A different Sacramento river

"No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it's not the same river and he's not the same man."

Heraclitus said it so certainly and believed strongly in change in the universe.  I experienced universal change very clearly on this trip.  If you study the map, the 100 mile stretch of river I recently paddled is exactly the same route I've paddled in the past, but my experience this time was so much different.  Like looking out your window in different seasons to find the same view but in a different way, this Sacramento River looked different, it felt different & it flowed different although it was the same view.  Not better, not worse, just different.

I joined up with three other Rivers for Change board members and some knowledgeable advisors for an on-water meeting to discuss the future of the organization and how to get there.  It's a fantastic group of wise-minded individuals with vision who all happen to be in love with rivers.  So, as the noon hour approached on Saturday and we loaded our rafts, canoes and sups, I launched onto the river to experience it again for the first time.  18 miles downriver we pulled into an eddy, setup camp on an unnamed island and got to work.

By noon on Sunday after an evening and morning of discussions we all arrived into Balls Ferry, checkpoint one for the California 100 and a place familiar to me even though I've never approached it by water.  We shuttled the vehicles, said our goodbyes and then 7 of the 8 other people on the trip with me departed for home.  Danielle Katz and I were left with our boards, camp gear, a car 78 miles downriver and no agenda.  Off we went.

As we negotiated the current, worked on our strokes and discussed RFC we were tuned in to the sights and sounds of California's central valley.  The hum of water pumps pulling water for irrigation, the roar of large-scale industrial sized farming machinery stirring up dust, the screech of eagles circling their territory.  All new sounds to me as I had not heard them my first trip down this river.  We kept a mental list of our surroundings, from the bald eagles & osprey above to the river otter & fish below to the deer and landmarks on the shores.  We waved to the happy fishermen on the river and contemplated the unhappiness of the ones who didn't wave back.  We counted the broken down and pinned boats on the river, reminding us of how quickly things can go wrong.  We empathized with less experienced paddlers racing their way down the California 100 course and discussed the balance of safety & adventure.  While paddling river left I vaguely remember running the safe riffle river right the last time.  Just as sandbars at the beach move around, so do rivers and their flows.  This river is changing and it's wonderful to experience it as a different man.

2015 California 100

The California 100 is an important grass roots paddling race & fundraiser in Northern California.  From Redding, CA to Chico, CA racers paddle their sups, surfskis, kayaks, canoes and outriggers downriver, touring the central valley of this gigantic state.  In one day they cover 100 miles of class I & II river in the heat, taking between 10 and 20 hours to finish.  This was my second, and last, year as Race Director and although I won't be holding the reigns next year, I will be back to race again.  

My team is made up of a couple key staff, lots of incredible volunteers and four board members from Rivers for Change, a great CA non-profit with the mission of connecting people to rivers.  Founded by Danielle Katz and John Dye in 2011, they've been successful using paddling as a catalyst to engage, educate and excite people on river issues.  They're connecting people to rivers in a very important time as water management in California is of utmost importance.  RFC is a young, growing organization and I'm proud to have worked alongside them for these two seasons.  Now that my role as Race Director is finished, I'm brainstorming new ways to stay connected to this organization from across the country.  

The race this year did not disappoint.  Racer attendance was down, river flows were low (8000cfs), but energy was higher than ever and lots of new paddlers completed this journey and accomplished their goal.  Check out the photo album here:  facebook.com/QuiverSurf/media_set?set=a.10205231149113150.1073741970.1078961496&type=1

Keeping up with the Live Update.

Returning to the launch after starting the Adventure Class at 6am.  

Morning Workout.

California 100 Training Clinic #2

Paddling is so awesome.  Today I co-lead the second California 100 Training Clinic of the season with Elaine Baden, a great paddling coach with a ton of experience and comfort on the river.  Our styles meshed well with each other and the 14 students and 2 assistants we paddled with.  18 of us put in on the Sacramento River at Posse Grounds in Redding, CA and worked our way downriver, sharing technique and strategy along the way.  We were an unusual assortment of people and backgrounds all brought together because we love to paddle.

Cary charging the chute below Kutras Pond

crossing underneath the Cypress Bridge

Sacramento River SUP Weekend - Sunday

Sunday I joined up with Jason & Just Kayak More again for another day of Sacramento River Play.  We launched as a smaller group of 5 for a downriver paddle stopping at three really fun play spots along the way.  Sun was out, sky was blue and we were pumped.  The first spot is just downriver from the California 100 startline and the Sundial Bridge.  A small chute that offered really good ferrying practice and some surfing on the front wave.  We took turns playing, making sure to conserve some energy for the rest of the day.  The second spot was a good sized hole at the first bend below the Sundial Bridge.  We spent the most time here and I tried over and over to lock into the "bronco ride" but spent more time swimming than surfing.  The third spot was another chute draining out of Kutras Pond.  On my first attempt I dropped in from above but missed the green wave and fell off into the wave train.  Bummer.  Riding the eddies back up, I struggled to get into the wave and got spent recovering from each fall.  Over all, a really really fun day of paddling and I will be back to dial-in these features.  Redding is on the map as a fun & diverse paddling destination.

ferrying the chute.  Photo by Jason Montelongo.

Adrianna getting past her fears and charging.  Photo by Jason Montelongo.

Fun crew.  William, Tiffney, Adrianna, Jason and myself.

Trying to stay in the hole at the bend.  Photo by Jason Montelongo.

William Holley, surfing nicely.  Photo by Jason Montelongo.

Playing on the Escalator, an interesting feature on the Sacramento River.  Photo by Jason Montelongo.

another swimming opportunity.  Photo by Jason Montelongo.

 

Sacramento River SUP Weekend - Saturday

I had to be in Red Bluff Saturday night to promote the California 100 at the Wild and Scenic Film Festival.  Red Bluff is 175 miles from the Bay Area, so I felt I should take advantage of being up there and hit up the Sacramento River in Redding for some playtime.  I loaded the car with paddling gear and planned to get at least two river sessions in with Jason from Just Kayak More.  JKM is the local paddling club in the Redding area and are highly active river paddlers, preferring upriver paddles and playing on river features over traditional flatwater or downriver paddling.  Jason has been an incredible resource to Rivers for Change and a number of Cal 100 competitors.

I met up with him Saturday morning and we quickly met the rest of group at Lake Redding for an 8am launch.  Lake Redding is actually a body of water on the Sacramento river sandwiched between two dams.  It has current and we paddled up it until we got to this fun little constriction that offered a center channel and two good play spots on each side of the river.  We were with a small group of regulars and everyone showed up with great paddling skill and positive attitudes.  Nice group of people to paddle with and I had some good success surfing the uppermost wave on a 14' board.  It took me a number of tries before dialing it in, but once I got it I was able to stick in the wave and surf back and forth.  River surfing is such fun and great training and I was ear to ear smiles.  Plus, I had the treat of paddling in freshwater which is always a nice change.

To cool down after playing, we finished the upriver paddle by making our way all the way up to Keswick Dam, the furthest place we could legally paddle without a portage.  Nice day.

William Holley ferrying to the play wave.  photo by Jason Montelongo.

Riding the Red Paddle Co 14' Elite Inflatable.  Photo by Jason Montelongo.

Ferrying over.  Photo by Jason Montelongo.

Getting comfortable on the wave.  Photo by Jason Montelongo.

Jason Montelongo puts down the camera to have a turn.

Nice paddling spot

California 100

I didn't race in the California 100 this year.  Not for lack of desire, but rather because I took on the role of Race Director for Rivers for Change, the hosting non-profit group founded by Danielle Katz and John Dye.  Although I didn't paddle the 100 mile stretch with 100+ others, I certainly had a weary weekend of my own with late nights, early mornings, highs, lows and everything in between.  I met a bunch of new paddlers, strengthened some friendships and got reminded how cool the paddling community can be.  

For those not familiar with the California 100, the concept is simple.  Test your skill, stamina, physical and mental limits on the Sacramento River for one-hundred river miles of paddling in one continuous race.  It takes 10-20 hours and you stop at 3 checkpoints along the way.  As simple as the Cal 100 is, it's far from easy.  

To start, racers are dealing with class II whitewater along the course.  The sections are short and staggered, but skill plays into these sections immensely.  If you have it, you'll succeed.  If you don't, you'll either get lucky or you'll get worked.  But, no worries, because it's all downhill and eventually you'll float into calmer water.  Get through the rapids and tackle the straights.  Water reading is still essential since staying in the fast water flow is critical for a good time.  Feed and hydrate yourself or else.  Condition yourself ahead of time - aka, train for this race.  Carry the required equipment.  Be prepared to take care of yourself on the river - broken fin, holed board, separated from your board, lost? 

It's an epic undertaking and over 130 people accepted the challenge.  That's a 30% growth from 2013 and the SUP category was up over 200% this year.

Check out some of the pics and set your sights for this challenge next year!

safety briefing.  Photo by Lisa Thomas.

I didn't get to race with the BPC, but cheering them on was good enough.

I think Janet smiled the entire way.  Photo by Lisa Thomas.

With Danielle Katz.  Photo by Lisa Thomas.

So proud of this one.  Fellow Focus SUP Hawaii ambassador Adrianna Baca completing the 33-mile leg of the race.
Photo by Lisa Thomas.

Sean Morley won the kayak class and was going strong.  Photo by Lisa Thomas.

Tom Biglione - the only solo canoeist in the race.  Photo by Lisa Thomas.

Brian Thomas - only prone paddleboarder brave enough.  Photo by Lisa Thomas.

California 100 SUP Race

On Saturday I participated in the inaugural California 100 paddling race from Redding to Chico on the Sacramento river.  100 miles of continuous paddling is a challenge for anyone in any discipline and I opted to do the course on a standup board.  I anticipated a conservative, consistent pace down the river and was shooting for a time under 14 hours 24 minutes.

Michael Melville & I started the race in the adventure class at 6am with 50 or so other racers.  The relay teams and competitive class racers would start one hour later at 7am.  We both positioned for a front of the pack upriver start, rounded the buoy and took off downriver towards the first rapid on river left.  That rapid helped break the pack up, and gave me a quick lesson on how the Starboard K-15 would handle rough water - just fine.  My fin clipped a rock in the first bend, sending me to my knees quickly.  The river was flying in sections and the pillowy whirlpools following almost every rapid could easily grab a rail and roll the board.  After recovering from the fall and paddling a few more minutes I found myself next to Michael again.  Minutes later the pack started to head river right, across a flat lagoon towards a point that cut off a significant stretch of water.  Dropping into the large standing waves at the far end we both went to one knee to negotiate the rough water.  Later that day Michael confessed he didn't want to take that cut-off because he knew how big those waves were.  He did it anyways so he wouldn't lose ground.  

I landed at checkpoint number one about 2 seconds ahead, jumped off the board, carried it up the embankment and began filling water and dropping layers.  Michael turned in his number, and jumped back on the board.  I didn't know what to make of it and continued to finish my refueling & resting.  Fewer than five minutes later I re-launched and couldn't catch a glimpse of him - he was gone.  Only 25 miles in and I thought it was decided.  Michael is a fast paddler and I wasn't sure I'd be able to catch him.  He had a couple falls, and I paddled like mad.  After another 25 miles of continuous paddling, I had somehow made up a considerable distance and was slowly reeling him in.  By the time I entered checkpoint number two around mile number 55, I was about 20 seconds behind him.

Just behind Michael for the first 90 miles.  Photo by Lisa Thomas

The stop lasted about 2-3 minutes and we were back on the water.  I took a few seconds longer than him to refuel and was just behind him heading downriver for another 25 mile stretch.  I made up at least 10-15 seconds at that checkpoint and was determined to not let him gain too much more of a lead.  I did everything I could to match his pace and at one particular river diversion I chose the faster line on river left and made up another 2-3 seconds.  We were matching pace with each other so well that our positions were being determined by the lines we were taking and by whoever could stay in the fastest current long enough.  It came down to river reading to find the fast lines and constant calculations to decide what would be faster, the outside line with stronger current or the inside line with less distance.  I was 2 seconds behind him when we landed at checkpoint number three.

We both turned in numbers, raced to fill water and then got back to the boards.  Luckily I had a friend at this stop who grabbed me some gu, opened some energy gels for me and tossed them onto my foredeck as I was re-launching.  I had taken some other food from my bag and tossed it on my deck, but never had enough time to open it, nevermind eat it.  While floating downriver on my knees I was able to slam some almonds and beef jerky, Clif energy products and water as I watched Michael increase the distance between us.  If I didn't eat there was no way I'd catch him.

Michael Melville at Jelly Ferry Bridge looking strong.  photo by Lisa Thomas

About 10 miles later, around the 90-mile mark, I somehow passed him and for the first time was able to stay in front.  I gained a couple boardlengths per mile for the next hour and slowly increased the distance between us.  I was completely weary by this time and looked back every once in awhile expecting him to be right there.  In the end I edged him out by a very slim margin and finished in 12 hours, 33 minutes averaging 7.57 mph.  We had a clean, honest race that wasn't determined until the very end and I'm still stoked that a 100 mile race was that close for that long.

I was seriously honored to race along Michael.  If we hadn't had this friendly rivalry on the river there's no way I would've finished in that time.  He pushed me to go faster and for that I'm grateful.  Big respect to an amazing paddler, competitor and athlete!  Nice race Michael!

Michael Melville & I at the finish

The Starboard K-15 is awesome..

coming into checkpoint 3.  photo by Lisa Thomas

The California 100 is the only paddle-sport ultrathon in the state and is produced by Rivers for Change, a not for profit organization founded in California in 2011 dedicated to engaging, collaborating & promoting conservation through Source to Sea adventures.  They did an incredible job on this event!  Check out their website and consider joining one of their events.