Participants: TC Jean Miller, Suzanne & Gary Cole, Ron & Nancy Chase, Bill Stafford, Paul Bicknell, Charles Sweet, Andria Reising, Al Perrie
With warm and sunny weather, the West River weekend was as good as it could be. We had a riverside lean-to with many PPCS members nearby. There were sightings of the families of Evan Eichorn, Ryan Galway, and Mike Faske. The West Fest is known for its crowds, but we did our best to avoid them. Skipping the shuttle, we carried our boats down the Ball Mt dam face. There was some grumbling, but I personally love the carry down the Ball Mt. dam, it’s just so pretty. At 9 a.m. the river was still ramping up, so the first run was only 525 cfs. There was no one on the river and it was beautiful. Suzanne and Gary put fresh eyes on the river and found waves to surf that no one ever considered.
The take out was our lean-to and with a quick lunch we were back on the river and ran it at 1480 cfs with quite a few more people. On one of the shuttles, the trip leader had a little trouble with the police, but a smile and a promise set things right. After two runs, the paddlers were ready for a shopping expedition. People went home with new boats, helmets, spray skirts and air bags. Both Ron and Bill were very lucky to find helmets to fit. Sunday morning was a repeat of Saturday morning, another beautiful day of paddling. Bill and Jean successfully ran the NECKRA sponsored Wild West River Stampede Race Sunday afternoon. On a sadder note, Ron was quite upset that one of his gift crème horns appeared to have been stolen. Everyone present denies it. It is rumored that this will be the subject of his new mystery novel.