 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
After finding no one else to paddle with, Bruce and I set out to run the top section of the Casselman River, Rockwood to Markleton, by ourselves. This was an awesome compliment to me that he had enough confidence in my abilities to be willing to paddle alone with me. After looking at the river at Markleton, it was decided that it was too low to be any fun. Even though I was pretty scared and not sure I could actually do it without swimming the entire way, I agreed to run the Class II-III Markleton to Fort Hill section. (I couldn't believe he was still willing to paddle this harder section with me alone! Thank God he has more confidence in me than I do.) As it turned out, we didn't have to run it alone after all. We ran into a group of kayakers at the put-in who offered to paddle with us and shuttle us back from the take-out. We let everyone know that I was a beginner and that this would be my first time on this class of river in my hard boat. Linda Erbe offered to help me down the river. I did follow her some but mostly followed Bruce since he knew the river better and I trusted him more. Bruce tried to help me catch eddies and to try to ferry some which I am terrible at. It looks so easy but I just can't get it yet. I hope it doesn't take to much longer.
 |
|
 |
| Rapids at the put-in |
The rapids on this river required more maneuvering than the others I had previously hard boated. I had to make sure I was following Bruce's line, a feat I didn't always accomplish. Once again, because of the fear factor taking over my mind, I can only clearly remember a few of the rapids but not their order of occurrence. One of them was Lunch Rock. After sitting in an eddy for a while I finally got up the courage to try and ferry down to the next eddy where Bruce was patiently waiting to show me the good line through. It didn't work the way it was supposed to. I couldn't hold my angle and got turned around. I missed the eddy but then managed to run a decent line through the rest of the rapid and caught the eddy behind the Lunch Rock. Another was a ledgey section that Bruce ran down the right. I was to follow him down this easy line but broached on a rock. After getting off of the rock, I found myself floating backwards toward river left with no hope of getting right. Bob, another of the kayakers, yelled for me to head left over the ledge. Fear overtook me and I didn't do anything I needed to and got stuck on the dry part of the ledge. Bob helped me by holding the back of my kayak until I dropped the bow of my kayak over the ledge and into the water. I made it through the rest of this rapid and eddied out to regain my composure. The next rapid I remember was the S-Turn rapid. The line is to start left, catch the eddy and then go to the right over the ledge between the rocks. Because I had zero confidence that I could pull this off, Bruce found me a sneak straight down the left. I will have to run the correct line next time.
About 3/4 of the way down we came to a long, technical, rocky rapid. I followed Bruce successfully through the top part but did not lean while trying to cross a strong eddy line and got flipped. After about a second upside down I freaked a little and just wet exited without even trying to roll! Bruce saved my boat while I managed to hold onto my paddle and get to shore and back to where Bruce was. After getting back into the boat, I was faced with having to ferry out into the fast current and make a move to line up for the rest of the rapid. Because I felt that I couldn't do this, I wasn't aggressive enough and almost got flipped again. Fortunately I managed to stay up and just blasted through the rest of the rapid until I got to a good eddy which I did lean into.
Next up was a river-wide ledge that we ran far right and then a few shoots also ran on the right. The rest of the way to the take-out, the rapids were straightforward wave trains with some small, punchable holes. All in all it was a good run. I was pretty scared for the first half but managed to calm down some after Lunch Rock. I did enjoy the ledges and the wave trains. I am getting more comfortable with the hard boat as I get to see what it can do. Bruce likes the way it cuts into eddies. I just need to lean!!! I was so angry with myself for that swim.. If not for that stupid, stupid mistake, my first Class II-III run (II-II+ at this level) in my hard boat could have (should have) been a clean one. I absolutely need to run this again.
|
|
| Rapid at the take-out |
| Page design by: |
 |
Send mail to
riverrat1969@comcast.net with questions or comments about this website. |
