Soon... Soon!

A few days of unseasonably warm weather here on the east coast. Teasing us... Spring is around the corner. (or is it?) Green shoots of crocuses and daffodils poking up through the humus. Brings to mind so many thoughts, so many things anticipated. Evenings on the porch with a glass of wine. Open windows allowing a cool breeze throughout the house. The scent of April rains.

Or...

This:

Looking forward to catching up with my man Jason Beakes and his crew! Here's to a little whitewater action!

Close Call.

I got a last minute call from Jason telling me he and a friend (Jeff) were going to run the falls during the snow storm. Virginia side. Cool. I'll be there. They made one pretty wild run and decided to climb the rocks (that's right, in the snow!) and have a second go of it. The series below documents a little too much excitement on that second run.

Jeff going over the upper falls.

He gets caught in a hole or "reversal."

 

He's been pushed over to the opposite side. Still under. Trying to right himself.

Here he rights himself very briefly. Jason enters from the left. Tries to get to Jeff.

The current is strong. Pushes Jason away from Jeff who is once again upended.

Jeff finally extricates himself from the kayak. Hidden from view, he clings to the rocks..

You can see Jeff as he sticks his head above the rocks, looking for his kayak.

Finally, Jeff makes it to his feet to watch his kayak float away.

This entire event spanned just a little more than a minute. But it seemed to last a lifetime. Very helpless feeling up on that overlook. Surprised I kept shooting. I stopped briefly looking around for Rangers or someone to call out to. There was no one. So I continued to shoot. All the while I could hear someone saying, "Holy shit, holy shit, holy shit!" Turns out that was me. Scary stuff.

I got to talk to Jeff when he made his way onto shore to retrieve his boat. He was pretty wiped, but OK. Laughed about it. Then he jumped back in the kayak and went over the lower falls, the BIGGER falls!

And here's a shot of that.

 Craziness, I tell ya!

Running the Falls.

Jason Beakes. World class paddler. Nuff said.

A Little Less Than Serene!

You know you want to try it!  Don't you?