Gulf Hagas video

[rcgalwa]

So has this been done in an open boat yet? (Not my video but worth a look) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8rIVIa2c ... e=youtu.be" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Creeker]

I've run it in my kayak last about 3 years ago. It is the singular one river that I've run in the east that you have to run a rapid and portaging is impossible. You work your way into a gorge that has 100 ft cliffs on each side. If you do climb up 70ft risking your life there seems to be a band of featureless 15-20 feet impossible to climb from a skilld climbers perspective. My friend that lost his boat up at turnstile walked/ swam / cat clawed the wall through Jaws at minute 2:00. You are just screwed if there is wood in there. I'm just saying its a very serious open boat run only for that unwalkable character at Jaws. I did it at a much higher water level and Jaws is powerful at higher water. It looks VERY easy in this video. Lines I took hardly have water or power here.

The deal is whatever water level you get, you get, its a very hard creek to gauge the level. I would let a few days roll out after a bigger rain event. I think I ran it at 12" above the footer. I've heard of people wanting it near even with the footer (that seems really low). I don't think any openboater has run it yet. I want to say I ask Jim Mischaud and he said no but that might be worth a second check. I ran probe though Jaws and I just prayed to god that there wasn't a strainer in there at the boof. We had a broke paddle and 2 swimmers at the end of Jaws. Personally I would walk the creek and spot the line from 100ft up before I ran it again at Jaws. there is a river left trail along the whole side of the creek but after about the 5th drop you can't get to it for the Crux of the run.

Having Kayaked it I might OC it in time but it takes me 11-12ish hrs to get there and the boating other than that is sort of marginal compared to that type of run. Its the biggest skunkfest waiting to happen. When I got it, the prior day I got Joe's and the Winooski in VT which are really hard to catch so I was on a roll. One car, a bike and 3-4 boaters will work fine. OH, I led the last 2 miles by stars and a full moon with some class 4 and 3 just as light faded out Late october. I scouted the last bigger drop ok but by the time I got back on the water I just had to feel the line. Don't take pictures at the 1st 5 waterfalls just get to the gorge and fire it up....take a headlamp to paddle the class 2+ at the end at the very worst. Everyone seems to have a dark exit story sooner or later there. Walk to the river take out to realize how to spot it at dark......can I emphasize dark anymore

[Creeker]

I'd be up to drive to Freeport to carpool up even for the weekend given the right rain event.

[Shep]

Creeker, If you had a support crew with ropes would Jaws be scoutable or portagable?

[Creeker]

it is the single rapid I can think of ever in my paddle career where you can't scout, can't walk, can't back out, REALLY shouldn't swim, just one way in and one way out...and I have a very high tolerance for climbing out as a 5.8 trad wall lead climber. It is a solo rapid. You are not getting any help from anyone in there even if they see you from upstream or downstream. That at least is my recollection of the rapid as I poorly scouted from 40-50 yards upstream of the Jaws boof. I zipped though it and had to attend to a swimmer that busted a paddled falling into the hidden notch in the boof ledge. I ran it at about 12". I think it will prove a chore finding people that ran it that high (my guess). Just saying I was busy but this is the stuff that I usually evaluate very accurately even quickly on the fly. I would probably feel better about the rapid if I paddled Jaws at ELF flow to really understand the nature of the sieves that line the right side leading into the Jaws boof. I wouldn't mind giving up plastic to do this run Low. The level of this video is not a bad OC1 flow. I'd be happy getting that flow.

[Jim Michaud]

I never ran Gulf Hagas in an open canoe but I think that John Connelly has. Not positive though. I've only run it in a 13-foot Hahn (good old days).

[Craig Smerda]

http://www.americanwhitewater.org/conte ... 2/page/30/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Creeker]

Kind of interesting reading that 1992 AW article Craig. Right off the bat high water run at the time was about 9" lower than I've run it taking it at face value. I got a bit anxious reading their descriptions.