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.
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
- EF Lewis with Christina Russell
- Safety Tip - lessons from a swim.
- Meadowcamp from my Perspective
- Lava Island Falls 2160cfs Headcam
- Celestial Falls Huckfest
