Anyway, lets talk about whitewater. The Canyon as a 13 mile stretch has 3 miles of Class II-III warmup before punching through the Class IV rapid, Gateway, and finding yourself deep inside the canyon. The 10 miles remaining to be conquered are solid Class III-IV sections of whitewater spliced by the infamous Big Falls, which at the current water level is an unbelievable Class VI unrunnable 35 foot drop. While Portaging this rapid we took a break and stood off to the side just to see what this "thing" looked like - it was just jaw-dropping. Super loud, super huge, I think that gave me a new respect for the power of water.
Post-Big Falls is a continuance of the absolute horrorshow, yet super chill, Class IV stretch that we began earlier in the Canyon. Trashcan was somewhat washed out, but made for a pretty beastly corner with some swirly little eddy lines and whatnot that had Maggie making some weird faces again...but really there's nothing new about that. Trashcan then led into Blackadar I & II - a series of two Class IV rapids that are named after an Idahoan doctor who then became a pioneer on the kayaking frontier, actually doing the first decent of the Canyon run we then found ourselves on. This guy sounded like a real BA, but then again something must be loose in his head to be doing solo helicoptered first decents in Alaska. So Blackadar died on the rapid that now bears his name due to a little hubris on his part - oh, the epic hero. This series of rapids however, have been voted unanimously (that being by Maggie and myself) as the best rapids on the stretch. Blackadar hosts some SUPER HUGE wave trains and massive holes that really make you wonder what is going to happen on the other side when you are stuck in the bottom of the trough no longer even close to being able to see the horizon.
The final section of the Canyon run is a stretch referred to as the "Royal Flush." These rapids are the Crease, Little Falls, Deck of Cards, and Surprise. The Crease was washed out at this water level and no one really even noticed the fact that we went through it - it seemed to be the smallest thing we had done all day. Little Falls ended up being another portage - the move was simple enough: a classic boof off of a rock on far river left (launch yourself off the top of a rock into an eddy (a spot of calm-ish water)); however, since the water level was unusually high, the hole created by the falls was the meatiest, munchiest, meanest, will-chew-you-up-and-spit-you-out hole ever! Seriously, it was terrifying. Apparently the day before there was some serious raft carnage there as well as a kayaker that was recirculated for a solid 5 minutes - I think I speak for everyone when I say that the fun of the rapid seemed to be outweighed by the risk if you miss the move - unless you're Ariel the mermaid like Maggie, then you have a thing for being upside down holding your breath for long periods of time where normal people would easily pass out or bail (reference the post on the Lower South Fork). She would like me to insert here that she is uber-hardcore.
Finally we finished the Canyon with Surprise(!) rapid. The surprise can be derived in several ways: 1) there is an initial curling wave up top that is basically a slap across the face for the unweary boater, followed by a second wave that you don't know is even there until you find yourself in it head-first 2) There is another super huge hole on the right that you wont know you are in until you're upside down and being thrashed and 3) That massive hole (called surprise) flips rafts and so in a raft there is that "moment of truth" if you make it through or not - and officially the rapid gets its name from reason 3, but we decided that 1 and 2 make more sense (and just sound that much more hardcore).
Having checked out the list so far of what was written I realized that I left out the rapid Lone Pine. This is a beast Class IV rapid full of holes so running it is like trying to pick your way through a maze if you want to stay upright. We have tons of pictures from this rapid since the canyon wall was a bit lower here, so it is definitely worth mentioning. The rapid is named lone pine because it is supposedly marked by a lone pine tree - if you can find which tree is actually the lone pine tree you could make river history!
So that is basically the Canyon run - an amazing Class III-IV run that is tons of fun for everyone! Seriously though, this is something very worth doing. But here we are now, closing up shop on the last day of the trip - what a beastly 19 days! Many thanks to Sean and Kristin, BSU, and everyone else on the trip and that had a hand in making this happen. Thanks also to Idaho for being so cool, and weird little ladies showing off their grass and 58 degree water all year round. This trip was wicked ill and definitely a stable craft. One day I'll get back out here - the east can hardly even compare.
Peace,
Harry
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