Chapter 1 - Welcome to the Sport
Chapter 3 - Can You Say Kaituna
Chapter 4 - So You
Want to Roll
Chapter 5 - The
Accelerated Course
Chapter 6 - The Legend Begins
Chapter 7 - Fear
and Other Thoughts
Chapter 8 - Spring 2007 - What a Disappointment
Chapter 9 -
Just Like Starting Over
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CHAPTER TWO:
THE ADDICTION BEGINS
Click Pictures to Enlarge
Be careful what you ask for, it might just happen - How true it is! We had been planning on shredding the Lower Yough and I couldn't wait. Full fledged whitewater, real excitement, Oh Yeah! Well, of course there was a snag. A few days before the big day there was s snow storm. Because it was early in the season and there were still a lot of leaves on the trees, this storm caused many trees to fall and block the road to the take-out. If we went, we would have to carry out a couples of miles. This was something neither of us were willing to do. Faced with not being able to paddle, Bruce came up with a plan once again. And what a plan it was - Shred the Cheat Canyon!
Not knowing any better, I quickly agreed. I then spent some time on the American Whitewater website and started questioning my sanity. Bruce quickly pointed out that most of the pictures were at high water. It would be nowhere near that bad for us. None the less, my first real whitewater experience was going to be on a Class IV-V river which even at low water would still be tricky. And with rapids named "Big Nasty", "Even Nastier" and "High Falls," it was enough to give me a permanent tingling in my spine!
When the big day finally arrived we picked up the shredder along with a wetsuit and splash top for me and headed for the Cheat. We met the four others we would be paddling with at the take-out. Dave & Melissa would also be shredding the Canyon while John Guilfoose would be in a Kayak and John M would be in a Thrillseeker. We set shuttle and headed for the put-in.
After checking that all my safety gear was secure and some instruction on what and what not to do if I fell in, we were off. For those of you who don't know, a shredder is a two man raft. There are large tubes on either side that you sit on and you brace yourself with your feet. One in the front toe-loop and the other against the back tube. It was uncomfortable at times and it took me a while to feel stable and to learn to keep from sliding off the tube. The first rapid, which is very close to the put-in, is one of the easier ones on this run. Regardless, it was enough to get my heart pumping as I quickly realized that after this I wouldn't need to ask to do something more exciting. This run would hold more than enough excitement and would help me decide if I ever wanted to do this again. Upon questioning the name, Bruce told me that it is called "Decision" because this is where you make that decision if you want to continue or not. We, of course, decided to continue.
Although I know the names of most of the rapids, I don't remember their order or what lines we ran. I do recall that at the end of one of the rapids near the beginning of the run (I think it was Beech Run) we got stopped by a hole and I went flying out. All I can remember is feeling Bruce grabbing for my leg before I went under and all I could think of while I was under was "don't let go of the paddle." I came to the surface quickly and did manage to hold onto my paddle much to everyone's surprise. After I was able to grab onto John G's grab loop, Bruce got over to me quickly and after he grabbed my paddle, Dave & Melissa helped me get onto the front deck of our shredder. Everyone was concerned because it was early in the run and being November, the water as well as the temperature was pretty cold but the adrenaline pumping through me must have made the difference because I felt fine and was ready to go again quickly.
I spent the remainder of the run concentrating on following Bruce's commands and keeping myself braced in so I don't really remember what the rapids were like. I do remember that we ran some good lines as well as some not so good lines. We did get stopped a couple of more times but I managed to fall into the boat rather than out those times. We did get out to scout High Falls and made it through unscathed and I think we had our best lines through "Coliseum" and "Pete Morgan." All in all, considering my complete lack of experience and it only being Bruce's second time in a shredder, the trip was a success. We have been in a shredder various time since and each time we have gotten better and better. If we only had one...
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Bruce & |
Dave |
John M |
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| Dave & Mellissa High Falls |
John G High Falls |
Coliseum |
I was pretty upset that I swam because I really didn't want to embarrass myself in front of Bruce and his friends, but mine wasn't the only carnage that day. John M swam twice, one of which was down the left side of High Falls - glad that wasn't me! Even though I was embarrassed, I am glad it happened. It gave me a chance to see if I could handle it right from the beginning rather than later.
On the ride home I was absolutely exhausted. But it was a good kind of exhaustion. The kind you get when you know you have given everything you got. And I had! I had never paddled so hard in my life. Bruce was actually impressed with how hard I paddled and with the fact that I actually followed his commands that he told me that he would shred with me anytime. I then asked him if he thought that I would do this well and if he really believed that I wanted to do this. He admitted that he felt that I was just trying to impress him and that I would fall in once, cry and complain the rest of the way down the river and never want to go again but that he was glad that wasn't the case. I assured him that although I did want to impress him, I would never do anything that could be dangerous unless I really wanted to. I then surprised the heck out of him by telling him that I wanted to get my own boat. His response - The Addiction Begins!
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