I will begin my trip report by stating this, "There is a river God! Whether we want to acknowledge this or not, we have all seen proof, at some point, that we are not alone on the river."
The original Lewis trip was planned for a cool, sunny, April Sunday. Ryan Scott, Chuck Taylor, Luke Spencer, Nate and I were all planning on trekking to the river to run some of the waterfalls, being that the flows were pretty abundant.
Nate and I headed towards the Lewis river and got snowed out past Trout Lake. We were so bummed! Our exciting plans had to be put on hold until another day.
After talking with Chuck and Luke, it was decided that they were headed back up to the Lewis river the next day. Being that Nate had to work, I decided to head over there by myself and meet up with the "guys". The crew ended up being Chuck, Luke, Dr. Greg, Tim and myself.
The day starts with our first stop at Lower Lewis falls to check the levels. Compared to the prior day, the river had gone down some, but it was still pumping. I don't believe that anyone had the desire to run Lower Lewis falls, but just for the beauty aspect, we stopped there to appreciate the power and intensity that this waterfall projects.
We then headed upstream to put on the river. Our plan: Run Tatnapum, continue downriver, take out above Upper Lewis Falls, decide if you wanted to run it and then continue down and run Midde Lewis Falls.
First: Tatnapum, a 20-foot waterfall. Desired line: Far left with a boof stroke. Everyone styled and hit there line. . . the day was off to a great start.
Second: Catching an eddie above Upper Lewis Falls. Everyone did, thank God! We all took out and ventured up the hillside, which was covered with rocks, sand and tree piles. I was thinking to myself, "The waterfall better be good-to-go, 'cuz the hike up this hill with a boat would be a pain in the ass."
Third: Upper Lewis Falls, a 30-footer into a 30-footer (did I mention knarly) We spent what seemed like hours, studying our line and trying to figure out what the water was doing. Desired line: Ferry across the river to get left, come towards the top drop middle/left, boof the top drop, keep paddling then boof the bottom drop pretty much anywhere.
Hazards (Reasons why this drop isn't ran often): 1. The entrance into the top drop was very shallow, if you didn't get your line just right, there was no water to pull yourself towards a different line 2. a terminal cave at the bottom-right of the top drop, if you would go into this cave. . .oh, it would be very bad! 3. An outcropped rock at the base of the top drop - Nate and I went up to the Lewis river a month ago and looked at Upper Lewis Falls at low water, there is a rock at the base of the top drop, that if you didn't boof the top drop, you could piton 4. Sticky hole at the base of the lower drop - the hole looked a lot stickier than it was.
I think I covered most of the hazards in this one drop. Anyhow, Luke Spencer stepped up, "Here goes", he says and heads back up the trail. We all wished him good luck and got our cameras ready.
Our stomachs churned as we awaited Luke's entrance over the drop. We were given the thumbs up, and in the distance saw Luke in the water. It was a dead silent as we all took in deep breaths and once again wished him luck from afar. Keeping a steady hand on the camera, I looked up as Luke boofed over the top drop, re-surfaced directly over the lip of the bottom falls and plugged the bottom waterfall. He quickly came to the surface, rolled up and smiled. We were all relieved and greeted him with our cheers and applause.
Next, was Chuck Taylor. Chuck felt pretty confident after seeing Luke run it. Now, I've seen my buddy Chuck run some waterfalls upside down, side-ways and backwards, so I was wondering what show he would give us today. Again, we all waited in anticipation upon Chuck's arrival over the top drop. As Chuck approached the lip of the top falls, he took a beautiful, textbook boof stroke, landed with the perfect angle to keep his speed and angle to boof the second falls just as perfect. There have not been a lot of people to run this drop, so I'd feel pretty confident in saying that Chuck Taylor had the best timing and line than any other crazy kayaker who has been over this drop. (Way to go Chuckie)
Dr. Greg was waiting backstage for his turn. What's memorable about his attemps, yes, attempts plural. Greg didn't like his line the first time he ran it, so he hiked up and did it again!!! Most paddlers will not run this drop in their lifetime, and if they do, maybe only once,but, Dr. Greg not only runs it twice in his life, but twice on the same day!
Tim chose not to run this drop. The important thing to note here is that none of us felt pressured to run this drop, if you wanted to 'good luck', if not there was more fun downriver to be had. What I want to say about Tim, was that he showed so much support to me when I was deciding whether or not I wanted to run Upper Lewis. Tim was right there by my side as I took hours, literally, looking at different lines and trying to pick my landmarks to make sure I kept my line at the entrance of the top drop.
Before I made my committment to run Upper Lewis Falls, I wanted to see if the line way left (Steve Fisher ran this line at high flows years ago) which consisted of a more straight forward entrance, but a bigger drop - 60 foot waterfall, was the route I wanted to go. After Chuck and I took the time to paddle across the river to the left side, we both decided that this line was a bit sketchy - it seemed that it might be deep enough, but the top of the drop looked like it would boof you out over the 60 foot waterfall. . .ouch!
So, nervous as ever, I hiked back up the trail to the top of the drop, once again eyeing my line, mapping out my landmarks and getting advice from Tim and everyone else. "Let's do it", I said. Tim informed the crew down below to get their cameras ready. Tim hiked down with me and continued to give advice and clear my mind of nervousness. Luke stationed himself at an oversee point, 80 feet above the pool at the base of the falls, to take video; Chuck and Greg were stationed below the whole drop to get different angles on video and camera.
Tim's last words to me, before setting adrift into the current," Good Luck Heather, I'm pretty impressed this is a knarly drop." After many deep breaths, I started my paddle to river left. I could still back out if I wanted, but I didn't want to give myself that option. I had made it this far and I wasn't going to turn back. I started pin-pointing my landmarks, what I didn't realize from scouting way above the entrance to the top drop, was that at river level, your landmarks obviously change a bit. But, I didn't let panic take over, I kept my eye on the log I wanted to paddle towards to get on line. Everyone makes mistakes, and this is where my mistake came: I cut way to soon towards the entrance of the top drop instead of continuing to paddle river left and make a wider turn into the entrance. I realized that I was way off-line. So what does a paddler naturally do when they are off-line? I tried to paddle hard to hit my desired spot, but with the entrance being so shallow, there was no water to grab and I just kept sliding down the top drop with no means of controlling and correcting myself. Honestly, there was no panic in my mind. All I was trying to do was deal with what was given me. This all happened so fast, but I certainly knew I was off-line.
As I went over the top drop, I fell into the wall at the base of the drop. This is the part that should convince you that there is a river God! I pitoned my boat against this wall, and fell side- ways hitting the side of my head smack against the rock wall. Immediately it knocked me unconscious. Still being in my boat, I dropped over the second falls. Even though the hole at the base of this drop wasn't sticky, it pushed me so deep hole that it pulled me out of my boat, shooting my boat so far out of the water and sending me downstream on my back.
The "could have happened": I could have ended up in the cave at the base of the first drop; I could have stayed in my boat upside down, unconscious and unable to breath; I could have continued downstream out of my boat face-down. But all these could have's, didn't. . . I am so thankful!
Once I was pulled to shore, I regained my consciousness and found myself sitting on the rocks with the guys around me. Dr. Greg gave me all the tests to make sure I was okay, luckily I was. The only thing I couldn't remember quickly was the river I had just paddled. I was a little shaken, but with the help of the group, I hiked off the river and headed towards the car. We exchanged smiles and laughs as we sat in the car, everything would be okay!
The crew I was with that day deserves my thanks for a lifetime. Luke jumped 80 feet into the pool to help me, Greg paddled like mad to pull me out of the water, and everyone was there to assist in my rescue. Thank you, and if I can call you - Chuck, Luke, Tim and Greg - my angels, I will! I'm sure I gave these guys quite a scare, let alone my husband when he found out! I gave Nate a big hug when I saw him the next day!
I'm ending this trip report by re-stating this,"There is a river God . . . we are not alone on the river."
Paddle Safe!
~Heather~