September/October 2013 - Bluegrass Wildwater Association

Award Winning Newsletter of The Bluegrass Wildwater Association since 1976. Sept/Oct 2013In this issue:Passing It On... With A TwistThe Gauley VarianceCanoeist Completes 5,000 mile Canoe TrekSomething to Aspire to!Off the Cuff: Comments From the Forum Worth RememberingEddylines of InterestBWA Meeting Special programwith Lonnie Bedwell telling about histrip thru the Grand Canyon!See pg. 5Passing It On....With A TwistB. J. PhillipsWe are approaching Nantahala Falls. My friend is behind me and it is his first descent. I keep turningmy head around to be sure he is on line and still upright- he is. Britt Lindstrom is behind him helpingmake last second corrections. I bypass the traditional eddy at Truck Stop, but yell for him to try to slowdown some to decrease our momentum and approach the middle line (Line B) just river left of the top holewhile ‘hugging’ the current as close to that hole as possible. This is the easiest line for the Falls, and is theContinued on pg. 3

Looking AheadComing BWA MeetingsSecond Tuesday of the Month, 7:30 pmBWA Monthly Meeting Meet & EatOctober: Meeting at Roosters124 Marketplace DrLexington, KY 40503(859) 449-7737http://www.yelp.com/biz/roosters-lexingtonUpcoming Program:Stop the press, drop what you're doing, and please join us inwelcoming Lonnie Bedwell, who recently became the firstblind person to kayak the Grand Canyon, as our guest host!ery special guest making a long trek down to Lexington toshare his experience as the first blind person to kayak theGrand Canyon! We would like to invite all of you to comemeet Lonnie (if you haven't already) and hear about hisamazing journey! We've heard there may be some mediapresent, possibly WKYT channel 27, as well....whoa! Bigthanks to BJ and Adelessa for helping make this happen!I am also excited to announce we are going to try a newlocation for our monthly club meetings! After doing our duediligence, the Steering Committee voted last night to chooseRooster's, yes ROOSTER'S, as our meeting venue thismonth. Rooster's is located on the corner of Man O' War andNicholasville Rd, in front of Wal-Mart.Bowlines is the Newsletter of the Bluegrass WildwaterAssociation, POB 4231, Lexington Ky, 40504Club Officers 2012-2013President Clay Warren 859-326-0602Vice-President Adelessa Harbour 859-230-1316Treasurer Jeff Kirkner 859-523-2730Secretary Jacob Robinson 859 608 5269Safety Tim Minor 859-619-9495Program Davy Lafferty 859-576-2050Newsletter Don Spangler 859-277-7314Cyber Communications Joe Wheatly 859-361-0892Conservation Peter Stutts 804-615-8909Film Festival Coordinator Bethany Overfeild 859-519-5691Russell Fork River FestivalCoordinator Steve Ruth 606-754-4348Equipment Coordinator William (BJ) Phillips 859-533-6722At-Large Member Jeff Schetler 859-227-8820Membership Coordinator Ali Blair 859-576-9409Past PresidentEmily GrimesJoin in on the Fun!Join the BWA! BWA Membership $20/individual; $25/Family year entitlesyou to receive the newsletter,10% discounts at many local and out of stateoutfitter shops, use of club equipment, discount at pool rolling sessions, alisting in the BWA Handbook, a stream gauge guide, and web site with aforum for member’s messages & a parking pass for the Elkhorn.Meetings are held at 7:30, the second Tuesday of each month atlocation announced on our website: http://www.bluegrasswildwater.orgWe would love for everyone who comes to give us somefeedback as to what you think about using this as our meetingplace. I have attached a few pictures I took of their meetingroom. It seats roughly 60 people comfortably, with a privatebar and 3 high def TVs for potential A/V use. The manageris calling in an extra server just for us, so we will have 2dedicated servers to feed you mangy mongrels. He said theyhave several clubs, including a ski club and a Gold Wingclub, that use them for meetings...and he also advised me wecould have it the 2nd Tuesday of every month through theforeseeable future if we so choose. I figure if they're goodenough for the Gold Winger's, then they hafta be a good fitfor us, right?! As usual, the meeting starts at 7:30, and if youwould like to have dinner there, please show up a little early.I told the manager people may start showing up around 6:45or so.I look forward to seeing everybody either this weekend at ourBWA fall party or on Tuesday (or BOTH hopefully)!!!!Submission of newsletter articles can be on CD (Mac or PC). Pictures canbe digital or ready to be scanned. Please include stamped envelope forreturn. Preferred method: Files can also be e-mailed to: DonSpang@aol.comEnjoy this issue of Bowlines?Check out Bowlines Online Archive with manygreat issues going back to 1998!Issue Archive:http://www.surfky-bwa.org/html/bowlines_arcN.htmlA must read for all members, our 30th Anniversary issue:http://www.surfky-bwa.org/bowlines/BL30thAnnv_Aug06.pdfYour humble prez, ClayThe BWA wishes to thank Canoe Kentucky & Phillip Gall’s for their support.We urge you to patronize them for your outdoor needs.http://www.canoeky.com/http://www.benchmarkoutfitter.com/2

line that my mentors taught me when they were‘passing it on’ to me when I was a novice boater. Ihug the hole and start down the green tongue andtake one last look around and yell, “Paddle hard”. Heis still behind me on a perfect line. I hit the curlerwave at the base of the Falls and run it clean, andhe flips at that wave (Not unusual for most of us)and does a textbook combat roll. He has run analmost clean first descent.Some will say that there is nothing exceptionalabout this first descent and it is typical atNantahala Falls on a daily basis, but in this case it isnothing short of remarkable. You see, my friend, mypaddling partner is 100% blind!His name is Lonnie Bedwell and I met himon a Team River Runner trip in 2012 in Montana atan “Outta Sight” clinic. That trip was his introductionto whitewater kayaking. We paddled the YellowstoneRiver that flows out of Yellowstone National Park andinto a valley known locally as Paradise Valley, whichis appropriately named. It is a beautiful river valleynestled among the mountains, hills, and the brilliantblue of Montana’s ‘Big Sky’ country. We stay at theranch of Mike Story, who has allowed the participantsof this trip to enjoy, and paddle, this scenicarea in Montana. I am a combat veteran and kayakinghas become my passion and therapy for theeffects that war has on a person, and for the love ofthe sport!On this trip ‘sighted’ paddlers, such as I, arepaired up with totally or partially blind veterans andwe all learn the techniques and skills of paddling andguiding our non-sighted brothers and sisters downwhitewater. This section of the Yellowstone is class I/II.We started out on a nearby lake to introducethe non-sighted participants to a kayak, paddlestrokes, the ‘feel’ of being in a boat on water, wetexits, bow rescues, and how to lead and follow verbalcommands. Then we progressed to a class I sectionto actually lead and follow verbal commandsand ‘how to’ swim in current. Lonnie caught on quickto bow rescues and was performing them with noproblem in moving water. The final step was a classII section known as Yankee Jim Canyon. Although allthe non-sighted paddlers/veterans did phenomenal,Lonnie Bedwell sort of stood out with his determinationto attempt to learn this sport! We fast becamefriends and agreed to meet again (He lives inIndiana and I live in Lexington, Kentucky) and paddletogether. We did!I am a member of the Bluegrass WildwaterAssociation (B.W.A.) and each year the B.W.A. holdsa spring clinic at the Russell Fork River on theKentucky/Virginia border to teach kayaking skills topeople just beginning the sport and more advancedpaddling at higher skill levels. Also, a B.W.A. member,Adelessa Grace, has “Adventure” weekendsthat does much the same for beginning paddlers.Lonnie attended one of those in the fall of2012 at the Russell Fork and, again, showed greatdedication acquiring the skills to be a paddler. RonHunt, another combat veteran paddler, and RobertSmith, a ‘local’ of the Elkhorn City area, helped mework with Lonnie at that clinic. Both of them said itwas one of the greatest experiences of their kayaking,and personal, lives! Ron gave Lonnie a kayakand much gear. Plus, Benchmark of Lexingtondonated a new paddle (Thanks Benchmark andNeil!), and Lonnie never turned back- HE WASHOOKED ON THE SPORT.Between that fall session and the next timewe met to paddle together, with the help of a paddlerin Indiana, Lonnie had perfected rolling on bothstrong and weak sides.During the summer of 2013 Lonnie onceagain came to Lexington and we took off forTennessee/ North Carolina to do some ‘Southeast’boating. Our first run was on the Lower Pigeon(Class I/II). Lonnie nailed it and Robert Smith againjoined us as I paddled lead giving verbal guidance.Lonnie did so well that I decided to skip theHiawassee and go straight to the Nantahala (This isa ‘normal’ progression for Southeast boaters andthe same progression that my mentors led me). TheNantahala is basically a Class II run with, of course,Nanthala Falls (Class III) at the end. It is a kayaker’sparadise though, with the area virtuallydesigned for the river enthusiast. It was the site ofthe World’s Free styling Championships in 2013.For more advanced skill levels there are releaseson the Upper and Cascades periodically. You haveread about Lonnie’s first descent, but we tried variousother lines and some resulted in carnage- but itwas good carnage. His bombproof roll and paddlingskills saved him from swims more than once andled me to believe that he was ready for the UpperPigeon. We headed that way.The Upper Pigeon may be one of the best‘secret’ Class II/III sections of whitewater in theSoutheast, and, in my opinion, is a great river to‘step it up’ to bigger water and to learn to read andrun whitewater. It is a superb beginning intermediaterun! The U.P., or Dirty Bird, as it is affectionatelyknown locally, is challenging to paddlers steppingup from Class II water. To be honest I was somewhathesitant about us achieving an Upper Pigeonrun in such short time, but it was my highest,although perhaps farfetched, goals of this trip. Afterthe Nanty I thought it was feasible.3

There were several paddlers now who wantedto paddle with Lonnie, and, by “happenstance”,we ran into Lou Rudolph, a local paddling friend atthe put in. So we had plenty of safety. The kayakingcommunity ‘knew’ something special was going on! Iled, Britt Lindstrom was behind Lonnie, and a safetynet was spread up and down the river. Just a bunchof ‘yakers’ having a good time on the river!Lonnie runs Powerhouse rapid clean at theput in. As we approach Lost Guide rapid he has ranthe river clean following verbal communication andwe go to mid river left following local outfitter DaveCrawford of Rapid Expeditions line. Lonnie flips atthe hole/ wave at the bottom of the rapid but hecombat rolls to cheers. When we tell other kayakers/rafters, at the eddy on river right, that Lonnie is100% blind they looked stunned or ask, “How is thatpossible?”The next major is Double Reactionary. Thisrapid is one of those confluences of currents thatintermingle in a relatively narrow slot with a strongcurrent from river left and a stronger current comingin from the right of the rapid and they slam into eachother near mid river. The river right current being thedominant creates a curler wave and becomes themain channel current crossing from river right to riverleft. It can be a tricky but fun rapid!We take a line shown to me by Brent Austin(B.W.A. Class V boater) that he calls, “A Class IVmove on a Class III rapid”. We skirt the holes andnegotiate the boogie water approaching the rapidnear river left, then cross over to mid river above therapid where the kayak almost comes to a stall, andthen the current along with some paddle strokes propelsthe kayak towards the ‘head’ of the curler ofDouble Reactionary. We hit the curler and have aswimmer- it is me!I got turned around too much trying to assureLonnie is on line, miss the line, and drop off into apour over sideways, get window shaded, and tryrepeated rolls to no avail- I pull! Lonnie stays on linewith Britt’s help, flips at the curler, and does a combatroll.Sometimes leading and making verbal/visualcontact with a non-sighted boater is like walking atightrope where trying to keep them and yourself online is not always easy. Also, as we all know, whitewaterhas a way of humbling us at times. The safetyboaters gather myself, my boat, and my ego up and4

we head into the final major rapid called Accelerator.We go into that rapid at mid river right wherethere is a tongue and follow the main current into awave train that leads to slightly river left into wherethe main current does an ‘s’ curve at the bottom ofthe rapid. Lonnie gets off line slightly at the ‘s’ curve,but runs Accelerator clean.On the last section of Class II boogie waterand surf spots we approach a fun boof, that, if hitright, propels the kayak to cop a little air. Lonnie hitsthe boof perfect and we end the run of the UpperPigeon laughing and yelling!Lonnie, once again, attends the Team RiverRunner ‘Outta Sight’ clinic in 2013 and Chip Sell, acombat veteran Washington state paddler, askedhim, “ Who have you been paddling with?” Lonnietells him and Chip thinks that he is ready for somethingbigger.At this time let me say that we challengedLonnie, and myself, and we didn’t take easy lines orsneaks. We took on difficult lines, caught eddies withsquirrelly water, and crashed through holes. Withthat said, at the age of 62, I keep trying to expandmy own paddling skills with creek runs on the Littleand the “Greenbrier” section in the Southeast in thebeautiful Smokey Mountains this year with the helpof B.W.A. mentors and the kayaking community‘passing it on’. I do these runs in an old school WaveSport Big EZ play/river runner. I am not ready to liedown YET or quit learning this sport that I love!Oh, I guess you may be wondering what“something bigger” may have been for kayakerLonnie Bedwell. Well, my friend, my kayak partner,became the first non-sighted paddler in his own boatto paddle the Colorado River section of the GrandCanyon in late summer of 2013 with Team RiverRunner.Awesome stuff dudes! That is PASSING ITON, with a twist!Meet Lonnie Bedwell this Tuesday at Our BWA Meeting!Hear about his amazing kayaking trip down the Colorado thru the Grand Canyon!New BWA Meeting Location:"Rooster's" corner of Man O' War & Nicholasville Rd, in front of Wal-Mart.Meeting starts at Oct. 8@7:30... come a little early if you plan to eat.5

The GauleyVariancesHanley LollerThere's something about the opening day of Gauley Season. I guess for me it harkens back to my raftguiding days. There was always a lot of preparation in August leading up to Gauley Season. Actually therewas a lot of preparation starting in spring, but it kicked into high gear in August when the regular businesswas starting to fall off. Training, gear, hiring extra people, guides would arrive from Colorado and NewEngland and all my far flung friends working for Appalachian Wildwaters on the Ocoee, Nolichucky, Cheat,Upper Youghoigheny, Nantahala, French Broad, etc. would congregate at our New River outpost. Withthem they would bring extra buses to haul the extra guests, along with massive equipment vehicles loadeddown with deflated rafts, pfd's and paddles. Every square foot of available space was occupied by a recreationalmigrant worker setting up a tent for the short, but lucrative season that we all loved so much.Everybody would come together, there would be beer and stories and lots of anticipation. I guess that'swhy when the air starts to get that slight dry, crisp late summer feel to it, I start getting a tiny flame of excitedanticipation growing in my belly.This year was no different, despite the awesome water that made the summer of 2013 a season for therecord books. Sometime in mid august I could barely stay focused on my work and I started making Gauleyplans. This year I wanted to do a four-day stretch, which is difficult for me to swing these days. Actually Iwanted to do a couple of them to take advantage of the higher releases, but you take what you can get andI got a four-day stretch set up for opening weekend.6

It started with one of my favorite days to be onthe Gauley, training day. The day before the openingday of the official season, the Corps typically releasessome extra water into the Gauley for the raftingcompanies to do some training/refresher runs. Thisisn't scheduled, so driving up to catch it is an act ofblind faith, but I had faith. Jeff Kirkner and I leftLexington about 7:00 AM and drove straight toMason's Branch. When we got there I slipped on myold *Class VI River Runners* staff shirt and went totalk to the equipment drivers. Since Jeff and I weresolo, we needed a shuttle.The drivers confirmed that the Corps hadreleased 1800 CFS that morning (Jackpot!) but theywere cutting it back in about 15 minutes and thatthey could not assist us with shuttle. There weresome other boaters there, but they were runningsome kind of complicated two-day shuttle on thelower and also could not help. We were just about todrive to the dam and set up camp when we ranacrose Tom Montgomery on his dirtbike. (DoubleJackpot!!!) Tom agreed to run our shuttle, parked hisbike and hopped in.We ended up catching the Upper Gauley ataround 1500 CFS, chasing the end of the release sothe water level varied some as they staged it back. Itwas Jeff's first run on the Upper (not counting our180-300 CFS ELF summer run a few years back) sowe talked a lot about what was coming up and scoutedPillow and Iron Ring. We decided to walk IronRing, neither one of us were really feeling it andChanning's Cranny looked ugly at that level.Everything else we ran and had a blast.If you've never done the Gauley on an off day,you don't know what you're missing. Differing waterlevels really change the rapids on the Upper in particular.At 1500 the Upper G is creekier and moretechnical, requiring more maneuvering. The dropsare steeper, there's a big hole in the bottom of seconddrop of Insignificant that is completely washedout at release. Pillow has technicality that you'dnever guess at when it's running 2800, and a roostertailpinning rock that can easily get lost in the jumble,so watch where you're going. Lost paddle issteeper and narrower, but just about as squirrellyand Sweets Falls is definitely steeper, and taller. Addto that the fall air, the afternoon sun, and not anothersoul to be seen anywhere and you've got a day onthe river that you'll never forget. That's when I lovethe Gauley best, when there's no one else around.Jeff and I toasted a successful day at the water'sedge while we changed into our dry clothes atMason's Branch and watched the water recede.After getting back to the dam we got to experiencethe trickle of people showing up and setting upcamp. Watching the buildup for opening day helpedto whet our appetites for the coming full release. Thenext day Jeff and I did a marathon all the way toSwiss, and Jeff finally got to see the Upper at fullrelease on his third run. We both rolled at Pillow thenmet up with several other boaters at Mason's includingJosh Frasier on his first ever Lower Gauley run,which he styled. Jeff and I were sore and crampy atthe takeout, but agreed it was well worth the extraeffort.John Lawson7

The rest of the weekend is a blur of welcomingnew arrivals, arranging shuttles, running the Gauley,surfing big fluffy wave-holes, drinking beer and tellinglies. It was an epic weekend and a great chance toget "dialed in". Like many of us, I boat somewhatinfrequently these days and need a couple ofwarmup days to get my reflexes tuned up and mybrain properly aligned to the rhythm and power of thewater. Thus, a four-day opening weekend paddlingexcursion was a great way to start Gauley season,and it prepared me for what was to come next.My next outing on the Gauley was set for twoweeks later during GauleyFest. These days I rarelyget to connect to all those folks who used to congregateat our New River Outpost to work GauleySeason, so GauleyFest is the next best thing.Boaters of all types from all over come together atthe festival and I always bump into at least one personwhom I haven't seen for years. Originally I hadplanned on doing another Thursday through Sundaypaddling binge to take advantage of the very rarescheduled extra flow day on Thursday (5000 CFS, agreat level on the Lower and a challenging level onthe Upper). However, that fell through and I wasstuck at work until Saturday. Hence, when I startedgetting calls and texts on Friday morning at work, Ididn't know what was about to happen.The first one came in just before 9:00 AM, TimShuler wanting to know if I'd seen the water levelsand what that meant for boating. Checking the BelvaGauge quickly after a couple of exchanges I determinedthat Tim was forgetting that the Gauley hadbeen releasing at the scheduled 5000 CFS the daybefore or hadn't realized that they were releasingthrough the night and just turning down the water at7:00 AM for the scheduled 2800 CFS release. SinceBelva is 4 to 6 hours downstream from the dam, itdoesn't see the drop in water level until noon or so.My initial reply was terse, indicating that he shouldmore carefully read my original posts about theexpected water levels before firing off such questions.After that I got an inquiry from one of theAPEs, and then a voicemail from an uncertainsounding Brandon Jett. I paraphrase, but it wassomething like, "Um, hey man, just wanted to pickyour brain about this Lower Gauley thing, find outwhat it's like at, like, eight or nine thousand or so,'cause apparently they got massive rain up on theMeadow last night and it's dumping some major CFSin the Gauley or something..."I was outside the building and away from mycomputer when I got that message, and I was startingto get annoyed, so I called Brandon back and lefta voicemail message expressing my frustration thatpeople were freaking out over a little extra water registeringon the Belva Gauge. I was also probablychanneling some of the frustration I was feeling forhaving missed the 5000 release. So, when I got backto my computer, I started to post a general missive towhoever might be listening on the forum about howto PROPERLY read the Gauley gauges, and in doingso, I checked on them so I could reference the properreadings...oh......well then...I started by leaving a new message for Brandon,apologizing for my tone and questioning of his factsearlier, then I started re-writing my post. For those ofyou that don't already know or who are reading thisyears after the fact, the Meadow did get a frog-chokingdump of rain the night before, but nobody realizedit until it was too late. It didn't rain much at thefestival and the Corps turned the dam back to 2800,but didn't anticipate a massive surge coming downthe Meadow. Evidently it was moving fast and caughtup with the 5000 release, and by the time the Corpscaught on and turned the dam back to 1100, it wasreally too late, the Meadow was shooting up like arocket and the Upper Gauley from Lost Paddle downwas churning at somewhere in the six to eight thousandrange. At this point, I started to worry aboutsome of my buddies who had planned on hitting the8

Lower that day. There's not much way to tell what'sgoing on upstream when you're putting on at WoodsFerry. I started making calls and leaving messages.The rest of the day was interspersed withupdates from the scene and sporadic gauge checks.("Yep, it's still shooting up, holy crap!") I left aboutfive replies to my own post on the forum, further reinforcingthe feeling that I was the only boater not atthe Gauley right them. It was the strangest experience,knowing roughly what was happening, watchingthe gauges, guessing what the situation was andseriously considering whether there was any way forme to ditch work and make a hell run to the put-inbefore dark. Eventually I learned that the muddywater had reached the put-in before the BWA contingentand that most of them had bailed, but that JeffKirkner and Joe Wheatley had put on. Jeff, I knew,was pulling from his experience of a trip we did inthe spring several years ago at 6750. My best estimatewas that the water was in the seven to eightthousand range. Things are bigger at that waterlevel, but most of the river is more open with just afew key hazards to keep in mind. I hoped Jeffremembered them.Later that evening I got a call from a very happyJeff saying that it had been an epic and rewardingday, and we shifted plans around to meet the nextday. Jeff's main emotional component appeared tobe disbelief that he and Joe had been the only onesin the party who actually got on the Lower Gauleythat day. Just goes to show, a little experience cantake you a long way.Saturday. Gauley Fest! The happiest Saturday inmy world. Denile and I got started early, but ran intoMORE torrential rain on the way to WV, adding to theuncertainty about the water level. I met up with Jeff,Joe, Phillip Cornette, Pat Attkisson and the esteemedtraveller Millard Blakey. The water was still brownand swift at the put in but there was no way to determinewhat the water level really was. We wereguessing between five and six thousand from thebest data available. Pat, after a few experimentalrolls in a new boat that he had never paddled before,decided that it just wasn't his day and the rest of uspeeled off into ender waves.It had been several years since I'd seen theLower at a good stiff elevated water level, and it tooka little getting used to. Backender still had a prettystiff kick and an extended wave train below it. AtKoontz's Flume, Five Boat Hole had predictablyshrunk and had a line of eager hole hogs waiting tosurf it, but the big waves above it hadn't washed outyet and despite the fact that I was pretty close todead-on my intended line, I still got an unintentionalbig, soft, fluffy surf on the second wave. Too muchfluff to punch, should've been a little right. At LowerMash both Joe and Millard got a little overly focusedand didn't pull out of the wavetrain to the right intime, resulting in some squirrel-dancing with thehydraulics below, but no swims. We snuck leftaround the hole at the bottom of Heaven's Gates,even though others were running it with mixed success.From there on out we just bombed down onebig laughing, happy big brown wave train after another,occasionally pulling off to surf. Pure ScreamingHell was pure bliss. Purgatory and Hell Hole still hadsome kick, but less than usual and the wave trainthrough the center of the rapid extended another fiftyyards past what was usually the bottom. We finishedoff the day with some more surfing and took off theriver practically glowing with the light of pure satisfaction.The Eventual call on the water level basedon the reading at Belva shortly after we took off wasapproximately 4800 CFS.GauleyFest that evening was the usual ecstatic,wonderous event that it always was, but this time itfelt different. In recent years, the festival has seemedto overshadow the whitewater, and on that day thewater was having none of it. The NPFF booth rockedthe house with Steve Fisher and his entourage helpingto promote it. We got some good deals, I got acreekboat that I'd been shopping for, and a goodtime was had by all; but when I went to sleep thatnight I wasn't thinking about the friends I'd bumpedinto at the fest or my new boat, I was thinking aboutthe Gauley and wondering what the water level wasgoing to be the next day.So, if there's a moral buried in all this mess, it'sprobably that you shouldn't get too focused on justrunning the Gauley during Gauley Season at 2800CFS. The Gauley is a beautiful and fantastic wonderlandwith lots of different faces, and most people onlyknow one of them. Get out and experience theGauley in the Spring and Summer, or even over theWinter or late Fall when it's running at less predictablewater levels. Not only will you discover a treasuretrove of exciting runs and probably have theriver all to yourself, but you'll have the experienceand knowledge that you need during Gauley seasonwhen the water level varies. Believe me, it's wellworth the effort.9

Canoest Completes 5,000 Mile Canoe TrekMinnesotan Bob Vollhaber traveld 5000 miles in 5 months, including taking a ridged canoe overthe Chilkoot Pass in April, canoeing up the Chandalar River, paddling 1000 miles of the Bering Seacoast, and then up the Kvichak River.Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence.Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent.Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb.Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts.Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent.”Calvin CoolidgeCourtesy of Bob VollhaberMore about Bob Vollhaber’s unsupported 5000 mile canoeadventure to, through, and around Alaska by paddle got to:http://beav-alaskaadventure.blogspot.com/It has been 20 years sinceThe Ultimate Canoe ChallengeHere is another great adventure that took place in 1980-1983. Over the course of their 28,000-mile-plus trip, VerlenKruger & Steve Landick paddled through or along theborders of most of the states. BWA members would follownews about the trip via Paddling magazines which had updatesfrom them as they did their 3 year adventure.The Canoe Challenge included two especially impressivestretches: upstream on the entire Mississippi River andupstream on the Colorado River all of the way through theGrand Canyon. Let's see those who drop offwaterfalls nowadays try that method!For the book: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0595335799/ref=pe_172050_33187410_email_1p_0_ti10

Something to Aspire to!Robert MilgateA few weeks ago I made a forum post linking to video of the 2013 C1 slalom world championships. I suspectthat this led to our esteemed editor-in-chief's asking me to write a few lines on the pleasures of paddling C1. Isaid I would try.In short, I fi nd paddling C boats endlesslyrewarding. I've tried kayaking, and enjoyedit, but, as long as my knees and ankles holdout, I'll stay on my knees, and away fromthose double-paddles. For me it's just morefun. I think that, if more people gave it a try,many now paddling kayaks would fi nd thatthe challenge of the single paddle appeals tothem also.I say challenge because I think that the ideais possibly the key to the appeal of the singleblade. Challenge is a part of the appeal ofpaddling whitewater in general. We start out(generalizing from my fi rst experiences) intrigued,excited, and a bit intimidated by thepower and the mystery of moving water. Myfi rst clinic (in a kayak) was an adventure intrepidation and, as various challenges were met, no small amount of exhilaration. With practice, one acquiresa better understanding of how the water, the boat, and the paddle interact, and an increased level of comfortin water of a certain diffi culty. The natural progression of challenge is to move to harder water. Harder usuallymeaning some combination of more complicated paddling and more consequences for failing to paddle well.We are all looking forward to stepping up our game.11

Paddling with a single blade changes the shape ofthe learning curve, stretching it out. Simply moving aboat forward in slow current becomes a nuanced, andfrequently frustrating exercise. And there, in that frustration,is part of the pleasure. To make a C boat movemore or less as you want it to is a tier of challenge thata K boater never has the pleasure of experiencing.pleasure of refi ning technique, if two eddies, an attainand a wave are an opportunity for an afternoon, considerthe challenge and reward of the C boat, it mightbring you a smile.This layer of challenge provides a different way tostep up, of taking as much pleasure from processas from result. To me, in the boat, the differencebetween a bad and good off-side peel-out isimmediately, viscerally obvious. A great off-sidepeel-out is a deep, but personal, pleasure.I'm not trying to say that kayaking doesn'treward skill. I've sat in an eddy, waiting my turnat a wave, and amongst all the wild scramblesand windmilling someone will take one or twowell placed strokes and slide, almost magicallyinto a sweet spot, serene amidst the tumult.A good paddler is a good paddler, regardless ofboat. But if you want to add challenge without increasedconsequence, consider the single blade.And in particular, if you think you might enjoy the quiet12

Off the CuffComments from the ForumWorth RememberingRe: What should I test drive?August 14, 2013I'm going to ask Santa for a new (or at least new to me)boat for XMas and I want to try as many as I can this fallso I can choose the best for my needs and paddling styleand you guys can help me narrow down my potentialchoices.Me: 5'0", 110#. I'm looking for a good all around boat.I like everything from creeking to big water and wantsomething versatile. As much as I'd like a boat for everyoccasion that's not financially realistic for me.If you have a suggestion or, better yet, a boat in my sizeI could borrow for a run or two that would be fantastic. Ialready have a small Burn to use and can't wait to checkit out. I'd like to try out one of the new Diesel 60's as welland whatever else you guys have in mind. The difficultyfor me is that, like clothes, nothing is ready made to fitsomeone like me and outfitting a boat usually requiresfoam and adhesives so if you have any recommendationson how to circumvent that at least long enough for a testdrive that would be great.AliI have removable hip pads you can borrow and a happyseat. If you take those along with you on a demo weekend,that should help you fit into most smaller boats.Happy boat hunting!Oh, and for what you want (a good all-around boat) outsideof the small Burn, and Diesel, I'd try out a Mamba.And I think the new Jackson Karma looks interesting.love,bethanyLiquid Logic Remix. Word on the street is it creeks, likesbig water, and everything in between. And what B saidabove...Dagger Mamba and Pyranha Burn. They seem todo a little bit of everything, even surf a bit. A lot of peopleknock the "all-round" boats, but with your paddling styleand not wanting to focus on just one specific type of kayakingI'd say any of these would be ideal for you...demo!I think the Burn has more of a planing hull than the others,Remix seems to be a good mix of planing and a bit of displacement.You are going from a very flat bottom Diesel,so the Burn might feel more comfy to you right off the bat.Again...demo! NOC weekend, perhaps...13BrandonYour weight falls at the tail end of the LL Remix 47 andbottom end of the 59. You would want to try the the 59 forsure, once you add gear and such it would be ideal. Andthat way I can try it out...[liquidlogickayaks.com]The new Mamba 7.6 says lower end of the weight limitis 120...that seems high to me. You won't know until yousit in it, might feel big or just right. I think there are oldermodels that have a lower weight limit.[dagger.com]BrandonIt seems to me that being lighter than the low end is notan issue if a) you're not particularly interested in throwingends, etc. and b) you fit well in the boat and have goodcontrol. If you are slipping around in the boat, that's nogood, but if you're a little light sometimes you glide over/through stuff which would otherwise grab you. I mightbe wrong about that, but that's what I've observed. Onthe other hand, don't know if that means you'd also gettossed around in big waves, or maybe that would happenbased on overall weight anyway.OK engineers and others, tell me how I'm wrong.ZinaGood advice all around and largely mirroring what I wouldsay, except for the absence of the obvious choice (theRPM)Seriously though, all good advice, but your big problem isthat your weight puts you right at the top or bottom of theweight range for most boats. You inhabit a very underserveddemographic.

Bearing that in mind:I'd look at the Dagger Mamba 7.6 even though you are 10lbs under the minimum weight simply based on other'sexperiences with it, but I suspect it's too big for you andwill be hole bait with you in it on bigger water. On theother hand, it is more creeky than some other choicesand might perform reasonably well on local steeps. Onlyone way to really find out.The river running edition of the LL Remix is a pretty goodcandidate for an all around boat. You fall right at thebottom edge of the weight range for the 59, so it's wortha try. Honestly though, I'd consider the 47 as least longenough to get in one and see how you like it. It's actuallya kids/small adults boat and you are at the top ofthe weight range for it. Disadvantage there is potentialsquirrellyness but it would be a boat that you could pusharound more effectively and I see that as a big deficiencyin your paddling up until now. Your boats tend to pushyou around because they're too big for you. The potentialfor you to be able to drive this boat effectively may outweighother considerations. It may not be the right boatfor you, but there's only one way to find out. Plus, youcan get a new one for around $600, possibly less sincethey discontinued it at the beginning of this month.One nobody's mentioned yet is the Dagger Axiom. Thisis a more general purpose river runner. It could do somemoderate creeking, but probably wouldn't be that goodfor steeper runs, but it has some big selling points. Itcomes in a kids/small adults version, the 6.9, that youare actually 10 lbs UNDER the top end of the weightrange for; AND a small adults version, the 8.0 that youare close to the MIDDLE of the weight range for (90 - 150lbs). MSRP is $629 for the 6.9, but $1029 for the 8.0. Aswith the Remix 47, I really think you should try these twobecause of the potential for you to be able to effectivelydrive your boat in a manner that you haven't been able tobefore.The S Burn is worth considering. It definitely has somecreeky characteristics built into a decent all-purpose design,but you are still near the bottom of the weight rangefor the S. Worth looking at, but I feel you are going to getbetter use out of a smaller design.Jackson actually makes several boats that should be onyour radar. They have by far the widest range of sizesand kids/young adults boats including transitional boats.The Jackson Little Hero may very well be the boat foryou. You're right in the middle of the weight range andit's a creeky design with what appears to be good generalriver running characteristics. Definitely give this one atry. The Sidekick may be worth a look even though you'renear or over the top of the weight range. Same sort ofdeal, creeky general river runner. The Fun 1.5 is definitelyworth a look just for perspective. Max weight of 120 lbsand more playboat than river runner, it won't creek welland it may be a little squirrellier than what you're lookingfor, but I think that a boat like that might make you lookat boating in a very different light. The Karma Small putsyou in the middle of the weight range, but it's more of apure creeker so it has a lot more volume than other boatsthat put you in the middle of their weight range. Definitelyworth checking out. A pure creeker is still usually a goodall-around boat for everything except playboating. TheZen 55 puts you near the top of the weight range for ageneral purpose river runner that could still probablyhandle moderate creeking quite well. Also, it doesn'treally have any edges to speak of so even if you're a bitnear the top of the weight curve, it's unlikely to be squirrellyor difficult to handle in big water.Last, but not least, keep your eyes out for a used DaggerPiedra. They don't make them anymore, but it wasa general river running boat designed for small adults. Inever paddled it, but I knew some small adults who didand loved them. Just a thought.Hanley LollerAli,The Diesel 65 you currently paddle is supposed to be agood all around boat. Maybe you should be looking for aplayboat for elkhorn runs.Joe W.Ok Zina, I may be a software engineer, but here's my twocents on the matter.My experience tells me that when you're in a boat that'stoo big for you, it gets surfed around a lot more. By that Idon't mean you end up in holes more, although you may,but that every wave with a little backwash on it tossesyou around and your boat drives you. You want your boatto be proportionate to your body so that you can move/lean/turn it with your body effectively. A boat that's toobig inhibits the boater's ability to effectively control theirboat.Additionally, a boat that's too big is harder to roll because14

more of it (and you) sits further out of the water.In the end it's a very personal choice heavily colored bypaddling style, but in general I think that seeking out aboat that is the right size for you will increase your performancedramatically.USNWC.orgVenus and I will go anytime if you want to join us on a tripout there. I recommend taking off a Friday and headingon down Thursday night so Friday and Saturday are openfor paddling.Case in point, we've seen a sharp rise in the last coupleof years in new boaters, (mostly guys, often big guys)showing up at roll session with the Remix XP9 or XP10.The boat is too big for them and they have trouble makingit go where they want it to. Now, this is exacerbated bysome of the touring characteristics of the boat, but evenwithout that the length and volume work against them.All that being said, I know you're at the lower edge orunder the weight range for your RPM and that you're verycomfortable in that boat. As I said, it's a very personalchoice and one person's experience differs greatly fromanother. Still, I'll stand by my comments for general application.Hanley LollerOne last thing to add. The performance weight rangesfor genuine creekboats (IMHO) are generally rated a littlelight because they're designed for steep creek performancewhere extra volume is desired to help avoid pins.Consider that when looking at the top range on some ofthese boats.Hanley LollerThere you have it Ali. Join BWA Team Nomad...myself andMike W. are the newest members...come to the dark side...You can play boat in them. Usually not intentionally, butwhatever.BrandonPhilipP.S. According to the specs on the Dagger site the Axiom6.9 should be just right for you. That is if you want a lowvolume stern. These are the closest you can get to theRPM design which I hear some like (Hanley, Chief ...)And... the 6.9 size is only $629!I plan on trying out one of these in my size next chance Iget.NOC on the Nanty will allow you to demo for one hourfor free and they have all the manufacturers boats. Run afew laps on the falls, hit some eddies and peel outs andyou should have a good idea how the boat feels. Half daydemos are $25.[store.noc.com]BrandonNOC on the Nanty is where I have done all my demos. Ifeel like falls laps are a great way to get a feel for a boat!One minor downside IMO is that if you demo multipleboats in a day, by the time you get to the last boat or twoyou can easily be worn out from carrying back up to theput-in for all those laps. I found the fatigue can put biasin how I feel about how a boat handles during the demo.My advice would be give yourself a couple of days if youdemo at the Nanty. That WW center deal sounds prettysweet also, especially if you can demo more and carryless!August 15, 2013Ali,The whitewater center in Charlotte has a wide range ofdemo boats. Take your gear, pay them $25 for the daypass and just $15 to demo and you can try every boatthey have. They have nearly the full line of Dagger, LiquidLogic, and Wave Sport. Also, they have rafting, zip lines,mountain biking, flatwater boating, and wide variety ofIPAs at the restaraunt overlooking the comp channel ifyour boyfriend wants to go with you.DerekNOC is the deal then for demos - they used to be moreexpensive than anyone $40+ as I recall for full day. Britand I have been working with Rock Creek Ocoee for ourdemos. $20-25 there for full day - not the selection asNOC but a better river for the testing.There is not one boat that will do everything well IMO. Ifyou must have only one boat and you like to surf I woulddefinitely demo the Little Hero and my old Mamba 7.5.The Mamba is not for sale, but you are welcome to try it15

out. Both of these boats are decent creekers - the Herowould be better at steeper creeking and surfing (full planinghull) but it will be hole bait to some degree (due to it'sshape and slower design) and the Mamba would be betterfor punching big water waves holes. I took that Mamba onmy first ELF run of RFG. It was fine for that but the LittleHero would have been better. The Sidekick was Brit'sboat for everything for years ... it's a great all around design,with only that one weakness.If at all possible, I would consider a dedicated playboatand creeker. I cant' really do tricks in it but much prefermy All Star to surfing runs over the Mamba. Pearlingbows suck in surfing IMO, and a short playboat boat thatwill keep the bow dry on a decent wave / hole is tonsmore fun to me. I think the Remix would be fine for a beginner,or skilled boater as a river runner / big water boatif that's all you were doing. But think it's not as good acreeker as either the above boats and is a pearling surfer.I used to have a Mamba 8 that was my big water boat.However in recent years I've preferred to do big water inmy creeker so I sold it. I would also label the Axiom orRPM or similar design as a river runner / big water / pearlingsurfer and never as a creeker. As an example youcould probably get one down our steep local runs or theRFG at ELF, but it probably wouldn't be pretty!Based on our recent demos I would strongly recommendtrying a Karma S. I have more demos to do but I wastotally impressed with this boat on the Upper / MiddleOcoee. Brit and I demo'd a S and M. We swapped belowD Trouble. Though at the lower limit of the M at 150lbs,she prefered it over the S even though she said it was abit harder to maneuver. More confidence inspiring in thebigger water was the main benefit. She is also paddling aNomad 8.1 and we'll try a Stomper 80 along the way. Rightnow it's a close call between the Nomad and Karma andshe has yet to paddle my Villain S (this weekend maybe).For your weight however the Nomad 8.1, Stomper, andVillain may all seem a little big. However you are near themiddle of the Karma S range - so try it for sure. Then nextyear you can demo dedicated playboatsWesI think the Stomper would feel big to you Ali, and itsheavier than the Nomad 8.1, which would also feel like atank, more than likely.The comments on Jackson boats are good, they makelots of small boats from pure players to creekers. Youhave lots of options...BrandonIf you pay me a modest fee, I'll carry your demo boats upand down the Nantahala Gorge.love,bethanyGood comments Wes. You may be right about the Mambavs the Little Hero. Despite the suggested weight range.When I looked at them side by side, I discovered somethingI'd missed before.Apparently, the Mamba 7.5 is a discontinued model. Thecurrent smallest Mamba is the 7.6.The 7.6 and the Little Hero have the same volume, 64 gallons,but the Mamba 7.5 is only 57 gallons, a very significantdifference.Strangely, the suggested weight range is the same forboth the 7.5 and 7.6.Based on the broad appeal of the Mamba to a large anddiverse group of paddlers, I am going to strongly suggestyou check out Wes's Mamba 7.5. Seven gallons of flotationis a lot of difference from one boat to the next. Imagineseven empty gallon milk jugs with the tops screwedon strapped to you as you float bodily downstream.Also, as a discontinued model, you may have an easiertime finding a deal on one, although Mamba's are likeRPM's, the folks with them have a tendency to hang on tothem.Hanley LollerLike Brandon or someone else said - I was thinking the7.5 had a lower weight range than the 7.6, but could bemistaken. My ex GF Ana was a around 105 I think and shefit well in the 7.5. Agree with Hanley that even the olderMambas won't be easy to find - people tend to hang on tothem and I think people tend to know someone that wantsthem when they are ready to sell so they are not advertisedmuch. Like the Nomad, they are wildly popular for areason - they are solid designs. I would call a Mamba asgood as it gets for river running / big water and not toobad for non-extreme creeking too. IMO 2 smaller sizesof the Mamba (6.0, 6.5) would be a perfect design forkids (petite adults) ... too bad they don't make them. Oneadded benefit of a popular design - it holds it's value!16

WesOn Dagger's website, the specs for the 7.5 and 7.6 saythey have the exact same weight range despite a sevengallon difference in volume. Frankly, I think someone wasjust asleep at the wheel when they were recording thespecs. Since there is no appreciable difference in design,what other explanation could there be? Considering thenumber of smaller folks who seem to love these boats,I'm betting that the real, effective weight range is lower.Hanley LollerWow! Thanks for all the input. I have a pretty hefty list ofboats to try out now and may not be able to get to all ofthem. I was planning on spending some time in BrysonCity soon, if I get down there I'll spend a couple of daystrying out boats. Bethany I'll give you beer and massagesif you'll be my boat caddy.Wes I'd love to borrow your Mamba 7.5 for a test drive.Maybe this weekend?AliThe good folks at Benchmark might give ya heckuva dealon a new Mamba...ask nicely...worked for me.If I were to get another boat it would be a river runner,something Janna could mess around in and I could useon big water...either the Remix or Mamba. The new outfittingon the 2013 Daggers is awesome, I can't wait to getmy new Nomad out on the water. I think Liquid Logicforced them to step up their game.I'm with you guys, not sure why the smallest Mamba'slow weight limit is 120 lbs. Nomad 8.1 is 110 lbs. Wierd.People definitely hold on to their Nomads and Mambas,not many used ones out there for sale. GAF is next monthon the Nanty, weekend after Gauley Fest. Might be agood weekend to go down and check out boats and otherdeals.BrandonLooking at Dagger's site I see a Mamba and a MambaCreeker. Anyone know the difference? Is there one?Alionly difference is the seat and step out pillar are fromthe Nomad. Boat design is the same. More "structuralintegrity", they say. Creeker is a little heavier because ofthis. Not sure why they needed to do this, regular Mambawould be fine for your use.17BrandonAugust 19, 2013 10:42AMI got to take the small Burn for a spin on the Pigeon thisweekend. It's a bit bigger in the bow than the Diesel andgot pushed around in big waves a bit more but was veryresponsive and snapped in and out of eddies beautifully.There's a fatal flaw in it for me though: the cockpit is verylong and I can't get my skirt on it by myself . I tried everythingbut just couldn't make it happen, very frustratingthat that could be a determining factor rather than boatperformance.Beautiful beefy day at the Pigeon (wish I'd have knownabout the US National yesterday, we were right there!).Thanks to Rick and Carlisle for keeping me company andhelping me with my damn skirt! I'll likely be doing it againnext weekend with (hopefully) a Mamba 7.5.AliLarge cockpits are all the rage right now. If you're not intogetting a new skirt, I'd check out cockpit sizes before youtest drive. Here's a good site for that:http://www.skirtfit.com/bethanyCan someone explain the weight range/gallons thing a bitmore? I fall in the middle of the weight range for the smallKarma and really want to try one but it is a 72 gallon boat,that seems huge. How can such a big boat be made forsuch a small person?AliIf I may jump in...I'd like a better explanation on boat sizingalso.I had been looking for a boat for my wife to get into whitewater(taking her rec boat in II+ started getting old) andbought a diesel 65. SHe weighs about 135ish and is 5'9".She fit the diesel weight wise, but her legs are longer soshe had to cram herself into it. We sold it so I began tolook for a creeker because she wanted more footroom.Comparing the paddler weight to volume ratio blew mymind on many of the boats. The Diesel was 65 gallonsand fit her weight range. A newer Jefe is 79 gallons andalso fit her weight range. I know creekers are built to have

more volume to help avoid pins, etc., but that's one hugedifference in the amount of boat one would have to pusharound.We settled on an older Jefe (73 gallons) because we got agood deal on it. I've paddled it on the Nanty and a swollenTuck and it behaved beautifully on those rivers. Hopefullyit will get on the Pigeon and maybe my first time on theLittle to see if it is just as impressive on a "real" run...ifshe lets me.Endless Rivers has demos also. I ended up paddling withsomeone who was renting a ducky form them and theydidn't charge me for demo or shuttle to the Wayah Roadput in and picked me up at the commersial takeout. Idon't know what their regular fee's are, though.KevinVolume and weight range are not exactly corollary. Notbeyond a certain point, anyway. The short answer is thatyou should be looking at weight range instead of volume,and take the stated weight range as a general guideline.No point in getting your bathroom scales certified oranything.The weight applied to a given design will determine howdeep the boat sits in the water. The more weight, thedeeper it sits. In order to access the features designedinto the shape of the hull, the waterline needs to be in theright spot. Additional volume above the waterline doesnot change the location of the waterline or the intendedweight range. Modern boats have been trending towardsmore volume in the bow and the stern. The added volumeonly comes into play when you dive into (and hopefullyover) holes and stuff. Keeps you ridin high. Sittin pretty,so to speak.BartAugust 26, 2013Bart's comments were spot on IMO. Optimal boaterweight range for a boat is only partly affected by overallvolume and comparing volume between river runnersand creekers is pointless. I think the Mamba rangestayed the same because most if not all of the volumewas added above the seam line, so that would not significantlychange the intended wt range. (The seam lineis an old school term as glass boats hulls / decks werejoined at the seam). Wt range is simply the mfg bestguess (or hopefully actually tested) at the weight theboat will handle while performing as designed. If you aresignificantly out side of this range, then how the waterengages the hull below the seam line will vary significantlyenough that the mfg feels it will not handle asintended. Some boats however may handle well for youif you are at or just beyond the intended range and thebest way to find out is paddle to test the boat. Volume increekers is an issue because of the way they are used.Volume in a creeker will affect how the boat resurfacesafter a big drop (bow volume/shape), unintentional holeretentiveness (overall volume/length), and how it behavesin big squirrely water (tail volume) in my experience. Hull/ deck shape are also factors of course. BTW if you areconsidering a Jackson design and are not sure aboutsizing then some of their team members are very goodabout answering questions on their website (bottom ofspec page for each boat) and perusing through the questions/ answers will give you tons of info about sizing forthat particular design. Wish every mfg did this! Hanley'scomments about the water jugs is accurate, but when yousmooth that added volume out along the curves of a boatdeck it's not nearly as glaring a difference. If you see aMamba 7.5 and 7.6 side by side you will see what I mean.I have not paddled the new design, but I imagine it wouldmake the new boat a little more creeker like in big water/ drops than the older design. In easier water it probablywon't make much difference. You should also paddle a7.6 as you may like it better than the 7.5 - particularly withthe new outfitting - it's awesome!Brit is currently shopping for a new creeker as she'soutgrown her Punk Rocker. First I looked at websites getoptimal weight ranges, boat weight. Boat weight is a bigfactor for Brit as she's not that strong and complainsabout carrying a heavy boat. Acceleration in tight spotsis also affected by boat weight. After that I decided shewould test the Nomad 8.1 (already had one), my VillainS, Karma S/M, and maybe the Stomper 80. So far it's atight race between the Nomad and Karma M. She has nottried the Stomper yet but with so many folks going backto Nomads from Stompers ... I'm wondering if we shouldeven bother? May ask if someone has an 80 lying aroundshe could test for a weekend. I'm also testing boats formyself. I like my Villain S but really liked paddling thatKarma M on Upper Ocoee.WesWest Fork Tuck - trip reportAugust 12, 2013Great day on the West Fork Tuck yesterday. Me, Chief, Rebeccawere met by Mark Singleton, Denver, Suzie, Karen,18

Arlan and Chief's friend, Johnny Utah for an awesomeday of boating on a brand new run for all of us but Markand Arlan. We broke into two groups at times because theeddies were small before the big drops. Right off the batwe were running what seemed like a 50 drop, the size ofOceana, but without the Thing at the bottom. Trick is tobe left, lean forward to minimize compression risks. Chiefand I would have probably walked it if we had looked atthe drop itself. Glad we didn't though as it was cool. Wedid learn afterwards that Sutton Bacon (NOC) recentlycompressed a vertebrae there. Glad I didn't know thatbeforehand too.Once we got into the inner gorge, we had several verynice class IV rapids with holes to bust or dodge and along run out. Super cool stuff. We did have one portage,but after getting to the bottom of the drop, realized thatthere was a route through the tree that had fallen across,so actually, there really were no portages on the sectionof river we ran. We did not go to the very top where thewaterfall was. Mark told us that we would not be missingmuch water, would miss the waterfall view and a lot ofportage around wood, so we went to an alternate put inand it was sweet.I ran into Johnny Reagan on Friday at the Nolichucky andhe came to the Tuck, but we just missed each other onthe river. We did hang out at the takeout for some beer,etc. Glad to see that kid out of Friendsville and down herein the South for a bit.I would go do this again and it ranks up there with theCheoah as a run I would like to do multiple times a yearwhen it is released. Right at or under 2 hours from Nippur.This run is now in the staples of runs each year.Many thanks to AW for negotiating this release with DukePower. Just another example of our AW dues at work forus.BrentHow was the water level? There's been lots of internetchat lately about the release levels, some say the bumpup to 2.8' is perfect but others say its still bony outside ofthat mini-gorge. Looks like a stunning place from the picsand vids I've seen, glad you got to check it out.BrandonWe had 2.5ish, and I would say 2.6 would have been betterfor some of the shoals. 2.8 would be very juicy in theinner gorge and might raise the difficulty level up in there.I was fine with the level we had, but just a little bit morewould be better. Having not seen it at 2.8, I really can'tcomment though. At this level, it is a solid class IV run.Higher might ramp it up a notch or two.19BrentTend to agree with Brent, more water would be okay, notsure how much.http://www.bluegrasswildwater.org/bwaforum/file.php?5,file=452,filename=suzyj.JPGChiefHeaven's Gate Underwater Spelunking TeamSeptember 23, 2013Yesterday, the raft I was in, and then about an hour laterthe raft John L was in flipped in the nastiness at the bottomof Heaven's Gate. The higher flows made the holevery aggressive and the current past it stronger. We bothwent under an undercut rock downstream on the left. Itwas a cave, big enough for a person to pass through (obviously)and exited about 15 feet downstream of the rock.I was under the raft for a bit and when I came up I wasvery disoriented. I turned and saw I was being swepttoward a rock and prepared to brace myself and push offand around it, instead I was sucked under. Just before weentered the rapid Tim had mentioned that about 10 yearsago he'd seen two swimmers go through the rock andcome out the other side. That was one of two thoughtsin my head for my journey, the hope that it was the samerock and I was going to come out the other side, andof course, what if I didn't. I could feel the sides of thecrevasse as I passed through. I don't know how far I wentor how long I was in there but I eventually saw a circleof murky yellow light. I was hoping it was the sun andnot the one described by people who had died and beenresuscitated! It was the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen.I popped up and Jeff towed me to shore where I had a reallyfantastically good cry.Huge thanks and all my love to the crew I was with thatday. Jeff was at the right place and time to sweep me upand tow me in, I don't think I could have swam anywhereat that moment. Tim, Ann, and Millard made sure I keptwarm and sane for the rest of the trip.I'm not sure what I'm going to take away from this yet, it'sa lot to process. It's a reminder that we participate in whatcan be a dangerous sport even when you do things right

in places you've been many times before. I feel gratefuland fortunate right now.AliDitto that. As I have said many times, Heaven's Gatesrapid is the one that really beefs up as the water levelgoes up on the Lower Gauley. That one and the hole atthe bottom of Canyon Doors in the right channel.Glad you're okay. Let's sit down and have a beer soon soI can hear the minute details. One thing I feel pretty sureof. Both Jeff and Joe probably ran left of the big gate rockon SundayHanley LollerAli, Very glad to hear you are OK.Was the rock you got sucked under the huge one on theleft side of the ginormous hole at the bottom (The heavensgate)? or was it one downstream of that?Chris HOk, I'll give my account of the situation from my perspective.I was off work Monday, which I needed for recoveryfrom a very fun weekend.We let the raft go down heavens gate first. As I wascatching the eddy on river left, just to the front left of thegate rock, I saw the grey bottom of the raft shoot up fromthe hole on the right side of the gate rock. I knew thatthey were all swimming because the raft appeared to becompletely upside down. I was the first down, so I quicklyproceeded to the eddy behind the left gate rock. I startedcounting heads. I saw three swimmers below, and did notsee the fourth. I couldn't identify the swimmers becauseof the shadow river left and I was in the sun. I noticed itlooked like someone was under the raft or in the waterjust below the left side of the raft because there was apaddle blade sticking up in the air just to the left of theraft. The raft and paddle blade washed up on a rock thatwas basically completely under water that was 30 yardsdown stream of the left gate rock and a little river left. Itdidn't look like much, but you could see the water pillowingup and swirling. The next thing I saw was the Paddleblade looked like it got stuck and did a quick violentshudder and then disappeared. I was slowly going towardthe raft that had washed over the boil to the right sideand kept going down. I was following waiting for someoneto pop out from under the raft because that is whereI thought they were hiding and riding it out. Next thingI see is Ali emerge about 20 feet to the right of the raft,you can't mistake that pink helmet with the spikey Mohawk,and of course the first thing I said was are you OK.To which it was hard to hear what she was saying, but Ipicked up that she went through the cave and thoughtshe was going to die. Well I'm pretty thick sometimes,but I picked up that she was in no condition to swim andjust instructed her to grab the back of my boat and gentlykick to keep her feet up and told her that we were ok andthat I was going to get her into the first eddy we couldfind. I didn't know what to say, and learned over the yearsto keep my mouth shut in situations were I typically willsay something stupid or inappropriate. Anyway, after afew minutes and hugs, Ali was back. In the raft and downriver everyone went. It was something I wish to not experienceagain.20Jeff KChris, I don't think the left side of the Gate would be aproblem if you swam there. The hole besides the rock iswhat gets nasty at higher levels and most of the currentfeed into a big rock jumble just left of center maybe 50yards downstream. I would assume any rock in the currentis undercut on the Gauley, but this one also has acrack between the rocks that siphons from right to leftthrough the rock. I've paddled through it a lower levels,but it high water, it isn't where I would want to swim.Larry CableI just reviewed the video of Heavens Help You rapid onthe Gauley River Rapids website. The rocks we are talkingabout are at video markers 55 seconds to about 1minute in the video. The announcer even mentions swimmingright of the rocks. Well at the elevated flows, thoserocks are not visible and that is what Ali swam under andthrough. I will have to make sure and review this after arun at normal flows to make sure this is correct.Jeff KI can't find any good video or photos of the rocks downstreamof the gates or any other information on incidentsthere. I guess it's just not an issue at normal flows. AsI said above it didn't look like much sticking out of thewater. It felt like a crevasse because I could feel rock oneither side of me as I went through it. Most of the rockmust have been submerged since I wasn't anywhere nearvisible rock when I surfaced.

Jeff, I can't express how much I appreciate you towingme in. I rarely lose myself but I think I was pretty muchin shock when you picked me up and I don't think I couldhave done much for myself at that moment.AliLarry, I'm pretty sure the rock that Ali encountered is thebig boulder upstream of the one you're talking about.It's about halfway between the left gate rock and the twobig rocks with the crack between them that you can boatthrough. It's not sticking up high out of the water at 2800and it's just barely sticking up at 5000-ish. It's known tohave some kind of overhanging undercut piece to it. Severalfolks are known to have swum under/through there atone time or another, but that's about all I know. I've seenthat rock at low water (about 1200) but that's been a longtime ago and I don't plan on doing the Lower at that levelever again, so unless I can dig up the video I shot of thattrip....Anyhow, I'm very glad everyone's okay. That area belowHeaven's Gates at that level is a mean swim without therock. The squirrel population in those currents is insane.Swims coming off the left gate rock or out of the hole canbe very deep. Gives me the willies just thinking about it.Yes, Jeff, you're right, and the rocks Larry is referring toare visible just at the very end of that video clip on theright edge of the screen.Hanley LollerSeptember 25, 2013That is pretty wild Ali. The River Goddess protected you.Be sure to pay homage and she will continue to give yousafe passages. Damn that is a crazy swim. We all havethose eventually, so keep your karma balanced!BrentSeptember 28, 2013Glad to hear you're good to go Ali. I had a similarly scaryexperience at lower mash, minus the underwater cave.Stay frostyThe problem is not that there are problems. It's expectingotherwise and thinking having problems is a problem.Glad you popped out OK Ali! That wave - hole powerflipped me in my creeker on Sat and Brit skirted throughit unscathed on Sat / Sun. Usually rolling is a challengefor me in that squirrelly water! I had a similar weird experienceback in the day that taught me a valuable lessonabout the Gauley. I was in my Dancer (old school longboat) and was boating down with Bob McDonough anda gaggle of his posse of squirters. They were playing onan eddy line river right somewhere ... think it was not farabove Sweets and I decided to eddy out across the riverto dump my boat. While trying to get out of my boat Islipped off the rocky shore into waist deep water that wasslow current on the surface near swift current but belowthe surface there was swift current that drew me immediatelyinto a sieve between two rocks that were just underthe surface. I could see there was a crack a few incheswide between them on top but there was a short tunnelbelow that crack that I just fit through. I tried to fight fromgoing into it but the current was surprisingly strong! Iwas glad to pop up a few feet downstream, embarrassedat what had happened and hoping no one else witnessedit. There are many stories of deaths / close calls on theUG involving big and little sieves / undercuts - manyof which (like mine) probably go unreported. The LG isthankfully much safer but the geology is the same so youjust can't be too careful anywhere on the Gauley! I remindBrit every year that if she ends up in the water to just stayin the main flow until she is certain it's safe to approachshore - preferably on the back of someone's boat. Alsoto never allow herself to wash into the face of any rock /bolder and especially between any rock and the shore.WesWow, even that close to shore you can get into some serioustrouble! Good advice on swimming. I usually havea pretty good head when I'm in the water and try to 'gowith the flow' but, like you got caught in a strong currentfunneling into an undercut. I was disoriented after gettingout from under the raft and didn't even see the rock untilI was right up on it. From Jeff's report it appears the raftitself was in the same current. Plain old bad luck on mypart.AliTheodore RubinSeptember 29, 201321

Eddy Lines of InterestSteering Committee Meeting MinutesAugust 7, 2013Present: Clay, Adelessa, Jacob, Jeff K, Ali, Bethany,Peter, Don, BrentNext meeting: General Club Meeting 08/13/2013 at7:30pm, AW Elkhorn AcresI. Call to Order1. Meeting called to order by Clay at 7:44 pmII. Reading of Minutes1. Previous month’s meeting minutes reviewed.Moved (Adelessa), Second (Bethany) to accept previousmeetings minutes. Motion passed.III. Offi cer Reports1. President--Clay – The Summer party was a hugesuccess. Thanks to everyone who helped. Surprisingly, noone was arrested!!2. Past President—Emily—not present, but she isplanning on having the Past President/BWA Reunion partyat the RFG in October. More info to come.3. Vice President—Adelessa—Working on the clinic.Carson Island is up in the air currently. She is working on aback-up plan. Brent discussed renting the pavilion at RatliffHole. Brent also noted he is working on getting access toCarson Island.4. Treasurer—Jeff K—Current balance is $6790. Jeffreviewed the FY 2013-2014 budget. Current projected surplusis $1909.80. (See Attachement)5. Secretary—Jacob—Nothing to report.6. Safety Offi cer—Tom—Not present, but he is workingon securing Pinnacle Pool for fall/winter roll sessions.7. Membership Coordinator—Ali—Membership duesstill rolling in. Parking passes have been mailed, and forumaccess is restricted for past members who have yet to pay2013-2014 dues.8. Conservation Offi cer—Peter—AW Elkhorn Acresimprovements discussed, and the group reviewed the originalAW Elkhorn Acres plans. Peter would like to plan a clubwork day to plant trees and complete general site maintenance.Tentative plan is to hold the work day sometimein November or December 2013. Numerous improvementideas discussed with adding trees as the primary goal.9. Program Director—Dave—Not Present10. Web Master—Joe—Not Present11. Newsletter— Don—Working on the current Bowlinesissues. Should be complete by mid-August.12. Gear Coordinator—BJ—Not present13. NPFF Coordinator—Bethany—2014 NPFF Strategymeeting took place in early August. Bethany is working onsecuring a guest host. A central focus is getting donationrequests out early. We need volunteers for Gauley Fest.14. Member at Large—Jeff S.—Not presentIV.Unfi nished Business1. Elkhorn Acres – See Conservation Offi cer report.2. Offi cer Club Dues Discount – Steering Committeedecided to end discussion on this issue and end discussion.3. Meeting Locations – The next Steering Committeemeeting will be held at Mi Ire Mon on Wednesday, September4th. Jacob will contact them to ensure we have thespace reserved.4. Iron Man Louisville – Volunteers still needed for theIron Man in Louisville on August 24th and 25th. Adelessanoted there are two separate posts on the forum regardingthis request. The following are the time slots available forvolunteer kayak support. 1. Saturday, August 24th from 7:30am to 11:00 am 2. Sunday, August 25th from 6:00 am to12:00 pm.5. BWA Sign for Events – Old business issue fromprevious Offi cer Team. Adelessa brought up discussion frompervious steering committee meetings to purchase a BWAsign to use for special events. The ideal sign would be freestanding and easy to see. Adelessa volunteered to work ongetting quotes for said sign.V. New Business1. August General Club Meeting Location – Clay indicatedhe would like to hold the next General Club Meetingat AW Elkhorn Acres given the last couple meetings highturnout at AW Elkhorn Acres. Group discussion around aback-up plan in case of rain and setting up the AV systemfor the guest speaker. General agreement among the SteeringCommittee members to hold the August General ClubMeeting at AW Elkhorn Acres.2. Donation to Cruse, NC Volunteer Fire Department– Clay brought up discussion to make a donation to theCruse, NC Volunteer Fire Department for their efforts in the22

escue and recovery of Scott Bradfi eld. Moved (Adelessa)Second (Ali) to donate $150.00 to the Cruse, NC VolunteerFire Department on behalf of the BWA for their efforts in therescue and recovery of BWA member Scott Bradfi eld. Motionpassed.3. Jondachi River Donations – Bethany raised discussionabout the ongoing requests for donations to supportMatt Terry’s conservation efforts for the Jondachi River.Discussion will continue at the next General Club Meeting.VI.Adjournment1. Moved (Adelessa) Second (Don) to adjourn meeting.Motion passed and meeting adjournment at 9:06 pm.BWA Treasurer Report 8/7/2013Total in the Bank 6258.32Cash on Hand 291Pay Pal 191.486740.8HARD COSTSPO Box -60ACA Membership (Cinic Insurance) -125Insurance to Pay from Clinic?Parking Passes -150Elkhorn Acres Parking -200BWA storage facility -426Wild Apricot Website -650Web Domain -120AW Club Dues -75ACA Dues -125 -1931ALLOCATED MONEYNPFF (Road Show Money) -500AW Donation EA Gravel -500 -1000VARIABLE EXPENDITURESSummer Club Party -300Red River Clean Up -300Fall Club Party -300Roll Session Losses (cushion?) -1000 -1900Projected Outfl ow Total -4831Do we have anyAugust 2013 General Club Meeting MinutesAugust 26, 2013Present: Approximately 45Next meeting: Steering Committee Meeting 09/04/2013 at7:30pm, Mi Ire MonPresentation given by Max Coulter and Emily Eaton fromthe “Students Against the Bluegrass Pipeline.” How can theBWA help? Sign the petition at moveon.org and like theirFacebook page.I. Call to Order1. Meeting called to order by Clay at 8:20pm2. Moment of Silence in honor of BWA members we’velost3. Introduction of new attendeesII. Reading of Minutes1. Previous month’s meeting minutes reviewed. Jeff K(Moved), Ali (Second) to accept previous meetings minutes.Motion passed with none opposed.III.Offi cer Reports1. President, Clay Warren – Thanks to Kris C. for takingcare of the food at Scott Bradfi eld’s memorial service.Thanks again to Jason P. for cooking tonight.2. Past President, Emily Grimes -- Not present3. Vice President, Adelessa Harbour — Not present4. Treasurer, Jeff Kirkner — $1900.00 surplus projectedfor fi scal year end. 2013-14 budget is complete and weshould have enough funds to operate until next July.5. Secretary, Jacob Robinson — Nothing to report6. Safety Offi cer, Tom Minor — Not present, noted thatPinnacle pool is the plan for winter roll sessions.7. Membership Coordinator, Ali Blair — Need updatedaddresses for late renewals. Contact Ali to get a parkingpass if you didn’t receive via mail. Additionally, she has BWAstickers available as well.8. Conservation Offi cer, Peter Stutts — Not present– Clay briefl y discussed the ongoing improvement plans atAW Elkhorn Acres.9. Program Director, Dave Lafferty — Not present10. Web Master, Joe Wheatley — Working on lapsedmemberships, currently at 62.11. Newsletter, Don Spangler – Newsletter will be outsoon. Clay thanked Don for all his hard work and dedicationon the Newsletter.12. Gear Coordinator, BJ Phelps — Not present13. NPFF Coordinator, Bethany Overfi eld – Nothing toreport14. Member at Large, Jeff Schetler — Not presentIV.Unfi nished Business1. AW Elkhorn Acres – Clay discussed the basic plansfor AW Elkhorn Acres. More info can be found on the Phorum.Peter is currently working on the plan.2. Meeting Locations – Still a work in progress. TheSeptember General Club meeting will take place at AW Elk-23

horn Acres and a grounds clean-up is planned. Please bringtrash bags, weed eaters, and mowers if possible.3. Offi cer Club Dues Discount – Discussion ended andtabled indefi nitely.4. Louisville Iron Man Volunteer Request – Volunteersstill needed for the upcoming Iron Man event in Louisville.Details can be found on the Phorum. See Adelessa if youare interested in volunteering.5. BWA Sign – Clay reviewed the recent discussion atthe August Steering Committee meeting regarding the purchaseof a BWA sign to be used at club functions. Previousoffi cer team passed a motion to purchase said sign. JasonP. has the info on the signs, and the price is $80.00 per sign.Issue will be handled at the next Steering Committee meeting.V. New Business1. Cruso, North Carolina Volunteer Fire DepartmentDonation – Clay reviewed the approved motion from theAugust Steering Committee meeting to donate $150.00 inmemory of Scott Bradfi eld to the Cruso, NC Volunteer FireDepartment in recognition of their efforts during the rescueand recovery operation.2. Jondachi River Conservation Efforts – More detailsto follow at the next General Club Meeting.3. Recent issues at the Forks of the Elkhorn Put-In– Jason P. discussed the recent issues at the Forks of theElkhorn put in. Jason has spoken with the owner, along withthe son and daughter who manage the campground. Issueshave been resolved, and BWA members are encouraged totake some extra time and talk to the owner if approached.VI. Announcements : NoneVII. Trip Reports: NoneVIII. Adjournment1. Jacob (Moved), Bob (Second) to adjourn. Motionpassed. Meeting adjournment at 9:50pm.IX. Guest SpeakerPresentation given by Alex DeSha from the Sierra Club.September 2013 Steering Committee MinutesSept 2013, 2013Big Props to Jeff Schetler for taking the minutes at thismeeting!!!Sept Steering Committee MeetingAttendees-Clay, Adelessa, Bethany, Emily, Ali, Jeff S, & BJSept 4th 2013- 7:40pm-Meeting beginsPrevious Meeting Minutes pass- all in favor24Offi cer Reports-7:42President- nothing to report-“I really don’t have much to talkabout”Past President-Club party will be Oct 5th at the RussellFork, The BWA will be providing Breakfast Saturday morning(Oct 5th), Bethany makes motion to allot $200 for Emilyto cook Breakfast for the Club, Clay seconds, all in favormotion passes.VP-Nothing to reportSecretary- Not present (nothing to report) Member at largefi lling inTreasurer (copy and pasted email)- Status on Treasuryfunds remains the same as last meeting. Very little accountingactivities have taken place. A few memberships came in,but nothing to sway the books signifi cantly. I need to knowwhen and where to send the $500 check that is earmarkedfor AW Acres from previous meetings. Also, do we need tosend a check to ACA for Insurance for Spring clinic participants?Need to check with Jason to see where we standwith the applications and where/when to send the check.Who needs money? Thank you. Jeff K-- TreasurerSafety offi cer-not present-Adelessa spoke for Tom-we aregood to go on the winter roll sessions at the Pinnacle Pool,they will most likely be on Fridays again this year howeverthey will begin at 7:40 instead of 7:30 to allow swimmerstime to exit the poolMembership Coordinator-we continue to get new membershipsfor the club & everyone at the meeting was “PLUMTICKLED” about the influx in the new boaters and members.Clay makes a motion that he is plum tickled, Adelessaseconds, and the motion passed unanimouslyConservation Offi cer-Discussed meeting at Elkhorn Acreslast week-a few updates on the property that were discussedincluded additional gravel on the entrance/exit roadwith possible drainage , trees/bushes/rocks as barriers tothe river, the port o john being serviced more frequently, notrash cans will be placed on the property. They are forminga subcommittee and we have to trust that the subcommitteewill address the main concerns we all have. They also discussedproperty signs as well. (Adelessa made the suggestionto have an easement barrier on the property from the lotto the river; the committee is working on that)Vikings are giving a $600 contribution as wellProgram Director-Not presentWeb Master-Not PresentNewsletter-Not PresentGear Coordinator- Transferred all gear to excel spreadsheetso that we have all gear documented. He discussedthe possibility of somehow putting this on the forum so thatanyone can see what gear we have, check it out, check itback in, etc… We had a brief discussion about Lonnie beingthe fi rst blind person to paddle the entire Grand Canyon; wealso discussed trying to get him to speak at a club meeting.NPFF-Everything is going awesome so far and she is further

ahead of schedule than she was last year this time. Sept24th they are going to have a donor meeting and Clay saidhe will have the Film Meeting at his house on the 24th.NPFFwill have a booth at Gauley Fest, she said she will man orwoman it but she may need to leave for the occasional restroombreak. WE NEED DONATIONS for the NPFF, nothingto small (within reason)Member at large-nothing to reportUnfi nished Business-8:35pm-Discussed getting an A framesign for the club, we could use at club functions, GauleyFest, etc…Funny Comment of the night-Clay “Man I have got the slowestservice ever here tonight” Just so happened our serverwas right behind us, however Clay was talking about hisphone service.New Business-8:43-Discussed renting the pavilion at RatHole the last weekend of Russell Fork seasonEmily Grimes makes motion to adjourn-Clay seconds, all infavor-8:58pmSeptember 2013 BWA Meeting MinutesSeptember 24, 2013By Emily Grimes (not secretary)8:04PM The wonderful President Clay Warren called themeeting to orderThanks be to Joe Wheatly for your meat. And for bringingthe grill! And to everyone else who brought food, you madethe night delicious.Thanks to Kris Cheney for helping out with Scott Bradfi eld’sfuneral.Took a moment of silence to remember our friends who arenot with us anymore. May they rest in peace.Adelessa motioned accept minutes from past meeting, itpassed with fl ying colors except for a few nays that wererequested to break up the monotony.Clay announced that we had 22 minutes to hold the meeting.OFFICER REPORTS!President BWA will get together at the Gauley at TawneyFarms. YT is bringing screen and sound system. SuperChill. F**k the po-leis at Swiss. Camping there is $7.50/night. We will be having an NPFF roadshow. Link to TawneyFarms and how to get there is posted on the forum.Conservation Improvement to EA project-BWA hasdonated $500 and the Vikings are donating $1500 to thecause. Woop Woop! There will be 2 phases of this project,1. Gravel, parking, improve signage, and add a donationbox (ohms for the poor) 2. Planting, rocks to improve bufferarea between parking lot and stream. They hope to get thisgoing by December 2013. Peter’s facial hair is on point,thanks Peter. And everyone else in this project, you guysare awesome. And also big thanks to Nathan for his cheap25services (lawn mowing and such).Past Pres BWA party will be held the fi rst weekend ofOctober. The BWA SC has given her $200 to cater breakfaston Saturday morning. This weekend will also be ScottBradfi eld’s memorial.VPNadaTreasurer JK says “we have $”. Check coming fromVikings. If you’re worried, there is a spreadsheet on the forum.Have around $1700 in the bank. We wont go bankrupt.SecretaryNadaSafety Very safe. Roll sessions start in January at the PinnaclePool again. The nights have not been decided uponyet, but the start time will be pushed back from 7:30 to 7:45to allow the little fi shies to get out of the pool, and out of ourway.Took ~40 people off the forum for not pay-Webmastering duesNPFF Bethany is on the ball. Needs help getting stuff forsilent auction. Get some new blood in the silent auction.Start early. If you have ideas please post to forum.UNFINISHED BUSINESS!Meeting locations, discussion still open, we welcome yoursuggestions.Curuso Fire Department will receive a $150 donation and athank you card from us in the next week for Scott’s searchand rescue.Jondachi River Conservation Efforts, please check that out.A little bit goes a long way.NEW BUSINESS!Next’s meetings program, Lonnie the blind veteran who ranthe Grand Canyon will tentatively be giving the presentationnext month. Yee!G Fest! What What! Huge BWA encampment next to 4-Hdining house (breakfast spot) right when you get in on theLeft, next to playground. Steve Fisher will be there to do“joint” thingsEstill Co. and Irvine Parks & Recreation are building a boatramp Adelessa has directions to the building of that if anyoneis interested.There is a clean-up on Towne Branch on Sunday from 1-5 ifanyone is not at the GauleyJason Powell will be accepting 6 packs all weekend.TRIP REPORTS!Nod to LBK for helping gorbies on the Elkhorn. Props. LeslieCoble is a boss. She loves fi ring it up with Cynthia.8:44 PM ADJOURNED

NPFF 2014Howdy folks, it's time to start thinking about all things National Paddling Film Festival. In an effort to not wait to the lastminute to take care of anything this year I'm going to be really proactive about getting things organized.There is an impressive cast of characters that step up to work tirelessly to pull this event off every year. Some of thesefolks are plumb worn out. We need some new blood!The first big push we'll have is securing items for our silent auction. This is our real money generator every year. Themore quality stuff we get, the more money we're able to give away. This push will start at the Gauley fest/late Septemberand continue right up until the event, which will be on February 21st and 22nd of 2014.If you have any interest in helping out with the next NPFF, please holler at me either here, or shoot me an email: geogal@gmail.com. We'll have our first planning meeting in September and I'll send a mass email out to all of those people whowant to get in on the NPFF gravy train.Stay tuned to the web site: www.npff.orgAlso stay tuned to the forum for some upcoming exciting NPFF announcements involving the guest host and some newpartnerships.Bethany OverfieldBWA MeetingsMeetings held Second Tuesday of every month at 7:30 pmTo eat during the meeting come a little early so you can place your order before the meeting starts.For up-to-date info on meetings always check http://www.bluegrasswildwater.orgBluegrass Wildwater AssociationPO Box 4231Lexington, Ky. 4050426