Day Seven
Today was the day that more people were going to be added to the group. It was the beginning of the “Midwest Creekin’ Bonanza”. Nate, Taylor, Jesse, John and I got up early to get a run done on the lower mile of the Presque. Since the levels were higher, we thought we would get some good footage of the drops.
When we were done with the run on the lower mile, we met up with the rest of the creeking group and decided to do the upper Presque Isle through the lower. This section of river had a two mile hike in and was an 8-mile run, class IV/V.
The hike down to the river was amazing. Not only do I enjoy the actual paddling part of kayaking, but also everything else involved in the sport - the hikes in to the put-in, the scouting, the portaging, etc. Once we all got down to the river, we sat on the bridge for awhile, just enjoying each others company - that’s what kayaking is about!
The first significant rapid was double drop - there was a fine line that you needed to hit to avoid a beat down potential, followed by another drop right downstream. I stood there, holding safety as I watched everyone’s line. There was one boater that I watched, getting a playboat session in the hole, unintentionally, and eventually swimming out of the hole. I was the second to last to go and ended up having to carry two video cameras down in my boat with me. Not only was I nervous about getting stuck in the hole, but getting stuck in the hole and having $2000 with me in my boat! Talk about some pressure! So, it wasn’t an option for me to get a beat down. I stuck my line and realized that the line was easier than I thought.
Carnage #5 As I was walking back down to the group, Taylor was headed my direction. Without any signs, I asked, “Is everything okay?” Taylor responded, “No, Joerge fell.” At first I thought Taylor was kidding, since we have had carnage episodes just about everyday, but I soon realized that this was pretty serious. About 15 minutes before I returned to the group from looking for my throw rope, Joerge had ran the drop and was hiking back up the cliff to run it again. What I have been told is that he stepped on an ice formation, which came loose, and he lost his footing. He fell 15 feet down a cliff, clipping a tree with his legs half-way down and falling onto his head. All I’m going to say is that the group realized that this was going to be very serious, so they sent Nate and Andy to hike out of the river and call an ambulance for help. About the time that I re-joined the group, Joerge was on his feet and talking. He had a head wound, a cut lip and cut chin. After assessing the situation and assessing Joerge’s vitals, it was decided to continue downstream and keep an eye of his situation. He made it to the take-out just fine. The same ambulance crew that was on the Presque Isle four days prior to this event, was back. The group joked around a bit, saying, “We’ll probably see you in a couple more days”, as they were packing up and leaving. Joerge ended up being okay, but gave us a big scare. He’s definately feeling the impact of the fall, but to come out of this situation with sore muscles is not bad.
Day Eight
After a long day on the river and a big scare, I opted to take the day off of paddling and take photos and video of the others on the Black River. Steve Herbeck, Joerge and I met the kayakers at each significant rapid/falls, positioning ourselves for some sweet shots.
That evening, after hearing news from the doctor that Joerge was okay from his injury, we once again, headed for Hurley. Steve Herbeck was our designated Dad and driver . . . thanks, we needed that, ‘cuz we all got pretty silly that night. Great fun and good memories!
Day Nine
Tao Berman, Josh Becthel and Eric Boomer joined us for some Midwest Creeking and we took them to the Black River once again. The river levels were on there way down, the Black was running about 450 cfs or less on this day. A bunch of people fired off Potawatomi and Gorge Falls. With the added members of the group, we continued downstream for a low water run on the Black.
Day Ten
Tao, Josh and Eric fired off Saxon Falls as Nate and I took video/photos.
Then we were off to Gabro Falls, where Tao and Eric hold the first descent of this falls.
Day Eleven
Long drive to the North Shore and scout mission of the rivers in that area.
Day Twelve
We decided to catch the Onion on it’s way down. Nate and I ran the Onion last year at a much higher flow, but all of us wanted to slide down this and we all agreed that if we wanted to do it, this day was our last chance. The flow was definately low, but we all got down it with minimal hand and boat scrapes.
After our play on the Onion, we thought we’d get a few high water laps on Illgen Falls on the Baptism. We took off of the river around 7:00 p.m., shivering and hungry and headed into town for some warm food and cold beer.
Day Thirteen
We decided to meet up with the group and run the Cascade river. Since half of the group ran the upper Cascade the day before, we decided to run “Hidden Falls”, take out and join the group for the lower Cascades. Hidden falls is a fast, S-turn slide, about 50 feet in length. It was probably one of my most favorite rapids.
After hitting Hidden Falls, most of the group put on and paddled the Lower Cascades - which is a series of waterfalls in a tight canyon.
That night, we camped on the shores of Lake Superior. This camp site was just as amazing as the camp site on the South Shore. This site was
called “Paradise Beach” - and that it was. We spent hours watching Nate skip rocks into the Lake and talking around the campsite. Great
kayaking and great friends . . . that evening was amazing. When we all decided to call it a night, Nate, Tao and I headed into our tent to
stay a little warmer, while the others slept in their sleeping bags outside. I was woken in the night, by a “whooping” holler, not really
thinking much about it then, I fell back to sleep. When we woke up the next morning, we found Josh in our tent with us. The story is, that
Josh had wolves (according to him, but I think they were fox, or even raccoons) surrounding him and licking his face, so he scared them off and
came into the tent.
Day Fourteen
This was our last day of paddling, because Nate and I needed to get to Minneapolis for an Outdoor Expo. So, the plan was to run Lower Poplar. We scouted for awhile and Tao, Josh and Kiffy decided to fire it up. In this rapid, there was one must make move - to guarentee you stay upright over the shallow 25 foot waterfall right below it. All three had great lines, however, Kiffy ended up losing his paddle out of his left hand, which assisted in a flip and going over the last waterfall upside down. He ended up with scraped up fingers, just like the rest of us.
Summary
This was our first “Spring Creeking Bonanza” and what a fantastic time! Spending a mere two weeks with some people, was just enough time to develop some strong friendships. I like to think that the river unites common personalities and traits and with these common personalities, deep friendships transpire.
You can find footage of our travels - Minnesota, Michigan, Wisconsin, Mexico, Costa Rica, Washington, Oregon, Colorado and more, in the up and coming video, “Toxic Waters”, to be released Spring of 2008.
~Heather~