Just one week left

There's something peculiarly Californian about the sound of a beer opening prior to putting on. Popping a Pabst Blue Ribbon Matty cheerfully praised the cheapest beer in safeway (at $7 a dozen he's not far off) as we hung out in the shade at the top of another section of boatscoutable class IV.

We've just come south again after a visit to the far north - we walked through red woods for Mike's scenic experience, and visited Otter Bar to pick up Matty's new boat. Due to the late melt and close to 200% snow pack up there we got to run some spring sections, including the North Fork of the Salmon and the New River Gorge. Friends from home Jo and Keith looked like the Otter Bar lifestyle was something they were just managing to cope with.

The snowmelt bubble further south has passed and this week it looks like the big runs are going to drop. With new friends arriving in the state and lots of time on class IV under the collective team belt it looks like it's time to take on a little more. Middle Fork of the Feather here we come...

Birthday with the river gypsies

Paddling trips are - happily! - much more than time on the river. We've been sussing out local boaters at the put in of the biggest runs we've done for years, settling in for long beer-ful evenings in the bar playing pool, and making the thousands of tiny team decisions that shape each day.

In our first week Matty has been a bit crook and his initial strategy - drink beer and get out on the water - finally backfired and he took a few days off to work on his tan. Mike and I paddled with Norwood and his crew on some classic Californian sections of the Yuba River.


There's still a lot of snow up there and with warm rain and rising temperatures the rivers went off their chops. While I scrambled along the bank, Kenny and Scot ran most of the Sierra City to Downieville section.



We've just met up with Leland, Andria and Hudson, oggled their new guidebook (check out brushymountain.com) and it seems that with the levels like this the best thing to do is to hop in the car and drive north. Otter Bar! Here we come.

Thanks for the birthday wishes!
Polly

Fourth day in Cali...

Arriving in California Matty's lengthy period in a windowless room with Immigration was matched by my fairly tedious wait on the tarmack in Vancouver. All sorted itself out eventually and we are now the proud drivers of a substantial American carrrr, and have got out on the water.
Our warm up run on the Chamberlains Falls run on the American River demonstrated they've had a pretty weird spring here. Gleams of sunshine were followed by spots of rain. In late May! The forecast says it's all about to warm up.

Happily, the weather cleared as we drove south to the Tuollome river and ran the lower river. This eighteen mile stretch was a super exciting high water trip when I ran it ten years ago - this time with a third of the flow and a much larger boat it is a fun way to see a beautiful wild canyon with some friendly locals.

Having had our first experience getting lost at midnight, we found the north fork of the Stanislaus. I asked the locals nicely for some intermediate creeking - and that's what we got. Friendly boofs and short steep rapids in a pretty granite gorge with huge pines. We're here!

More photos soon.

Polly, Matty, Mike

House! Now it's time to go on holiday...

The first six months living in my own house (it’s the first time I’ve ever managed it) have been surprisingly fun. Discovering the domestic goddess within I have not only managed to paint the roof but found new kitty Ajax, discovered that most curtains are expensive but some are more boring than others, and embarked on my first renovation project.

Houses are nice to live in, but boating is much more exciting. Happily, Matty, Mike and I have booked a sneaky three weeks in California mid year. June in Christchurch is dark, cold, there isn’t any snow, and even the ever-popular pot luck dinner format is wearing thin. The prospect of sunshine and Californian creeking meant May zoomed by as I got off the couch and tried to get vaguely fit. Balancing the house and holiday budget meant that going wild on new toys wasn’t really an option, but somehow I acquired a new boat, camera and pink hoody (thanks Ngaio) in the lead up to the trip.

We fly into San Francisco on 26 May and pick up our rental carrrrr. In a trip which is bound to do terrible things for our carbon footprint, we plan to drive a big shiny inefficient American SUV all over the state in search of boatscoutable class four. And maybe some class five for Matty, which I can walk around.

Photos from Cali soon!
Polly

Swim right! for the queen

River run is a tricky place to visit - it means living in a tiny tent, using less than pristine facilities, and drinking far too much beer with 19 year old boys. My sister Alice rose to the challenge and came rafting on the Ottawa. Alice, Sarah and Andre went boating in high water, and while the raft (and Andre) came made it thru bus eater upright, Sarah and Alice went for a wee swim.



Apparently you can do things other than paddle here - and Sarah, Alice and I went to find out what eastern Canada has to offer. Given we scrapped our initial plan to go canoeing, we left Gwyn behind and went in search of beaches, wine and cheese in Algonquin provincial park. Lovely.

On route home we found a small town hairdresser and to celebrate being much less shaggy we made dangerously tasty blended drinks and put on dresses - widely appreciated by our rafting buddies.

A little low on energy after a weekend of naughtiness we decided to make the mission to Quebec City. The oldest European settlement in north america, it is a beautifully restored collection of old buildings and fortifications, the food is amazing and everyone speaks French. We wandered around, feeling we were somewhere in Europe, which was confirmed by a shopping expedition - all the women are tiny and beautiful and there were no shoes to fit Sarah. Just like Paris.

I think we sent Alice home in slightly better shape than when she arrived... but maybe not. The water is still high here, and I can't wait to go boating.
cheers
Polly

Check your shoes for scorpions

The Grand Canyon is well worth the hype... apologies for this hopelessly delayed update. It's been busy in here in the valley! The scenery is superb - from the point you put on at Lees Ferry (which we were quite wrongly told is a hot, horrible place) all the way to the take out at Diamond Creek. You think you'd get used to soaring red canyon walls, clear green water and pristine beaches, but 14 days is the right amount of time to take it all in.

June is hot in the desert and many of our side hikes were up wet canyons, scrambling up waterfalls and swimming in green pools. We did one spectacular day hike up one river valley, out of the canyon and across the tops - and got a true appreciation that hiking out of the river is not an option. Your only way out is down the Colarado.

We were lucky with flows - relatively high water in the river (around 400 cumecs) and all the tributaries clear and pretty. The little Colorado was blue with limestone terraces, while other creeks were green oases carving deep gorges through red limestone walls.

The whitewater is straightforward, with huge green highways typically leading into exploding wave trains. Surfing big waves was good training for coming home to bus eater on the Ottawa. Eating ridiculously good food, soaking up much sun and beer, I definitely felt more relaxed after this trip, although I think most of us gained rather than lost pounds.

The best thing about the Canyon was how pleased I was to fly back to Canada. It's always nice to look forward to something, and the last couple of weeks on the Ottawa have been amazing. I came home to high water and the famous bus eater wave still in - very unusual for July. We assume the river will drop one day soon, in the interim we took sister Alice rafting...

33 on the Ottawa

The first week was always going to be a big one, meeting a bunch of new people after the longest flight in the world and reconnecting with the bloke in a tiny cabin on the river bank. The learning curve has been steep! All good tho, I've started work, the team has negotiated Ontario beauracracy and bought a car for summer, and birthday surfing on beautiful warm playwaves means that there isn't a better place to be 33.

The Ottawa is truly enormous. Over a k wide in places, we paddle different channels depending on how big you like it and what play spots are in. Sarah is here on little trickle - a favourite NZ style rapid. Below is me on Elevator Shaft - and the water in this shot is a little less than a fifth of the total river flow.

I've had a few moments of sheer amazement at how things are run here. There is a facinating mix of genuine community values and a team who love their work and lifestyle, and management who summed up their approach early on by announcing ... it's my way or the highway! We laughed... afterwards.

Gwyn, Ruth, Sarah and I are all part owners in the car - an essential part of happiness oout in the middle of nowhere. There's even a cafe by that name... and after a trip to the Grand Canyon I look forward to introducing Alice to that and other treasures on the Ottawa.
Hope you're all chirpy!
love
Polly and Sarah