The Groundswell Project

2005 Ultimate National Club Champs This Weekend in Sarasota FLA

Photo by Andrew Davis

Want to know more about ultimate, see this quick news clip about the upcoming Champs.

To follow the coverage of the Championships go to the UPA website.

What happens when a river doesn't run for 75 years?

American Whitewater secured recreational releases for the Cheoah River in North Carolina. For the first time in 75 years paddlers paddled the river - oh what a day it was.

Click here to see LVM's video of the Cheoah Release.

Thanks American Whitewater!

The U.S. Freestyle National Championships 2005

Clay Wright, the 2005 National Champ accepting his award - photo by Karen Kowalski

The term 'Deep South' would definitely apply to Wetumpka, Alabama; this year's home to the US Freestyle Nationals on the Coosa River. While this remote locale kept some of the West Coast boaters away, it also made for a unique and totally memorable event.

The Coosa river runs as a recreational dam release (negotiated with help of the organizer and Southern Trails Outfitters owner, Lonnie Carden). On the specified days 4-8000 cfs of warm, brackish water entertains kayakers, fishermen in bass boats, as well as rental canoers all enjoying the back-woods feel while hoping to see the elusive resident alligator. Combine 90 degree water with class 2 and 3 rapids and you get a pretty good place to play. And the locals do like to play. Be it Southern Comfort bottles passed around on the rocks at noon, 4-shot margaritas served as 'medium' at the local Mexican restaurant, or the massive quantities of beer provided at every site in the campground it's pretty clear these Southern Boys weren't going down without a ruckus. To the music of Hood River's Moe Dixon the boathouse was hopping till midnight despite long days on the water. Perhaps it was the bonfire's smoke, or maybe the moonshine, but Alabama makes even the recent West Virginia partys seem tame. We had 4 cars sunk deep in the red clay near the event site and another that tried in vain to 'jump' the 5' tall bonfire while it blazed amidst sleeping campers. Yee haw!

Despite our event-site access road becoming a mud-pit due to construction and recent rains causing hectic last minute shuttle arrangements, Kristine Jackson kept the event running smoothly and we were able to get through the heats with enough time to spare not only for a 'freestyle through a rapid' but also for contestants and volunteers alike to get back in a enjoy the surfing those warm waters without the pressure of competition of any sort. The results were:

Women's Pro: 1. Karen Roy (MA) 2. Tanya Shuman (WV) and 3. Devon Barker (ID)
Men's Pro: 1. Clay Wright (Rock Island ,TN) 2. Eric Jackson (Rock Island, TN) 3. Bryan Kirk (WV)
C-1: Jonathan Souter (MD) 2. (tie) Gary Mullins (CO) and Jeremy Laucks (PA)
Emily Jackson (15) took 1st in Jr. Women and Dane Jackson (12) took 2nd in Jr. Men to Billy Baudin.

Women Finalists - photo by Karen Kowalski

Thanks to event organizer Lonnie Carden, Southern Trails, and to Kristine Jackson for making this event a reality.

Tui Tonga Stow-away

Can you find Mike Field's son?

Expedition Kayaking Group Claims Single Day Descent of the Stikine River

Click Here to check out the video teaser!

Tommy Hilleke(28), John Grace (30), Toby MacDermott (22) and Daniel DeLaVergne (28) completed the first "single day descent" of the Stikine River, known as the "Everest" of rivers for kayaking. See field notes below and an article from Taylor Robertson of his attempt on the Stikine several years ago...it's extreme expedition kayaking at it's best!

Ran shuttle on the 12th.
Rained all night, river already high.

Put on the 13th, 10 people, 6 veterans.
Water got high, was epic, 2 swims at the famous Wasson's Hole
Made it fully intact to camp 1 at Site Zed.

In the AM water was up almost a foot.
3 team members bailed.
7 waited one day- the 14th
The next day they walked out too.

The 16th- 1.25 days later and 15 miles of beautiful canyon wilderness
hiking later we returned to the put in via Willie Williams Ranch (the man
who cut the ingenious trail we used to traverse back upstream of the
canyon (but the trail is supposed to be a secret kind of).

The 17th - water drops back to put in level, or a little lower. Crew hires
"Pacific Western" helicopters to fly to Site Zed and retrieve their boats.

The 18th 4 members rode in on that chopper and paddled out over the next
two days at higher water, several epics ensued, including having to paddle
over a 20 inch lodge pole pine jamed perpendicular to the flow at the
Tanzilla Slot, a pint in the river where the canyon is less than 9 feet
across.

(Meanwhile) on the 19th Eric Boomer and Tristian put in on the river.
These are triple crown boys, and they had already Run the Alsek and
Susitna.

Attempt #2
September 21st 2005- 4 paddlers put on at the Stewart Cassiar highway at
640 am PCT. They exited the Grand Canyon of the Stikine @ 2 pm and took
off at the confluence on the Taltan river at 430 pm PCT. John Grace swam
at the crucial crux at the normal start to day 2. He messed up at the
ferry below site zed and was unable to roll for over 200 yrds, swimming
in to a last chance eddy where his boat miraculously (and I mean that with
all sincerity) floated into. Grace managed to self-rescue and be back on
the river in about 30 minutes. The crux was the “Hole that Ate Chicago” rapid.No good line and a swim meant swimming V drive the biggest run rapid on the river and right at the end.

The Triple Crown repeaters had arrived completing their historic second,
just 30 minutes prior.

Tristian and Eric told stories of proud mad bombing rapids and a made a
push to finish the canyon in two days.

Taylor Robertson's article on his Stikine Experience click here.

Sidenote
We met the moose hunters Taylor refers to in his article. They said they had told the boys "we need your cards cause we are gonna have to call your next of kin if you go in the canyon at this flow. We know Rob (Lesser) and he wouldn't go nowhere near the canyon at this level.'' - which he pointed out would be about up to our shoulders where we were standing: still 40' from the river's edge.