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

I haven't been in my whitewater kayak for over a year now. But I was thinking I might try to run the Lower Yough (class III+) later this summer so I wanted to get a little practice in on gentler waters. So this Saturday I met Rob at Great Falls for a little whitewater refresher. Rob is one of my old rockclimbing partners so we had never actually kayaked together

We met at Angler's at 2 and I got a primo parking spot ... right by the trail leading to the put-in. Normally I just put-in below the parking lot but Rob suggested we paddle up the canal and put-in at Sandy Beach. My whitewater kayak is a Dagger Blast and like most of my kayaks it was specially designed for little people. It's actually marketed as a "kid's kayak" but it fits me perfectly. Rob was paddling an Eric Jackson kayak ... much shorter and stubbier than my river runner. He made the observation that in my blog there are very few photos of me. Mostly that's because I take most of the photos. So I let him carry my new waterproof Olympus Stylus and take as many photos as he wanted. So there are probably more photos of me in this blog than anywhere else on my website! Although ... the whitewater "outfit" is not the most attractive. If I were to ever meet someone through whitewater kayaking I know it would be because of my personality and not my appearance. No one looks good in a crash helmet!



There are many things I love about whitewater ... the sound of the water crashing on rocks, the bubbly nature of the current, and the adrenaline rush of running rapids. What I don't like about whiterwater kayaking is the hike to the put-in. Unlike most sea kayaking put-ins you can rarely drive your car right up to the water. After paddling through the canal we still had at least a 1/4 mile hike with the kayaks on our shoulders to get to the put-in. And part of this was over boulders and down a rocky trail. I griped and complained a little and I made Rob take this picture for the post.



We finally got to Sandy Beach and the water was really low. So we ended up dragging the kayaks over a small section of rocks to get to the put-in at S-turn. I've paddled S-turn before but never this low. Regardless my first eddy out into the current took me a little by surprise. Rob said I looked like I wasn't sure which way to lean the boat and I wasn't. Fortunately my whitewater skills came back quickly. We played around in the current at S-turn then headed downriver to Rocky Point. I spent some time ferrying back and forth across the current and surfing some small waves.



We ended the run by shooting down the Maryland chute. I like running rivers but I've never been much for surfing. The Maryland chute is a favorite surfing spot. So I convinced Rob to surf the waves in the chute so I could get an action picture of him. Here's the best one!



There weren't many people out on the river today, perhaps because the water was so low. But as we were coming back to the take-out at Anglers we ran in to the cutest little guy paddling a baby version of an Eric Jackson kayak. He let me take his picture and then did a few rolls for me. I'd never seen such a small whitewater boat. It was just too cute! We were off the river by six and said our good-byes. I don't get to see Rob that much now that I'm not climbing. But it was fun to see him in another environment.

-Susanita