Advanced Creeking Clinic on Wilson’s – Adam M. Eckhardt
| River: | Wilsons Creek |
| Skill: | Intermediate+/Advanced |
| Trip Date: | 04/03/2004 |
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This year has been a great year of paddling for me. I have been able to step it up and paddle some amazing rivers. One of my favorites so far is Wilson's Creek. Challenging rapids, scenic surroundings, good camping and just a short 3 hour drive from Raleigh make it very appealing. So, I was very elated to hear that this years Advanced Creeking Clinic was going to be held there. I also knew it was going to an extremely fun time when I saw who was teaching. Lisa and Robin were my instructors last year for the Intermediate clinics. The other students on the trip were Knut, Jill, and Sara, all who I have paddled with regularly, and Jim who I didn't know. Everyone but Jim and I were able to get out of work on Friday and get a run on Wilson's before dark. So I got to know Jim on the ride up. We shared paddling stories which made the trip go by much faster. We arrived in the gorge just as everyone was getting back from dinner. We all traveled together to set up camp at Mortimer campground. We set up camp and gathered around the fire to relax before going to our respective tents (or 4 Runner). Everyone woke up Saturday well refreshed despite my snoring. Some of us (Knut) tried to sleep until noon. We eat breakfast and then off to the put in where we meet Jill, who was unable to leave Raleigh until Saturday morning.
We gathered on the rocks at the put in for a little "chalk talk" where we learn about, among other things, personal judgment, Creeking Protocol, hugging rocks and Smearing. Once the lecture was over we took to the water. Wow, what a day to be on the water. The sun was shining, not a cloud in the sky, and it was a balmy 60 degrees. With weather like that it was easy for everyone to warm up. Lisa and Robin had us run drills on the smaller drops. We practice backwards ferries for scouting, ferrying with waves to put us where we want to go, and my personal favorite, smearing into eddies. We work on all these skills until we got to the entrance to 10ft where we got out and tried our hands at scouting. After dissecting the different routes down 10ft we walked back up and ran it. Now in my few times down the river before the clinic the entrance to 10ft (unrunnable rock jumble) has given me issues. Run the slot upside down issues. This time it was different, this time I used my elbow pads to lean into the rocks. Oh my God, a clean run! The clinic is working. Everyone else runs it pretty smoothly as well.
We work our way down the rest of 10ft without issue. A couple of flips but everyone rolls up and works their way down the river.
Robin and Lisa lead us through Boat Buster and Triple Drop. Boat Buster was really boney – scary boney. They gave us pointers along the way to refine technique or to tell us what we were doing right. Robin and Knut tried to kill themselves sliding down the large granite slant. They both got completely airborne when they hit the water. Robin said it felt like, "running Oceana dry."
One last major rapid – Razorback. If you haven't paddled this rapid you should, but only if you are ready. Are you ready? I don't know you, so I can't tell you. Think about scraping your way down a couple of inches of water then stuffing the nose of your boat in a corner and riding the rest out backwards. Piece of cake right? Just don't try it upside down, it wouldn't be pretty. After running Razorback we leisurely paddled our way to the take out. Looking at our watches we calculated that we had just run the entire gorge in around 6 hours. It was a new world record.
Very hungry we all load up and head into Morganton, too tired to cook our own meals. Passing by a shopping center Lisa notices a place names "Indo-China". She told us "I have a good feeling about this place." Lisa was right, this place rocked. Large portions of tasty Thai and Chinese food. Note to reader: At dinner plan to share 1 platter between 2 people or be prepared for leftovers. After stuffing ourselves we went back to camp for a few more beers around the campfire to replay the day's events. Oh yeah, except for Jill, she decided to wuss out and get a hotel room. Jill, you are now the Queen of Camping wusses. Then off to bed but there were rumors that there was actually hot water in the showers of the campground. I wouldn't know I went to bed full, stinky, and happy.
Sunday morning we woke to extreme winds and cooler weather but not as cool as WV. We had a quick recap and then back to the river, if you could call it a river. At first glance, there appeared to be barely any water in it. Later, when checking the gauge, we found out it was -6". Even though we were tired everyone looked extremely graceful. It was like a 200% difference in paddling. Despite the river being low it was still extremely fun. Boat Buster looked a little to low so I decided to portage (personal choice) and Jim joined me. After portaging and watching everyone else have a clean run I kicked myself and then got back in my boat and continued down with everyone. Once again Lisa and Robin critiqued and gave us pats on the backs when needed. This day was just a blur because everything went so well.
After taking out we had a debriefing and discussed what we had learned, what was next and had time for questions. We all thanked Lisa and Robin for donating there time to make us all better paddlers. Wow! What a weekend, I love Wilson's even more than I did before the clinic. Thanks again to Lisa and Robin it was awesome. To everyone else you rule too!
P.S. Take the clinics! They provide a decent amount of revenue to the club. They make you a better paddler, and they are only $40. That is the price of a cell phone bill without the roaming charges. There is no better value out there.
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