Tommy Hagg "The Gnarls Canoe Movie"

[FullGnarlzOC]

I know gman has many-a-times. When we were up there, gman demanded that there was 'rarer' stuff running. Although Independance slide would have been a blast. It was either too high, or too low, when we were talkin about going.

[Creeker]

yup the indy is about the easiest natural flowing creek to getin the daks.....comes up quick and goes as low until you want till you grind the bottom off your boat.

The run starts to come alive around 400 cf. I'd only pick it off first if its up around 1000+ then the whole run has some honest Gnarlz instead of just the Fat Lady slide. Without a doubt don't miss the drops below the closed bridge....there be some of the best FullGnarlz on the run though they do pick up wood and bad FullGnarlz wood at that.

thought you'd like that phrasing tom....hahaha given our conversation the other day.

[Louie]

We did it over 400 the Moose was very high.

[FullGnarlzOC]

CCGHers wanted a trip report for Gauley, so I wrote one, and concluded with this 'summer in review'. Paints what's going on pretty well. and you guys know how i'm all about sharing my boating experience, the good and bad, from beginning to end. So anyways here's the copy/paste.


"Since this '[pillow rock] incident' I was able to get out to the Upper Yough, on Friday with 90 degree weather. Nothing better than an end of summer run of 4 miles of constant Class IV(it's definitely not class v). It was really great to see where I am at now, in relation to two months ago when I first hit the Upper Yough (yes it was only 2 months ago). This was my 10th run, and it was just me, Brian, and this Laura girl. The river wasn't crowded at all, and we had the feeling that we were out there on our own. No one to really worry about, and just our own pace to set...and eddy by eddy we went.

The whole run felt very comfortable to me. I always felt somewhat comfortable even since the 1st run, but this was on a whole new level. Everything just felt in slow motion. Things were no longer happening fast. I was able to see, process, and react with every water feature. I scoured the river bank to bank, on any, and all rapids I wanted, named or boogey; it didn't matter. It felt like I was dicing up the LowerYough or Lehigh. Ariel moves were effortless(eddys/boofs). On the hard lines, I stuck the race slot, National boof, Tommy's Hole(went 0-6 my first six runs), and Time Warp. This is the second time I've stomped all 5 lines in a day... although this time... just felt better.

My favorite line was on Meat Cleaver, which is a 7ft boof, into some class II slackwater, down a squirrel toungue, between two rocks. You can also go left, or right of either rock, but you're mind had better be made up. I always just go between the middle, because its the highest percentage move, and this is a rapid you don't want to screw up. Anyways... I had struggled with this simple 7ft boof in the past, except this time I paddled right up to, and beautifully hit the boof with total confidence... as what's a 7ft boof when you have spent the last three weeks doing much bigger and harder. Then i finished with a smooth dry line between the rocks. Awesome Line.

Basically the morale of the story is... the Upper felt really easy and good to me. I am very happy with where I am at, and the progress I have made. Just 4 months ago, I hit my first combat roll, and paddled my first class III-IV river. A month after that, I had fully bombproofed my roll, and developed complete confidence in it, which allowed me to push it all summer. My philosophy of "run it today, to stomp it tomorrow" served me very well.

It was a summer filled with flips (over 100 Class III-V rolls between May to Now). But I stuck 98% of my rolls, and swam just 3 times all summer. While I would much rather not flip, it happens to the progressing paddler trying to 'work it out' and figure out water features never yet seen before. The more I ran, the more I learned, the more I understood, and the more comfortable I felt.

I'd be lying if I said I didn't put myself at risk along the way. But such is the penalty for serious progression in the Class IV/V school of Hard Knocks. Any mistake at this level severely alters the plan. Some can be worked out, some must be worked out, and some....welll some, you just pray will work out, and have faith that they will. Have faith in your skills. Have faith in your intuition. And have faith in... Fate. Bottom line, the better and cleaner I get; the more flawless I will become. And flawless is the name of the game when going FullGnarlz.

So what now I ask myself... well, I believe the answer is in practice, and Yellow breaches clinics(drilling on local class I creek). Back to the basics.... again. Always go back to the basics, build on them, perfect them. I've got a lot of work to do, and I'm staying true to what has got me here... continue to paddle as much as I can, as hard as I can, and as clean as I can (i've added this). So while the summer was unforgettable to me in terms of breaking into Class V whitewater; the fall rain season is around the corner; tons of trickling creeks are ready to roar, and when they do... I'll be there. After all, the Green Race is coming quickly. And there's work to be done."

I'd be interested in writing a more in depth article regarding my thoughts on progression, physically and mentally; what helped me, and what works in general; if anyone would want to read such content. Could make for an interesting discussion, after all we aren't in the old school days anymore. We are in the new 'age' of paddling. Kayakers and Canoers alike are progressing faster than ever before; thanks to endless examples in videos, awesome instructional books/dvds, and local clubs to quickly with. Gone are the days of having to learn EVERYTHING by yourself.