I could only do 1 video on each I think, so here is one more. It is sort of a struggle of a video, but essentially i put the camera in my PFD while I was surfing on Jaws on the Nolichucky. You can't see as much as I would've like, but oh well, it is what it is.
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Final journal entry!
Final Journal Entry
So it has definitely been a long time since I wrote a journal. Anyways, since my last entry I have had a lot happen in terms of the project itself (as in the presentation and all), but no so much happen in terms of kayaking at all. In my last entry I discussed my written document. I ended up doing what I had layed out there, that is, I wrote an article and got it published in The Falcon Flier. Honestly, I have now learned that not many people actually read the paper, but I feel like I wrote a pretty successful article and I think the consensus from those who did read it is the same. I feel like just writing that article hopefully had an effect on at least a few people where as the blog didn't seem to do much at all. If nothing else, actually writing the article really drove home the point of it to me.
Also since my last entry I have done my rehearsal, as well as my final presentation. The rehearsal went fantastic. I was a little worried because I realized partway through that the clock was broken so I had no concept of how long I was talking. It worked out though, and my timing was on the money. In general the comments were that I did a really good job, so that really helped me feel like I was doing well. Some of the comments were to maybe add a few more pictures actually of me, as well as to add a diagram, or at least bring in all my gear so I could easily show different things that they couldn't see so well in the pictures. They all said I seemed nervous for the first few minutes, which I definitely was, but that after that it was smooth and I did well. That was a great relief because that was my biggest worry. I was just afraid I would babble and talk to fast and all sorts of things but that didn't really happen so I was happy to hear that. Another common comment was that I did a really good job of talking about what I actually learned and gained through everything, which is the primary point of it all anyways so that helped me be sure I was on the right track as well.
I didn't really have a whole bunch to add to my powerpoint for the final, but I changed some pictures and such like they suggested, and I tried to make a diagram. It turned out that my diagram was really bad once I finished and looked at it so I opted to scrap it and just use my actual gear to demonstrate things if need be. When it came to my final presentation I felt totally ready beforehand. Well, until it was time to set up. I was supposed to use the chorus room, which had a class in it the period before. That meant I couldn't really set up my z-drag pulley how I wanted and make sure it was all right before I started. Everyone just funneled in and it was time to go pretty much right away. I was more anxious than nervous, but I knew I was ready and I had done the work. Unfortunately when I went to demonstrate the z-drag something wasn't set up right. I tried to switch part of it that I thought was the problem, but that wasn't the issue and I actually messed it up more in the process. I ended up just moving on from it after it didn't work and continuing my presentation. The rest of it went fine, but I was angry about the demonstration not working. It turned out that I just needed to push the boat over a little in one direction and everything would have been fine from the start. I really think that my rehearsal went a lot better than the final because of the demonstration but I knew it was all okay. I mean the demonstration, while it looks really bad that it didn't work, was not a big part of the grade or really even of my presentation. Also, I know if I had to do it 100 more times I would get it right 99, it was just that one that I messed up. I ended up with like an A- average on my presentation so I was right in that it was okay. I mean I wish I hadn't messed up, but it all ended up alright. I know the grade is not really what is really important, and I think I learned a lot from the presentation and from the demonstration not working and all.
There isn't really much left. I just need to figure out how I would like to turn in my written document. I think I'm going to end up basically cutting it out and gluing it on a page, laminating it maybe, and putting it in a presentation folder sheet thingy. That's about it. I'll be completely done after this is posted and I do that as well. I think I have enough media in my blogs, but I'm going to add a few more probably as well. So that's about it. Hasta luego senior exhibit.
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Entry 3, application stuff
January 10, 2009
So it has been quite a while since my last entry but with the new format that is acceptable, which is quite nice. Anyway, since my last entries from my trip a lot has happened. I have paddled a few times on the Rappahannock. Nothing too exciting has really happened though. I can't recall if I mentioned my paddle got broken on the plane ride home in my last entry or not, so it did. I had flown with it 5 times before and they never made me sign anything special. This time they did and of course they broke it. I got a new AT Eddy and am yet to use it. I borrowed Mike's extra when we went because it took forever to actually get my new one. I am excited to use it in the pool session I am going to have. Speaking of which I have since gotten pretty much everything set up for that. It was a heck of a lot harder and more complicated than I had anticipated. I contact the Virginia Outdoor Center (VOC) about renting them and at first was told that I would have had to have been a certified instructor but upon explaining my intentions and experience they decided to allow me to rent. I had been going through Ben, who was the manager at VOC. We had enough contact to figure out the details about what would be required and cost and whatnot but did not really set dates. When I asked Mrs. Wimble about dates I realized how difficult this would be. I had wanted to have a few pool/roll sessions on consecutive weekends but I realized that simply couldn't happen. For one, every other weekend the VOC has pool sessions at the YMCA and thus their kayaks are not available. From there, either we have the conference swim meet at our school or winter break or something until pretty much the middle of March. But January 17th worked so that was going to be the date for the first session. But when I tried to solidify this with Ben I faced some issues. First it just took a very long time to get a response via email so around December 22 or so I called VOC figuring someone would call back after Christmas or so. This happened as Bill Micks called and of course when we finally got in touch and were both home and able to discuss it I had an email from Ben. He was leaving on January 7th for 3 months but we were going to get everything settled, or so it seemed. However apparently Ben didn't get the message I left on his cell phone in time, so I called Mr. Micks again and we were figuring it out. He was really helpful and we have it set for the 17th. I just need to get waivers for the 5 people using the kayaks and 15 dollars from each of them. I actually thought from Ben it would be 15 each time but it is really only 15 dollars for each person for pretty much as many times. Also I will need to meet Mr. Micks at VOC at some point before just to figure out which boats and all and where/how to get them since they will not be open when I go to get them. That's about it but I will add to this entry after the 17th.
So it has been quite a while since my last entry but with the new format that is acceptable, which is quite nice. Anyway, since my last entries from my trip a lot has happened. I have paddled a few times on the Rappahannock. Nothing too exciting has really happened though. I can't recall if I mentioned my paddle got broken on the plane ride home in my last entry or not, so it did. I had flown with it 5 times before and they never made me sign anything special. This time they did and of course they broke it. I got a new AT Eddy and am yet to use it. I borrowed Mike's extra when we went because it took forever to actually get my new one. I am excited to use it in the pool session I am going to have. Speaking of which I have since gotten pretty much everything set up for that. It was a heck of a lot harder and more complicated than I had anticipated. I contact the Virginia Outdoor Center (VOC) about renting them and at first was told that I would have had to have been a certified instructor but upon explaining my intentions and experience they decided to allow me to rent. I had been going through Ben, who was the manager at VOC. We had enough contact to figure out the details about what would be required and cost and whatnot but did not really set dates. When I asked Mrs. Wimble about dates I realized how difficult this would be. I had wanted to have a few pool/roll sessions on consecutive weekends but I realized that simply couldn't happen. For one, every other weekend the VOC has pool sessions at the YMCA and thus their kayaks are not available. From there, either we have the conference swim meet at our school or winter break or something until pretty much the middle of March. But January 17th worked so that was going to be the date for the first session. But when I tried to solidify this with Ben I faced some issues. First it just took a very long time to get a response via email so around December 22 or so I called VOC figuring someone would call back after Christmas or so. This happened as Bill Micks called and of course when we finally got in touch and were both home and able to discuss it I had an email from Ben. He was leaving on January 7th for 3 months but we were going to get everything settled, or so it seemed. However apparently Ben didn't get the message I left on his cell phone in time, so I called Mr. Micks again and we were figuring it out. He was really helpful and we have it set for the 17th. I just need to get waivers for the 5 people using the kayaks and 15 dollars from each of them. I actually thought from Ben it would be 15 each time but it is really only 15 dollars for each person for pretty much as many times. Also I will need to meet Mr. Micks at VOC at some point before just to figure out which boats and all and where/how to get them since they will not be open when I go to get them. That's about it but I will add to this entry after the 17th.
January 21, 2009
So I had my first ever pool session just this past Saturday the 17th. It went pretty well. In the morning I borrowed a friends pickup truck and picked up the boats and was supposed to leave the waivers there (I later realized I forgot them in my dad's car so he put them there). Everything else went smooth in terms of getting the boats and paddles and all. Oh and I sort of got offered a summer job at VOC when I met with Mr. Micks earlier this week (I just wanted to say this because I'm excited about it). I couldn't fit them all in the pickup easily so we just stuck mine and one from VOC in my dad's truck. We got everything there, got it inside, rinsed everything off like I was told I needed to do and were ready to go. My pupils I guess you could call them were Paige, Courtney, Raleigh, Evan and Nicholas. Mrs. Blashford and her husband Mike were there as well. I hadnt really thought much about the different levels of experience I had. Nicholas was rolling by the end of a pool session Mrs. Blashford did last year or the year before. Raleigh was there too but didn't get it as quickly. Evan has done some paddling but not in whitewater kayaks and Courtney and Paige have no experience. I demonstrated how spray skirts work and they all got them on and got in the boats with some help putting the skirts on the boats. Next each one flipped and pulled their skirt just so they knew how that felt and worked. Everyone did well at that which was comforting. Next I had them do some stuff on the wall with hip flicks and all. I realized I might have been in a little over my head with 5 people. It was just too many people with too varying of an amount of experience. It made it tough because will some were struggling just flicking their hips with the side of the pool others were ready to really get the roll. I felt split between who to try to help. Mike helped with those who were farther along leaving me to help the others. Everyone made progress which was nice. I think for the next time (sometime in March) I will try to get someone else in to help as well so that I can focus more on helping just one or two people and still be sure no one is left out at any point. It went well though. Everyone said they had a good time and they definitely all made some progress. That's about it for that. I have since changed my written document though. The blog just wasn't really working as I had hoped. Maybe it will be revived later, but for my senior exhibit written document I have now decided to write an editorial for the school paper and maybe even the Free Lance Star, who knows. I think I will focus on my troubles rolling on my trip and what I learned from that and applying it to life in general. I am excited about this article and hopefully it will be in one of the next few issues of The Falcon Flier. I guess that is about it for now. More to come...at some point, probably after my practice presentation to the teachers or maybe even after my full presentation. We will see, I'm leaning more towards the former of those two options though for sure.
And I will add pictures later...
Journals from my trip
Sorry for it being sloppy, it was written in a van with 12 other people while we were driving through mountains and such. If any translation is needed just ask me, I can read it all...
After our meeting...
After our meeting the other day I feel pretty comfortable. My plan for my actual presentation is to spend a few minutes with just intro and why I chose my topic and such. From there I will go into discussing what I learned and other things from my Swiftwater Rescue course with a powerpoint full of all kinds of pictures and such that go along with what I am saying. From there I will go into my demonstration of a z drag pulley system. After that I will discuss my trip with pictures and all, especially the issues with my rolling and all. After that come the pool sessions and how they went, what I did in them and the troubles and all and successes and what I learned. Then I will discuss my written document, a mention of how I changed it and possibly have them read it. That will be about it. Throughout the whole thing I will have a powerpoint going with it. It will have pictures and possibly videos in it as well. That's the plan for now.
Sunday, October 19, 2008
Entry 1: the journals I already have minus what I handwrote on my trip
Monday January 28, 2008
I am actually pretty excited for this now that we are sort of underway. The plan so far is for me to take a swift water rescue class and a Wilderness First Responder (WFR) class over the summer. The difficulty is that both classes are in basically the middle of no where as far as I know and they do not include any lodging or meals my parents can not take part in at least one of them because they can not kayak. My cousin and I were actually planning on doing both of these at some point anyways so I am glad they will work for my senior exhibit. The swift water rescue class is 3 days long and the WFR class is 9 I believe and the two are a few days apart and only 20 minutes away so I wanted to see if we (my cousin and I) could drive down and maybe camp out or something but I don’t think our parents are going to let us do that. My reasoning for choosing this topic is that I love kayaking and both of these are very helpful certifications to have. My mentor is going to be Mrs. Blashford. This works out really well because I kayak with her husband so she knows what I do and what not. I am not entirely sure what my application of this will be yet. I am thinking I could always try to teach a roll class in a pool to classmates but I am still trying to think of a better idea for that.
Monday February 11, 2008
The plan has changed now. My cousin found this great 13 day kayak camp sort of thing that starts in North Carolina on class II and III rivers to warm up and then moves to rivers like the Ocoee and Pigeon which are class III mainly with some class IV. Next there is a run down 3 sections of the Chattooga during which we go at our pace and camp out. After that we have the option of paddling part of the New River Gorge in West Virginia or staying around North Carolina and paddling some local rivers. I am really excited for this and cannot wait. I think we are still going to do the swift water rescue class but I am not sure about the WFR course.
Friday May 23, 2008
We are currently on our way to the swiftwater rescue class. I have to admit I am getting rather nervous not knowing what to expect. I have read all of the stuff about the class but I still am unsure exactly how it will be and I am rather anxious. This car ride is getting pretty hold since it is now 5:37 in the afternoon and we left at about 10:00 this morning. I had my first taste of the sort of thing I think we might do in the coming days though this past weekend. On Sunday my cousin was in town and we were kayaking with quite a few people and we discovered a canoe pinned up against a rock. Our group was a collection of people both kayaking and canoing and fortunately we were with some people who had experience doing this sort of thing already. Also fortunately there was no one in the canoe. There was some webbing as well as a life jacket, but no bodies which is always good. A few of us got out of our boats and into the water and were able to free the canoe, bend it back somewhat into shape and then one of us paddled it to a beach at the Virginia Outdoor Center. While I was simply just a form of labor to help with this it was my first experience doing something of the sort and I must admit I really did like it. To make it a little more interesting, one of the people we were with took pictures and one of them ended up on the front page of the region section of today's Free Lance Star so my cousin and I found that to be pretty cool. Anyways we are only about an hour away now, and I am getting excited for tomorrow and to find out how this will go. I will probably write again then.
Saturday May 24, 2008
So today we had our first day of swiftwater rescue. It was amazing. Like I said, I didn't really know what to expect but as it turned out that was probably a good thing. One of my worries before hand was that I had gotten some new gear for the class and had little or no knowledge of how to use it correctly. Everyone really allayed my fears when I told them I didn't know much. Anyways, the class has 5 people including myself and my cousin with two instructors. It didn't start out that great for me, I was nervous I would be the worst there and I knew little to nothing of what it would be like and the first thing we were asked was to say our name and what we wanted to get out of the class. And guess who had to go first! Of course I did so I said I didn't really know, so Rob, one of the instructors asked some questions and we sort of came to it. The others all seemed to have more experience than I did though so I was still nervous. As we got down to some real work and discussed our gear and learned how to use things like the quick release on our rescue PFDs I realized I really wasn't much if any behind some of the other people. Anyways we started with discussion about some rescue philosophy and what not then got into the gear and some knots and such. After that we ate and went to the river. We worked on swimming a rapid, throwing throw ropes, wading and things of that sort. One really cool part was when we attempted to use the “flying v” or “wedge” formation to wade across the river (see picture). It didn't really work but it really demonstrated the power in the river even on that mere class 2 rapid. Today was really a lot of basic stuff on the river. We also had a simulated strainer of pipe filled with that expanding foam spray stuff where we had to launch ourselves over it mid rapid which was pretty cool. After our time on the river we went back and learned to set up a z drag pulley system which is pretty cool. I thought I would be the only one with no idea how to do this but I picked it up really quick and most others didn't know how to do it either. Its really cool how it is set up (another picture kind of shows it). Anyways I am getting tired and we have another day to go tomorrow so I'm out for the night. More to come tomorrow. Oh and I got some good pictures which is good, here
are the two I referred to earlier.
Sunday May 25, 2008
We just finished day two of our swiftwater certification class. While yesterday was great, today was way better. We began with some discussion and work on pins and entrapments. The first thing asked was what is the difference. I was not sure but now I know that a pin involves gear such as a boat a paddle or anything else. An entrapment involves a person. We discussed the different kinds of pins there are with boats (vertical, broach, or pinch) and how to handle them both with and without a person in the boat. We also talked about different ways of just getting out of the situations. We then packed up and went down to a different spot on the Lower Green River than the one we were on yesterday. The dam had not yet been released so we ate lunch and talked a little more (and I caught a fish with my bare hands) then did some boat based rescue maneuvers. These included the “t rescue” and “hands of God” methods. The t rescue is basically when someone is upside down in their boat you essentially ram yours into them and allow them so right themselves using your boat. Hands of God can be done both in and out of the boat. It is basically reaching over the upside down boat and pushing down on the side near you while pulling the other up to right the boat. Fortunately I already had knowledge of these things and so did everyone else so we didn't spend much time on that. We then worked on applying the z drag pulley systems to free a pinned boat. The first attempt at this was supposed to be solely lead by Mary, a fellow classmate. Instead Chris, another classmate, sort of took over and there were clear problems with him doing so and some problems with the setup as well. Needless to say no one was too happy about it so we discussed it and then went at it again with only Mary and Harrison going to set up the z drag and unpin the boat. They did so successfully while the rest of us began to set up a v lower system. I forgot to mention we practiced this as well as quick releasing before we went to the river. A v lower system is essentially having someone clipped in to two ropes, one going to each side of the river and the people on each of these ropes lowering (hip belay) them down through a rapid. We each took turns at every part of this process which was really fun. Then we took off one side and tried a “live bait” rescue in which one of us would swim down a rapid while another dove in with one line attached to them dove in and swam for the swimmer then grabbing them by the PFD and being swung by the current basically right into the eddy. This was really fun, I was the first to try to rescue the swimmer and I sort of messed up but it all worked out. What happened was I mistimed my leap and was below Mary, the swimmer. I ended up going around to the opposite side of her and grabbing her PFD. This was fine except that I was being tugged and twisted so that I was underwater because I had her on the wrong side of me because I had gone around her. To remedy this I just reacted how I best thought I could which involved me basically passing her behind my back. I just let go with one hand and switched hands behind my back. This spun me around and worked out great. When I was the swimmer I was rescued very successfully and everyone did great in their turn. After that the three of us who did not do the previous z drag had to unpin a boat. We (Kate, Chris and I, with Chris as the designated leader by the instructors) worked pretty well and successfully got the boat free pretty easily. When we returned from this, we were sent off into a path into the woods so the instructors could set up a scenario in which we were to “rescue” them. We were assigned roles, Harrison was the trip leader, Kate and I were assistants and Chris and Mary were just on the trip. We were standing there chatting when we heard a whistle and a cry for help so we ran out from the trail and immediately noticed Sarah sitting on a rock mid river. She was yelling help and that she had hurt her shoulder badly. I scanned the rest of the river looking for Robert but didn't see him. Of course I knew this meant he would show up somewhere at some point in the scenario but I had no idea where of when. We decided I would just live bait out to Sarah so we hooked me up and out I went. I got there fine and was sort of trying to talk her down and just calm her down. She was yelling how she was hurt and I asked if it was just her and all and she said she was worried about her friend and I asked where he was. She pointed upstream and I noticed Robert seemingly unconscious on a rock upstream. We couldn't do anything with Sarah and I out there and me attached to a rope so I got her to move down with me into the river and we swung/were pulled into the eddy and I made sure she was OK while the others took off for Robert. It was sort of funny though because at one point there were people tubing down the river coming towards the rope across it that was attached to me so she stopped and told me to be sure to hold the rope down and was sure to tell them it was for a class and she was fine so that they didn't react any way they shouldn't. I asked Sarah when we were back safely if I was supposed to take care of her or whatever but she said it wasn't a first aid thing to just pretend she was being taken care of. So off I went to catch up to the others. When I got upstream Harrison and Mary had already two person waded across most of the way so Chris, Kate and I three person waded there. We took longer than them. I think three person is tougher and this stretch wasn't an easy wade in the first place. We got there though and Mary had pulled Robert up to be sure his head stayed out of the water (he was a damn good actor at being unconscious). We sort of discussed it out a while setting it up and decided a v lower of Robert being held by Mary would work best. For this Kate took a rope and swam down to the lower eddy that was our goal and we hooked the other end to Mary. Then Harrison hooked another rope to her for our side and Chris helped to sort of pull the both of them around rocks and into the current while Harrison worked the main hip belay and I held him down and minded the rope. We got them down great and that just left us upstream so we just stuffed the rope in the bags and individually swam down to the eddy. Everything was good and we got a pretty positive reaction from Sarah and Robert. There were some little things, but in all we did well. We discussed it all and then it was time to head back to the Green River Adventures home base place so we packed up and headed out. When we got back we talked a little more, filled out a questionnaire about the overall class and got our certification certificates. In all everything was great. I would say I learned a pretty fair amount of stuff. While a lot of it may not have been new stuff that was unknown to me, I learned how to really use it to save others and how to use it all together with everything I did learn. It was great and I can't wait to get out on more rivers and show what I've learned (while hopefully not in a real rescue situation). Oh, and while I talked about all of this, I feel the need to say that a lot of discussion still came back to the point that the best thing to do is to not get into a rescue situation. Of course this isn't always possible but as much as is it is we should avoid all situations that could be very dangerous. Also we discussed the danger of the rescue maneuvers we attempted and how we need to be sure we are safe in how we do them. I've rambled on too long now so thats about it. I'm so excited for my trip in August now though. Everyone down at Green River Adventures was awesome and while I didn't meet the people leading out trip I heard they were awesome and we talked to Sarah about making a facebook group for the people on the trip and whatnot. It all seems like it will be amazing and I can't wait. I'm about to fall asleep though so I'm out for now. (Oh, and I have some pictures too.)
Monday May 26, 2008
So I must say I was pretty much completely worn out from my swiftwater rescue course and from the drive home. We ended up stopping at about 10 last night and staying in a hotel and leaving at about 6 this morning. That got us home at about 9:15 or 9:30. Of course instead of being like normal people my cousin and I wanted to get out there and paddle. Unfortunately there was no one else I knew going that I could get in touch with. That meant either we don't go or we go just the two of us. We had never done that before and I was a little nervous. The water was at a pretty low level (about 2.9 feet) so I knew we could both handle it, but still if something went wrong with just us I would be worried. We decided to go and I am glad we did. The first run was pretty straightforward, not a lot happened we just kind of made our way down pretty uneventfully. We then walked back up with out boats and gear from the VFW to right above First Drop to put in again. Little did we know what was in store for us on this run. We messed around a little there and then went downstream. We saw Greg (whose last name I can't remember but I paddle with) with his kids as well as another kid and another father (whose name I completely forget and who I also have paddled with before) and his son. They were on the island below first drop and the wall jumping off the rock into the water. We stopped and chatted and did some jumping ourselves. Unfortunately I realized there my river knife was missing so we did a quick search of the bottom with masks Greg had and found nothing. It was still a good day though so after a while we moved on. We were messing around by Turtle Rock when we saw a couple pin their open kayak so we figured we would maybe apply some of what we learned and help them. We did this just fine and got them free as we noticed another couple in a canoe who had flipped it and were struggling. We paddled over to them and made sure they were okay. They were, but they had lost a bag with their keys and cell phone and other important things as well as their paddles and some other stuff. We made sure they had a way to get to the shore and left to find their stuff. Unfortunately all we came upon was the top to their cooler. As we got to the route 1 bridge and the takeout though, we saw the other couple we had helped and their kids paddling up to us. They had found all of the other couple's stuff including the bag of important things, one “croc” shoe, food, a water bottle, a paddle and some other things. We thanked them and took off to return the items. We were to far downriver to paddle up, so we took out and walked up to that little dam in that park or whatever and put in above that, went left of target rock and eventually got to the couple on a beach on the other side of the river (they were on river left). They were really grateful and I felt really good doing all that even though my shoulders got burned to a crisp doing it and it was wearing me out. The man tried to give us some money and said it wasn't much but it was all he had with him. I would've felt awful taking it, and fortunately my cousin was thinking the same as me so we said thanks but no thanks it was pour pleasure to help and we were glad to do it and glad they were okay. Also, on his way over, my cousin spotted their other paddle and we made an attempt to get upriver and retrieve it. We used our wading skills we learned this weekend but it was too far upstream to get to without running the whole loop again and the couple kept telling us not to worry it was okay and how appreciative they were that we got what we did back and that we helped them. So that was about it, they thanked us one more time and at this point they had someone coming to pick them up and take them to their car so we rolled on down and got to the take out and were done for the day. It was a lot of fun I felt great about helping them and the other couple. Not that I want something bad to happen, but I enjoyed doing that so if I ever see anything like that, which I'm sure I will again I won't hesitate to act. I hope I can test and use these skills a lot but like I said I don't want anything bad to happen so if I don't, thats fine too. Anyways it was a great day and I thought since we used some of the techniques we learned it would make for a good journal and whatnot. Thats about it for now though. (oh, and I forgot my camera today, so no pictures.)
Friday July 4, 2008
This past Sunday was the Great Rappahannock Whitewater Canoe Race. It was originally supposed to be a different date that I couldnt have participated in but concerns about the water level being to high meant it was rescheduled. I forgot about it until the night before at about 11 so I wasn't sure if I would go. Fortunately I woke up early and decided to go for it. I got there and registered and then went to Motts Run for the start. I was in the third heat and started off doing ok. It felt really slow and far until the 95 bridge probably because it was (its mostly flatwater until then and the river was really low) and because I dont know that stretch of river that well. I eventually passed a few people from my heat, and even some from the heat before and I finally finished with a time of a little over 1 hour and 23 minutes for a 5 mile race. I felt pretty good about this. With the river at about 2.4 feet (really low) and me being in my playboat (I was the only one in one) instead of a much faster boat I felt I did really well. I am curious how much better my time would have been in a different boat. I got 2nd in the regular kayak class, but the senior class winner had a better time as did the winner of the kayak with dog class but I still got a medal which I think is kind of funny because it was really like a 4th place time not a second place time. Anyways it was fun and i'm glad I did it. Thats it for now.
July 31, 2008
I leave tomorrow morning for the airport for my 13 day trip. Needless to say, I can hardly wait. I just finished packing and am raring to go. I decided not to struggle with bringing my own kayak and am instead using one they have there. I am pretty sure i'll end up using a liquidlogic CR 250 which is as close to my Jackson 4 fun as they have. I also may end up using their paddle depending on how much the airline says they want to rip us off to take my paddle. Anyways I got all the rest of my gear packed and my clothes and everything and am ready. I cant wait to get there and get on the rivers. Also, thanks to Mike, I made handpaddles out of an old pickle barrel and I am really excited to try them out on a river. Fortunately I thought ahead about writing journals so I just got a notebook to bring so I can do that and maybe do some other summer work. I have to go for now though. I need some time with la familia before I leave for 2 weeks. More to come handwritten tomorrow probably.
I am actually pretty excited for this now that we are sort of underway. The plan so far is for me to take a swift water rescue class and a Wilderness First Responder (WFR) class over the summer. The difficulty is that both classes are in basically the middle of no where as far as I know and they do not include any lodging or meals my parents can not take part in at least one of them because they can not kayak. My cousin and I were actually planning on doing both of these at some point anyways so I am glad they will work for my senior exhibit. The swift water rescue class is 3 days long and the WFR class is 9 I believe and the two are a few days apart and only 20 minutes away so I wanted to see if we (my cousin and I) could drive down and maybe camp out or something but I don’t think our parents are going to let us do that. My reasoning for choosing this topic is that I love kayaking and both of these are very helpful certifications to have. My mentor is going to be Mrs. Blashford. This works out really well because I kayak with her husband so she knows what I do and what not. I am not entirely sure what my application of this will be yet. I am thinking I could always try to teach a roll class in a pool to classmates but I am still trying to think of a better idea for that.
Monday February 11, 2008
The plan has changed now. My cousin found this great 13 day kayak camp sort of thing that starts in North Carolina on class II and III rivers to warm up and then moves to rivers like the Ocoee and Pigeon which are class III mainly with some class IV. Next there is a run down 3 sections of the Chattooga during which we go at our pace and camp out. After that we have the option of paddling part of the New River Gorge in West Virginia or staying around North Carolina and paddling some local rivers. I am really excited for this and cannot wait. I think we are still going to do the swift water rescue class but I am not sure about the WFR course.
Friday May 23, 2008
We are currently on our way to the swiftwater rescue class. I have to admit I am getting rather nervous not knowing what to expect. I have read all of the stuff about the class but I still am unsure exactly how it will be and I am rather anxious. This car ride is getting pretty hold since it is now 5:37 in the afternoon and we left at about 10:00 this morning. I had my first taste of the sort of thing I think we might do in the coming days though this past weekend. On Sunday my cousin was in town and we were kayaking with quite a few people and we discovered a canoe pinned up against a rock. Our group was a collection of people both kayaking and canoing and fortunately we were with some people who had experience doing this sort of thing already. Also fortunately there was no one in the canoe. There was some webbing as well as a life jacket, but no bodies which is always good. A few of us got out of our boats and into the water and were able to free the canoe, bend it back somewhat into shape and then one of us paddled it to a beach at the Virginia Outdoor Center. While I was simply just a form of labor to help with this it was my first experience doing something of the sort and I must admit I really did like it. To make it a little more interesting, one of the people we were with took pictures and one of them ended up on the front page of the region section of today's Free Lance Star so my cousin and I found that to be pretty cool. Anyways we are only about an hour away now, and I am getting excited for tomorrow and to find out how this will go. I will probably write again then.
Saturday May 24, 2008
So today we had our first day of swiftwater rescue. It was amazing. Like I said, I didn't really know what to expect but as it turned out that was probably a good thing. One of my worries before hand was that I had gotten some new gear for the class and had little or no knowledge of how to use it correctly. Everyone really allayed my fears when I told them I didn't know much. Anyways, the class has 5 people including myself and my cousin with two instructors. It didn't start out that great for me, I was nervous I would be the worst there and I knew little to nothing of what it would be like and the first thing we were asked was to say our name and what we wanted to get out of the class. And guess who had to go first! Of course I did so I said I didn't really know, so Rob, one of the instructors asked some questions and we sort of came to it. The others all seemed to have more experience than I did though so I was still nervous. As we got down to some real work and discussed our gear and learned how to use things like the quick release on our rescue PFDs I realized I really wasn't much if any behind some of the other people. Anyways we started with discussion about some rescue philosophy and what not then got into the gear and some knots and such. After that we ate and went to the river. We worked on swimming a rapid, throwing throw ropes, wading and things of that sort. One really cool part was when we attempted to use the “flying v” or “wedge” formation to wade across the river (see picture). It didn't really work but it really demonstrated the power in the river even on that mere class 2 rapid. Today was really a lot of basic stuff on the river. We also had a simulated strainer of pipe filled with that expanding foam spray stuff where we had to launch ourselves over it mid rapid which was pretty cool. After our time on the river we went back and learned to set up a z drag pulley system which is pretty cool. I thought I would be the only one with no idea how to do this but I picked it up really quick and most others didn't know how to do it either. Its really cool how it is set up (another picture kind of shows it). Anyways I am getting tired and we have another day to go tomorrow so I'm out for the night. More to come tomorrow. Oh and I got some good pictures which is good, here
are the two I referred to earlier.Sunday May 25, 2008
We just finished day two of our swiftwater certification class. While yesterday was great, today was way better. We began with some discussion and work on pins and entrapments. The first thing asked was what is the difference. I was not sure but now I know that a pin involves gear such as a boat a paddle or anything else. An entrapment involves a person. We discussed the different kinds of pins there are with boats (vertical, broach, or pinch) and how to handle them both with and without a person in the boat. We also talked about different ways of just getting out of the situations. We then packed up and went down to a different spot on the Lower Green River than the one we were on yesterday. The dam had not yet been released so we ate lunch and talked a little more (and I caught a fish with my bare hands) then did some boat based rescue maneuvers. These included the “t rescue” and “hands of God” methods. The t rescue is basically when someone is upside down in their boat you essentially ram yours into them and allow them so right themselves using your boat. Hands of God can be done both in and out of the boat. It is basically reaching over the upside down boat and pushing down on the side near you while pulling the other up to right the boat. Fortunately I already had knowledge of these things and so did everyone else so we didn't spend much time on that. We then worked on applying the z drag pulley systems to free a pinned boat. The first attempt at this was supposed to be solely lead by Mary, a fellow classmate. Instead Chris, another classmate, sort of took over and there were clear problems with him doing so and some problems with the setup as well. Needless to say no one was too happy about it so we discussed it and then went at it again with only Mary and Harrison going to set up the z drag and unpin the boat. They did so successfully while the rest of us began to set up a v lower system. I forgot to mention we practiced this as well as quick releasing before we went to the river. A v lower system is essentially having someone clipped in to two ropes, one going to each side of the river and the people on each of these ropes lowering (hip belay) them down through a rapid. We each took turns at every part of this process which was really fun. Then we took off one side and tried a “live bait” rescue in which one of us would swim down a rapid while another dove in with one line attached to them dove in and swam for the swimmer then grabbing them by the PFD and being swung by the current basically right into the eddy. This was really fun, I was the first to try to rescue the swimmer and I sort of messed up but it all worked out. What happened was I mistimed my leap and was below Mary, the swimmer. I ended up going around to the opposite side of her and grabbing her PFD. This was fine except that I was being tugged and twisted so that I was underwater because I had her on the wrong side of me because I had gone around her. To remedy this I just reacted how I best thought I could which involved me basically passing her behind my back. I just let go with one hand and switched hands behind my back. This spun me around and worked out great. When I was the swimmer I was rescued very successfully and everyone did great in their turn. After that the three of us who did not do the previous z drag had to unpin a boat. We (Kate, Chris and I, with Chris as the designated leader by the instructors) worked pretty well and successfully got the boat free pretty easily. When we returned from this, we were sent off into a path into the woods so the instructors could set up a scenario in which we were to “rescue” them. We were assigned roles, Harrison was the trip leader, Kate and I were assistants and Chris and Mary were just on the trip. We were standing there chatting when we heard a whistle and a cry for help so we ran out from the trail and immediately noticed Sarah sitting on a rock mid river. She was yelling help and that she had hurt her shoulder badly. I scanned the rest of the river looking for Robert but didn't see him. Of course I knew this meant he would show up somewhere at some point in the scenario but I had no idea where of when. We decided I would just live bait out to Sarah so we hooked me up and out I went. I got there fine and was sort of trying to talk her down and just calm her down. She was yelling how she was hurt and I asked if it was just her and all and she said she was worried about her friend and I asked where he was. She pointed upstream and I noticed Robert seemingly unconscious on a rock upstream. We couldn't do anything with Sarah and I out there and me attached to a rope so I got her to move down with me into the river and we swung/were pulled into the eddy and I made sure she was OK while the others took off for Robert. It was sort of funny though because at one point there were people tubing down the river coming towards the rope across it that was attached to me so she stopped and told me to be sure to hold the rope down and was sure to tell them it was for a class and she was fine so that they didn't react any way they shouldn't. I asked Sarah when we were back safely if I was supposed to take care of her or whatever but she said it wasn't a first aid thing to just pretend she was being taken care of. So off I went to catch up to the others. When I got upstream Harrison and Mary had already two person waded across most of the way so Chris, Kate and I three person waded there. We took longer than them. I think three person is tougher and this stretch wasn't an easy wade in the first place. We got there though and Mary had pulled Robert up to be sure his head stayed out of the water (he was a damn good actor at being unconscious). We sort of discussed it out a while setting it up and decided a v lower of Robert being held by Mary would work best. For this Kate took a rope and swam down to the lower eddy that was our goal and we hooked the other end to Mary. Then Harrison hooked another rope to her for our side and Chris helped to sort of pull the both of them around rocks and into the current while Harrison worked the main hip belay and I held him down and minded the rope. We got them down great and that just left us upstream so we just stuffed the rope in the bags and individually swam down to the eddy. Everything was good and we got a pretty positive reaction from Sarah and Robert. There were some little things, but in all we did well. We discussed it all and then it was time to head back to the Green River Adventures home base place so we packed up and headed out. When we got back we talked a little more, filled out a questionnaire about the overall class and got our certification certificates. In all everything was great. I would say I learned a pretty fair amount of stuff. While a lot of it may not have been new stuff that was unknown to me, I learned how to really use it to save others and how to use it all together with everything I did learn. It was great and I can't wait to get out on more rivers and show what I've learned (while hopefully not in a real rescue situation). Oh, and while I talked about all of this, I feel the need to say that a lot of discussion still came back to the point that the best thing to do is to not get into a rescue situation. Of course this isn't always possible but as much as is it is we should avoid all situations that could be very dangerous. Also we discussed the danger of the rescue maneuvers we attempted and how we need to be sure we are safe in how we do them. I've rambled on too long now so thats about it. I'm so excited for my trip in August now though. Everyone down at Green River Adventures was awesome and while I didn't meet the people leading out trip I heard they were awesome and we talked to Sarah about making a facebook group for the people on the trip and whatnot. It all seems like it will be amazing and I can't wait. I'm about to fall asleep though so I'm out for now. (Oh, and I have some pictures too.)
Monday May 26, 2008
So I must say I was pretty much completely worn out from my swiftwater rescue course and from the drive home. We ended up stopping at about 10 last night and staying in a hotel and leaving at about 6 this morning. That got us home at about 9:15 or 9:30. Of course instead of being like normal people my cousin and I wanted to get out there and paddle. Unfortunately there was no one else I knew going that I could get in touch with. That meant either we don't go or we go just the two of us. We had never done that before and I was a little nervous. The water was at a pretty low level (about 2.9 feet) so I knew we could both handle it, but still if something went wrong with just us I would be worried. We decided to go and I am glad we did. The first run was pretty straightforward, not a lot happened we just kind of made our way down pretty uneventfully. We then walked back up with out boats and gear from the VFW to right above First Drop to put in again. Little did we know what was in store for us on this run. We messed around a little there and then went downstream. We saw Greg (whose last name I can't remember but I paddle with) with his kids as well as another kid and another father (whose name I completely forget and who I also have paddled with before) and his son. They were on the island below first drop and the wall jumping off the rock into the water. We stopped and chatted and did some jumping ourselves. Unfortunately I realized there my river knife was missing so we did a quick search of the bottom with masks Greg had and found nothing. It was still a good day though so after a while we moved on. We were messing around by Turtle Rock when we saw a couple pin their open kayak so we figured we would maybe apply some of what we learned and help them. We did this just fine and got them free as we noticed another couple in a canoe who had flipped it and were struggling. We paddled over to them and made sure they were okay. They were, but they had lost a bag with their keys and cell phone and other important things as well as their paddles and some other stuff. We made sure they had a way to get to the shore and left to find their stuff. Unfortunately all we came upon was the top to their cooler. As we got to the route 1 bridge and the takeout though, we saw the other couple we had helped and their kids paddling up to us. They had found all of the other couple's stuff including the bag of important things, one “croc” shoe, food, a water bottle, a paddle and some other things. We thanked them and took off to return the items. We were to far downriver to paddle up, so we took out and walked up to that little dam in that park or whatever and put in above that, went left of target rock and eventually got to the couple on a beach on the other side of the river (they were on river left). They were really grateful and I felt really good doing all that even though my shoulders got burned to a crisp doing it and it was wearing me out. The man tried to give us some money and said it wasn't much but it was all he had with him. I would've felt awful taking it, and fortunately my cousin was thinking the same as me so we said thanks but no thanks it was pour pleasure to help and we were glad to do it and glad they were okay. Also, on his way over, my cousin spotted their other paddle and we made an attempt to get upriver and retrieve it. We used our wading skills we learned this weekend but it was too far upstream to get to without running the whole loop again and the couple kept telling us not to worry it was okay and how appreciative they were that we got what we did back and that we helped them. So that was about it, they thanked us one more time and at this point they had someone coming to pick them up and take them to their car so we rolled on down and got to the take out and were done for the day. It was a lot of fun I felt great about helping them and the other couple. Not that I want something bad to happen, but I enjoyed doing that so if I ever see anything like that, which I'm sure I will again I won't hesitate to act. I hope I can test and use these skills a lot but like I said I don't want anything bad to happen so if I don't, thats fine too. Anyways it was a great day and I thought since we used some of the techniques we learned it would make for a good journal and whatnot. Thats about it for now though. (oh, and I forgot my camera today, so no pictures.)
Friday July 4, 2008
This past Sunday was the Great Rappahannock Whitewater Canoe Race. It was originally supposed to be a different date that I couldnt have participated in but concerns about the water level being to high meant it was rescheduled. I forgot about it until the night before at about 11 so I wasn't sure if I would go. Fortunately I woke up early and decided to go for it. I got there and registered and then went to Motts Run for the start. I was in the third heat and started off doing ok. It felt really slow and far until the 95 bridge probably because it was (its mostly flatwater until then and the river was really low) and because I dont know that stretch of river that well. I eventually passed a few people from my heat, and even some from the heat before and I finally finished with a time of a little over 1 hour and 23 minutes for a 5 mile race. I felt pretty good about this. With the river at about 2.4 feet (really low) and me being in my playboat (I was the only one in one) instead of a much faster boat I felt I did really well. I am curious how much better my time would have been in a different boat. I got 2nd in the regular kayak class, but the senior class winner had a better time as did the winner of the kayak with dog class but I still got a medal which I think is kind of funny because it was really like a 4th place time not a second place time. Anyways it was fun and i'm glad I did it. Thats it for now.
July 31, 2008
I leave tomorrow morning for the airport for my 13 day trip. Needless to say, I can hardly wait. I just finished packing and am raring to go. I decided not to struggle with bringing my own kayak and am instead using one they have there. I am pretty sure i'll end up using a liquidlogic CR 250 which is as close to my Jackson 4 fun as they have. I also may end up using their paddle depending on how much the airline says they want to rip us off to take my paddle. Anyways I got all the rest of my gear packed and my clothes and everything and am ready. I cant wait to get there and get on the rivers. Also, thanks to Mike, I made handpaddles out of an old pickle barrel and I am really excited to try them out on a river. Fortunately I thought ahead about writing journals so I just got a notebook to bring so I can do that and maybe do some other summer work. I have to go for now though. I need some time with la familia before I leave for 2 weeks. More to come handwritten tomorrow probably.
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