We did the Shenandoah Staircase run recently. We joined my friend Peter and a group of about 13 other paddlers. The above photo is me running Bull Falls ... the only class III run on that section. It was Rob’s first real river run aside paddling down the Potomac at Angler’s and doing easy paddles at Violet’s Lock. And it was my first whitewater run in a few years ... many years. I was a lot more nervous than I expected. Bull Run Falls is the second rapid on the river and is a good class III rapid. We scouted the rapid both from river left and river right. Rob said the anticipation was worse than actually running the rapid. We both made good runs and the rest of the river was very comfortable class I and class II with some nice surfing spots for Rob.


Kayaking the Staircase Run with Hero Cam from Susanita on Vimeo

Rob attached the GoPro Hero Cam to the front of his kayak and experimented with taking video while paddling. Note the concerned look on his face leading into Bull Falls. And the look of pure joy as he realized how easy it was after the run. There are several ways to run this rapid but the classic route is the three- to four-foot Class III drop immediately to the left of a large, low scouting ledge. After considering an easier Class II route Peter convinced us to do the Class III route because there were so many paddlers already waiting for us in the pool below who needed experience picking up the carnage if we should flip and have to wet exit.




The best route is to keep close to the scouting rock on the right to prevent being carried too far left by the current. At the drop there is a barely exposed rock or rooster tail at higher water levels about five feet from the scouting ledge. You want to turn hard right to avoid the rock and run straight down the tongue. There is also a submerged rock in the channel if you should go too far left.



The water is a bit bubbly below the drop and a hydraulic forms in lower levels which can flip boats that enter sideways. One of the paddlers on the trip flipped in the hydraulic and got to practice three combat rolls in rapid succession. But she made them all ...



Special thanks to Peter for most of the photos from this trip.

~Susanita

The GoPro Hero Video Cam Pool Review from Susanita on Vimeo
My latest gear acquisition is the GoPro Hero Cam. It’s an amazing 5 megapixel, ultra wide angle 170 degree video camcorder. The video camera itself is not waterproof but it comes with a shockproof/waterproof case and a slew of mounting attachments. And it’s tiny ... the dimensions are 1.75” x 2.30” x 1.25”. The small size makes it virtually unnoticeable when attached to a helmet. But it’s not JUST a video cam ... it also takes standard photos, photos every 2 or 5 seconds, and 3x photo burst sequences.

We did the first test at the pool rolling session at Goucher College. We used the helmet attachment on me and the suction cup attachment on Rob and Jim’s deck. My kayak has a rough surface and didn’t work with the suction cup. What I really liked about the Hero cam was the ultra wide angle view. And even though it has a mere 5 megapixels the video clarity was amazing. My Olympus waterproof camera has 7.1 megapixels but the Hero video was much sharper and clearer.

So far ... it’s a winner!

~Susanita