FITWah Rising...

Today, I met up w/ Fish and we rallied up to the pass. I misplaced my watch, so timing runs was out. There were a lot of paddlers up there. The weather was very nice and sunny. At first we thought the creek might be lower than  it was last night, but once we got on it we realized it was definitely a bit higher. We heard some whistles while we were setting shuttle...
    When we drove away tonight The "cup rock" was completely covered except for about a 2" diameter peak on the downstream side of the rock. Small waves frequently surged to wash over it as well.

    Those drops in the Fearsome Foursome were certainly starting to blend together. Each lap seemed noticeably higher than the previous, and several other paddlers I talked to developed that impression as well: that the creek was rising while we were on it.

LAP #1:
    Two guys had put on before us, and when Fish and I got down through to Fisherman's, There were some more whistle toots. Fish ran it, and I heard a few more whistle toots. Later I'd find out that Fish's skirt popped while he surfed in the ledge, but evidently he got out fine. Two guys were on the rock beside Fisherman's. One was giving me a helmet pat, the other was giving me the sliced throat gesture. Hmmm. Mixed signals. Decided to get out (below Island drop), stand up, and poke my head over the rocks to see for myself: a boat surfing by itself in the ledge. Fishing for Otter, today, I guess. Fisherman's nearly got me last night. Had to paddle hard to get out. Tonight flows were higher. Anyway, Being on the Left bank, I was able to assist in getting a rope attached to the bow of the yellow boat. Fish had ferried the rope to me downstream of the drop. It took A VERY LONG TIME for me to reach around about a dozen trees to handle the rope upstream to where I could carefully maneuver down to the left corner of the hole. The rope kept getting caught on little saplings and branches. My advice for a similar situation in the future would be to position oneself on the leftbank by the hole first, THEN have the rope thrown to you. Much quicker, I'd wager. Live and learn. Anyway, once I clipped to the bow it was easily pulled out into the R.Right eddy by the two on the rock.

Lap #2: I don't remember much. Only that it seemed higher than the run immediately before. Fast, Fluffy, and not without some power at the base of the drops. I was farther right than normal coming down F.F. drop # 2, to stay lined up on the right for drop # 3. My tail got caught on some center currents, and slipped downstream of me. Now I was surfing in the hole at the base of drop #2. Had to dig in some strong reverse sweeps to get out.

Lap #3: The seal launch pool was crowded, and it was great to see so many folks out on such a spectacular day, as well as some familiar faces. Paul, Ben and Jake showed up and I went on down with Fish and Paul. While the run is a lot faster at this flow, it's also a lot smoother, with lots of the bones covered up. The Green Curtain Boof (Larry's Pin drop) is a lot easier, I think, with a little extra water. The 3 small class II and class III flavored drops after that were roomier and more fluid. Kinda pulled some minor muscle fibers putting in a few required strokes to stay on line. Bonked against the right wall at the bottom of the F.F.drop #3 because I got too far right (didn't want to be left!).

Lap #4: Launched with Fish, Paul, Ben, & Jake. Levels seemed fat and juicy, more so than the other runs. Some of the drops packed a wallup in the landings, and overall it felt pretty good. Probably my smoothest run today, despite some sore muscles. Decided to call it a trip and save my energy for the weekend. Hiked up, still in gear, with my throwbag to Fisherman's to hang out again on R.Left and set safety