what did you paddle in 2011?

[Big Mike]

2011 got off to a good start, then in late June I decided to have shoulder surgery to fix an injury from Dec 2010, so I had about a 3 month hiatus from all paddling. Sadly, I didn't get around to taking the canoe out to float fish this year, and no rafting, so all my paddling days on the water this year were in a K1.

2011 Paddling Stats:
64 Days on the river
92 K1 Runs/Laps/Trips/Descents – whatever you want to call them, for 426 miles.
14 PFD’s
22,050 Feet of descent (Kayak411.com helps keep track)
1 Swim
2 broken hulls

2011 PFD’s:
Back Creek-Jackson Tributary, VA
Lower Big Sandy, WV
Cranberry (middle/”upper”), WV
Cranberry (lower), WV
Hardware River – North Fork, VA
Hardware River – South Fork, VA
Little Sandy->Upper Big Sandy, WV
Upper Meadow, WV
Middle Fork ->Tygart, WV
New River (Thurmond to Cunard)
Nolichucky, NC/TN (K1 PFD)
Upper Piney, VA
Top Yough, MD
Tygart (Arden to Big Cove Run), WV (K1 PFD)

2011 List:
1 – Back Creek-Jackson Tributary, VA
2 – Big Sandy, Lower, WV
4 – Cheat Canyon, WV
4 – Cheoah, NC
2 – Cranberry (middle/”upper”), WV
1 – Cranberry (lower), WV
1 – Hardware River – North Fork, VA
1 – Hardware River – South Fork, VA
1 – James River (Balcony Falls), VA
8 – James River (“lower” - through Richmond), VA
2 – James River (“upper” – into Richmond), VA
1 – Little Sandy->Upper Big Sandy, WV
1 – Gauley, Lower, WV
27 – Maury (Goshen Pass), VA
3 – Maury (Rockbridge Baths sect), VA
2 – Meadow, Upper, WV
2 – Middle Fork ->Tygart, WV
2 – Moormans, VA
5 – New River Gorge (Cunard to Fayette Station), WV
2 – New River (Thurmond to Cunard), WV
1 – Nolichucky, NC/TN
3 – Piney, Upper, VA
5 – Savage, MD
1 - Shenandoah, South Fork, VA (SWR Class - Thanks Ken!)
4 – Tye, Upper, VA
1 – Tygart (Arden to Big Cove Run), WV
1 – Yough, Lower, PA
1 – Yough, Top, MD
4 – Yough, Upper, MD

Looking forward to more paddling in 2012! SYOTR

[Alicia]

While my runs are nearly identical to Ken's, I still like to chime in. (BTW, I count days on the water, while he counts runs.) I had 91 days on water - all OC1 except for one OC2 day on the Lower Yough & one SOT-2 seakayaking around a Channel Island off Ventura, CA. I'd really like to OC2 more - it's a lot of fun. I was pleased to have 34 venues, up from 26 last year. I enjoy the variety. Three PFDs: Gandy Ck/WV, Channel Islands/CA, & Gunpowder Falls Ck near Baltimore. Most runs were on Goshen Pass @ 30x (go figure!). Went on 2 WORs - one near Canaan Valley, WV in late April, & another in the Smokies over the 4th. I really love being able to paddle for a week straight. I also took a 2 day swiftwater rescue class (& challenge all of you out there to do the same, please!).

Paddling is truly a way of life for me. I enjoy the sport, the nature, the people. Looking forward to more of all of that in 2012.

[Mike D]

Yo party people, thought I'd throw in my two cents. I left VA just a couple years ago, I've definitely hit some steeper stuff since since then but wanted to give some recognition to some of the folks in this club that really helped me get better when I was starting out, specifically Julie, Dave Kessman, Juggie, Guy, JR, Hazmat, the VCU boys, Thomas (but not for boating, ha ha) and lastly I think the best piece of advice that has helped me over the years was something MichaelME said a lot "always practice the hard moves on the easy water..."

Maine:
West Branch Penobscot, V
Kennebec River - Gorge, IV
Kennebec River - Madison Wave, III
Moxie Stream, V
Sandy Stream, V
Sandy River (Smalls Falls), V
Kenduskeag Stream, IV
Souadabscook Stream, III
Marsh Stream , III
Cascade Brook, V
Chandler Mill Stream, IV
West Branch of Pleasant (Gulf Hagas) V
-Possibly the best creek in New England......Jdub, I'm looking right at you
East Branch of Pleasant, V
Blue Hill (reversing tidal falls), II
Dead River, IV
Mattawamkeag River, IV
Penobscot River, II
Higgins Beach (Surf)
Stillwater River III

Dirty South:
Top Yough (MD)
Upper Yough (MD)
Green River Narrows x5 (NC)
Watauga (NC)
Tygart (Valley Falls) (WV)
Chatooga Sect 4 (GA)
US National Whitewater Center (NC)

-Well over a hundred days on the river, about a fourth of it squirtboating. Anybody wanna come boatin in Maine??? (Jdub, i'm still looking right at you)

Mike D