News Article: The Eyes of PR Are Upon You

[TIDE-HSV]

thankfully, i never had any serious issues on the gauley. the first time i ran it, though, the meadow was super high due to heavy rainfall the night before, so the river volume increased by a huge chunk for lost paddle.

i folded a boat in the middle of jawbone once, on the river left eddy right above hydroelectric rock. it wasn't a pleasant experience, but i was head out of water and my buddy was able to run back up the bank and give me a hand out of my boat. mine folded right behind the cockpit too, it took a couple of us jumping on it to get it flat enough to paddle across the lake.

You know that your situation killed one guy? I had it start once at high water and ejected the only other time I can think of, other than Sweet's Falls. The other guy got killed three weeks earlier. You were lucky. Here's Jawbone at about 2.9'...

 

[92tide]

You know that your situation killed one guy? I had it start once at high water and ejected the only other time I can think of, other than Sweet's Falls. The other guy got killed three weeks earlier. You were lucky. Here's Jawbone at about 1.9'...

View attachment 16539

i think the highest i ran 5 falls was about 2’2” or so. there were, iirc, 5 eddies we would catch running jawbone. the day i pinned, it was around 1’4” and was my fourth day in a row on the river. it was dropping 1-2 inches per day that week. that week, there was a body stuck in left crack that they could not get out until the level dropped enough. that day, the girlfriends had come up to join in on a lower water run and we had paddled their boats thru 5 falls while they walked around. as i was walking back up, they were freaking out, because the water was low enough that they could see the body underwater. so my mind was on their freak out and as i was catching the eddy by the bank (i was ferrying over to the river left bank from the eddy behind decap rock) the nose of my boat tapped a rock that was hidden just under the surface and my low volume back deck submerged in the flow sending me into a back ender and the nose of my boat lodged in a crack on the bank about 1-2 ft above the waterline and my ass was sitting directly on the rock i initially hit with the entire back end of the boat in the current getting bent in two and my boat wedged firmly in place. it was a very flukey thing and goes to show the uncertainty that is inherent with class iv+ whitewater boating. at the time of that incident, i had run section 4 probably 25-30 times and was a very experienced boater.

 

[TIDE-HSV]

i think the highest i ran 5 falls was about 2’2” or so. there were, iirc, 5 eddies we would catch running jawbone. the day i pinned, it was around 1’4” and was my fourth day in a row on the river. it was dropping 1-2 inches per day that week. that week, there was a body stuck in left crack that they could not get out until the level dropped enough. that day, the girlfriends had come up to join in on a lower water run and we had paddled their boats thru 5 falls while they walked around. as i was walking back up, they were freaking out, because the water was low enough that they could see the body underwater. so my mind was on their freak out and as i was catching the eddy by the bank (i was ferrying over to the river left bank from the eddy behind decap rock) the nose of my boat tapped a rock that was hidden just under the surface and my low volume back deck submerged in the flow sending me into a back ender and the nose of my boat lodged in a crack on the bank about 1-2 ft above the waterline and my ass was sitting directly on the rock i initially hit with the entire back end of the boat in the current getting bent in two and my boat wedged firmly in place. it was a very flukey thing and goes to show the uncertainty that is inherent with class iv+ whitewater boating. at the time of that incident, i had run section 4 probably 25-30 times and was a very experienced boater.

Sorry, that was around 2.9', as you can see. It had been 2.75 at the bridge when we started and kept raining. You can see jawbone is almost covered. I think it's more dangerous lower. The day the girl drowned in Crack about three weeks after Deb started working, the photographer for SE who open-boated managed to get down and get a clove hitch around her wrist. About 15 of us managed to haul her up on the rope. Deb and another guide gave her CPR across Tugaloo, but it was hopeless, of course. I don't think I slept through a night the rest of that summer...

 

[92tide]

Sorry, that was around 2.9', as you can see. It had been 2.75 at the bridge when we started and kept raining. You can see jawbone is almost covered. I think it's more dangerous lower. The day the girl drowned in Crack about three weeks after Deb started working, the photographer for SE who open-boated managed to get down and get a clove hitch around her wrist. About 15 of us managed to haul her up on the rope. Deb and another guide gave her CPR across Tugaloo, but it was hopeless, of course. I don't think I slept through a night the rest of that summer...

5 falls gets really chunky over 2. a lot of the earlier stuff starts getting consequential as well.

one time, i did section 3, taking out at bull sluice, at 5 feet and got my ass handed to me a couple of times. that’s a powerful river.

there were several ropes attached to the dude in left crack and tied off to the bank, and that stayed in my head for a while.

 

[TIDE-HSV]

5 falls gets really chunky over 2. a lot of the earlier stuff starts getting consequential as well.

one time, i did section 3, taking out at bull sluice, at 5 feet and got my ass handed to me a couple of times. that’s a powerful river.

there were several ropes attached to the dude in left crack and tied off to the bank, and that stayed in my head for a while.

The photog almost went in himself, tying the hitch. Her one hand was stuck up about a foot below the surface, as if she'd been reaching. They keep a backboard there which we used to get her out. Yeah, no one there the day the pic above was taken had run it at that level. The rafts lined Sockem Dog. I almost bought it there. The little hole at the top had turned into a monster and almost stopped me at the top. Since my life was at stake, 3-4 sweeps got me over to the right and safety. Then, I slid down into Shoulderbone, usually a #3 and got stuck. I didn't count the rolls. They were automatic. I was just sticking out my paddle and trying to plant to the rear to get out. Some said 13 rolls.One guy said 17. I finally got stabilized long enough to get my paddle planted by my stern and managed to back out. One guy said "I can't believe I thought about going in there to play"...

 

[rolltide_21]

One time at summer camp I canoed across a lake. It almost tipped over. It was redonkulous. .

 

[92tide]

The photog almost went in himself, tying the hitch. Her one hand was stuck up about a foot below the surface, as if she'd been reaching. They keep a backboard there which we used to get her out. Yeah, no one there the day the pic above was taken had run it at that level. The rafts lined Sockem Dog. I almost bought it there. The little hole at the top had turned into a monster and almost stopped me at the top. Since my life was at stake, 3-4 sweeps got me over to the right and safety. Then, I slid down into Shoulderbone, usually a #3 and got stuck. I didn't count the rolls. They were automatic. I was just sticking out my paddle and trying to plant to the rear to get out. Some said 13 rolls.One guy said 17. I finally got stabilized long enough to get my paddle planted by my stern and managed to back out. One guy said "I can't believe I thought about going in there to play"...

i miss boating. telling carnage stories over beers after the lake paddle was always a good time.

 

[TIDE-HSV]

i miss boating. telling carnage stories over beers after the lake paddle was always a good time.

Agreed. Adrenalin junkies...

 

[Ole Man Dan]

Are these bands going to have separate water fountains and restrooms as well? Which band has to sit at the back of the bus?

Shades of the 60s. Wrong then and now.

 

[Tidewater]

Holy Unintended Messages, Batman!

Spain’s postal service introduces skin-tone stamps to fight racism — and makes the whitest one the most valuable.

 

[jthomas666]

Holy Unintended Messages, Batman!

Spain’s postal service introduces skin-tone stamps to fight racism — and makes the whitest one the most valuable.

Actually, it's an intended message:

“The darker the stamp, the less value it will have,” the state-owned company, called Correos, said in a news release announcing the launch. “Therefore, when making a shipment, it will be necessary to use more black stamps than white ones. That way, each letter and each shipment will become a reflection of the inequality created by racism.”

This doesn't strike me as a particularly intelligent or effective messaging system, but it's definitely intended.

 

[Tidewater]

Actually, it's an intended message:

This doesn't strike me as a particularly intelligent or effective messaging system, but it's definitely intended.

That may be even worse than declaring, "Oops. We screwed up."