Royal Gorge - Not for Mothers Eyes

I know I say this about a lot of river trips but this is the best multi-day, or even single river trip, I have ever done. Although the original team of six was eventually reduced to four, due to work commitments and and just not feeling it, I could not have picked a better crew to go in there with. Logistic's worked better than imagined with Shannon driving our shuttle (thank you), Corey taking our car back to Auburn (thank you) and for Rach, Dee and Matt who walked into the generation gap put in, day two camp, with steak, pesto, pasta, bacon, bagels, avacado, cheese, beers and even goon! With a good flow on the guage we decided it was on... it came up and it just made it better. Here is some photos from the first day through the first gorge and Heath One.


- Barny and Charles routing the first gorge (P. Jordy)


- Charles punching a big hole (P. Jordy)


- Barny rocking the mystic (P. Jordy)


- Stomping early on day one (P. Jordy)


- Me coming into a sweet boof (P. Barny)


- The postman (Justin) delivering the goods on Heath One (P. Jordy)


- Snarley Charley searching for the pot of god (P. Jordy)


- Barny going big...kiwi style (P. Jordy)


- Yeah boy, me greasing my drop (P. Barny)

Without Justin showing us down the lower Heath Gorge we would of had more photos, had spent more time on the river and probably had less fun... we all love follow the leader class V. Arriving at camp with plenty of day light, we went for a swim, laid naked on the warm granite, drunk some whisky, had a sick camp fire and ALL had Rattlesnake Falls on our mind... a 60 foot waterfall only fifty metres downstream of camp.


- Barny and Charles stoked with the Whisky (P. Jordy)


- Justin 'Postman' Pat and Snarley Charley caught in the ambience on the fire
(P. Jordy)


- Barny doing the same, showing some thigh (this one is for Airika)(P. Jordy)


- Man I love camping (P. Jordy)

Day two starts heavy with the 'White Gorge' before Rattlesnake Falls and never really relents. With everyone stomping the drop in good fashion, the scene was set for another incident free day in the Royal Gorge.


- Snarley having some class V for breakfast (P. Jordy)


- Barny running his drop... so sick! (P. Jordy)


- Me on Rattlesnake... sorry mum (P. Barny)


- Barny stomping perfect 20 (P. Jordy)


- The postman on split falls (P. Jordy)


- Barny running left on Split falls (P. Jordy)


- Charles and Myself trying to run split falls at the same time, almost (P. Barny)


- Me checking out the valley from Wabena (P. Barny)


- Postman and Snarley below Wabena (P. Barny)


- Our heros... cooking some fat steaks! (P. Jordy)


- The postman trying to clear us a campsite (P. Jordy)


- Some pretty amazing wilderness (P. Jordy)

Day three was a 20 mile paddle out through the Generation and Giant Gap sections. After some good rapids in the Generation section we played some nalgene passing for about 2 hours to pass the time of the paddle out. This is such an amazing trip I cannot say enough about it. This is a LOT of paddling in the class IV+ - V area with a lot of harder stuff if you want it. Again, put this on your bucket list.

South Fork Merced River

After reading the pages from the Californian Bible about the South Merced being one of the most quality multi-day trips in the world, I have forever been keeping my eye on the flows in that area. After a day off and recruiting another West Coaster, the man the legend Jared Mitchell, the flows were down the a level we we're confident we would handle so it was time to rally to Yosemite. This is a long run, almost 40km and involves a LOT of paddling. With a lot of West Coast of New Zealand character boulder gardens and then a random massive slide chucked in, this was an amazing trip that I would do again in a heartbeat. Here is some, of the numerous, fantastic rapids.


- Keith coming through a big rapid early on day one (P. Jordy)


- Barny running a rapid with a NASTY sieve (P. Jordy)


- Barny and Keith is some classic boulder gradens (P. Jordy)


- Me avoiding a big hole (P. Barny)


- Keith and I routing a long rapid (P. Barny)


- Keith punching a big hole (P. Barny)


- Me with plenty left to do in this long rapid (P. Barny)


- Barny looking to avoid a big hole (P. Jordy)


- Barny firing a HUGE slide (P. Jordy)


- Keith coming into the entrance of the big slide (P. Jordy)


- Jared checking out a solid drop (P. Jordy)


- Me on the lead in to the big slide (P. Barny)


- Barny getting artistic with the artistic rep (P. Barny)


- Barny running a solid ledge drop (P. Jordy)


- Keith punching a big hole (P. Jordy)


- Me coming down a sweet ledge (P. Barny)


- Dodgey undercut anyone? (P. Barny)


- Me on the last big slide (P. Barny)


- Barny running our lunchtime drop (P. Keith)

With a setting like Yosemite, countless white-water, being remote and the people you elect to go in there with... this is surely going to be an epic adventure one way or another. Put this on your bucket list.

Upper Summit Run - South Yuba

Another sun soaked day in California and another stretch of granite. After planning to have a rest day, and a similar plan on shannons behalf, we decided since we were going to be in the area we should get on the extremely scenic Upper Summit run. Apart from the inital, and aparant, roadside nature at the beginning this run if a nice chill way to spend the afternoon. If we were going back we'd link it with the lower summit run but we were all content with out run.


- Barny on a sweet slide


- Me trying to get right


- Barny on the lead in to Rainbow


- Shannon on Rainbow

This a pretty good run and with more water would be sick. Link both runs and make it a full day or anything.

Big Kimshew

For years I have heard that Big Kimshew is one of the biggest days in California. After getting the Yuba Gap, South Branch and Upper Middle Consumes, and a quick trip up to Oregon for the Little White and NF of the Clackamus, the stars aligned... flows were right, our boy Keith joined the A-Team and it was on! With fantastic beta for the shuttle from Taylor Cavin we found the river and oh what a river. Big Kimshew was big... and we liked it.


- Charles on the first 20 footer


- Barny entering Kimshew


- Me on Kimshew... yes!!!


- The drop below Kimshew... boof centre?


- Keith weighing up Frenchies


- Charles firing off Frenchies


- Keith... money shot!!!


- Me of Frenchies


- Just another stout drop... so good

This run is truely fantastic, drop everything and go. Between 400 and 800 on the middle feather guage means calling in sick, cancelling a date or what ever... Everything goes if you want it to and add secret stash to the bottom if you want to avoid a terrible walk out.