It was a cold day and I had nothing to do. I was feeling a bit froggy and decided to rally out to Ernies for a solo lap. I had run Ernie's Canyon many times up to this point, but never by myself. Ben always does and I used to berate him for it but something changed. I think I just wanted to see what would happen by myself, with no one else to rely on.
Contemplating at my line through Toilet Bowl.
When I left Port Orchard it was already a little late for an Ernies run. I usually like to be at the takeout by noon at the latest so that there is plenty of time to hike in and run shuttle. There wasn't much snow on the ground in Kitsap, but by the time I pulled off of I-90 in North Bend, you could hardly see the road.
Luck was on my side and someone had left the logging gate open at the put in. So, after stashing the mountain bike at the takeout I rushed down to the put-in and dropped off my boat and gear.
Driving to the put-in bridge
In the 20 minutes or so that it took me to drive back to the other side of the logging gate and then walk back in, my boat was completely covered in snow...
Unfortunately placed wood in Double Boof
I don't know all the names of the rapids in Ernies, nobody seems to know any of them, except the big four. This rapid usually doesn't have wood in it (and its gone now 12/18/11) but I had talked to Ben the week before this trip and knew that there were some new wood hazards to watch out for.
Double Boof
Panorama of Double Boof
Another awesome drop that was, at the time, ruined by wood: Boof Left. I love Boof Left because it scares the living daylights out of me. You come down some mank, trying to stay off the right wall (where 90% of the water goes) because there are multiple strainers, hit a small funky pool and charge hard towards the ledge. You boof left, diagonally between the ledge and a huge boulder that blocks the direct path of the water. I've never missed my line and I don't want to think about what would happen if you did on this one.
Boof Left. The wood is barely visible in the left third of the photo.
Ben actually found this piece while doing a solo morning lap while Rob and I were on our way out there. Due to complacency, we usually do not scout this rapid and neither did Ben. He took the standard line and boofed, landing squarely on a piece of wood lodged in the landing zone of this awesome drop. Luckily Ben was alright, could have been a very different story, but he was able to give us some beta before our own run. So I knew ahead of time that this stick was still in play and in the way of good times.
The lead-in to Big Nasty
Big Nasty is the psychological crux of the run for me. This rapid just plain wiggs me out. No reason, I've never been worked in it, never swam out of it or had anything bad happen. It just scares the crap out of me.
The lead-in to Big Nasty
The wood in the lead-in to Big Nasty is new as well (and gone now 12/18/11), but you could get around this log. Little Nasty has two normal lines, far left and far right. I usually opt for the far left line but the log made the decision easy and I went right. Now all that was left was Big Nasty.
Shortly after Big Nasty is Toilet Bowl. One of my favorite drops on the run. Its just fun! This rapid has the most in play sieve, I guess. After you paddle through the toilet bowl and out the chute, you are in the main current which is going straight towards a large sieve. You have to be upright and have your mind set on a course of action as soon as you come out of the toilet bowl chute as you have about 20 feet or so before you're under a rock. I hate rolling here, but it happens.
Toilet Bowl
All in all a good day. Some carnage and missed lines here and there, but a good day. Got back to my truck before dark and made it home in time for dinner with my mom, who was in town for the Holiday weekend.
Solo boating probably isn't the smartest thing in the world, but then again, on a run like Ernie's theres not much people can do for you if you get into trouble. I've seen swims in Ernie's and I've seen boats get destroyed, but I knew I wasn't going to swim. And if I did, my boat was already cracked anyway I guess.
Either way, there was something magical about being all alone out there in the middle of the woods with no one around to gum up the peace. No other sounds except the gurgling and rushing of water, the background white noise of snow falling on evergreens and the pulsing of blood through my veins. Theres no sense of time. You're not waiting to run a drop or waiting for anyone else to drop into the eddy next to you. You just go, or you don't go. Its all internal impetus. It was a learning experience. A huge learning experience. I was able to gauge my confidence level as well as find my risk vs. reward threshold. All too often you just "go for it" because your buddies are there with throwbags and chase boats, or at least I do. But stuff can still go wrong, even with everybody there to help. This was just another way of steeping up my game and finding out where I was at mentally.
A great day.
