The Chronicles of a Whitewater Adventure Vagabond

Hammer Drills, jack hammers and concrete

2012-02-01T21:01:00.001-07:00

Some would think i work in construction.

Nope.

Just another day in the bike shop.

Good day at work!

A good job search...

2012-01-31T15:43:00.003-07:00

SO, i found myself bumming around Littleton for far too long, I was working for my father, free rent, living with my parents (not ashamed.) But before too long, I was in a bit of a rut deciding what i wanted for myself and my future. I contacted an old friend and he went out of his way securing me a job in Vail, CO. So, i began an endeavor to be a dishwasher.

I had conducted my interviewer for my new job and all was well, until, she asked me about my references. My second reference was with my first boss ever. He is now the current owner of Campus Cycles, Denver, CO. Im a fulltime procrastinator, so I quickly contacted him to make sure he would be a willing reference.

It turns out, i can start immediately for my first boss. At a bike shop! They are working on minor construction. I can do that, i can also wrench on and sell bikes at the same time!

Heres a breakdown:

Vail: $800 to secure a place to live.

-Dishwasher: $10 hr.

-ski to/ski home work. SWEET.

-live in vail, but pay for rent: $400/month.

Campus Cycles:

Littleton: Live with parents: $ Free ( still not ashamed)

-Mechanic/sales/ General labor: $10 hr.

-Bike to/from work: NICE

-hardly an expense to live: COOL.

-Work for my first boss and continue to earn experience in the Bike realm: PRICELESS.

Funny how things work out.

Thankful for my opportunities.

Thanks Mark.

Under Construction

2012-01-16T18:30:00.003-07:00

........ Receiving Transmission.........

......Commencing Phase.......

......Transitional Phase Alpha-9 Delta-Omega.......

........Please stand by.....

......Transmission End.........

Going mobile, and boating with the captain in Washington state

2011-11-29T15:23:00.001-07:00

At cypress island moored at cypress head. Lt. Rain. Last night we were in la Conner, wa. A quick stop in anacortes for fuel, supplies and teriyaki time

I've been a ramblin man....

2011-08-18T11:47:00.005-06:00

So I was living the rock and roll lifestyle for a long time, too long in fact. It began to wear on me. So, I loaded up the truck and went on a whitewater soul surfin/ searchin mission. Its been during this voyage that I realized two things: I'am an adventure guide and its what I love to do. Second, If im going to do this for a living, I need to go into it 100%. I need to be fit too.

Over the past 2 months, I have covered over 4,300 miles in my trusty old '92 4runner, and have kayaked 11 new & different sections, and worked commercially on 3, soon to be four.

Kayak Runs:

-N. Platte River, Whitewater Park in Casper, Wy.

-Fremont Canyon, N. Platte River, Near Casper, Wy. (see photo)

-Snake River Canyon, Jackson Hole, Wy.

-Gros Ventre River, Jackson Hole, Wy.

-Hoback River, Jackson Hole, Wy.

-Salmon River, near Stanley, Id.

-Yankee fork of the Salmon river, near Stanley, Id.

-Blackfoot river near Missoula, Mt.

-Lochsa River, Id.

-Rogue River, Or.

-White Salmon, Wa.

-South Fork of the American River, Ca.

-Middle Fork of the American River, CA.

This is on the N. Platte, after Pathfinder Reservoir near Casper Wyoming. Pat and I had to scout from essentially this point. Looks a lot smaller than it is! I forget the name of this rapid, but I'd guess its at least a IV+.

I did some commercial raft trips, but these deserve stories of their own:

-Snake River Canyon, Jackson Hole, Wy.

-Alberton Gorge, Clark Fork River, Missoula, MT.

I left Colorado in such a hurry, I didnt take any of my river gear. The original plan was to head to Oregon to stay with my aunt and uncle for a little while to visit, and get away from all the bad stuff. While on the way, I figured it would be best to do a little paddling, but i needed gear.

I got on the horn and called an old friend and one of my greater paddling mentors Pat. I just wanted a boat, paddle, life jacket, you know, the basics... Pat has been boating a long time, so he has acquired a little gear. He ended up lending me All the basics, PFD, Paddle, helmet, spray skirt, dry top, AND a sweet play/ surf kayak and a nice big boat for creeks and big water, etc.

He totally styled me out. We surfed at the Casper Whitewater park and ran Fremont Canyon the next day. The surf session was in honor of our fallen friend, David Charles Schmitt.

This is a picture I took of David (I called him Indy) On Homestake creek, Co. He was just getting warmed up in the realm of professional kayaking, and was on his way to the big leagues. He passed in a tragic accident in the War Memorial Stadium, Univ. of Wyoming (where he attended) in early May. He will always be in the big leagues of the hearts of all who knew him. You will be dearly missed, David Charles Schmitt May 24th, 1988 - May 7 2011.

I headed up to Jackson Hole to check out the scene there. I met Aaron Pruzan, the owner of Rendezvous River Sports (See link) in Jackson and a well known paddler. We paddled the Med.- high Gros Ventre river together, and I bummed around the shop for a while. While in Jackson, I had talked with a few companies about work. I kayaked the snake river canyon, and later, found my self running a 16' Safety Cataraft(like a pontoon boat, for whitewater) for a high-water(23,000 cubic feet per second) commercial trip(with Lewis and Clark Expeditions). Everything went well, except one boat had a few swimmers at the famous Lunch Counter Rapid (III+). While in Jackson, I also got to see the Hoback river with a few instructors from Rendezvous.

After that, It was on up to Idaho. I stopped at the first outfitter i saw, White Cloud, in Stanley, Id. I talked to Jeremy, the owner, and got myself a free shuttle to run the lower Sunbeam stretch (III) of the Salmon river. After the trip, I ran into Ranger Rich from the National Forest Service. He was going to run the upper stretch including Sunbeam Dam and Shot gun (both III+) for work. So, i got to tag along. After that, I found another boater to run the Yankee fork of the Salmon (creek style III). Ran it once, with a 3 mile jogging shuttle back to my truck, picked up my boat, posted my bicycle at the takeout and soloed the run one more time.

I tried to beg my way onto a middle fork of the salmon, but was unsuccessful, mostly due to funds. So, I headed on up to Missoula Montana.

I camped at Craters of the Moon National park, and ran into a guy named Collin, from Washington State. He ended up knowing someone from Friday Harbor, where my parents were staying at that very moment. Its a small world.

I went to Montucky (Montana.) Pat and I have a mutual friend there, Wes(I had met years earlier when he worked in the Royal Gorge region.). I was hoping he could hook me up with some work, place to stay, etc. Wes was, however, on a multi day trip, unable to get a hold of.

In Missoula, I found myself in a relatively large city, bigger than what i wanted, I met traffic, pay-for-parking, and a maze of downtown and one way streets. It was more than I bargained for. Fourtuantely, there was a surf wave in town, I headed over, for a much needed surf session. I was poaching some internet in the parking lot, when I thought of my friend Jeff, whom i met on the Costa Rica- Panama border, some 1.5 years earlier, I had a hunch that he was near. Sure enough, Jeff lives in Missoula and i got a hold of him. I ended up staying roughly a week in Missoula, helping Jeff down the class II Blackfoot river, and working commercially on the Clark Fork river. I had spoken with yet another Lewis and Clark outfitter, which interestingly enough was where Wes was employed. I was to kayak along with a commercial trip. When i showed up, the owner was pacing around uneasily, he finally came up to me and asked if I was a guide, Yes, in fact, thats what i do for a living. So, I switched my kayak stuff for rafting stuff, and guided the Alberton Gorge of the Clark Fork river, Blind, that is, never seeing the river before. ( I followed some other rafts on the trip, thats how i knew where to go....) I ended up meeting with Wes, and Jeff showed me a dern-tootin' good time around Missoula. Oh, and one time, we went over and ran the Famous Lochsa River in Idaho for a few birthdays of some of his friends. Good Day, except the day after, my already slightly irritated shoulder had me bail off of another run down the Lochsa. It was time to get some R&R in Oregon.

update time..... heres some photos for you.

2009-12-14T18:34:00.011-07:00

Here is some Costa Rica eye candy. Check back soon, and if your lucky ill tell more about the pics and the epic-ness of this small country.

Made some tamales the other day. The one on the left is the ¨tanto¨ tamale or the Silliy tamale. It is the last tamale made, and uses the remaining ingredients. This eventually became my lunch one day.

Dont get in my way. Giant spider, Rio Pacaure.

An Indian floating on his hand made ´boat´ Made with: a machete.

Finishing the days work with a stop at the tallest ´fall ive seen on the property. Marcos knows how to work the camera.

Fewer than 3 or 4 gringos have ever set eyes upon this waterfall.

Another remote ´fall. Seldom seen by gringos.

Wayner looking for two razor sharp machetes. We had to throw our swords done canyon at each sifnificant drop. They were just two dangerous to try and downclimb with. So, eventually they found themselves in the bottom of at least a couple large pools. And yes, we down climbed this ´fall on our escape route.

Marcos wanted a pose on this one. Another seldom seen ´fall, which was our easiest way down. The constant current of water prevented any moss or plant like matter from taking root on the rocks, providing us with traction for our boots. A counter intuitive process in Colorado.

Carlos, sharpening his machete in preparation for a full day in the jungle.

First you sharpen the file with a wet stone.

Prepping for a days work in the jungle. Sharpin machetes, files and pack a lunch and coffee. The goings tough, but its all in a days work in Costa Rica.

So I volunteered to show a Turrialba team the lines of the river and by doing so, I subjected myself to paddiling a broken, leaky kayak for the duration of the run. This was my boat at the end, full of water.

The old Toyota landcrusiers from the 1970´s are going strong in CR. Most of them are diesel and are some of the toughest trucks on the road down here.

The Womens National champions. Headed for Holland in July 2010. They are also some of my friends. The lady in the middle is Carol, who is the daughter of my CR grandparents. She is also, probably the most legendary female paddlers of Costa Rica, of all time. And the captain of the team. Good Luck at Worlds.

Gettin ´er done. En route back to base, a Rios Tropicales company truck. Notice the guides and people in the back of the truck.

A mini gorge on the Rio Tenorio Competition.

No carnage for me. Had to keep paddlin´ since i had a raft hot on my trail. For the begginning of this sequence see below. ´straight to the cave´ rapid. Tenorio River. Costa Rica National qualifier, Nov. 2009

My boat almost sank like a rock. Full of water. After the 10 foot waterfall.

Nice landing, nice paddle. Tenorio Rio. Guanacaste, CR. Nov. 2009

Me droppin in on the 10 foot waterfall. Straight to the cave. Tenorio Rio.

cycling, organic farming, mucho espanol

2009-11-04T10:27:00.004-07:00

Got in to CR on sunday the first. I got to do some farming with my costa rican grandpa ( Abuelo) Coli. Apparently he has a little plot of land in the local school area where he plants edible items. We planted more cilantro, pumpkin ( i think) and arugala. Than we harvested some sugar cane Juca ( might be mis-spelled, its a large edible root that is delicious) and spinach.
Ive been in contact with this really cool organic farm outside my hometown of turrialba, its pretty remote so I get to see more of the country. Mountain biked to the farm, its a good hour ride both ways.

This is up the road from the farm in La Esperanza de Attirro. This is the Rio Oro. The Cabecar indigenious people hike up this road, which turns into a trail, for about 5-6 hours to get to there remote town, when they are bringing back supplies from Turrialba.

Turrialba Volcano. If this one goes, Im a goner.
Other view of Turrialba. Turrialba means Torre Alba or white tower, because of the plume of smoke.

Another plane ride, destined for CR.

Costa Rica Bound

2009-10-28T15:02:00.002-06:00

Im heading back to Costa Rica on Nov. 1 for about 3 months. I got some unfinished buisness.
Come on down and pay me a visit. I'll be sure to give you a legendary adventure tour.

Twenty-Oh-Niner Wrap-Up

2009-10-28T14:01:00.008-06:00

Island Fox.
Stuck in Blaine, Wa. Our ocean bound recreational people mover had a broken water pump.
America. Nuff Said.
Washington Round Part 2, 10/09. I traveled back to the San Juans to help my dad with his new ocean going recreational people mover. This is a new masterpiece i call "twin eagles" Near Blaine, WA. The most north-western part of Wa.
Lady bugs on the top of Mt. Morrison, directly behind Red Rocks Ampitheater. 10/09
10/6/09 Hike to an old mine owners grave/memorial, Silverplume, CO.
Cattle Point light house, San Juan Island, with Mt. Baker in the distance. This is the site of my sisters wedding summer of 2010.
My ocean going vessel. Perception Carolina 13' of yellow plastics
San Juan Islands. 9/09
Hanging with my old man, driving boats and drinking beer. San Juan Islands, Wa.
Washington State Round 1. Waiting on the ferry to take off. Some coastal birds.
I spent about a week in and around Westcliffe again, and tried to hike Bushnell (see below). This pic was taken during a quick overnighter on Music Pass. These lakes create the stream that flows through the Sand Dunes. This is looking west at La Tijeras Peak.
On the Death March, Bushnell Peak. Thats Berto and some state flowers.

From one walkabout to the next. This was 9/2/09 in the morning. Me and Berto set out on our second attempt of Bushnell Peak. Some fires were raging in California, so some high smoke gave me this filter, at about 6 in the morning. Bushnell is a decent climb, and sadly, we didnt make it.
Where I spent some early hours on the morning of my 24th year in existence. The top of ...(a peak i should know..) Atleast it was a 13'er and i gotta do it all alone. I got paid for this.Day hike with the kids, this is Crystal Lake. Near Breck.
RMSEL 8/09 Hut Trip 2, The name of the hut is in the picture this was trip two. Getting paid to hang with highschool kids in the mountains, someone has to do it.
RMSEL Hut Trip 8/09. I was employed by my old highschool to co-lead two 4-day trips to different backcountry mountain huts in Colorado. This is looking south from some mountain.... a 12'er that i should know the name of. We woke the kids up early and climbed this peak..
While stuck in Westcliffe, I was able to convince a local to drive us someplace, and Lake DeWeese(Actually a resevoir.) was a viable option. Considering the proximity to my summertime office, I hadnt yet visited DeWeese. It was kinda crowded, but for being free, its a good spot.
Around the end of the summer, i found me and my truck broke down in Westcliffe, Co. With the Sangre De Cristo mountain range as a backdrop, I could have had alot worse places to be stuck in. So, lacking a backpack, I threw together this customized hippie " hobo bag on the end of a stick," and set off. With a combination of hitchhiking, walking and wearing this thing as a backpack I rapidly found my way in to some wilderness, Hermit Lakes.
Rafting '09. This is a rapid known as, at very similar flows, the CHUNDER-DOME. Many will enter, few will leave in boat. We had a wonderful high-water year on the Arkansas river. This pic is my co-workers in a race. I was supposed to go, but the race was supposed to be in the ROYAL GORGE! (I wont go into details.) Needless to say, i did not want to paddle a buncha flat water. (with the exception of the Chunder Dome, which has my utmost respect.)
FIBArK 2009 Baby!!!!! This is a classic event held on the third weekend of June every year in Salida. The event started in the '50s when a couple people wanted to race an unheard of distance on the river, starting right there in Salida. Over the years the event has transformed into a ginat summertime party with rafting, kayaking, running, cycling, build your own boat, etc. Oh, and there is Beer. This is the raft rodeo where the competitors try to chunder themselves in a hole.
Waterdog Lake, Monarch Pass, near Salida. 5/09. Easy 45min-1hr.
Nuff Said. May 2009 Little Dolores Camp.
Westwater 5/09
Classic Colorado River through Westwater canyon scenery.
Yup, Another Westwater. These trips have become my fall and spring pilgrimage. Everything else is either dried up or hasnt started running yet. The ultimate 1-4 day desert overnighter. Word 'em up.

From on adventure to the next, so are the days of my life.

2009-09-13T14:19:00.003-06:00

Yea, its been awhile since i last updated. Its been a reasonably bust summer. Im writing this on a bus from Anacortes, WA. to Mt. Vernon right in a transition phase between adventures. I just got done spending a week in the San Juan Islands, haning out with my Parental units, and doing some big, ocean boating with the 'old man.' Up next, another week in the San Juan's only this time ill be more accustomed in a plastic seat of a sea kayak. Im taking a course called Leave No Trace Master Educator. It will further extend my knowledge of stealth-ness while on adventures and allow me to extend this knowledge to my many disciples.

Ill update with a summer summary and Fotos once i can find some time between all my Exploration expedition adventure tours.

P.S. Whats in store this winter for me? Patience, that comes in the next installment of 'Colorado Renegade'

Wilderness EMT, National Registry of EMTs.

2009-05-06T19:25:00.003-06:00

Lander Landscape:

This is a UFO. Turned out to be a star...

Just spent a month in Lander Wyoming for an intense session of Basic Life Support. While teaching the cirriculum of the national EMT-Basic, this course concentrated on accidents in the backcountry or being a day or more away from the EMS(Ambulances, Hospitals, etc.) we are all used to in big cities. In my line of work, it is possible to spend multiple days with an injured friend, guide or client in very inhospitable environments. Passing this course has been a huge step for me, and a crucial component for my "Career."

See the link to the WIlderness Medicine Institute in my links section.

Wilderness EMT in Lander, Wyo.

2009-04-19T22:55:00.003-06:00

Im in Lander Wyoming for a month taking a Emergency Medical Technician course. It is the basic course on the route to becoming a Paramedic. However, this course concentrates on wilderness emergencies, and seeing as how most of my time is spent atleast an hour away from hospitals, i believe this training will become useful in both my career and recreational activities. I have pics, but i cant upload them here. Keep checking back for updates and more importantly, pictures.

Pura Vida

2009-04-19T22:51:00.002-06:00

Back from Costa. I wanted to give the meaning of 'Pura Vida.' The direct translation is Pure Life.
Every Costa Rican (Tico) uses the phrase ona daily bases. It can be used as a greeting, a description of how your feeling, a salute, or a goodbye. Costa Rica is the only country ive been too that uses such a phrase. I want to implement this phrase into my daily life, and i believe it is something many of us can use to improve our outlook on life.

Finally an update

2009-03-06T09:51:00.002-07:00

Yo, life is good in Costa Rica. The natives are an interesteing breed. They are a very amiable culture. You cant quite call it lazy, their easy going approach to everyday things, I would call it efficient. They are super smart, due to a good education system. They like everyone, and even if they dont, they will never make it apparent that they dont. Its funny, yesterday i was working on a trip in pretty crazy flood water, and it was madness, thankfully we had no significant carnage (boats flipping, people swimming). And when we got back to town, its back to the normal, laid back lifestyle. Its almost hard to describe, something you have to experience first hand, only after spending considerable time in Costa Rica.
I think i will be coming back. Theres still too much to see and do, and a lot of rivers left to be explored. Considering it took me a month to post, this may be my last post in CR. My sister and friends arrive next week, so i will be busy trying to show them a good time ( shouldnt be too difficult....) I leave on March 27th. Finally, some things ive learned that everyone could benefit from, (actually, most people probably know or have heard of these, but dont accecpt or use them on a daily bases)
Treat others like you want to be treated.
Live every day like its your last.
Forgive and forget.
Dont worry, be happy.

I guess that can help to describe the way of life down here.

Pura Vida

Home, Turrialba, CR.

This is my roomate at my house.

“There is nothing - absolutely nothing - half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats.”

My work.

Huacas falls, Lower Pacuare river. This waterfall drops into a calm, almost flat section of river, right in between two of the good class IV´s . Upper and Lower Huacas.

After Much Deliberation......

2009-02-05T13:00:00.003-07:00

I have decided that I will make another triumphant return to the Arkansas River for the summer of 2009. I was seriously considering Oregon, and some other Pac NW territories, I Love CO too much... I had a couple things to consider. In Co. i have put in my time, and have climbed the ladder of rank and rotation, I can make decent money in Co. and with the way the economy is sounding, this might be an advantage. Another HUGE reason is the Colorado Trail. This trail stretches from Denver to Durango for 483 miles. I have completed a handful of sections, but i have for some time wanted to through hike it. So, I will set out in mid August for 4-6 weeks on this endeavor. Finally, after getting stoked about running some big stuff here in CR, I realized i have a lot of unfinished buisness back in the centennial state. Commence operation Colorado Creeks in end of April and May '09.
I have been enjoying my time here in CR, and with a little less than 2 months to go, I cant help but to think of spring time in the rockies. Now, lets all just pray for some more snow in C O.

Wiseman,
Over 'n Out

Finally some kayak pics....

2009-01-25T16:44:00.005-07:00

I said i was coming down here to kayak, Ive been boatin ALOT, but it took me two months to finally get some pics of ME to prove it. Here they are, Enjoy.

Fired up the Upper Pacuare the other day. Good run. One portage due to undercut rocks and some funny lines.
Scouting the Sangre Hidrualica, or Blood Hole.

Here I am running the blood hole.

Nobody lost blood this time!

Upper Pacaure put-in. If you look close, it took 4 years to build this bridge.

This was taken a couple weeks ago, after a lower pacuare trip. After they took the plates off the van, we were almost forced to walk/ hitch hike, and we had paying guests..... The paperwork was on the wrong name, after some convincing, we got the plates back and were released.

Earthquake

2009-01-11T19:07:00.002-07:00

Im alright. The earthquake was north west of my position.
I was watching the news with Coli and Noemy and the set started shaking and the anchor man and woman started to freak out. I thought it was a replay, from the day before, but it turned out to be live. About a minute and a half later, only if you knew it might be coming, we felt a small shockwave from the quake. There were two quakes in two days right near eachother.

Picture Update

2009-01-08T11:10:00.005-07:00

Typical Quepos sunset. Hiking out from the ´Private Stash´ beach.
The one and only Private Stash Beach.

Day 11? of the Costa Rican traverse. the second of two backpacking days, You could either try to stay outta the mud and hate life, or not care anymore and get dirty. ¡Sucio Mae!

Who does he look like? Sorry about the quality, it wasnt me! If ya said george W, than you win a prize! Which is solely a gurantee of nothing at all! Congratulations!

Another sub-standard sunset. This is from the Green Diamond cave. See below.

The Green Diamond. This is a cave behind two waterfalls. After a grueling 2 hour hike you reach this spiritual sanctuary. They have beds, and room for 20 people. Running spring water, that comes from the creek that produces the waterfall, except the water is filtered through rocks and has been tested twice, recently for quality. They could bottle it and sell it supposedly. With the running water comes bathrooms and cold showers. There is a bar and kitchen all set up. To top it off, there are hikes from this cave to other waterfalls above or below these two.

Upper Santo Domingo water fall. En route to the Diamante Verde.

Back from the Traverse, hanging at the beach

2009-01-03T09:32:00.004-07:00

Got back from the Coast toCoast adventure the other day. It was an intense 15 days of hiking, biking and rafting. hundreds of miles and 10´s of thousands of feet of elevation gain and loss.
Days were filled with traveling through dense machete choppin jungle with a very faint sign of a trail, to dirt roads through deep backcountry towns. There was swimming in the ocean, and in creeks, jumping off waterfalls and staying for a night in a cave behind two waterfalls, where they had beds, running water toilets and....... yea sounds too good to be true? no, its real and its full on. Ill have pictures soon, so you can begin to realize what im talking about. And those of you coming down here, you will be able to experience the wonder.

Unfourtunately, my traverse was cut short by a tragic event that was very close to me down here in CR. Ill elborate more once i can come to grips with this event and compose my thoughts.
Im alright, but you need to understand that life is a fragile thing.

¨All we need to do is to decide what to do with the time that is given to us.¨
-Gandalf the Grey

This is Willie Wiseman, checkin´ in from Costa Rica,
OUT.

Costa Rica Traverse

2008-12-14T17:47:00.003-07:00

Leaving for 18 days beginning Monday December 15th 2008. Co-guiding a trip with 11 guests from the pacific coast to the carribean coast under only man power. Hike, Bike, Raft, Kayak.
So, i should have some good pics and stories upon my return.
For all you wonderful readers, wish me luck,
Merry Christmas,
and Happy New Year!!
Check back here next year!

Less Rain, More work! (Finally) More stories from Costa Rica

2008-12-07T17:41:00.008-07:00

Well, The rain subsided, and some clients finally showed up. Ran the Pejibaye River the other day. Its a good low volume river with some good jungle scenery. The upper is fairly mellow class III+ and the lower stretch is III- at the most. Two days ago, I ran the Lower Pacuare ( see belows post for an epic story from this river.) and we ran it at a high flow, probably still considered flood stage, however, it was a lot lower than it had been during the previous week. We could see massive flood damage, with huge trees being displaced and a water line, in some spots, probably 5-10 feet above the water level of that particular trip. I dont know if it was the high water level or if the ratings are a little off down here; by all accounts, (companies web sites, guide books,) the lower pac. is supposed to be a III-IV-. When we ran it, it was HUGE. In my book, i rank it as solid IV borderline V. Again, this could be due to the high water, it must ( hopefully) gets easier as the water drops. With the strecthes that ive done, and now that im getting some kinda sense towards the difficulty of the runs down here, it would appear what might be considered hard, crazy, dangerous in some places is just a daily way of life in others. Here are some pics for you to enjoy, and an accompaning story........

Sunset above the clouds. Taken around 8000 feet. yesterday, taken during the descent down the volcano Irazu, in a 14 passenger van, with no clutch, relying on just the brakes ( which didnt , thankfully, burn up) average 5-10 % grade

I better get into a story. Yesterday (12-6) we had what was supposed to be an (ordinary) trip to the Irazu and Turrialba volcanoes. We made it to the Irazu via van, and started a mountain bike descent towards the Turrialba volcano. Down the dirt (muddy) road we went. We soon realized that the van wouldnt be able to follow us down the road, due to ruts and mud. The van simply didnt have the clearence and lacks 4wd. So, consequently, we tried to turn it around, and the clutch blew out. The tour continued and completed everything they were supposed to do, and i was left to guard the van with the driver. After about 2 hours of beating on the transmission, the driver proceded down hill, via bike and i was left to safeguard the van. Keep in mind this is fairly remote, in some farming country side of Costa Rica. This pic ( above) comes near the end of the story. I had been waiting for 3-4 hours and finally heard the rumble of this trusty tractor. The driver rounded up a local farmer, who ended up driving up the hill, backwards, while towing the van for about 2.5 kilometers. Once we got to the pavement, we (driver and I) proceded down the road for a about 5 km, with a combination of coasting down the hill sans engine ( and a transmission to aid in slowing down the vehicle... scary) and driving in the right lane, backwards, up any hills when we didnt have enough speed to crest them, going in reverse ( the reverse gear still worked, atleast for a little while.) Yea, driving backwards, at about 10-15 kmh. Finally, we were out of options when the reverse gear blew out as well. When we stood in the cold ( yea, its cold at 8000 feet, even in a tropical country) and with out words, contemplated our next move. ( The driver speaks as much english as a speak spanish, not much.) His cell phone was out of batteries and we were sufficiently stuck. At the point when we were most in need, the boss shows up out of the blue, in a good old toyota tacoma, bikes and clients aboard. Needless to say, we were quite glad to see them. We towed the van to the top of a hill, and let the driver to continue the costing down the steep grades, without a transmission. After i convinced the boss that the brakes wouldnt last forever, and they would eventually give out, we stopped at a restaurant, ate some dinner, and piled in the toyota, which turned out to be a taxi. The driver stayed with the van to wait for a real tow truck, and the 7 of us piled in the truck. the clients rode in the comfort of the cab, as the boss and i rode in the bed with 5 bikes. Not a lot of space, for a 2 hour drive. All in a days work of Costa Rica Adventures.

I was left to take some pics, and try to capture my little adventure (or lack thereof). Atleast i was left with a good view.

After awhile, i heard a disticnt moooo in the distance. Cows. I looked around and didnt see anything. a few seconds later, one by curious one, these cows came over, kinda in a half jog, to see why this weird looking van was precariously placed, and not going any where. After some explaining, they ate some grass and walked away. They were very inteterested for about 10 minutes. This was shot from inside the van.

Here we are with the first group of local farmers trying to lend us a hand. The pulling truck, on right, was a little nissian 4 cylinder with about 6 locals riding in the cab and the bed. Needless to say, it didnt tow us very far. This is with the clients, waiting for my boss to figure out what we were going to do.

Attempting to turn the vehicle around, with good old man power. Yea, it was about a 20 point turn. We finally succeded and got the van pointing uphill.

A cool leaf that caught my fancy. No, those holes are not from bugs, rather from design.

Pejibaye river scenery.

The school, at the put in, Pejibaye rio.

Tales from the flood, A week of rain in Costa Rica

2008-11-27T16:52:00.006-07:00

So, the rainy season is supposed to be on its way out down here, but its been raining since the 17th. Apparently the rain was lacking for this particular rainy season, and staying true to my kind of luck, the rain gods have been trying to make up for the lack of mositure. To sum up, ALL the rivers flooded, cancelling any hope of me kayaking and learning the lines, to get ready for work. And, this rain event has been the biggest rain/flood event since 2003/04. Here are some tales from 2 days ago and how the rain has affected my friend Ryan and I. Both tales happened on the same day,

Enjoy.....

If it wasnt raining hard enough to be so loud, loud enough to hardly hear yourself think, it was a constant mist. Sometimes it takes on a similiar characteristic like that of sleet, othertimes its a constant downpour with no sign of letting up. You know never to leave the house without an umbrella. That could be the number one product purchased during the actual rainy season in Costa Rica, considering most of them are pourly made, and not designed for day after day use for weeks on end. For a week, all the rivers had started to crawl out of their banks, and all rafting/kayaking trips had been cancelled. One day, however, I had a chance of some work.
And there was talk of an 'exploratory' trip......

Ryan has lived down here for off and on since 1998. Hes a colorado boy, like me. Growing up in and around Gunnison. His tale of this particular day is one of rain, danger and substantial monetary loss. Despite that, we all know and can understand how close he was to not coming back at all......

The day started out like anyother during this week. A nice constant rain during the night, and maybe a little subsiding in the early morning, only to return later. We had to be up early, i was on my way to work as a safety kayaker for a big company, about an hour away. Ryan, however, was on his way to do an 'exploratory' trip of the lower Pacuare, a trip to see what, if anything has changed due to the 4 year flood event. For all anyone knew, the water had hardly receded. He had been a bit skeptical the night before, and knew he had his work cut out for him.

I wouldnt hear about his story until later that night, when i returned from my day of work....

The anticipation of kayaking something that had been flooding and was currently at or above flood stage is enough to keep anyone from sleeping very well. I was awake well before my watch alarm clock, set for 5:45 am. I was ready to take on whatever that day had in store. I rolled outta bed and got my thoughts and paddle gear ready. It wasnt raining that morning...... which is a strange feeling when every day is filled with it. I didnt think much of it at that point, as i walked the dimly lit street towards my pick up point. I hopped on the bus, with a little more welcome than i had experienced before, with the Tico guides and kayakers offering up a few semi-friendly 'buenos dias and pura vidas'. I took my seat near the back, and found Julian trying to nap between Turrialba and Siquirres, a hour away. Julian is a brother of a friend, someone I could, possibly instill a little trust in. About a half hour later, as we decended towards the carribean coast the rain came back with ferocity. I excepted the fact that i would probably be soaked all day. Little did i know what was going to happen to Ryan. When we arrived at the base, the rain picked up, almost in anticipation of our unloading of the bus. We unloaded, ran to the warehouse and started to get the day going. I chose my boat, the trusty Purple Jefe, a good boat, but not the ideal boat for huge, high volume flood water. Indeed, a good boat for my job as a safety kayaker, the big Jefe would be a welcome sight for any guest having found themselves in said high water. We were almost finished loading the rafts, paddles and gear, when i noticed Julian putting on his splash jacket. "So soon?" I wondered. I followed suit and geared up. I didnt really have a clue as to what and who was going where, and when, so i jumped on a 5 stack of rafts being towed by a late 80's toyota landcruiser, the suv type. I didnt really think much of it, as i watched another tico climb aboard, but shortly after, i remembered my long time dream of wanting to ride on the highway in a 5 stack of rafts. Not as cool as one might think, and a little scary if anything. We rumbled down the bumby dirt road towards the highway. As we hit the highway and gained speed, the rain drops began to sting as they hit any exposed skin. Sure was glad i had my paddle jacket on. When we got to the put in road, we had to descend a muddy road towards the river. Despite having the rafts strapped down by huge industrial ratchet straps, highsiding atop the wobbly stack came in handy. There was about 4 inches of water covering most of the put in, if it wasnt water, it was a nice rich, stinky mud, or a mixture of the two. I new something was weird when i didnt see anyother kayaker around. I threw the rest of my gear on. Good thing, since the floatation foam of the PFD acts as extra insulation. I didnt realize i wouldnt get on the water for another 2-3 hours. We unloaded about 8 rafts and all the kayaks. (the 5 stack behind the landcruiser, plus a gear truck with rafts, kayaks, and paddles.) When we were finished, a couple of the guides walked away, upstream, towards the main highway bridge. I began to see what the problem was. Earlier that morning, we had a sort of briefing by one of the higher ups from the company. Theres a railroad bridge about a 1/4 quarter mile below the put in, and you can go right or left. Right is safe, and to the left lies a huge hole or hydrualic capable of flipping rafts in a matter of milli-seconds. Something not to be messed with. Normally they can walk the boats out to the middle of the river where a huge rocky shoal makes the perfect spot to launch and make the right line. Because of all the rain, this was impossible, and I knew those guides were looking for a more viable option. We found the spot, up and over the highway. We flagged down the other trucks, who were beginning to make laps between loading gear at the shop, and unloading the gear at the put in. We slid the rafts down the slope that was about 35 degree angle and covered in vegetation. After a couple rafts, the plants were all matted down, and we found some kinda trail, or lack thereof, to make our way down. A little above river level, a couple ticos were busy slicing away palm leaves with machetes. Right by the river, there was a barb wire fence, and a hole in the fence was located about 350 yards upstream. We had to carry the rafts through the sloppy mess of vegetation, above our heads towards our new put in. All 30 of them. Yea, 30 rafts. There was something like 250 guests that day. Eventually we had a rope going down the trail, for the guests to hang onto, as they made their way down, and too the rafts. Raining the entire time, I went back to the original put in to grab my boat. As i walked back towards the new one, the other kayakers came out of the wood work, and stood around as the rafters did the rest of the work, preparing the trail and transporting the rest of the rafts. Apparently, the kayakers dont do a whole lot down here. I was trying to set a good example for myself, since i will (hopefully) be guiding rafts for that company, soon. We finally put on, in a bunch of waves or groups of rafts, about 7-8 per group. Each group is assigned a photo kayaker and a safety kayaker. All was under way, and my blades could finally cut threw some flood water. We got a re-grouping spot on the right side of the rail bridge and waited for the rest of the rafts. Some how, this canadian kid Pat, ended up going down the left, and after some scrambling by us safety kayakers, he somehow, succesfully made it through. Game on. The weirdest thing that happned to me that day was in a weird little rapid, that looked like a big class III. It was two huge converging currents that crashed on eachother, creating crazy un-readable waves and holes that seemed to massive, staionary pourover hydraulics at on instant, and flat water in another. I didnt know what to look at, as i attempted to paddle around one of the huge holes. I figured i was doomed as i dropped over another ledge, and began to back surf, after a few braces and simply trying to prevent being rolled upside down, the water flattend out and released me from its powerful grip. Just in the nick of time, as i looked over my shoulder and saw a huge 18 foot raft, barreling down on my position. I was caught off guard one other time, as i negotiated a shallow channel. I took the left side of a small hole, rolled, hit my head, not to hard, thankfully and rolled up with the momentum of the initial flip. I didnt realize i had hit my head until i found the scrap on the top of my helmet. Towards the end, i didnt know where the end was until the trip leader told me, I was instructed to go to the take out, get out of my boat and help the rafts make it ashore. The trip leader pointed in the direction of the take out, and i proceded. When i got closer, i saw a group of men, at what i thought was the take out, and right when it was too late, they pointed towards the actual takeout, upstream of their position. By this time, it was too late, i was stuck downstream of the supposed takeout, I did attempt to paddle upstream to no avail. So we had to unload the clients in a swirling eddy, thankfully, with the help of those guys on shore, it was about a 4 foot vertical bank into the river. One crazy day, from loading the bus to getting off, in Turrialba, it had been 13 hours. Time on the river: 50 minutes.

When i arrived back at my house, my buddy Patrick, who had gone on the Pacuare exploratory tip with Ryan, was in a more quite mood, and began to inform me that Ryan wasnt there. So, This is what i heard had happend to Ryan that day, this is through second hand sources, including Patrick, who were on the water, that day.

Ryan and Patrick left shortly after I did. Infact i saw them pass me as i waited for the bus. They met up with 2 other kayakers ( everyone else was sane enough NOT to try the flooded Pacuare)
And began paddling. They were going to the lodge/ campground area that companies use for lunch and overnight trips, and from there, depending on the first half would or would not continue through the more difficult section. Patrick was easily convinced, considering it wasnt his normal boat, but a rental ( that he didnt want to lose) and a section of river that he had never done before. Ryan, decided to continue with a guy, Christian. Just the two of them. So, here goes:
They paddled down and got to one of the last significant rapids when Ryan swam. The water was too fast and he was barely able to get to shore. His paddle and boat washed away in the massive flood waters. He pulled himself ashore near, what was supposed to be an indigineous indian camp. He arrived to an empty camp and found a blanket to curl up under. He sustained by drinking rain water from off the corrugated metal roof, from under which, he found shelter. It was raining so hard on the metal roof, that he couldnt even hear the raging river. He waited out the night. Christian paddled down to the take out solo, and relayed this info to Patrick. The next morning, Ryan had a couple options, wait for a raft they may or may not be coming, paddle a kayak that may or may not have been at the camp, solo, to the takeout, or hike out some how. The raft didnt make the trip because the water was still too high and dangerous. So with a combination of hiking along and river bank and swimming/ portaging at certain spots, he made his way out of the canyon. Eventually got a taxi for a 60$ taxi ride back to Turrialba and his house, where he promised the cab driver he had money and was able to pay.

Yea, one heck of a story, When i learned this, i knew my story was nothing in comparison.
It didnt rain yesterday, i was able to get some sun on my pasty, white self,
it did rain most of today, but the outlook for the next couple weeks looks good for both work and rain. Maybe one or the other. Time will Tell.

Until Next Time,
This is Wiseman, reporting from a wet and flooded Cost Rica, out.....

Pura Vida!!!!

Familia Vargas and some pictures

2008-11-20T17:02:00.005-07:00

Sometimes they say its all about the people you know. i was doing some stuff around town and i went to go pick up my splash jacket at my work. when i strolled up there were two gringos talking to ronald, so we introduced ourselves and got to talking. this kid patrick is down here for 2 weeks on his way up from panama. ryan has been working in costa rica since 1998, and had some connections in town. one thing led to another and i asked him about housing. so, having nothing better to do, we walked to where he and patrick are staying. enter the vargas family, coly and noemy. they have a sweet, big house thats five minutes away from work. i have my own bedroom and i pay 160$ a month. seems steep? not if you consider noemy loves to cook and i can eat 3 huge homecooked meals a day when im there. also, they are always rambling in spainsh and only talk to me in spainsh ¨hablar inglace es no bueno.¨ ryan has been staying with the family since he started working here, and has picked up a bit of spainish so he sometimes translates. ryan is from the gunnison area, evidently. he is also letting me in on the work secrets around town.

es mi casa. la casa de vargas. nice and secure, got my own room and once patrick leaves, ill get a bigger room and my own bathroom.

this is the view from the balcony, my room is on this level. not a bad place to hangout, and over across the street is the nations semi pro soccer team stadium. games are everyother saturday.

this is the lobby and hangout area in the hotel interamericano. thats allan, a traveler from canada. i boated with him on my first day in turri.
$11 bucks a night. not bad, and i got my own room.
bienvenidos hotel interamericano.

turrialba, CR

2008-11-18T10:02:00.006-07:00

Ive been kayaking the past two days, and the percentage of being on the water to days spent in country is nearly half. thats good. this is my first time checking out the interent cafe here in turri.
sorry about the capital letters, or lack thereof, this keyboard doesnt let me do half of the letters in caps, so i wont do any at all!!!!
Anyways, took the bus from san jose to turrialba on sunday, after a kinda interview with coast to coast adventures, sounds like i might be able to do some stuff with them. they try to do more overnight multisport trips vs. rafting/kayaking everyday. their longest trip is 18 days across the country!!!! and i might get on one in december and potentially get paid. sick.
when i got to turrialba, i got to my buddy jeremy's company and scoped out the scene. the hotel interamericano is pretty nice, at $11 a night, hopefully ill stay there for 3-4 nights. boating has been good, but its on the reventazon river which is supposedly dirty because of agriculutre, and i think it drains from some towns as well. hopefully i dont get sick, they take cruise ship guests and other gringos down it on a dialy bases...
ive been meeting lots of other travelers from other countrys.... mostly canada, and apparently everyone still hates americans, despite our new president. ive met others who are trying to work here too, but i have a definite edge up since i can kayak and raft and fix bikes, ride them, etc.
still gotta go check out some other companies around here.
one housing option, that ive heard of, is staying with a local family, paying them rent per month, but getting meals and learning spanish.
the internet cafe is pretty relaxed, its about 75 cents for an hour of computer time, and ill be able to upload my pictures really easy to the computer.
all right, i gotta go check into this housing deal and get my stuff together for a potential trip to san jose.
adios amigos,

made it!!!!

2008-11-15T20:05:00.004-07:00

so im getting used to this spainish keyboard, as i sit here in the coast to coast adventures office warehouse. flights were good, i had three different flights and 4 airports total. my bags made it too. costa rica weather: 70 dgrees and light rain, bring on some kayaking!!! i should be boatin on monday. ill get some pics going sooner than later, hopefully.
until next time,
pura vida

Costa Rica Bound

2008-11-14T14:56:00.003-07:00

Flying to CR tommorrow, Ill be at the airport around 4:30-5 in the Morning, Gotta love those early mornings.
Next time I post I'll be lving the Pure life in a tropical third world country.

Commence Choppin' of the Mop

2008-11-08T12:02:00.004-07:00

Yea, that title says it all. Yesterday, I cut my hair. I should have cut a mullet for a few days or something....
I want it to be low maintenance while traveling in distant lands. You know how us rafters live..... I didnt want to get a mean set of dreads (like Moldy Locks) and have bugs and twigs and stuff.
It was neat.
Oh, T-Minus 6 days 19 hours 7 minutes 38 seconds until departure.

Almost greased by a Bighorn sheep.

2008-11-06T21:28:00.005-07:00

So I was on a quick 50 mile bike ride today, and on mile 20 i was almost smoked by a ewe/ram duo. Was riding up Waterton Canyon (SW Denver) and encountered said Ewe and Ram duo. The ram was following the Ewe, looking to score, and I was minding my own buisness crusing up the canyon. I ran into the couple as the ewe was walking away from the ram, and I wanted nothing to do with the big guy. I stayed in close contact with the duo and peddled away/down the canyon, slowly, about a 1/4 mile, getting within 15 feet of them. I thought they had it out for me. They kept walking after me, or so it seemed.
Fourtunately, some dude peddled down past them. "Are they domesticated or something?" I asked. "No way" He responded. We talked and he told me that they are in the mating season (the rut) and not to spook them. Soon after, i peddled past and the Ram didnt give me any grief. Sheesh. Silly wildlife.

Leaving on a good note,

2008-11-04T21:22:00.007-07:00

McCain's concession speech was second to none, But.......

...Finally some change for America. Ive never been much into politics, but you dont have to be a moron to know that we needed some BIG change.

A Long day on the Mountain: The Brutalization of Longs Peak

2008-10-27T11:43:00.003-06:00

On saturday, I was happy and content just sitting around the house drinking some PBR. Then around 1-2 pm i got a call from my old pal Byron. Some of you may remember Byron from Winter Park and/or the lower ark, as he was a guide down there for 1 or 2 summers at Raven. Anyways he had some bright idea to try to summit Longs peak, a 14 thousand foot beast. I had nothing better to do, and knowing it would be a fairly technical climb, because of snow and ice, we set off. Got to the trailhead around 9:00 pm, went to bed shortly thereafter, woke up around 4:30am and we were on the trail around 5:00 am. 14 hours later, we were back to the car, tired and completely exhausted. Did we summit? No. Did we get really, really high? Yes, 4-500 ft below the summit. Was it worth it? What do you think?

Getting close to treeline. Timed exposure looking east. Those lights are Denver, and that thing in the sky is the moon, duh.Normal exposure looking east by southeast. Here, we are above treeline. The sunrise kept getting better and better.

A little after sunrise, the heart of the beast.

After getting my second and third winds and fighting with myself and Byron over taking a nap mid-trail, we finally made it to the keyhole. Our efforts were rewarded ith this fine vista.

After we went through the keyhole, we were presented with the most technical, exposed part of the climb. Of course this is after gaining 4000' of elevation and hiking for 10-11 miles. Byron, as we are descending the couloir just below the narrows. We made it to the beginning of the narrows to around 14,000 feet. Since we were on the trail already for 7 hours, and we had a gnarly descent, we decided to call it. Maybe next time.
7 hours later, we got back to the car. Total trip time: 14 hours.

Ready for Costa Rica, Finally updated, Fall 2008

2008-10-22T22:02:00.000-06:00

Finally. Im updated from the summer and early fall, etc. Heres the most recent pics from my lastest travels.
Ready for Costa Rica
Pura Vida,

Wade and I decided to take advantage of last weekends good weather and head to Lost Creek Wilderness for a overnight backpack mission. This pic shows winter is on its way. Ice building on some rocks, lost creek.
Wade at the trail head. The weekend was 65 degrees on saturday and a little cooler on sunday.

Torrey dog, once again, workin' the camera.

We hiked down lost creek so Wade could do a little fishin' and i could do a little photog'n. This is a reflection from a pool that a spring coming from the rock wall in the reflection creates.

View from camp, dusk, Saturday Oct. 18th 2008. Probably my last backcountry mission in Colorado before Costa Rica.

Westwater Oct. '08

2008-10-22T20:36:00.001-06:00

My buddy Aaron got a westy permit for early this October('08). Ive been running Westwater every fall and spring for the past 4-5 years. Starting to lose track of how many times ive been down there. It was an assortment of my fellow guides from the lower Ark( Royal Gorge) and a few of Aarons friends. Needless to say, a good time was had by all. (when is it ever a bad time on westy?)
Tools of my trade, atleast on this particualr trip.

1. Yellow and purple thing on the LEFT: Perception Torrent sit on top kayak and paco pad, during the summer I took a normal customer paddle that had broke near the blade and simply added a t-grip that i had lying around. I pretty muched canoed this contraption thru most of the flatwater and the last rapid in westy (wasnt too sure of the setup for the main, big rapids.) I did paddle the torrent through the rapids with a normal kayak paddle though, sans paco.
2. Beer in middle: Pabst Blue Ribbon, beer of choice for my renegade, dirtbag lifestyle.
3 Yellow thing on RIGHT: my trusty pelican case ( Camera box, Duh!)

I met young master Ramsey my first year as a guide on the Ark. Here he is at home in his newly acquired mini-raft.... (Ducky, or Inflatable kayak.) And some typical westwater scenery.

Boatin with Dozer Dog again. Hes probably the best rafting dog i know of. Here, the two dogs have had enough sun. Yes, there is another dog in this picture, Hoback(?) dog is sittin on the left, mostly covered by the umbrella.

I sure do like nightshots. Here is a timed exposure in black rocks. The light is from a flashing, super-bright firework in the fire.

Mighty Upper Colorado Sept. '08

2008-10-22T20:00:00.000-06:00

Always looking for the next adventure, I planned a upper Colorado weekend overnight trip with my buddy Wade, for the weekend right after the Yellowstone trip. Me, Wade and a couple of his friends had a classic good time on 'Lower Gore.'
Torrey dog has always been pretty photogenic for me. She seems to have a knack for being in front of the lens. Catchin' some R&R on an oar.
Typical upper C' scenery.

We were using spnning reels and rods, a.k.a your average joe fishing rod, and Wade managed to catch this beauty. We kept passing these fancy commercial fishing outfitters with their pata-gucci clients using fly rods. We were a couple drunks makin a ruckus and probably pissing off said clients. All the more humorous for us.

Saw this fine specimen on the first day's float in. Makes me wanna start singing some song 'bout Amurica.

Yellowstone with RMSEL Sept. '08

2008-10-22T19:43:00.000-06:00

In the fall or spring, I sometimes have the oppurtunity to work for my old school, the Rocky Mountain School or Expeditionary Learning. This time around I was able to be a chaparone on a trip to Yellowstone with a group of middle school students. They wanted to go up there to study the effect of the wolves being reintroduced to the park. As you could imagine, a pretty awsome, genuine experience for the kids.

The school has a couple mini busses like this one. They had to replace the classic ford f-350 econoline 15 passenger vans. These have the name written on the side. Not as rugged as the old vans, but they sure are powerful. No short bus jokes, alright?

Rollin' into the park, thats Yellowstone lake. We had been driving all day.

We did a couple side hikes, this is mystic falls, I think.

They could have walked around our camp and avoided abunch of energetic youth, or they could just walk right through the middle. Here, a cow elk, her friends and children decide to invade our camp.

Had to include the steriotypical Old Faithful shot. Just to show we really went...

Washington, End of summer '08

2008-10-21T20:26:00.000-06:00

Ive traveled to the puget sound area of Washington state, San Juan Islands, every year for the past couple years. This is one of the ferries that takes cars and people to the islands. Each year the old man (my dad) and I travel by boat to various destinations. This particular trip led us up north into the southern end of Vancouver Island. We went to a cove that was supposed to be a warm swim area, but it turned out to be full of jellyfish. Right near the cove is the famous Butchart Gardens. This is one of the macros I took of the numerous flowers within the gardens.

We took the old man's boat to Lopez island for a sea kayak mission. This was a seal we saw during said mission.
On the way back home we noticed some unusual boat traffic near the south end of Lopez. Turned out to be commerical sea wildlife boats checking out these guys. Sea lions chillin' on some rocks.

On the south end of San Juan island lies Cattle point lighthouse. This was taken from the old man's boat cruising up cattle pass.
This was my favorite picture from the trip. This was taken while anchored overnight in Fisherman's bay, Lopez island. This is the very front of the bow of old man's boat. That is the anchor chain.
On the way to Cananda, we stopped at Stuart island. We took the dinghy to shore and hiked around the island. We hiked to a scenic lighthouse on the northern end of the island. As we neared the lighthouse, we heard an unusual sound. After further investigation, it turned out to be a mix of orca whale pods, right near the shore. Orcas, A.K.A. killer whales are apart of a larger family or 'pod.' There were so many whales that it appeared to be multiple pods.
Back on the boat, Stuart island. This was nearing sunset. I was up on the fly bridge and the water was so still it provided this excellent reflection.

Summary of Summer 2008

2008-10-20T20:14:00.002-06:00

This was one of my jobs. That little green thing near the bottom is my kayak. I would Paddle down in front of the commercial raft trips and get set up on shore to take their pictures going through the rapids. This is Sunshine falls in the Royal Gorge, the first class IV.
This is still apart of my position as photo kayaker. This was a picture I took of the Royal Gorge bridge. Obviously, scenery shots were apart of the game. This would have been included in the CD of pictures i took for this particular trip, along with the action shots of the clients on this trip.
This its my other job. Actually, as far as commerical river running, this might be considered my "Main job." You dont recieve tips as a photo kayaker, atleast most of the time. This is in Sunshine rapid, this particular hit or hole is the infamous "Sunshine hole" or "El Gigante." Im the orange helemt in the back, guiding the boat (Duh!) The photographer was KB a.k.a. Kayak Ben. He was our main kayak photographer. I only filled in when needed.
Sunshine hole A.K.A. El Gigante hit sequence (See above) Photographer: KB
Getting Er Done. Sunshine hole A.K.A. El Gigante hit sequence (See above) Photographer: KB

"Up on Cripple Creek, She said....." This is an old head frame in Cripple Creek, Co. One of Colorado's most famous mining camps. Cripple Creek is home to many old mines, including Colorado's "Second Best" mine tour, the Molly Kathleen Mine. The tour goes 1000 feet straight down into the earth.
These are two bighorn sheep I saw on the famous 'Shelf Road' route between Cripple Creek and Canon City. I saw these two duking it out in the middle of said road. Almost got a picture of them butting heads. Of course, I got too greedy, and they got a little scared.
Gettin' er Done. This is considered your 'textbook' "Bikini Boat!" A.K.A. Atta' Boy Boat. Thats me in the middle of a bunch of bikinis. They were waitresses at the White Water Bar and Grill. Photographer: KB.
Sunrise, Commanche Trail- Veneble Lakes trail.
I had met "Berto" my first summer guiding in the Canon City area. Basically, he a legend down there. He claims to have "the most runs down the Royal Gorge then anyone." Something more fact than fiction, probably. He led me up my first 14er in Colorado, the Crestone Needle. Each summer after, he led me up another legendary mountain in co. In other words, we were simply going to church. Berto and I climbed the Crestone Needle '04, Mt. Elbert '05, and made an attempt on Bushnell (13,500' +/-) '06. In this picture, we are hiking the Commanche Trail and the Phantom Terrace in the Sangre de Cristo range.
Berto likes to get a little glissading in when he can. Here, during the Commanche Trails, he makes 2 decents in hiking boots. This is decent 2. Those are some good turns.
Here we are at the top of the Phantom Terrace. L to R, Me, Berto, Pete, some chick.
Self-Portrait. (Tri pod & timer.)
Going on a kayak mission to Homestake Creek and Gilman Gorge. This was our stack, on KB's newly acquired mini van. What a sweet mission vehicle. Nice stack, too. 6 kayakers, 6 kayaks.
This is ND (pronounced 'inn-dee') having an almost piton-pin moment. He missed his boof stroke and drilled this rock underwater, with his bow, causing him to almost get stuck by the force of the current, underwater. Scary pic, fourtunately, he surfaced a half-second later.

"Crazy Ivan" Killin' it on Homestake creek. He ran this most drops that day, including a long stretch solo. Easy to see how he earned his nickname.
Put-in for Gilman Gorge. Im the furthest away, making some adjustments to my outfitting, in my new boat. Photographer: KB.
Home, Sweet, Home.
ND and I made another trek to conquer Castle creek and Slaughter House, both near Aspen. This is on our way back on hwy. 24 from Minturn to Leadville. This is called 'Falls Creek' and actually flows into Gilman Gorge, above or upstream of the first significant rapid. (For Gilman, see above.) Photographer: ND.
Photo taken on Hwy. 285 (I think) Sunset. ND and I making our way back home. This time around, late-summer, Slaughter house was only 1200 CFS. (Cubic Feet Per Second)

Zach Bopp and I decided to run Slaughterhouse early Season. This was taken on the drive over Independence Pass, Early May, '08. All this snow eventually made its way into the Ark, and into my memories of the biggest water i had seen in the Royal Gorge.
Here is Slaughter House Falls, runnin' about 2400 CFS. This is unusally high water for this stretch. We gotta run it this high becuase of the high snowpack during the '07/08 winter. (Near Aspen.)
Went on a mission to Upper Clear Creek, Bailey canyon and Eldorado. On this day we had significantly run Bailey and headed to Eldorado (near eldorado springs, Boulder.) Ivan was the only crazy one to run it, as it was extremely high. This is the reaction to his action. We had set up safety and video'd him on Harmon Falls, the hardest rapid, where he greased it. Shortly outta our sight, he proceded to swim outta his boat. This is what happens to your boat when it goes over a huge drop by it self, and on a bad line.

This was taken from my camp spot or 'home' for the summer. Ft. Gorge Campground, 7 miles west of Canon City.
Summer '08 Proved to be a 'high water' year. This is in the infamous "Three Rocks Rapid" which is only class III+ at most water levels. This summer, it was borderline V. This is my buddy Cameron's boat getting surfed in the meat. Obviously Cameron is long gone. They hit the meat and dump-trucked ( losing most of the people, sometimes the guide as well) and this customer was left in the raft surfing the huge hole all by his little lonesome.
Another guide falling victim to 'Three Rocks.' This is my bosses girlfriend having a little trouble in said rapid.
Anonymous guide eating it in Three Rocks. Say Good-night.
Every 3rd or 2nd weekend in June is FIB-Ark. Or First in Boating on the Arkansas. A huge festival of running rivers in Salida, Co. Here, in the raft rodeo, someone jumped off of the near boat, to intentionally flip the far boat. FIBArk is an awsome event that I Highly reccomend.

Tryin' to get 'er done

2008-10-13T18:55:00.000-06:00

Trying to get my poop in a group and update from this summer before i go to Costa Rica.
Oh, Yeah, Im going to Costa Rica Nov. 15th for 5 months to....... Kayak and raft guide!

May '08 Dolores River, South West corner, Colorado

2008-10-13T18:18:00.001-06:00

I had the oppurtunity to run the legendary Dolores River in southwestern Colorado in May. I had wanted to run this river since first getting into rafting and kayaking. Plus, this river hardly flows anymore, due to a dam near the headwaters. It takes a banner snow year to make this run flow. 07/08 had the snow, especially in the southwest.
So, Aboard the mighty gladiator we headed down to the D. Here, we are in Salida checking the trailer air pressure. I tried to do justic for the Gladiator and the trailer. 13' raft and 16' cat. Probably the best raft quiver ive seen. My play boat is on there somewhere, too.
This was on the drive near lizard head pass, I think. I took this outta the back window of the van. Norwood, Co. Needless to say, Guns 'n Ammo.

Dozer Dog. Aptly named. One hell of a raftin' dog. His name comes from two things, dozin, as in sleeping, when hes not digging massive ankle breaker holes. Nuff Said.
Check out the air born logs in the stern of this guy's raft. Silly weekend warriors, when will you ever learn? Look below to see how this guy nearly misses a concussion to the back of the dome.
Good thing hes wearing a helmet. Unidentified flying log. Its big, its heavy, its wood. Its better than bad, its good!Slickrock section of the Dolores. Sitting on a raft, one way to spend a day, despite the cold.

Early Summer 2008

2008-10-13T17:42:00.000-06:00

Back from Westwater and straight to the Ark. , I Litterally got home and headed off again the next day. Here, my trusty '92 4runner "Black Beauty" is fully loaded with all the essential gear for summer, and the raft/frame/oars I borrowed for westy. I Returned said boat on the way to Canon City.
Arrived Canon 4/25 and had to squat in a campground before i arranged a living situation for the duration of the summer. This is from the free royal gorge campground looking at Pikes Peak.
Old Al was an aquaintance i had met through a very good rafting comrade, Moldy Locks. At first, i was skeptical about Al. Turns out, hes a 65 year old renegade with a loaded ex-wife in Cali. Al, being the adventurous spirit that he is, didnt want to be 'retired' and live in the same house/place until he passed. Instead he travels around almost coinless and lives every day and moment in the absolute now. A couple al quotes: " If you cant do it, You cant stay!" "As long as my pocket is full and i have a place to lay my head, Im set, thats all i need." Here, he is reciting from the novel 'The Prophet'
Home sweet home for the 2008 Summer. My evolution of homes was quite strange on the Ark. Season 1- slept in black beauty. Season 2- Had a sweet, giant tent. Season 3- Rented a house in Canon City with a swamp cooler, talk about luxury. And then, somehow, despite my increased experience and seniority i began to de-evolve. Season 4- Tent within a tent, and Season 5- back in black beauty.

This is my trusty Home, Lounge, Commuter vehicle, and 4x4 off road truck, a 1992 Toyota 4Runner, aptly named "Black Beauty."

Off to another kayak mission. Me and Wade were going to paddle Good Ole' Parkdale when a couple rookies wanted to tag along. Turns out, we didnt run with them cause of their time restraints, and apparantly one of them busted their face on a rock in spike buck rapid, swam, thus causing some others to swim. Needless to say, we were glad we didnt run with them.

Westwater 4/20 Spring '08

2008-10-13T14:06:00.000-06:00

I Scored a huge rice krispies from my winter job and saved it for Westy. Heres Wade and Andy about to enjoy.
Its pretty cool what 6 green glow sticks and a 60 second exposure can do.
Andy and his new wife Amber.
Wade back in the saddle.

Lovin' Life.
Zach, Kyle, Me, and Wade. Echo Training reunion tour 2008. We did a Westwater trip for training.
Timed exposure. Westwater put in.
Ranger Station/Put in.

Now, as spring rolled around in 2008, I applied for and got my first private river permit. Private means its just me and who ever i pick to go along. I got a 25 person permit for Westwater canyon in Utah. April 18-21 '08. Ended up filling 23 of those 25 spaces. The trip went without a hitch, and my buddy Wade had his first Westy trip since his near catastrophic neck injury. It was also a reunion trip for a couple buddies and I that all trained together to be commercial guides in '04.

Summary of 07/08 Winter

2008-10-13T13:40:00.000-06:00

James Peak. Taken from my condo balcony. My condo balcony, notice what the two sets of iceicles are doing. A freeze/melt process made the first set go almost horizantal.

St. Mary's Glacier

Pounding in Vail. Had a ticket for the day, but woke up with a nasty sickness. Been kicking myself ever since.
Loveland Pass. Where's Willie? photo taken by a friend.
Notice what the sign says. Making a ruckuss with a chair, Berthoud Pass. Pic taken by P.

These are just a few others to sum up the 07/08 Winter. Needless to say, it was quite a winter.

More Winter 07/08

2008-10-13T12:34:00.001-06:00

We constructed a jump at Stevos place near Fraser. There was a construction office trailer nearby so we decided to utilize it as well. Sun shine, Beers and Bros. And sometimes gaper suits.

Yea, thats me droppin in one footed off of a consturction trailer/office building. Mega Cool Brah! Photographer: Brummet
I was taken these pics of these guys on the office (see above) and they were posin' and doing silly sh**. It wasnt till after i had downloaded and noticed the plane in the backround.
This is Stevo hittin the second jump we built. It gapped the in ramp for the first jump. So Greska stood on the first in ramp with his snowskate and Stevo proceded to job it. I think its a cool shot.....
Kyle killin it. Nice Gaper suit brah. This is the same jump from above. different angle, Duh.

Finally time for an update

2008-10-13T12:26:00.000-06:00

So after an eventuful summer, I thought it might be time to add a little to this. I know its fall, but here are some pictures from that jump at Winter Park from the 07/08 Season. Now, my buddy cant hold a camera still so unfourtunately theres no pics of me. However, these are my buddy Stevo, pictures are taken by me.

First Blog, First Big Lift Off

2008-04-08T23:48:00.000-06:00

.......Transmission Recieved.......
W here, Chose a good day to post my first blog. Hit the biggest jump Winter Park resort has to offer today!
Some 65+/- feet. Biggest jump of my life? Word. Biggest Frontside Shifty of my life? Word! Y'all check back soon and often for pics of this epically stoked to be pumped day! Also Westwater 4/20 son. WORD.