After my last class and a short shift at work I knew I wouldn’t be able to calm down enough to sleep. I hopped in my truck and split for the south. A week on the Green River Narrows is what I need. I got to Saluda in time Friday night for some awesome local feasting with Isaac and a good nights rest. Saturday brought all kinds of people to the river. It was awesome to see the locals and fast gunners who have been training for months styling their lines. I’m pumped to get my kayak game back after way too much studying. My first day brought good lines and I’m ready to get back in the saddle of a long boat. Stingers from here on out, can’t wait. Keep checking back. I’ll be posting on all the events of the coming week. Here are some photos from the trip down and a first timers run down Gorilla.

I was feeling optimistic about the drive and even took the time to take this shot of the Mackinaw Bridge.

Ohio the next morning. I need to work on my one-handed while driving shots.

A big moment for any car owner. I missed the exact 100,000 mark thanks to my girlfriends untimely phone call!

Working on my driving and photographing skills. They still suck.

It’s always worth the drive when you get to this parking lot.

Woody never gets his head wet on this river. Too smooth.

This guys name is Kerry. First time off Gorilla and it was plenty smooth.

Until next time. SYOTR

Every fall for the past four years when the water is done running and school is back in session I find myself reunited with my bike. The mountain bike scene in Marquette is as core as anywhere, you just got to come here to believe it. I’ve never seen any legit edits of the riding here so I decided it would be a good opportunity for me to get more comfortable with my camera before the Green Race and make one myself. Here are some of my good buddies shredding the Benson Grade just five minutes from town. Enjoy.

Chasing on the Benson Grade from ross herr on Vimeo.

This is two days just like any other that you would find at Benson. One person shredding alone turns into more and more people chasing. Always a good time. Trails are bertha and Dougs/back nine.

Song: “Rolin Tumblin” R.L. Burnside

Shot on Canon T2i

www.kayakingRoss.com

A week ago my good buddy Nick Dobbs and I woke up early to catch the final day of releases at the Wausau whitewater park. Wausau is an awesome place to support and I was excited to teach Nick the basics of whitewater. Nick has been paddling around the Midwest in every fashion except a whitewater boat. I knew he would make the connection from touring to whitewater seamlessly. With Wausau being 4 hours away we woke up bright and early to make the most of the day. About a half hour outside of town I had to stop, take a picture, and enjoy this view of the sun rising over Witch Lake.

We rolled in to Wausau around 10am and were greeted by uncharacteristically cold weather, like 40 degrees. Nothing was going to slow us down though and Nick was pumped to make the jump to whitewater. For warm up you begin at the top in calm flat-water where you can practice rolls, go over strokes, and get yourself excited before you head down. To make Nick feel like a champ I put him in my Jefe Grande while I paddled my Hungee. He got the strokes down quick and even busted out a few rolls. His confidence was high and he opted to run the first drop instead of the recommended portage for his first run. He lined it up just right but the river gods didn’t want his confidence to get too high and he quickly exited his boat. He was determined to not let this mess with him and he quickly got back in his boat and styled the rest.

It was awesome to see him get after it and start kicking but on the drops below. There are many elements to deal with between the man-made holes, people surfing, canoes, and just general commotion. After a couple of laps we started talking about surfing. I gave him a quick talk about edges and tilt, then before I knew it Nick was charging into the holes side surfing. I didn’t expect him to just go for it. He got a few good surfs in and at one point he flipped but nailed his first combat roll. The final score of the day for Nick was; multiple successful laps, 2 swims, 1 combat roll, and a priceless day of kayaking in a Liquidlogic kayak.

Here are some photos of Nicks day.

Charging

Hiking up for more

Punching holes

And only minor first aid at the end.

One major part of Wausau that I never get tired of is watching the canoes. Nora let me give her’s a try and it gave me all kinds of respect for people running rivers in those unstable crafts, especially tandem. Here are some of the canoe all stars.

I even had a few laps in my Biscuit and some race laps in my Hungee.

An awesome way to spend the last day of releases. Now lets hope these fall storms keep the Upper Peninsula’s creeks running for a while!

So until this point if you ever saw a sweet photo on my site it was probably taken by someone else, lol. Most pictures are frames that I pulled out of my video camera or were from an actual photographer. And, most were never edited with color correction. BUT, hopefully those days will stay behind me. I upgraded to a Canon T2i for both my video and photography needs. I’ve always drooled over my friends cameras and bugged em with questions on how they work. When I’m not finishing my degree in finance I’m watching videos on Vimeo non stop. I always ask for feedback on the things I put on here because I’m just learning it as it goes, no classes. So, I hope this will be the beginning of some improved images on here.

This last weekend I had Sunday off and with no rain the upper peninsula of Michigan is dry. I had heard people talk about Piers Gorge on the Menominee before, so, my mind going crazy without paddling was motivated enough to drive the 2 hours by myself for a little class III/IV soul boating. I got there early in the morning and took a little adventure walk to scope out the place and take some shots. Even though the whitewater is short, it was still a beautiful place to go.

After my photo session I grabbed my Remix Hungee, put in my Ipod, and before I new it, it was 3pm and I had lost track of how many times I ran the little gorge. My guess is 10 and by how sore I was today that might be about right. Here are some of the first shots taken with my new camera. I’m taking a class on black and white photography right now so hence the inspiration behind these. Let me know, thanks, Shot with a canon T2i and USM f/3.6 28-135mm

Piers Gorge

A little Color for good measure…

Middle bay of Marquette, MI