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Having
walked around the magnificent spectacle which is Garvin's Chute, it's
time to put back in on RL and run on downstream. Sliding off of a slippery,
rocky ledge and into the relatively calm eddy immediately below, you take one
last look at the falls, peel out into the current and paddle down into a modest
wavetrain. It pays to stay to the far left or right here - there is a very sticky
and
shallow hole about 3/4 of the way down the train which can be fun to toy with
but nasty to your boat should you bottom out (likely occurrence if you hit the
hole head on). By staying right you will avoid all but the far shoulder of the
hole, and be in a good position to take advantage of a short boof off a ledge,
and the very swirly eddyline
that lies below. Great squirts and cartwheels here (and DT at higher levels),
but it pays to play gingerly until you get a feel for how the depth fluctuates
down the line. Just downstream there are a few rocks which offer some decent
splatting, but again, watch the depth - your boat will thank you. There is also
a seam from which to dip into some quick mushes or mysteries.
After a short pool of slack-but-moving water, the river bends around to the
right and into a wide Class 2 section of waves that features a breaking
wave/hole on the left, right at the entrance. This rapid is called Upper
No-Name, and the hole at the top is a great surfing/blasting spot, although
shallow at
low summer levels. The rapid bends around to the left, and two options come
into
view. The first and right-most is an extremely shallow, ledgey and bony class
2-3 chute that is not regularly run by anyone but errant swimmers and empty
boats. You will not be doing your boat, your body, or your ego a favour by
running down this rapid - instead, choose to run the left hand channel and
enjoy
the technical paddling demanded by Lower No-Name. This rapid is great at any
level, and offers a few interesting lines down through it's wavetrains, ledges,
and holes. The most commonly run route starts center and leads generally
center-left down over a ledge, and requires a quick eddy turn to the left
and a
ferry through some boily water to take advantage of a tongue dropping over
a
second ledge, into a large wavetrain that has significant cartwheel potential.
There is a medium-sized but very evil hole just to the right of center near
the
bottom, known as Vampire. Squirt boats shouldn't have a problem flushing out,
but the hole is very shallow and there are some big, sharp rocks on the riverbed
behind it that would make a sub-out a very rough ride. It pays to stay on
line
and avoid this possibility. |