Grasse

Big. Overpowering. Intimidating. Fun. All these are close to describing what can be found on this river. Besides walking Large Marge and Iron Bridge, every rapid was a challenge. None proved to be an easy "get back on my game" rapid.

Take the second drop for example. Flat Rock Falls (or something like that) looks to be a pretty straight forward 30' slide. Right up till the powerhouse hole at the bottom. Not only did the hole get backed up by a good sized pool, making the back current a real problem, but the front of the hole looked to be right up to the rock on the slide (think Fowlersville just more horrizontal). I got my chance to see just how deep it was too. Coming down the slide, I thought i was right on line, and going to make the same eddy punch that everyone else made (which turned out not to be the case). I hit the hole and came to a hault. The next thing i remember seeing was the sky. A pretty sweet back-ender into the hole, and a decent backdeck combat roll later, and i was having myself a pretty nice side surf. The first thing i did when i got up right was to see if i was getting surfed onto the rock. The second thing i did was pull my skirt. There was no way i was going to be the test dumbie to see how deep that hole was.

A few quick fun rapids later, we were at Twin. Let me first say that this rapid is the most intimidating rapid I have run. ITS BIG! The line we took was the river right line, about 12 feet from the shore. The goal: Split the uprights ( the two large roosters at the bottom). After my first run, and seeing almost everyone hit one of the roosters and get thrown into the pool like a rag doll, i decided to show them I could stick the line. See for yourself.

Yeah, that yellow blob is yours trully.

The fun isn't over at Twin though. There are plenty of really fun drops below. I also should add that none of these drops should be taken lightly. A few of them have potential to be a real mess, espically at higher water.

Time for me to hit the road, I'm meeting Mr. Twist at the take-out for the Indy, so needless to say I will be posting again soon.

Mike

Stone Valley is Running!

Got back today from the home river of RBD, and i must say it was at a great level. Myself and a friend went out this morning for our first real creeking trip of the spring. Most of the ice was off and the level was real high (2000 cfs).

We ran the first drop on the far right side. Some call it a sneak line but i actually think it is harder than the middle line at normal flows. I just love those runs that have the hardest drops right out of the gates. The second drop we ran far to the right, even though the left line looked fun and runnable.

The third drop (Mushroom) was were things got interesting. A bad choice on our parts, we decided not to scout the drop. My buddy lead and i stayed in the eddie at the top, which proved to be a good decision. I waited after he went out of sight to see a paddle come up from below, and waited, and waited. Finally i decided to just go run it, because i had never boated with the kid, so i wasnt sure if this was just something some people did. Just before the lip of the drop, i immediately started back paddling. My buddy was upside down in the first of two large holes. I got myself turned around and paddled my ass off to make a huge ferry, right across the lip of the drop, and ran a scrapy run out down the drop. This kept me away from the holes, and i got a shot at getting down to help him out. When i came around the boulder that was in the drop, i saw my buddy. He was out of his boat and in mid swim. We got the boat alright, but it was a scary few moments for both of us.

The horseshoe drop was at a really fun level, which we ran the tride and true high on the right side line. Tubs looked like a monster and we walked it. Last but definately not least, two great boofs were in order at the island drop. This is a very fun, and very easy drop at the right levels. 200 Proof proved to be interesting, as the hole comeing from the left was big enough to be a factor. My buddy got fliped, and i almost did.

All in all, it was a great day. This was just the first of many great runs to be had on STONE!

later folks
mike

Hi, My Name is.....

Welcome to the first post by yours truly, founder of RBD Productions. Before I start let me get this out there, I don't know of any other production companies with this name, but if there is let me tell you what mine stands for. I have a dog named Rusty. He is a mutt but a real frendly dog. So friendly in fact that he has a slight problem when he gets excited (The Red Rocket comes out). He got the nickname Rusty Boner Dog, and thus since i could think of no better thing to call a kayaking films production company, the term RBD productions was formed.

On another note, the dog does simblize how a lot of people feel when they are going kayaking. Anytime i take him for a ride in the car, Rusty is the happiest dog in the world. He is so excited to leave home, stare out the window, put his head in the wind, and feel free. I get the same way when i am on my way to the river. I put on my favorite tunes that get me ready to paddle, put the windows down, and just cruze. I guess calling my idea RBD productions did have some meaning. He looks how i feel when i take him paddling with me.


Thanks for reading my first post, i dont have much to say at this point but look for things like product reviews, trip reports, photos, movies and more to come.