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Click here for the 1999 Trinity River Photos
| Solo whitewater canoeing has become a passion of mine since moving to the Sacramento area. I never thought I'd be going through rapids such as Troublemaker on the South Fork of the American River. I had the most fun on the Chilibar run down through Troublemaker and on into Coloma. That run turns into the Coloma to Greenwood Creek run then on through The Gorge to the takeout at Folsom Lake. Above you can see me going through Troublemaker in October of 1998. My friend, Jim D. was in a great spot in his kayak as I came through. Roger K. was with us, too. He's in the pink Dagger Prophet and I'm in the Aqua colored Dagger Genesis. Click here for some more pictures of this run.
For many years, I went to Florida throughout the year to visit my family. During every visit, my brother, Jim, and I would canoe down the Wacassassa River near Yankeetown. It was no more than about 50 ft wide in the widest place and had no current, but it was secluded and swamp-like. It was also very shallow and was one big switchback. So, it was fun and took from 8 to 12 hours to paddle, depending upon where we decided to take out. |
| Although, we had a lot of fun, we began to wonder where we could find a river that had some moving water. One day in 1994, Jim drove through North Carolina and saw how much fun everyone was having on the Nantahala River. The only photo he had was a postcard, but, it sparked some enthusiasm. We began looking for rivers (moving water, that is) in the East Coast. |
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| After taking many classes through the Red Cross and other local canoe companies, such as South Fork Custom Canoe Outfitting, we came to learn about solo (and tandem) canoeing. I am particularly grateful to be so near (less than 2 miles away) to Ernie Gunter and Carol Bonser of South Fork Custom Canoe Outfitting, of whom I give credit to most of the advanced techniques required to paddle class 3+ rivers. |
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| During the July 4th weekend in 1997, I was invited to join a group of paddlers, coordinated by Ernie and Carol, to enjoy a 3-day canoe/camping adventure on the Trinity River. This was about 70 miles West of Redding, Ca. The first day was an easy class I/II. Day 2 was a lot of class II and Day 3 was class III with one class III+ rapid (called Hell Hole). The photo on the left is me just as I was going over the first drop. For perspective, my canoe is 13.5 ft long. The photo on the right was about a second or two later, as I was starting to descend over the second drop. This was taken by a professional photographer from the rocks on river left. This is where I leaned a little more than I should have to compensate for what seemed to cause everyone else to go over on their right side. I may have taken only one more stroke before I ended up riding the rest of the way down on my "low brace". After I finished my desent, I rolled the canoe back to an upright position and paddled to shore. Everyone cheered! It was great! Only a few were able to roll back up. Ernie and Carol rolled back up in their tandem canoe! I think they are the only ones that can do that (so far!). Jim and I were successful in a pool to roll up in a tandem canoe once (maybe twice). We intend to perfect that in the upcoming years.
Just before I got in line to go down Hell's Hole, Carol Bonser took me aside and told me that this is the "ultimate roll place" and that, whatever I do, DO NOT EJECT, but to take my time and take one step at a time and roll up. I did just that! Thanks again Carol (and Ernie). |
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| This is what Hell Hole looks like near the top |
This is what Hell Hole (Trinity River) looks like from above |
This is what Hell Hole looks like at the bottom |
My canoe was outfitted by South Fork Custom Canoe Outfitting. They helped me choose a color scheme. My Genesis is outfitted for use as either a solo or tandem canoe. I prefer to solo, but, I have used it tandem. I have two thwart bags to carry all my junk, ... er, stuff. One thwart bag just doesn't do it. You end up bringing a lot of stuff wherever you go and it's nice to have a place to store it. The seats can be adjusted forward and backward for the perfect trim. When people see my boat on the rivers, they know it was done by South Fork Custom Canoe Outfitting. They say "Ernie did that, huh!? Nice boat!!"
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To make a long story short, we ended up canoeing down the Yadkin River in N.C. in August, 1995. We took about 5 days and four nights to paddle the 155 miles. We camped along the shores and on the many islands. We rarely saw anyone! This river was almost a continuous rapid, dropping 420 feet in the 155 miles. Now, after much more experience, it seems like a Sunday afternoon cruise! That was the beginning of our pursuit of greater canoeing adventures. One thing led to another, and here we are, solo canoeing in class 3+ rivers! Here is a postcard of a part of the Nantahala River, near Bryson City, N.C., one of the most popular rivers in America. Follow this link for a few 
October 5, 1996 was a major turning point in my solo canoeing adventures. I gained the confidence required in surfing waves. Also, at the end of the day of class, Ernie and Carol invited all of us to Carol's pool for a roll session. The objective was to learn to roll the canoe back up in the event we capsize. I watched Bob Foote's video "The Open Canoe Roll" more than 50 times during the preceding month. I was determined to learn how to "roll" because I thought it was a mandatory skill to have when canoeing class 3 rapids. In a short session, I successfully rolled upright 5 times in a row! Wow! I was on my was to Chili Bar! When asked by Ernie, at the start of class that fine Oct day, what we wanted to learn from the class, I said I wanted to learn what was needed to join the groups canoeing down the South Fork American River from Chili Bar to Coloma.