It's a long day, but so much fun! I was stoked to put on early because we had to drive 5 hours home immediately after taking off.

I'm trying to figure out what an angle roll should be. It could be something...

At 1:56 I decided to boof a questionable wave, and it turned out to have a rock in it. I'm the moment I questioned my decision to do it anyway, saying, "That looked bad, and it was bad." I sometimes ignore my eyes for what I want a feature to be.

Thanks! Glad you liked it

The hole we kept our eyes on at this level is at S-Turn. You can see other holes from the scouting shot, but you'd be hard pressed to get to them. In my mind, the biggest hazards at Thunderdome are wood (think logs or even trees that have just broken up over the Falls on their way downstream) popping up next to or below you, and the eddy lines, which are ferocious. If you swam here, I imagine you'd have a dangerous amount of down time. It's amazing how small changes in the level - even when the water's this high - can alter the features.

@@paddlebikediveclimb makes sense. Thanks for the detailed explanation. This looks like the most fun rapid of Great Falls

Small Dagger Rewind. I love this boat

@@paddlebikediveclimb Just getting into whitewater, thinking of getting a half slice. Being about 150lb without gear, how do you think I would fare in a small rewind?

That's my size, and then I load the boat down with more gear than most people carry. It's playful, sometimes my stem sits pretty low in the water, but it works for me. If you're new to kayaking, I'd say to demo as many half slices as you can to see which one works best for you. They're all a little bit different, and some of the newer ones are more slicey (good for play, bad for staying upright if you're not used to it) with bigger bows (good for getting over features). What you want will probably also depend on what kind of whitewater you'll be on and what your kayaking goals are (ask the more experienced folks you paddle with!).

On my Upper Gauley PFD, one of the several people showing me lines had once flipped on Hawaii 5-0 and hit the notorious rock in the slide. I have run Hawaii 5-0 before, and maybe I will again, but I don't remember it being so much fun that I am stoked about it. The risk-reward is unique in every rapid, and I suspect that there's just something inherent in who showed me the lines my first time down that leads me toward the more conservative line (although for all I know there's a worse, hidden hazard in the creek line?). We actually discussed the risk-reward in the pool below Lost Paddle: probably every paddler is irrationally more scared of some class 1-3 rapid where we had a bad experience at some point, or where have seen something crazy, than we are of other class 4-5 rapids that we run all the time with only had clean lines.

@@paddlebikediveclimb the creek line does not look like a nice place to be upside-down either, but I am glad you showed it. If I ever run the UG again, I shall try it. You might enjoy Peyton Love's videos of alternate lines on the UG.

Yeah, the Gauley is shallow in a lot of places, and generally I don't want to be upside down, ha. I'll have to look up that video, thanks!

Nice, very cool

Don't worry, I've got another one coming up that shows the underwater side of a few rapids, ha.

Chilly in the morning, 80s in the afternoon. The water was chilly enough that I was happier in my dry top the next day. By October... who knows, but it'll probably be colder on all fronts.

Thanks! I tend to film more on a PFD as I never know what's around a corner.

Thanks! Ha, yeah, editing takes a lot of time. I'm still working on a longer project from last year...

I just got home late last night from the Gauley

Thanks! On occasion I find something fun that seems to work.

I like it, and at least for people I paddle with, it seems to be the preferred line over Hawaii 5 0

Yeah, it's pretty good. Sheds water well

@paddlebikediveclimb it is about the best I have seen on here with the S24 Ultra. Great for what you're doing man!

I'm usually not a fan of sharing beta like this, but I figure if I caveat it by saying this is one of the spots where you're more likely to have a bad pin on the Little Falls run... maybe that's okay?

Yeah, I'm not doing that route again unless maybe the level is a lot higher.

Thanks!

I don't know what to tell you; I roll there all the time. It's a great place to practice: a chill pool that's deep, your paddle won't float away, enough circulation to keep the water cycling, and at the end of a run when you're as tired as you'll be on this run.

@@paddlebikediveclimb you are absolutely right about the spot. Maybe the water is cleaner now than it used to be.

Yeah, he did say that's just what they called it when he learned it. It's always interesting to learn how people have different names for the same thing. Did you learn it for sea kayaking?

It was a fun level for messing around. :)

There's are very specific rules around leave no trace. That's prohibited on the Middle Fork of the Salmon.

He volunteered for that job all trip. Turns out it was more enjoyable for him than cooking or cleaning, ha.

Thanks!

To the best of my knowledge there isn't any easy way to surf out river left at 2.9ish, either, so I went with what I knew would work. Basing that assumption on my buddy's U-Hole experience at the same level: kzbin.info/www/bejne/g5TTgoeZor50raMfeature=shared

That's so much more work.

No, but I have recommended it to friends whose cameras tend to collect droplets.

Thanks! I wanted to do something with that idea, but then it got out of control in my head, so I just did this.

I guess that's the classic Dimple Flip. I can't remember whether I've seen it happen before, but it was a pretty obvious no-paddling, leaning away maneuver.

I assure you, it's Velvet. I'll eventually get around to posting a video of Sulphur Slide. Velvet changed last year during a big slide, so if you haven't been out since summer 2023, it won't look like what you know.

Thanks! When you have the time to think, might as well. I sure managed to get my focus back once I was in it.

I feel like I was decisive, just wrong. Or maybe less than optimal.

He was very quick to welcome me to the u-hole surfers club

I always show my bad lines because if people only see the good stuff, or if it looks too easy and like there are no consequences... Anyway, this is the reaction I kind of want people to have.

Ben you'd do great up there.

Thanks. I had lots of time to think while waiting for everyone else to get down below me.

Yeah, it looked similar. It's too heavy for my needs, sadly

Thanks!

I'm still working on developing some flake legs. Only kayaking doesn't exactly prepare your body for kayaking.

Tupperware? We had a bougie groover.

Yeah, it's wild how pushy it can feel after you've gotten used to the low water. Of course the low water feels flat when you first see it in the year before you start to find the features in it, too. It's kinda nice to have the range we get here.

All levels are great for the RPM!

It hangs on to you even if you don't want it!

It's not great while it's up, either. That's when we get swamped with runoff. The smell is noticeably worse once you're downstream of Blagden, though, which is a great secondary reason to not mess around with the low-head dam. It makes me wonder sometimes whether the combined sewer-storm drain work is finished or worked perfectly.

That would be so cool to see. I've seen birds and a beaver repeatedly play in river features before, but not snakes.

Thanks. I don't do it often, but every now and again there's a lot going on. I'm glad to hear it's worthwhile.

Thanks! Always cool to see what the young shredders do up there.

Good to see youth is not wasted on these young 'uns. They're not foolish enough to roll in the toxic foam cloud.