Where in the world is Nick Murphy

Kaweah's

2012-01-25T18:59:00.010-05:00

Well there's not much to say about the Kaweah's except that there awesome. We parked the car in Three River's for 5 days running the Hospital Rock and East Kaweah sections multiple times. Both are super high quality and are rather conducive to laps. The whole scene became a big party for days on end as we were camping 20 strong and taking full advantage of all the fun to be had in the great town of Three River's. Big thanks to all the locals that showed the boys a good time! Enjoy these quality shots and imagine yourself traveling on these amazing little gems of the Southern Sierra!

Will Pruett Chargin- 0 to 60 - Hospital Rock (p. Nick Murphy)

East Kaweah (p. Nick Murphy)

Jake Greenbaum - East Kaweah (p. Nick Murphy)

Charles King Stylin - Tripple Drop - East Kaweah (p. Nick Murphy)

Jake Greenbaum - Toxaway Drop - East Kaweah (p. Nick Murphy)

Geoff Calhoun - Lines it up - East Kaweah (p. Nick Murphy)

Fantasy Falls

2012-01-09T16:23:00.015-05:00

Fantasy Falls is another super class high sierra run. The three day run is in the Middle Mokelumne drainage and is about as bad ass as they come in Cali. The run is full on and one of my favorites as far as scenery goes. The amazing granite bubble landscape is awe inspiring with it's contrast to the sky and water. By this time in the summer I was really feelin fired up besides the ridiculous amount of poison oak on my leg from Dinkey- watch out the stuff will eat you alive, had to get a shot as soon as we got off the rio. Fired up- the plan was to do as many of the infamous 7 Rivers of the High Sierra (Royal Gorge, Dinkey, Fantasy Falls, Upper Cherry, GC of the Tuolumne, Middle Fork of the Kings, and Devils Post Pile of the North Fork of the San Joanquin) and I was well on my way with alot more to go. To better explain the craziness of this epic one must understand this to be a string of multi day expeditions on California's hardest class 5 with major logistical challenges in the form of thousands of miles of travel across the state. Not to mention the tole that dropping close to 30,000 vertical feet in your kayak will do. I was weary of my body and what it would take of all of this- but we were gonna give it a good charge. Fantasy went off with out a hitch, we had a great group, water level, and weather. Some highlights from the trip were the camping (so epic- up there with Kings and PP), Will Pruett running Jedi, peering into the Untouchables Gorge- Pure Gnar, laps by all on Fantasy Falls, and myself firing up Show Me Your Tits. We had a great trip and next on the list was party time and laps at the Kaweahs.

-ENJOY-

Jake Greenbaum FF (p. Barney Young)

Nick Murphy FF (p. Barney Young)

Josh Hill Slides FF (p. Nick Murphy)

Charles King Slides FF (p. Nick Murphy)

Jake Greenbaum Slides FF (p. Nick Murphy)

Will Pruett Sieve Slide FF (p. Nick Murphy)

Cruisn FF (p. Barney Young)

Will Pruett lookin dow the scope FF (p. Nick Murphy)

Yeah Mahn!!! Slides FF (p. Nick Murphy)

Charles King on the mission FF (p. Barney Young)

Charles King in the busy FF (p. Barney Young)

Will Pruett on the sizeable Jeddi Mind Melter FF (p. Barney Young)

Jordy Searle amongst Fantasy Falls (p. Nick Murphy)

Charles King in a special place FF (p. Nick Murphy)

Jake Greenbaum feelin small FF (p. Nick Murphy)

Will Pruett taken her deep FF (p. Nick Murphy)

Jake Greenbaum and Nick Murphy firen FF (p. Nick Murphy)

Nick Murphy on the Island Slide FF (p. Barney Young)

Nick Murphy on Show Me Your Tits- the Big One FF (p. Barney Young)

Chow- much more to come!!!

Park Closures

2012-01-09T10:48:00.001-05:00

California is an amazing place for outdoor recreation and we need to try our hardest to keep it that way!

The First 70 Trailer from Heath Hen Films on Vimeo.

Dinkey Creek

2012-01-09T09:28:00.009-05:00

Dinkey Creek is one of the most amazing places I have ever been. The Creek is absolutely made for kayakers. It supports an uncountable number of ridiculously clean boofs, slides, falls, and combinations of all three. The scenery is amazing, including the female raft guides in Kings canyon- get in good with them during Dinkey and you might find yourself a King's shuttle for later in the season. Dinkey Creek in my opinion might just be the best all around trip for the bulk of class 5 paddlers, with its steep but clean character it is as quality as you can get before you push over into more sketchy realms. We had a great crew consisting of Kurt Lamberth, Jake Greenbaum, Billy Jones, Drew Duvall, and myself. Making our way down the river in a relaxed but quick fashion we took a day and a half to complete this must do run. As my friend Jakub Nemec said, "Dinkey... More like dankey", so go check it out and enjoy the boofs.

We stopped at the classic South Silver on the way to Dinkey (p. Nick Murphy)

Jake Greenbaum on Dinkey (p. Nick Murphy)

Drew Duvall @ Put In (p. Nick Murphy)

Jake Greenbaum- Spike- Dinkey (p. Nick Murphy)

Billy Jones on Dinkey (p. Nick Murphy)

Kurt Lamberth on Dinkey (p. Nick Murphy)

Nikki Kelly's Slide (p. Nick Murphy)

Jake Greenbaum on Nikki's- Dinkey (p. Nick Murphy)

Some sweet vids- Oh Yeah!

2012-01-04T15:46:00.003-05:00

Both of these videos were made by friends of mine and both include footage taken by myself. It's been a great year and it was great to meet and paddle with so many new people!!!

Bomb Flow Episode 6 "The Rise of Blue Balls" from BombFlowTV on Vimeo.

Royal Gorge of the North Fork of the American

2012-01-04T14:33:00.014-05:00

The Royal Gorge is a hot ticket item on the California paddling list as it offers one of the biggest days of hucking in the Sierra. This waterfall stacked run kicks off the High Sierra Season and for most presents the first overnighter of the season. With heavy boats and anxious mindsets even the best paddlers find themselves walking around some of the giants which lay in the gorge. This is a must do run for those who want a lil piece of the real stuff. Going back next season will be interesting as the big drops of Royal make it easy for you to walk but hard to forget about. This year we started the process of going big at Heath 2 but a multi hour extraction of Charles King from the cave at the base of the falls slowed momentum and the stoked level. We camped and fired hard the next day with Rattlesnake, Scotts- no takers, and Wabena on the plate. We all fired Rattlesnake and Barney Young fired Wabena. The Royal Gorge was an amazing and humbling place to visit and I'm stoked to go back and hopefully fire more of the giants that lie within it's granite walls!

Nick Murphy on Heath I (p. Jordy Searle)

Charles King on Heath II (p. Nick Murphy)

Chris Korbulic scopen King in the cave (p. Nick Murphy)

The crew pullin King out (p. Nick Murphy)

Jordy Searle (p. Nick Murphy)

Chris Korbulic on Rattlesnake (p. Nick Murphy)

Nick Murphy on Rattlesnake (p. Jordy Searle)

Nick Murphy on Rattlesnake (p. Barney Young)

Scotts Drop- I want it bad-we'll see...(p. Nick Murphy)

Barney scouting Wabena- he fired it! (p. Nick Murphy)

Wabena (p. Nick Murphy)

Looking out from Wabena (p. Nick Murphy)

Much Love to the Charge!!!

Clavey Mission- High Water

2012-01-03T14:25:00.006-05:00

I made the travel to the Clavey River outside of Groveland and in the same area as the Cherry and Tuolumne runs on two separate occasions. The Clavey actually dumps onto the Tuolumne at Clavey Falls and you finish the run on the last 13 miles of the T. The first time I made the trip to this gem my group decided not to put on due to high water. A week later I returned to find higher water and put on the river. My group consisted of myself, Jake Greenbaum, and Kurt Lamberth. With flows of 1500 cfs on the gauge we set out to do the whole Clavey in a day with no beta, all first timers to the run, and 2o miles to cover with no overnight gear. The Clavey ended up being one my best days of paddling ever! The run obviously had plenty of water and the group dynamic was that of pure CHARGE! There was hardly a chance to scout and I found myself in the lead the majority of the time . The river had what we came to call stacks of class 5 . Super continuous with big wholes, S-turny high flow boulder gardens, and most of the time no sign of slowing down or coming to an end. I was really able to get stoked after this run and become very comfortable finding my way down the hard, continuous, and pushy style of whitewater, that is quintessential Cali, just relying on my skill and judgment to attack foreign horizon lines. I felt alive and realized that the summer ahead of me had more potential than I had previously believed. I was finally in Cali for the whole season and I now knew that if my friends and I wanted to go big, it was gonna be fine, as my buddy Jonas Grunewald would say, "It is what we have come for" . I highly recommend the Clavey as it falls into an amazing category of rivers that are not so talked about in Cali. The Clavey, along side the South Merced, Purdon to Bridgeport, Rubicon, and Goldengate all offer what my friend Rok Sribar calls, "Real Kayaking"! These higher volume and less steep rivers in comparison to the more notable slidey creeks of Cali are in someways harder and much more aerobic. It is an amazing feeling to be immersed in these rivers and the chance to travel long distances of hard whitewater with minimal portaging brings a since of combat and survival that, I feel, sculpts and defines a paddler more so than the stunty steep drops of the creek. If planning a trip to Cali, I would highly recommend these rivers as they are as quality as any I have found. REAL KAYAKING!

When charging, even if charging in the wrong direction, continue to charge!!!

Pacific North West

2012-01-02T16:24:00.012-05:00

With California having record setting snow pack it was only a matter of time before all the rivers spiked and rose above sane levels for kayaking. We had a plan though, after surfing rogue waves and running the Clavey so high and blind we didn't even catch a single photo, we decided to head north to the Hood River region where we spent 10 days with a change of scenery. We headed first to Summit Creek in Washington. This Micro creek was pretty manky but had a couple of huge and clean drops, most noted being the skate park drop. We found ourselves doing multiple laps on the Little White Salmon and Green Truss at high water. Park and huck opportunity drove us to the Lewis in the north and then to the McKenzie in the south, we found either high or too high water at both. The McKenzie holds two giant waterfalls, Sehalie and Koosah- both 80 ft., that call to me and I hope to return to the area in the next year with less water. The trip north was nice with it being my first chance to kayak over volcanic rock, we found quality water and big drops, and it proved to be the perfect amount of time for California flows to drop back in. The return to Cali would usher in the beginning of the high sierra runs- the real shit Cali is known for- next blog will start with the infamous Royal Gorge!!! Everyone needs to do whatever they need to do to get their butts to Cali this next season - it's the Truth!!!!

Pretty Epic (p. Nick Murphy)

Nick Murphy on Upper Lewis (p. Bett Adams)

Lower Lewis High Water (p. Nick Murphy)

Nick Murphy Summit Creek (p. Bett Adams)

John Lindsey Summit Creek (p. Nick Murphy)

Seldom Run Outlet Falls Low Water (p. Nick Murphy)

Nick Murphy Skate Park Summit Creek

(p. Bett Adams) (seq. Nick Murphy)

Nick Murphy Summit Creek (p. Bett Adams)

Rack Failure

Nick Murphy on Spirit- Lil White (p. John Lindsey)

Ah.. Sehalie (p. Nick Murphy)

Lip of Koosah Falls (p. Nick Murphy)

Much Love

Go Kayaking- It's really good for you!!!

California- Early Season Day Runs!

2012-01-01T14:10:00.017-05:00

California is a very special place to me, as it has allowed my kayaking to break barriers I never dreamed of and has blessed me with the most beautiful memories of sunsets, water covered horizon lines, and a relationship with the river and all of the amazing people that have heard its inherent call. California whitewater and the lifestyle that accompanies are my current tools for self exploration and the next horizon line infinitely presents the chance for me to free my mind. The past season was my third year in a roll in California and with comfort levels high and solid crews by my side, the charge was abundant. My three favorite early season runs are Yuba Gap, South Branch of the Middle Feather, and Big Kimshew through the Secret Stash ( 14miles so good!). Bagging a handful of laps on each I found myself feelin sharp and stoked for a strong summer. A huge part of my early season in California was spent on the South Yuba river- Purdon to Bridgeport- 13 high water runs! The South Yuba has captured my attention and heart as it is one of the best stretches of whitewater I've ever had the privilege to travel when run at proper flow. The water is amazingly clear and aquamarine, the whitewater is next to perfect, 10 miles with no portages, lush green rolling hills of the low sierra with bridge to bridge access, and more than the random sighting of naked bronzing beauties along it's smooth boulder covered banks; I love the Yuba and it provided my friends and I with the quintessential skills and warm up for the amazing summer that lay ahead of us!!!

Jason Hale on Yuba Gap (p. Nick)

Taylor Calvin on South Branch (p.Nick)

Thomas Moore on South Branch (p. Nick)

Will Pruett on South Branch (p. Nick)

Taylor Martin on South Branch (p. Nick)

Nick atop portage on South Branch

South Branch

Nick on High Pressure 20 S.B. (p. Bett Adams)

Nick on 99 Problems S.B. (p. Bett Adams)

Taylor Martin on 50 footer S.B. (p. Nick)

Johnathon Lindsey on 50 footer S.B. (p. Nick)

Nick on 50 footer S.B. (p. Bett Adams)

Jake Greenbaum on LJ's Kimshew (p. Nick)

Bett Adams on Kimshew Falls (p. Nick)

Nick on Kemshew Falls (p. Bett Adams)

Euro on Kimshew (p. Nick)

Tripple Drop- Kimshew (p. Nick)

Scoutin Tripple Drop (p. Bett Adams)

Nick on Tripple Drop- Kimshew (p. Bett Adams)

Nick on Frenchies 40- Kimshew (p. Bett Adams)

Eric Chance on Frenchies 40 - Kimshew (p. Nick)

Much Love!!!

Light it up and let it burn!!!

Time to catch up!

2011-09-03T13:02:00.004-04:00

After much neglect I plan to catch it up! I have been having the most amazing year of paddling and feel like I have smashed previous barriers. I am currently still in Cali after an epic season that I will be sharing lots of via this blog. These pictures are a glimpse at some of the beautiful drops we were blessed with this spring in the southeast. Constant rain in Chattanooga allowed me to complete 15 runs on my favorite creek, BEAR, as well as multiple first descents and classics alike. I was able to paddle right up to the week I left for Cali, giving way to a truly blessed summer!

1st D- Singing Sister Falls- Photo by Matt FJ

1st D by Jeff West with me on his heels! Warren Falls- Photo by Bett Adams

Singing Sister 2nd angle- Photo by Bett Adams

1st D- Rasta Slide- Photo by Clay Whitaker

Greeter Falls- so good I ran it twice!

Much more to come!

----Peace my friends----

2011 Bring It On!

2011-01-05T16:45:00.006-05:00

So 2011 started with a hangover and 3 inches of rain in the gauge on my front porch. I had to work but found myself on the Bear at 20 inches late that afternoon. Charles King drove in from out of town and was fired up on his inaugrial Bear run. We made haste down the creek but a mishap at Fishbowl left Charles' boat swallowed by an undercut (gnarley hole feeding sieved undercut on river right above knocking on heavens door). With no car at the put in and light fading fast and the thought of hiking my boat for hours in the cold dark, we set up a meeting spot, Charles hiked up and out, and I soloed down to the car. The run was amazing, it is my favorite, but by myself with high flow it was straight quality stroke after stroke.

So after that epic I let Charles borrow my beater boat and we were on South Suck at 3.4 ft for dawn patrol. The level was healthy and we had a great trip all the way down. While I had to go to work at 10:15, Charles was able to join the crowd of boaters in my living room and head out to the classic Cain to North Chick.

The next day Charles and I made our way to the Raven Fork where we found freezing weather and a level of 9-10 inches. We ended up having an awsome day highlighted by clean lines shared by all, sketchy walking on ice and snow, a 5 bro huckfest on Big Boy, and as allways a hillarious time shootn the shit with Manuel.

If catching all this quality flow is a sign of things to come in 2011 - Bring It On!

Pics from Raven Fork

Lookn Down through Anaconda

Anaconda

David Ledford on Anaconda

Katie Worley seal launchn past a handful of undercuts

Bring it down now Charley

Mark Taylor on Headless Horseman

Charles King on Jedi Training

David Ledford taking the stroke on Big Boy

Charles King soakn up the Big Boy vibe

December Rains

2010-12-03T18:24:00.004-05:00

Taylor Martin hiking down a freshly cleaned Falling Water

Taylor Martin on Revelations
Jeremy Pou on Fishbowl
Stairway- You Know I Ran It

Jeremy Pou- Stompn Big Bang

Jeremy

Taylor

Myself on South Suck with Flow!

Green Race

2010-11-15T21:40:00.003-05:00

So the race was just as much fun as ever! Didn't do near as well as I had wished but I'm young and I got many more in me. Here are some photos I found and even a sweet video with guess who rolln in second, wearing green, and sportn #75. Its raining right now and Bett Adams and myself took a chainsaw into the Bear a couple days ago- Hopefully the all mighty rain God's will be kind to us JIB chargers and let the beast arise from its den. Pray for our beloved creeks to be quenched and peace to all the ninja's.

Green Race Season!

2010-11-04T15:02:00.003-04:00

Tis the season. I love bomb'n the Green and it seems that once you have raced it, that indeed is all you ever want to do. So after many bomb sessions over the past couple weekends I'm stoked up for some race action. I hurt my shoulder rolling into the left wall on Go Left and man it hurts, but I'm gonna give her anyhow. I will be racing one super sexy Green Boat loaned to me by Terry Smith ( Uber Big Thanks) - This is my first year in the long boat class and I'm fired up and hope to do well!

Taft- Gorilla- Lean'n on da bak dek!

Myself- Gorilla- I'm gonna be sceamn through there in the long B!

Taft- Sunshine Left- Seq. 1/4

seq. 2/4

seq. 3/4

seq. 4/4

David- Sunshine Left-seq. 1/4

seq. 2/4

seq. 3/4

seq. 4/4

West Prong

2010-11-04T14:26:00.006-04:00

We finally got some natural flow and it felt great! I predict the all mighty rain God's will give us more soon (I hope). The West Prong is just continuous fun that seems to reward those who just stay in the flow and keep their boof stroke on rapid fire. The park was all lit up with fall colors and we were pretty lit up too. Gooood Day!

Yay the van made it!

Taft at the Put-In

Taft- Boof 53 or 54

Bett- On Dah Boof Mahn

Myself- Dinosaur sequence 1/4

Seq. 2/4

Seq. 3/4

Seq. 4/4

Andy- Boof 106- Pretty Typical

Kurt- TN Mank @ 550 per mile

Kurt- Droppn Through Dead Tree

Cali- only 6 months til Cali!

2010-11-04T12:24:00.002-04:00

So here are some miscellaneous photos from this previous season in California. Can't help but dream about next season and all the goods that await those eager enough to enter the promise land- Yeah Buddy!

Baldrock Canyon- M.F. Feather

Myself- Silverfork

Myself- South Branch

Myself- South Merced

Myself- Silverfork

Myself- Southbranch

Myself- Big Kimshew

West Branch of the Feather- Secret Stash

2010-07-13T13:21:00.003-04:00

Big Kimshew

2010-07-13T12:15:00.006-04:00

Yuba Gap

2010-07-10T23:56:00.009-04:00

The Yuba Gap was high on the list for Will and I. We messed up along with about 30 other paddlers on the first day it ran by assuming the water was too low based on the way the put in looked. We headed back a few days later with a shuttle driver and put on by ourselves with slightly lower water to find yet another amazing stretch of river in the South Yuba drainage. Halfway through the run Lil Dave and Ben Coleman cought up with us and were able to speed the pace of things with their prior knowledge of the gorge. Sweet run definitely keep your eye out for this one- I think you want 250 to 400 in there. We showed up at 700 one day to find a solid team hiking out after the first mile. The take out is the same take out as Canyon Creek so you cane even multi task.

Will Pruett- opening drop

Boof

Fly

Stomp

Will- lots of goods to be had

Will- Hour Glass Slide-long sequence

Will

Lil Dave- this rapid is in Darin's new calender-I need to step up my photograhy

Ben Coleman- one of my best shots this summer

Will and Ben- check out the high water mark

Lil Dave

Ben Coleman

Lil Dave

Maybe next year- its only seen one descent

Upper Middle Consumnes

2010-07-07T20:50:00.005-04:00

We routed this one real quick as Dustin Marquart had all ready been down multiple times this season. I started things off by chargen out in front only to find my self pinned in a channel I had no buisness being in in the first place. It ended up being some good practice with the Z-drag. The run is real cool and aesthetic with many quality class 5 rapids.

Dustin- seal launching

Will and Dustin are ok with walking Tony Hawk

Will Pruett

Dustin

Nathan Klema

Will

Nathan

North Fork of the American- Golden Gate Section

2010-07-07T19:00:00.003-04:00

The Golden Gate section was cold and sieved out, but the solid crew made haste through the many boulder gardens. Everyone shared the lead as we rolled through the scenic gorges. Highlights of the day were meaty hole beatings at taco bell and boof to sieve combos on the last big one of the section.

Will Pruett

Dustin Marquart

Will Pruett- Boof to Sieve Combo

Nathan Klema

Roll Away

Summit Run Trip 2

2010-07-07T10:22:00.003-04:00

Nathan Klema- East Meets West

Jonas- East Meets West Sequence

Sequence 2

Sequence 3

Sequence 4

Canyon Creek Tributary To The South Yuba

2010-07-07T10:07:00.003-04:00

We paddled Canyon Creek on three different occasions, once as a substitute for the Yuba Gap as they are the same takeout. It was a short but fun run and made the South East paddler feel right at home with its low volume mank. Knowing there were no mandatory portages Will Pruett and myself straight charged it every time.

Macy on one of the better rapids

South Merced- 1Day Run

2010-07-07T09:34:00.002-04:00

The South Merced was one of the best river trips I have ever been on. We had healthy flow and completed the typical 24 mile 2 day run in 7 hours. Hardly pulling over or slowing down I took pretty minimal photos. Before the trip I had heard the river was one of the easier class 5 over nighters in Cali... bullhockey. Go in there with some flow and prepare to be rewarded by up-teen miles of continuous house size boulders scattered through a Gauley sized river bed with huge horizon lines around every bend. An awesome river running experience!

You set shuttle right through Yosemite!

Nick Urkhart- Bottom Half of One In A Million

Will Pruett- Immersed in the same

Johnny Kentucky- Fire Hydrant

South Yuba- Summit Run

2010-07-03T03:15:00.003-04:00

The South Yuba drainage is sick with the Summit Run, Yuba Gap, Washington Run, Canyon Creek, Purdens to 49, and 49 to Bridgeport. Atop all of it right out side of Truckee along side the interstate lies the short but sweet Summit Run. It offers up some sweet class 5 and ends it with one of the sweetest boofs (East Meets West) I have ever had the privilege to throw down. All in all- definitely worth doing.

Charles- Three Blind Mice

Johnny Kentucky- Three Blind Mice

Both Synchronized- Three Blind Mice

Johnny Kentucky- Seal Launch

Myself- East Meets West

Silver Fork of the South Fork of the American

2010-07-02T16:16:00.003-04:00

So we put on this one late in the afternoon hoping to bomb it on the beta that Dustin Marquart had done it really low in a previous season. After a short rally we realized the creek had way too much water for the oncoming 400 foot per mile gorge that awaited us. We chose to hike out, which was a walk in the park compared to the South Branch. The rapids we did run were sweet as they had tons of flow and were rockn down stream.

Dustin Marquart- Scoutin it up!

Dustin Maruart- Firen it up!

Will Pruett- Amongst it!

One sweet campsite with slackline and fire!

South Branch of the Middle Fork of the Feather- Trip 3

2010-07-02T15:40:00.005-04:00

Our 3rd trip down the SB was by far our fastest as we knew every line from the previous trips. We were ninja swirl chargen forsho!

Will on something...

LJ Groth- on the 15s

Dustin Marquart and Rodrigo Tuchner- onthe 15's

Will Pruett- 20 above 99 Problems- stompn

Drew Duvall- 99 Problems

Rodrigo Tuchner- entering 99 Problems

Halfway down the portage 100 footer

LJ about to seal launch at the bottom of the portage 100 footer

Dustin Marquart- lowering his boat down the portage

Steep portage!

Good crew atop the hike out enjoying some cold brew!

South Branch of the Middle Fork of the Feather- Trip 2

2010-07-02T15:21:00.003-04:00

Running the South Branch day after day Will Pruett and myself felt the need to go faster and push our selves into the familiar Charge. It was a super nice feeling to rally through the many clean steeps the SB had to offer.

Darin Mcuoid- when u hit the boof behind him u could look straight out into the vast canyon as u are right above a 20 into a 50 into a 30 into a 100 into a 50 into a 100 into a 200... wow

Will Pruett- 20 right above 99 Problems and right below the last pic

Me on 99 Problems

Me on the 50 footer

South Branch of the Middle Fork of the Feather- Trip 1

2010-07-02T14:16:00.008-04:00

The South Branch is one of the most beautiful runs I have ever had the privilege to paddle. We dubbed it the "Edge of the World" because this place is the definition of clean steeps. From the take out perched above a 100 footer leading into a 200 footer one can look up and down the gorge and see a good 2000 feet of vertical drop- wow! We camped at this run for a couple of days and repeatedly tapped into its goodness before moving on due to its gnarly 1000 foot hike out, which felt straight up and made that cold beer at the car taste oh so good. So enjoy the photos and expect many more from the 2 month cali trip as I will be updating frequently now that I have returned to the South East.

Jakeb Nemec- on one of the first of the goods

Darin Mcqoid- Freewheel Sequence

Sequence 2

Sequence 3

Double 15's

Typical 1st half of the run b4 the steeps

Jakeb Nemec- Taken in the steeps

Darin Mcquoid- 20 footer above 99 Problems

Laura Farrel- above 99 Problems and the China Slide

Will Pruett- 99 Problems Sequence

Sequence 2

Sequence 3

Sequence 4

Jakeb Nemec- 50 footer

Darin Mcqoid- 50 footer

Edge of the World safety meeting b4 hiking straight up and out!

49 to Bridgeport

2010-07-01T15:51:00.002-04:00

Raven Fork

2010-04-12T15:37:00.005-04:00

"Listen to the river sing sweet songs, to rock my soul"

2010-03-17T19:33:00.005-04:00

Times have been cold and water has been slightly sparse in comparison to last season. I keep leaving my camera in the car and usually remember it about the time I'm putting on the creek. I do however have these photos from this winter on Henderson @ -3 (prime level).

I have snagged some new runs in the area including a First Descent on Connel Creek while attempting to join our buddies a ridge away on their First Descent of Middle Creek which all flow into Rock Creek (Waldens Ridge). The little creek was blown out brown with no eddies and reminded me of a juiced Colorado run.
Link to Middle First D- http://waldensridgewhitewater.com/waldensridge/middlecreek_rockcreektrib.htm

I recently ran Pocket Creek in Sequatchie Valley @ 1ft on the gauge. I would easily group this run with the Bear and Henderson as the 3 best runs in the greater Chattanooga area. The run was mostly continuous with sweet long slides up top and a fairly tough boulder section on the bottom half. I ended up running the portage for a First D and think it should be called SKITTLI-WOMP-BOMP.

Most recently got on The Bear 20 inches and brown. Had an exciting day with Javid Grubbs and Bett Adams being the only lucky few to paddle such a prestine run (rowdy). Followed it up the next day with a run on Rock Creek(Lookout Mtn.) Sweet run but Hand Paddle Kurt ended up breaking his back on the last rapid before the portage above Insurance Bluff.(Nasty Rock) - would be a good name for that rapid.

Here is a link to Pruett's Toxaway footage of Dustin Marquart and my self from early winter-
http://fullthrottlewill.blogspot.com/2010/01/last-charge-of-09.html

Spring starts in two days- SE Creeking.......Cali here I come!

Kurt Bag- Spinal Adjustment

Bryce Evans- SpoonMan

Mark Bowman- Spoon Man

Kurt Bag- Spoon Man

Javid Grubbs- Second half Fire Escape

Bryce setting safety?

Mark Bowman- Timber Rattler

Toxaway

2009-12-07T12:46:00.009-05:00

Toxaway may just be the best stretch of whitewater in the South East, with huge gradient, overly channelized clean granite, and a ton of rapids- big, small, and gigantic. Will Pruett and myself made the trip from Chatt in his vegetable oil burning Mercedes Benz, which broke down on us more than a handful of times. Upon driving through the night we met Dustin Marquart at the takeout. With the uber solid group stoked on the sunshine, sweet water level(-2), and safety we made our way through the gorge with evident charge. Clean lines were shared by all and our trio was stoked to be at the parking lot before night fall. Standout rapids of the day were- Energizer, Land Bridge, Winter Green, and all the smooth boogy. 2009 just keeps giving aqua splendor. Life is great and so are waterfalls.

Dustin- Put In Slide

Minigizer

Dustin - Minigizer

Will- Minigizer

Will- Energizer

Dustin-Energizer

Dustin- Energizer

Energizer

Top 4040

Bottom 4040

Will- Land Bridge

Stoked

Rock Slide

Dustin- Winter Green- sequence

Winter Green

Typical Scene

I can't escape the charge- So charge it!

2009-11-15T17:59:00.014-05:00

My life motto lately has been "Just Be" and I feel content for the first time in a while. The Chattanooga lifestyle offers me the opportunity to live life day to day with beautiful surprises around every corner. A couple days at the Green before and during the race proved to be good for my spirit. Sunny days, cold nights, healthy flow, collective energy, the Wrec Center on the switch backs bumpn Pretty Lights late night, quick-clean lines, and a fat crew of Chatty Chargers gave way to a chill couple of days kickn it North Carolina style. I finished the race with a 5:31, smashing my last years time by 44 seconds. Catching the cascades on the way back to Chatt proved to be a nice cap for the weekend and a pushy level was enjoyed with no scouts, eddies, or signs of slowing down. And then came Ida and the Bear took the bait giving way to multiple runs in the high teens. The Bear is officially my fave with easy access and stout drops only 25 minutes from home. A spectacular day in the gorge was filled with sunshine, falling leaves, sweet lines by all, and stout JIB Charge. The forthcoming media of the goods to be had in Cloudland Canyon will surely keep the charger's eye's occupied until the Bear rises once more.

Paul Hubbard- Stairway

Jason Rodwell- Fishbowl

Cosmic Trigger

Will Pruett-Big Bang

Taylor Martin-Revelations

Jason Rodwell-Momentary

Will-Getn Vid

Raven and Tripple Falls:

Me-Mike Tyson

Me-Mortal Kombat

Me-1st Drop Triple Falls

Me-2nd Drop Triple Falls

Over the gradient the water will flow!

2009-10-19T23:04:00.005-04:00

Man 2009 just keeps givn. The last month has been spectacular. It all started mid September with an afternoon flash that would supply water to the Dragons Lair of Falling Water. The next morning I left bright and early for an 11 day trip to Arizona where I felt like I had made the ultimate sacrifice as torrential rains and flood would sweep through the south east the entire time I was gone. Upon returning from a 30 hour cross country drive, I immediately started for the smokies to cash in on the ultra classic Raven Fork. The previous trip to the Raven had yielded a run on the infamous Big Boy however it did not call to me this day and it felt good to portage. The next couple of days would be spent riding around with Will Pruett on Triple Falls, The Green Narrows, and an excellent ride in a big wheel at a perfect hell hole at surge all by myself.

The next week would start with a trip to Rock Island ,where I try my hardest to keep it ninja. The following day resulted in a Bear run at 12"( I have decided the Bear is it),where me and Taylor Martin were the only two Chattanoogans to cash in on the run. That same day I found Rock Creek too low to run ,but not too low to park n' huck the sweet 25 footer. The next day would see a run on LRC at 7'' with a huck on the falls (what a sweet move) giving way to a leisure afternoon. The next day was spent at Rock Island where I wore my ninja smile all the way to the end.

Again the next week would start big, but end huge. A car ride to the Bear with fellow charger Taylor Martin yielded a flow of 14", the call was made and JIB rallied numbers(once again the Bear is it). A run on Johnies the next day would put us at the LRC for a park n' huck. Afterwards an impromptu visit to scout Desoto falls would start the ball rolling on a gigantic Wednesday. Sleep was lost over the majestic waterfall that had called my name and I woke the next morning knowing that flows were abundant and the mission to huck was mine for the taking. Seeing that flows were over 1000 cfs the plan was too huck the LRC 30 foot line at 6000cfs while waiting for Desoto to drop in that afternoon.

Kurt Lamberth and Taft Sibley were fired up about the day of waterfalls and we made our way south. Arriving at LRC we found rowdy water, Matt Wallace and Jeff West scouting, and the day growing old. There was so much boil at the bottom of the falls that we were all able boof into its pillow. After spending a good bit of time at the falls the whole group made haste towards the potentially massive huck. A call was made to Burl Master Bryce Evans that confirmed a dropped level of 753 cfs. With nerves wired but still stoked from the 30 footer we rolled up to a massive waterfall under heavy fog and dusk setting in. I usually like to huck big under blue sky's and sunshine but my focus was intent and the line that lay before my eyes more beautiful than I had ever seen before. There it lie the enormous double tiered waterfall that opened up a massive domed amphitheatre. The top drop of 15 feet lands in a boil that pushes forward and right creating two planes that fold at the lip and funnel together brilliantly dropping 73 feet and blowing out the landing as if there were hurricane trapped amongst the arena sized amphitheatre. I made the call quick, as day light was limited, and put in on the river right below the low head dam. With support and ninja time approval pounds from the boys I shoved off into a small wave that would surf me to the middle flow. My favorite and craziest sensation of kayaking, theres no turning back. Aiming for a long flake at the lip of the 15 footer I paddled across the flow and at the crux found myself bottoming out with all speed lost on the outcropping rock. I pitched forward off the lip and dreaded a piton when somehow the bow of the nomad scooped out and I found myself pointing left on the boil line. Turning her around quick and focused I found my self taking the most sure strokes of my paddling existence as I winged the boat towards the lip on my left edge all the way into vert were I found myself melting the crease and tucked hard leaning right just as planned. Fully immersed I soon felt an amazing disconnection that left the anticipation of impact lingering. Boom, impact was hard ripping the paddle from my hands, imploding my skirt, and giving way to a swim. Back to reality I found myself floating in the water, my bros waving there arms, their cheers of excitement echoing through the amphitheatre along side the thunder of the falls, and myself staring up at a massive structure of energy suspended in motion. By the time I made it to the bank it seemed as if all light had escaped the domed gorge. I could barely make out the people atop the falls and was forced to hand paddle out, leaving my paddle somewhere around the base of the falls. Wow what a way to top off 3 weeks of paddling hard in warm fall conditions amongst the lush foliage of the South East. Keep up the Charge!

Due to a broken video camera and horrible lighting the only images of the falls are those that exist in the minds of the 5 paddlers that decided to attend to the huck, myself included.

Found a news wright up on the Kings trip- http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2009/sep/17/kings-river-adventure/

Check out Wills blog and vid of our Falling Water trip along with the burliest Toxaway footage I've ever seen- http://fullthrottlewill.blogspot.com/2009/10/balling-burlfest.html

Middle Kings

2009-08-03T15:37:00.007-04:00

The Middle Kings is a trans-sierra expedition that starts on the east flanks of the Sierra Nevada range in Bishop, California. The 12.6 mile hike to the river starts at South Lake, elevation approx. 9,000 ft, and peaks in the high sierra alpine at Bishop Pass around 12,000 ft. Surrounded by beautiful mountain peaks, crystal clear lakes, high country snow, and bright California sunshine the expedition kayaker is presented with a mentally and physically demanding hike that is only rewarded by the promise of world class whitewater and priceless views. Atop Bishop Pass the wind and water carved peaks truly set the tone for the expansive wilderness and vast distance from civilization that await the adventurer. The downward plunge to the Middle Kings at 8,000 ft proves to be more difficult than the climb and just as beautiful as you are now encapsulated in the majestic Kings Canyon National Park. Passing back down into the tree line one is approached with great optimism as they are provided with their first views of the river. Still a good 1500 ft to go but for the first time in the arduous hike whitewater seems very tangible. Upon reaching the river it is a mere creek of no more than 200 cfs, a humbling wave comes over you as you realize you will be taking off on more than 7 times that flow. Putting on we made our way 3 miles down to Palisade Creek were we would camp, fish, hike and huck, and inevitably spend a lay over day relaxing in the splendors of life amongst the granite peaks. The next day would be a hard one as we made our way down the steepest section of the Kings. Sweet drops and hard portages gave way to camp with another group right before sunset. Camping high and cooking on the fire led to good laughter and even better dreams. The next day we would pull out of camp earlier than our fellow group and right away found ourselves in a blind and committing gorge. Charging hard we reaped the rewards of sweet fader boofs and safe passage through the gorge. The rest of the day would be steady charging through continuous boulder gardens all the way down to Tehipeti Dome where we would once again have a lazy layover day feasting on fresh Rainbow's and getting ready for the notoriously hard bottom 9 miles of Middle Kings. I will share no more information on the Bottom 9 as to keep their lore and mystique alive(its really hard stuff). After reaching the confluence of the Middle and South Kings we celebrated in our safe arrival. Running low on food and energy our last day on the river was spent in the Garlic Falls section with high water, big boulder gardens, and giant holes giving way to a truly amazing journey across the Sierra Nevada Mountain Range and completing one of the hardest stretches of whitewater in the country.

spring/summer- photo dump

2009-06-07T16:02:00.006-04:00

Spring Time

2009-04-16T09:48:00.001-04:00

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

2009-03-25T11:36:00.000-04:00

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

2009-01-28T21:53:00.000-05:00

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

2008-11-05T18:35:00.000-05:00

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'

2008-08-23T17:06:00.000-04:00

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

Home in the South East

2008-08-19T14:29:00.000-04:00

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

2008-07-31T17:16:00.000-04:00

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

2008-07-07T23:16:00.000-04:00

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

2008-06-18T12:01:00.000-04:00

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!

I'm in Colorado

2008-06-11T00:47:00.000-04:00

Colorado is awesome. The scenery and hospitality are more than I could ask for. The rivers are continuous, fast, and cold. I have a great opportunity with work on my aunt and uncles horse farm and board at their pool house. It was a long drive out here which resulted in me driving straight to Lawson Hole on Clear Creek. I have been blessed and paddled 9 out of the 10 days I have been here. All is good and I am ready for more. My runs are as follows:

1-Lawson Hole (Awesome)
2-Lower Boulder Creek (solo)
3&4-South Saint Vrain (Super Continuous After work Mankfest) (AKA- The SSV)
5-South Saint Vrain (High Water- First Swim- I put up a good fight but lost to the hole)
6-A Day of Rest ( still worked at the farm)
7-Source to the Upper Eagle and Homestake (AKA- Home slice- including piece of s**t)(gnarly)
8-Clear Creek of the Arkansas (2 Runs - Cold)
9-Big Cimaron (long shuttle- lots of wood)
10-Oh Be Joyful (AKA- OBJ, big beautiful bedrock)

Beginning of the narrows on the SSVSSV SSV Canyon Homestake
Me at piece of s**t

Clear Creek Valley

The source of the Big CimaronTeva Mountain Games and Bouldering World CupPretty CoolView from OBJ camp groundTom hitting the boof on the 18 footerMe going Oregon Style on the 25 footerAvalancheOBJ (Snow on the ground)

Here are some photos from Tennessee that keep me company so far from home

Cane Creek

2008-04-14T19:26:00.000-04:00

My First Post

2008-04-14T18:12:00.000-04:00

So here it goes.
I guess my main goal with this page is to post my kayaking and climbing adventures as well as anything else i think is cool. So im going to start by catching you up a little bit. It has been a pretty awesome year so far with the most rain i have experienced in my kayaking career. Of course there has been countless throw down sessions at Rock Island(A Play Boating Paradise). I feel more confident than ever before in my creek boat and know that im ready to run the s**t. I have had some awesome runs on Cane Creek, Upper Caney Fork, Suck Creek (laps, so much fun), West Prong of Little Pigeon, Brave Wave at some spectacular levels and it is all just a warm up for epic Colorado(i can't wait). As of this week I have busted my Crazy 88 and am now looking for an new play boat(RIP 88). I hope to post some photos and a link to a cool video my buddy John made of our trip down Cane.

Adios and hope to post frequently