Dead River @ 1800cfs
June 30th T/C: B.B. Adams
Participants: BB Adams TC, Kenny DeCoster, Ben Meader, Emily Meader, Helen Johnston, Peter Brown, Dylan Brown, Dr. Ben Mathes, Sam Mathes, Skip Pendleton, Carol Kinsey, John & Conner Skofield, Paul & Chris Meyer, Don Skofield, Melanie Lanctot, Alex Graff, and Aaron Carlson.
Wow! What a wonderful day on the river we had! The 1800cfs seemed to be a generous flow as we left the put-in at about 11:00 a.m. With 19 people filling 14 boats, we had our hands full keeping track of everyone.
To begin the trip, I married the trip members together by reading the trip waiver form and discussing the importance of self rescue. When everyone said "I do" and signed their names on the dotted line, I identified the people who would serve as lead, sweep and rescue. Since I am recovering from a broken hand, I relieved myself from the "rescue" list right away and served primarily as "leader" and "hospitality girl." I started paddling tandem with Kenny in "Emma," my OT Tripper and we promised the beginners that we would be taking the easiest line we could find. Therefore Don S. in the shredder, with his partner Melanie, served as on and off the water body and boat rescue as well as sweep. Ben Meader in a Probe 12 and Dylan in his kayak were "on the water lookout", helping wherever they could, and Helen and Peter in their tandem whitewater canoe often served as sweep.
After surfing at Spencer for a while, we made our way toward "Basin" and Carol had a scary swim with her new play boat. We discussed the probability of more such swims and quickly decided that it might behoove the group if we did a little people-rearranging. Carol became Kenny's bow babe and I got to paddle her new boat for the remainder of the trip.
We stopped at the beach before Hayden's for our "first lunch" and a pause for the surfers to play across the river. The air was rather chilly so there was not as much intentional swimming as usual. Back in the boats, I took the sneak route on the far right and had a trail of followers past the "big stuff" in the center.
At Enchanted Stream, we stopped to stretch our legs and have what we call "second lunch." This also included the discussion of doing the chute behind Elephant Rock or playing in the waves down the middle. Most of us chose the chute because of the big plunge at the end. It also serves to set us up for bailing and surfing the wave after everyone is through.
During our third stop at Upper Poplar, we ate chocolate, gummy bears, and nuts, and we also discussed the strategy for the last two drops of the day. Don set up with a throw bag just below "Fryalator" on Lower Poplar as the rest of us scouted. We had many beginners along and we wanted everyone to feel comfortable with their routes. Again I found the easier sneak routes starting center and moving right on both Upper and Lower Poplar and had many followers.
Highlights of the day included:
- Kenny taking Carol down the middle of Humpty Dumpty and hearing him Whoop it up as only he can do!
- Ben surfing and pulling eddies in the middle of the most torrential water...
- Helen smiling and smiling and smiling, Peter helping and helping and helping....
- Sam ROLLING the Torrent again and again!
- Emily wearing the color coordinated gear and making her mother run Lower Poplar
- Dylan popping the roll (much to Aaron's awe)...and surfing in his kayak....
- Dr. Ben trying new routes and pushing himself...Oops, that was not where he wanted to be....
- Skip improving with every rapid he ran!
- John and Conner quietly waiting for all the "yahoos" to finish surfing, never complaining about the wait and not visually ticked off at being forgotten at the beginning of the shuttle.... sooooooo sorry!!!
- Paul was happy to learn some sneak routes and Chris FOUND HIS PADDLE!!!!
Thanks again, Don for giving the kayak a ride on the shredder.
- Aaron swimming and swimming and swimming but never having a broken spirit.... gotta get that roll, eh? Call Brent soon!
- Hey Alex, next time you spring for the trail mix and the cashews! Did you eat enough?
We had a GREAT RUN and wonderful camaraderie. Thank you Caroline Mathes and Scott Howell for running from River Drivers to Caratunk with Forrest Meader and doing our CAR SHUTTLE!!! You are the best!
Dead River @ 1300cfs
July 1st T/C: BB Adams
Participants: BB Adams TC, Kenny DeCoster, Ben Meader, Helen Johnston, Peter Brown, Dylan Brown, Dr. Ben Mathes, Skip Pendleton, Scott Gee, Scott Howell (my guy), Laurie Wunder, Alex Graff, and Aaron Carlson.
Today was somewhat overcast and very cool. Most of us wore warmer clothing than yesterday, remembering how chilly we got on the river. After bringing the group together for our traditional joining of minds and spirits, I identified the people who would serve as lead, sweep and rescue. Today these people were Ben Meader in his Probe 12, Dylan in his kayak, Helen and Peter in their tandem whitewater canoe, Scott Gee in his play boat, and Kenny in his Encore.
Alex had the first swim of the day, if I remember correctly. I just envision him hanging on to the back end of Ben's boat as his sit-on-top floated farther and farther down stream.
Laurie, being new to kayaking (crossing over from play boating) was searching for easier routes... following in behind me. Scott H. also followed closely. He is new to the whitewater scene since starting to date the trip leader....
We stopped at the beach before Hayden's for our "first lunch" and at Enchanted Stream for "second lunch". Helen and Peter went on ahead to set up their camera for pictures of us all coming down the chute at Elephant. One-by-one we worked our way over to the chute, smiling for the camera as we plunged into the hole.....with Ben and Aaron going through backwards on purpose just to be different...
We stopped at Upper Poplar for a quick indulgence in gummy bears and nuts. At Lower Poplar, we set up safety just past "Fryolator" with Peter and Helen on shore with a throw bag, Scott G. farther down with a throw bag, Ben and Dylan on the water half way down, BB leading, and Kenny sweeping. There was no yard sale to sweep up however, and everyone made it through with no mishaps. Aaron took his kayak right through the thick of the waves and finished his day with a HUGE grin!
I would like to publicly thank Heidi, my Occupational Therapist for making me a special orthopedic splint, formed directly for my paddle. Without her compliance and help, I would not have been able to paddle these trips!
Thank you AGAIN, Caroline Mathes, for hanging with my son and daughter for the day. Without you, I could not have paddled today.
Dead River @ 1300cfs
July 7th T/C: BB Adams
Participants: BB Adams TC, Ben Meader, Aaron Carlson, Alex Graff, Kenny DeCoster, James King, Paul?, Asa?
We arrived at Webb's at 8:30 a.m. and got packed and organized for the day. We waited for our buddy, "Dan-Dan the safety man" Pelletier but he didn't show. So Ben picked up some other paddlers who seemed to have some interesting boats and techniques. They rode in to the put-in with us and spent the day surfing and playing alongside our small group. Unfortunately I can't go into much detail because I am heralded off to Europe tomorrow and need to get packed. All I want to say is "THANK YOU!" to my daughter Emily for driving the van out for us. Although I was sad that she didn't feel well and couldn't paddle, she was a great sport and team player for doing the driving.
We had a fantastic day!
Dead River @1800cfs
July 8th T/C: BB Adams
Participants: BB Adams TC, Ben Meader, Aaron Carlson, Kenny DeCoster, Carolyn Welch, Kim Gass
Today's group was even smaller than yesterday's. I had not signed up as trip leader, being unsure of my availability but as we readied ourselves for the drive to the put-in, Carolyn and Kim showed up to boost our group to 3 play boats, 1 kayak and 1 shredder.
Halfway down the river, the sun decided to come out, warming us to the point of shedding layers. Ben, Aaron and Kennny surfed every chance they got. As we ate lunch at Hayden's, a group from Quebec who paddled really cool play boats showed up. Ben waltzed right up and asked in his best French if he could try out one of the boats. With an affirmative answer, Ben squirted across the river to test the spin, stability and automatic bailers on the craft.
There were several swims by our surfers, but the girls...myself included…chose to stay dry. It was another heavenly day on the water!
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