I still remember my first time through blossom in 1979. I came out to row a training trip for OARS, but when I got there they said they didn’t have an extra raft for me to row. My buddy said “paddle my kayak”. The kayak was a 14’ Hollowform Rviverchaser - which was the first rotomolded plastic kayak company. When I got to Blossom and scouted it, I was amazed at how much time I had to make the move compared rowing a big gear boat, and how easy it was!
Thanks for sharing! That's quite a story:) True, for us kayakers, hardshell or soft shell, it's a lot easier than for a loaded gear boat. It was my 2nd time and I had fun playing around rather than just looking for the exit.
Your video makes it wayyyy calmer than it is. Or as I remember it. Picture 11 year olds, floating on the McKenzie. One kid flew out! I said never again lol
I enjoy your videos, but I feel like they would be more effective if you did one video of the run instead of posting several snippets of the same run. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks, for the likes and thanks for the feedback. The Metolius clips are from 4 days with different paddlers. All clips can be watched without pause by going to the Playlist ru-vid.com/group/PL9KifzpsreEjrz2jVG-be6FzL-wh9JRTf&feature=shared
Did you have to shuttle boats around the tree that fell across the river near the top of the canyon a few weeks ago or is there room to float by it? From the trail it looked like a strainer all the way across.
In July we had one or two short portages, none of them really new as in just a few weeks old. The first blockage is several years old and above the Gorge, I think one can even scout from the lower loop of Smiling River CG. Depending on level, type of boat and your mood of the day you either just barrel over it (as I did in 2021), or step out into the water near the left bank and lift the boat over. Takes maybe a minute. The second blockage is from some time this winter. It's two to three minutes below the end of Big Rapid. Also portage on the left, lifting boat over log. Duration maybe two minutes. There are other trees across other parts of the river, but you can either find a way around, or push over, or someone has cut a passage through.
I've been in the area since the late 50s early 60s and would like to thank you for views I otherwise would have never seen. Are you allowed up near Wizard falls?
Thank you so much! Your comment means a lot to me! I will post more from this 3-day weekend. In the meantime, you may enjoy some of my 2021 footage from 2021 my first time on the Metolius and fairly new to GoPro editing. (one clip from the Wizard Falls section) ru-vid.com/group/PL9KifzpsreEged53ajDTkU2ZYN4d4gfhj
Thanks for the feedback! Let's see if the name sticks:) Do you know names of other features? -- you seem to be running the stretch more than I've done. For me it was the 3rd time on the upper Metolius, and the 1st time in that left channel (mostly scrambling to find a through, haha)
@@horstlueck I’ve always called that feature the toilet bowl too, but not sure if other folks call it that. The two bigger rapids I’ve just heard called one and two, sometimes “gorge rapids.” I’m really not sure though, good question! I like the shelf alley name though, that is a real good description.
Yes, all the structures are designed to be winterized for flooding. When the Long Tom River exceeds a level of about 10 ft at the Noti Gage for a certain period of time the upstream meadows (parking lot during Fair) get flooded, and it's mainly that water from the parking lot that flows through the Eight, with the fastest current on East 13th (8:46..9:25). You can observe the flood status from driving by on Hwy-126.
Ran boxcar in 1987 it was running at 7500 cfs in a 16 ft. Guides model Alumaweld. We were part of a group of friends that did a 5 day trip from trout creek to maupin annually.
Nice line! I was once taking a class there (Style over Survival with alder creek) and we all blindly followed local kayak legend Paul Kuthe off that line, except going right of the big rock you bounced off of.. we were just told to follow him and make sure to hit the boof. Well, i hit the boof, then the next thing i know i was looking at the sky as my stern popped up for the next 3 seconds. My camera was out of battery of course (12 hour day) but sometimes i think about trying that line again
With converging currents from three directions it's one of the more tricky rapid run-outs. At 0:44 ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE--aTH2TyLcew.html , at slightly less flow in Nov. 2019, you can even see a raft flipping in the seam you are mentioning.
