First Time on Wilson’s Creek – Joe Berry
| River: | Wilsons Creek |
| Skill: | All |
| Trip Date: | 06/01/2005 |
Thanks to James and Kurt for taking me to Wilson’s Creek for my first run. We were fortunate to run into Jill and Dave and the famous Ricky Blizzard. The level was -3".
First impression was that there sure were more horizon lines than I am used to. Ran the first rapid backwards and thought “this is a little different!” Bang down some slots and eddy out above Ten Foot. Got great info and had a good line on Ten Foot. I realize that the stuff leading to the named rapids is full of possibilities. One of those possibilities had me flip upstream on my offside just above another rocky slot. Gather and tuck under, roll up and go go go. I’m sure I had Kurt’s attention as he was kind enough to run sweep.
James, Ricky and crew explaining the lines was the order of the day. I had a good line thru Boat Buster and Thunder Hole. Dave and Jill were all smiles and gave tons of encouragement. Then I took a look at Triple Drop and took the far left line. I caught enough of the eddy to rock scrape the next bit with my paddle. Being a lefty did have some advantages.
Can't remember the rapid where James kept telling me left, left, left. I, of course, went right, right, right through a bit of a hole and tight spot. The more he said left the harder I paddled for the right. Duh. I had a better run the second time bouncing off two rock that were truly on the left.
James explained that the landslide on river left signals the last major undercut on the river. Maytag. Stay right and keep your boat pointed downstream. I did learn that stay right means be there, not almost there or maybe there. It means be there. I was not far enough right, hit a rock and hit the wave/hole at a sharp angle. I started surfing backwards to the rock. I hear voices. Paddle paddle paddle. I got close enough to the rock to do a good rock stroke/push off and with 2 full speed strokes I was out. Thanks to James who was already out of his boat and Ricky who was about 3 feet from me, for being ready to retrieve me. Think I flipped once more somewhere on the river but, not sure where.
Run 2
I flipped a few times before Ten Foot. I did a necessary spin above Ten Foot and thought the second run was not a hot idea. Relaxed a bit after a good couple of slots and was fine the rest of the way. Seems like the stuff in between the big rapids were the most difficult for me. My favorite rapid was Boat Buster. Lessons were learned. Right means right. Right does not mean left. It is not the end of the world to turn over, just roll quickly and go on. Quit fretting and have fun.
Thanks James, Kurt, Ricky, Jill and Dave. You folks were awesome. Good to see Jim and Jade with some of the Raleigh folks hand paddling.
We had a slight mix-up on the way to dinner in Lenoir/Morganton. Thanks to everyone who was called. Mexican food in Lenoir with Ricky, Kurt and James. Kurt won first place. Last note is that if you ever have a chance to ride to the river with James and Kurt, you are in for a treat. Saturday was truly not like the Mayo.