Dukes Creek X5...

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

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...

...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.

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

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

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

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!