spring/summer- photo dump

Spring Time

The charging has not let up since I moved to Chattanooga. The collective will of Team JIB to charge hard and boof big has taken me by storm. The creeks have stayed primed and seem to catch some rain every week. Runs have been abundant lately with Little Possum and Henderson in one day. I took a trip down to Tallulah with some good buddies from out of town. I charged with my playboat and reaped the rewards at ampitheatre as I was throwing blunts and making the creekboaters jealous. A few huge water trips to Rock Island have provided me with sweet surf sessions as it has now been spilling over the dam for more than three weeks. I had a sweet day on Suck creek at over 5 feet, firing up South Suck( super sweet roadside steeps), the whole creek is really pumpin at that level. I've had countless runs down suck at an array of levels and recently fired it up in my playboat( some good down creek freestyle to be had). I have all so patented the double right move off of Knucklehead(the gnar de suck) which seems to be working pretty well. I boof the rock in the middle of the flow onto the curling pile and the give her hell one more time for the big boof. This past week end myself along with Jeremy Pou and Will Pruett broke out of Chatt and headed to North Carolina to fire up the Green River Narrows. We applyed our Chattanooga charge style to the river and could have been mistaken for locals. We had healthy water that would rise through out the day due to the constant rain storm.

We were right were I've wanted to be for some time now. We were in Western NC and it was raining. This meant one of two things- TOXAWAY or RAVEN- with less water on toxaway than we had seen in Hendersonville we made the spiritual journey to the Raven Fork. Upon arrival we found a healthy 11 inches on the gauge. We fired up the hill in the V-Dub until the little car would drive no farther. On foot we hiked through a beautiful forest of lush vegetation, slippery granite, and an eerie fog that would accompany us throughout the day. Reveling in the majestic powers of the steep meta-granite gorge I was soft spoken and humbled by its greatness. We had a safe travel through the gorge and good lines were shared by all. Upon reaching Big Boy- A stout waterfall- I was told the water was a little high for the move. None the less the falls spoke to me and now I see it when my eyes close and know that I will grace his curtain one day. Mike Tysons was long, steep, and an overall white out. I ran Wet Willy blind and it was awesome. It was a great day amongst the steeps and an eye opener to the wonders that exist outside of Cherrokee North Carolina.

Here is Will's blog entry and video of our Little P - Henderson one day extravaganza:
http://fullthrottlewill.blogspot.com/2009/04/falling-off-ridge.html

Will on the Sunny One

Will and Jeremy ready to Rave

Jeremy- Razors Edge

Jeremy Jedi Training

Will- Jedi Training

Jeremy- Mortal Kombat




Wet Willy-Ran it blind!

Big Boy is calling me

Will-Tyson

Jeremy-Tyson

Will- Caveman

Nick Murphy- Pinnacle(suck)

Nick-post pinnacle

S. Suck- Roadside Steeps

Killin it off Knucklehead

Bryce Evans -railgrab Road Construction

Will P- Pinnacle

Middle Creek

On Saturday, March 14th, I took full advantage of my hour and a half lunch break from work by sprinting over to Suck Creek for a single bomb session that would return me to work with wet hair and a smile on my face.  The rest of the week hadn't been too bad either with 2 days camped out at Rock Island for sunny surf sessions and a solo sneak attack out to North Carolina to fire up the Green River Narrows.  It had been a solid spring break and I was feeling primed for what sunday had to offer.....  I woke up on sunday morning to the news that Suck Creek was at 4.5 feet and my immediate thoughts were Middle Creek would have water.  Jeremy Pou had painted a gauge days before and cleared wood, so we knew it would be clean.  Sure enough Jeremy was down for the adventure as well as Ryan Allen.  Both were a little pessimistic about water levels but seemed eager to get into the gorge with 1.0 on Jeremy's new gauge.  Middle Creek is probably the steepest run in Chattanooga and warrants extreme caution as it plummets over 700 fpm down to the Tennessee River.  Our hike in was serene as the fog passed through vivid colors of early spring in the gorge.  We hiked down to river level at Rainbow Falls(an unrun 40 footer that would need a lot of water for a survivable line).  We found our selves in a deep gorge with a descent water level.  It was GO time.  Slowly we made our way down the steeps with awe at what this gem had to offer.  I found my self stoked at the whole run givin her at just about every rapid even firing up the main line at Dirty Willy for a first descent.  It felt amazing that the gorge had allowed us safe passage and offered us all her fruit....   Highlights of the day were the Superman Slide and Shoot Me In The Face With A 9 which both had been run less than a hand full of times.  Afterwards we headed over to Suck Creek ,which was still running at 4.5, to find the boys stoked to hear about our travels and eager to cap the day off with a bomb session from the confluence to the bridge.  At the end of the run I found myself beer in hand staring at a beautiful sunset down the gut of Grand Canyon of the Tennessee River Gorge reveling in the thoughts of an amazing day amongst the steeps.

Into the gorge

In between stuff

                                   Sierra-   Jeremy givin her                                       

About to take the hit for the first D

Super Man- was insane

Stickin the line

Boofin 

Don't want to go there

Steeps

Shoot Me in the Face

Into the depths

Ryan Allen following suit

Sweet spot to do some thinking

I returned to Suck Creek the next morning  bright and early to find ample water and my good budy Airen.(We charged it)  Water was abundant on the Plateau as Will and I cashed in on high water at Rock Island as late as Thursday.(We definitely charged it)

Paddling has been sweet lately and my gut tells me there is a lot more to come!

Big thanks to Ryan Allen for the sweet photos, check out his trip report at:

http://jiblogs.blogspot.com/2009/03/middle-creek.html

Winter 08/09

So December rolled in with more rain than I have ever seen in the south east. Runs were abundant, with about 15 laps on Suck Creek, multiple runs on South Suck, 2 runs on Bear at 18 in and a 22 in run with hefty tribs that turned it into more of a 26-28(crazy out of control boulder garden). A run down LRC at 7 in, including my first huck of the falls. And countless sessions at Rock Island,(which ran over 4 grand for a month *WOW**Brave Wave Sessions*) where I've been dialing in my air screws at high water and my phonix monkeys at lower flows. I moved to Chattanooga at the beginning of the year, awesome town, and love the white water and climbing scene. I finally found a job today and now I can start saving money for Cali adventures.

Here is a video my buddy Will made of some of the local runs including my first run down bear at 18 in.

Chattanooga Chargers from Will Pruett on Vimeo.

Prey and dance for rain,
Nick Murphy

Green Race 2008

My First Green Race was too cool! The weather was amazing, the leaves colorful, and the morale amongst both those competing and spectating was high. My nerves calmed when my brand new boat hit the water and I was ready to go even though I still had over an hour till my race time. Shortly after my start I found my groove and all was good in ninja land! I had clean lines up until Gorilla when I stomped out one of the biggest boofs of my life! The crowd was amazing and definitely supplied me with an indescribable energy. I finished with a 6:15 placing me 26th in the short boat class. After finishing I joined the festivities that carried on into the morning time. All in all the Green Race is the shit! The people, the river, and the amazing energy captured when the two coincide will keep me going back to the Green Race for many years to come.

Video and Photos:



GETTIN NINJA

Upper Caney Fork High Water Spring 08'

I had this laying around from a high water day last spring

Home in the South East

Last weekend me and Trent traveled to North Carolina for some prime hucks on the Green River Narrows(sorry no photos). The level was a little low(around 6 in). Nobody was running Gorilla but everything else was good. I saw good lines on everything even running Sunshine with out catching the middle eddie. Matt and Megan came out Sat. night and supplied a hotel room. Matt fired it up the next day. It was a great weekend paddling with the home boys.

Yesterday me and Tiff drove out to Hell Hole on the Ocoee. Tiff kicked it in the hammock and took photos while I tried to impress her with my skills. It was a great day and my first on the Ocoee in close to a year.

Here are some of the photos Tiff took from her riverside hammock

No More Colorado

So I ended my Colorado season with one more trip to Cheeseman and an amazing day on the Big South of the Cache la Poudre. I ended my trip with 30 days on the water and 27 class V down river adventures. It was an amazing summer that has only encouraged my desire for technical whitewater. I hope to post some South East adventures soon. Here are some Big South photos.


Big South Put In

Colorado Style

Day 18- SSV (Source was a no go)
Day 19- Climbing in Boulder Canyon
Day 20- Bouldering at Flagstaff
Day 21- Climbing in Clear Creek & Park and Huck on Rigor Mortis
Day 22- SSV
Day 23&24- Source of Boulder Creek
Day 25&26- SSV
Day 27- Gillman at 1100 cfs & Gore Canyon of the Colorado at 2600 cfs (High Water Day!)
Day 28-Upper South Boulder (USB)
Day 29- Blackrock sec. of Clear Creek (Broke my paddle in Rigor Mortis)
Day 30- SSV (Laps)
Day 31- Cheeseman Canyon (First ever non-confrontational put in. thank you AW!)
Day 32- Upper South Boulder (USB)
Day 33- Tiffany Flies In (My Lady Friend Is HERE!)
Day 34- Kicked it with some TN boys on their way back from Cali
Day 35- Showed The TN boys down SSV

Narrows of Clear Creek from my climbing perch
Matt & I on a multi pitch The Source
Slot Machine on The Source
Gillman
Slurry Pipe on Gillman
Put in for Gore Canyon
A little flat water
Enter the Gore Behold the Gore

More Gore with a Pickle in it
SSV
SSV
Boofin in Cheeseman
Boofin in Cheeseman
Boofin in Cheeseman
Stuck in Cheeseman Sliding in CheesemanCaving in Cheeseman

Dos Chaos was scary and fun at the same time USB = Front Range Mank

Audios

More from Colorado

The paddling is great and the scenery is not bad either. I drove from Buena Vista to Crested Butte via the Cottonwood Pass over the continental divide and could not believe what I was seeing. It was probably the best view I have ever seen. I went back to OBJ to find high water and fast speeds. I also paddled the Numbers of the Arkansas from 2100cfs to 3000cfs, a little bit different than last years run at 400cfs. The Numbers is so much fun with awesome down river freestyle. I found myself throwing countless wave wheels and rock spins that would end with 4 foot boofs back into the 2500cfs. I feel my skills sharpening every day and I am very grateful for the chances that have presented themselves. I'm going to run the Source to Boulder Creek this afternoon and then heading to the Sonic Bloom festival in Winter Park tomorrow. All is good in Colorado.

Day 11 & 12- Work on the farm

Day 13- Black Rock section of Clear Creek

Day 14 & 15- The Numbers section of The Arkansas (Fibark Festival)

Day 16- OBJ (High water) and Daisy Creek

Day 17- OBJ (Still high) and The Numbers Section of The Arkansas

Day 18- Heading to the Source (wish me luck- it has good flow)

Black Rock- Me running Rigor Mortis

Cottonwood Pass Elevation- 12,126 ft

Taylor Reservoir below Cottonwood Pass
Big Wood Falls on Daisy Creek
Rip Your Head Off from below the entrance slide
Rip Your Head Off from below (it lands flat on bedrock and caused my skirt to implode- no swim!)
OBJ Valley
Colorado at 70 mph
I will post again soon. Audios!