Fossil Creek - September 2010 - Part I

Ted and I went kayaking at Fossil Creek with Jorge and Antony (Anthony?). This was the first time I met Antony, and it was his first trip in a hardshell, a Rocker that he purchased used for $500. Ted and I dragged our kayaks, while the others carried theirs. I started carrying mine, but switched to dragging it before the half way point. It was a lot of work either way. Jorge had a back pack for his Jefe. I paddled my RPM Max and used the heavy paddle that I got from David Solomon with the boat. Jorge was the only one who ran Granddaddy Falls. He made it look easy. Ted and I surfed below the falls and did some practice rolls. Then Jorge led us down the creek. Despite recent rain in the area, we had only base flow and the water was very clear. There were a lot of obstacles and we did not have much time for talking. The RPM hit the bow a lot. At the first big fall (about 6’) I got sideways approaching the drop straddling the slot I was supposed to go down. I thought I was going to land sideways or upside down. Then Anthony ran into me from upstream. Fortunately, I turned downstream just in time to make the drop going forward. I don’t know if it was his bump that straightened me out or what.
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