Sunday, February 25, 2007

The Wah-Taw-Guh

15 minutes from my door sits one of the gems that makes the High Country a great paddling destination: The Watauga. Last week, after kayak polo, we got a big storm that rolled in, bringing along thunder, lightning and yes...the almighty rain! More precip came the next morning, in the form of an early downpour. Will Stubblefield showed up at my house and we headed down the road to see if our baby had risen from her winter sleep. We were greeted by brown water and about 300-400cfs!!! Warm weather, good water, and good people made it possible for us to get three runs, making it our first Watauga Triple of 2007. Hopefully more will follow!


Here I am riding Stateline Falls. I dig this angle, because it shows alot about the drop. You can see the rock that you're trying to avoid, as well as the alternative higher water lines...the Vail and Tennesee the Hard Way. Thanks to King Charles for taking all the pics at Stateline!


His Dudeness, King Charles, laying down a good old fashioned honky tonk go-round. The Watauga is the shit, because you can do so much on it. If you feel like playboating, there's amazing play features and spots to wheel...if you feel like creeking, there's amazing boofs and slots...and if you're just learning how to creek, it's the next step up from Wilson's Creek.


Adam Herzog doing the waterfall flingy-offy thing. Zog showed up right after Will and I's first, thanks for the shuttle dogg!


Here's Will Stubbs gettin down on Stateline Falls. Congrats to Will on his first Watauga Triple! Will also ran the Green for his first time recently, I'd like to see more Bonne folk down there!


Spencer getting serious on that H20! If I remember right, he threw some sort of nasty retarded monkey wheel off that drop, but I got a little trigger happy though and missed the shot! Sorry homie.


And remember, hydrate before you DEhydrate!!! That's an old saying my Dad used to always tell me before soccer practice when I was a pee-wee, but it's still a great reminder not to BONK!!!


My, what a purtty day!

After run #2 we met up with Andria Baldwin Davis, Caleb Paw-ket, and Scott from JC. It was the lowest level of the day, but just still being able to be in the gorge was enough to just make you smile. Thanks for the shuttles everybody! Lets do it again soon.


On a side-note, Will Berkeley is my hero...

This picture of him was drawn to my attention this weekend...Stylin' profilin' the Davidson River with eye protection by the Speedo goggles!!! That's my Dogg!!!

For more Will Berkeley antics, check out this sequence of shots put together by Will White showcasing Will B's mad bull-ridding skillz...

And also, be sure to check out this Team RIOT Update from Joey Hall about the 2007 Iceman Championships down on the Saluda.

Finally, A public service announcement...To remain in optimal comfort, remember to use a fresh pair of socks each day you wear shoes!!!


Catch you on the SideFlip,