Stand Up Paddling

Why don't you get two SUPs and try them on the lake? That was a great idea of Jon from IR and half an hour later we were on the lake. Wow, they are more unstable than we thought! But after a few paddling strokes we got used to standing up AND paddling - and we loved it!

So we enjoyed paddling, the sun and the refreshing water of the lake!

What a beautiful place!

Once again: Awwww......

Kevin looking good

BIG smile!

Green River Adventures

Of all the rivers in the USA there were two I desperately wanted to paddle: The Little White Salmon in Washington and the Green in North Carolina.

On our last day in Washington Nate took me down the Little White and fulfilled that aim, so it only seemed logical that we go paddle the Green during out time in the SE.

We had planned to meet up with Shane and Woody from Liquidlogic but sadly we timed our arrival in NC so badly that they just happened to be at the Outdoor Retailer Show on the other side of the country at the time. So, after an initial scouting hike into the gorge we decided to follow Shane's advice to hang out at the take out of the Narrows and hope for the best.

What always seemed amazing was the number of people present on the river during the week. We're still trying to find out how all those guys manage to paddle everyday and still make a living, any information is welcome. So it didn't take too long for us to find some willing locals who agreed to take me down on that first day. I didn't mess up too badly, probably because I'd prudently decided to skip the Big Three, so they actually agreed to take me along again the next day.

In the end I got to paddle the Green three days in a row and on the last day with the collective effort of Christine,  a local we'd met, Tom and myself we persuaded Ramona to join us - needless to say she styled it and all the nasty things she dreamt about the night before didn't happen.


Enjoy the footage.

The Monkey

Pincushion

Go Left...

Some unknown person in Groove Tube

Another unknown person in Groove Tube

A nice walk in the park

Coming through Hammer Factor on the first day

Ramona eying Frankenstein

Going left

Too far to the right

A short video of me messing up Gorilla on the third day.

Tellico park 'n' huck

With no mentionable water anywhere we headed to the Tellico at the first sign of rain (apparently it rises quickly). After a night at a nice free campsite we were hoping to run the goods, but alas, the water hadn't risen to acceptable levels.

So we decided to spend our day hucking Baby Falls (as the name suggests, not very high or gnarly).

We even had some groupies throughout most of the day! It was fun!

Maybe not the cleanest line, but a fun photo!

The concentration of a Jedi

She lost the second horn...

We're tourists, after all.

Brown!...

Vibram Fivefingers, please call me for the usage rights...

Eyes only for the drop

A fan club's always good for the ego

Awww....

First freewheel ever, ironically also the best of the day!

Tourist Activity II

We were told that, being in the Southeast, we simply had to have a look at Rock City / Ruby Falls. Even Neil Gaiman had written about one of them!

So, the area being hot as it was and the idea of spending at least some part of the day in a cool cafe being really appealing, we decided to head down to Chattanooga to have a look for ourselves.

All in all the experience was nice, even after the over-dramatisation of the key waterfall moment and being herded through the cave like cattle in order to make way for the next group.

wook at all the pwetty colours!

The one-and-only...Ruby Falls (you're missing out on the musical crescendo here)

Reminds me of a view of Mordor

Cute cave inhabitant - I took her with me

After an arduous expedition of a whopping mile the adventurer basks in his glory (back at the elevator)

By the way; we're not in the cave anymore

I can fly!

In gnome mood to be teased

FD camp "Spoonberg" in Colorado

I nearly believed it wouldn't happen - but it finally did: the landscape turned nicer (this means for a Swiss girl, that there were mountains) and we arrived in Colorado.

Our first adventure in Colorado was to get to the 7W ranch where the FD camp is located. First, we made a detour to Vail, got the right directions from the right mail and then slowly made the way up on the mountains to the ranch along the Colorado River. About half way up we realized that we ran out of petrol. But not only that was what we were worrying about, the road got steeper and steeper and our old van got slower and slower... After hundreds of bends in the road later and 800m higher we made it to the ranch somehow, redlining with the petrol.

The view we had from the 7W ranch was breathtaking! The whole area was really nice and the cabins were cute and comfortable.

The next few days on the water with FD were exiting and always really scenic. I enjoyed paddling with all the campers and watching that they got more comfortable on the river. When I looked around me I always saw smiling faces!

First time on the Colorado River

Wednesday was our on land day. In the morning we went for a beautiful hike and I had a lot of fun chatting to all the campers and running around in my 5fingers. In the afternoon I went with a small group of campers horseback riding. That was my highlight of the day! It felt so peaceful riding on the back of Steamship, my horse and enjoying the beautiful scenery of the Colorado mountains. Later on that day, I learnt to dance a few Colorado dance moves and we enjoyed a nice campfire.

South Paw in action. My favourite shot of the day!

Friday was great and I loved watching all the campers doing the graduation rapid. Everyone did such a nice job! And as always, the the time flew away and we had to say goodbye. It was an amazing week for me, a huge thanks to all the campers and to the staff members!

After the camp we went boating on the Shoshone with Little Spoon and Dog bite. Good times!

All photos taken by Snaps. Thank you!