Saturday at Wilson Creek. 5" in the morning, a little above 3" at 5:45. I was able to get in 4 runs.

The roads were not in bad shape at all and I left my running shoes at the lower takeout in case of a solo. I got to the put in in perfect time to jump in with Chris, Dennis, Garrick, and Josh. I caught up to them right before they got to the top of Ten Foot. They were a fun group to paddle with and nice guys to let me jump in on their shuttle.

Josh in the classic Pirouette S at Boat Buster at an exceptional level.

Awesome color scheme on Chris' Nomad. I'm glad to see Dagger making boats with that multicolor design. Reminds me of some of the Crossfires "back in the day".

Tyler joined us for the second run. The brothers Grindstaff at Razor Back

Tyler at the Coin Slot.

Alex joined me and Chris for the third run then he and I finished the day with my Fourth run. Alex got this last shot of me getting the grind at Thunder Hole on the third run. It wasn't as cold as I expected but I started feeling chilly on the third run, especially after a roll off the grind above. I was starting to get cold by the fourth run. It was a great level, good people to paddle with, and the snow made the views extra special. What a wonderful place to be on a Saturday.

Saturday Morning Soul-O Wilson Creek run at 0"

I was on the river by about 9:30 with no other boaters in sight. I got in a nice laid back run and paddled down to the wave below Screaming Right Turn for some nice surfs. I left my running shoes and a sweat shirt at the kiosk. It was good to finally get in a nice jog after paddling the creek. I was inspired to run some more so on the way home I stopped at Rose Creek Road, parked on the gravel forest service road and jogged up to some single track to do some scouting. I think I probably got in about 6 miles of jogging all together and two miles of creekin'.

The bottom wave was good to go V.

Onto Bob High's birthday party at The Rocket Club.

Four Wilson Creek Runs on MLK Day @ 4"

Gaston and Layla at Triple Drop.
Layla took some shots at the Coin Slot on the first run

There was less sun light at Razor Back on the second run: Johnny Calhoun droppin' thru the slot

Gaston & Layla running Razor Back at the same time, two different lines.

We ran down to Screaming Right Turn on the last run and enjoyed the wave, it was in.

The gage was reading about 4 inches when I met up with Gaston and Layla at 11:00. I did two runs with them and Johnny Calhoun caught up to us on our second run. I got in a total of 4 runs. It was a good day of paddling. Two good paddling days in a row after a little over a month of no paddling.
Amos' Epics

Buffalo Creek then the Yadkin with Gaston and Layla

Not today.

Gaston had the excellent idea to head over to Buffalo Creek in the Yadkin headwaters. He had scouted it out on motorcycle rides. Layla and I were both eager to paddle a creek we had never been on; a new adventure and it is not very far away. I had read about the Yadkin in Benner's book, Carolina Whitewater but never run it before. The closest I had been to it was the Merlefest. From looking at the map in Benner's book, it looks like both runs are right on the Wilkes County and Caldwell County lines. While the Gazeteer shows the runs in Caldwell County. Either way it was some fun paddling.

Put in for Buffalo Creek.
Bamboo and lots of it:
Below Layla demonstrates the limbo move under the tree. We all used the limbo move several times throughout the day. There were alot of downed trees but we were able to work our way through, under or around most of them, only a couple had to be portaged. Yadkin:

This is Main Squeeze, the rapid I had a bow broach in the entrance. Thanks to Gaston I was able to step out of the kayak while he held it but it was tense for about a minute before he got to me.

Two very beautiful runs. I'm glad we did something different.

A nice waterfall Layla had discovered right off of hwy 321.

Amos' Epics

The first ride in a month! I tried to pick a trail that wouldnt be too impassable due to the recent inclement weather. I manged to get in 23 miles of

It was a low water day but these guys were having fun.

Craig Creek Road climb:

When my bike still had a derailleur:

Single speed SupaLite:

I manged to get in 23 miles of gravel, dirt, snow, ice, mud, slush, leaves, a few trees and millions of branches. I was far from 100% successful but almost everything was ride able with the correct line choice and a 29er (too bad I didnt have one). I did spin my tires on the ice a couple of times and had to step off for a reposition. I also did the snake to an abrupt stop in the snow drifts a couple of times as well. It was well worth the more than usual amount of effort considering the views and uniqueness of the ride. I started at the Brown Mountain Campground and rode along Wilson Creek to Craig Creek Road. This is where the sloppy, icy forest service road started. At the pass I took a right and headed towards Chestnut Mountain. At the Bee Hive and Chestnut trail head I kept going towards Raidercamp. I headed down Raidercamp a lot slower than usual due to the conditions but it was still a blast. I had to go to South Fork of Harper Creek falls even though I had gotten a later than planned start. I was started riding around 12:30. After enjoying lunch at the falls overlook, I headed back to Raidercamp and made it through most of the erosion berms without any major incidents when my derailleur hanger broke off leaving my derailleur hanging loose. I was able to make it into a single speed by removing the derailleur, taping to cable and housing to the frame and removing some chain. I rode the last 6 or 7 miles in the middle ring up front and on the smallest cog in the back. I had to jump off and push on any significant climbs but there were few of those in those last miles.

Amos' Epics

Monday: One run on Wilson Creek at dusk to dark then a 16 mile night ride to the top of Chestnut and The Big O. A good idea by Johnny Calhoun

JC left Ashevegas at 4 and we met at the creek around 5:30. It was a late start putting on to paddle Wilson Creek but the level was good and we busted a move finishing up the run in the dark. We started the night ride at the put-in and warmed up riding up Brown Mountain Beach Road then the Craig Creek climb. We never saw a car. Somewhere close to the Bee Hive trail head we rose out of the fog. It is pretty cool being out there in the dark and seeing all the lights in the distance, especially when your up on top of Chestnut Mountain. One section of the trail rolled through an incredible Rhodo tunnel that looked amazing lit up like a micro amphitheatre complete with the misty mountain fog in the air, sweet!
We got back to the cars late but it was well worth it. Cant wait to do that dub again.
For ride details click on this link:
Garmin Connect - Activity Details for Untitled
Amos' Epics

Saturday Morning hike up to the Pinnacle with Clara Ann then Sunday Wilson Creek Kayaking

I was able to get Clara Ann up early for a short drive and hike up to the Pinnacle early Saturday morning. It was spectacular and I'll post pictures of it at a later date.
We had some nice rain overnight which rose Wilson Creek:
Gaston Gagne and I met up at about 1:00 and got in two runs along with Josh. The level was +1" when we got there but I am sure it rose at least another inch while we were out there. Both Gaston and Josh had to head on and I thought I was done for the evening as well but luckily I met up with Billy Murphy and Billy Jones who I had paddled Wilson's with a few months ago at about 1'. It was a lot lower than the last time I paddled with the Billys but we still managed to get in two very fun runs.
Amos' Epics