tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-76201002024-03-07T03:16:50.226-06:00Shaneslogic a kayak blogShaneslogic is a blog about everything that is kayaking from the viewpoint of liquidlogic kayaks co founder Shane Benedict. On this web page there are many photos, videos, and stories about all types of paddling, freestyle, creeking, big water, expeditions, and just plain old paddlers paddling, kayakers kayaking, and what ever else is going on at Liquidlogic.Shane Benedicthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13270338044175889168noreply@blogger.comBlogger221125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7620100.post-37443246166794098982014-09-09T14:23:00.000-05:002014-09-15T15:00:06.935-05:00Liquidlogic Kayaks Selling Direct to Paddlers Beginning October 1st<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Fletcher, NC –Liquidlogic is stoked to announce our transition to a direct-to-consumer sales strategy.<br />
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Liquidlogic will launch a redesigned website, featuring direct sales, October 1st, including a platform for selling kayaks, accessories, and parts. We may even have the hats, stickers, and t-shirts that you all have been begging us for lately. We’ll also open a retail store at our manufacturing site near Asheville, NC. and the Green River. We want to create a micro-brew style experience where you can walk in, learn about the boats from the people who make them, see kayaks being made, and walk out with a boat fresh from the tap. <br />
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Customers from around the U.S. will purchase Liquidlogic kayaks from the website or from our factory retail store. Pricing will be lower than current retail prices and kayaks will be shipped directly to your home, to a shipping terminal, or to designated events. We are in the process of partnering with dealers, instruction programs, clubs, and ambassadors around the states to create Demo Centers in higher traffic areas, near popular rivers, and in larger paddling cities. Liquidlogic will also be on-the-road developing a tour of events where people can try our kayaks. Our customers outside the U.S. will continue to purchase our boats through their local dealers and distributors. We have a lot of ideas that we will roll out as we move forward and we would love to hear any that you have to offer.<br />
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For Liquidlogic, selling direct makes sense given our connection to paddling’s core. We’ve always listened to paddlers’ ideas and dreams as we’ve shaped our vision. You may have taken part in some of our Automatic for the People questions and threads. AFTP has brought us great concepts, strengthened our relationships with customers, and has shown us the benefits of direct connections. Going direct will give us even greater flexibility to make the unique boats that AFTP demands. We also know that customer service will be a huge part of what makes direct sales work and that added communication between paddlers and ourselves will only help us maintain our tight connection to the core of the sport. You can’t get more Automatic for the People than creating the kayaks people ask for then marketing, selling, and providing good customer service directly from the brand to you, the paddlers. <br />
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The hardest part of this transition is the move away from our strong relationships with dealers, who have been at the forefront of the business from the beginning. We have paddled, done business, and partied with the folks who have sold our boats since we started Liquidlogic 15 years ago. They are friends and partners. <br />
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Like I said to somebody on Boatertalk the other day, “Class 5 biz is just as hard as Class 5 Whitewater.” Many pressures make whitewater kayak sales difficult, and drive us to innovate in our business model. Fewer and fewer true whitewater dealers carry more and more different manufacturers’ designs. Retail pricing for whitewater kayaks approaches the upper threshold of affordability for the market, and that pricing pressure pinches dealers and manufacturers to an unsustainable degree. We will not allow those pressures to force hard choices about materials, craftsmanship, boat design and working conditions. Going direct means many changes, but quality will not be one of them.<br />
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Direct sales will allow Liquidlogic to continue to maintain the same high standards we have stood out for in the industry, and to remain a responsible manufacturer and employer. We have committed to paying our employees a certified living wage for the skilled, full-time work that they perform. With each decision, we work for a more responsible manufacturing footprint, and work with vendors and partners who believe in those same values. Selling direct will give us margin space to maintain those values and pass along savings to you the paddlers. No one is getting rich in this industry. Fortunately, that isn’t the goal. The goals are to strive continually to make great boats and to create a business model that will first sustain itself, and then grow. Having studied the factors over the last few years, we feel that direct sales will do that.<br />
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Thank you<br />
Shane<br />
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There will be more information to come. Stay tuned on our webpage <a href="http://liquidlogickayaks.com/">http://liquidlogickayaks.com</a>, (which will relaunch anew October 1) or on our facebook page <a href="https://www.facebook.com/liquidlogickayaks">https://www.facebook.com/liquidlogickayaks</a>.<br />
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If you would like to become a Demo Center please contact us at <a href="mailto:info@liquidlogickayaks.com">info@liquidlogickayaks.com</a> with Demo Center in the subject line.<br />
You are also welcome to contact me personally at <a href="mailto:shane@liquidlogickayaks.com">shane@liquidlogickayaks.com</a>.<br />
<br />Shane Benedicthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13270338044175889168noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7620100.post-74236534343357536312014-06-30T07:53:00.000-05:002014-08-18T16:26:19.562-05:00We are Psyched to announce that Pat Keller is joining the Liquidlogic family!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Shane and Pat testing out Flying Squirrel Prototypes.</b></td></tr>
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Decades ago, 7-year-old Pat Keller walked up to Shane, introduced himself, and proceeded to explain that he was going to be a kayak instructor and travel around the world to paddle. He’s met and exceeded that declaration in so many ways: waterfall huckmeister, blistering-fast racer, cutting-edge downriver freestyler, epic adventurer, and innovative design advisor. Born and raised around whitewater, Pat has a totally unique art and style as a paddler and regularly visualizes completely new paddling possibilities. Pat’s gonna leap out of bed in the morning with out-of-the-box ideas for a kayak and a way to use it that no one has even imagined, and the Liquidlogic team has the tools to bring them to life. <br />
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Pat’s resume is long and his accomplishments speak for themselves: Reigning Champ and three-time Green Race winner (so far!),with frequent seconds; two-time Teva Mountain Games winner; many First Decents including: Toxaway Falls, Linville Falls, Valser Rhein Falls, Cane Creek Falls, Wolf Creek Falls. Every day, Pat finds beautiful new lines that show his passion for boating. Maybe more than anything else, that love of the sport makes all of us at Liquidlogic so excited to work with him. Shane said, “It’s going to be great to have Pat on board here at LL for more reasons than his amazing paddling. He is a great ambassador of the sport. He loves it and his passion is contagious. It’s already got us fired up here at the factory!”<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Pat's First Win on Team Liquidlogic</b></td></tr>
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Woody, too, can’t wait to work with Pat. He says, “Pat joining the team marks a new era at Liquidlogic. We want even more input from our team, and having someone of Pat’s experience contributing design ideas and development is just what we’re working toward.”</div>
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Long-time team member Adriene Levknect adds, “Having Pat join the Liquidlogic team puts the icing on a super sweet team that is always pushing the limits and testing new lines. Pat is an innovator and dreamer when it comes to kayak designs and what he wants them to do. Plus, he's a great character!”<br />
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Way back when Pat was in junior high school, he and Shane worked together on a boat design as a class project. Having Pat join Liquidlogic seems meant to be. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Hc8DiyT4FDM/UwDj_d8zRaI/AAAAAAAApuI/UACQChsmcUg/s1600/Slayer+13ft+Assem.+Line+Drawing.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="158" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Hc8DiyT4FDM/UwDj_d8zRaI/AAAAAAAApuI/UACQChsmcUg/s1600/Slayer+13ft+Assem.+Line+Drawing.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Initial Drawings of the Slayer Propel 13</b></span></td></tr>
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The Development of the Slayer Propel 13 really started when Native Watercraft first developed the pedal drive Propel system in 2008. I had just joined the Native Watercraft design team so I hadn't had any input on the beginnings of this concept and design. In the few times that I pedaled the Mariner Propel I could feel the potential and I got really excited about designing the newest addition to the Slayer line of fishing kayaks in 2013. As we began to work on the Propel, we started to really understand that the advantages of using your legs were not limited to the power of larger muscle groups to do the work: pedaling also leaves your hands free to fish, and the more you fish the more you catch (well sometimes). Beyond that, we also found two more advantages of having a bike-like motion to drive the propeller. The motion itself is familiar and easy to maintain, as most of us have pedaled bikes. By simply pedaling in reverse you can drive the boat backwards which plays a huge role in fishing. Pedaling facilitates actions that every angler needs to do, like approaching a structure, stopping, and pulling large fish out of tight areas and from under obstructions. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: small;">Native Watercraft Pro Staffer Philip Ruckart Slayin'em.</span></b></td></tr>
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We started initial conversations about the new Propel design with Native Watercraft guides and pro staff. It was agreed across the board that the traditional paddled Slayer kayak would be a good place to start. We even had folks on the Native Watercraft Facebook page asking for a propel driven Slayer before we were even really sure we were gonna do it! Everyone thought that the open floor plan, 360 degree accessory track coverage, superior stability, and efficient paddling hull of the Slayer would make for an ideal platform to install our Propel System. What we came to realize over time was that it wasn't just a fishing kayak we now understand that it's a great boat for cruising out on the water for any reason at all.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8wSzest7bqP2DVZCA6Sm2TBljcJXqSZtspNCzb-KZpwqgLnO-5f9TPifyAxGQssPWwGuf92tsNQBpJP0Un_-WK3WqJ_p0se8sjm_tgNqMrITGKzWujC-S0p_ZosLaCuJJL5zi/s1600/Slayer+13ft+Assem.++Seat+Detail+Line+Drawing.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8wSzest7bqP2DVZCA6Sm2TBljcJXqSZtspNCzb-KZpwqgLnO-5f9TPifyAxGQssPWwGuf92tsNQBpJP0Un_-WK3WqJ_p0se8sjm_tgNqMrITGKzWujC-S0p_ZosLaCuJJL5zi/s1600/Slayer+13ft+Assem.++Seat+Detail+Line+Drawing.png" height="416" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Another view of the Slayer Propel 13 and the seat slider attachment.</b></span></td></tr>
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We focused first on hull design because the hull does have to be adjusted quite a bit to accept the propel drive unit. We spent a lot of time looking at how the water flowed across the hull and into and around the propeller. One of the challenges was getting the prop to engage completely and more efficiently with the water while keeping it tucked up against the hull to minimize the depth of water needed for the prop to run. After our first prototype, we had a bit of aeration during hard pedaling, so we did some old school plastic welding to form different curves to change the flow of water into the propel cavity. Not only did the changes create more power and speed, they also decreased water noise.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: small;">Welding in new hull curves.</span></b></td></tr>
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The rest of the hull design balances traits of efficiency and stability. Too wide and you start to really hinder speed and make more noise by having to push a wider hull through the water. Too narrow and the boat will become unstable when it loses buoyancy on either side of the paddler. So it is important to prioritize the desired performance characteristics. In the Slayer Propel, we wanted to create a boat stable enough to stand in easily, but that would still move through the water as smoothly and quietly as possible to take advantage of the speed of the Propel System and maintain the ability to paddle the boat as well. The Slayer Propel is 33" wide, so by no means a sea kayak (which are sub 24 inches), but it is much more stealthy than other fishing-specific pedal-driven boats. We started at the bow with as sharp an entry as we could while still maintaining the large front storage tank. Smoothly curved, large pontoons drop down into the water through the mid section of the boat to provide a ton of stability and a quieter ride. Without the pedal-drive system, we have found that this hull paddles well with a kayak paddle. We feel as though we have come up with a confidence-inspiring hull design that complements the Propel system.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Testing the stability of the very first Slayer Propel prototype.</b></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-CR4YqvG4Qas/UrBgES0V93I/AAAAAAAAnBk/G5YvWRnJVss/s1600/2013-03-04_13-20-57_549.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-CR4YqvG4Qas/UrBgES0V93I/AAAAAAAAnBk/G5YvWRnJVss/s1600/2013-03-04_13-20-57_549.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Hips slightly above the crank spindle.</b></span></td></tr>
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Ergonomics provided a key focus in this design as well. We knew we had to integrate our First Class seat. Not only did we want people to be more comfortable while pedaling, we wanted them to be able to pedal for longer durations and be more efficient while doing it. We tested many different people's leg lengths, weights, heights, and pedaling styles, and found that sitting up higher in the Slayer with the head of the femur at the same height or higher than the crank spindle (<i>the axle that goes through the top of the unit</i>) allowed pedalers to relax and sit more upright. We created a sliding rail system that adjusts by simply loosening two thumbscrews and sliding down the rails to the desired position to adjust to different leg lengths and pedaling postures. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Testing different crank arms, pedals, and seat heights.</b></span></td></tr>
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Another aspect of the pedaling ergonomics that we tested extensively was the length of the crank arm (<i>what the pedals attach to</i>). Normal upright bikes use something around 175mm crank arms. In our older propel models we had used 165mm crank arms but in our testing were getting an uneven pressure during the rotation of the pedals. We found that the 155mm cranks evened out the rotation pressure, eliminated the feeling that our knees were in our chest, and still gave us plenty of leverage to drive the prop. During tests, I did several long pedals ranging from 2 to 10 miles. Once we switched to the shorter cranks I found that I could maintain 3 - 3.5 miles an hour for extended periods and still have plenty of energy to get the boat up to 4.5 or even 5 miles an hour and hold it for 5 to 10 minute durations.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: small;">Propel Testing Tank</span></b></td></tr>
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Last but not least the Propel drive unit has gone through extensive testing and transformation over the past couple years. We brought in house a former bicycle industry designer and engineer to focus on the continued improvement of the Propel drive. We have put the unit through long hours of submersion testing at our facility and the resident gear heads put together a motor and linkage to drive the unit constantly for days of wear testing. It has been a fun project to not only design the boat but to also make improvements to the drive unit itself.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>5 mile pedal in the first Slayer Propel proto</b></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LM8xZcy3Gh0/UwD65ppHHJI/AAAAAAAApvM/i6CCdQdKDbQ/s1600/Screenshot_2014-02-16-12-45-14.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LM8xZcy3Gh0/UwD65ppHHJI/AAAAAAAApvM/i6CCdQdKDbQ/s1600/Screenshot_2014-02-16-12-45-14.png" height="358" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Stats from the 5 mile pedal.</b></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
The longer the testing went on the more excited we all got. The Native <a href="http://nativewatercraft.com/staff.cfm" target="_blank">pro staff</a> and endorsed <a href="http://nativewatercraft.com/guides.cfm" target="_blank">guides</a> did a great job advising us on features they wanted to see. What I found during the time I was on the water experimenting with this boat was that I wanted it not only for fishing but to just get out and enjoy the water. During my longer pedals the feeling I was getting was that of going on a bike ride, or a cruise in one of our touring kayaks. Everyone who takes it out for a test pedal falls in love with the way the speed and ease of pedaling lets you explore a huge territory and maybe get a little exercise.<br />
<br /></div>
<div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-oXN0BOuD0LI/UrBgEdtnarI/AAAAAAAAnBk/xAF2pTYQJNw/s1600/IMG_20131019_182824_061.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-oXN0BOuD0LI/UrBgEdtnarI/AAAAAAAAnBk/xAF2pTYQJNw/s1600/IMG_20131019_182824_061.jpg" height="360" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Out for a sunset cruise with Betsy.</b></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Here is a link to a bunch of photos from the <a href="https://plus.google.com/photos/115372956016938411124/albums/5958367929676768625?authkey=CJ665qPmttmjfQ" target="_blank">Development of the Slayer Propel</a>.<br />
Here is the <a href="http://nativewatercraft.com/boat.cfm?id=52" target="_blank">Slayer Propel Webpage</a>. Check it out!</div>
<div>
See you on the water.</div>
<div>
Shane</div>
<div>
<br />
p.s. Here is a little video I did of the first day pedaling the production Slayer Propel.<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="366" mozallowfullscreen="" src="//player.vimeo.com/video/86854280" webkitallowfullscreen="" width="650"></iframe> <a href="http://vimeo.com/86854280">The First Pedal of the Slayer Propel</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/shaneslogic">Shaneslogic</a> on <a href="https://vimeo.com/">Vimeo</a>.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNA50ERcR0R_v1JMDB0ZjzrXx6SCWc38K4AgbUqlT_eBCUojEzRvLUef8eU-UD1gqNOE5r85YmyjeWbAswpMIKRuaF4tooyLOjQPdwoA2gXhh2PYbiGtJZyalNkOrik4q4-3cV/s1600/IMG_5209.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNA50ERcR0R_v1JMDB0ZjzrXx6SCWc38K4AgbUqlT_eBCUojEzRvLUef8eU-UD1gqNOE5r85YmyjeWbAswpMIKRuaF4tooyLOjQPdwoA2gXhh2PYbiGtJZyalNkOrik4q4-3cV/s1600/IMG_5209.JPG" height="426" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: small;">The Final Camp</span></b></td></tr>
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Day 11 and 12 in the Grand Canyon passed in a bit of an exhausted blur and its not because we found <a href="https://plus.google.com/photos/115372956016938411124/albums/5975811930557527473/5975812785985185010?banner=pwa&pid=5975812785985185010&oid=115372956016938411124" target="_blank">hidden treasure</a>. Averaging 20 miles a day and doing a few big hikes had started to wear all of us down. Even the unstoppable Mike Hipsher said that once he got off the trip he was going to sleep for a week. I had moved past the sore phase and into the great feeling of complete weariness that covers your whole body. It's nothing that will stop you and you happily move with it because you know all the great things you have done to get to that place. <br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="366" mozallowfullscreen="" src="//player.vimeo.com/video/85565464" webkitallowfullscreen="" width="650"></iframe> <a href="http://vimeo.com/85565464">Packing and Unpacking the Stinger XP</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/shaneslogic">Shaneslogic</a> on <a href="https://vimeo.com/">Vimeo</a>.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-w9brdyLp3Jc/Uu5aFJbXbNI/AAAAAAAApWU/cmNJRqykz6Y/s1600/1622809_248623118633086_1855010711_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-w9brdyLp3Jc/Uu5aFJbXbNI/AAAAAAAApWU/cmNJRqykz6Y/s1600/1622809_248623118633086_1855010711_n.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: small;">Pumpkin Springs: I wouldn't go in there.</span></b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
In the last two days, the lava flows are visible the entire day. They form all sorts of amazing contours and formations. Smart people describe them like this:<br />
<br />
From the <a href="http://grandcanyonhistory.clas.asu.edu/sites_coloradorivercorridor_lavafalls.html" target="_blank">Arizona State University page</a>.<br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>"What many people do not realize is that the western Grand Canyon lies on the edge of the Uinkaret Volcanic Field. During the Late Cenozoic </i>(65 Million - present time)<i>, molten rock made its way up a giant fault system in the region called the Toroweap, and now the landscape above the canyon is peppered with cinder cones and lava flows. The most famous cone is named Vulcan’s Throne, and it sits on the North Rim directly above Lava Falls. This mile-wide cone formed from material that came up the Toroweap Fault. Lava flowed into the Grand Canyon all the way down to the Colorado River creating a lava dam five- to six-hundred feet high. The resulting lake backed water up to <a href="http://grandcanyonhistory.clas.asu.edu/sites_coloradorivercorridor_leesferry.html">Lees Ferry</a>!"</i><br />
<br />
The fine community at <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uinkaret_volcanic_field" target="_blank">Wikipedia</a> told me a little more, with a lot of links to follow:<br />
<div>
<br />
<i>"<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lava_flow">Lava flows</a> from the Uinkaret volcanic field that have cascaded down into the Grand Canyon, damming the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colorado_River">Colorado River</a>, have been used to date the canyon's carving.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uinkaret_volcanic_field#cite_note-3">[3]</a> ...<br /><br />The Colorado River was dammed by lava flows multiple times from 725,000 to 100,000 years ago.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uinkaret_volcanic_field#cite_note-5">[5]</a> While some believe that these lava dams were stable, lasting up to 20,000 years and forming large reservoirs,<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uinkaret_volcanic_field#cite_note-6">[6]</a> others think they failed quickly and catastrophically as massive floods.<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uinkaret_volcanic_field#cite_note-7">[7]</a> Lava flows traveled downriver 76 miles (121 km) from <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/River_mile">river mile</a> 178 to 254."</i></div>
<div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ZEVcE7HgsZw/Uu5ZaZc5eEI/AAAAAAAApT0/M4VfiwkLiKQ/s1600/DSC_0349_2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ZEVcE7HgsZw/Uu5ZaZc5eEI/AAAAAAAApT0/M4VfiwkLiKQ/s1600/DSC_0349_2.JPG" height="428" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: small;">Lava Flows and Formations</span></b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
Those miles cover the rest of our trip from Lava Falls (mile 179) to the take out at Diamond Creek (mile 226). Constantly in view for the remainder of our trip were lava flows and cinder cones. I spent much of the waining time on the river wondering visually through the rock formations. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-y5xKefpug4E/Uu5Z0XZ0dcI/AAAAAAAApVU/WTS2IwTganI/s1600/DSC_0367_2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-y5xKefpug4E/Uu5Z0XZ0dcI/AAAAAAAApVU/WTS2IwTganI/s1600/DSC_0367_2.JPG" height="428" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Warm Camp!</b></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
Taking out at Diamond Creek was a great way to slowly reintroduce ourselves to the "real world". The take out was no where near civilization and the trip back to reality starts with a slow bumpy ride up a rocky river bed to pavement. Even though we had reached asphalt, we were still in the middle of the desert. The roads got bigger and a few houses were mixed into the landscape. Then a highway with signs and businesses, and then we saw it... an A and W restaurant. I know right now you are thinking, grooooossssss! At that moment we were all thinking bacon double cheese burger, and a root beer float.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc5xxF__LYrDERr34AJPD5-ZcWXTlWbNTFMRCY9jmiC0kTiQINPS_Dypbw7NG1N1xXttQEwhhE9aGcZ6jxIqfVkJInus6-n-J1FyZdt_l5976cyVKmW2dyyRhybRbi_ZWt2aVp/s1600/DSC_0752.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc5xxF__LYrDERr34AJPD5-ZcWXTlWbNTFMRCY9jmiC0kTiQINPS_Dypbw7NG1N1xXttQEwhhE9aGcZ6jxIqfVkJInus6-n-J1FyZdt_l5976cyVKmW2dyyRhybRbi_ZWt2aVp/s1600/DSC_0752.jpg" height="640" width="424" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: small;">Bacon Double Cheeseburger and a Root Beer Float!</span></b></td></tr>
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<div>
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<div>
Here is a link to the rest of the photos from <a href="https://plus.google.com/photos/115372956016938411124/albums/5975811930557527473" target="_blank">Day 11 and 12 in the Grand Canyon</a></div>
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<br /></div>
<div>
Its a trip of a life time.</div>
<div>
Make sure you do it someday.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Shane</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xRPjYqgcGr4/Uu5aXhMJcjI/AAAAAAAApXc/JwwARHc8EXM/s1600/IMG_5216.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xRPjYqgcGr4/Uu5aXhMJcjI/AAAAAAAApXc/JwwARHc8EXM/s1600/IMG_5216.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: small;">Diamond Creek Takeout</span></b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Shane Benedicthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13270338044175889168noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7620100.post-39074111246333371592014-01-30T09:24:00.003-06:002014-01-30T15:19:19.099-06:00Day 10 in the Grand Canyon: Lava Day!<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwR8ToCVZjbReeQsSLeKlanuf7F8TmCdMLaJTHUeckzQM6NDZz9P0x0jDgw_Wnwn1DGg6H-frFXkc7QAotKjc2aggjx4M6aEM05THPDyYZA79w4C4WLNe04BplpyzpsiWdCnCX/s1600/DSC_0185_2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwR8ToCVZjbReeQsSLeKlanuf7F8TmCdMLaJTHUeckzQM6NDZz9P0x0jDgw_Wnwn1DGg6H-frFXkc7QAotKjc2aggjx4M6aEM05THPDyYZA79w4C4WLNe04BplpyzpsiWdCnCX/s1600/DSC_0185_2.JPG" height="428" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: small;">Nervous Scouting Lava</span></b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
It's day 10 in the canyon and that means one thing, it's Lava day! The stress started the night before at camp, especially for those who have been challenged by the big volume whitewater thus far. Every conversation focused on the rapid and its main features, the Burble Line that lines you up to start the rapid, the stompy V-Wave, the ledge hole Hole that eats huge motor rigs, and the Eddie at the bottom that can keep the best kayaker missing rolls. As the fire turned to coals that evening some were still trying to decide whether to go with their skegs up or down. In the morning breakfast was hushed and we packed our boats with just a little more care, just in case. <br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-0ChNetkYTBs/UupgCztApEI/AAAAAAAApGw/2VgECTS_5lw/s1600/DSC_0309_2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-0ChNetkYTBs/UupgCztApEI/AAAAAAAApGw/2VgECTS_5lw/s1600/DSC_0309_2.JPG" height="428" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: small;">Woody Dropping In</span></b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Lava has several different lines. Our group usually runs down the main tongue, breaking hard to the left just behind the ledge hole, and hopefully missing the deceptively powerful V-wave and then bobbing down through the lower waves. Our success varied from a perfect line to beat downs and a swimmer. If you miss the charge left or have a little angle to the right you will find yourself quickly in the maw of the V-wave. It seems to me that getting thrown there serves a harsher line than going for the v-wave directly. A few of us decided to run the meat of the rapid. We also had varying levels of success.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-8AmUX2pXzHM/UupgHWgQUsI/AAAAAAAApHs/b6xJ1kxkugI/s1600/1604455_248616595300405_2135546721_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-8AmUX2pXzHM/UupgHWgQUsI/AAAAAAAApHs/b6xJ1kxkugI/s1600/1604455_248616595300405_2135546721_n.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: small;">The Eye of Odin shot while paddling in by Chuck Joy!</span></b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Over the years we have developed a series of traditions with regards to running Lava Falls. We check our skirts, line up on the burble line, and look for the Eye of Odin. Recently I added another tradition, inspired by our pal Kasi from Switzerland. He yodels while dropping into big rapids and it sounds awesome, when he does it.<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="365" mozallowfullscreen="" src="//player.vimeo.com/video/85439336" webkitallowfullscreen="" width="650"></iframe> <a href="http://vimeo.com/85439336">Lava Day in the Grand Canyon</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/shaneslogic">Shaneslogic</a> on <a href="https://vimeo.com/">Vimeo</a>.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdi77I4BDYQAQLukq0VObjbc8i-X44e3hUOt-x2yZ2h_OR28ENscUwGHvA1kzfBjTJYmZcCE7216OI69gy3RJXqBeWcsmHCxSWJOKA7yFmQHLuYtkf05SQLjdkun-JRtPBbw0n/s1600/DSC_0337_2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdi77I4BDYQAQLukq0VObjbc8i-X44e3hUOt-x2yZ2h_OR28ENscUwGHvA1kzfBjTJYmZcCE7216OI69gy3RJXqBeWcsmHCxSWJOKA7yFmQHLuYtkf05SQLjdkun-JRtPBbw0n/s1600/DSC_0337_2.JPG" height="428" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Treasure was found!</b></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Here is a link to all the photos from <a href="https://plus.google.com/photos/115372956016938411124/albums/5974692955277000129" target="_blank">Day 10 in the Grand Canyon</a>.<br />
<br />
That was a fun day!<br />
Shane<br />
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Shane Benedicthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13270338044175889168noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7620100.post-43912056766373040732014-01-29T10:36:00.000-06:002014-01-29T10:58:15.011-06:00Day 9 in the Grand Canyon: Staying Warm<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-R_VcSqqKPe0/UuhchkwtrFI/AAAAAAAAo4Q/XZTlK5G3oDY/s1600/DSC_0070_2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-R_VcSqqKPe0/UuhchkwtrFI/AAAAAAAAo4Q/XZTlK5G3oDY/s1600/DSC_0070_2.JPG" height="428" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: small;">Chasing the Sun Down the Canyon</span></b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Day 9 we started at Ledges Camp (Mile 152): not a warm place in the winter. The morning had been a little cooler temperature wise, a huge wall shadowed camp, and ice had formed on the water buckets. The sun was never going to hit us there. The cold wasn't bad but the wind bit a little as we slid into the water. We chased the sun down the river, through a few rapids, but mostly just pretty relaxed whitewater. Havasu Canyon gave us one of the highlights of the day. We squeezed the entire group of 16, in our boats, up into the tight slot gorge. Everything glowed iridescent blue from the travertine-filled water bouncing around the canyon walls. <br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjljEwRhUuawBaNNGJpd8A_psOncUeEM8hi7a_FyvjrlZYDbMrrj1hWyisx3ls1n7gtUPzZdQLuHQQls8l1hBlYogURZC4W6CcTLgg04fEXVOWB0IA7D_vsEmlRk8YS2O4KBLuW/s1600/DSC_0083_2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjljEwRhUuawBaNNGJpd8A_psOncUeEM8hi7a_FyvjrlZYDbMrrj1hWyisx3ls1n7gtUPzZdQLuHQQls8l1hBlYogURZC4W6CcTLgg04fEXVOWB0IA7D_vsEmlRk8YS2O4KBLuW/s1600/DSC_0083_2.JPG" height="428" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>The Glow in Havasu Canyon</b></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8blPMxBo8Y4/UuhdDmOeMbI/AAAAAAAAo6g/yfMulvCd5rQ/s1600/DSC_0103_2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8blPMxBo8Y4/UuhdDmOeMbI/AAAAAAAAo6g/yfMulvCd5rQ/s1600/DSC_0103_2.JPG" height="428" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Warm Sun Lunch Spot</b></span></td></tr>
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As we continued downstream, the sun only hit us in a couple of small patches. On days like this, the only consideration for a lunch spot is that it must be in the sun. We finally found a spot tucked up against a vertical wall with a waterfall spraying off the rim above and bright warm light on our faces. Our destination that afternoon was Cove Camp (Mile 175). It felt good to put away so many miles, but I was starting to feel the accumulation of several days paddling and hiking. From camp, we strolled up through a side canyon where a mud flow had thrown huge boulders around. As we returned to camp we found the sun had swung around the wall was blaring down on our camp. We all stopped what we were doing and soaked it in for the 30 minutes it allowed. It felt great. The second it went behind the walls again, we all pulled on our coats and hats and built a fire.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-x_BZhO8KbiA/UuhdgZw6O7I/AAAAAAAAo8I/2D6ipPntHCI/s1600/DSC_0133_2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-x_BZhO8KbiA/UuhdgZw6O7I/AAAAAAAAo8I/2D6ipPntHCI/s1600/DSC_0133_2.JPG" height="428" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: small;">The Sun Hits Camp!</span></b></td></tr>
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Staying warm in the Canyon during the winter is not hard if you are prepared. We were lucky this year with the weather. We had bright blue skies with lows in the 20s and highs near 50. There have been colder trips for sure. Last year they had some days where it never got up to freezing. <br />
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On the river its amazing what paying attention to layering and good gear does for winter paddling. Most days I was in light leg tights and a single heavy top under my drysuit. I like to keep my core a little extra warm so that warmth radiates out to my extremities I wore my paddling mitts almost every day and a beanie whenever the temps dropped. Warm food and drinks are a must. One of my favorite pieces of gear on this trip is my thermos. At camp, I wore heavier fleece pants and wind pants on the colder nights. Up top I wore a fleece and down jacket. Obviously you need a warm hat but the one piece that I think people might forget which makes a huge difference is a neck warmer. It closes that last little gap where the wind and cold try to get to my jugular. As for sleeping in the cold, of course a good sleeping bag but don't forget to have a sleeping pad that will insulate you from the ground. Shnuggling against frigid sand and rock caused a few of us to have a cold night along the river.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://plus.google.com/photos/115372956016938411124/albums/5974126402588328657" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-3fAhh_yjRzc/Uuhd5Dk2FKI/AAAAAAAAo9o/LFOYQENK95k/s1600/DSC_0171_2.JPG" height="428" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: small;">Full Moon and a Warm Fire by the River</span></b></td></tr>
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Here is a link to all the photos from <a href="https://plus.google.com/photos/115372956016938411124/albums/5974126402588328657" target="_blank">Day 9 in the Canyon</a>.<br />
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As Day 9 finishes it begins to settle in that we are getting close to the end of the trip. I try to keep as present mentally as I am physically in the Canyon.<br />
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ShaneShane Benedicthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13270338044175889168noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7620100.post-38436772221029333232014-01-28T13:41:00.002-06:002014-01-28T20:11:37.803-06:00Day 8 in the Grand Canyon: Feeling a Little Primal.<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1SUhz0jo5J7NC9NZaDXcQG-ZbcF0FeJ_pbHRB56zlap6vuaw72UqYdk1Ln_2nuFDIEMA3iRPAEn2LMPITHtZLBIeETMH1FwuikaRYy9ldwWZ1Mj5MSzvHUYQbmfgQdWBDhN_o/s1600/DSC_0997.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1SUhz0jo5J7NC9NZaDXcQG-ZbcF0FeJ_pbHRB56zlap6vuaw72UqYdk1Ln_2nuFDIEMA3iRPAEn2LMPITHtZLBIeETMH1FwuikaRYy9ldwWZ1Mj5MSzvHUYQbmfgQdWBDhN_o/s1600/DSC_0997.JPG" height="428" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: small;">The happy place at the top of the Deer Creek gorge</span></b></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Qlpq0EYqC0M/UucuFY7QhUI/AAAAAAAAoso/Z0UYFarBuDg/s1600/DSC_0975.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Qlpq0EYqC0M/UucuFY7QhUI/AAAAAAAAoso/Z0UYFarBuDg/s1600/DSC_0975.jpg" height="400" width="267" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: small;">Deer Creek Falls</span></b></td></tr>
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The 8th day we started from Stone Creek Camp (Mile 132) fairly early so that we could do a couple short hikes and still cover 20 miles to Ledges Camp (Mile 152). The first was one of the most iconic in the Canyon, Deer Creek. Deer Creek is a small stream that has chewed a very unique canyon for itself out to the rim of the inner canyon. At the canyon's edge it drops 80 feet or so into a pool along the Colorado. The second hike was also a very popular hike called Matkatamiba. It is a cool climb up through a smooth polished mini canyon that you can climb chimney style for quite a while.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-C-MOmDnBPcY/Uucuom1bdUI/AAAAAAAAouw/8AAdP_b7bfY/s1600/DSC_1007.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-C-MOmDnBPcY/Uucuom1bdUI/AAAAAAAAouw/8AAdP_b7bfY/s1600/DSC_1007.JPG" height="428" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: small;">On the lip of the inner canyon at Deer Creek</span></b></td></tr>
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By day 8 in the Grand Canyon we started to feel a little primal. There was sand in everything. On day 3 Woody was pretty much rolling in it. I sort of cleaned my dishes after each meal. A lick is as good as clean. Right? The cadence of the nomadic group provided the only clock work that really mattered. Sunrise started each day. We pushed as far into the evening darkness as we could so that we could remain asleep till first light. In a very basic sense, the only things that mattered were; Eat, Sleep, Stay Warm, and Travel. There was a routine. We began to do things pretty much the same way everyday. Waking, fixing coffee and breakfast at a certain time. Packing our bags a certain way. Loading them into our boats just so. Climbing into our gear. Paddle. Lunch. Paddle. Hike. Eat. Gather Wood. Fire!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdFzWiVNJhPir5-2K8TYymYA15AOC-EFuZmyg4qDMaSlhcXrvIigZY7_uKYm0ySY-j8uoMVIy5yBlgM4xaJ9uQhCMd-Lcg6Nwm8mF6KhF_VoJEJtUMrevNNIpKGVx0jTPkE0rK/s1600/DSC_0014.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdFzWiVNJhPir5-2K8TYymYA15AOC-EFuZmyg4qDMaSlhcXrvIigZY7_uKYm0ySY-j8uoMVIy5yBlgM4xaJ9uQhCMd-Lcg6Nwm8mF6KhF_VoJEJtUMrevNNIpKGVx0jTPkE0rK/s1600/DSC_0014.JPG" height="428" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: small;">Matkatamiba</span></b></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yYfihKAwcps/UucvfcQyPVI/AAAAAAAAoxw/0v-l8u_lT9A/s1600/DSC_0044_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yYfihKAwcps/UucvfcQyPVI/AAAAAAAAoxw/0v-l8u_lT9A/s1600/DSC_0044_2.jpg" height="400" width="268" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: small;">Orzo, Veggies, Calamari & Tapenade</span></b></td></tr>
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You could definitely classify everyone in the group by whether they stew over their canyon food for months or pick it up at the grocery store right there in Flagstaff. There are 3 schools of cooking for this trip as far as I can see. Number 1 captures the serious backpacking gourmets who prepare their meals before hand and dehydrate them. They do more planning than I have ever put into this type of trip but man, the meals look awesome, and they are one pot meals because they just boil the water, cook the contents, and eat out of the same bowl. Cooking and eating out of a single bowl is a big deal. It means less you have to take and less you have to clean up after each meal. Number 2 has the down-and-dirty packet boilers. This includes your Mac N' Cheesers, your Beans and Rice-a-roni packs and your high falutin' Mountain House style backpacking food folks. This style is also very simple and what it lacks in creativity it gains in time saved. The only reason I am careful about anything in this style is the very high sodium content. My heart starts racing just thinking about it. Number 3 features the fresh food river chefs. I start in this category but towards the end of the trip I begin to wander towards packet boiler status as I get tired. The fresh foodies bring veggies, eggs, meats, bread, etc. to fill out the menu. The benefits are obvious: the food is good, and you can adjust and create different meals by adjusting contents. The downsides are: longer cook times, more dirty dishes, and a heavier boat. I wrote the categories so I get to break the rules; I consider myself a mix of all three. I bring some fresh foods, a dozen eggs, a cooked ham, giant cheese block, onions, fruit, etc. but I also have a base of easy to cook pastas, rice, and grains, and I also carry a couple bags of dehydrated veggies that I soak into meals. I add ready made sauces, meats, and spices from my spice box for variation. There are lots of ways to attack the food thing, but it does take a little planning.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgprPkRoDRp6gdY9h2mkpi3hDt3tiNRxNm7RQsB9qXnmXNevsUCirjrZBaPjPGvPgoB3dPIav_Emvi-HCrXf2Xgq4ZKJpnNt4TLGTnCr8BmzvoAP7cdrxneAhXaXnFyPfEba0cJ/s1600/DSC_0049_2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgprPkRoDRp6gdY9h2mkpi3hDt3tiNRxNm7RQsB9qXnmXNevsUCirjrZBaPjPGvPgoB3dPIav_Emvi-HCrXf2Xgq4ZKJpnNt4TLGTnCr8BmzvoAP7cdrxneAhXaXnFyPfEba0cJ/s1600/DSC_0049_2.JPG" height="428" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: small;">Fire!!</span></b></td></tr>
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Here is a link to all of the photos from <a href="https://plus.google.com/photos/115372956016938411124/albums/5973794023860658193" target="_blank">Day 8 in the Canyon</a>.<br />
Its good to have fire.<br />
Shane<br />
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<br />Shane Benedicthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13270338044175889168noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7620100.post-72127083996374397522014-01-26T21:32:00.000-06:002014-01-29T10:37:51.143-06:00Day 7 in the Grand Canyon: The Hike to Hardy's Boys Crack<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-pW_Uikww-wQ/UuWzzL5deGI/AAAAAAAAog8/301p2f4kPxE/s1600/DSC_0885.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-pW_Uikww-wQ/UuWzzL5deGI/AAAAAAAAog8/301p2f4kPxE/s1600/DSC_0885.JPG" height="428" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Just hanging out with the cactus.</b></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xwHfBqYcxJ0/UuWyqCAsdaI/AAAAAAAAodc/xZEeJAfQVto/s1600/DSC_0845.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xwHfBqYcxJ0/UuWyqCAsdaI/AAAAAAAAodc/xZEeJAfQVto/s1600/DSC_0845.jpg" height="640" width="428" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: small;">The hike up to Hardy Boys Crack</span></b></td></tr>
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We started from Black Tail Canyon (Mile 120) fairly early on Day 7 so we could cover the 12 miles of river to Stone Creek camp (Mile 132) before lunch, which gave us plenty of time to join Mike on another special adventure. I will remember this hike for the rest of my life. I also love the story about the people who found this crazy up-and-over loop hike from Stone Creek to Gallaway Creek and back to camp, which includes this awesome down climb through the tapeats sandstone known as The Hardy Boys' Crack. The rumor that I heard goes that in the 80s, a couple old time river guides spent their winters on the longest permitted trips possible drifting through the canyon and wandering up onto the rocky shelves and crumbling talus slopes of the side canyons and peaks of the Canyon. When their permit ended, they would take out, head back to Flagstaff to replenish their supplies, and then grab the next long term permit available, pretty much living off their guide wages from the summer season and remaining down in the gorge all the year round.<br />
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The hike started off like so many down there, scrambling up a rocky wash working around big boulders and along the eroding edges of the terrain. At this moment we had our first "are you serious" moment. We cleared our way out of the stream bed Mike pointed up at a huge red wall and said, now you want to work your way up this scree slope and along that wall and finish on top of that first level. I thought to myself "are you serious"? Up along the wall we went, under boulders, and scrambling. A few calls of "ROCK!" came down from above but it was all good.<br />
We made it. Then an amazing traverse on top of the Tapeats Sandstone level. All the while Mike is giving us the history of the world according to piles of rocks. It was awesome. Then I start thinking about how the hell are we going to get down off this cliff and I remember the name of the hike and start expecting a down climb (my favorite) chimney style and there it is! Nothing too crazy but cool none the less. I thought to myself, "awesome we did the climb"! But there was another level of the same, and then yet another. Mike walked along the edge of the cliff scoping out a line. I looked over the edge and thought, "are you f-ing kidding me"? It was 100 feet down. Then he found a slot and said, "this is it". One of the Dutchies said out loud what I was thinking, "ARE YOU SERIOUS"!? It was a tight climb down a rock choked chimney. There was a little exposure but the hand holds were plentiful. The line worked beautifully and we all were sputtering with awesometude. All that was left was a sketchy traverse to the next side canyon and back to camp.<br />
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WHAT AN AMAZING DAY! Yes that is Mike laughing at us all.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-J8bjr_fEqS8/UuW1FhRAY0I/AAAAAAAAolk/NzKs1uYHJmg/s1600/DSC_0953.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-J8bjr_fEqS8/UuW1FhRAY0I/AAAAAAAAolk/NzKs1uYHJmg/s1600/DSC_0953.JPG" height="428" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: small;">Beaz's Cigars!</span></b></td></tr>
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Here is a link to all the shots from <a href="https://plus.google.com/photos/115372956016938411124/albums/5973376644731438769" target="_blank">Day 7 in the Canyon</a><br />
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def. Awesometude- The attitude adjustment you receive when you get to do something awesome.<br />
ShaneShane Benedicthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13270338044175889168noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7620100.post-57945034710305014482014-01-26T12:33:00.003-06:002014-01-27T07:05:37.129-06:00Day 6 in the Canyon with Liquidlogic: Big Water in the Remix XP and Stinger XP<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: small;">Walls above Granite</span></b></td></tr>
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The annual Liquidlogic trip through the Grand Canyon was a dream of Boyce and Woody's. Boyce loved doing multi-days in his kayak and Woody knew that the best place to test the Remix XP series would be to take them on an extended trip. What better way to achieve both goals than 12 days in the Canyon? The first year, they took prototypes and early production models to test how they paddled and carried gear. They came back knowing that they would do it again. I couldn't join the XPdition until a couple years later but I kept hearing how great the trip was and how perfectly the boats performed but I felt a little removed from it because I didn't have that experience yet. I had done some short overnighters on the Chattooga, and other rivers in the Southeast but I hadn't really loaded it down and lived from the XP for an extended time especially not while paddling big whitewater. When I finally signed on, filled my boat with gear, and paddled it through big water, I fully realized what an awesome boat it was for that type of trip. The more weight I added to the boat the more stable it got and yet remained capable of rolling easily and maneuvering through the rapids. The other big factor that I didn't realize the importance of was the skeg. At the bottom of most rapids and all along the river big boils, swirls, and reflecting currents can toss you around a bit. By dropping the skeg, the XP cut through the chaotic water quickly and effortlessly. It's also amazing the holes and breaking waves you can punch through with a boat that weighs nearly 200 lbs.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTDRM_WtOJRqJM7N0Uwg7Pn18pDBg2c5ktWy6KJF38lNzf1kFKfKnfLBWkgep-ZGU_fbrlTDcHE6L3W-ZoFtc2nQs79C5-PF4vEruTSa-I-yW_2DXP64FdoLKzF-SeDgUkZxqs/s1600/DSC_0518.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTDRM_WtOJRqJM7N0Uwg7Pn18pDBg2c5ktWy6KJF38lNzf1kFKfKnfLBWkgep-ZGU_fbrlTDcHE6L3W-ZoFtc2nQs79C5-PF4vEruTSa-I-yW_2DXP64FdoLKzF-SeDgUkZxqs/s1600/DSC_0518.JPG" height="428" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: small;">Granite for Breakfast</span></b></td></tr>
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I am a lucky person to get to see my work play a part of people having incredible experiences. During the afternoons in the Canyon I love strolling around the beach after a big day on the water, pulling gear out, setting up camp as the evening light slides up the canyon walls, and listening to everyone talk about how amazing the day was. It's not the boats that make it happen but they are a little part of it. In one moment this 6th day that I won't forget, I got a little sunburnt with pride when we floated into the sun at Hermit and the entire LL armada was soaking it in, working through the rapid, laughing and yelling for one another, and I got to watch an inexperienced nervous paddler reach into the mountains of water and pull himself through and smile broadly at the bottom of the wave train. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-yiGm9hpldLE/UuLPb3rUrhI/AAAAAAAAocg/DN2qlEYHb0E/s1600/DSC_0564.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-yiGm9hpldLE/UuLPb3rUrhI/AAAAAAAAocg/DN2qlEYHb0E/s1600/DSC_0564.JPG" height="428" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: small;">Bram pulling his way through the waves.</span></b></td></tr>
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As soon as we decided to make the Stinger race boat a real production boat, Woody and I both knew that we wanted to make it as an XP version as well. It's a perfect complement to the Remix XP series. For more experienced paddlers, the Stinger XP is fast, playful, and yet still super stable and predictable. The Remix XP's are extremely stable and forgiving for paddlers of all skill levels. I experienced the speed of the Stinger as one obvious difference. I could move forward and back in the group quickly and easily. I felt like I was using less effort to cover our 20 mile days. When I paddled the Remix XP I almost felt like I couldn't flip over but I could move around very well in the rapids. At first I thought both boats seemed to carry the same amount of gear but as I got more used to packing the Stinger it seemed to have more room. They both surf well but it can be tricky to fit the Stinger into tighter waves. The Remix surfed easily in lots of different waves. I found that by dropping the skeg in either one and I could catch waves more easily. We had a good mix of both boats on the trip this year making it fun to see the advantages of either design.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKuYC1OksRScJQqr2VpvuehnzU4JCYFZ6nUsig04SmtGORe9mga8TEBYtCaaclY9xnrEENqe0loDBy6EIrPK-5CKCNkLAHMts_WPYHpth5gmW4kL0PNS5_Ynp-QtA53t0tag58/s1600/DSC_0820.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKuYC1OksRScJQqr2VpvuehnzU4JCYFZ6nUsig04SmtGORe9mga8TEBYtCaaclY9xnrEENqe0loDBy6EIrPK-5CKCNkLAHMts_WPYHpth5gmW4kL0PNS5_Ynp-QtA53t0tag58/s1600/DSC_0820.jpg" height="640" width="428" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: small;">Black Tail Canyon</span></b></td></tr>
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We paddled from Granite (Mile 194) to Black Tail Canyon (Mile 120) this day. After the big hike and fairly long paddle of this day we were bushed. Fortunately it was a short hike up into the super tight and sweet Black Tail Canyon to finish off the day. <br />
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Here is a link to all the photos from <a href="https://plus.google.com/photos/115372956016938411124/albums/5972563731215169009?authkey=CMe34beX-f3iSw" target="_blank">Day 6 in the Canyon</a>.<br />
Shane<br />
<br />Shane Benedicthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13270338044175889168noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7620100.post-43135776342860412022014-01-24T08:49:00.003-06:002014-01-24T08:51:02.819-06:00Day 5 in the Canyon: The truth about the whitewater in the Grand Canyon<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-CATyWkyVPjc/UuJlwg-pZTI/AAAAAAAAoIs/a-kHboypfcg/s1600/DSC_0389.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-CATyWkyVPjc/UuJlwg-pZTI/AAAAAAAAoIs/a-kHboypfcg/s1600/DSC_0389.JPG" height="428" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>By Day 5 packing the boat is getting pretty easy.</b></span></td></tr>
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Day 5 in the Canyon contains a bunch of fun whitewater as we drop into the Upper Granite Gorge with some big name rapids like, Hance, Sockdolager, Grapevine, and Horn Creek. We covered 20 miles from Rattlesnake Camp (mile 74) to Granite (mile 94). Nothing like camping above a big rapid to make for some slightly restless sleep.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-77ODDZBtt5Q/UuJlyorPwMI/AAAAAAAAoJI/nEzGviCkhC4/s1600/DSC_0409.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-77ODDZBtt5Q/UuJlyorPwMI/AAAAAAAAoJI/nEzGviCkhC4/s1600/DSC_0409.JPG" height="428" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: small;">Mike dropping into Hance.</span></b></td></tr>
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When I was a kid paddling around the Southeast I heard stories about the whitewater in the Grand Canyon and I saw videos of the huge waves and holes flipping giant rafts. I didn't think I would ever kayak anything like that. It only took me a few years to realize those thoughts weren't true but still when I first enter the Canyon I have a little bit of concern for the rapids. I think that nervynous that I feel is tied mostly to the history and lore of the river but I also think the remoteness and size of the water adds to the mystique. During the winter trips add in the cold dark shadows that the canyon walls cast over the river and it starts to get a little bit of an ominous feel to it some days.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-04Z292oQX0s/UuJmDdrPgfI/AAAAAAAAoMY/70MNVuiTk-k/s1600/DSC_0480.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-04Z292oQX0s/UuJmDdrPgfI/AAAAAAAAoMY/70MNVuiTk-k/s1600/DSC_0480.JPG" height="428" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: small;">Jeremy Approaching Horn Creek in the Shadows</span></b></td></tr>
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The truth of the matter, however, is that if you have a bomber roll and can paddle sideways down through waves you are good to kayak the Colorado river through the Grand Canyon. There is no doubt that some of the rapids have serious moves for rafts but almost every single rapid in the Canyon is "hey diddle diddle, right down the middle" for a kayak. Yes there are a few features to avoid but they are very obvious. Yes there will be different water levels that may affect this determination but for the most part its all good to go. Tentative kayakers have highways to avoid the big stuff and solid boaters can paddle right down through the biggest parts of almost every rapid. There are a couple whirlpools that will bury you for a second and if you are upside down they might torment you enough to make you swim but those are few and very far between. The one rapid that throws some curve balls at you is Lava. The easiest line can be hard to hit and the angled curling waves come from different places that can slap you around hard if you are in the wrong place. My goal by mentioning this isn't to belittle the whitewater, my goal is to clear peoples minds of fear for the whitewater so that anyone may take the opportunity to float through the Grand Canyon. This is a trip that every paddler should make in some form or another. The paddling is super fun and I enjoy every riffle whether I am in a tiny playboat or a long loaded missile.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-OvXST8V54nU/UuJmGUXW1QI/AAAAAAAAoM8/Iy3WPH3cOg8/s1600/DSC_0495.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-OvXST8V54nU/UuJmGUXW1QI/AAAAAAAAoM8/Iy3WPH3cOg8/s1600/DSC_0495.JPG" height="428" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: small;">The Team is all there.</span></b></td></tr>
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Heres a link to see all the photos from <a href="https://plus.google.com/photos/115372956016938411124/albums/5972447932920804385" target="_blank">Day 5 in the Canyon</a>.<br />
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More awesome whitewater tomorrow.<br />
ShaneShane Benedicthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13270338044175889168noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7620100.post-22384290314380494822014-01-23T08:44:00.002-06:002014-01-23T08:46:23.702-06:00Day 4 in the Canyon: We are hiking up to where?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-uTvDGQs63A8/UuEfNDlg7II/AAAAAAAAn-A/jsj4XfEsqOs/s1600/DSC_0307.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-uTvDGQs63A8/UuEfNDlg7II/AAAAAAAAn-A/jsj4XfEsqOs/s1600/DSC_0307.JPG" height="428" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Pile O' Rocks</b></span></td></tr>
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Day 4: Lava Chuar to Rattlesnake Camp is only 9 or 10 miles on the river so it wasn't the paddling that was daunting. We got to camp early so we could take part in the yearly tradition of "Mike Hikes". He pointed up to a peak that looked to be beyond not just the first wall behind camp but over another and then one more. That was a daunting visual. I was thinking to myself, really? A couple years before I was involved in a "Mike Hike" that involved 5.9 climbing up and across a scrabbly, crumbling Talus slope that I turned back on after 5 or 6 rocks ranging from baseball to football size shot past me while I hunkered down behind a shifting boulder. The group that day went on to finish the hike but as I slid back to the base of the scariest climbing I had ever done without a rope, I could hear them screaming "ROCK!!", followed by nervous laughter. Lets just say when Mike said bring your headlamp I was hesitant. It turned out that the hike from Rattlesnake camp up to the Tabernacle was not horribly long or difficult as far as climbing, however there was 1600 feet of elevation gain. It was a constant uphill grade that kept me huffing and puffing, my legs got a little wobbly afterwards, but it was very doable hike. We followed Mike up the slope over one ridge, past another, around the back side of the peak, and then up on top for a 360 degree view of the Canyon. What seemed so far away and kind of unthinkable crumbled away in a couple hours to a simple afternoon hike to one of the few peak hikes in Grand Canyon. The textures, colors, and landscape kept me entranced the entire time.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO3WOw2Iq_nZt_xqVdWBhxqQ7T5opNO3fU5M47XYD0FxmwTIM3V0aw1-QrU4PwRxjoDEX92mhrFMlrxUj1BW1Hz3KPs6RI-B3I43jLk5JekMxnWhExDjAq8__R7AfXqsaNgqdK/s1600/DSC_0309.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO3WOw2Iq_nZt_xqVdWBhxqQ7T5opNO3fU5M47XYD0FxmwTIM3V0aw1-QrU4PwRxjoDEX92mhrFMlrxUj1BW1Hz3KPs6RI-B3I43jLk5JekMxnWhExDjAq8__R7AfXqsaNgqdK/s1600/DSC_0309.JPG" height="428" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>The peak is in sight, but there is more climbing to do.</b></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-USSkNbDxi0E/UuEfUj6UmbI/AAAAAAAAn_M/YSJMUNZQah0/s1600/DSC_0321.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-USSkNbDxi0E/UuEfUj6UmbI/AAAAAAAAn_M/YSJMUNZQah0/s1600/DSC_0321.JPG" height="428" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: small;">Summit Team</span></b></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-dgXtBAroS34/UuEfhAirjOI/AAAAAAAAoBg/4gK77YgNnLk/s1600/DSC_0351.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-dgXtBAroS34/UuEfhAirjOI/AAAAAAAAoBg/4gK77YgNnLk/s1600/DSC_0351.JPG" height="428" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: small;">Whoa! Trippy Dude!</span></b></td></tr>
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Here are all the photos from <a href="https://plus.google.com/photos/115372956016938411124/albums/5972088769941468817" target="_blank">Day 4 in the Canyon</a>.<br />
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We slept well that night.<br />
ShaneShane Benedicthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13270338044175889168noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7620100.post-14917680403402660772014-01-22T12:11:00.000-06:002014-01-22T12:16:43.278-06:00Day 3 in the Canyon: Feeling Small in a Big Place<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TeJj6KYltmo/Ut_HJa1GfYI/AAAAAAAAn3k/8563VYJRs7Q/s1600/DSC_0241.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TeJj6KYltmo/Ut_HJa1GfYI/AAAAAAAAn3k/8563VYJRs7Q/s1600/DSC_0241.JPG" height="428" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: small;">Feeling Small down in the Bottom of the Canyon</span></b></td></tr>
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Day 3: We started to gel as a group. I have a feeling our late night party in Yonton's hotel room the night before putting on the river may have set the tone. The Truth serum brought out the camaraderie in all of us. It takes a little luck, social flexibility, and empathy for those in your group to come together as easily as ours did. It seemed the 3rd day was when everyone felt as though they could deal. Packing the boats was coming a little more easily. The cold was cold, for lack of a better word, but manageable. There were still nerves in some of the group about the whitewater but those were more known fears than the big questions that people had before the beginning of the trip. By day 3 most of us had used the groover so that was behind us.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WImPrzTxzPk/Ut_HQHaSIQI/AAAAAAAAn4s/xFlvTC_1PG4/s1600/DSC_0258.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WImPrzTxzPk/Ut_HQHaSIQI/AAAAAAAAn4s/xFlvTC_1PG4/s1600/DSC_0258.JPG" height="428" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: small;">View From the Granaries</span></b></td></tr>
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We traveled from Mile 42 at Buck Farm to Mile 65 at Lava Chuar Camp. Between those points are lots of classic stops, hikes, and photo ops. The walls are towering. I always try to get the shot that shows how big it is but obviously its impossible to get that one. First stop this day was the Nankoweap Granaries. Its an awesome spot to sit up high on the wall of the Canyon and think about living in that Nankoweap Delta a thousand years ago. They farmed on the floor of the canyon during the winter and moved up on the rim during the summers to follow the more moderate temps, kind of like nomadic kayakers of our time following the endless Spring. Supposedly these "<b><i><u>Ancestral Puebloans</u></i></b>" built fires in the granaries, mudded them in, and then sealed the door with a big rock held in place by vacuum and mud?! and it worked and stored, protected, and preserved the food for long periods of time?!?! I am blown away. I have a hard time keeping stuff from rotting in my refrigerator.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qOBefyImNNY/Ut_HULmC8XI/AAAAAAAAn5M/hO7hGf3Dbm8/s1600/DSC_0264.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qOBefyImNNY/Ut_HULmC8XI/AAAAAAAAn5M/hO7hGf3Dbm8/s1600/DSC_0264.JPG" height="428" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: small;">Dutchies at the Granaries</span></b></td></tr>
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The next stop was the Little Colorado River or LCR if you are hip to Canyon terminology. At this place the water is not the right color. Something about travertine and limestone dissolved in the water makes it that way. All I know is that everything looks awesomer sitting in it.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2ZaT3KTWI0s/Ut_HYZ-n1cI/AAAAAAAAn5s/YyvhL4LFnLk/s1600/DSC_0276.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2ZaT3KTWI0s/Ut_HYZ-n1cI/AAAAAAAAn5s/YyvhL4LFnLk/s1600/DSC_0276.JPG" height="428" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: small;">Just outside the mouth of the Little Colorado River</span></b></td></tr>
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Here is a link to all the photos from <a href="https://plus.google.com/photos/115372956016938411124/albums/5971710571017710513" target="_blank">Day 3 in the Canyon</a>.</div>
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The Canyon is awesomer daily.</div>
<div>
Shane</div>
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Shane Benedicthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13270338044175889168noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7620100.post-15759158115734313222014-01-21T10:01:00.000-06:002014-01-21T13:11:40.179-06:00Day 2 of the Grand Canyon : BIG RED WALLS<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEAbNZ5KSAUiDXED3RKD-jnKGFMDpp4s__Zh_NadgUGkk-69T1e2Xv9hMMRxOLWhGuxwnzaS7ubcn655OrMZLaWohTBNXD6LnHgRoDiEQwmGsb6X0yUooFy9Sb_W_Iy8jREp33/s1600/DSC_0170.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEAbNZ5KSAUiDXED3RKD-jnKGFMDpp4s__Zh_NadgUGkk-69T1e2Xv9hMMRxOLWhGuxwnzaS7ubcn655OrMZLaWohTBNXD6LnHgRoDiEQwmGsb6X0yUooFy9Sb_W_Iy8jREp33/s1600/DSC_0170.jpg" height="640" width="428" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Chuck likes fish.</b></span></td></tr>
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The first day of the trip i was mostly just overwhelmed with getting all my crap together, getting to know the group a little bit, feeling the boat out with all the weight, and just settling into the idea that I was going to be out there for a while.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-f7GnpIXCH2w/Ut6QqSkaiCI/AAAAAAAAnwk/F6hi8QKmZHc/s1600/DSC_0171.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-f7GnpIXCH2w/Ut6QqSkaiCI/AAAAAAAAnwk/F6hi8QKmZHc/s1600/DSC_0171.JPG" height="428" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Yes that all fits in my boat.</b></span></td></tr>
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Day two on the other hand I felt completely immersed in the Canyon. The walls shoot up quickly, high enough that the whole feeling small thing kicks in hard and fast. The rapids are not difficult but they are fairly consistent and fun through the "Roaring 20s". Then we entered the Marble Canyon and the walls went vertical. The textures and colors are incredible and the immensity is incomprehensible, so I just tried to take pictures of it. One of my favorite parts of the entire trip is passing along the stripes in the Marble Canyon walls here where they are smooth and nearly vertical, and running my hands along it as the current picks up speed. Its that smooth and polished.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-D0oAB8gLHZg/Ut6QxwXBlrI/AAAAAAAAnxI/XwCMVvfZJhE/s1600/DSC_0180.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-D0oAB8gLHZg/Ut6QxwXBlrI/AAAAAAAAnxI/XwCMVvfZJhE/s1600/DSC_0180.JPG" height="428" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Polished smooth walls.</b></span></td></tr>
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The size and reality of Redwall Cavern is just plain silly. There is no photo that can show you but I will try with this one. I have watched a concert, passed a football, and thrown a frisbee in this cavern and not even come close to being able to cover the distance either side to side or front to back with sounds or thrown objects.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-QXVi3o1OluQ/Ut6Q_Tev_SI/AAAAAAAAnzA/FfqjSo6t2XQ/s1600/RedWall2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-QXVi3o1OluQ/Ut6Q_Tev_SI/AAAAAAAAnzA/FfqjSo6t2XQ/s1600/RedWall2.jpg" height="220" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Redwall Cavern</b></span></td></tr>
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We paddled down to Mile 42 to a nice camp tucked into the cliffs called Buck Farm. Up on the rim we could see snow. It was a cold camp but the fire in the fire pan, and extra clothes in the sleeping bag made it work. In the morning there was solid ice on the water buckets where we gather water to let the sediment settle out so drinking and cooking is a little less gritty.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9KfDJs5u2_7y2XY6ZYzxCxLAM5eH4D_7754G6MN-KXjl7IJpBWNKGCZPs12hBVKj0BI24BHwhWOAD7LE8Sum5VOp70DSz6JsBFPlmAOBOPE2A_fA887tMYMGrG_kRbujubD-c/s1600/DSC_0213.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9KfDJs5u2_7y2XY6ZYzxCxLAM5eH4D_7754G6MN-KXjl7IJpBWNKGCZPs12hBVKj0BI24BHwhWOAD7LE8Sum5VOp70DSz6JsBFPlmAOBOPE2A_fA887tMYMGrG_kRbujubD-c/s1600/DSC_0213.jpg" height="640" width="428" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: small;">Buck Farm Camp</span></b></td></tr>
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Here are more photos from <a href="https://plus.google.com/photos/115372956016938411124/albums/5971369130827676817" target="_blank">Day 2 in the Canyon</a>.<br />
We are in.<br />
<br />
Shane<br />
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<br />Shane Benedicthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13270338044175889168noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7620100.post-72418535386489915342014-01-20T12:49:00.002-06:002014-01-20T12:49:39.068-06:00Day 1 of the Liquidlogic Self Support Grand Canyon Trip<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-XBHlWDdZIkI/Ut1NQZZrNgI/AAAAAAAAnho/bOaAeWSMIHk/s1600/DSC_0622.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-XBHlWDdZIkI/Ut1NQZZrNgI/AAAAAAAAnho/bOaAeWSMIHk/s1600/DSC_0622.JPG" height="428" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: small;">The Storm that almost ended the trip.</span></b> </td></tr>
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This trip just about didn't happen for several of us this year. Snow storms were moving across the country in many different regions which delayed, canceled, and forced lots of scrambling to make it to the Put In in time for check in with the Park Rangers. Chuck had to buy a first class ticket to make the date. Tom luckily ran into a counter agent who was from Flagstaff and knew all about the desire to make it to the river. She managed to get him to the Flag airport just in time to meet the shuttle headed directly to the put in. Woody had electrical problems on the road which left him a day later than he wanted to be but it all worked out we arrived at the Motel 6 in Flag got ourselves organized and loaded the rig headed for Lee's Ferry.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-YSAa2h0Zvxg/Ut1NecC0AzI/AAAAAAAAnjw/EZHI1BT2aQo/s1600/DSC_0072.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-YSAa2h0Zvxg/Ut1NecC0AzI/AAAAAAAAnjw/EZHI1BT2aQo/s1600/DSC_0072.JPG" height="428" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: small;">The 16 at the Lee's Ferry Put In</span></b></td></tr>
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The group of 16 consisted of 8 first timers in the Canyon including a 6 pack from the Netherlands that made the trip just to be a part of it. A handful with previous experience and a few with 5 or 6 self support trips in the bag.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyWI9nC5fxEBNc2As9Z-vDXSWmaUC3h3Rt2BV4QcmNeVzbCillnrLw-neNLpgptbHlX5OAbI4L0_6wZuerIP3oYHNIq-IJQatJ_Nhkti9CDC-dq7sMoy7UyN2apYyh_MpezpEf/s1600/DSC_0138.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyWI9nC5fxEBNc2As9Z-vDXSWmaUC3h3Rt2BV4QcmNeVzbCillnrLw-neNLpgptbHlX5OAbI4L0_6wZuerIP3oYHNIq-IJQatJ_Nhkti9CDC-dq7sMoy7UyN2apYyh_MpezpEf/s1600/DSC_0138.jpg" height="640" width="428" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: small;">Tanner's Wash</span></b></td></tr>
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Standard operating procedure is that you arrive at the Put In the day before launch for inspection from the Rangers, then camp there, and go through orientation the morning of your launch. Then push off. There are just a hand full of rapids in the first days section and a very cool eddie to catch at Tanner's Wash. At mile 17 we arrive at House Rock Rapid and our first camp.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-JYsXkuMo8mY/Ut1P_pJnEII/AAAAAAAAnpU/8xEmKEGmgoY/s1600/DSC_0161.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-JYsXkuMo8mY/Ut1P_pJnEII/AAAAAAAAnpU/8xEmKEGmgoY/s1600/DSC_0161.JPG" height="428" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: small;">Below House Rock Rapid</span></b></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SXGmrJCh3YU/Ut1QAVaw2aI/AAAAAAAAnpc/W_lHWuzo3ZE/s1600/DSC_0163.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SXGmrJCh3YU/Ut1QAVaw2aI/AAAAAAAAnpc/W_lHWuzo3ZE/s1600/DSC_0163.jpg" height="640" width="428" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: small;">House Rock Rapid Camp</span></b></td></tr>
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10 things you do just about every day on a self support Grand Canyon trip.<br />
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1. Wake up before dawn because you failed number 10.<br />
2. Pack up some of the things in your tent including something you need later that day.<br />
3. Make some coffee and breakfast.<br />
4. Pack up your tent and kitchen.<br />
5. Use the Groover.<br />
6. Pack your boat and try not to be last off the beach.<br />
7. Run whitewater rapids. "Hey diddle diddle, right down the middle" are the only directions you need. You might want to paddle a little left or right at some point.<br />
8. Get to camp and set up.<br />
9. Go for a hike.<br />
10. Cook, try to stay up until 9pm, and fail.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tGEuJKdM-aE/Ut1QBtTEtOI/AAAAAAAAnpo/TNFO_7Aiwck/s1600/DSC_0165.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tGEuJKdM-aE/Ut1QBtTEtOI/AAAAAAAAnpo/TNFO_7Aiwck/s1600/DSC_0165.JPG" height="428" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: small;">My Kitchen for the next 12 Days</span></b></td></tr>
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<br />
Shane<br />
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Here are all the <a href="https://plus.google.com/photos/115372956016938411124/albums/5971013608472636657" target="_blank">Photos from Day 1</a>.<br />
<br />Shane Benedicthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13270338044175889168noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7620100.post-75700512279870735952013-10-18T08:57:00.001-05:002014-03-13T17:12:16.593-05:00The Development of the Liquidlogic Stinger<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The development of the Liquidlogic Stinger started nearly 6 years ago. Hard to believe. I had both a lot less and a lot more hair. I had fewer wrinkles and we had less technology going into the design of our boats. The Remix 100 was the original name of the Stinger. The name came from the 100+ gallons of volume and the common dam release of water on the Green which is 100% of 1 unit. Woody liked to call the 100% release a "hungee", and so the first proto of what would become the Stinger was called the Hungee.<br />
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The original design was a complete side project. I hammered away on the computer for a few days at home, printed out cross sections and applied them to foam to be cut and glued together to make the model. It was a mix of modern and a little old school know how that I learned from Alan Stancel (designer of the Dancer) to get this boat together in a hurry for the upcoming Green Race in the fall of 2007. <br />
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We were still in our small shop just on the outskirts of Hendersonville, N.C. and only 6.582 minutes from the Put-In of the Green River. In the design department it was just Allen and I hammering away on models. In these photos you can see the entire shop. When we would get busy there wasn't any room to move around. <br />
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Once I printed out the cross sections I then cut them all out and glued the entire thing together on a spine to hold it all straight and level. Then its just a matter of cutting, grinding, and shaping down to the cross sections and you have a boat... sort of. There are a few more steps in between but you get the idea.<br />
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This very first prototype of what would become the Stinger was 11'9" it had a fairly traditional long boat hull design with a little more bow rocker and a little bit of flatness under the seat. After working our asses off to get this one ready we hammered out some prototypes just in time for the Lord of the Fork race on the Russell Fork river in Kentucky. In fact I loaded the van and met Toby McDermott and John Grace late in the evening with, hot out of the oven protos, so they could drive through the night and race the next morning. Toby won the race and we were pretty excited about that.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Van load.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Notice the frost on the boats. Its race seaon!</td></tr>
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The day after that I got a few folks together and paddled the Green for the first time in the Hungee. The first float is always nerve racking but it came out great. It was very predictable, stable, and far faster than anything we were paddling at the time. The competition at the time was the Tornado, the first proto of the Green Boat, and a proto boat from Waves Sport called the Momentum. We seemed to be in the realm with those guys but after that very first day I knew that there was more that could be done. My actual thought was "this is too easy to paddle, surely we can go faster and hang it out on the edge more". <br />
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The next year i decided to really push it and see what would happen. I added 8" in length, only on the stern of the boat. Anything that I would have added to the bow wouldn't have been in the water so its affect on speed would have been minimal but that 8" in essence represents a boat 16" longer. So in a way the Stinger has a water line of 13' 1" boat but by keeping the bow shorter my theory was that it would be easier to move around rocks and potentially help with resurfacing, and keep me from pitoning off Sunshine.</div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Om-7nN_mShg/UZuqnTaTx6I/AAAAAAAAeGA/OXXB5FgngdU/s1600/DSC_0263.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Om-7nN_mShg/UZuqnTaTx6I/AAAAAAAAeGA/OXXB5FgngdU/s640/DSC_0263.JPG" height="428" width="640" /></a></div>
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Once again paddling away from the beach that first time was a little nerve racking. I just wasn't sure that a boat that asymmetric was going to turn quickly enough. Some of the team paddlers thought I might be a little crazy. The amazing part about that design change was the speed. Adding that extra length made it into a rocket. My favorite feeling was the first time skipping through the pools at the bottom of the slides in the race course. The extra speed carried momentum easily.<br />
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In 2008 Adriene tied for her first win of the Green Race. Obviously there were great paddlers paddling the boats but they were all moving up the ladder in placements of the race so it felt like the boat changes were making a difference. To fund the first Stingers we sold some of our prototypes to the public and they were obviously a big hit. We couldn't make enough of them and people lined up on a waiting list to buy the boats used by racers. That first Stinger was fast but it was also a bear to control so over the next year I skeemed on what sort of changes I wanted to make. The main thing I wanted to focus on was maintaining the speed but if I could also make it easier to paddle that would be awesome. I made subtle tweaks to the hull making it slightly flatter and rolling the bow edges under the boat so that they wouldn't hit quite as hard.<br />
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In 2009 we had 4 boats out of the top 6 in mens. Adriene won again with a record time breaking run and breaking the 5 minute barrier. Keith Sprinkle took the hands paddles class. <br />
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In 2010 5 of the top 6 were in Stingers and Mike Dawson and Isaac were at the top. Tad Dennis won the C-1 and Keith Sprinkle won hand paddle.<br />
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Each year I would do small changes. After 2010 we did a small deck volume increase and flattened the hull a little more.<br />
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2011 Isaac won the race and Eric Deguil pulled into 3rd and Adriene won again.<br />
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2012 was a crazy year because of the high water. The gage was reading 12 inches plus and that proved to be fast and wild. Mike Dawson crushed the course record. Isaac came in third and Eric finished up the top 5. John Grace was 6th with his fastest time ever. Adriene won and Jordan took C-1. Just before this years race I did some more small changes to the design adding more flat hull and more deck volume to the ends of the boat for surfacing. All the team folks agreed they didn't want me to change it any more. With that in mind we sent the model off to the mold maker to finally make a production mold that racers across the country had been asking us to do for 6 years. Automatic for the People!<br />
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Now everybody gets to go fast and do big enders!</div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-xQA0tJyWcDc/UgJhKwPhQaI/AAAAAAAAhds/pqKdpdLncEA/s1600/shane+ender.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-xQA0tJyWcDc/UgJhKwPhQaI/AAAAAAAAhds/pqKdpdLncEA/s640/shane+ender.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></div>
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Here is a few Stinger Videos. <a href="https://vimeo.com/album/2510310">https://vimeo.com/album/2510310</a><br />
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Later<br />
ShaneShane Benedicthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13270338044175889168noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7620100.post-45573244594480573402013-02-25T14:09:00.002-06:002013-02-25T14:35:33.792-06:00Eternity Hole with Proto #4 of the LL Composite Playboat<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAED4V11RR7JpRFUkjN82eGXFtlP9ocVnsxC_jaS_g1i4YueSONWh_nWQFeyIM03JRyg1_urTgI5sIOlj8QnwROq1WxZRH4aLYvNjm9LL8rfmkcvYzKKAB6g82yXmXwkErEGyG/s1600/DSC_0019.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="428" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAED4V11RR7JpRFUkjN82eGXFtlP9ocVnsxC_jaS_g1i4YueSONWh_nWQFeyIM03JRyg1_urTgI5sIOlj8QnwROq1WxZRH4aLYvNjm9LL8rfmkcvYzKKAB6g82yXmXwkErEGyG/s640/DSC_0019.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yonton trickin' it up.</td></tr>
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Its been a bit since I put my butt in a playboat sunny skies and upper 50s temps had Yonton Mehler and I jumping into a car with Kerry Porche headed for Eternity hole on the Tuckasegee River. Yonton started jumping back in a playboat a couple months ago and is starting to show signs of his skills that took him to the World Championships. I however am way off the back end. It was definitely a case of the old dog trying to learn new tricks. Fortunately I don't think anyone was taking pictures while I was paddling but I did get a few of Yonton looking good in Big Orange! The session was enough to get me stoked to get back in the shaping room with the playboat model. A little more time and I may be able to hit that Phonix Monkey. Proto #5 in time for team trials maybe! <br />
Shane<br />
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<embed flashvars="host=picasaweb.google.com&hl=en_US&feat=flashalbum&RGB=0x000000&feed=https%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.com%2Fdata%2Ffeed%2Fapi%2Fuser%2F115372956016938411124%2Falbumid%2F5848976199732176385%3Falt%3Drss%26kind%3Dphoto%26hl%3Den_US" height="400" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" src="https://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="600"></embed><br />Shane Benedicthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13270338044175889168noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7620100.post-31587012346308617332013-02-22T09:49:00.000-06:002013-02-22T09:56:31.865-06:00Open Call for Art Proposals<div style="text-align: center;">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></b>
<b id="internal-source-marker_0.23942171456292272" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: large;">Open Call for Art Proposals</span></span></b></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">As part of making Legacy Paddlesports the sweetest place to work on the planet, we plan to enrich our offices and factory inside and out with Art that evokes our love of Water, Rivers, Kayaking and of course, Liquidlogic Kayaks and Native Watercraft. We want to surround ourselves with the work of others who draw on the paddling environment as a key source of inspiration. We hope to create a workspace that will keep us fired up to imagine, design, and build the world’s greatest boats. Hence: this Art Proposal.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We have built some fun and playful offices; our staff has optimized every part of our production floor, but our walls, though colorful, are bare. Our front garden and grounds around the factory have begun to grow many natural wonders, but we still crave something distinctive. Like: your work. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We aspire to build the world’s premiere collection of paddling-based artwork and we want to offer you the opportunity to be a part of it. To start our collection, we hope to commission up to 20 separate pieces of art. </span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Our Committee will consider works:</span><br />
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<li dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">in any medium </span></li>
<li dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">in any style </span></li>
<li dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">with content connected directly to paddling or evocative of its elements</span></li>
<li dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">in any scale.... do note that we have a large space and will certainly welcome large scale proposals</span></li>
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<span style="font-size: 15px;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Complete applications must include the following information:</span><br />
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<li dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Contact Information</span></li>
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<li dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Work Samples in the form of jpgs, url, snail mail, or bring it here to the factory.</span></li>
<li dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">JPGs representing an existing work or works that you would like us to consider</span></li>
<li dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Resume or Bio</span></li>
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<span style="font-size: 15px;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Deadline for Submissions: May 1st.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Final Projects Deadline: July 15th;</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 15px;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Artists will be compensated with one Native Watercraft or Liquidlogic Kayak (not including the Pedal Drive boats). The Legacy Paddlesports Gallery Committee may consider other compensation at their discretion.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 15px;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Contact:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Shane Benedict, Curator, Legacy Paddlesports Gallery of Fine Arts</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">shane@legacypaddlesports.com</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">℅ Legacy Paddlesports</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">210 Old Airport Rd.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fletcher N.C. 28732</span><br />
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Shane Benedicthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13270338044175889168noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7620100.post-35760159755844649612013-02-04T07:21:00.002-06:002013-02-04T09:47:35.915-06:00Section 00, 0, and 1 of the Chattooga in a day, along with other ramblings<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-NyazUo_BmXY/UPwQ6l_wmxI/AAAAAAAAb-c/Bct_-8VISxA/s1600/DSC_0067.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="428" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-NyazUo_BmXY/UPwQ6l_wmxI/AAAAAAAAb-c/Bct_-8VISxA/s640/DSC_0067.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I think Adriene is excited about the day.</td></tr>
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Adriene said she wanted to paddle all the Upper Chattooga. Who was I to argue? <br />
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For more than forty years it's been illegal to paddle the upper reaches of the Chattooga river (huge thanks <a href="http://www.americanwhitewater.org/" target="_blank">AW</a>!), and besides me, no one else in the group had ever paddled the upper sections before so it seemed like it would be irresponsible of me not to go along. Especially given the perfect levels (about 700 cfs at Burrel's Ford). As I was chatting with Adriene on the phone it became clear that she didn't really understand that paddling all 15 miles of the newly opened sections of river was going to be a challenge, not because of the hard rapids, but because of the miles, the portages, the hikes, and the rapids. After I said, "ok its going to be a long day." She said, "and if we get done quickly we can go do Overflow. Oh and we want to get an early start so we can get back and cook a nice curry dinner!" <br />
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At that point I decided I better brush up on my memories of the run and trails along the river, just in case. There are some good maps on the <a href="http://www.americanwhitewater.org/content/River/detail/id/3101/" target="_blank">American Whitewater page</a> that I started pouring over. <br />
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I packed extra water, Snickers bars, fleece, a headlamp, and a little vitamin i. I knew we would be ok because there is trail along 80% of the run so we could get out no matter how badly we got delayed, but, still... I have done this trip twice before and each time we got off the river in the dark and now that it's legal having to hike in two miles and out nearly a mile to actually be legal makes it that much harder. So I had a feeling we weren't going to be running Overflow or making a nice Curry for dinner.<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-X_DeKbPzyZY/UPwRIgNy_qI/AAAAAAAAb_M/ybIutM2B3C4/s1600/DSC_0075.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="428" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-X_DeKbPzyZY/UPwRIgNy_qI/AAAAAAAAb_M/ybIutM2B3C4/s640/DSC_0075.JPG" width="640" /></a><br />
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Yes we went too far. AW says if you see the handrail you've gone too far. :) oops</div>
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It was a deceptively cold day. It was KAVU as hell out there but when we stepped out of the car at the put-in there was ice all over the parking area and it was 28 degrees. Fortunately we were going to be hiking for a bit to get warm. The two mile hike in along the Chattooga River Trail is fairly easy but it is uphill the first half and then along the ridge and down to the river the second half. We had a touch of confusion about exactly where to put-in and we didn't want to ruffle any private land owner feathers so we went a little further down than we had to. I later read the <a href="http://www.americanwhitewater.org/content/River/detail/id/3101/" target="_blank">American Whitewater</a> page for the upper section a little more closely and its pretty clear. I should have studied harder. I guess I could say that about college too, but I was too busy sneaking off to go paddling rather than getting to class all the time.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">First Falls, a nice little starter slide</td></tr>
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The first time I did this section, let's just say it was a little while ago, our group rolled up to the Burrel's Ford take-out of section 0 in Beaz's land yacht of a car, loaded down with gear for 5, there sitting in the parking lot was a ranger. He looked a little bored but perked up when he saw us drive in. He knew exactly why we were there and I actually knew the guy because at the time I was guiding on the Chattooga a bunch and saw him at the river often. </div>
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The conversation went like this: </div>
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"What are you guys up to?" </div>
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"Ummm going kayaking?"</div>
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"You know this section is illegal don't you?" </div>
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"Ummm yes. What happens if we get caught running it?" </div>
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"Its a $500 fine."</div>
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"$500 dollars per person or could we pay it all together?" I was trying to decide if that would be worth the risk. </div>
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The ranger smiled and said, "$500 a person", and turned away to talk with some other folks. We schemed in the car about what we were gonna do. </div>
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The ranger walked back over to us and said with a very deliberate tone. "If. I. catch. you. I am gonna fine you $500 dollars. You guys have a good day", and he walked away. </div>
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"THANKS", I said, trying to keep my excitement somewhat controlled. He had given us the green light without having to say it.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Log Jam Portage</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Slide in amongst the Log Jam</td></tr>
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The Upper sections of the Chattooga have a bit of an ominous feel when you first get out there. When we used to run them in the past it was unsettling because you were sneaking around and where we put in you paddled in on a tiny river/ creek, ducking through the rhodos all the way to the lip of the rapids. From the new put-in, the first thing you run into is a huge log jam that you have to portage over, down, and through to a seal launch amongst the logs and rocks. These sections just aren't "normal" in the southeast. We are used to our river runs being accesible, well manicured, even the portages on most of our runs are fairly easy but here on the upper you start with a fairly long hike into the Nantahala National Forest, portage through a log jam, the rapids have wood in them that is illegal to remove, and you know at any one time you might have to hike several miles to get to a road or phone. It gives it the feel of a remote run anywhere in the world not the well lapped routes of the Southeast.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">No Kayaks is a stupid name. Can't we come up with something else? How about Exit from Log Jam?</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dropping into the Alleyway.</td></tr>
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After you get through the initial worries of the hiking and portaging the log jam and immediately get into a couple of cool drops you settle down a little. The river is spectacularly beautiful. It is classic southeast creeking. If you are from the south you know it well: thick rhodo along the river, moss-covered boulders, and sweet, tight, whitewater. But all the time, in the back of your mind, you feel just a little uneasy. Logs, a few sieves, and the remoteness keep you on your toes. Though the rapids aren't difficult, some of the consequences are, and the potential for a long walk out in the dark and cold of winter remind you to keep moving downstream.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Waterfall in the Alleyway</td></tr>
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When I was a kid I went to a camp in Highlands N.C. at the very top of the Chattooga watershed. My brother and I worked for a decade there, at <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Mountain-Retreat-Learning-Center/288445727689?fref=ts" target="_blank">The Mountain</a>. We hiked along most of the upper reaches of the river along the upper Chattooga, Overflow, Holcombe, Big Creek and many others. We paddled our first rapids on the West Fork and Section 2 and though I only lived at the river for a few years as a raft guide I still call this place home. I love the fact that the first times I paddled most any of the upper Chattooga drainages I didn't realize that I was floating through places that during the hot summer months as a kid, I swam under those waterfalls, and through the potholes. Now when I return to the Chattooga I get to touch Ellicott's rock, jump off of Singley's, and slide down Big Bend falls in a different way. It's good to be home again.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My brother at the put-in for section 2 of the Chattoga (1980), just a couple miles from our take-out the other day.</td></tr>
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Oh damn, I got distracted from the story of the river the other day. Sections 00, 0, and 1 of the Chattooga are very cool. The character is similar to the sister tributary, Overflow, but the rapids are much more spread out. There are long stretches of mellow water with easy rapids. Along those mellow parts stretch miles and miles of trail and lots of folks camping and fishing along the river. We had only positive interactions with anglers. I have to admit I was prepared for the worst with all the verbal sparring in the different forums over the re-introduction of paddlers to the upper reaches of the river. The day was long but we made it to the take-out just as the dark was getting thick enough that I needed to pull out my headlamp for the last couple hundred yards. The trail put the finishing touches on our energy reserves and a happy exhausted crew posed for the obligatory team paddling photo which by chance was taken by one of the very folks that made this run possible the equally tired and happy Don Kinzer, thank you.<br />
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If you head over to do the Upper Chattooga:</div>
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1. The AW page has good instructions on how to get to the Put-In and Take-Outs of all the sections. Read them more carefully than I did.</div>
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2. The trails are not totally obvious, read the hiking directions on the AW pages.</div>
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3. Pay attention to Don't Go Left. You can go left but its stupid and a little sketchy. Going right looks horrible with the wood that is there right now but it is fine; go straight over the hump on the right side. You will probably spot the rapid if you look for a fairly innocuous drop maybe a half mile down from the Log Jam with fairly large wood coming in from the right that looks like it will make the right side scary to run.</div>
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4. Trails run along most of the river. Study them and you'll find your evac plans aren't too bad.</div>
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5. If you aren't comfortable running on beta from others scouting don't try to do the whole thing. </div>
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6. Section 1 is really nice, mostly scenic but there are some good rapids and there is wood involved. The last "Rock Gorge" is a really sweet section of whitewater.</div>
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7. The easiest hike out trail is a couple hundred yards down from Lick Log Creek. You can hike directly from the confluence of Lick Log Creek with the river but it's more difficult.<br />
8. On January 19th it got too dark to paddle without a headlamp at 6:19 pm.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Corey on the right side of Bull Pen Bridge rapid.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yonton dropping into Super Corkscrew on Section 0</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Snowy in Rock in the hole in the wall.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Adriene heading into one of the final drop, Harvey Wallbanger</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">6 hrs, 15 miles of paddling, 3 miles of hiking, an awesome day.</td></tr>
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Here is a link to the rest of the photos from the day. <a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/115372956016938411124/Section000And1OfTheChattoogaRiver?authuser=0&feat=directlink" target="_blank">Click Here</a><br />
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Make sure to get out and do this somewhat unknown classic.<br />
Shane<br />
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Shane Benedicthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13270338044175889168noreply@blogger.comEllicott Rock Wilderness, Mountain Rest, SC 29686, USA34.9992548 -83.09820489999998528.305801300000002 -93.425353399999977 41.692708300000007 -72.771056399999992tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7620100.post-83627297997545778072013-01-29T18:30:00.000-06:002013-02-04T07:46:44.215-06:00Development of the Native Watercraft Slayer Fishing Kayak<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9nL5jJZznGs/UQLjqJa8ySI/AAAAAAAAcN0/4IGpkqBdxDg/s1600/SlayerWebpage.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="290" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9nL5jJZznGs/UQLjqJa8ySI/AAAAAAAAcN0/4IGpkqBdxDg/s640/SlayerWebpage.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">THE SLAYER!</td></tr>
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When we decided to make a new fishing boat for Native Watercraft it made me both nervous and excited. Having designed 60+ kayaks of all kinds I wasn't too worried about dialing in the hull performance but, The Slayer would be my first fishing-focused design and when you couple that with the history of <a href="http://nativewatercraft.com/" target="_blank">Native Watercraft</a> in kayak fishing... it all got just a little intimidating. The <a href="http://nativewatercraft.com/boat.cfm?id=5" target="_blank">Ultimate</a>, <a href="http://nativewatercraft.com/boat.cfm?id=26" target="_blank">Manta Ray</a>, and <a href="http://nativewatercraft.com/boat.cfm?id=22" target="_blank">Mariner </a>Propel kayaks are standards in the industry. I knew that our design had to be great because some of the best guides, pros, and fishermen would be going over it with a fine-toothed comb, and fishermen are a bunch of picky bastards :). What I mean is that each fisherman really knows what they want out of their equipment. For a designer, it actually proves to be a fantastic asset to have the opinions of experts helping guide the process, but it also means you better do it right. Plus sometimes people want exactly opposite things done on the boat. This diversity of opinions drove the base principles for the Slayer: A deck layout simple enough that the purist would appreciate its clean lines, yet featuring enough attention to detail that any gear hound would get to dog heaven outfitting it, and below all that a hull that fit the performance needs of any fisherman. <br />
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(I apologize to all the bad ass fisher ladies out there for only saying fishermen in this article. I guess I could say anglers more. You know what I mean though... right?)<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Outfitting discussions</td></tr>
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The initial deck concept for the design uses the open floor plan of the <a href="http://nativewatercraft.com/boat.cfm?id=5" target="_blank">Ultimate</a> as a starting point and expands on that in a Sit On Top. The open floor plan allows paddlers to place equipment where they would like rather than where the boat manufacturer dictates. We achieved that by offering several flat open deck surfaces along with nearly 12 feet of groove track to allow any accessory to be mounted just about anywhere on the boat. We also put in a simple access hatch for installing and mounting electronics. Basically, we tried to make every surface available for personal configurations and leave the floor in front of the fisherman clean for fly casting, standing, or to just bring fish on board. There is a lot more to designing a fishing kayak than throwing a bunch of clutter on the deck and calling it "features". Real thought needs to go into all the options and uses of the space.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">If you really want to sit higher you always have this option.<br />
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The hull concept came from four basic tenants that our guides really wanted. They wanted a boat stable enough to stand up in easily, that tracked well, was fairly quiet through the water, and had a shallow draft so that you could get into areas and fish where other craft couldn't. In the end, the Slayer ended up drawing about 3 and 1/2 inches of water with a 200lb paddler and 30 pounds of gear in the boat. With the extended width of the design, as you add weight the draft hardly changes. A nice side effect of having a shallow draft is that it turns easily. The Slayer is stable enough to stand on one side of the center line and not tip over. As far as tracking goes, you can paddle straight ahead then coast and the boat will track straight until you lose all your momentum. All these characteristics makes the Slayer a boat that can perform well in rivers, lakes, and oceans.<br />
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The seat was also a big part of this design. It is one of the things that Native boats are known for: all day comfort. We worked hard on the proper bend in the seat frame to give good lumbar support and keep the frame from contacting your body which would create hard spots that could become irritating if you spend a lot of time out on the water, like most fishermen do. The sewing department came up with an ingenius design to help the seat spring open and shut down in place when it is closed just with simple tension in the seat cover shape. I love the fact that all our seats are sewn and stretched over our seat frames in our factory in North Carolina. They do a great job.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">Standing on one foot on the side of the boat! Yes close to the dock just in case.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;">
As you all know we got the word out there on the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Native-Watercraft/119202745966" target="_blank">Native Facebook Page</a> and <a href="http://www.nativeownersgroup.com/" target="_blank">Native Owners Group Forum</a> where we did our regular <i>Automatic For The People</i> questionaire and you all nailed it. We had hundreds of comments and suggestions on boats, ideas, accessories etc... and we tried to put as many of those concepts in place as we could while maintaining a simple open floor plan. Some features that you all suggested that really made this boat awesome were the Hi/ Low seat, Easy Standing capabilities, more Groove Track than we have ever put on a boat, cooler seat, plano box storage, and a hard shell hatch cover for the front storage tank. It was the combination of you all letting us know what you like, our guides offering their expertise, and the design team all working together to make this boat happen. </div>
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The hardest part of a design is taking all that information from talking with folks, phone calls, questionaires, paddling trips, etc and boiling it down to a point where we can create sketches, computer models, and then a final 3D model that will become the form from which we will produce a mold to make plastic boats. It takes us a several months to create the computer model from the ideas and sketches, and in that time we share the model and ideas with our guides and production crew to make sure it's a great boat for the fisherman that our production crew can build.</div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GvWB3rVFdl4/UQLjmQw-88I/AAAAAAAAcNM/WJ9mpSiAcDA/s1600/DSC_0084.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="428" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GvWB3rVFdl4/UQLjmQw-88I/AAAAAAAAcNM/WJ9mpSiAcDA/s640/DSC_0084.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;"><div style="text-align: center;">
Design discussions with our pro staff.</div>
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<span auto="" margin-right:=""><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Wi8-xibhmBY/UQaf2hiJ8ZI/AAAAAAAAcOk/A0LhDDkJs6U/s1600/IMG_20111221_153928.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="478" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Wi8-xibhmBY/UQaf2hiJ8ZI/AAAAAAAAcOk/A0LhDDkJs6U/s640/IMG_20111221_153928.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Working out the details of the 3D model on the CNC machine.</td></tr>
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<span style="text-align: center;"><br /></span>
<span style="text-align: center;">Once we have the model of the boat we make a temporary mold so we can make prototype boats. Those prototypes start off a really fun part of the R and D process. With the first Slayers still warm out of the mold, we ran out the door and took the protos to a nearby lake to test the hull performance, seating, trim, and stability. It performed above expectations, with just a few flaws that we knew we would want to address. We were able to easily stand on one side of the boat. It tracked very well even with a breeze going across the lake. The only problems were a little hull slap in the chop that we had that day and some water was getting into the rear storage well. But other than that it was an exciting first shot at this design. We also got to check out a few ideas that we thought could be fun options including the cooler seat, removeable hard shell hatches, and tackle box bungee in front of the paddler. </span><span style="text-align: center;"></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">Nice day out on the water.</td></tr>
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The next step was to get the boat in front of some of our guides and see what they thought, and test in real live fishing environments. Unfortunately, that meant the R and D team had to go fishing with all of our guides. :) Everyone seemed excited. Not only did they give us a bunch of feedback but they put us on fish! Their input lead to some great changes in the boats. You will notice some of the Slayer prototype shots feature a hatch and rod lays between the legs and all the guides agreed they preferred that area clean. As a designer, I loved watching how everyone really used their boats, where they naturally put their tools, rods, boxes, etc... and how they used everything. Of course it was also fun for me to get out there in the boat and figure out how I would address the different issues: how I would store gear, move around the boat, and use the different features.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">Even I caught some fish!</td></tr>
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After paddling with the staff, we had to go back to the model and make changes by hand to reflect what we learned during testing. A little more free board in the stern storage compartment, less clutter, smoother entry line to eliminate hull slap, more groove track, hard handles, etc... it took us a month to make those changes to the model, then we made another prototype mold and then more testing!! :-) We took off for Florida and spent a few days making sure the design was right. I even caught some fish. At that point we put the model on a truck and shipped it to the mold maker. Our molds are sand casted Aluminum that are buffed to a mirror finish. Now you know what makes our boats so shiny. A shiny mold. It takes 3 - 4 months to get the mold made. Once we get the mold back the production team starts tuning it in to insure we distribute the proper thickness of plastic throughout the boat. The assembly team gets up to speed on building the Slayer, and the sewing department puts the finishing touches on the seat itself. It takes the whole company to put a new design into production, and we think the Slayer was worth the wait.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe9ysW_ns2Dhlb5j_HyUiLGSpLdXUWw3y4YHR3rigIGQZuACX46EgRpLLjfTdpSdmNecUkSunzjuiP5_u1wbNv26Paypxy7okTL3PKIUD4cayduyMcpdyFsEPnG9aZC3zZ38eo/s1600/DSC_0004.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="428" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe9ysW_ns2Dhlb5j_HyUiLGSpLdXUWw3y4YHR3rigIGQZuACX46EgRpLLjfTdpSdmNecUkSunzjuiP5_u1wbNv26Paypxy7okTL3PKIUD4cayduyMcpdyFsEPnG9aZC3zZ38eo/s640/DSC_0004.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Making final changes to the model.</td></tr>
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<tr><td><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2gmHDSBHUxA/UQLjf76YeaI/AAAAAAAAcMM/MIMnW2Pfa8o/s1600/DSC_0038.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2gmHDSBHUxA/UQLjf76YeaI/AAAAAAAAcMM/MIMnW2Pfa8o/s640/DSC_0038.jpg" width="428" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">This is the production mold shiny shiny!</td></tr>
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Many features make this boat a unique, precisely thought-out, and well-executed fishing craft. Starting at the bow of the boat and following through to the stern, we crafted each element of the design to make it ideally suited to fishing. Here is a list of a few:<br />
<ol><div class="im">
<br />
<br />
<br />
<li style="margin-left: 15px;">Padded hard carry handles as opposed to the soft floppy luggage handles that were the standard.</li>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;">Drained bow storage area with accessory hatch cover and accessory-fitted Medium Fish Bag.</li>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;">Nearly 12 feet of Groove Track, all over the boat, for attaching any accessory you want.</li>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;">Hull access for installing electronics.</li>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;">Tackle box storage-- rather than making you put things in the boat, just put your box in the boat.</li>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;">Padded rod and reel lays for quietness on the water.</li>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;">The most comfortable seat in the business. </li>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;">Hi/ Lo seating</li>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;">Secure easy access plano box storage.</li>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;">Flats behind the seat for mounting any accessory if you don't want to use the groove track.</li>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;">Large rear storage well fitted for 5 gallon bucket, regular milk crate with rod mounts, large milk crate, and fitted Native storage bags. The Fishing Buddy and Large Fish Bag.</li>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;">Large scupper holes for quick drainage and long lasting boat construction.</li>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;">Rudder compatible.</li>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;">It comes with the Tag-A-Long wheel for easy transport.</li>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;">A hull that tracks well, is super stable, easy to turn, and has a shallow draft.</li>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;">Enough hull rocker to get over waves but as low profile as possible to avoid windage.</li>
<li style="margin-left: 15px;">Nothing sharp and very few places to catch lines.</li>
</div>
</ol>
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Thanks to these guides and fishermen for their help in creating the Native Watercraft Slayer and influencing all of our designs.<br />
<br />
<span font-family:="" new="" roman="" serif="" times="">Philip Ruckart - <a href="http://www.kayakfishingnc.com/">www.kayakfishingnc.com</a></span><br />
<span font-family:="" new="" roman="" serif="" times="">Dee Kaminski - <a href="http://www.reelkayakfishing.com/">www.reelkayakfishing.com</a></span><br />
<span font-family:="" new="" roman="" serif="" times="">David Harper - <a href="https://www.facebook.com/david.harper.180?ref=tn_tnmn">https://www.facebook.com/david.harper.180?ref=tn_tnmn</a></span><br />
<span font-family:="" new="" roman="" serif="" times="">Neil Taylor - <a href="http://www.strikethreekayakfishing.com/">www.strikethreekayakfishing.com</a></span><br />
<span font-family:="" new="" roman="" serif="" times="">Mark Patterson - <a href="http://www.nckfa.com/">www.nckfa.com</a></span><br />
<span font-family:="" imes="" new="" roman="" serif="" times="">Rich Jones - <a href="http://www.kayakfishingtheeverglades.com/">www.kayakfishingtheeverglades.com</a></span><br />
<span font-family:="" imes="" new="" roman="" serif="" times="">Mark and Kris Lozier - <a href="http://www.1stlandingyakfish.com/">www.1stlandingyakfish.com</a></span><br />
<span font-family:="" new="" roman="" serif="" times="">Steve Gibson - <a href="http://www.kayakfishingsarasota.com/">www.kayakfishingsarasota.com</a></span><br />
<span font-family:="" new="" roman="" serif="" times="">Nathan Raycroft - <a href="http://www.anglersnook.net/">www.anglersnook.net</a></span><br />
<span font-family:="" new="" roman="" serif="" times="">Keith Hendrickson - <a href="http://www.nativeownersgroup.com/">www.nativeownersgroup.com</a></span><br />
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I hope we see you out there on the water soon!</div>
<div>
Shane<br />
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Here is a link to an album of photos of the <a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/115372956016938411124/DevelopmentOfTheNativeWatercraftSlayerFishingKayak?authuser=0&feat=directlink" target="_blank">Development of the Slayer</a><br />
<embed flashvars="host=picasaweb.google.com&hl=en_US&feat=flashalbum&RGB=0x000000&feed=https%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.com%2Fdata%2Ffeed%2Fapi%2Fuser%2F115372956016938411124%2Falbumid%2F5837477795983147713%3Falt%3Drss%26kind%3Dphoto%26hl%3Den_US" height="400" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" src="https://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="600"></embed><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Here is to the crew that makes Native Watercraft and Liquidlogic Kayaks happen!</td></tr>
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Shane Benedicthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13270338044175889168noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7620100.post-48210405689799311032012-12-04T10:21:00.001-06:002012-12-04T10:39:46.392-06:00One Month until the Liquidlogic XPdition to the Grand Canyon<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-uRZM8r81P5I/UL4gKyGQ3bI/AAAAAAAAb1E/6YX7BqgnnqM/s1600/Screen+shot+2012-12-04+at+11.04.08+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="398" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-uRZM8r81P5I/UL4gKyGQ3bI/AAAAAAAAb1E/6YX7BqgnnqM/s640/Screen+shot+2012-12-04+at+11.04.08+AM.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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This years trip will be the 5th annual pilgrimage through the Grand Canyon for the Liquidlogic team. Unfortunately I am not going to be able to go on the trip this year but what I do have is a bunch of footage that I never put together of my trip last year. So for your viewing pleasure here is a video loosely documenting our trip self support style down the Colorado River in 12 days.<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="366" mozallowfullscreen="mozallowfullscreen" src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/54789463?badge=0" webkitallowfullscreen="webkitallowfullscreen" width="650"></iframe> <a href="http://vimeo.com/54789463">XPdition Grand Canyon 2012</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/shaneslogic">Shaneslogic</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com/">Vimeo</a>.<br />
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Here are a bunch of photos that I took during the trip. Thanks to all the folks on the trip it was a trip of a lifetime and you all made it fantastic. Hopefully I will be back on the XPdition next year.<br />
Shane<br />
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<embed flashvars="host=picasaweb.google.com&hl=en_US&feat=flashalbum&RGB=0x000000&feed=https%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.com%2Fdata%2Ffeed%2Fapi%2Fuser%2F115372956016938411124%2Falbumid%2F5698679722865970225%3Falt%3Drss%26kind%3Dphoto%26hl%3Den_US" height="400" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" src="https://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="600"></embed>Shane Benedicthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13270338044175889168noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7620100.post-62560826729041977742012-10-03T12:41:00.000-05:002012-10-03T12:43:11.654-05:0010 things you should know about Overflow<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The last 6 months have been crazy. Liquidlogic and our brotha brand Native Watercraft have moved our entire manufacturing facility and offices from Greensboro to Fletcher NC, near the Green River. Its kind of like moving from one house to another except the moving truck is a tractor trailer and instead of one truck it took us 50 tractor trailer loads to get everything in the building. I have had the pleasure of designing new offices, helping design the manufacturing floor plan, helping train new staff, integrating new manufacturing plans, and I am definitely getting pretty good on a fork lift. All that has been on top of the normal stuff so to say the least its been a fun busy time. A different sort of Class 5 which has made it difficult for me to take off and run much other than our home run the Green.<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-8hDxnm--hWI/UGx2qxrHcsI/AAAAAAAAbwo/0c0vmpSqaTo/s1600/Screen+shot+2012-10-03+at+1.22.58+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="360" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-8hDxnm--hWI/UGx2qxrHcsI/AAAAAAAAbwo/0c0vmpSqaTo/s640/Screen+shot+2012-10-03+at+1.22.58+PM.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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However... the other day it rained cats and dogs. It rained enough that I knew things would be super high in the morning but that they might start dropping in during the afternoon. I had convinced myself I would be fine just going to work and not worrying about it but as the day wore on my leg started that twitch thing. The boatingbeta flows page was on constant refresh and Overflow was looking like it would drop in perfectly, if I left right then. Fortunately Yonton was ready and on call for a paddling adventure. We loaded up my van with boats, gear, and the motorcycle for the shuttle and we were off.<br />
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10 things to know about Overflow<br />
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1. The shuttle road is longer and a little rougher than you think.<br />
2. The mud on the put in trail is slicker than snot.<br />
3. The right eddie in Hemlock is a bitch to get out of while you wrestle rhodos.<br />
4. There is a new tree after 7 Car Pile Up. Watch the video.<br />
5. The left hump boof at Round About is awesome.<br />
6. Gravity is much harder at lower water. Fortunately we had a sweet level of 1.3579341<br />
7. If you haven't been on Overflow there is an initiation. If you have its your job to initiate.<br />
8. The Twilight mini gorge is one of the coolest sections of whitewater you'll ever run.<br />
9. The Great Marginal Monster is an awesome iconic rapid. Go left on the drop below it.<br />
10. The motorcycle shuttle is awesome!<br />
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It was a perfect fall evening, enjoy the video.<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="365" mozallowfullscreen="mozallowfullscreen" src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/50700236" webkitallowfullscreen="webkitallowfullscreen" width="650"></iframe> <a href="http://vimeo.com/50700236">Sometimes you forget how good a river is...Overflow</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/shaneslogic">Shaneslogic</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com/">Vimeo</a>.<br />
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ShaneShane Benedicthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13270338044175889168noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7620100.post-50173035454799682062012-05-07T13:38:00.000-05:002012-05-07T13:39:52.191-05:00A Lesson in Paddling with Kids and a review of the Remix 47<br />
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I have been lucky enough to paddle with my brother since we were young, and I consider myself very fortunate to have started as early as I did. My brother now has a posse of rugrats that he started paddling with far younger than we were in our beginning. It has been an indescribable pleasure to create a kayak that makes paddling fun, and safe, for his kids. He wrote this article recently about his experiences paddling with children, including his own, and using the Remix 47 to help them love kayaking. Shane</div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I play with kids in the outdoors for a living. I teach math at a private high school in Colorado. I am also a ski coach and run the river program. Part of the magic of doing what I do is being there at that moment when they go through their first rapid, or sit on their first wave. </span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">When I suddenly had kids of my own and was worried about how to help them love outdoor sports, I went back to the cardinal rules of leading Students.</span></div>
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If kids feel safe, and are having fun, they will learn. Through experience taking my kids out I have to add one - Bring Snacks!!! So here they are, the cardinal rules of taking kids into the outdoors.</div>
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<li style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: decimal; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Bring snacks</span></li>
<li style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: decimal; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Make them feel </span><span style="font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">safe</span></li>
<li style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: decimal; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Keep it </span><span style="font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">fun</span></li>
<li style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: decimal; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Bring snacks</span></li>
<li style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: decimal; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Encourage them to </span><span style="font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">explore</span></li>
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<span style="vertical-align: baseline;">Make them feel safe - </span><span style="font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline;">I want to highlight the feel safe thing. That is what the Remix 47 is all about. In the 47, kids can get where they want to go. They do not spin out on eddy lines. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">They can lean the wrong way entering and exiting eddies. It is buoyant enough they don’t have to wear a skirt. The best part is they don’t notice it. They can just go play. That is true for the wide variety of kids that I have had in this boat from my little girl at 4 years to smaller freshmen in high school. They get in and feel comfortable. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Keeping it fun</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> - Nothing is more frustrating to a new kayaker than not being able to go straight. The longer shape of the Remix allows them to do this. They can catch waves and move around the river easily, saving time for fun.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Let Them Explore - </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Though everyone learns differently, kids tend to be doers. They like to feel. They like to poke around in the bushes and wiggle their paddles in the water. All that exploration forms the foundation of an innate sense of balance and comfort in a boat that cannot be learned any other way. I have been skiing for longer than all of my students have been alive. However there are certain things that they can do simply because they started by exploring around when they were two. That is born out of goofing around with friends.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline;">When they are ready for more, they will ask. Otter, my oldest, asked for a skirt at age 8 after 3 - 4 season of paddling without one. He asked about draws. He even eventually asked to learn to roll. 15 minutes later, he did roll. But what I love best about the Remix was it was harder for him to tip it over then </span><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vinxyEIZcrM&feature=youtu.be" style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline;">roll </span></a><span style="vertical-align: baseline;">it up. So go out and let your kids explore. </span></span></div>
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<span style="vertical-align: baseline;">Oh, and don’t forget to bring snacks.</span></div>
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Peter</div>
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<b>Here is a link to our <a href="http://shanesliquidlogic.blogspot.com/search?q=2009+overnighter" target="_blank">Kids Trip on the Chattooga River</a>.</b></div>
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<b>Here is a video of Otter learning his roll soon after he asked to try it.</b></div>
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<b>Shane</b></div>Shane Benedicthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13270338044175889168noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7620100.post-12420291660745968822012-04-05T09:41:00.000-05:002012-04-05T09:42:12.302-05:00Stomper testing on the Green with Brown Claw<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Brown Claw wants a Cracker</span></td></tr>
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Last season seemed to be the, thankfully, climax of the brown claw epidemic. However I didn't enter my video into the Brown Claw archives so here it is. You will see your basic Claw, The Spinning Claw, Under Over Claw, Double Claws of Fury, The Clap On Claw, The Clap on WTF, The Double Shocker Claw, The Claw of Terror, The Claw Your Way out of a Hole, The Preemptive Claw, The Claw Your Friend, and the Claw Your Way Up Out of the Water.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">They Wander Downstream...I Claw My Way</span></td></tr>
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Enjoy and May The Claw Be With You.<br />
Shane<br />
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<br />Shane Benedicthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13270338044175889168noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7620100.post-79999642280184244032012-04-03T12:55:00.002-05:002012-04-05T09:42:32.768-05:00Testing the Stomper with Woody and others on the Green at 9"<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbJJoTxYeFDFgXJLfm35s2ofI7palcEOq_mbo8DaPAWHd0GiY_or2huCIgW05w4hDP6SJXq2lHnOXEBiBZzywBcnLNT2os5PqLBW8jL6KeE9a2Wqs_r9eixivdm8V4IApq3ZlZRg/s1600/Screen+shot+2012-04-03+at+2.00.08+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbJJoTxYeFDFgXJLfm35s2ofI7palcEOq_mbo8DaPAWHd0GiY_or2huCIgW05w4hDP6SJXq2lHnOXEBiBZzywBcnLNT2os5PqLBW8jL6KeE9a2Wqs_r9eixivdm8V4IApq3ZlZRg/s640/Screen+shot+2012-04-03+at+2.00.08+PM.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
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Another classic day of footage that I recovered from the depths of the Stomper prototype testing archive. It was a day much like we have had lately. Water and air temps were just starting to get downright comfy last year as the final touches were being put on the Stomper. All the crew was out on a perfect weekend. It just doesn't get much better than that. Oh and add on top of that I got to roll down the river with my paddling and business partner Woody Callaway. He is living my goal in paddling to just keep rolling out smooth lines for a really long time.<br />
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In any case the Stomper proved fun for all... and it rolls well! <br />
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Cheers<br />
ShaneShane Benedicthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13270338044175889168noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7620100.post-90782960551069427562012-03-30T12:59:00.001-05:002012-04-05T09:43:21.856-05:00The Green River at 16"<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Its not that different just a little more padding</span></td></tr>
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Well now that I found this little nest of forgotten footage I might as well keep going. Adriene and I got out on the river last winter at 16". I was testing out one of the early protos of the Stomper 80. It was a fun day just the two of us out there. We didn't see a soul.</div>
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To me the river is actually easier and more fun at this level, except Gorilla of course. The whole thing is just softer. The boney rocks and slides that beat you up daily at normal flows are well padded and the extra juice makes it more splashy and bouncy. Yes there are a few holes that become a bit more disconcerting but over all it makes the river easier. The best examples of that are Go Left, Zwicks, and Sunshine. At Go Left you can start to run down the entire left side of the whole rapid which makes it a direct line rather than having to paddle out on the dome and turn hard to run the slots at the bottom of the rapid. In this video I run the sneak and Adriene comes down the Left Left line. Just watch the log its pretty exposed at 16 and gets better as you go up. At Zwicks you can run right of the top hole which takes this one from being one of the tougher rapids to being one of the easier. You can't help but run out over the shallow slide. At Sunshine as the levels get over 16 inches you can just run straight off the middle and pretty much clear the center rock. Adriene ran straight and I ran the right line. I should have run the straight line because I did flip over. Gorilla is a beast and it gets really beastly as the water goes up. We walked it.</div>
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The down side to the river being this high or higher is that when things do go wrong they go wrong really quickly and in a much worse way. Its going to be a long time before you can pull your boat out of the river if you swim and it may be a rapid or two before you can swim yourself to shore if you aren't aggressively swimming. So if you are thinking about running this river at higher flows make sure you know the lines well and know you can deal with the issues that can arise. If you have that covered this can be some of the best runs on the river you will ever have.</div>
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Oh and don't forget about Hammer Factor. When the water levels rise the bad ass paddlers that are on this river at hi flows aren't worried about Go Left or Sunshine. They are pinching a loaf about Hammer Factor. Its big, nasty, and it gives grown boys and girls nightmares.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-cTGUBSbrhNU/T3XusenJqLI/AAAAAAAAZJU/Z6400cORblM/s1600/Screen+shot+2012-03-30+at+1.31.34+PM+(2).png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-cTGUBSbrhNU/T3XusenJqLI/AAAAAAAAZJU/Z6400cORblM/s640/Screen+shot+2012-03-30+at+1.31.34+PM+(2).png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">The Pit in Hammer Factor</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Here is the video from the day.<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="281" mozallowfullscreen="" src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/39481875" webkitallowfullscreen="" width="500"></iframe></div>
<br />Shane Benedicthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13270338044175889168noreply@blogger.com