour due to flow considerations. Range = 4.9 - 6.5'ish (or however high racers are willing to go).

* This is an unsponsored, grassroots, non-event

* 1st Place team gets to take home the sweet winners' robes; Last Place team gets to take home & take care of The Robe Gnome for the next year

Interested in racing? Cool, please register your team asap by posting a comment below or emailing me your team members names & email addresses.

Interested in volunteering? Excellent, we need finish line timekeepers, shore support, & a couple safety kayakers.

Last year's race day was muy divertido! Here are a couple links to stories & lots of pics from last year:
Our own;
Owen's
EJ's

Also .. huge appreciation to my brother Tim for providing the artwork for the race announcement. This piece will also be embroidered on the backs of the winners' robes.

Feel free to post/email any questions, comments or shit-talking.