A couple weeks ago Woody and I scheduled a trip up to Moosefest. Thes best part of it was that it happened the same time as all the water up there. We were only in for a short time so time was of the essence. As we were driving up we got the word that a great wave was running in the area as well as some other rivers. Seeing as how we were still hours away and it was midnight we decided to hit the wave.
The crazy thing is that we knew what river the wave was on but the word was a little sketchy as too where the wave was exactly. A little later we found out why that is... the locals were a little worried about over crowding during the festival so they weren't freely giving up the info. (Actually the locals were awesome and hooked us up with all the beta). We promised not to tell anyone where it was of course I was lying. Then I found out that everyone else knew where it was. Just so happened that Pat and the rest of the Islander Boys (Hal, Dale, and MItch) from Canada knew that the wave was in and they joined us.
The first day I paddled for about 5 hours. Not quite straight but damn near. Ended the day with blisters and a big grin. The wave really was incredible. You could do anything you wanted. Well Pat could do anything he wanted. I could try to do everything and be happy with what I was able to do. He was working on his new move he has been doing lately. I can't remember what he calls it but I think its of the condiment series. LIke the Bread and Butter, or the Toast and Jam. This may be called the Bologna and Mayo. Its a combo move. He does a spin and then bounces mid spin into a Clean Back Stab. It is a beautiful move and very dynamic. Once again I can't say enough about how hard Pat and Marlow are pushing it these days. They keep moving forward to the next level, the next move, the next combo. Can't wait to see what is next.
That night we headed up to the Moosefest. As always that festival is one of the most fun festivals of the year. Friday night is a great gathering at the pubs and restaurants around the town of Old Forge. We then paddled the Moose which was running a little high as well. It was just over 5 feet. Which I thought made the river really fun and actually cleaned up all the lines. Fowlers Falls was a bit scarier but everything else seemed to open up more. Sorry no pictures of that. Saturday night is the big night of the festival. We all gathered at the community center for music, movies and hanging out. Then a bunch of sponsors put on a sort of pub crawl. It was pretty crazy, but thankfully mild compared to last year. After that night we headed back to Innercity just because it was sooooo good.
There are a lot of pluses going for this wave. Its hard to argue with a wave that is roadside, has a coffe shop a block away, parking lot across the street, bagel shop 5 blocks away, bar 2 blocks away, eddie access, and more than one wave included. The waves behind the big wave were as good as anything you find just about anywhere else. The only minus I would say is that the day we showed up it was 65 degrees, but it dropped, and dropped, and dropped, the second day we paddled there it was close to 45 degrees. But all you do is go down the street and pick up a pack of firewood and a twelve pack and you have a riverside party. Anyway I hope to catch this wave again. Good time, good wave, good folks, and goodbye.
Here is the video of our session.
Innercity Wave Sesssion with Pat and Crew, Click This!
