Video courtesy of Blaine Patrick

text by Bryan Owen

A few cold and snowy weekends ago I had the opportunity to paddle the Overflow Creek for the first time with a group of friends from Asheville. Its an incredible creek run with some really cool drops, and as we quickly learned its not a run to let your guard down as almost every drop has some type of hazard.  We rallied down past Singley’s Falls to an inconspicuous drop called “Twilight” that has a pretty nasty cave on the right.  Coming off the drop I was kicked right into the cave and for minutes battled to get the hell out of there. Thanks to my bros Will Lyons and James Kodaras for helping me out, and props to AW’s Jeff Paine for a really daring paddle recovery.  There’s some good footage of Astral rescue jackets in action too,  chekkit out:

Asheville Goes to Overflow from Blaine Patrick on Vimeo.

paddlers: Mark Miller, John Shannon, Billy Murphy, Toby MacDermott, Will Lyons, James Kodaras, Jeff Paine, Billy Jones, and Blaine Patrick

Keep it safe out there!

Bryan

The sun has finally started to break here in Pucon, Chile, which has led to warm temperatures and high water on the snow fed rivers such as the Puesco, and had allowed some of the rain fed rivers like the Nevados and Coilaco to start to drop a little. Pucon, Chile, is a class V kayakers paradise offering big clean drops to manky boulder strewn river beds that require your A-game. It also offers a relatively warm region to boat in during the northern hemispheres winter months. Pucon has had relatively dry summers (the northern hemisphere’s winter) for the last few years and well that’s changed this year. With over 12 feet of rain already this summer the rivers have been quite high. However last week the weather decided to dry out a bit and the sun has been shining.

With a  group of Demshitz and Kayak Pucon employees we headed out to the Nevados early in the first week of December. After a class V shuttle up a steep dirt road we made our way down to the river through cow pastures passing some calves on the trail to the water. A quick warm up leads right to large horizon line that is created by an awkward boof into a large boiling eddy that feeds into fast smooth slide with a kicker that will send you airborne at the bottom if you are not careful. If you aren’t feeling it at this point you may want to consider walking out. After another little chunky rapid you eddy out on river left to see your next horizon line. Dropping into low angle left to right slide (making sure you don’t get pushed right) you come to the lip of Wall Falls, a 20 footer that lands with the river making an immediate left hand turn ten feet from the lip. Make sure to eddy out here and look back up stream to watch your buddies drop in to this amazing gorge. At this point there is not much turning back. You are in the heart of the first gorge which isn’t very long but has some nasty holes that need to be punched with the final hole having a great boof of the right side (you don’t want to fall in on the left side of this one). After a few class III rapids you come to an eddy where you can scout the mandatory 20 foot TDUB crack drop. From here you have a the perfect auto boof into a recirculating eddy where you can get out and portage the Epicocity portage rapid or if the level is low enough you can make the ferry and run the rapid. Shortly after the portage rapid there is anther portage rapid which has a very awkward hard to catch small eddy on river right. Downstream you have Dulce Amore which is the best boof on the river coming left to right and boofing off the right wall into an aerated pocket feeding to the next manky rapid. Boof the coffee tongue (those of you not familiar with Rodrigo’s directions a coffee tongue is a rock boof) to avoid the disgusting pocket hole backed up by an undercut wall on the right and very little room to recover before the next manky little rapid. If you can catch the eddy on the left after the coffee tongue boof the left channel is open avoiding the manky rapid. A few more little rapids and then make sure to catch the eddy on the left before the next horizon line which is the rarely run Demshitz drop which has still been too high to run this year.

After a stout day on the Nevados we went in search of an easier more mellow day. The Desahue is supposed to be similar to the Little White, pushy water with clean drops and big holes with a clean 30 footer (the Ojos). However once we got to the upper put in Nate Garcia admitted that the level was higher then he had ever seen. Higher then the day in which their group had two swimmers and lost two boats about a month prior. With a marginal rapid just above the mandatory portage Muerte we decided to drive down and hike into the portage trail on river left to see what that would show us. Upon getting back to river level at the put in below the portage there wasn’t an eddy in site and every rock was underwater. Okay, we decided the our best option would be to just head down to the take out and hike up the last four or five drops and route the 30 footer at the take out a few times. What we were treated to was some very fun ledge drops with some stout holes. I missed timed my boof stroke of the second drop and had to fight my way out of the backwash of the hole just in time to see a paddle being thrown through the air towards the next drop. John apparently had hit the hole and lost his paddle hand rolled up and Nate had tossed him his paddle just as he was about to go over the lip of the next drop, a perfect left to right fading boof off a diagonal at the lip. Chris wasn’t so lucky as he tried to plug her deep and came up missing a third of his paddle. Impressively he rolled up with one blade and made the hard ferry with one blade back to river left where our vehicle was and opted on shooting photos for the rest of the day. The Ojos had a rolling reconnecting entrance that you tried to punch through the seam at the lip in order not to get taken deep at the bottom. As a tourist attraction there were plenty of trails and stairways that made multiple runs quite easy. Although it wasn’t that easy to break through the seam coming off lip to get your boof stroke, the landing was very aerated and quite soft. We all had some really nice lines and some that went over vertical. One blown skirt in the landing and another broken paddle by Andy but all smiles.

The next day we headed back out to the Puesco. This time to run the whole thing upper and lower sections. Shortly after putting on right before the biggest rapid of the run Tres Troncos I got to test out the flotation and swimability of my Green Jacket (thank you again for such a great pfd Astral). The upper Puesco at medium flows is high high water West Prong, the common description of the upper Puesco rapids was “just get ready for fight club”. No eddies, 1,000 boofs, holes that you want nothing to do with on a river you do not want to swim on (I consider myself very lucky for where I did swim), and don’t expect to see anything as you will have water in your eyes the whole time. Find someone who knows the upper to follow and don’t expect to be able to follow their lines exactly. The Puesco is a hard run to portage rapids although most rapids can be scouted there are plenty of undercuts, sieves, and wood to make for a very stressful day. Needless to say I felt some relief when we made it to the lower that I still had a good recollection of. After the awesome wave boof to punch the two holes down the left (my favorite rapid of the lower Puseco) I ended up splatting the left wall and getting cartwheeled in a hole. I rolled up with a grin on my face happy to be out of the hole and in the eddy until Nate informed me that  I was now missing a blade on my paddle. The rest of our run went with out incident and paddling out the boogie water we were treated to some of the best views in the area. After such an intense run it’s nice to be able to unwind and float while taking such natural grandeur that surround us in the Puesco valley. It was also pretty easy for us to get a shuttle back up to the car by hitching a ride with the local road construction crews. The Puesco pass in the process of being paved all the way from Pucon to the Argentina boarder.

Another day on the Nevados then we after receiving news two days ago of the expected passing of my grandfather we thought the best way to celebrate his life and all the teachings I learned from him was to grab a bottle of wine, do a bit of exploring and park and huck the salto Coilaco. With some marginal directions we were on our way out of town and winding through dirt roads littered fields that all looked the same. Our directions were not those from the guide book. Ours were, take the road after the puente de Coilaco and park along a field and jump the fence and walk to the falls. Well the hole road was fields from one bridge to  the next which only left about five kilometers of field to search. Upon receiving word from a local at the bus stop there was a cascada just up the road from where we stopped to talk to him drove up to a 30 foot water fall coming out of a very tight log filled mini gorge that we later found out to be the un-run mini gorge of the Alto Coilaco. Back to our original plan scour the fields along the road until we found the falls. It was worth it though. The salto Coilaco is a perfect 30 footer with a nice eddy right above the lip that led to a left stroke down the tongue and tuck into the deep pool at the bottom. As a southeastern boater now we have very few waterfalls to practice on so I took full advantage hiking up and running her eight times that day. I couldn’t have thought of a better way to celebrate the day, running a beautiful waterfall many many times and sharing some good red wine with some good friends.

I’m feeling the 240 feet of vertical that I dropped yesterday and I think our whole group is in agreement a day of rest is in order. Boats need to be repaired, bodies need some rest, and updates and contact with home always feels good. We are continuing to have fun down here in Chile, everyone who has thought about making the trip, it is well worth it. Thank you again to Astral for providing such great safety gear for all of us out here that find the need to push ourselves.

Ciao-

Adam Bixby

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

Our friend Chris Morelli is an up and coming paddler from the Northeast and works at Mountainman Outdoor Supply. He put together this important safety reminder to always carry a rope. Chris uses the Greenjacket with an integrated throwbag for easy access during rescue situations.

Back to the city, Photographer Francisco Lisci

Living in one of the biggest cities in the world, people sometimes get amused when we talk about kayaking, they get confused or are not able to fully understand what we mean by paddling in Mexico. The most common question they ask is: where do you guys practice your sport? And they often say; “probably you have to drive a great deal of hours to get to the nearest river” Well, this is not true…

As for Mexico, we are proud to say that down here we have a creeking paradise, and not far away from the city. Lots of rivers are still unexplored, and our job is to get there, to learn from them and enjoy what these astonishing views can offer. Lost in a virgin mexican landscape, right besides a great river, that’s when you fully understand why we do this as a way of living.

One year ago, my friends and I went on an expedition to Cuernavaca (Mexico) a small town an hour away from the city. The natives had told us that near that village there was a small creek running right besides the airport with a 60-foot waterfall.  So, with that said, we packed our stuff and head right down to that spot.  After a long hike, we finally got to the waterfall but with the sad news… to little water. We had to wait till next rainy season.

So this past weekend, with the city and its surroundings packed with water we organized a team formed by: IkerBeristain, LaloBeristain, Rafael Ortiz and myself Francisco Lisci for the second attempt. For our luck, the waterfall had an acceptable volume and looked pretty good for a first descent. The team decided with a simple rock, paper, scissors who was going first. Iker got the call and I was going second.

The team called the expedition a success after Iker and myself ran the waterfall with no apparent injuries. We just had our chests a little hurt but nothing much. It’s amazing that just and hour and a half away form one of the biggest cities of the world we can still have staggering places still unexplored that can teach us so much. Having the chance of sharing this with other people makes what I call a successful expedition.

In the other hand, the  Greenjacket is just working great! Can’t ask for anything better.

Cheers!!
Francisco Lisci

Francisco Lisci running “Ping Ball” 60-foot waterfall. Cuernavaca, Mexico. Photographer Stefany Tacher

Here’s an email from Shep who lives in Raleigh,NC.  He recently purchased a V-Eight with Airescape breathable technology and wanted to provide some testimony to its effectiveness in the field:

Everglades,  photo: Bryan Owen

“I just wanted to let you know how effective your V8 ventilation is.  Due to a navigation error I portaged my kayak 3 miles last weekend through swampy grassland and forest in 90 degree weather.  I was pretty tired when I got back, but realized I had forgotten about the pfd I was wearing. It and my torso were dry and cool. Thanks for a good product.”

Shep

Astral is proud to work with some of the most talented female paddlers in the world. The Greenjacket was designed as a unisex rescue PFD, and thanks to the Foam Tectonic construction which provides added comfort and mobility, we have seen the Greenjacket emerge as the choice rescue jacket for women.

Here is some feedback from the team:

Christina Russel

“The Greenjacket is a natural choice for me as a woman and as a creeker.  The movable panels, adjustable torso length, and built in protection make it the best rescue vest for women on the market. I feel comfortable, stylish, and safe! Thanks Astral!”

-Christina Russell

Christina at Dillon Falls, photo Tyler Roemer

Adriene Levknect

“The ability to tuck while kayaking, weather it be while going under a hole or down a waterfall, is great, the front of the vest is slim and comfortable. I also like the stability that the two separate panels give to me while paddling.” -Adriene Levknecht

Adriene in Mexico, Fall 2008

Lizzy English

I just paddled with the Green Jacket yesterday and loved the flotation distribution.  It clearly provides all the safety features and also allows for full range of motion for the arm movement.  Additionally, the vest has the proper straps needed to adjust for thinner and shorter torsos and still maintains an even and snug fit.  Especially being a smaller paddler, I can not have my arms restricted in the least and the new Green Jacket provides all the safety, comfort and ease of use that a creeker vest needs.

-Lizzy English

Lizzy on Fordyce Creek, CA/ Photo by Taylor Cavin

submitted by Chan Jones…

The Gauge/ photo: Chan Jones

Christmas came early this year to the mountains of North Carolina. A band of storms blew in from the west bringing several inches of rain to the parched southeast and causing paddlers to rejoice. After watching the front dump inches of rain on the Smokies through the radar map the whole day and night before, Pat, Toby, Drew, and I decided to venture into the Raven Fork for some high water action. With the Oconoluftee River in Cherokee over 2000cfs, we knew we were in for a big day.

Pat Keller, Raven Fork/ photo: Chan Jones

Typically this creek holds water very well and is runnable for days after a rain event, so often a Raven Fork trip involves bluebird skies. Even at lower levels, this creek is nothing to sneeze at. On this day, we drove to the takeout through pouring rain that continued to fall as we hiked and paddled downstream.

Toby McDermott/ photo: Chan Jones

When we passed the gauge on the way to the top it read 20 inches. Shortly after putting on it was apparent that the level was still rising, and was estimated at Mike Tyson’s to be around 24-27 inches. We moved downstream cautiously, running most of the enormous rapids but walking a few. This steep creek was a ridiculously steep river on this day but all of us were safe in our new Greenjackets. The new vest from Astral is an awesome rescue jacket. It has all the familiar features of the 300-R but with an improved fit - less bulk in the bottom front of the jacket, an improved strapping system, and added protection in the upper back. The result is a very low profile rescue vest that, once adjusted, does not move around on your torso.

Pat with the Greenjacket/ photo: Chan Jones

If you’re in the market for a new rescue vest, check out the Greenjacket. It’s a very well thought out rescue platform that I’d trust in any situation.

Chan at Big Boy/ photo: Mac McGee

for more pics from the Raven Fork check out the Gallery

submitted by Jon Crain…

The Cascada Tamul has got to be one of the most impressive waterfalls on the planet.

photo by Leigh Knudsen

This feature dominates the take out for the most popular class IV/V run on the Rio Santa Maria. Typically, boaters can access the Rio Santa Maria near the village of La Boquilla and paddle through the Rincon Grande/Tamul Canyons to reach the take out at Cascada Tamul. With one portage, this class IV/V 13 mile run can be easily completed in a day.

Big water action in the Tamul Canyon of the Rio Santa Maria

photo by Jon Crain

Above this section of river are the upper canyons of the Rio Santa Maria. Due to a long shuttle, about 17 miles of moving class I/II, and a handful of portages the canyons between MEX Highway 69 bridge and the regular Rincon Grande/Tamul run see few descents per year. Combining the standard Rincon/Tamul canyons with the seldom run upper canyons delivers a multi-day river trip covering approximately 48 miles through 4 canyons on the Rio Santa Maria.

some good boulder boogie boof action in the 1^st canyon

photo by Adam Goshorn

Another highlight of the trip was our visit to Puente de Dios, located just outside the town of Tamasopo in the village of El Cafetal. This spot offers up a picture perfect park & huck into one of the best swimming holes ever. If you’re in Mexico and on your way to Rio Verde this is a perfect stop on the way.

author boofing through the jungle at Peunte de Dios

photo by Adam Goshorn

This brings us to our last stop on our Mexico tour, the Rio Verde. Due to time constraints for part of the group we only had time to get into the second canyon of the Rio Verde. We were rewarded for our efforts with a handful of basalt bedrock drops leading up to a 40 footer to end the second canyon.

Matt Wallace probing out the last drop in the 2^nd Canyon of Rio Verde

photo by Alex Zendel

Second canyon of the Verde as seen from shuttle

photo: Adam Goshorn

By: Christina Russell

This September I spent two weeks in British Colombia with my brand spankin’ new PFD- the Bella. I was lucky enough to experience the Callaghan, Cheackamas, Ashlu and even Skookumchuck Rapids all with clear blue skies overhead. After several days of wear and tear, here’s what I think makes the Bella the premier playboating vest for women. The first time I put on the Bella, all I could think about was how comfortable it was. It hugs your body like that mini dress you just bought and even has a built in sports bra to keep the gals happy. This is the first time a bra has been incorporated into a piece of paddling equipment….way to go. Did I mention it gives you the option to go “skin to wind” with the guys…and be a lady?!

The Bella comes with all the new technology- For added mobility, separate buoyancy panels make flotation a thing of comfort and stiff pads a thing of the past. The panels move independently of one another and allow for maximum mobility on a wave or at your local creek. I also discovered what I had really been missing- a shorter torso length. The vast majority of women have shorter torsos than men and Astral has acknowledged that. This is the first vest I have been able to wear that sits where it should. To help keep things feeling good, the vest is equipped with side-entry buckles. Keep it loose or tighten up. Whatever floats your boat. Finally, for those of you who could use a little extra support, Astral has added a built-in internal backband. It doesn’t get any better!

It’s clear that Astral spent many nights aided by caffeinated beverages to develop the most wearable vest on the market. They even figured out a way to make it creek worthy. In the front of the vest you will find a large sleeve specifically designed to hold their trusty throwbag and a zippered pocket to keep those must have items safe- energy bar, waterproof matches, and some extra cash (you never know when you might need it). Oh and how could I forget the knife holder?! Every paddler should use it. The icing on the cake is the extra padding added to the sides of the vest. These keep you protected during that “oh sh*&” moment when you wish you were also wearing elbow pads. I felt comfortable taking it down the Callaghan for this very reason….and I would gladly use it again as a make-shift creeking vest.

In short, the Bella is the vest to have for playboating and a great vest to take creeking if you forget you rescue vest at home. It’s the most comfortable on the market and without a doubt the most attractive. There’s a reason it’s called the Bella!

Stay safe out there!

-Christina Russell
Team Liquidlogic