Tag: Kayaking

DC & Double D

by Damon Caskey

It’s been a while since I logged any adventure in my adventure section hasn’t it? Far too long I think. Of course, it’s a bit difficult to record things on a broken blog, and boy was it. That is now fixed. The next step is to actually have something to add. Problem is I’m not really all that great at getting “backlogged” adventures up, and for a couple of weeks I haven’t had anything new to contribute.

As it happens some wackiness a few weeks ago (that I’ll hopefully get posted, but probably not :P) resulted in someone asking me nicely to “be more careful with myself” as it were, which in turn really puts a damper on random exploration. Believe it or not I didn’t mind a bit; it was probably the first time anyone had shown me honest concern instead of some smarmy “don’t go die!” derision. The whole thing came from WAY out of left field, but I still found it heart warming and so was willing to comply. Ultimately though it turns out said concern (along with many other things) was a complete farce. Obviously when I figured that out any agreement was immediately null and void. Depressing to say the least, and not something I want to divulge all the details about publicly. But hey, at least I’m free to do my thing again right? Edit: Or not? Time will tell, but perhaps I made a hasty assumption. Communication is key.

Sooooo, blog fixed, freedom restored. Nothing left but to recover my full strength and find something to do with it. 🙂

That something took the form of a second trip up the Dix River to get better photographs of the dam apparatus. On my previous trip I did not have the necessary camera equipment needed to get worthwhile photos. A little high def GoPro video augmented by some 8MP still shots would fix that right up. Or at least, it would have if I could learn to leave on time. I didn’t get to the dam until well after dark, and as anyone else who uses a GoPro can tell you, the one flaw they have is needing an abundance of light. Ahh well, at least I still got to see it for myself. As an added bonus, the darkness gave me an opportunity to climb around for some up close & personal looks at the pen-stocks, dam structure and a few other nick knacks.

Sadly I did not run into Dan this time, making it just a Dam, & Dix trip. Would have liked to chat with him again, but since I still need photos I’ll be back soon enough. Maybe next time.

Here is the footage I did take, along with a route plot. The video runs from put in to just about the first rapid, at which point I turned the camera off since it was obviously not going to record much else from that point. Just for extra fun, the sensors in my GPS went awry a bit (just a tiny bit) sending my plot on a 21,000+ mile detour; averaging over 5000kph! Now THAT’S some paddling!

 

 

Fireworks On Crack

by Damon Caskey

After meeting up in the Crack Club, my cousin Nathan Dillon and I visited Cave Run on 2011_07_03 for a water fix and fireworks at Stony Cove. Videos didn’t turn out that great, but the view live was spectacular. Our yaks gave us the best seat in the house!

There was a huge crowd of boats on the water and people ashore, and I was kind of surprised not to run into anyone we knew. Either way it was a great day to be out. After years of hitting every water way but the one I was raised on, it’s nice to travel back and rediscover a little piece of home. What can I say? I’m getting hooked on Crack. Try some, and I bet you will too!

Licked By The Licking

by Damon Caskey
So close, yet so far away. Isn't there a song about that?

So close, yet so far away. Isn't there a song about that?

When it comes to local hydrology, I find the Licking River to be the most interesting water way by far. The reasons why are varied, and are really left to a topic of their own. Apparently though, the Licking doesn’t share the same interest in me. Seems that recently, each time I paddle it, I get the short stick one way or another:

  • Unexpected flooding at Blue Licks pushed me back before I could reach my goal, and nearly capsized my yak with no skirt, flotation vest or gear.
  • Broke three toes and sprained my right ankle climbing up out of the Ohio. I count this because it was right next to the Licking River’s mouth.
  • Leg brace broke and twisted my foot inside the kayak while in an area with no portage and a section of water you couldn’t pay me to swim in. It was nearly three hours before I could get out and unbind myself. That was a year ago and my left foot has yet to fully recover.
  • A navigation error left me dragging the yak several miles back up stream through the shallows near Falmouth. Granted it was my own stupidity, but I’ve never made a mistake like that before or since.

It not just paddling either. I’ve had to winch myself out of mires, lost gear, and more often then not came away with minor but stupid injuries. No other area has given me so much trouble exploring.

Then there was Saturday 20110604. After attending a wedding and helping with some photos I decided to take advantage of already being in Morehead to get some footage of the Cave Run Spillway. Currently the Corps of Engineers are releasing 5000cfs; pretty close to the river’s natural avg. discharge. A normal release this time of year is around 100. The resulting torrent of water makes a spectacular sight from the banks yes, but how awesome would it be to get some close up shots from head on?

Naturally the Licking was not interested in cooperating, but instead of sending me limping away with some physical calamity it went with a new method: Humiliation. A small crowd gathered while I made my attempts failures, several of them wielding cameras. No doubt to them I looked like some helpless fish on a hook. Meh, it’s all good. 🙂

The current being too strong to take head to head is a given, that I already knew. What I was hoping for would be to find some eddies or a steady wave train to surf my way up. No such luck. The spillway walls are too smooth to produce any good eddies; I had a bit more luck with the waves, but ultimately they were too erratic. A better paddler might have gotten in, but it was just too much for my skill. I’ll just have to work on my efficiency, maybe get a paddle with a bigger dig, and try again.

Paddling Up A Storm

by Damon Caskey

2011_05_21 – As any fellow outdoors enthusiast (or whatever you call people like us) can attest, pretty much all of the more physical skills involved are perishable. Paddling is no exception. I’ve been out once this season to check out Cave Run, but I still needed to get my sea legs back for moving water.

That’s where the Elkhorn comes in. At normal level it’s mostly I-II with some class III here and there; not exactly the pinnacle of whitewater action, but that’s a good thing for refresher training. Plus the scenery is something one could never get tired of. So I made plans to head in around 14:00 or so and take a 12 mile run. That was the plan at least. But this is me I’m talking about, and in typical late for my own funeral fashion, I wound up at the put in right at 18:00. Obviously the latter half was going to going to be in dark, but I don’t mind that at all.

What I didn’t plan on was the nasty thunderstorm that blew in right on top me at dusk. Between down pouring and mist my lights were useless and visibility 0; nothing like paddling blind against the wind with lightning strikes all around. Since the camera couldn’t see any better then I could, about 1/3 of the recordings are scrap and by the time I made take out it was almost 23:00. I’m not complaining though, quite the opposite in fact; what’s the point of an Adventure category without a little adventure? Besides, I still got some nice footage beforehand of the palisades and river area in general.

See below for videos.

Elkhorn Area

 

From put in to the dam at Jim Bean Distillery.

Dam through palisades. Best rapids are here, plenty of surfing at the right level.

Lower Elkhorn. Scenic with occasional riffles to keep you awake.

Storm starts to move in. No use keeping footage from here on.

See you next time!

DC

Morehead And A Long Licking

by Damon Caskey

I am planning an excursion to run the Middle and Lower Licking river from Morehead to Cincinnati/Newport. While I am preparing and expecting to do so alone, I’d be happy to have some company!

Starting point will be the boat ramp at Cave Run Dam spillway. Endpoint is Schmidt Boat Ramp, located river right approximately 1 mile upstream on the Ohio from Licking River confluence. Travel time will be approximately 5-6 days with a planned stopover at Blue Licks and resupply at Falmouth. Other possible portages are being researched. The Licking River is a class I difficulty river, with occasional swift current and strainers but little to no white water. Of greater concern will be portage and supplies as most of the river flows through private farms.

If interested, please leave a comment on this post and the your best possible times. Plan is for September, but can be pushed as far as mid October if needed. Cincinnati ramps close on November 1. Further details will be added here as they become available.

Dam, Dix & Dan

by Damon Caskey

Busted feet aside, the night time run I took for July 4th was actually more fun then I expected. There is just something very serene about being on the water at night.

Owing to that, I thought heading back to the hometown for some night paddling on Cave Run would be even better. No city lights and no dodging barges. Typical though, the feeler I sent on Facebook to gather some people to join me got utterly ignored. Even the CRACK club didn’t take any interest.

So instead I decided to explore the Dix River via High Bridge Ramp. A simple run really, but it had a lot of interesting features. The first of course is High Bridge. You can’t appreciate the engineering accomplishment and scale without seeing it up close.

Next was the Dix River confluence. At 77 miles long, it’s the only major river left tributary of the Kentucky River. Two miles upstream from the confluence is the Dix Dam, which forms Herrington Lake. It’s a relic today and looks the part, but when built it was an engineering marvel and technically still is. At the time it was the largest earth fill dam in the world.

One of the downsides of my exploring style is that I usually know everything about a place before I get there. Since I’m nearly always alone, I have to make sure I’ve done my homework on an area first. The Dix is an exception, and that is what made it interesting. There is almost no detailed information available. All surrounding land is privately owned by local residents or Kentucky Utilities and public access by road is all but non existent. Even Google Earth doesn’t have a good image due to the power plant’s exhaust plume.

This meant I had no idea what I would see. I imagined the approach to be nothing but concrete and rock fill, with a generally “artificial” feel. I guessed the outlet was probably a sluice like spillway tunnel feeding an impassible churning suppression bay similar to Cave Run’s. Considering the barbed wire security KU employs in the surrounding area, one would think it would all be blocked by water fences and guarded anyway. I had also pictured the area to be devoid of interest by anyone other then myself. Who cares about exploring an obsolete dam on a river tributary in the middle of nowhere?

As it turned out, I was dead wrong on all counts. First, the dam itself is easily approachable; its powerhouse sits right on the water, and there is no sluice. Instead a fish ladder and spillover outlet provide drainage when the turbines aren’t in use. So rather then churning, the water is in fact perfectly flat. There is a still a strong exit current; far too dangerous for a swimmer. But it’s nothing a half decent paddler can’t overcome. The end result is that not only can you approach and touch the dam, you can actually go inside of it. I was able to paddle right under the outlet archways and look directly up the turbine exit pipes.

As for the area, it was anything but artificial. The geography has been virtually untouched, and if you didn’t already know the dam was there its sudden appearance around a bend would be quite a shock. Pristine palisades and waterfalls were at every turn, and wildlife was abundant. About the only evidence of anything man made was the water temperature change. As is typical for any deep lake discharge, the water is quite cold for some distance downstream. The change is very sudden, in less then 10′ of travel the temperature drops almost 30 degrees. This also causes a near perpetual cooling breeze and heavy fog at dusk. All in all a very pleasant experience compared to the “bath water” you’ll find in the Kentucky River.

That cold water also brought me the last surprise. Company. As it turns out, it is a popular area for trout and hybrid anglers. I met about a dozen individuals on the way up. Most were in Johnboats; they could only get so far upstream due to some rapids. But one was a fellow kayaker named Dan who was fishing at the dam basin. Dan is a veteran of the area and had put in at the same ramp I did. After some further exploring on my part and fishing on his, we headed back down stream together at dusk. I’m used to running solo, but it’s nice to have some company now and again. A storm popped up on us just as we got started back, but thankfully it mostly blew over.

A good day overall. It was well past dark by the time we made the halfway point back, but that was fine with me since I originally wanted to go after midnight in the first place. Dan tells me that had the moon not been out he would have probably stayed up river all night. According to him, the bass bite like crazy on moonless nights. I’m no angler, but I do like me some fish. I might have to head back one evening and give it a try.

DC

Firework Shows, Concrete Floes & Broken Toes

by Damon Caskey

July 4th found me home alone while Nichole and the kids visited her family. Having wasted most of the day, I decided kind of last minute to see the Cincinnati Fireworks display at Newport on The Levee. I remembered last year when we took the kids there it was a blast.

Of course, being alone meant this time I could check it out from the river in my Kayak. Kayaks don’t need boat ramps for obvious reasons, but my Tahoe certainly needed a parking spot, and the only launch point to be found was about five miles up stream. No big, except it meant I was pushing for time; I just made it as the show was starting.

The cool part was having the best vantage point of anyone on the river. Powered boats aren’t allowed in the staging area, but I was (or rather, there wasn’t much they could do to keep me out). It was a spectacular show. Funny enough, my Kayak attracted a lot of attention too – boaters stopped to take pictures as they passed me on the way there, and I got a ton of requests from onlookers at the shore park to do some tricks and such. I was happy to oblige, as well as could be done on flat water anyway. Afterward, I ported on the Ohio side at the park to stretch my legs and chatted a bit with them.

And then it all went south, literally. While waiting for the mass exodus of cabin cruisers, speedboats, and their likely as not heavily inebriated pilots to finish up, I decided I’d cross over to the south bank, get some ice cream, and join the remaining festival at the Newport Aquarium Plaza.

But walking up the shore directly below the aquarium, I slipped on an ottoman sized hunk of concrete and fell directly on my toes, breaking three and spraining my right ankle. Soft sole river shoes are usually sure footed, but as you might guess, they don’t offer any support or protection if you do happen to falter. Adding insult to injury was the piece promptly tipped and rolled over to pin my foot down. Naturally, this took place in full view of hundreds of people, some of whom rushed down to help, but by that time I had already gotten a little hot under the collar and chucked it downriver myself. Probably not the smartest thing to do on a busted foot, but hey, at least I was free.

Afterward, I managed to pop two toes back in place, but the third just wasn’t going. Paddling back to my vehicle wouldn’t have been that hard per say, but the hour or so of travel time would mean that much more swelling and difficulty getting the toe fixed. So after getting some nearby bikers to watch my kayak, I took a cab back to my truck, drove it to the Kayak, and then headed home. On the way I stopped at Saint Francis and had them snap everything into place.

Of course, that was only after three x-rays, two shots, and wheeling me about the place on a crash cart equipped stretcher for three hours. For a broken toe. They also tried to give me a Vicodin prescription; thanks but no thanks. It’s stuff like this why I hospitals. All I needed was a set of more experienced hands then my own to snap the bone back and make sure there wasn’t any more serious damage. Nothing more or less; in a practical word, it wouldn’t have taken two minutes, and certainly didn’t call for narcotics.

Anyway, it was still fun all in all. Next year I plan to be back, only this time I’ll plan ahead and have more time to spare. It’s too bad none of the pictures I took came out right. My little camera just sucks for low light.

Until next time!
DC

Videos: Fireworks On The Ohio, Fireworks On The Ohio 2

Valley View Run

by Damon Caskey
Kayak

2010-06-06 – I’m having some difficulty coming up with new places to explore lately. I’ve already seen just about every trail, mark, road and river within any practical distance for a day trip. Heh, guess I’m somewhat a victim of my own success. 😛

Sunday however I had a mild epiphany about a fairly obvious place I have overlooked: The Kentucky River Palisades near Valley View Ferry. The ferry alone is pretty interesting in that it is the oldest all season ferry still operational in the U.S. (chartered in 1785).

I had hoped to put in at the ferry, paddle to Raven’s Run Park about eight river miles upstream, and then return. Unfortunately I was delayed by some other issues and didn’t make it until late in the afternoon. A strong headwind and my kayak taking on water through its drain plug didn’t help matters either. Still, I was able to explore a few miles around and will defiantly be back.

While I’m usually more into white water or riding a flood wave, it was nice to relax and ply some flat water for a change. Headwind aside, the weather couldn’t have been nicer, and I met some interesting people at the ferry.  Among them were the ferry crew themselves, who offered to delay for a moment so I could port from their ramp instead of the steep bank.