End of Days (Paddling Part 3)

... hope not, but for now the current (and only) company, 'PolyOne', that produces the composite material 'Royalex' (an 'ABS' foam/hard plastic laminate with vinyl "skin", all bonded together by heat treatment) will cease production next month (April, 2014)... since the late 1970's (1978 to be exact), this material IS what whitewater canoes (hell, any good canoe) are made of...

... extremely durable material, with a lot of "flex" (for want of a better expression) - you can practically wrap 'em around a rock or a tree and they'll (most of the time) pop back in to shape - was a big deal back in the day, as wrapped and abandoned aluminum canoes (and fiberglass kayaks) were a common site on most whitewater rivers - some were permanent fixtures for several years before washing away (... 'yea - head down river for about another mile and it's just past the black kayak wrapped around the tree on shore to your right!"...) - that's buddy Matt above bustin' 'Double Hydraulic' rapid - paddling an old 'Dagger Impulse'...

... again, somewhere else along the 'Lower Yough'...

... one more time...

... and lastly playin' around in the "surf"...

... the red 'Impulse' (above) was purchased quite a while back along with the (previous) green boat - has seen probably more than a hundred river trips over the years - other than a ton of scrapes and scratches and a few small dents and "dimples", both are still in pretty good shape - still paddle 'em regularly, albeit infrequently, now'days... that's a lot newer 'Mad River Outrage X' below - a slightly softer "chine" (cross-sectional hull geometry) boat than the 'Impulse' and slightly more responsive - great boat as well...

...  watch too many on-line videos of these new guys now'days - they make this sh*t look too easy, and I know better than that - especially that guy 'Tommy Hagg' from eastern PA - tons of good paddlers from this state - gotta see for myself (but ain't gonna' do it in a day, know that as well, too) - so, picked this up just two years ago out of interest - a 'Mohawk Maxim' - man, definitely high performance and a handful to get used to - short at 8'-10" length - combined with the hard chine (almost square) planing hull, this thing will lay on it's side in the water - pretty much how ya' gotta' paddle it...

... same boat - better view of the geometry - so responsive that it is very easy to overpower that thing - usually just need a slight sweep or pry of the paddle blade - definitely makes playboating, and even Class II water interesting - and definitely a "charger" when ya' get it movin' down river - haven't messed with it a whole lot as yet, but considering some negative comments from some experienced (old fart) paddlers after only a "test ride" (... "that boat sucks!!"...) am now more amped than ever to "get it up and running" (wish I had about ten years credit to cash in, however - definitely feel "old and beat up" now'days to 'rassle' with this thing)...

... anyway, considering that all these boats may soon become "obsolete", discovered that these guys, 'Nova Craft Canoe', recently began "re-manufacturing" the old, classic 'Dagger Ocoee'- design boats (pictured) - picked one up for "old time sake" - can't wait to rig it and get it out on the water - three inches narrower than the "original", so will be interested to see how it paddles...

"... man, ceasing production of Royalex is no big deal!... this is America, man!!... someone will come out with something new and ten times better!!!..." - twenty years ago would have totally trusted that comment... ten years ago, OK... currently not so sure... may be wrong...

Seneca Rocks, WV (Rock Climbing Part 6)

... man, used to have a ton of old photos from this place - unfortunately, lost 'em all during a "move" a few moons ago (some women can be brutal) - including some great high-angle photos of 'Frosted Flake' in the batch... Oh Well...

... Seneca Rocks! (literally) - photo from the early 80's - shows the 'Gendarme' formation in the 'Gunsight Notch' (center) - is the small pinnacle - fell down some time in the late '80's after who knows how many eons - I'll bet someone knows now'days - bet he can accurately predict the weather, too ...

... here's a better photo ... us climbing ... 

... next, scampered up the 'Gunsight to South Peak' and to the summit... had some other pics - however  -  "... I took those photos and they're mine!!!"

... "FU then! - Keep 'em!!" (sorry that you folks have to be a part of all this)...

... whew! - glad that's over with!! - anyway, that's the 'South Peak' and the summit - some climbers on top - think that this is the only "peak" east of the Mississippi that requires 'Fifth Class' climbing to ascend - may be wrong...

... climbers on the summit - that's Rob Goodman coiling the rope - not very wide up there - 'BRILLIANT!'....

... that's looking down from the summit into town - the circular structure in the bottom right of the photo is the old 'Visitors Center' - it got wiped out in a major flood sometime in the '80's ...

... as did the old 'Yokums Campground' - here's a view from there, looking at the 'rocks'...

... ya' could camp right along the 'North Fork River' - anywhere further south along 'Roy Gap Road' as well - all party area's 'ta boot - lots of fun...

... some climbing routes...

... Goodman on 'Banana' - got tired of waiting on some climbers ahead forever fumbling on 'Green Wall' this day - old EB's afoot...

... eventually got our turn - Goodman high up - great route!! - 

... Goodman again, 'Finger Stinger', later found out it was R/X rated - lousy pro resulting in some prior ground falls and broken limbs we were told - maybe not - Rob cruised it at the time - pro did look a little sketchy for being 'run out', though, I though at the time...

... 'Lichen or Leave It' - got to the top of this thing this day and am rigging a belay from the tree - late fall season - I hear all this yelling/commotion to my left - Rob hollering from below "What the f*ks goin' on up there?!! - a small girl, maybe ten years old, comes sliding out of control down this narrow leaf-covered notch from the 'North Peak' - she stops inches from hurtling a hundred feet off the edge of the 'cliff' to certain death, dislodging a bowling ball size rock in the process - it's hurtling straight for Rob! - I holler "ROCK!" and am watching from above - Rob tries to run but forgot he was anchored to a tree - he's stopped dead and yanked in reverse - the rock would have hit him point blank if not - next, the girls dad come strolling nonchalantly from the notch - "Hey, how you guy's doin?" he says - HA!...

... here's a shot of the 'East Face' - the rocks are oriented directly north-south, more or less...

... lookin' up - think this is officially called the 'Ecstasy Buttress' (maybe not) down at the south end of the rocks...

... workin' my way up the 'Ecstasy Buttress' on the 'Ecstasy' route to the first belay - 

... same roue, Rob beginning 'Pitch 2'...

... and looking down from the final belay...

... another time, workin' toward the first belay on 'Soler'...

... and Goodman headin' off on 'Pitch 2' of the same...

... there's a lower cliffband located below the main rocks - the 'Lower Slabs' - looked like rain this day, so we headed there - non-committing - this is 'Discrepancy' - not bad - never really did much climbing down there, but a pretty nice area...

... same route, Goodman seconding - looks like he's havin' fun...

... have no recollection what route this is...

... personally have (repeat) climbed sixty routes down there - wouldn't want to even attempt a new route - you would be held up to more scrutiny than if you wanted to add a new verse to the 'Bible' - would want no part of that hassle - too old now, anyway (thank goodness)... thought for a second about any of those we'd recommend, however... all of 'em!...

... was climbing 'Le Gourmet' along with a very young 'buddy Matt' belaying (his first route down there) - forget I'm with a ten year old - very easy climb, so I run across the long ledge instead of bringing him up the (maybe) first twenty feet and continue up the inside corner - near the top of the corner I notice he's played out a ton of rope, so ask for a little tension - he obliges - "clang - ping - clang" - look down - every piece of pro (hexes and maybe a stopper) are zippered and laying in a pile  on the lower ledge, attached to the rope - no big deal and all my fault - was just ready to clip an old, rusted 'fixed pin', anyway - but glad I wasn't on something "gripping"...

... seconded 'Mad Men Only' once (personally considered the hardest route I ever did there) - followed the lead of a friend's from Maryland then eighteen-year old son - he ran up that thing - the kid went on to do a lot of mountaineering in Alaska - retired not too long ago a decorated 'US Navy SEAL' - not bad!...

... thanks again for the desert combat boots, my friend...

Mountain River Angling

... opening day of trout season hereabouts is just a few weeks off - some great trout fishing to be had  along the Yough River - 'best' is anywhere above the 'South Connellsville Dam' and the mountains south - below the dam and to the north the trout gotta' compete more with larger gamefish such as bass, walleye and 'musky' that lurk in the deep holes between Connellsville and McKeesport - a buddy years ago caught a 32 inch 'musky' below the 'West Jaw' trestle using small frogs for bait - returned the next day and caught a 33 inch on the same...

... personally, have always preferred the trout fishing in the mountain areas, though - until they constructed the 'Yough River Bike/Hike Trail (YRT), was a pretty desolate area - particularly the stretch between 'Bruner Run' and the 'South Connellsville Rod & Gun Club' (SCRGC) - for the most part, though, it still is... 

( OT Note: there's a hard boulder problem that goes up the face of the rock in the foreground)

... other than the the 'Bruner Run' takeout or near 'Camp Carmel' (and a few areas which shall remain unknown), there's really no easy access to launch a boat...

... and other than 'Camp Carmel', a bit of whitewater paddling experience is advised - we've salvaged lost gear and tackle from more than one unwary "crew" - and two or three years ago a guy drowned less than several hundred yards into his river "trip" after flipping his 'Dicks Sporting Goods' flat water kayak shortly after launch about a half-mile above 'Bruner Run' - considering the water level as I recall,  > 4ft OPG, he had two sets bordering Class 4 yet to navigate...

... but once through the "rough water", there's probably not a more beautiful or isolated stretch of water around...

... with great trout fishing 'ta boot - that's local guys Jerry Craig and Chuck Ansell pictured - from a fishing/paddling trip a few years back (scanned film prints - explains the slightly grainy and flawed images) - Jerry's workin' one here...

... Chuck with one catch...

... and another - were using 'spinning tackle' and a combination of artificial and live bait as usual - take along at least a 'Rapala Minnow' or 'Daredevil' - live minnows for trout - flip over some rocks and grab a few live 'crayfish' or 'hellgrammites' to catch some big bass (not sayin' where)...

... BRILLIANT!!...

... or break out the fly rod...

... preferred!...

... you can experiment around with 'hatches' - 'Sulfur Mayflies' are big on the 'Yough' Spring thru Fall  (wasn't fishing at the time, but paddled one day thru a hatch so large that it looked like it was snowing in reverse) - but if ya' stick with the 'Streamers', ya' can't go wrong (as long as "they're bitin'") - 'Muddler Minnow' preferred - 'Woolly Bugger' - or any small 'Bead Head Nymph'-type fly (in reality a 'shiner')...

... this guy's havin' too much fun...

... "whippin' 'em out there!"...

... fly fishing pro - 'Sy' Miller...

... gotta' close with this guy - 'MR. RICHTER - ain't wearin' no 'Coon-Skin Cap' or 'Buckskins' - or even carryin' a 'Flintlock Rifle' - but the 'real deal!! - those prior 90+ posts are all filler...

"... Make your life go here, son... here's where the people is... them mountains is for Indians and wild men!"... "Mother Gue" I says, "these here is God's finest sculpturing! And there ain't no laws for the brave ones! And there ain't no asylums for the crazy ones! And there ain't no churches, except for right here! And there ain't no priests excepting the birds!... By God... I are a mountain man!!!..."

- Del Gue (from 'Jeremiah Johnson')

... can't wait to get on the river...

(Sometimes) Good Guys Don't Wear White

...this is good (only about five minutes long) - been around for awhile - but like it so much, that we gotta' sidetrack a bit and post it up... very "philosophical"...

... HA! - ten stars out of five...

... 'Da Bull'!!...

 

... Noll produced a series of surf films back in the sixties titled 'Search for Surf', which were pretty good - we photographed a lot of footage for a similar film series we had planned, titled 'Search for Stone', around 2001 - however, eventually abandoned the idea and never did anything with it...

Lower Yough River (Paddling Part 2)

First ever "real job" was workin' for 'US Steel' back in the mid '70's - at the time the 'Vietnam War' had just ended - just out of High School and was hired along with a whole slew of returning 'vets' - good guys all (for the most part) - however, having been raised by a generation of WWII vets, who literally saw "hell on earth" - and never mentioned it - ever! - was quick to pick up on any bullshit...

... amongst others, crewed with two older guys,  Mike D and Mike S - buddies - mainly kept to themselves - no "war stories" - but you could pick up the "vibes" from these two - both fit as hell - Mike D in particular - short, but built like a fireplug - they had two other badass buddies they spoke of who worked elsewhere that they hung out with every weekend...

... most every Monday morning, they're back at work reelin' from a great weekend ridin' motorcycles or whitewater rafting up at 'Ohiopyle State Park' -  "Bottle of Wine!"... "Rivers End!!"... "Dimple!!!"... Double Hydraulics my baby!!!!" (says they) - "man!... sounds like fun!!... and I live right there!!!" (thinks I)...

... suffice to say, tried to weed my way into that small group, alas, to no avail - those guys are from another universe as far as it concerned a young punk like me...

... so me and my buddy 'Vince' head down to 'Ralph's Army Surplus' (still there) in 'Monroeville PA' - "We'll take that rubber raft ya' got there hangin' from the ceiling!!!!"...

... an old US Army issue canvas/rubber coated (or maybe the opposite - don't remember) raft - two air chambers - brass air valves (stuck shut like being welded when wet) - but tons of fun - all friends included, we each individually probably nearly died at least once in the ensuing years having fun running the 'Lower Yough' at all water levels - didn't post a gauge back then and no internet to check- if the "Danger High Water" sign was stuck in the lawn at the put-in when we got there, we checked to see that everyone at least had a life jacket (eventually you could call the park office to get a river level)...

... so the years kept comin', and now with some 'family' experience 'ta boot  - gotta' upgrade for safety sake...

... so bought this 'Campways Pioneer 13' rubber raft - 850 denier 'Hypalon' fabric as I recall - four chambers (two tubes/two thwarts) - rockered bow and stern - a "real" river raft - 'Campways' was a major manufacturer back in the day - eventually bought out by 'Riken' - just slightly before the day days of "self bailing" (laced) inflatable floors, so ya' had to bail it when swamped.... that's a very young 'buddy Matt' pictured...

... picked it up from 'Blackadar Boating' located in Salmon, Idaho...

... two of the "boys' about to drop into a 'set'...

... nice 'hole' commin' up - finally retired that thing after  nearly twenty years - blew out a section of the glued seam - repaired it - but didn't wish to further trust it "out in the middle of nowhere" - you could long since have rented them, anyway...

... besides, we had long gotten into paddling other "craft" - always preferred open canoes, however - mainly for the joy of paddling those things - also, not as confining as a decked boat... 

... also, never saw any pictures of 'Indians' paddling Kayaks (other than Eskimos) - but maybe not - forgot about this guy - meant ancient 'Indians' - that's 'Rivers End' rapid at a good water level...

... same rapid - back in March of '91 - the rafting companies were out training prospective 'river guides' this day - here's a group sliding off of 'Wall Rock' - that frothy 'pillow' they are hoping to avoid is 'snaggletooth' - pretty nasty at lower levels - we completely ripped the floor out of a buddies rubber boat on that thing once...

... speaking of 'river guides' - this gal was pretty good - never knew her name - would run in to her about every trip - she was very good in that inflatable canoe - and that 'Black Lab' of hers always had a ball riding in the front of the boat...

... here was a real wildman in his "prime" - "fearless" Bill Fiesta - he's probably intentionally swam every rapid on the river - definitely all the big ones - numerous times...

... was always a bit "nerve-wracking" getting him anywhere near 'Dimple Rock' (pictured) - scene of hundreds of flipped boats as well as several drownings - the guided trips would always position a 'river guide' on point on the rock to assist any and all boaters who "screwed up" - Bill always had to hike back up shoreline to begin his long swim just above - was always hilarious to witness the reaction of the "shocked" point guy as Bill was swept into the "torrent" - then slamming and bouncing off the face of the rock and continuing out across the river - more than one looked over at us, witnessing the "spectacle", and shouted "What the f*ks"wrong with that guy!!??" - he was always solid, though - the bigger the water the better for him...

... he could fly, too...

... another good "waterman" - Howie - that's a scratch in the print...

... here he's gettin' ready to execute his patented 'triple lindy'...

... rained "buckets" all day long this day - that's Randy Heinbaugh modeling the latest in 'Hefty-Bag' rainware...

... we also snatched up a "hoard" of lost paddles this day as well - once past the 'Bruner Run Takeout' - end of the trip for the guided tours - they usually littered the river between there and 'C'ville' - think that they charged the "renters" $25 each for losin' those things back then...

... so we "always" returned them...

... anyway, for several years we eventually had wanted to film some 'Lower Yough' paddling - (defined by the way as follows: Upper or "Top-Yough = Friendsville Md. section, Middle Yough = Confluence to Ohiopyle, Lower Yough = Ohiopyle to Camp Carmel/Indian Creek, Bottom Yough = Camp Carmel to Connellsville, Lower Bottom Yough = Connellsville to McKeesport)...

... a project which had literally been on the "drawing board"...

... was primarily "shooting" 16mm motion picture film at the time - very expensive with the processing/timing and all - didn't have the luxury of being able to "let the camera roll" as in video - and no way would have the time to go back and re-do any shots - had to get it right the first time...

... so we drew up a series of 'storyboards' - a few pictured above...

... by the time we got around to the project, however, we were well into shooting video - photographed the whole thing on 'miniDV' digital tape using a 'Canon GL2' digital camera - that's Matt above checking out the 'Equinox' underwater housing for the 'GL2' - we still pretty much stuck to the "script" - and wound up shooting around a 1.5:1 shooting ratio - the same we had budgeted for film photography! - not bad - and that's considering longer "takes" than planned that the video tape afforded us!!...

... here's some "box art" from the finished product - Matt did all the paddling and did a good job - he's an expert boater - didn't turn out too bad - nothing "GNARLY" by todays standards - but definitely some "Soul" - the only thing we would change? > had just purchased some new 'Warner' fiberglass paddles for the "shoot" - had gotten to the put-in at 5am to beat, as well as get well ahead of, the 7am rush of boaters (a solo trip, right?) - had forgot to load the paddles!! - Sh*t!!! - we always carry a spare - aluminum shaft with straight plastic blade -  remembered those - so had to use 'em - another bit of bad luck that turned good - just as we paddled thru 'Railroad Rapid' I popped a thighstrap D-ring on the boat I was paddling - didn't have a repair kit - could have continued - but decided to end the day there - was able to get some decent high-angle footage, however, that we hadn't planned on from atop the nearby YRT trestle as a result - returned the following week to finish...

... years ago the "rafting companies" would take out below the 'B&O Railroad' (now 'Chessie System') trestle, accessed from the old abandoned railroad grade along 'Indian Creek' - until the railroad made them stop for safety issues - here's a shot of that trestle from river level - some pretty good workmanship...

... with 'muscle girl Sarah' for scale...

... here as well, cruising the long journey to the eventual take-out at South Connellsville...