Hi Folks,
Two weekends ago, fifteen fellow kayakers traveled to Pennsylvania to get "tuned-up" for the 2013 paddling season.
Friday April 5th: Paul, Karen, Martin, Morresa, Casey (no Linda, something about sore legs), Joe Marincel, Mel Hunsaker, Ann Adams, Rich Cole, James Blackburn and Peter Bundarin all met at Rose Point Campground to paddle the Slippery Rock to Eckert bridge. The level was 3 inches at the mill (~ 435 cfs). The skies were partly sunny, the air in the 40's and the water in the 30's! We were on the river at 2:00 and off the river at 5:30. We all had moments of grandeur and moments of "I am really glad I am not on a harder river and I probably should have gone to more pool sessions". The highlights included Casey making the both the lower and upper attainment at "Tea Room" and Paul making the elevator attainment at Double Drop (aka "Fish Ladders").
After un-thawing at the take-out, we all traveled to Somerset, PA to meet Mark Stivers for a nice dinner at the Pine Grill. Great fish and chips!
Saturday April 6th: After a great sleep at the famous Budget Host Inn, we all met the rest of the group at the Summit Diner for breakfast. Unable to leave Friday morning, Lee Green, Tim Kenny and Alex Janke left at some absurd early hour Saturday to meet us. After breakfast, we drove to the put-in of the Stonycreek at the 601 Bridge. The level was a perfect 3.0 on the bridge (~4.4 at Ferndale, ~1330 cfs). The skies were sunny, it was a brisk 38 degrees rising to 52. After the requisite whining and moaning at the put-in, we were on the river at 11 a.m. The surfing was great and plentiful. The waves under the railroad bridge were prime. If one missed a wave, there was another soon after. We all practiced our surfs, ferries, eddie turns,etc. Five folks made sure they could still get their spray skirts off, testing everyone's rescue attentiveness in different spots. Below Three Sisters, we showed two paddlers what we call "Nolan's Hole". Nolan Dickey, an old RSCK'er, loved to surf this hole. Nolan never left the hole right side up. Tim and Joe decided to test this out. Each went in several times. After much entertainment (window shades, end-to-ends, unintentional twisty-whoo's), they also always left the hole upside down! Thanks to Tim and Joe for confirming the hole has not changed!
After tiring themselves with endless surfing and moves, most folks were off the river ~3:00. Paul, Karen and Tim were off at 4:15. We all had a fun time socializing in the sun at the take-out at Paint Creek and later enjoyed another good dinner at Pine Grill. After dinner, Casey, since he was "Linda-less", allowed many of us to come to his hotel room to "wine" about the day and enjoy his delicious home-made date bars. Thanks Casey! One always feels better after having a good "wine"!
Sunday April 7th: Sunday brought colder weather and overcast skies. The river was a smidge lower, 2.999 on the 601 Bridge (4.35 at Ferndale). We put on the river at 10:45 and were off at 2 p.m. Everyone surfed better and was paddling "looser". Perhaps we were becoming "tuned" or perhaps the smidge less water made the difference? Johnson's Hole above the "surf lab" served up good spins today. The Locomotive wave was good again. Hydro was great, serving up retentive spins and front surfs.
Overall a great time. The weather could have been a bit warmer but the water levels were excellent for "tuning-up"!
See you all out there again soon. Thanks for coming.
Paul and Karen |
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