Last fall a group of Wilderness Voyageur's finest river rafting guide and kayak instruction staff; Bob Petty, Max Cadorette, Dave Fusilli and Susan Hollingsworth, made the trek to the Green River Narrows for the annual Green River Race. There were halloween costumes involving butternut squash, waffle houses and some amazing creeking. This year, 2008, only one from the group was able to continue the tradition, even stepping it up with more rivers and a lot more runs on the Green.

Lou, river guide and assistant store manager, and I made the drive south, starting off with a weekend on the Russell Fork in KY/VA at the 1000 cfs release level with local friends Drew and Jeff. After several months with low water on the Youghiogheny it was so refreshing to see some new rapids; like the boof at Tower and El Horendo, huge hits in Triple Drop and the box at Climax. Fall foliage in the Laurel Highlands was just beggining to drop off when we headed to this canyon, able to enjoy the colors for another few weeks in warmer weather. The Russell Fork is known for its plethora of dangerous undercuts, seives and other nasty features which means that your game has to be on, even in some of the littler stuff. This section of river can also be lapped, we were able to squeeze in 3 runs one day, allowing us to become more familiar with different lines (maybe not at Fist) and explore new features.

Saturday was the big Russell Fork Rendeverous, a big party

preceeded by the race. Lou opted for a second run while I hung out with friends at Climax rapid, the finish line.
Next stop, Green River Narrows...

Jeff spent the next week or so with us on the Green while Drew took off for a last-minute adventure to Panama. We might have been jealous but its hard when you are on the Green every day.

Lou hit up Go Left, one of the "Big 3" rapids on the first day, not even bothering with the sneak. He also managed to squeeze in several runs down Sunshine, some pretty, some not so pretty. I finally tempted both with great success as well. Our friend Jeff even got in the spirit and ran Gorilla for his first time, smoothing it of course. River levels were low, although we couldn't tell.
To the left is a shot of me at Sunshine. You can see how the rapid got its name by the intense white-out of the rapid.

A big highlight was seeing a Shredder, made by Laurel Highland's local Tom Love, going down each of the big 3. Here is a shot of him at shunshine. It's really amazing to see how river culture spreads so quickly. Shredders began right here in Ohiopyle, PA with Tom on the Upper and Lower Youghiogheny and now can be found on rivers all around the world!

The following saturday was race day on the green, an event worth seeing even if you aren't a kayaker.
Lou opted for a day on the Cheoa in South Carolina with former Wilderness Voyageur's reservation director and Ohiopyle local Seth Custer. The run was great, also easy to lap multiple times in one day.
As for the race, hundreds of people hike in (a short hike that takes forever) to heckle and watch the lunatics in kayaks on one of the most extreme races in the world

. After hiking in last year, I made sure to get on the water in time to make it down in my kayak. The race is quick, around 5 min, but dangerous. We saw some bad lines at Gorilla and the slides, but no big injuries (yay!).
A few other Youghiogheny locals made it out for the race. Here is Jesse just below Gorilla...so close to the finish line. He and I will be working together as teachers and coaches for the World Class Kayak Academy starting this spring. Hopefully we can instill our passion for extreme raceing on the future classes at WCKA.
The trip was lots of fun; meeting new friends like Chris and his Wrec Center or Robert at NOC, biking out of take-out, trail running with local Danny Mongo-our store's Werner Paddles Rep and of course some of the best whitewater in the south.
Trips like this just ups the experience and knowledge levels of our staff here at Wilderness Voyageurs; whether that be refining the skills of our kayak instruction staff or increasing the gear connections for our outdoor gear store. Hopefully this trip will become an annual trek, getting more and more guides to improve thier own skills and enjoy other rivers!