Mikel Carr and I had almost nonexistent plans for a short Ecuador
trip in late December 2019 and the first few days of 2020. I say “almost nonexistent” because we really did nothing except buy plane
tickets and set up a ride from the airport... but beyond that, we had done no
planning. This is my normal MO at all. Sometimes I can be an over-planner and
an over-packer, in part because I take comfort in knowing I am prepared.
However, this trip was the opposite. We knew we had other friends whose time
there would overlap with ours and we were ready to follow their lead and just
go with the flow (pun intended).
Luckily for us, my friends Drew Armstrong and Samanthan Brunner were going to be there for most of our trip. Drew had spend alot of time in Ecuador over 9 different trips and another good fiend Mark Kieran was living in Tena at the time and had offered to show us around a bit in that area. The whole trip was a whirlwind and was over
before we knew it. Looking back at the footage I realized there were several
runs I had no footage of at all and the whole experience seemed like a quick
glance at the country, the culture, and the rivers. We certainly have a lot
more to learn and experience and the only solution is a return trip, hopefully
for a longer stay this time.
I certainly owe a special thanks to Drew and Mark for sharing their knowledge of Ecuador and showing us the lines… on and off the
water. You guys really made the trip as good as it was and I can't thank you enough!
Below: Mark splatting below the big drop on the Upper Rio Jimenoa. Photo by Adam Goshorn.
In November of 2019, John Kern, Margaret Mlynarska, Mark Kieran, and I headed to teh Caribbean for a week of Creeking around the mountain town of Jaragacoa in the Dominican Republic. Despite our short timeframe of only 9 total days for the trip, we enjoyed a great week of warm weather, good food, and awesome paddling!
Below: Margaret on the Staircase Section of the Rio Jimenoa. Photo by Adam Goshorn.
Below: John on the Staircase Section of the Rio Jimenoa. Photo by Margaret Mlynarska.
Below: Mark on the Upper Rio Jimenoa. Photo by Adam Goshorn.
Below: Mark on the Upper Rio Jimenoa. Photo by Adam Goshorn.
Below: Video from our trip compiled from footage shot by John Kern and I.
Until Next Time...
Adam Goshorn
Below: Mark splatting on the Upper Rio Jimenoa. Photo by Adam Goshorn.
Below: Tight meanders on the East River downstream of the whitewater section and upstream of Crested Butte. Photo by Adam Goshorn.
It was a trip that was years in the making. Since Lulu was born in 2016, Shannon and I had
been talking about how to travel as a family and specifically how I could do padding
trips that would allow the family to come too.
In the summer of 2019 it finally came together. We bought a camper in May and planned out a three-week
trip to Colorado. Shannon, Lulu and I would
drive out together and after the first two weeks they would fly home. My brother was able to join me for the final
week of boating and then we would drive back across the country together. As a bonus, our friends Ouzal and Darcy were going
to join us for a week as well.
Below: Our campsite in Crested Butte. Photo by Adam Goshorn.
Below: Sliding down Daisy Creek. Photo by Darcy Johnson
Below: Lulu spotting "SNOW!" Photo by Adam Goshorn
Below: Local artist jamming out at camp. Photo by Adam Goshorn
Below: The view from our campsite outside of Buena Vista. Photo by Adam Goshorn.
Below: Ouzal hiking out after a high water run on the Upper East River. Photo by Adam Goshorn.
Below: Ouzal on the Slate River. Photos by Adam Goshorn.
Below: Ouzal on Big Wood Falls on Daisy Creek. Photo by Darcy Johnson.
Below: Shannon and Lulu wading in Lake Wilson. Photo by Adam Goshorn
Below: Shannon and Lulu high atop Independance Pass on our drive to Aspen to run the Roaring Fork. Photo by Adam Goshorn.
Below: Vitaly testing the fit while outfitting my Machno for himself to paddle for our final week in Co. Photo by Adam Goshorn.
Below: I didn't shoot much video on this trip, but I did get enough footage to put together a little tour of Daisy Creek. Filmed and edited by Adam Goshorn.
Until Next Time...
-adam
Below: A selfie by Shannon of our family on the day we departed for Colorado. The first of hopefully many many trips together.
Like most years, the natural progression of spring 2019 led to local water levels dropping throughout April and being dismally low in May. Dam released runs around the southeast keep us entertained and sharp as we started cooking up plans for summer travel to chase snow melt in the western US. A plan for a three week trip to CO in July was coming together nicely, but a couple old friends and I were also kicking around the idea of a reunion of sorts for early June in one of my favorite paddling towns, Kernville, CA.
I had spent some time in Kernville on multiple previous trips either to run various sections of the Kern River itself or getting laps on the classic bedrock playgroud of Brush Creek, a tributary of the Kern. As a paddling destination, the Kern River drainage is a little weird in the fact that if you are there when Brush Creek is running at a good level, the Kern itself is likely to be very high and most of the classic sections above recommended levels. However, if you are there later in the runoff when a lot of the sections of the Kern are at more ideal flows, Brush Creek is almost certainly low and likely too low.
With the huge snow pack from the winter of 2018-2019 it seemed like we were finally going to get our chance to catch Brush Creek with really good flows. We only had a week in June when we could go, so with fingers crossed we bought plane tickets and put the plan in motion. The gamble paid off with a week of laps on perhaps the friendliest 350 FPM creek anywhere! Over our time there Brush had consistent flows between 3.75 and 4.5 feeding our souls with granit goodness and just enough push to keep our focus.
January is often a time of high rainfall and awesome boating
around northeast Alabama and 2019 was no exception. However, after a couple weeks of great
paddling my creeking season was suddenly put on hold when I broke my ribs on my
cockpit during a rough reconnect on Asleep at the Wheel on Allen Creek in
Georgia. The name Asleep at the Wheel
comes from how easily it is to get past the point-of-no-return and accidentally
committed to running it without scouting, a situation that happened to the
first descent crew and happened to the two paddlers in front of me on my first
time down. What you can’t see in this video is the long sequence of slides
above the main event that lure paddlers in with only one, last-chance eddy on
the right to get out and scout. Not that scouting makes that big a difference
since you can’t see the bottom from the top anyway.
Asleep at the Wheel is both intimidating and unique and despite
having run it a few times over the years it continues to make me nervous every
time. Combining footage shot by friends and I from a few different runs over
the years seemed like the best way to showcase this beast… and everything looks
better in slow motion! At 1:13 in the video below you can see the hit that took
me out for a bit.
After five weeks of not boating at all (and missing out on
some epic flows the whole time) I finally decided to start easing back into
boating. On one particularly high-water
day I talked my buddies Jerrod Jones and Chuck Holbrook into checking out an
obscure run high in the Little River watershed.
In fact, it is so high in the watershed that the put-in and the first
half of the run are in Walker County, Georgia, but the take out is just
upstream of the town of Mentone, Alabama.
We knew the East Fork of the West Fork of the Little River had been run once
or twice before, but I’m pretty confidant in saying we had the best flows of
any of the groups to attempt it. What we
found was a fun run with great water quality and scenery and perhaps most
surprising, very few portages for wood considering the size of the streambed.
Over the next six weeks I slowly eased back into paddling as
my ribs continued to heal. Eventually,
as spring (and the local creeking season) were winding down, I finally felt
fully healed. Needless to say I somewhat
felt like I missed out on a lot of my normal spring creeking, but at least I
was healed up before summer travels and I was determined to make it a memorable
one!
I was pretty excited when I heard Pyranha was going to make
a second generation of the 9R series. The
original 9R Large fit me well and complemented my Machno nicely for times when
I wanted more speed. I also always have
a some amount of anxiety surrounding a update of an existing boat that I like. I worry the new design might not suit me as
well and being at the top of (or sometimes over) the weight range on most boats,
sizing is always one of my biggest (pun intended) concerns (#bigguyproblems). I always wonder if the new design be big enough
for all day comfort and will it float me high enough in the water for me to
take advantage of all the intended benefits of the design.
When the stats of the 9R II Large were finally released, my
fears were eased and my excitement spiked.
Despite being the same volume (90 gallons) as the first generation, the new
large is around ¾ of an inch narrower and 6 inches longer! Just reading the stats got me excited. One drawback of the original 9R Large was
that because of the design choice to keep the overall length to under nine feet
(to keep it in the short-boat class when racing), it simply wasn’t as fast or
nimble as the smaller version. I was
really pleased to hear that this time around the design would not be restricted
to the arbitrary nine-foot mark. The
added length would certainly help add speed and just as importantly it allowed
for a slight narrowing of the overall width, which enhances both speed and agility.
Boat Stats: Pyranha
9R II Large
Length: 9’5”
Width: 26”
Volume: 90 gal
Weight: 51 lbs
Optimum Paddler Weight: 165-275 lbs
When reading a review of a boat (or any other gear), it is important
to have some background on the reviewer to be able to take their assessment in
context and see their opinion for what it is.
As for me, I started paddling canoes with my dad in the 1980s and moved
from canoes to kayaks in 2000. I’ve been
paddling 100-150 days a year ever since with perhaps 20% of that time spent
playboating and the other 80% spent running creeks and rivers. As a big guy (6’1” tall and 265 lbs), I’ve made
it a point to try most of the larger kayaks that have come out over the
years. I enjoy trying different boats
and comparing the various design features… after all, every choice in design is
somewhat of a tradeoff and I find it interesting to experience the differences.
At the time of this writing, I’ve had about a dozen days in
the 9R II Large. A couple great days on Johnnies
Creek, a steep (300 FPM), low-volume creek consisting of a mix of bedrock slides
and boulder rapids. I’ve also gotten ten days on another local favorite, Little River Canyon, at levels ranging from 400-1300
CFS. The character of Little River
Canyon varies greatly depending on the water level. At lower levels it consists of technical, boulder-choked
rapids that require precise maneuvering.
At higher levels, the character shifts to that of pushy river running on
steep rapids with some serious holes.
The variety of levels over the past month have provided a great
opportunity to test the 9R II Large in a lot of different situations.
One of the first noticeable things when looking at and
paddling the 9R II is the dramatic, up-turned bow. The bow rocker continues almost all the way to
where the deck of the boat meets the nose.
When sitting neutral in the water, the uppermost extent of the bow
rocker is at least as high as the front of the cockpit rim, maybe even higher. On the water this results in a ton of bow
lift and a boat that wants to go over everything in its path. When coming off pour-over features and ledges,
it changes downward momentum into forward momentum extremely efficiently…
sending the paddler satisfyingly skimming across the backwash.
Despite the overall width being narrower than the original
9R Large, the widest part of the 9R II Large stays wider for longer towards the
stern of the boat. This strategically
placed width and volume really helps keep the boat more level when coming out
of holes and landing drops. Instead of a
big wheelie, where the bow shoots skyward and lots of momentum is lost, the downward
momentum become forward momentum without slowing down as much. The updated large also has a little bit more pronounced
chine edge in the center of the boat which can be engaged with a slight lean to
whip into an eddy or hold a line when charging through turbulent water.
The Large Machno’s greater overall load capacity is
something to consider for paddlers over the recommended weight range for the 9R
II Large, those planning to carry enough gear that would put them over the recommended
range, or just those wanting the biggest, most forgiving boat for heavier
paddlers. The Machno’s higher volume and
rounder edges do make it even more forgiving, but it is certainly not as high performance. The tradeoff is that being narrower and having
a slight edge keeps the 9R II from getting pushed around as easily in higher volume
situations and in those scenarios, it seems to hold a line a little better than
the Machno.
Below is some video from my first week paddling the 9R II
Large. I tried to pick out clips that
show the way the hull reacts in a variety of circumstances. Since that first week, I’ve moved the seat
forward and am feeling even more dialed-in, a change I’d definitely recommend for
anyone at the higher end of the weight range.
With my weight slightly more forward, it was easier to control the bow
and seemed to really add precision to my boat placement.
The 9R II is an impressive design and combined with the dimensions
of 9R II Large, Pyranha has created perhaps the fastest and most nimble boat
that has ever been available for bigger paddlers. Faster acceleration, faster outright speed, quicker
turning… what’s not to like? Despite all
its high-performance characteristics, overall it is also very forgiving, a feature
to be appreciated by beginners and experts alike. A few quick strokes bring it up to speed, it boofs
over anything, and moves around the river with the handling of a sports
car. I love everything about it and look
forward to zipping around my favorite runs in it for years to come!
