Just getting back from an awesome weekend at CKS PaddleFest in Buena Vista, CO. It’s a great way to start off an epic looking season with all of the industries greats. The CKS Squad was in full force volunteering, running gear, selling swap equipment, and all the industry professionals were there to help people find the perfect gear. The real story, of course, was how awesome the kayak community is and how everyone chipped in to help Brianne and I sell a bunch of tickets to raise First Descents $2,103! The real work was done by Brianne outside all day Saturday and Sunday. Major help was given by Larissa Graham, Mike Ohmstede, and Stevo Parker on Saturday. Our online sales were a major player with CKS selling $1,340 worth during the past month.

When the dust settled Saturday we tallied up the tickets, walked into the store, and asked a customer a number between 1 and 210. She replied with 79 putting Jacob Gray of Grand Junction with his hands on a brand-new Liquidlogic Freeride 67, Stohlquist Rocker PFD, WRSI FD Helmet, Werner Rio Paddle, and Snap Dragon Whitewater Reinforced skirt. It would not have been possible without these companies supporting our cause. Please consider them the next time you swing into your local retailer.

Here is Earl Richmond of CKS handing over to Brianne the check for $1,340 thanks to their online sales.

And here Jacob Gray sporting his new gear. He was pumped and will be out Freeriding the rivers soon.

Last week in Eagle County everyone was feeling the low water blues. Cold weather throughout the state dropped flows out, to either unrunnable or super low flows. With the Teva Mountain Games just around the corner it was frustrating to have no home court advantage. Homestake Creek was around 30 cfs (a minimum of 75 cfs is needed) so the local crew and I stuck to the lower section of the Eagle river called Gilman Gorge. Flows were low but nothing was going to stop us from kayaking on the first sunny day we’d seen in weeks. I brought the GoPro along and kept in in 3 burst camera mode for some fun wide-angle shots with the crew. Check em out.

Enjoying that CO sunshine in our new Kind Design T’s

Now Isaac Levinson is in town, flows are coming up quick, and it’s off to start training. Be sure to watch for Isaac gunning for that top spot in the Homestake race this Thursday at Red Cliff. I will be putting my money on him for sure.

So to finish up the trip in the southwest corner of Colorado I was able to rally the local Durango boys for some warmer weather and desert boating. Luckily Escalante is the one drainage that hadn’t completely dropped out due to all the cold weather.

Coming from Durango to escalante is one of the more beautiful drives you can do in Colorado. You climb multiple mountain passes with slow speeds so you can really take in the views. Brianne, being from Michigan, is not quite as used to the views, and the no guard rails, and the steep drop offs, and the piles of rock falling in the road, or snow in May, so I took it slow while she gripped the passenger side o-Sh%t bar. Of course we made it no problem.

Showing up in the canyon just in time for a sweet moon-rise

Camping in the desert is awesome, we had a sweet fire, grilled some bratwurst and drank some cold beer. During the night Cruise and I peeked over the rim with some bright headlamps to see the main Falls completely raging and what is normally a rocky mess, totally filled in with brown sudsy water. The morning came and we were not disappointed with what we saw. Flows had held strong and we saw med-high in the gorge. The fin was long gone underwater at 57 chevy for those who know the gauge. Entering the lower gorge when flows are high definitely means you bring your game. While the moves are not insanely hard, the combination of dark water (where you can’t see the rocks), and pushy flows means you just need to be precise.

The falls still goes smooth at higher flows just the auto-boof is trickier to catch. I took the camera down in to catch a shot up close for the first lap. Here is Cruise Quenelle and Cody Beach.

On the second lap flows had come down a little more but still super fun. The higher the water the better the boogie water goes up top. I’m so lucky to have Brianne along to take such awesome photos seen below. She’s getting some awesome shots and I’m sure they’re going to just keep getting better. Scott Young and Baird (sorry forgot last name) joined us for our second lap through with some good style.

The crew:

Scott Young, original Colorado gangster:

I finally caught the auto-boof on the second lap and Brianne captured the moment perfect.

When you run the S*%t, s*$t can hit the fan. Alex, taking his booty beer like a champ. He’ll be sure to get back after it.

I’ll tally up the vert here soon, until next time. SYOTR

After heading up for a sweet day at the Boxes Brianne and I went to the next drainage over for an awesome camp site right at the base of Vallecito Creek. It feels good to have everything you need with you at all times in the rig. We had a nice fire to keep warm and are figuring out this camp cooking thing. The cold winter storms that seem to keep coming weekly kept the flows pretty low. I think everyone in the state of CO is ready for some sunny days and warmth to get the rivers going. The gauge in the morning read 1.9ish and that meant the door was just open to drop in. This fall I was told there was a really significant wind event through this area. There was definitely trees strewn all over the place within the gorge. Some seemed well anchored and easy to get around, while others are just waiting for that high water to wash downstream and get in our way. The locals have done a good job of keeping the flow clean but it will be a constant battle this spring to get them out after high waters shift them. We went in the next day at around 2ft and pulled a log out that moved during the night, below fuzzy bunny. So; be careful out there and keep an eye out for wood.

Brianne hiked in and got some great shots from the rim of the gorge and I put together a GoPro edit. I switched up the style a bit since I shot footage from Vallecito last year in my Driven project. Check it out, it’s less than 2 minutes long. Tell me what you think of it.

Here is local Reece Hanson dropping into entrance falls.

Cruise Quenelle in the long boat.

And me in the run out of Trashcan.