South Fork Facial and Polo Pleasure

Had some back-to-back excitement this past weekend. Got my first taste of the S. Fork Snoqualmie which became quite the learning experience--a little more than I had expected for an after-work paddle. Flows were really low (179?) but Geoff was pretty sure it'd still be a fun run. Warmed up around the put-in and then made our way down.

But oops! I wasn't prepared for being bumped around in such shallow water and less than 30 feet down I hit a submerged rock and went down. Caught off-guard, I failed to brace and fell over. It wasn't deep enough to roll but my roll instincts were so strong I began the setup and paid the price for it. The current dragged my half-submerged body down and the right side of my face certainly got the brunt of it. Eventually I swam, lost my paddle, regained my paddle somehow and Goeff had to holler for me to get to shore. He got control of my loose boat and I stumbled over to retrieve it. Talk about wake-up calls! I definitely need more practice rescuing myself. All I could do was grin and chastise myself for being a clueless river dork. Thank goodness Geoff's a cool and patient fella.

Emptying out my boat, I could feel my lip swelling. I wasn't bleeding anywhere and my helmet certainly helped save my noggin, so I decided to continue. This time however I made sure to be prepared to be jostled around and got tips from Geoff on reading the river. What should have been a decent II float with some rapids became fairly technical for me at such low levels. Lots of maneuvering and with my large Jive, I had to really watch for those submerged rocks. At one point, I even got stuck. It happened so fast I couldn't lean into the rock and so my hull was trapped on the upstream side with the jets pounding my skirt, which forced me to adopt the 'C' lean position to the right so I wouldn't fall over. All my rocking back and forth was for naught so Geoff had to get out of his boat and help me out once again! What a dude--I so owe him a beer next time round. In hindsight I might have been able to wiggle out but having being tumbled about the river bed, I didn't want to risk getting into more trouble.

At the weir, we portaged it to the next pool and dropped down into the main current from there. By this time, I just focused on reading reading reading and not getting into any fixes. I did end up having to roll when I got distracted and went over but I was so happy that it was deep enough!

Finally at the end of the trip, I was glad for the learning experience but will wait till the levels rise again before going back, especially with my large Jive. Swollen right lip and cheek made me look like a boxer--but bruise-free thank goodness. (Yes--I confess to a streak of vanity.) That night, it was ice ice baby for me!

Polo felt quite tame by comparison. Warm water...mmmm. Didn't mind being pushed over many times since rolling didn't involve painful rocks and I got to score a fast break goal to end the session. Still I didn't exactly escape unscathed--one of the boats did spear me in the ribs so that area's now a little tender too.

Naturally, I'm uber sore on Sunday and still sound nasal-ly from getting my sinuses flushed on the river. Not that I'm complaining: Kayaking rocks! (pun intended, hohoho)

ps--the Salmon are back! Spent some time watching them at the Renton Library above the Cedar. Beautiful...