Happy New Year Gang

So it has been a while since I have been able to give an update, mainly since Meaghan's cat decided it would be fun to chew the power cord to my computer...

Deer Season: Overall a great season. The first week in November I got a doe with the new Mathews, followed the next week by a monster 11 point (pictures to follow, or check out facebook). We got a bunch in camp during gun and although i had some good encounters, that was it.

Boating: None, zip zero. Although I really haven't missed much in NY.

Work: Busy again, trying to keep people on schedule that just don't care is tough and frustrating.

Holidays: Great. Meaghan stayed out for Christmas, plus Matt's girl Casey was up, so we had a lot of fun.

New News: So I am taking up hockey?!? Yeah I need to get back to being active on more than just the weekends. Plus I love hockey, and Rochester seems to be a great place to learn at 25. Hoping to make it on a league by next fall, but that will take some serious ice time.

I also am moving below the infamous Paul Twist in Rochester. Maybe I can teach him a thing or two about hitting bottom while I am there. I am looking forward to it. I move in on Tuesday, and Meaghan took a job out in Utica and moves then as well. It will be nice having her closer, as well as 30 miles from the Bottom Moose takeout.

I hope everyone had a great holiday season. Hopefully these things will become more frequent with a computer that runs and an internet connection at home.

Peace.

Hey there stranger, it's been a while...

It has been the better part of a month since I have updated the minions with my travels. It's been a lot of hunting. I actually skipped Moose fest for the first time ever to stay at the camp in Canadagiua to bow hunt, to no success. I have seen 3 different bucks down there since the bow season has opened, so it is not like I'm not seeing deer, or not having fun when I go out. I just have yet to connect. But the season is early and I am optimistic. Anyone with a real knowledge of the NY hunting seasons, might be surprised to see me posting at 10 AM on the opening day of Northern Zone rifle. Well let me tell you, I was up at 5:30 AM this morning to go out, turned on the back porch lights and it looked like I was in the middle of a damn hurricane. Easy decision to crawl back into bed with Meaghan. Plus it's a nice opportunity to grab her ass without getting slapped.

Work is good, and we have started to slow down from the craziness. I hope to get back in the boat soon, maybe this weekend. I feel like Kurt....

Well I think I am going to take a drive this afternoon, see if there are any deer still daring enough to be standing in the fields. Wish me luck...

Cheers!

Happy ROctober!!!

Well it has been a busy couple of weeks for me. September 27th was opening day of Northern Archery hunting. Saw a bunch of deer but couldn't get one close enough. So far I have three days on stand with nothing to show for but I have a feeling the pre-rut is kicking in and the deer are becoming more active throughout the day which should afford some opportunites.

Sunday Jim, Ron and I as well as the Placid/Watertown/Hudson crew were on the Bottom Moose for the first of the scheduled fall releases. The level was around 4', but all 4' was going down the bottom 4, as the power station is down right now. This made for a pretty juicy run. The lines at powerline and Crystal were really fun, and really pushy.

Wednesday I am having wisdom teeth pulled, so this coming weekend is questionable for boating, but definately game to go chase some game. We'll see what happens.

Sabres are 0-1, Bills lost to Miami yesterday but hey the Yanks are waiting to see who they will be playing in the ALDS so it looks like I will be keeping the sweaters and Bills jerseys in the closet for now and sticking with the pin stripes for at least a week or so....

LaFlair

MMM...More Beaver!

So yesterday I met Paul and his class down at Taylorville section of the Beaver. I got a quick solo lap in before the van showed up, then I guess you could say about 5 more laps in, as we ended up running most of the rapids at least that many times. He had kids that had never been on that river, or even in a creek boat before, but it was fun to see them pushing themselves. From there we went over to Eagle. Again this weekend we had a bit of a crowd, so I banged out 5 quick laps for them before heading home. I hate that place when it rains, because it takes you about 3 times as long to walk back up. Still had a lot of fun, even though the weather sucked.

LaFlair

It's Labor Day, where's your BEAVER at?

Styling the Tubs

We had an awesome Labor Day weekend last weekend. The typical shit show of people who have no business running the Raquette, and the typical people trying their first continuous rapid on Mosher Falls. Always makes for a good time. Saturday I ran the Raquette with a big group of good boaters. Got 4 laps in which is a good start to the weekend. Sunday it was down to Mosher. 2 laps on the river, and 13 on Mosher Falls left me pretty tired Sunday night. Monday after everyone but Uncle Reliable (Jim) pussed out on the Raquette, we pounded out 2 good laps before we called it quits.

My one Freewheel of the year!

Some dummy running Colton Falls on his head.....yes I believe he swam.

If you don't go down to Mosher and Beaver Weekend, you must be a ritard.

Catch-up

It has been a while since I have had time to throw an update up so let me give you the abridged version.

Saw Billy Talent, Kill Switch Engage, Rancid and Rise Against with Paul & Danny in Hamburg. Great show, friggin stood about 6 feet from the stage for Rise Against. It was awesome.

That weekend, Matt and I ran the Black on Sunday. What a shitshow. Water came up alot and rafts were over everywhere in knife's edge. There were about 7 people that swam Mary's Hole. Needless to say, that was also an awesome trip.

Last Thursday thru Monday I spent at Wakins Glen International. Out of control parties. Bad weather on Sunday forced the race to run Monday, which led to the big mess of drinking and debauchery. Then my driver Tony Stewart whipped ass on Monday and took home the trophy. Definitely a good time.

This week I put a couple hundred miles on the Harley (some with Uncle Jim), and started some scouting for deer season. Today it was back up to Potsdam for some QT with the little lady, and a much needed laundry break. Not sure about tomorrow.

Tuesday night it's off to Bristol, TN for the Sharpie 500. I can't wait!

Cheers,

LaFlair

Medina Falls - Ouch!!!

So we (Jim and I, who else) went out to fire up Medina Falls on Thursday. Medina falls is about a 30 foot waterfall, right in the village of Medina, and the water actually runs right under the Erie Canal. It is pretty cool to see, and even cooler to drop. Since a bunch of the team SPEDers have run this before, I wasn't really that nervous.

My first line was great. I put a little stomp action to it, and other than flipping at the bottom because I was tucked up a bit too tight, was about as good as I could have asked for. I should have just packed it in and went home. But of course I had to try and one up myself.

On the second run, I tried to get to the meat more, and plug it a little better to soften the blow. Just like a Saturday night, I out did myself a little too much. I stuck the line, and plugged the beef. In doing so, I slammed the bottom of the river, denting the front of the Magnum, rolling my ankle, and tweaking my back. Initially my back had me pretty concerned. I re-surfaced with my skirt imploded (implosion bar inside the boat) and a bit worried. It felt like someone had punched me in the back, as I was out of air, and hurting. But after I got to shore, and got out of the boat, I think it was just more shock than anything. Over the course of the next few days, the ankle gave me more pain than my back has yet, though both are still pretty sore.

Yesterday I drove over to Stone Valley with my new ankle brace hoping to get a lap or two in with someone. I was the only one to sign the book, which was disappointing to say the least. Why the hell does AW and local paddlers fight for releases if we aren't going to use them!!! People need to get off their lazy asses and get out to these releases.

Today, Jim and I ran the Black. Hole Brothers was shitty, but Jim was nailing some big stuff and I was paddling like crap. We both had some pretty good lines down river but I think Jim was showing everyone up. We got to watch some good raft carnage at Cruncher. Nice weather and just a great day to be on the river.

Probably headed to the lock a few times this week, but headed to see Rise Against again on Thursday. I can't wait!

"Save us from what we have become tonight.

Eyes glazed with distrust, no sense of wrong or right.' - Rise Against, Chamber the Cartridge

LaFlair

Black River Fest

So since running Rainbow Falls two weeks ago, paddling has been limited to Lock 32 about 5 times. But this weekend was the Black River Fest...

We had a great weekend. Saturday morning we had a "fun run" down the gorge, got to watch some nice carnage at Glen Park, Cruncher and Poop Chute. The best had to be Poop Chute, where a group of like 5 had 4 of 5 had people get shit shot. I saw a guy get back endered so hard, his boat came right out of the water and back into the hole. It was amusing to say the least. One of the guys swam, and as usual we got stuck picking up the pieces. Jim took a little digger during the ordeal, which added a quick trip to urgent care for a few stitches and some antibiotics to his day. Saturday evening was the Lozer Cup race from Glen Park to Poop Chute. SPED held up well, as Matt was like 10th, Jim was 9th, I was 6th and Danny was 2nd. There were nice "I try my hardest" ribbons, and nasty whiskey shots for the winners. The finish at poop chute was priceless. Jim and I put ourselves in harms way to save the lives of others who were getting worked in the hole. Matt decided to be a hero and take the only SPED swim out of the hole, tho we had 2 other racers swim as well.

Saturday night's party was definitely as advertised. Golf Pro's and Tennis Ho's was the theme, and a Talking Heads cover band put on a great show. Plus they had the new Demshitz video playing on "the big screen", and about 4 kegs of beer. Yea, we tied a few on....

Today we spend the day on the river again, doing the hung-over death march paddle. The lines were pretty clean, considering the brain cells we killed last night. I ran Poop Chute today twice without getting my face wet, which had to be my personal highlight of the day. Either that or listening to the General yell at the girls in the raft to quit whining and get the raft in Cruncher.

Back to Rochester tomorrow, then hopefully Stone Valley next weekend....but Cheers for now!

Getting it Done on Section III

We'll it's been a long time coming but we finally got back on Section III of the Oswegotchie.  And to be honest, I would have never thought we would have gotten back on it in early July, in 70+ degree temps and sunny.  It was just about the perfect day for kayaking.  And the river did not disappoint. 

The Crew:  Danny Doran, Paul Sally McNancypants Twist, Captain Jim, A Cookie, Kurt (yes Kurt), Dave Fulle, myself and Ron Iforgotmyskirtandhadtohikeinandwatchfromshore Turney.

The day started right off with a bang, with the 4th of 7 in the group paddling ran the first drop.  Dave got a little left of "where he wanted to be" and got a nice piece of the meat.  Now, I have heard of people still pulling a nasty boof over there, but Dave didn't get so lucky.  He did though do a great job of staying upright long enough to get him the rope.  We unfortunately could not get it before it went around the corner and through the second drop.  By the time Danny and Paul got to it, it was about 6" shorter in the front.  Hopefully Ron will send me the pics soon so I can add them.

No one drowned at the second rapid, so I must say it was run much better than our previous decent.  Sally picked up his nipples that were tore off the first time as well, which was nice.

OK so after some of the less eventful rapids, then about an hour of scouting, Danny, Andy and I fired up the "Drop above Rainbow Falls" which in difficulty was easy, but in thrill was awesome.  After all, if you miss the big easy ferry, you have the big scary right below.  

Unless you are Danny and I.

I needed to let Danny show me the line, which he did and then some.  The kid laid the smack down on the big dog.  He did such a nice job, that he solidified the line that I wanted to take.  I cleaned up myself, styling the big line.  Unfortunately my skirt did not fair so well.  I came up from the depths upright, with my skirt in my lap, and a wet ass.  I paddled it out through the first part of the run out, but with more rapids to come, and the boat full, I decided to abandon ship.  I really was just afraid of getting pinned in the boat.  It was a great line, and I don't know if I could have hit it much better (I mean ME, I don't think I could have hit it better).  I was stoked and still am.

So stoked I decided not to paddle through the rapids after.  You may know, the ones with the holes that are pretty stomping but if you just paddle you should be fine.  Yea that is my signature move is to get through the crux of the river, and then  let down.  Lucky I didn't swim on this occasion, just took a nice surf.

It was a freakin' great day and I still can't believe we went creeking in the Adirondaks in July!

Cheers!

LaFlair

PS:  Photos/video to come soon (hint hint Ron & Danny).

Jim's Black Trip

Well last Sunday I had to lead Jim's annual Black trip for him.  He hurt his eye the week before and had to take a week or so off paddling.  We had a huge group, including Paul, Danny, the Kids as well as some first timers to the gorge.  I think 17 in all.  It was a good run.  One minor issue at Knife's Edge involving a cut eye brow and a missing finger nail.  I think everyone had a pretty good time.  It was about 80 and sunny so I don't see how anyone could not.

On Tuesday, a crew of us saw Dropkick Murphy's and The Offspring in Canadagiua.  Dropkick was sick, and The Offspring was pretty good too.  Just a really fun show.

Hope you all enjoy your holiday weekend.

Cheers!

Rise Against

We went to go see Rise Against at the Ottawa Civic Centre on Friday night.  They put on a great show.  Probably the most intense show I have been to yet.  Any you have to love spending time in the great country of Canada.  I hear I am pretty big news up there....

As for boating, well I have been to, um, the lock.  Yeah it's about time I get on the "Black trip every weekend" schedule.  Looks like next weekend will be the start of it.  But I did pick up a used Astro 58 which is pretty sweet.  Fits me alot better, and is way more comfortable.

Not much to write home about, so Cheers for now.

The Lumber Yard....

....Is where I would be working if I was a young caddy at Bushwoods. Yeah so I was a wuss and went golfing for 4 straight days and skipped out on some boating. But I did get to play at some of the Greater Rochester area's finest courses. Thursday it was tough to say how I really played, since I was in a scramble. Friday I played like Tiger and Saturday & Sunday I played like Smeils. Thank god Billy Baru was working for me.

Just been hanging out at the camp in Rushville, working in Rochester. Got out to the Lock twice so far, and headed back tomorrow night.

Just layin low and keepin it real in the 585...

LaFlair

Another Day on the Bottom Moose

After another uneventful (but short!) work week, I spent Sunday on the Bottom Moose with Ron, Dave Fulle, Uncle James and a few others.  The top four were pretty high (4.4 ish).  Plugged the line at Fowlersville, it was pretty nasty.  The line at double drop was thin at best and was giving me some trouble but was pretty fun.  Jim and I ran the left side at Shurform, and then Alpined it at Crystal.  While our first runs were fine, we decided to take a race lap on the bottom 4 after.  It seems like when I am pumping through rapids that I boat a whole lot better.  Friggin smoked the lines on the second lap.  Jimmy had the line of the day at Crystal, did he even get his face wet?

We'll tomorrow I start my new life (at least for the next 18 months) as somewhat of a Rochester boater.  I think the first thing i am going to do is buy a seasons pass to the lock 32 ww park...

Cheers minions...

Memorial Day Weekend

No Southern Trip again for me this year. Although I thought this year I was going, it has been pretty hard working out of town to get away on the weekends. But I still had a great Memorial Day Weekend. Saturday I spent most of the day just resting up. I spend about $200 at the Harley dealership getting some new stuff for the bike, and watched some movies and got caught up on some stuff around the house.

Sunday it was back to business. I meet up with Jim, Eric and some others for a run down the Moose. Nice level (about 3.5). I had a really nice boof at Knife's Edge, and ran the Alpine at Crystal, which seems to be wood free again. Then Jim and I did what we said we were going to do for a while and got a 2nd lap in. It is a really fun river to bomb. I ran the left side at Shurform for the 2nd time, with better results than the first, but still not great. The weather cleared out and it made for a great day of paddling.

Monday Meaghan and I decided to do some hiking. We left the Garden at about 11:30 and headed up the South Side Trail, which closely follows John's Brook. It was alot of fun seeing John's for the first time since we ran it this spring. Some of the rapids I remembered, which was pretty cool seeing them with no water. Check out the pictures below. We got some great shots of Energizer with no water in it, which actually looks better than it does with water. We made it up to the Caretaker's Cabin around 1:30, and decided to head up Marcy. It was a great day for hiking, temps in the mid 60s and NO BUGS!!!! The top of Marcy was awesome. I have to be one of the luckiest people in the world, because I was the only one at the top of Marcy when I got there on Memorial Day. It was completely silent. A really peacefull moment.

Meaghan made it to Energizer!

Lead in to Energizer....

It keeps going, and going, and going.....

Just a random rapid (but a nice one!)

On the way back down, it was getting dark pretty fast and we didn't get a chance to take a look at Bushnell Falls. That will be the next scouting mission, as I hear it is fairly runable. It looks like there is a shit ton of wood between there and the normal put in.

John's Brook "River Valley" from the top of Mt. Marcy.

It was an awesome weekend. I can't wait to get back on John's Brook. I emptied a water bottle and filled it up with some water from the put in, cause I hear it cures herpies!!! (yea I got some for you Jim!!!)

Cheers!

Mill Creek

Last Sunday after I worked all day Saturday while it poured out, we got up to Lowville to hit up Mill Creek.  It was scheduled to be Uncle Jim's Moose Trip but with the level hovering at around 8.5 ft, we had to look for other options.  Mill was pretty low, but still really fun.  Jim, Drew, Adiran and I all agreed that we need to get up there with more water.  Still to get on a creek that is typically run off only in the middle of May was pretty sweet.  To top it all off, I smoked the line in the rapid under the 12 bridge.  I have to say that line is one of my favorite little rapids in that area.  You start by punching a juicy little hole at the top with just the right amount of speed as to not to get into the far wall, but enough to get through it without being pushed all the way right by the hole.  Quickly, you set up for a small little slot, that you take just a bit of left angle through and then take a few quick strokes and smash a boof stroke just off the left wall.  If you hit the boof just right, you will be out onto the pillow enough as to not land in the 2" of water on the slab rock at the bottom.  Then just hold on through the slide at the bottom, and catch an eddy.  It's awesome.

Outside of that I haven't really been doing a whole hell of a lot besides working.  I am right in the middle of finishing one project while getting another one started.  I spent the entire day yesterday just running around the site cleaning up after lazy ass contractors, and making sure that the place was presentable for the first day on Tuesday.  That will be interesting.  I have 14 bankers showing up expecting to be able to do banking stuff essentially in an active construction site......sweet.

I found out last week that my next job will be in Fairport (just outside of Rochester, NY).  One one hand it sucks because now I will be a "Rochester Boater", and will be forced to join the few sorry souls that drive at least 3 hours to get on anything of any quality.  The flip side is that I should get really good at doing stupid playboating shit as the lock is like 10 minutes away.  And I will be about 4 hours closer to WV......

Keeping it real in the 315

LaFlair

Turkey Season

We'll it has been a few weeks since I have been in my boat, hence no recent posts. But since I have turned this into my life blog, and not just kayaking I figured I would brag about finally getting a turkey. Last year I called a bunch in and had friends shoot them, but I had to listen to a bunch of shit for not getting one myself. Not this year. I got a nice jake on opening morning to be sure that I didn't get skunked. Now it's time to get one with the Mathews. I went out and bought a mobile ground blind to hunt out of. Hopefully next weekend I can get out on Sunday and whack one.

LaFlair

The Hip-Hop Easter Paddle

Happy Easter! Yesterday Ron, Jim and I got up to the South Grasse again. What a difference a week makes. Last Sunday we ran it when the water was over the top of the heart at the take-out rapid. This week it was just up onto the heart, which is a not bad low flow run. A little bit easier to clean up some of the lines. It was a really great day, especially since we ran Bashford (aka 13.9% - yesterday) twice. Sla was supposed to come with us today but I think dance class is starting to wear on him. After calling me about 4 times this week about going boating, he wusses out when I tell him the only thing worth running yesterday was the Grasse. Sissy.

LaFlair

Living the Dream...John's Brook

To quote a great friend who thinks he was quoting Willie Kern..."Nothing has changed, yet nothing will ever be the same again"

Saturday night was the most exhausted I have ever been. Jim, Meaghan and I were sitting in the apartment and I had to pinch myself to make sure I hadn't just dreamt up what had happened that day. We finally got on John's Brook...

For those of you who don't know, John's Brook (at least to this writer) is the "hallowed ground" for difficult, continuous, North East Class V creeking. When I first started kayaking and heard that people ran this river (which I had hiked in and around before while doing the 46 high peaks) at first I didn't believe it. Once I got more into kayaking, I would think "Those guys must be nuts". Still the more I progressed as a boater, the more I thought "We gotta f#&kin' go!!!!" The past few years, we had talked about it, unsure if we were even up to the challenge. But Saturday we got our chance...

OK enough with the bla bla bullshit about how I have thought this river was king shit for a while, I know you want to hear how it was. Hands down the most difficult river I have ever run in my life, and also the most fun!

The Tale:

So I'm coming down the hill into Keene Valley when I get this text from Jim: "You almost here yet?" Mind you this is at 10:03, 3 minutes after I am supposed to meet him so I know something is up. The night before and the whole ride over I had no inclination of running John's. Hitting the levels right is such a crap shoot. As I am coming down the road and can see the bridge, there is Jim in the middle of the road bouncing....we're in business. No sooner do I pull in, but so do 4 dudes from Vermont who have run it before...now we have guides. (This is the excerpt where I have to thank them for leading us down. I hope the river karma pays you back 10 fold for it, because it is probably the worst river I can think of to lead a group of 6 down, much less 2 sketched out newbies). They tell us the level is "a juicy medium". After the short 4 mile hike up and in (sarcasm), we get to the put in, tired and pretty nervous. I remember the first 1/2 mile being gripped for class IV slides, but come on we are 5 miles up on JOHN'S! The next 1.5 miles is more slides and bolder gardens, ending in a rapid called "Energizer", which we walked. Thin line, but looked really fun. When we put back on from the portage there, it was nothing but full out class V moves to the bottom. I think I pinned/broached about 5 times total, but never swam or got out of the boat (other than when I pulled into a micro-eddy that was not wide enough to turn around in). I have to say I am pretty proud of the above statement. Jim did better, and should be damn proud too. Do yourself a favor and read a write-up on AW or NPMB about this run. Many do not end up as well as ours did. That being said, we did not run every rapid, nor every rapid those in our party did. But that is part of trying to stay smart on a river that you are a little unsure if it is slightly over your head or not. Plus now we have a reason to go back.

About mile 4 and I am really starting to feel it. Every muscle in my body hurts, but mentally you are still just in that state where it is like: "Read, react, make the move, read, react, boof, breath, punch, draw, read, paddle, eddy, huge smile to your friends, ferry, read..." By the time we got off, the river had dropped significantly, which is common for this run. The last mile would have been sick with more water, lots of fun boof if you still have anything left for them. Truth be told, I don't know if I have been as happy to have run a river, yet as happy to be done as I was Saturday. It was a truly unforgettable experience, and I would recommend that should you ever be faced with having to drive to Keene Valley from Rochester at 5AM, or wherever on a little faith, you do it. When you get on, it is so good (that's what she said).

Then to top off the weekend, Jim and I got on the South Grasse Sunday, the highest I have ran it. Level was just over the heart on the rock at the take-out. Bashford Falls (aka 31.092% chance of boofing) was the best I have ever seen it. We both killed the boof off the end, and then punched a big beefeating hole at the bottom. It was awesome.

So, 3 NE/NY classics in 9 days....wtf we gonna do next weekend???

LaFlair

Vermont is the Shit

Just got back to my appartment in C Square from the best weekend in Vermont. If you haven't been to Vermont boating, I suggest you go immediately (the water should still be up tomorrow!!!) Jim and I took a chance on levels and headed out Friday night. We drove in to Bennington, ate some pub grub and hit up a little roadside motel. The next morning we headed up to meet Jeff Sharp. Jeff was a great guide all weekend. We owe alot of our success this weekend to Jeff....thanks a lot man (if you ever read this...).

Anyways we meet up with him at the Clarindon Gorge section of the Mill River. There are two distinct gorges on this run, with some really good IV ish stuff in them (and one nasty V+ that we didn't touch, but did run the V portage/seal launch....another time...) It is a beautiful gorge, and I guess holds water really well. I would strongly recommend this run if you are in the area.

We got off and decided that we would try to get a run on the Big Branch, which is a classic VT run. We had to hike up the 1.5 miles to the put in, and although we were a sweaty mess at the top, it was totally worth it. Oh, did I mention on Saturday, March 28, 2009 when we ran this shit it was like 70+ degrees!!!! Anyways the Big Branch definately lives up to the hype. There must be like a thousand boofs on this 2? mile stretch of bolder gardens. When we put on, the level was right at the first line on the gauge rock. This river seems to respond well to snow melt, because by the time we got off it was up to the second mark. Of the big rapids on the run, we ran Cave Drop, and walked Mushroom and BLT. Jim and I both plan on getting back up to run Boof Left Twice, because it looks sick and mildly runable, but we just weren't ready to run it that low. I think with a little more flow it would make the rapid more of a go.

After some fine $2 margarettas Saturday night, and a bunch of rain, we headed down to the West Branch of the Deerfield. I really didn't know what to expect from this run, as I hadn't heard much about it, but it definately is awesome. It is a lot of flow on a tight river, which makes for some pretty defined, yet padded rapids. Lots of boofs and big holes to be reconed with. We walked around Tunnel Vision but everything else, we styled. I don't think I could have paddled any better today, which made for a great end to a great weekend. I have to say that the only disapointments to the weekend were that not only did Andy not come with us, but they had a bummer day in NY, and that we didn't get to see a moose....

Who the hell cares, I can go to the zoo and see a moose! Vermont definately is a creeking paradise. I will be back.

Cheers....and thanks again Jeff & Jim for an awesome weekend.

Train Wreck....

I can't remember the last time I rolled 3 times in one day on a pool drop run.  But I managed it today on the South Grasse.  Although I did have great lines at Iron Bridge and the next one...what ever it's called but the one with the tough to catch boof in the middle.  But I flipped on the eddy line right after a great line down Adrenaline, the second time down Twin (at the bottom) and on the last rapid of course.  It was pretty disappointing but I still had a lot of fun.

Big kudos to Uncle Jim for taking the bull by the horns on Iron Bridge.  He knew his line was going south, so he put his head down and paddled like a man (for once) and punch the meat of the hole at the bottom like it was his bitch....way to go man!

Cheers

It snowed....wtf....

So after two weeks of awesome weather, I came to the realization this morning that it is only the middle of March.  It looks like we have about 2" of fresh snow out there.  Yesterday I spent most of the day at Northwoods Outfitters in Potsdam getting set up with a new bow.  It's a great bow and they gave me a pretty good deal on the package.  I'm really excited to get out and stick some deer with it.

Anyways, I got up this morning a little early to get some laundry done before I meet Jim and Ron to go and check out the Oswegatchie/Grasse/whatevers ice free, and I just happened to look out the window at the pile of shit mother nature left for us overnight.  Just great.  I'm still pretty excited though, if we go it will most likely be on Section III of the Middle Branch of the Oswegatchie.  I have only run this section once, but other than the near death of Paul Twist, it was a pretty sick run.  There is some really big stuff on this one.  I have a real case of that nervous yet excited feeling in the pit of your stomach.  And now that it appears that there will be snow in there, it will be looking more and more appealing to just run the big dog on this one rather than rope our boats and ourselves down into the gorge.

Cheers!

ICE = ICS

Got home on Friday from a long week on the road.  Nothing exciting to report on that.  Yesterday I got up and started the tour of  Northern NY to see where the ice was out.  I headed over to the South Grasse, which appears to be about a week of nice weather away from being ice free and open for business.  Then I went down to the Middle Branch of the Oswegatchie, which was in a similar state.  However, I did find the gate on the other side of Bryant's Bridge to be open, which is promising for a chance to get on Section III this spring without having to hike in.  It looks like they are doing some logging up in there so we will see how long it lasts.  Then I went down to Lowville and meet up with Sally, Ron and Jim.  Mill Creek was ice free, and also water free.  The good news is there is still a lot of snow to be melted in that area, so it may run again.  They we went over to the Independence, which still had just enough ice on "Elbow Breaker" to look kinda sketchy.  Also, the level was only about 300, so the whole run wasn't a good option.  So, the creek boat stayed dry, and we went to Inner City.  Wave was pretty trashy yesterday.  I took about 4 rides and then decided it would be more fun to sit on shore and drink Labbatt's Ice in honor of all the GD ice that kept me out of my creek boat yesterday.  

Today is supposed to be much warmer, high fourtees.  That just means that shit is going to run again on Monday/Tuesday when I am at work.  Frustrating.

LaFlair

Spring Ride

Meaghan and I went up to Whiteface yesterday to enjoy a little 40+ degree riding.  Most everything still had pretty good coverage, and it didn't get real choppy until after lunch.  They have lost a lot of snow.  I am wondering just how good of a run off we are going to have this spring, as a lot of the snow is gone, yet everything is still really iced up.  I wasn't the only kayaker up there enjoying the snow while it lasted.  We ran into Matt Young, fresh off his trip in the Grand Canyon.

On another note, it looks like I may be headed South with FLOW on their annual Southern Trip.  Jim has promised to take me to my two favorite watering holes in WV, so I guess I'm in.  I have a few things to get done today, and watch the race then it's back down to Syracuse for the week.

Uncle Teddy

I just got home from Syracuse, and finished watching "Sprit of the Wild", which is a hunting show featuring Ted Nugent.  I love that show.  Although some times he sounds like a complete idiot with his patriotism comments, but the guy friggin loves to hunt.  I am going to make my own show about hunting/kayaking/etc that is going to be called "Not the Couch".  It would be great.  It would be the gayest show ever but it would be funny....

That is all, minions.

LaFlair

Back Home

What a great trip.  Thursday we drove down to WV in the snow, and didn't get to boat but did do a little boozin.  Friday was way too cold in WV to boat, so we waited till Matty got out of class and then headed to Knoxville.  After a pretty interesting night, we got up in the morning and headed to the Little.  Its a pretty quick run in the Great Smokeys, but starts off with a really fun drop and stays pretty good all the way down the run.  The best part is the water quality.  Crystal clear.  You could see to the bottom of these deep pools.  Really cool.

From there we headed over to the Cheoah, in NC.  This is the part where I have to take time to thank American Whitewater.  Without knowing all the facts (which I now plan to research), I was told that the river was de-watered for like 50 years before AW got scheduled releases for us on the river.  It is a really fun section of continuous class IV, about 9 miles long, with the last two being by far the best.  It is a pretty pushy/creeky run, with some pretty nice holes and a few really fun boofs.  We also were able to get a lower water run on it the following day, on the lower 2 miles, which was really fun.  We then headed over to Natalahla (SP?) Outdoor Center, so I could pick up another boat (new Magnum of course), up to Ashville Pizza & Brewing which I would highly recommend if you love micro-brews and good pie.

Monday we headed back up to WV and got on the Middle Fork, into the Tygart.  It was a good run because it was short enough and easy enough to deal with the 20 degree weather, and winds.  As soon as I get the pictures of all the ice on us, I will post them up.

It was a great trip, as always is with friends like mine.  I can't wait to get back in my boat.

LaFlair

Excitement

The Daytona 500 Sunday had very little, but this guy is right now!!!  Leaving tomorrow night to start the trip South.  And I had a good day at work today for once so now it is going to be an even better trip.  Just have to pray that the people at the green give us some water for the weekend.  

The car is packed, just have to load boats in the morning, kiss the GF goodbye, struggle through one more day at work and we are off.  I can't wait.  I feel like a kid on Christmas Eve.

LaFlair

Monkies Throw Poo

It's official, we are going to the infamous green river narrows.  Jim and I are leaving from Rochester on Thursday.  We are planning on running Medina Falls or something in the "greater Rochester area" and then heading South.  We are going to meet up with Andy, Ron? and Matt in Mo-town and paddle some where in West Va. on Friday while Matty does the right thing and goes to class.  From there it is straight to the Green for two days (plus?).  I have to say, although I am really excited I am also pretty nervous.  No matter how many videos I watch of the idiots that run that, I still cant get rid of the chills that go down my spine when I read the description on AW.  But I am really excited....  I haven't been in my boat in over a month.  So flippin pumped.

LaFlair

Good to be home...

Got back in Potsdam last night, and went to town for a little night life.  We were supposed to go to Whiteface today but someone (not me) got a little too wasted last night so instead I am lounging today and riding tomorrow.  We'll see how that plays out.  

So I am trying to set up a trip South, and what a clusterf*%k that is.  Team Special Ed needs a trip coordinator, with everyone's schedules so I can figure this shit out.  Paul is going out West, so his schedule with preparing for that is tough, Andy has classes to teach, Jim and I have work to schedule around and Matty Matt has friggin classes.  Our big ambition is the Green, and everyone says they want to spank the monkey but we'll see who really has gorilla nuts when we get down there and look at that thing.  Anyways, trips South are always a lot of fun, so I am really looking forward to it.  Should have my new Green Jacket (Astral) by then too, which will be pretty sweet.

We'll time to send out a mass e-mail to the few people who might actually read this anyways to get this trip figured out.  Guys, get back to me with this stuff ASAP!!!!!

LaFlair

Syracuse

I have been down here all week. Nothing exciting to report. Just working on a pay check. Headed back up tomorrow afternoon to Ptown. I can't wait. Looks like we may head up to Whiteface this weekend. Weather forcast has to improve, they are calling for some rain. Whats up with that?

LaFlair

Whiteface

What a great weekend.  Two great days at Whiteface.  Saturday was colder, but nicer out.  The snow was great in the morning, but things got skied off in the afternoon.  Today it was windy and the top was in the clouds but it was warmer, and the snow stayed nice all day.  We spent a ton of time in the glades, which I love.  We also hit up the new runs on Lookout, which are awesome.  Just a great time, but now I gotta get ready for the superbowl...

Cheers!

Quite Day

Not a lot going on.  Wasn't too crazy at the Jail today.  Got caught up on a few things, and got a few more scheduled for next week.  I got to leave a little early, which was nice because I wanted to get a few things from the store before the big ski/board weekend up here.  I am headed to Syracuse for the remainder of the work week, which should go pretty well.  Gayness.  I should just quit and be a raft/ski bum in Colorado or something.  

On a side note, I am watching MTV2 right now, and I thought MTV had given up on music videos.  This reminds me of the good ole days.  I thought that was the point of the second station but I never see them anymore.  Amazing.

LAFLIZZLE

Frost Bite

I think I may have gotten frost bite on my nose.  It feels weird, and tingly.  When I was at Titus this weekend, I had no face mask and my nose definitely went numb.  Oh well, it didn't turn black and fall off so I will  live.  But I will have a mask or something before this weekend.  I am really excited.  The weather is looking pretty good, and we are getting fresh snow tonight and tomorrow.  I just hope Nicky can keep up....

Cheers!

Cutting the Ribbon

Well we had the official ribbon cutting ceremony today at the Jail.  It was nice.  Even though I am still not finished with the project.

Finally got out riding on Saturday.  Hit up Titus for about 4 hours, but it was too damn cold to stay.  5 below when I left.  Frigid.  Nick and Jim are coming up this weekend to go to Whiteface, so hopefully the weather will warm up.  17 below when I went to work this morning.

Well I am headed to dinner with the Jail team.  

Cheers!

Work Work Work

Same old story.  Working my tail off.  And nothing exciting to report.  Its getting pretty draining.

Cheers.

The Grind

Its starting to get to me. I havent been in my boat in like a month. Work is crazy, and getting worse. Not only am I busy, but the stress of travel, multiple jobs, and "personalities" is getting annoying. I got the itch (not that itch). I'm really hoping to get out and do some snowboarding this weekend. That should help. But for now I am going to finish watching the 'Cuse get whipped by Pitt...

Beers!

30 Below

That was the temperature on my way to work yesterday.  Bone chilling cold.  The good thing about it is that it has kept the lake effect machine going, which hopefully will make for a great spring.  With the cold temps, the last few days have been pretty uneventful.  Work is getting ridiculous again.  As the stress levels go up, I feel a trip South is closer and closer.  It also sucks that I haven't been snowboarding yet.  I may try to sneak down to Lab next week one night after work.

Right now I'm laying on the couch watching Syracuse up on Notre Dame just before half time.  Probably going to get some stuff done around here today, and have a few beverages tonight.

Cheers

Its GD Cold

...So thank God I'm in Syracuse.  Not much going on but work and weather.  It's been to cold to even hunt, so I have been doing some watch on mahogany ridge.  I can't wait to get home tomorrow night.  It is surprising how fast you get sick of the hotel scene.  Hopefully we will get to hit the slopes as well.

Well, 3rd period is about to start and as usual, the Sabres are down 3-1.

Cheers 

Buler???

Sorry.  I drank alot this weekend.  There is probably only one person truly upset that I missed a few days.  Friday night was a party with the boys of Delta Sig.  About 6 cases of champagne, a bunch of beer, and a trip to the bar later, and needless to say we had a good time.  Saturday should have been a day of rest, but instead we started early and drank most of the day.  Sunday truly was a day of rest.  I had ambitions of hunting or snowboarding.  Instead I slept all day, and then couldn't fall asleep Sunday night.  Perfect....

I had to be up this morning a 5 AM, to have my tail down to Syracuse by 8.  Needless to say it was a long day at work.  After work, I got out coyote hunting for a quick bit.  The only thing accomplished was setting a bait pile, and getting every house dog in Oswego County barking.  No coyotes.  Then I went up to get my 11 pt (rack only) from the taxidermist.  I am having it scored this week, which is exciting.  

Well I'm pretty beat.  Cheers.

Pay Day

Yeah I'm not all about the papers, but Thursdays are nice to check the bank account and see that you have money to eat for another week.  We got dumped on again most of the day, and we have about 14" on the level in Potsdam, which is a good amount for us, this time of year.  Apparently Uncle Jimmy got some new skis, so hopefully he will get his namby pamby butt up here so we can try them out.

I also started reading "Running the Amazon", (the other slips my mind at the moment) which is about the first team to run the Amazon source to sea.  It should be a pretty good read, as there was over 400 miles of whitewater, before they got out their sea kayaks.  I hope so, because I just ordered "Les Misrables" and I want to try and start into that.  I think that will be a challenge, since I have the attention span of a 5 year old, but it is a classic and I really want to give it a shot.  

Cheers.

SNOW!

We are getting hit pretty good.  It snowed last night and continued most of the day today.  It should make for some pretty good riding this weekend.  Too bad I will most likely be too hungover to do anything.  We are going to a "New Years" Party with the children of Clarkson.  It usually involves 30-40 cases of champagne.  But at least we will have more snow to melt!!!

Boring day at work, but i didn't have to yell at anyone which was nice for a change.  I get sick of being a professional jerk.  If I am being a jerk, I want it to be for pleasure...

Cheers!

Monday and Tuesday

Nothing exciting...I worked down in Syracuse those days.  I did get to attend a predator hunting seminar that the fine people at the Gander Mountain in Cicero put on.  Thats about it.  I am glad to be back up north though, where people don't give out parking tickets...yeah I got a parking ticket today at work lame.  That $20 could have been much more useful over a bar somewhere.

Gotta spend some QT with the GF....bow chica wah wow!  

Cheers!

New Gadget

Also, I hope you will enjoy the new gadget I just added....I know I will

Sunday

First of all, how about 'dem Sabres yesterday?!?!

Spent the day grilling, drinking a few beers and finishing reading "The Road" by Cormac McCarthy.  Same author as "No Country for Old Men".  It was different than the stuff I normally read, which is just the typical outdoors stuff, but a great book nonetheless.  I am headed to Syracuse tomorrow and Tuesday, so I may get a chance to go scout Rattlesnake Gulf, which is down near Lafayette.  

I am looking into doing some back country snowboarding, so if anyone reads this and has some pointers, I would be much obliged.

Cheers,

Malls

Well part of my Christmas present to my lovely girlfriend Meaghan was that I was going to take here shopping.  This may not sound like much to you, but for someone who thinks that shopping malls slowly and painfully destroy the soul.....lets just say I don't care for them much.  So that was my day, although I did manage to pull a "Clark W. Griswold", "...tis the season to be merry."  "Well that's my name."  "No shit!"  Classic.

Well I'm up cooking breakfast now, some dippy eggs of course.

Cheers.

Friday

You got to love Friday.  Put my 8 hours in and then decided to go out coyote hunting.  We got about 4" of fresh powder today, which made it tough.  But just being outside was nice.  I'll get after them again tomorrow.

Cheers

01/01/09

Happy New Year everyone.  

Day one of my quest to post daily, and already nothing to report.  I brought in the new year laying in bed watching those dudes backflip a truck and jump a dirt bike on to the top of the Vegas Arc de Treoph (which if you caught the camera angle looked like he was running a pretty big drop when he jumped back off it).  The high today in Potsdam was about 3 degrees, so I spent the entire day on the couch watching hockey and football and reading.  "At the Mercy of the Mountains" by Peter Bronski if you were wondering...

Hoping to get on the water this weekend, but it may have to warm up to more than three degrees.

Cheers