Rain Rain Come and Play! PLEASE!!

It is slim pickin's here in the Northwest with a lot of overcast skies but no precipitation. So to get some scenery a little different than the White Salmon, we got up early and headed several hours north to the Ohanepecosh. Nothing like hitting up a low water Northwest classic!



Kate on one of the many fun drops Photo: Rick Cooley

The Ohanepecosh is a great mix of boulder gardens and clean ledges with a waterfall thrown in toward the end of the run. Unfortunately the high water events in 2006 added some nasty log jams to the upper section and your best bet at this time is to put in at the secret campground a little further downstream.

Rick Cooley on the falls toward the end of the run (low water makes the left side a little harder to get)

Overall the Ohanepecosh is a sweet run with breathtaking scenery and the best part is the shuttle is easy to run or bike so you can take one car! Christie comes home tomorrow from Nepal, I'm hoping she snags some rain somewhere along the way and brings it with her!

Northwest Meets the Far East

First 4 Weeks in Nepal, 8 Rivers, 4 Multi-day trips

Here's some highlights:

The Himalayas

The Annapurna Range

Machhapuchhre

Hiking into the Modi Kohla

Monica getting terrorized by the local kids

We LOVE our porters

the girls

Landruk

Modi Khola at New Bridge

Jake Holland

Nayapul

The Seti River Valley

Dave, Jake, Andy, & Christie

Seti River

The Marsyandi River

Dave Couling

Andy relaxing on the roof

. . . and entertaining the kids

Christie & Monica

The Kali Gandaki

Bus top ride up the Bhote Koshi

The Balephi Khola

Put-in of the Karnali River

Camping on the Karnali

Raft support, yeah!

fish for dinner

. . . and chicken

good surf on the Karnali

Phewa Lake in Pokhara

Chitwan National Park

Kathmandu

*Thanks to Andy & Monica for some great photos

the Nepali Girls Project

The Nepali Girls Project is a program started by Inka Trollsas to prepare Nepalese women for jobs as raft guides and safety kayakers. For more info on this project check out:

nepaligirlskayak.blogspot.com

Monica Gokey and I joined up with the group in Kathmandu to teach the girls how to swim and paddle. Thanks to everyone who donated gear and thanks so much to Carve Designs for sending swimwear for all the girls!

www.carvedesigns.com

Monica teaching Swimming 101

The girls learned how to swim first. Then we got them in kayaks and showed them wet exits and basic paddle strokes. Next we'll get them rolling so we can teach them how not to swim:)

Fall Girl Paddle

The leaves have started to fall and the river levels are at a standstill....sounds like the perfect time for the pdxgirlpaddler annual Fall Girl Paddle on the White Salmon River. This is a great event that encourages women paddlers of every skill level to get on the water. It provides a supportive, comfortable environment for beginners to learn some skills and those that are looking for a challenge to step it up. There was a great turn out this year with 7 ladies starting out the day on the Orletta section, 25 or so on the Middle section, and another 10 joining for the Lower section. Way to represent ladies!!

Thanks to Melissa DeCarlo for the photos!

2008 Wind River Boater X

September 13, 2008


The Wind River Boatercross over Shipherds Falls was full of great lines and great carnage on Sunday. Thanks to Luke Spencer for putting on yet another awesome event! Also, thanks to Brandon Bloomquist for taking video and Chad Cole for taking photos.

Men's Results:
1. Todd Anderson
2. Rob Bart
3. Dave Hoffman

Women's Results
1. Christie Glissmeyer
2. Lindsay Gay
3. Kourtni Wimer


Shipherds Falls

2008 Canyon Creek Race

April 12, 2008


The new and improved 2008 Canyon Creek Race in SW Washington was a huge success this year. The length of the race was doubled to include Thrasher and Boulder Garden. It was held April 12, about a month earlier than usual, to take advantage of higher flows. Tons of boaters, rafters and river boarders came out from all over to participate and enjoy the 75 degree bluebird day. Thanks so much to Luke Spencer for organizing such a fun and rowdy event!



Results:

Men's K-1 Expert
1. Geoff Calhoun 5:9.99
2. Tao Berman 5:13.80
3. Todd Anderson 5:13.99

Women's K-1 Expert
1. Christie Glissmeyer 5:53.91
2. Monica Gokey 6:48.22

Men's K-1 Advanced
1. Brian Little 5:40.84
2. Joe Stumpfel 5:46.95
3. Laurence Rosen 5:47.12

Women's K-1 Advanced
1. Rachel Crowder 7:21.91
2. Roberta Grant 7:47.29
3. Lisa Jeidy 8:51.00