After a weekend of struggles getting this thing online it is finally up. Enjoy the edit and hope to see you all out at the Cal Salmon race this coming weekend. Be sure to check both parts of the vid, 1st part is E. Kaweah and 2nd features Kernfest 09'.
SB
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Friday, April 24, 2009
E. Kaweah Round 2 and Brush Creek Race 09'
This past weekend (4/16-4/19) myself and Justin Patt decided to rally the night mish to the Kaweah from Santa Cruz. We got there late and camped at the Hideaway, anticipating meeting Taylor Robertson, Jason Holman, and Eric Disque in the morning.
When we arose in the morning and found nobody at the camp site but the two of us and a bunch of RV'ers. We were puzzled and went to pay our nights stay and head to Chucks Drop. After talkin' to Dave the camp host we found out that some of my Huckin Huge and Columbia River Gorge boys were in town so we set out to fire up the E. Fork. We blazed trails to meet them at putin and caught up to them just in time.
We put on with me, Jpatt, Cody Howard, Erik Boomer, Dan, and Scott. A rapid or two in Jpatt broke his (his fathers) second Nomad in two weeks. He hiked out and got the car to be road support with Ryan Scott. We boogied through the upper stuff and through the upper Skyhook gorge and Double Drop. Photos by: Erik Boomer
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Then on to good ol' Triple Drop. We had it the lowest flow I have every seen in there. Just about 600 on the Three Rivers gauge and this is probably the lowest I would want to see it at. Everything is still good but the run out gets a little manky. Here are some shots of Triple from the side. Photos by: Erik Boomer
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And these photo's were taken from a couple thousand feet on the road by Mr. Justin Patt. Such an amazing canyon.
After Triple we were on a rally mission to get out. Crusied on through the boogie and the second portage lookin to try and get off the water for a run on Hospital Rock. We got down to Driftwood falls or Fugly Falls and both Dan and Scott got fired up and gave er'. Both lines weren't great but they were ok at the bottom, so they were good enough. This drop looks much better with more water but props to the boys for gettin' fired up.
The group finished out the bottom portion fine with much anticipation for burgers and beer at the Gateway. After a good meal Jpatt and myself looked onward to rally to Kernfest 09' while the rest of the boys were lookin to get into the 2nd decent of the UM Kaweah, for more info on that check www.huckinhuge.com and www.georgehits.com
After the 3 hr drive from the Kaweah we arrived at the Brush Creek take out to sleep and wait for our good friend Keith "Chiseki" McConnaughay from World Class to come down from Santa Cruz to paddle with us for the weekend. We met up with Chiseki in the early afternoon and decided just to run laps on Brush to get ready for the race. After 3 laps we called it good and chilled for the rest of the afternoon.
The most chilling news was about to hit without warning. This same day a group of paddlers went and did Dy Meadow Creek. After the confluence of the Kern, Joe Burnham swam above Carson Falls. The group got a rope to him but he couldn't hold on after the long day of paddling. He drifted into the rapid and disappeared. Macy Burnham was quick to get through the falls and do all he could in search of his father. Macy is a very accomplished paddler and good friend, I give my deepest respects and condolences to him and his family.
This brought a realization to the weekend for everyone that was in the Kernville area. We choose to live our lives to the fullest everyday, as Macy's father did at age 63, simply to be sure that we are living for something greater than ourselves and that is why our sport is special.
The next morning everyone was still shaken by the previous days tragedy but got in some practice laps before the race down Brush Creek. JP and Chiseki opted to be shore support during the race cheering racers on and drinking tall cans (rednecks). The race went well with Eric Giddins winning the Men's Downriver Race, Tanya Faux winning the Women's Downriver Race, and some junior winning the junior class. I placed 7th with a time of 3:25.03.
A quality shot provided by JPatt showin Shasta Boyz reppin' the dirty 530 after the race.
The evening concluded with bootie drinking, burgers, chile fries, beers, and guaranteed disaster with such a high concentration of boaters in one area. First and only necessary example. I locked my keys in the Subi and we got to meet the local tow trucker (and his wife of corse riding shotgun) after Keith (not Chiseki) was nice enough to lace us up with his AAA card.
Some good tree lickin' before Bic made smores in the Subi, ghetto fab.
On Sunday we arose with the sun and got a couple Brush laps in before the hot ride home. We were all stoked to have made the journey and felt fortunate to enjoy some of the endless bounty that our state provides. After a 5 hr. drive home we arrived in Santa Cruz to finish off the weekend with some relaxation, but the knowledge that Chiseki and I both procrastinated our homework till Monday set in. Monday, we could of chose a better day.
Hopefully all the boaters out there had fantastic weekends and I will have a video post of the trip up by the end of this weekend fo sho. Thanks for the support and I will have more to say soon. Later kiddies'.
Shon
When we arose in the morning and found nobody at the camp site but the two of us and a bunch of RV'ers. We were puzzled and went to pay our nights stay and head to Chucks Drop. After talkin' to Dave the camp host we found out that some of my Huckin Huge and Columbia River Gorge boys were in town so we set out to fire up the E. Fork. We blazed trails to meet them at putin and caught up to them just in time.
We put on with me, Jpatt, Cody Howard, Erik Boomer, Dan, and Scott. A rapid or two in Jpatt broke his (his fathers) second Nomad in two weeks. He hiked out and got the car to be road support with Ryan Scott. We boogied through the upper stuff and through the upper Skyhook gorge and Double Drop. Photos by: Erik Boomer
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
Then on to good ol' Triple Drop. We had it the lowest flow I have every seen in there. Just about 600 on the Three Rivers gauge and this is probably the lowest I would want to see it at. Everything is still good but the run out gets a little manky. Here are some shots of Triple from the side. Photos by: Erik Boomer
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
And these photo's were taken from a couple thousand feet on the road by Mr. Justin Patt. Such an amazing canyon.
After Triple we were on a rally mission to get out. Crusied on through the boogie and the second portage lookin to try and get off the water for a run on Hospital Rock. We got down to Driftwood falls or Fugly Falls and both Dan and Scott got fired up and gave er'. Both lines weren't great but they were ok at the bottom, so they were good enough. This drop looks much better with more water but props to the boys for gettin' fired up.
The group finished out the bottom portion fine with much anticipation for burgers and beer at the Gateway. After a good meal Jpatt and myself looked onward to rally to Kernfest 09' while the rest of the boys were lookin to get into the 2nd decent of the UM Kaweah, for more info on that check www.huckinhuge.com and www.georgehits.com
After the 3 hr drive from the Kaweah we arrived at the Brush Creek take out to sleep and wait for our good friend Keith "Chiseki" McConnaughay from World Class to come down from Santa Cruz to paddle with us for the weekend. We met up with Chiseki in the early afternoon and decided just to run laps on Brush to get ready for the race. After 3 laps we called it good and chilled for the rest of the afternoon.
The most chilling news was about to hit without warning. This same day a group of paddlers went and did Dy Meadow Creek. After the confluence of the Kern, Joe Burnham swam above Carson Falls. The group got a rope to him but he couldn't hold on after the long day of paddling. He drifted into the rapid and disappeared. Macy Burnham was quick to get through the falls and do all he could in search of his father. Macy is a very accomplished paddler and good friend, I give my deepest respects and condolences to him and his family.
This brought a realization to the weekend for everyone that was in the Kernville area. We choose to live our lives to the fullest everyday, as Macy's father did at age 63, simply to be sure that we are living for something greater than ourselves and that is why our sport is special.
The next morning everyone was still shaken by the previous days tragedy but got in some practice laps before the race down Brush Creek. JP and Chiseki opted to be shore support during the race cheering racers on and drinking tall cans (rednecks). The race went well with Eric Giddins winning the Men's Downriver Race, Tanya Faux winning the Women's Downriver Race, and some junior winning the junior class. I placed 7th with a time of 3:25.03.
A quality shot provided by JPatt showin Shasta Boyz reppin' the dirty 530 after the race.
The evening concluded with bootie drinking, burgers, chile fries, beers, and guaranteed disaster with such a high concentration of boaters in one area. First and only necessary example. I locked my keys in the Subi and we got to meet the local tow trucker (and his wife of corse riding shotgun) after Keith (not Chiseki) was nice enough to lace us up with his AAA card.
Some good tree lickin' before Bic made smores in the Subi, ghetto fab.
On Sunday we arose with the sun and got a couple Brush laps in before the hot ride home. We were all stoked to have made the journey and felt fortunate to enjoy some of the endless bounty that our state provides. After a 5 hr. drive home we arrived in Santa Cruz to finish off the weekend with some relaxation, but the knowledge that Chiseki and I both procrastinated our homework till Monday set in. Monday, we could of chose a better day.
Hopefully all the boaters out there had fantastic weekends and I will have a video post of the trip up by the end of this weekend fo sho. Thanks for the support and I will have more to say soon. Later kiddies'.
Shon
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Hotel Charley IV: At Your Own Risk
Yo crew. The time is almost here. Stookesberry's new film will be touring soon in a town near you. Be sure to get out there and get a copy of your own, it is a very sick compilation of adventures. Shasta Boyz Productions helped out with some of the underground details and is stoked to see it release. Check out this teaser with sick beats from our fellow hucker Rush Sturges. This vid is bound to blow your mind and make sure to get out and support the cause.
Hotel Charley IV - At Your Own Risk ( The Trailer ) from Jason Rackley on Vimeo.
Hotel Charley IV - At Your Own Risk ( The Trailer ) from Jason Rackley on Vimeo.
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Kaweah time w/ World Class Kayak Academy
Yo homies. This past weekend (3/26-3/29) myself and Justin Patt rallied south to meet our former kayak academy World Class. It was great to see the school again and realize how lucky we were to have been able to attend. We were intent on gettin er' done this weekend so we set our sights high on the goods.
First up in the morning on Friday was nothing. Sleep, check flows on E. Kaweah, and waiting for the chitlins to finish classes. Around 3pm Friday we charged up into Sequoia National Forest with our eyes set on Chucks Slide to kick the weekend off. After the 20 min hike or so up to the slide, JP and Jesse Shimrock gave me the thumbs up, so we all got our scout on before firin' er off.
Jesse went first with a pretty clean line catching some air and grazing the right wall at the bottom. JP stepped up next. It was his second time on the beast so he had a good feel for er'. He cleaned it like a virgin on prom night. Last up, I hopped in my white water craft and paddled at the lip. The thing was super fast, and the big roaster tail in the middle sent me for almost a clean 180. Finished out the bottom backwards but upright, which is all I cared about. Caught the wall a bit at the bottom but a quick roll and no problems. Check out the sequence by Jason Cohen.
From there we finished out Chucks section and Hospital Rock on the Middle Kaweah with the World Classers. The flow was good, a little low but still lots of fun. I got a bit tooled on Little Niagra because I forgot it was there and JP broke his boat towards the bottom of the run. Other than that we had a great run with our small battalion of paddlers.
Saturday morning the group decided to rally out to the Tule drainage in search of some new fun. Never having seen this place, I was inclined to check it out. After the coupe hour drive from the Kaweah we arrived at the Middle Tule looking at flows. It was definitely a bit low but still a very cool landscape to see.
We waited till Sunday to try and do the East Fork to allow the warm weekend to give us some more water for the run. The group (myself, JP, LJ Groth, and Jesse Shimrock) were determined to get in there and check it out. Since JP broke his boat on the Middle Kaweah he opted to take the Green Boat down the run. The flow was on the low side but still an incredible run. The last time I ran it was with Taylor Robertson and the Shasta Boyz a few years ago at much higher water. I didn't remember a lot of detail of the run but with super solid group we routed it just fine.
All the early stuff was a playground all the way till Skyhook. We check out the stout and with more water it goes, super rowdy, but it goes. The group didn't feel like ridin' the bull so we took the portage high on the left. I remembered the portage being much worse but this time it seemed mellow for all the goods you get afterwards. After one more portage we started getting into the treats. Here is a photo of Jesse and I blue angleing Double Drop courtesy of JPatt.
This is a fun drop but the best part is that you know your getting closer to Triple Drop. Photo: LJ Groth
After seeing a glimpse of it from the road all of us were amped to huck. After a quick scout, Jesse our fearless East Coaster called dibs to hit it first. He styled it. Launching a fattie boof off the top drop and cleaning the bottom two. Next up was LJ, he drove a little far right on the top drop but till made it happen making it down the other drops upright. JP went third in his massive Green Boat skying off the top drop with plenty of momentum driving him through the bottom two.
Last up after filming the others from the top, I gave her a huck. Got a great boof off the top drop which carried me into good position for then second drop. I got eddied out on the right between the second and third drops but a hard ferry got me back to where I wanted to be. Check out the sequence provided by LJ Groth.
This drop is sooooo sick. The last trip or group portaged because the second drops hole was super gnar gnar at the flow we had it. After Triple drop we took our time enjoying the scenery and busting out the bottom section. After Skyhook all the portaging is pretty mellow compared to many other portages. Towards the bottom JP lead into a drop blind and fully submerged the Green Boat pinning in the top right of the drop. Right when we heard his scream we were all out of our boats with ropes trying to get him out. Eventually he found his pull tab and was able break free from his boat. From there Jesse clipped a bag on his stern and tugged as hard as he could to budge to boat, while LJ and I pulled on the rope from the opposite side of the river. After some serious pulling and jolting we were able to get the boat out unbroken.
Stoked to through that hairy situation we plowed through all the bottom goods and got to the Gateway just in time for happy hour, burgers, and music. A perfect ending to an amazing day of paddling. After saying our goodbyes we loaded up, feeling accomplished by the weekend and stoked to hang with such a cool group of paddlers.
Now I am back in SC studying for midterms and doing all the homework I procrastinated this weekend to go paddling. But was worth it...........are you f**in kidding. Worth every second and now at least I get to think about sick boating while doing my school work. Enjoy the little film. I shot it all with a POV helmet cam, my HD is gettin fix but should be back in a week. Hope everyone is gettin' into the Spring goods and look forward to an epic CALI season.
Notorious B
First up in the morning on Friday was nothing. Sleep, check flows on E. Kaweah, and waiting for the chitlins to finish classes. Around 3pm Friday we charged up into Sequoia National Forest with our eyes set on Chucks Slide to kick the weekend off. After the 20 min hike or so up to the slide, JP and Jesse Shimrock gave me the thumbs up, so we all got our scout on before firin' er off.
Jesse went first with a pretty clean line catching some air and grazing the right wall at the bottom. JP stepped up next. It was his second time on the beast so he had a good feel for er'. He cleaned it like a virgin on prom night. Last up, I hopped in my white water craft and paddled at the lip. The thing was super fast, and the big roaster tail in the middle sent me for almost a clean 180. Finished out the bottom backwards but upright, which is all I cared about. Caught the wall a bit at the bottom but a quick roll and no problems. Check out the sequence by Jason Cohen.
From there we finished out Chucks section and Hospital Rock on the Middle Kaweah with the World Classers. The flow was good, a little low but still lots of fun. I got a bit tooled on Little Niagra because I forgot it was there and JP broke his boat towards the bottom of the run. Other than that we had a great run with our small battalion of paddlers.
Saturday morning the group decided to rally out to the Tule drainage in search of some new fun. Never having seen this place, I was inclined to check it out. After the coupe hour drive from the Kaweah we arrived at the Middle Tule looking at flows. It was definitely a bit low but still a very cool landscape to see.
We waited till Sunday to try and do the East Fork to allow the warm weekend to give us some more water for the run. The group (myself, JP, LJ Groth, and Jesse Shimrock) were determined to get in there and check it out. Since JP broke his boat on the Middle Kaweah he opted to take the Green Boat down the run. The flow was on the low side but still an incredible run. The last time I ran it was with Taylor Robertson and the Shasta Boyz a few years ago at much higher water. I didn't remember a lot of detail of the run but with super solid group we routed it just fine.
All the early stuff was a playground all the way till Skyhook. We check out the stout and with more water it goes, super rowdy, but it goes. The group didn't feel like ridin' the bull so we took the portage high on the left. I remembered the portage being much worse but this time it seemed mellow for all the goods you get afterwards. After one more portage we started getting into the treats. Here is a photo of Jesse and I blue angleing Double Drop courtesy of JPatt.
This is a fun drop but the best part is that you know your getting closer to Triple Drop. Photo: LJ Groth
After seeing a glimpse of it from the road all of us were amped to huck. After a quick scout, Jesse our fearless East Coaster called dibs to hit it first. He styled it. Launching a fattie boof off the top drop and cleaning the bottom two. Next up was LJ, he drove a little far right on the top drop but till made it happen making it down the other drops upright. JP went third in his massive Green Boat skying off the top drop with plenty of momentum driving him through the bottom two.
Last up after filming the others from the top, I gave her a huck. Got a great boof off the top drop which carried me into good position for then second drop. I got eddied out on the right between the second and third drops but a hard ferry got me back to where I wanted to be. Check out the sequence provided by LJ Groth.
This drop is sooooo sick. The last trip or group portaged because the second drops hole was super gnar gnar at the flow we had it. After Triple drop we took our time enjoying the scenery and busting out the bottom section. After Skyhook all the portaging is pretty mellow compared to many other portages. Towards the bottom JP lead into a drop blind and fully submerged the Green Boat pinning in the top right of the drop. Right when we heard his scream we were all out of our boats with ropes trying to get him out. Eventually he found his pull tab and was able break free from his boat. From there Jesse clipped a bag on his stern and tugged as hard as he could to budge to boat, while LJ and I pulled on the rope from the opposite side of the river. After some serious pulling and jolting we were able to get the boat out unbroken.
Stoked to through that hairy situation we plowed through all the bottom goods and got to the Gateway just in time for happy hour, burgers, and music. A perfect ending to an amazing day of paddling. After saying our goodbyes we loaded up, feeling accomplished by the weekend and stoked to hang with such a cool group of paddlers.
Now I am back in SC studying for midterms and doing all the homework I procrastinated this weekend to go paddling. But was worth it...........are you f**in kidding. Worth every second and now at least I get to think about sick boating while doing my school work. Enjoy the little film. I shot it all with a POV helmet cam, my HD is gettin fix but should be back in a week. Hope everyone is gettin' into the Spring goods and look forward to an epic CALI season.
Notorious B
The 2009 Season
What up peps. Just want to drop a line to introduce some new sponsors for the 2009 season. It is a pleasure to begin with introducing Level Six paddling gear to the crew, they make killer paddling gear and some fresh apparel. Check them out at www.levelsix.ca
Next up is a local Shasta company, Helmet Camera Central, a perfect spot for all your helmet cam needs. They just got me a
POV 1 for this last trip and the thing is sick! Check them out at www.helmetcameracentral.com
As of yesterday I became part of the HippyTree crew. They are a itol clothing company representing some great athletes including my good friend LJ Groth. They have a great message and some killer Cali style. Check them out at www.hippytree.com
Last up is SixSixOne. They make some of the leading pads in our sport and I look forward to putting them to full use. Check out their new designs for the season at www.sixsixone.com
Thanks to all these companies for the support and contributions to keep us paddlers on the water. See yall out there.
SB
Next up is a local Shasta company, Helmet Camera Central, a perfect spot for all your helmet cam needs. They just got me a
POV 1 for this last trip and the thing is sick! Check them out at www.helmetcameracentral.com
As of yesterday I became part of the HippyTree crew. They are a itol clothing company representing some great athletes including my good friend LJ Groth. They have a great message and some killer Cali style. Check them out at www.hippytree.com
Last up is SixSixOne. They make some of the leading pads in our sport and I look forward to putting them to full use. Check out their new designs for the season at www.sixsixone.com
Thanks to all these companies for the support and contributions to keep us paddlers on the water. See yall out there.
SB
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