This week was “dead week”. I don’t know why they call it that because my teachers love to give us lots of homework on top of my studying I’m already doing for finals. I guess they didn’t get the memo. Fortunately, the EF came in and did a great job luring me away from school. The EF Lewis sits about 30 miles from my house-boat and is a nice class 4+ run. Considering school has been priority lately, I figured a class 4 run would help me brush up and get back in ma boat This trip was infinitely better than my last run down the EF when I broke my fingers. My hand tried to break up a fight between my boat and the rock wall and the rock won. I couldn’t do pottery for weeks! AH! So this time, my hand remained intact!

Heres a video from the day…PS feel free to laugh at me plopping over Sunset. I completely missed my boof as I punched through the hole at the lip….bahahahahaha!

Music by: Owl City

East Fork Lewis River, Washington from Josh Mckeown on Vimeo.

This is Christina Russell reporting from frozen Oregon. Yep…we’re still frozen. I’m back in Bend from a spat of moving my things in to my new floating boat-house on the Colombia River…boy was it cold up there. The damp cold gets to me! It was -22 degrees last night and the rivers in Bend have frozen over. Today, the high was 8 degrees and with it being so cold, I spent my day INSIDE, snuggled up in a fleece blanket….with a fantastic cup of blueberry tea. These past few days of cold weather have reminded me that when we paddle, we need to always dress for a swim. And right now, a swim could mean death if you are dressed inappropriately. Last winter, I had an icky swim on the Green Truss. I believe I posted photos of the incident but I thought I would take a moment to relive it and go over the things I learned from it: My swim occurred on a day when the air temperature wasn’t over freezing. The White Salmon had swollen to an unknown level (we can only guess the flow), and the rocks on the bank were covered in Verglass. At the put-in, I considered the conditions I knew existed and wore thermals, fleece pants and a fleece jacket, two pairs of socks, and a fleece vest under my drysuit. I felt prepared and felt super solid on the run…at least until my swim. ha ha. Funny but not. Anyways, my swim occurred at the base of the waterfall called Big Brother. A fun 25 footer with a cave on the bottom river right. I stuck my line and as I was paddling away from the drop, I flipped on a boil….bummer. I got pinned on the outcropping next to the cave and missed my roll. I ended up swimming in the cave at a flow that (we were told) no one runs the drop at. What can we take away from my swim?

a. Always dress for a swim

b. Paddle with people that are also dressed for a swim- its your safety as well as theirs

c. STAY CALM. I was in the water for over five minutes and despite being dressed well, the cold definitely got to me. I couldn’t feel my hands or my legs and I was terrified that I wouldn’t be able to swim if I let go of the throw rope

d. Make sure everyone in your group has a throwbag

e. ALWAYS CARRY A KNIFE

f. Know when it’s a smart things to hike out- After my swim, I lost my lifter pad (which means I paddle like crap without it) and I had absolutely no energy. I opted to hike out and wait for the crew to finish the run. I’m not proud of the whole thing but it definitely was humbling. This was the second time I seriously thought I might die. It’s taking me a while to get back to where I was mentally but I’m getting there. I learned a lot and will be more prepared when I swim next…we are always in between swims.

Stay safe out there and DRESS WARM!

Merry Christmas,

Christina Russell

Hello from snowy and cold Bend, Oregon! The down jackets are out and so are the pogies….nooo! Darn those pogies but hey, they’re are  brilliant. It’s now officially that time of the year when you haven’t quite adjusted to the cold and you choose to blast the heat in your car and get geared up in the front seat. Did I mention it’s also time for the hot chocolate mug to become a permanent fixture in the creek boat? YES! You can’t possibly go creeking without having a hot cup of cocoa in your boat. Let’s see what else is new? Oh! I dyed my hair purple he he he! You should see my helmet liner! Anyways, back to the actual kayaking portion of the post….

Recently, a crew of us from Bend headed upstream to our “locally famous” drop known as Benham Falls. It is a solid class five drop riddled with lava tubes. It’s technically not a falls but it sure is huge. Rumor has it that a TV crew filmed a rubber dummy getting dropped out of a helicopter above the rapid and its arms and legs came up miles downstream at the end of the lava tubes. From top to bottom, 30% of the water is lost in these tubes. Definitely not reassuring if you happen to go for a swim. That said, I’m pretty sure that my Astral vest would save my ass if I went for a swim! I love my vest!

The put-in was snowed in and the all wheel drive barely got us there. The water temp was sitting around 42 degrees and the sun was out.  We geared up and checked out the drop. There was a little wood but nothing in the way… special thanks to Irina of Bend for taking the photos!

Here’s a photo from a year ago when we ran it. The flow was substantially higher when we recently did it but you can get an idea of the scenery and the mechanics of the drop. Just add 300 more CFS and understand that the ledge drop in the middle of the river is a 14 foot drop. Perspective is the craziest thing.

(Below) Look at those beautiful Jefe’s!

Special thanks to everyone at Astral for your continued support and enthusiasm for making the best flotation on the market. Stay warm out there and remember your mug of hot chocolate!

Christina Russell

by Christina Russell

Meadowcamp from my Perspective from Christina Russell on Vimeo.

Here’s a refreshing video sent in from team paddler Christina Russell.

Lava Island Falls 2160cfs Headcam from Josh Mckeown on Vimeo.