Aesthetic Adventures and Photography

Surfin' at KWP

2010-09-02T22:50:00.000-07:00

Good Times in Idaho...

2010-09-02T22:11:00.000-07:00

World Cup Freestyle 2010

2010-07-02T19:10:00.000-07:00

Ending up top 10 in my first international event was good. I didn't paddle great, but I had fun and I would do it again.There were so many skilled paddlers there I had never seen or heard of. The whole experience was such an eye-opener! I had never traveled to another continent, and neither had my mom, who decided to join me. After the airline separated us on the way over, a train broke down and I had to rent my own car and drive in a country where I don't speak the language, I had a stressful first few days trying to locate her. I was jetlagged and neither of us had phones. I had to remind myself often of EJ's words...call it wisdom: "Worry is payment on a debt you may never owe." I was so grateful to have someone I knew there, as well as someone to paddle with!

The hole at Augsburg was trashy at times and flushy at other times. I truly enjoyed the *super* boily eddies coupled with super aggressive people lining up for turns. :)

When my mom and I finally met up after our Planes, Trains, and Automobiles travel nightmares, we started making up for lost time by packing our sightseeing plans into fewer days. And I tried to paddle twice a day. :)

We started on a light note...with Dachau Concentration Camp. Here, a gas chamber reads "showers" on the doorway. I did not expect my visit to this place of death and suffering to affect me the way it did. At times, I felt overcome with sorrow, but I completely toured the camp and said a prayer for those who suffered and died here. My mom reminded me that we need to be aware of such atrocities so that they never happen again.

Here we are at the front gates, where the German phrase reads something about hard work earning freedom. Yeah right.

My mom and I drove the 'Romantic Road' in Germany, where castles and old churches dotted the countryside. Scenes like this lifted our spirits:

The Castle Neuschwenstein with the Swiss Alps in the background:

This is the castle below Neuschwenstein, the boyhood home of the king of Bavaria who went mad.

My mom and I rode bikes all over downtown Augsburg. Churchbells tolled as we bumped along the cobblestone streets and stopped for pictures.

Old churches are abundant in Augsburg, including the medieval one seen here:

After Augsburg, I was ready for the air and consistency of the Plattling hole. I had already surfed there a few sessions, and I liked it far better than Augsburg. My mom had flown home, Devon had arrived and we headed for Plattling to set up camp. Then, it began to rain. And rain. And rain. And rain some more. Slugs invaded our tent. Everything we owned was wet. We checked into a hotel, hung our gear on radiant heaters, and watched the water rise. At first, the hole turned into a sweet wave and I had no complaints! Unfortunately, the pre-worlds event of the World Cup ended up being cancelled due to high water. The water in fact was so high it washed the riverwide feature completely out and we were perplexed as to what we could do.

The scene at Plattling with the water rising...

With the event cancelled, we started eating like pigs and sampling beer. The next day we went in search of sights to see and different water to paddle.

We tried to paddle in Munich...there was a sweet wave there. But upon seeing it, we were concerned about a low head dam that was immediately below it and couldn't find a 'plan B' eddy to catch if you missed the first one. After one person declared they were out...we soon all passed.

Taking it all in... (Am I really in Europe?)

With a blonde Czech paddler named Lenka as our guide, we headed towards Prague, stopping at Pilsen to paddle, eat, and drink. Czech Republic was full of beautiful but deteriorating buildings...

Surfing and mini-blunting at the Pilsner Wave in the Czech Republic.

The grand entrance to the Pilsner Brewery in Pilsen, Czech...
Hands down, the best thing about Germany was the food...specifically...chocolate and bread. Below, Devon is eating a mandatory chocolate bar (with vitamins in it!) called Kinder, while I devour a genuine Bavarian pretzel. We also enjoyed some wonderful smoked braided cheese. Sorry to disappoint, but no pictures of us eating that. I do have a picture of Devon eating an obscenely shaped marshmallow filled delicacy called a Super Dickman...but she will kill me if I post it. :)

The VillainS in Action...

2010-05-02T08:44:00.001-07:00

David taking the Villain S off Little River Canyon Falls, and the Nantahala Cascades.

We did a little Villain testing of our own, and decided it has some very distinct paddling features. #1- Its fast. We both compared it to the Green Race Boat in how it handles. Seriously, its probably not quite as fast, but it will definitely surprise you. It carries momentum and does attainments with ease and precision. #2- It resurfaces great. When you melt, have no fear...downstream is always near. :) #3 It boofs easily and often. In fact, watch your speed and weight distribution when green water is in the landing zone...(as with any semi-planing hull creeker.) Just set your angle and relax...wait and take the stroke. No need to scramble in the Villain. You got it. :)#4 It turns easily and carves well. When you need it to, it drives up and over mank. Just watch your speed when heading into junky rapids. Turning and carving this boat is very enjoyable when done correctly. Especially into eddies.

sequence of a slide:

sequence of melting and resurfacing:

sequence of driving up and getting thru manky junk:

We're both enjoying paddling this boat and can't wait for more rain!

Dukes Creek X5...

2010-04-02T16:23:00.000-07:00

There were four guys, six powerades, a box of Little Debbies, three Mega Rockers, but only one Hero...

TVF 2010 had begun!

This year the Stanley Steamers paddled all Jackson Boats and won the 'Class V' division. Congrats again to Jeff West, Chris Townsend, Mark Bowman, Matt Wallace, and my Hero...David Levitt!!

Green Race 2009

2009-11-15T13:02:00.000-08:00

David decided to upgrade from last year and enter both Long and Short boat. Although it didn't go as well as planned, it was still fun. Here's a great shot of David at the Gorilla pad in the Green Race boat... photo by Chris Bell

Kat won the Ocoee Race and...

2009-11-02T12:53:00.000-08:00

...David got 3rd in longboat.

Kat's time: 34:09 Women's Short Boat Champion

David's time was 30:08 in Longboat

Hell's Canyon...Not a Camp-out for Weenies.

2009-08-10T09:09:00.000-07:00

It was after midnight in a small granite nook with no beach...just sharp rocks to sit and sleep on....we had just battled a 7 foot sturgeon. We had rebaited ,and the cataraft was being ferried back in the pitch black right above Hell's Canyon's biggest rapid when someone said, "This is definitely not a camp-out for weenies." So true!

Before heading home from Cali, we limped our way from the Redwood Coast and Crater Lake to Boise on a bad transfer case. We got it fixed just in time to launch on Hell's Canyon. This was our best Hell's Canyon trip yet. David's wrestling buddy Craig joined us and brought his cat boat with sturgeon fishing gear. So this time, not only did we fill our bellies with smallmouth bass...but we spent the nights waiting for our line to scream out with a big sturgeon on the hook! Sure enough, both nights we landed sturgeon! We also took playboats. We surfed and threw wave moves all the way down the river. So fun!

The Middle Kings River

2009-07-30T07:50:00.000-07:00

The first thing necessary to say about the Middle Kings is it is a LOT of work. It is rewarding, but it is a long hike with a heavy load, many demanding rapids, committing gorges, and you are way out in the middle of nowhere. It takes not only skills, but a strong body and mind to run this river.

Even though we both have kayaked over ten years, I knew David was ready and I was not. So I backpacked in...I carried about 45 lbs, including the food canister, a big frozen steak for a surprise dinner, and eventually David gave in and handed me his fullface to carry. It was a long hike for one day. I remember thinking when we got over Bishop pass and to the bottom of Dusy Basin, "I see the river down there. We'll be there in an hour!" Not hardly! It took over four hours to descend the remaining 3000 feet. Lots of blisters for me. Many take 2-3 days to hike in. It took us 9 hours total to hike the 12 miles up, through the snow, over the 12000 foot pass, and into Leconte Canyon on the Middle Kings. But what an amazing journey. The Sierra is a rugged place.

While David kayaked his way down the Sierra Nevada via the Middle Kings, I spent three days hiking in the part of Kings Canyon National Park that has no roads. Eventually, Karin (from Switzerland- her boyfriend was with David) and I made it out, spent another day in Yosemite, and drove the 350 mile shuttle to the Western slope of the Sierra to pick them up at the bottom of the Garlic Falls section, which is below 1000 feet in elevation. The were whipped and hungry.

Chawanakee Gorge of the San Joaquin

2009-07-20T07:45:00.000-07:00

This is a wierd run...starting with the confusing shuttle, putting in below a powerstation in the San Joaquin River Valley filled with a maze of water tunnels and power lines. Then you get out and walk across this huge dam with water going over it. Very sketchy. Its a great run that rarely runs...and its in a committing gorge. Big holes and boulder gardens.

Upper Cherry, Cherry Proper, and the Lower Tuolumne

2009-07-15T07:13:00.000-07:00

California is amazing!

We spent over a month there,
hiking, paddling, and visiting

historic sites. While David
hiked into Upper Cherry with

Ben Davis, Rok Sribar, and

Bryan Kirk, I paddled the

lower sections of the Tuolumne.

This river is a blast...similar to

Idaho's South Salmon run.

David running Double Pothole...

David running Cherry Bomb Falls into the gorge...

After seeing what I missed...I wanted in! So David and I paddled and hiked up to the bottom gorges of Upper Cherry at low water so I could see it. We will definitely be back!

2009 - Competing in Freestyle Again!

2009-07-10T06:41:00.000-07:00

Winter 2009 I spent quite a bit of time at Rock Island surfing the Brave Wave and trying to learn from the Jacksons, Clay (Wright), Nick (Troutman), & Billy (Harris). (I'm totally name droppin'!!) EJ commented one day I should go to Team Trials, and it made me feel pretty good that someone I considered the best kayaker in the world would say that. So I decided that no matter what, I would try out for the US Freestyle Team. I began to train pretty hard, but in the spring there were several setbacks that included shoulder impingement, physical therapy, skin surgeries, stitches, and a lack of training for 6-7 weeks. Despite this, four days before the event, I drove from Chattanooga to Colorado by myself and gave it a shot anyway. I paddled well in practice, was 4th in Prelims, and flushed in Finals, finishing 8th. But I had never tried out before and was glad I finally did! It left me determined to paddle my best and make it next time.
I thought about trying another event. Fibark on the Arkansas is a favorite, so I decided to go there and work on hole moves. I concentrated on getting bigger front loops, consistent back loops, and learning phoenix monkeys and mcnastys for 2 weeks. Water came up and the hole was waving out. Flushy, but with loops and felixes, I managed to finish 3rd, ahead of the other US Team members, but behind Ruth and Emily...both world champs. I couldn't complain too much about that.

Rock Creek and a Vertical Mile on Bear...

2009-05-21T09:01:00.000-07:00

I was doing some PT and had to give my shoulder a break in April and May, but David stayed busy. He dialed a new local run, Rock Creek on Lookout Mountain. The take out is within 3 miles of our house and it is part of a land trust, so access is limited and fragile. Right near the put in, there is this beautiful waterfall (below) that is an obvious portage... Travis Chambers running Insurance Bluff rapid on Rock Creek...

April showers lasted into May this year, and one day, Bear held between 12-15 inches, giving David and Jeff West the opportunity to set a new record. They ran 7 laps on Bear, dropping over 6000 vertical feet in one day! O ya- and Happy Birthday to David...he's 33!!

Green Race 2008: Low Water and Good Lines

2008-11-10T13:11:00.000-08:00

This was David's first time entering the Green Race. He placed 12th in short boat with a time of 5:37.

Surfing in Idaho 2008

2008-08-28T13:29:00.000-07:00

Kat - helix

Kat - air loop

Kat - working on airwheels

Vertical Mile on Oh-Be-Joyful

2008-07-01T12:04:00.000-07:00

David, Chris Townshend and Jeff West got up at daylight, drove a jeep across the Slate River and up the snowy, rough 4WD road to run 21 laps on OBJ (all the way down to the Slate). They had cleared snow the day before and put a tarp over the hood of the Jeep to cross. They broke 3 boats and 1 paddle, and had two flat tires, not to mention some gross looking chapped lips and faces from the ice cold water. Below is David at the 25 footer... And at the 15 footer by the put in...

Now I didn't do the laps, but here is a shot of me at the 25 footer after it warmed up, but that same season!

High Water Oh Be Joyful Race

2008-06-28T13:17:00.000-07:00

David's first extreme race was the OBJ Race. The water was high and the weather was warm, typical for a big snowpack year. After a timed start to finish, they had a Giant Slalom course through the 25 footer. Here's David running a fast line at the first waterfall, a 15 footer...

Running Stupid Falls and the Crested Butte Quadruple Crown!!

2008-06-25T09:04:00.000-07:00

When Mark Bowman and Chad Pickens got to town, it was time for the Crested Butte Quad Crown...Some more OBJ, Daisy, Slate, and the Upper East. David decided Stupid Falls looked good and went for it!

Top photo: Kat on Daisy (photo by Natalie Kellum)

Next: David entering Stupid Falls (photo by Scott Shoup, who joined in for a couple runs)

More TVF...Henderson, Richland, Cain, and North Chickamauga Creeks all in one day!

2008-04-09T06:01:00.000-07:00

When it rains in Chattanooga, there's no better place to be! David and Jonathon hit Henderson first, and then came over to the Chick for a late run. I took some first timers down Cain/Chick on the early run. Below are some shots of me (finally) running Vortex. My first time and super clean!

Thanks to Anne Connely for the photos! It was great to paddle with her. The girls ran Vortex, and coincidently, one of the guys that was portaging changed his mind. Ha!

David gets his vertical mile and then some! He sets huge TVF records on Suck Creek...in the Snow!!

2008-03-10T10:31:00.000-07:00

Launching off Pinnacle on David's 12th lap...

This year for TVF, David joined the renowned Stanley Steamers Team, which includes Jeff West, Chris Townsend, Jonathan Shanin, and Mark Bowman. These guys are fired up! Starting before daylight on a snowy cold day, David and Jeff blew away the records on our local manky class V run, Suck Creek. Specifically, David did 16 laps all the way to the bridge, beating the old record by over 8 miles and 1500 vertical feet! Then we realized, not only did he get a vertical mile, he had beaten the East Coast TVF personal record by over 300 feet...He logged 6320!! Also, the team logged over 7,000 feet and Jeff ran Knucklehead (a regularly portaged drop) 10 times in a row!!...You can read a detailed story about this adventure and others at tvfkayaking.blogspot.com. Here are a few shots from the day. Below is Jeff at Pinnacle, around lap 8, boofing the Dagger Nomad like a champ:

David and Jeff getting ready in snowy twilight:

Snow fell in the morning and blanketed the ground. A rare sight in the southern corner of Tennessee.

David at Road Construction on lap 3: Jeff running Knucklehead for the 5th time in a row:David runs the bottom of Road Construction while Jeff enters:

David at Slow-N-Low on lap 10:

Going Big on the Mighty Tellico

2008-03-02T19:54:00.000-08:00

I've been seeing guys freewheeling their creekboats, so I decided to try it for myself. It turns out that I can do it too! I love my Burn! After practicing some serious creeking boofs, and a couple good freewheels at Baby Falls, I pulled a log out of Diaper Wiper and we headed down to Bald River Falls for some "plugging practice." I took a shot of David (below) and we finished two complete laps. Woohoo! Next, we headed to a 'secret creek' in the area to clean wood out. David manhandled several logs, and all the best drops on my secret creek are ready to run! :) Kat

Little River Canyon Falls in Alabama: Kat checks it off

2008-02-18T20:41:00.000-08:00

Finally, I made it down there at 8 to 9 inches and was able to run this awesome drop. Dave has run it lots of times, but this was my first time :)

Thanks to my friends Matt Wallace and Ben Davis for the moral support and the photos! They also dropped it for their 1st time and had nice lines!

Green Race 2007...Kat Spanks the Monkey!

2007-11-09T06:13:00.000-08:00

Well, I have big news! After years of walking it and being a stupid chicken, I FINALLY RAN GORILLA!!! It wasn't as hard as I thought it would be, and I nailed the line. The Notch went smooth, I caught the eddy and looked up at the huge crowd of people screaming at me...I smiled, peeled out and hit the pad dead center with a big right boof stroke, landed and punched the speed trap in control. I eddied out at the bottom and pumped a fist or two! It was one of my top moments in a kayak for sure. For years, through mental and physical trials, there were many times when I doubted whether I would ever do it. It felt really good to put the Gorilla "rite of passage" behind me and just enjoy the Green! It was awesome to have my husband waiting for me at the bottom, and my friend Tommy, who I haven't seen in years, setting safety as well, with big smiles on both their faces. What a great day!

Now lets just hope I can keep running it like that! :)Kat

Below are his and hers lines at Pencil sharpener:

Green Narows Again...low, but fun.

2007-10-22T18:49:00.000-07:00

His and hers boofs at Groove Tube. (Kat above, David below)

Thanks to Matt Wallace for the photos!

Gauley Fest 2007

2007-10-19T15:06:00.000-07:00

After Labor Day, our next big fun paddling trip was to West Virginia for Gauley Fest Weekend. I paddled 3 days on the Upper Gauley and carried my boat up the Panther Creek trail every day. I was so tired from paddling hard and carrying my boat up that steep trail that I slept through the festival! I missed dancing with the Orange Crush, Pole Dancing at the Dagger Booth, and all the rest. Oh well, I came for the river anyway! I did run into many people I hadn't seen in a long while. Gauley Fest is always socially enjoyable.

Kat

Cheoah on Labor Day Weekend

2007-09-01T14:56:00.000-07:00

Cheoah is great fun, and the tree situation is getting better all the time. The first time I ran this river, back before the releases were negotiated, it was scary and dangerous due to all the class 3-4 rapids literally in a forest.

Kat (above) entering the center line at Bear Creek Falls, or Big'un...or whatever its being called these days. This is such a fun rapid. David (below) running the same line, but a closer shot.

Here's David on the second drop:

Kat's second picture turned out blurry. Thanks to Dneesh on Boatertalk for the pics!

A Decade of Whitewater

2007-08-27T09:19:00.000-07:00

Well, I've been boating for 10 years now, so I decided to get with the times and post a blog on the web of all my adventures. Plenty of paddlers have come and gone during these years, but my fascination with fast rivers and falling water is never-ending. I look forward to paddling whitewater for many years to come. Thanks for visiting and enjoy!

Above is me on Bear Creek a couple years ago. The drop is Big Bang, a 5.2 because of the shallow and extremely narrow landing zone. It is a pretty easy boof with a sweet, little kicker pad, but it can hurt you if you miss it.

Below are some more sweet boofs in Tennessee, North Carolina, and Alabama:

A tight little slot:

David scared me on this one...but he kicked it right back up and never got his face wet.

6 inches on the Green

2007-08-18T21:15:00.000-07:00

We hadn't been to the Green in a while, so last weekend we headed over there and found it pretty low (80%?). I had a good run, but then again I walked Gorilla. David ran GoLeft for his first time perfectly, but he had a painful landing off Gorilla. His ribs are still sore. Here's the pic:

The Multi-day trips

2007-07-20T23:13:00.000-07:00

Idaho has some of the best wilderness multi-day trips anywhere. We have woven our way through the largest wilderness area in the 'Lower 48' on many miles of whitewater and this year was no different. David had to paddle the classic South Fork Salmon this year without me, since I had an ear infection. I wasn't too disappointed, considering the level was way lower than my high water descent last year. Terry Smith, from Tennessee, joined him for his first self-contain trip, and his Mega Rocker was perfect. They flew out on an Islander at Mackay Bar. To fly out of the backcountry, you just arrange an air taxi. Its always interesting to meet the crazy pilots who fly old planes in the tight mountain backcountry.

We spent 4th of July on Hell's Canyon in our playboats with raft support! We caught plenty of smallmouth bass and a few small steelhead, and we ate some too! It was awesome to see Sarah, Terry's 13 year old daughter, run some HUGE rapids in her new Fun. She did very well. The real kicker of the trip was finding a big rattlesnake basically under David's pillow one morning after we had slept on a tarp under the stars. Creepy, huh?

We were lucky enough to be invited on a self-contain trip on the Selway. The water was low but it was beautiful. The permits are so hard to get, we couldn't turn it down. Only one group is allowed to launch per day.

Ladle (above) and Wolf Creek (below).

Lunchtime at Cougar Bluff:

Typical Selway scenery:

Moose Creek Ranger Station and Airstrip (below). This is where the first smoke-jumps were made in 1940. The farm and buildings were built in the 1920's and 30's. Pack bridges, trails into Moose Creek, and along the Selway River were built in the 1930's by the CCC, and later finished by Japanese internment camp workers during WWII. The Forest Service maintains them in true historical fashion, allowing no motorized or mechanical traffic on the trails. This includes chainsaws as well. Downed trees are cut by hand and most supplies are packed in on foot or on horseback.

Old growth cedar trees, ponderosa pines, ferns, and moss line the banks of the Selway River. Its water is clean and clear.

Main Salmon play

2007-07-18T23:02:00.000-07:00

Here are some mediocre shots of surfing Rodeo Hole, Cat's Paw, and Gold's on the Main Salmon in Idaho...where all you have to watch out for is a jet boat twice a day.

Do we stop in Colorado?

2007-06-25T21:55:00.000-07:00

You bet we do!! Oh-Be-Joyful is hard to beat. I first ran it back in 2000, and I dragged David there for his first runs in 2005. It may well be the easiest 400 foot mile around, but that doesn't mean its not still class 5. So remember: Oh-Be-Careful!

There are a couple shots of Daisy and the Upper East here too.

Clear Creek of the Arkansas is a nice continuous class 4+ run with little box canyons and ghost town buildings.

Speaking of ghost towns...

This one is called Ironton and it sits at 11,000 feet in elevation. It's one of many towns that sprung up near the old silver mines in Red Mountain that thrived in the 1880's. There is even a ghost town called Chattanooga there! The Yankee Girl mine was in operation until the 1930's but its most profitable years were before the Silver Panic in 1893. Ironton once had over 1000 residents, but the last resident died in the mid 1960's. Several fires have taken their toll on the ghost towns in this area. Its definitely worth checking out if you are traveling from Ouray to Silverton, Colorado. There is a narrow gauge railroad track following the Animas River to Durango. We spent a day on Lime Creek, which is also in the area. Check back for a video clip of Adrenaline Falls! South Mineral is also nearby, which I have run, but rumor has it that it is full of logs now.

On another note, if you haven't mountain biked in Crested Butte or Salida, you are really missing out. The single track is incredible.

The Black Canyon of the Gunnison's South Rim is worth a look if you are in central Colorado.

Can you see the horizon through the natural rock arch below?

Mesa Verde National Park was our final stop in Colorado. The cactus were in full bloom both here and at the Black Canyon.

This is the cliff dwelling by the park museum. We were allowed to walk around the dwellings and even descend into a kiva. Kivas are round pool-like areas within the dwellings that are believed to be a sacred religious worship area for the ancient ones that lived here.

Below is the Cliff Palace, Mesa Verde's largest cliff dwelling. It was discovered in the late 1800's by two cowboys. The dwellings are estimated to be built around 1200 AD.

These pictographs are a 6 mile hike, but it is worth it. Bring water!

Mesa Verde had a breathtaking sunset that evening. After enjoying it, we headed to Moab for a day of mountain biking, or was it 'baking'! Then we were on to Idaho.

April Fools Day 2007 Upper West Prong

2007-04-01T21:33:00.000-07:00

Here is the put-in for Upper West Prong at the Chimney's Trailhead, complete with an audience for the first of many boofs. The level was .9. Low, but not a bad first time level for Kat.

This is the lead in to Dinosaur. There is a giant black bear on river right somewhere. If you decide to portage or need a restroom break, use caution.

And here is Metal Box.

Freestyle!

2007-03-15T21:18:00.000-07:00

Its amazing how much playboating has changed. We love all the new moves, especially air loops and blunts. I just wish we had a huge wave in Chattanooga to surf. The Ocoee is still fun and Hellhole will launch some big loops if you are on it. These are playspots all over from the East to West Coast:

Its amazing to surf in the Ocean when conditions are good. This is on the Oregon Coast.