Wink at Play - Kayak photos

[WinkHPD]

Some of you have asked me from time to time to post more kayak pictures. Well, okay, you got it. I will post a few from a class I was in last week with some other kayak nuts, we are training to be able to do a class V stretch of the Payette, although I doubt that most of us will ever run that stretch, we are doing class V moves in class IV water.

This first sequence of photos will be in a wonderful class IV rapid called Slalom. The goal was to enter the top of the rapid by going up on a rock, sliding off it to the left to avoid a whirlpool eddy behind the big rock we skimmed to the right of, either go to one side or the other of a small pourover rock, then scramble like a crazy man to the far river left into a small eddy before working our way down the rest of the rapid.

The goal was to keep the boat straight on the entry move to avoid getting sucked into the whirlpool eddy. As you will see I did not keep the boat very straight, but straight enough to miss the whirlpool and get on down the rapid. There happened to be a photographer on the river and he kindly shared the photos with us.

I hope you can all get a little vicarious thrill from these pictures, it was FLAT OUT a real thrill to run this rapid in such a hard way.

 

[WinkHPD]

Second in a series

 

[WinkHPD]

Third

 

[WinkHPD]

Fourth

 

[WinkHPD]

Fifth

 

[WinkHPD]

Coming down

 

[WinkHPD]

In a small hole, my boat is now under water

 

[WinkHPD]

Coming back out of the water. Notice that I am reaching to the left and starting to turn the boat for my scramble.

 

[WinkHPD]

Move that boat man, you are in a HURRY!

 

[WinkHPD]

SAFE! Whew! That was exciting!

 

[Regular Guy]

They''re all a doosy, not to mention # 7. Wink, thanks for sharing!

 

[WinkHPD]

Sometimes the little eddies can get a bit crowded in a big rapid, especially with several people going through at the same time. An eddy is a nice place to slow things down a little so that you can catch your breath and plan your next leg of the journey, but if too many more people are coming you don''t have a lot of time. This is in the Staircase rapid, upstream a mile or so from Slalom.

 

[WinkHPD]

The guy in front of me got stalled busting through a hole so now I am right on top of him and telling him to put his paddle in the water before I run over him. Actually I don't think I was all that nice about it, something about "Get outa my way!"

 

[WinkHPD]

Of course, nothing like a little cropping to turn that previous picture into a great action shot featuring...

Drumroll...

ME!.

That''s enough of that, I hope you all enjoyed them!


Wink

 

[WinkHPD]

Date: 8/22/2006 7:35:38 PM
Author: Regular Guy
They''re all a doosy, not to mention # 7. Wink, thanks for sharing!

Thanks Ira, it was really nice that the photographer was there and felt like sharing the photos. Now it is time to go up to the river for a little play time, I will be on the water in 35 minutes.

Man, I LOVE living in Idaho!

Wink

 

[Rhino]

Too funny Wink! Great shots! In those first pix I thought you were ready to give that rock a great big kiss.

 

[aussiegirl23]

Wink,

Thanks for sharing your pictures! Very cool to see! And now I got to tell my boyfriend that there IS stuff on PriceScope that he loves... KAYAKING! His eyes typically gloss over a bit when the phrase "I saw such and such on PriceScope" but THIS got his attention!

And he''s asking...
-where in Idaho do you kayak?
-what brand/model kayak are you using?
-are there more pictures??

I know NOTHING about kayaking... except that you look quite courageous - almost crashing into those boulders!

Aussiegirl : p

 

[Miranda]

OMG!!!! That looks scary to me!!! I''ll have to show my boys (10 and 12) these pics. They went kayaking for the first time a couple of weeks ago. They had fun, but, the 10 year old kept knocking the boat over. You are pretty darn brave to do that!

 

[Lorelei]

Great shots Wink! I can''t swim very well so you wouldn''t catch me kayaking

 

[fisherofmengirly]

Date: 8/23/2006 4:11:08 AM
Author: Lorelei
Great shots Wink! I can''t swim very well so you wouldn''t catch me kayaking

I''m with Lorelei, awesome pictures, looks like fun, but I can''t swim, like at all. But wow, that looks like a blast! Glad you had fun!

 

[Ellen]

Wink, where abouts in Idaho do you live? My older sis lived in Coeur d''Alene for a while many years ago. I spent a week with her once and she took me camping in the mountains. This girl is hardcore. NO tent, just a sleeping bag, and it snowed one night, she just handed me gloves and a hat. lol It was an awesome trip though!

I fell in love with that state, it''s phenominal. She also lived in CO, but I found Idaho prettier. I felt so at home out there...

 

[WinkHPD]

Date: 8/22/2006 9:18:48 PM
Author: Rhino
Too funny Wink! Great shots! In those first pix I thought you were ready to give that rock a great big kiss.

It wouldn''t be the first time I have kissed a rock, nor the last. I usually "kiss" rocks with the top of my head, which is why I wear a good helmet.

Wink

 

[WinkHPD]

Date: 8/22/2006 9:28:01 PM
Author: aussiegirl23
Wink,

Thanks for sharing your pictures! Very cool to see! And now I got to tell my boyfriend that there IS stuff on PriceScope that he loves... KAYAKING! His eyes typically gloss over a bit when the phrase ''I saw such and such on PriceScope'' but THIS got his attention!

And he''s asking...
-where in Idaho do you kayak?
-what brand/model kayak are you using?
-are there more pictures??

I know NOTHING about kayaking... except that you look quite courageous - almost crashing into those boulders!

Aussiegirl : p

Locally I kayak the Payette River, there is the class III Main Payette, the class IV sections of the South Fork called the Canyon run and the Staircase run, the Canyon is an all day sucker, being about 14miles of class III - IV with a mandatory portage at Big Falls at most levels. I have included a picture of my son running it at fairly low water, it is unrunnable at high water. There is also a fish ladder on the Payette at Horseshoe bend which is where I went last night, only about 20 miles from Boise with three surf waves and a soft hole to play in at the bottom. All of these runs are close to Boise, you are on the water in about an hour if you dawdle, except for the Canyon, which takes about two hours including setting up the shuttle.

If you are a big dog, you can add less than thirty minutes of drive time to do the class V section of the North Fork of the Payette, fifteen miles of class IV and V whitewater, usually run in sections of 5 miles as that is more than enough for most people to do at one time. If that is over your head, just go upstream another 30 miles and you can do the Carbarton stretch, 17 miles of which probably 14 of them are out of sight and sound of a road.

If that were not enough we have the World Famous Hells Canyon of the Snake River and also the equally famous Salmon River Wilderness sections on both the Main and Middle Forks. People have to draw for permits for these as well as the Selway River and people come from all over the world to run these rivers.

Add to that the fact that one of the greatest coaches and teachers in the Kayaking world makes his headquarters here running Cascade Raft company and you have a wonderful white water play land here in Idaho. Have your husband contact me if he ever wants information about what is available here You can trade him a nice Idaho holiday for something you want...

Wink

 

[WinkHPD]

Date: 8/23/2006 12:29:34 AM
Author: Miranda
OMG!!!! That looks scary to me!!! I''ll have to show my boys (10 and 12) these pics. They went kayaking for the first time a couple of weeks ago. They had fun, but, the 10 year old kept knocking the boat over. You are pretty darn brave to do that!

In water below class IV, the most dangerous part is getting to and from the rivers, there are some flat out CRAZY drivers on our roads!

Heck, you do not even have to know how to swim, that is why life jackets were created.

Wink

 

[FireGoddess]

Great pictures Wink! It would freak me out to be in a kayak on rapids like that...I''ll stick to the occasional raft.

 

[aussiegirl23]

Wink,

He''s not my husband... yet... we''re still working on getting engaged : )

But we have been talking about planning a trip soon to celebrate the engagement ... hiking perhaps or maybe kayaking (he''s been pushing this idea for a while). We''ll see how things work out - but I''ll certainly keep you in mind as a great resource about the kayaking idea.

I guess I could try to "trade" him for something with the promise of a kayak trip, but I think I might have fun too... so long as he''s patient with me!

The one thing is that we were hoping to bring the dogs with us, so I''m not sure where they could be while we were kayaking. Maybe they''d have to stay at home unless we stuck with the original hiking/camping idea.

Anyway, thanks for the info!

Aussiegirl : p

 

[WinkHPD]

Date: 8/23/2006 12:52:48 PM
Author: FireGoddess
Great pictures Wink! It would freak me out to be in a kayak on rapids like that...I''ll stick to the occasional raft.

LOL! Me too! These are not the "starter rapids" I kayaked for many years before I did the easy lines in these rapids, but now at nearly 60 years of age I am finally good enough to do the hard lines. I have done these in a raft too, and you will have plenty of fun there also!

Wink

 

[WinkHPD]

Date: 8/23/2006 1:20:06 PM
Author: aussiegirl23
Wink,

He''s not my husband... yet... we''re still working on getting engaged : )

But we have been talking about planning a trip soon to celebrate the engagement ... hiking perhaps or maybe kayaking (he''s been pushing this idea for a while). We''ll see how things work out - but I''ll certainly keep you in mind as a great resource about the kayaking idea.

I guess I could try to ''trade'' him for something with the promise of a kayak trip, but I think I might have fun too... so long as he''s patient with me!

The one thing is that we were hoping to bring the dogs with us, so I''m not sure where they could be while we were kayaking. Maybe they''d have to stay at home unless we stuck with the original hiking/camping idea.

Anyway, thanks for the info!

Aussiegirl : p

No problem, a lot of kayakers and rafters set up in one of the many campgrounds in the area and take day hikes, kayak and rafting trips, fishing etc. Dogs can stay in camp when you are kayaking or rafting and go with you on hikes etc.

Wink

 

[strmrdr]

awesome pics
think id rather stay on shore and shot photos :} rather than rapids.

 

[Small]

Date: 8/23/2006 9:28:12 PM
Author: strmrdr
awesome pics
think id rather stay on shore and shot photos :} rather than rapids.

took the words right out of my mouth strm...great fun for you Wink...wonderful pictures too