M.I.A.: Fish, Ryan, Eric, Zack

[Ryan Viser]

Dang dude, those are crazy! All these are from Beech Creek??

[Ryan Center]

No, Boss Hollow

[Fish]

who got to spoon with Ryan?

All I know is Ryan claims to have gotten to third base with Chitty by the end of the night I will say this, if you are ever cold in the middle of the woods, lying in a mud-puddle with poison ivy to serve as a pillow, and need the equivalent of a wood-stove....Mr. Ryan Center is as good as it gets. I just felt bad for Fish having to sit the night out on the total opposite side of the creek with no light etc.....

Hmmm... I'm pretty glad I was on the other side of the creek. I love you guys, but not that way.

- Fish

[Fish]

That waterfall photo is of a 15 footer (Eric's standing beside it in the last photo). That's a *tributary* to Boss Hollow, not the main creek. High water to say the least. And it got even higher before we got to the end. Should have waited for the water to drop, even though it meant spending the night in the gorge. We didn't, the creek put a major hurt on us, and we ended up in the Cliffside Poison Ivy hotel for the night anyway. I haven't had too many trips I'd be happy to hit the rewind button on and do it over differently, but this is one for sure. Not a good sign when Ryan Center is the sane voice of reason. I have two primary rules of boating now: don't boat it if Lance won't boat it and if Ryan want's to quit, quit.

I'm resting up and thinking still. I'll post a report sometime in the next few days. Should be educational.

- Fish

[T Yamashita]

Great to know all ended well. I bet Hurricane was pumping downstream!!!
Thanks for the photos! ty

[Monsoon]

Holy cow guys. Sound like a "fun" trip. I wish I were that brave. Glad all you guys made it out ok.

[paddledog]

I bet Hurricane was pumping downstream!!!

Yes, yes it was.............

For reasons that will become apparent when the trip report is aired,
Tom Burroughs and myself put in on the tail of Boss hollow at noon-thirty of
the second day. We ran a bit of the Boss, all of Hurricane and a mile
or so of the Piney. Loaded down with lots of food, water, pinkits and extra clothing,
we made almost fourteen miles in under three hours.
I would rate the run at a solid class IV. I want to go back and do it again when
we can do it for fun. Sorry, due to reasons for the trip, no video or pics......

[Don Harwood]

Not a good sign when Ryan Center is the sane voice of reason. I have two primary rules of boating now: don't boat it if Lance won't boat it and if Ryan want's to quit, quit.

Words of wisdom!
Glad you guys are alright!
Nice shots Ryan! You did manage to get a few rather gross ones though!
I figure there were a few lessons learned from this!

[sugarmtngal]

Ryan, I enjoyed the photo and caption: "Oh crap more water"! Wow you guys are unbelievable and I still can't believe Fish went paddling after hurting himself on the raft on the Ocoee (must of healed up quick, 'good thing') Then again I'm still learning about the Arkansas Canoe Clubers and I'm sure glad to be a part of such an adventuresome group! Glad you are all safe. Look forward to the details of this epic adventure!

HEY TOM AND PADDLE DOG! Thanks for going out after our boys!

[Fish]

Hurricane was still pumped up big the next day. What's amazing is that there was so much water Wed evening, that Thurs morning Boss was still at an optimal level. Ryan's photos of the "Undercut" and the tree and boat are from the day after the flood! Wow...

- Fish

[panicman]

Ryan, Great pictures. One of your pictures tells us why you have poison ivey all over you. There is a nice 3 leaf plant next to your mellon as you snooze.

ALso, It has been long enough to lick your wounds now lets here the full story.

[Lazer]

I have two primary rules of boating now: don't boat it if Lance won't boat it and if Ryan want's to quit, quit.

I'm resting up and thinking still. I'll post a report sometime in the next few days. Should be educational.

- Fish

I last ran Boss Hollow during the 2004 Earth Day flood at a juicy level (and dropping), close the the level in the first photos. Previous runs were medium to low levels. All good to go, but the juicy level was a notch above (wood comes at you much faster).

We went in there during the Spring floods this year at a super juicy level (as big or bigger than Ryan's photos). Got to the end of the put-in slide and noticed wood in the first boulder garden (next to the tributary waterfall) and it started raining hard. We debated and reluctantly decided to hike back to UP the putin trucks vs getting into the meat of the run with rising flood water and unknown wood. This thread helps confirm we made the right decision.

Still was able to get a short run in later that day on a super juicy Sandy Springs Hollow but the late start required a hike UP the EFLB put-in vs a full run to Murray. Lots of hiking uphill that day!

I feel you on the poison ivy, I got a bad case of it in 2004 from walking through in the beds of young sprouts of those @#$^*%& plants!

Like I always say about Boss Hollow. You don't have to fear the Boss, but you must respect the Boss.

Some 2004 Boss footage HERE

[KAYAKN]

Havent seen that video before. Have you guys played it a Rendezvous Film Festival before? I would like to watch it again with a few of Walters Margarittas in me.

[davidbob]

... Should have waited for the water to drop, even though it meant spending the night in the gorge. We didn't, the creek put a major hurt on us, and we ended up in the Cliffside Poison Ivy hotel for the night anyway.

- Fish

You want hardship? I'll tell you about hardship. ARG spent 3 nights at the Carnifax Ferry Cabins a couple of miles from the Upper Gauley put-in, and there was NO WIRELESS INTERNET service to go with the king size beds, AC, hot tubs, and DISH TV, and I had to drive almost a mile every morning to buy a newspaper. Plus, Branson Boy had to share a bed with ... (I can't go on any more - just thinking about it gives me PTSD).

Seriously, we heard this story all the way over in W.V. - glad to hear you guys are okay and that you can inject a little humor into the retelling.

[Ryan Center]

Alright, everyone is wanting a trip report and since the Fish hasn't bit I will try to tell my side of the story. I will apologize now for it won't be as good as the way he could tell it.

We head for Beech for that is what I'm wanting to hit really bad. When we arrive it looks to be lower than what we want and not for sure if there is more water at the put in. We decide to go and check Smith CR and it was running pretty good. The only draw back was the gate was locked going down the hill and we didn't feel like hiking the two miles or so in and out. We decide to go for Boss Hollow.

We arrive at Boss and we drive across the small trib and the water is at the bottom of the doors in our trucks. We drive over to look at the creek and Fish says "it looks low but runnable". I vote to go and run Richland, for I didn't want a bony run. I let the rest of the group decide and since Fish was the only one to run this creek once at a low level, they wanted to run something they had never ran before. The first vote that I lost that day.

We get to the put in at about 3:00 or so. Fish is giddy for he sees the water at the put in and says we are in for a good ride. My spirits are lifted cause sounds like there is no bony factor. We saddle up in our plastic horses and hold on for the ride. The rain starts again at a pretty steady rate and the creek is rising. For some reason I don't remember the first few rapids because of what was going to happen later down stream kinda blocked it all out.

After a must portage right off we are being very careful and scouting the crap out of this fun and intense raging creek. We get to Baby Boss and it is running pretty good. I'm the first up and down it's banks to scout the drop. The middle hole is pretty big and if it slows you down the bottom hole will get you is what I'm thinking. The middle of the middle hole is the only way I see to run it and I'm thinking I will be going so fast I will punch the middle hole and hope to have some speed through the bottom hole. As the rest of the group comes down I'm walking up to go run it.

With a rope set at the bottom I peal out and hold on. I'm running the line that I was wanting to run when all of a sudden going through the middle hole my paddle, boat, and me submerge under water. To my surprise I surface up right and almost got pulled back in. I ran this middle line because I was wanting to hit the bottom hole on the river right side of the hole. Well, I lost all my speed and was not going to make the right side. I had to paddle like hell and go through the middle. "Wow", I thought, the hole at the bottom was the one I was worried about and the middle one was the one I should have been thinking more about. I look at my compadres and after watching my run, they are thinking about walking it. They decide to clear a couple of limbs from the right bank so they can skirt the middle hole. After what feels like several minutes later here comes Fish. Man, he made that look easier than me. But the again, I didn't think of moving quit a few limbs out of the way. Then several more minutes went by and here comes Eric. He styles it as well. Finally, Zach comes barreling down the rapid and gets turn sideways just in front of the last hole. As you can tell in the video he gets stuck. It looks like he comes out as I'm turning the camera off, but he gets sucked back into the hole.

Eric misses his hand on the first throw, and I'm now trowing for him with his rope he gave me. For now on I'm going to use my own rope, because when he handed it to me I thought it was ready for deployment. It was one of those bags that has two ends. I threw the rope and it went three feet and stopped. "Crap", I thought. Then Eric finally fishes him out and Zach is exhausted. Fish chases after his boat and soon later comes up and says "good news is the boat is pinned on a rock, but the bad news is that it is in the middle of the creek". At this point it seemed that the water was stabilizing. We wade the creek on the left side where the water wasn't as strong using the wedge technique I have learned in a swift water rescue class. We retrieve the boat. We had burned about two hours from the time I first scouted Baby Boss and after the scouting above that it was about 6:00 or so. I couldn't figure out were all the time went to.

The water seems to start surging again and Zach is contemplating hiking out, but he doesn't. We are being very careful because Fish can't remember exactly were the Boss is. The creek is blind and the leaves aren't helping none. We can't see very many eddies down the rapids so we are getting out of our boats a lot to see what this creek is getting ready to throw at us. I come around a corner and hit a hole sideways and flip. Just before flipping I lose my right contact and on my right side I see a tree on the surface about 6 feet downstream. I didn't even hesitate and pulled my skirt. I pop up in a eddy and realize the piece of a tree wasn't that much of a risk factor. Oh well, better safe than sorry.

I was feeling great up to this point and was starting to get freaked out being half blind and my depth perception was way off. I usually carry spare contacts with me, but just put my last pair in the day before. At this point we are starting to realize we are probably a mile or a mile and a half in this gorge. And is not looking good for this is a 4 mile run. We are taking turns letting one guy get out and scout the blind corners so we can try to make better time. Fish comes back up and is pretty sure that the next drop is The Boss. We all want to look at it and size it up but realize we got to get out of here and don't have the time to safely scout, set safety, and contemplate running the rapid. Apparently we have to head up the mountain to get around this drop. As we are on the side of a bluff probably 150' or so parallel to the rapid we can't see nothing from all the vegetation. The suspense is driving Eric crazy and while we sit down in the thick poison ivy thicket to take a break, he hikes down to look at the rapid. We hear him holler some choice words and walks back up to us and says "it's one of the sickest drops he's ever seen, and has huge amounts of water flowing through it'. I'm thinking "sure am glad to be where we are at".

We now have to find a way back to the water. I then realize we probably have about 20 to 30 minutes of daylight left. I say to to group, "hey, we are not going to make it out of here and we need to either find a bluff shelter or shed the boats and try to hike out of here". Everyone didn't like my idea. We finally get back to the water and it is dark in the woods but can barley see in the stream bed. I'm being persistent that we don't need to get back on the water for at this point it was at it's largest state of the day. I put it to a vote and again I was out numbered 1 to 2 and a half. I didn't want to go but I also didn't want to stay there by myself. We decide to stay close to one another and not let anyone out of sight. Eric peels out first and around the corner, then right behind him was Zach, Fish and I. Just as soon as I went around the corner I could not see Zach and Eric which was very weird for I peeled out right behind them.

The water was moving so fast, that just a couple of seconds between take offs we were going down the fastest slide I have ever encountered and everyone was gone. My only thoughts were screw this, first chance I get to stop, I'm done. About that time I get turned backwards and go through a slot that I come to realize the next day I was probably a little lucky. Going through the slot backwards and with an angle I get pushed to the creek bed. I know something ain't right for my head should be above water sooner than it was. I had got "taco-ed" in the slot and was pinned the the bottom for a couple of seconds. When I surfaced luckily I was on a strong brace and was facing downstream. I immediately headed for a bolder on the left side of the creek and grabbed it with all my might.
Somehow Zach was able to hit an eddy just above where I was getting very intimate with a rock in some super squarely water. I was holding on this rock and I knew I couldn't hold on very long. The water was surging up and down. About this time I see Fish going down river and his boat was in front of him going super fast. I prayed that he would be alright.

The water surged down and I couldn't hold on to the rock anymore. The whole time I was screaming at Zach to come and help me. When I lost my grip he yelled at me to paddle backwards hard, and to my disbelief I made it. It was now dark. We grabbed everything that we had in our boats for the night (which wasn't much) and headed to hopefully find Fish and Eric alive. We walk down stream about 100 to 150 yards and I see a tree all the way across the creek. My heart dropped. For where we stopped was the only place to stop in that whole half mile of a slide. I then see the tip of Eric's boat poking out of the water on the other side of the creek trapped against the tree and it looks like I can see a body inside of it. This was the worst feeling I have ever had in my life. This one was worst than my Colorado trip, for it was someone else. Then my thoughts was I wondered if Fish was stuck in the same root ball that Eric was in. I about broke down when Zach said,"Ryan for all we know they could have made it. Lets head down stream and wish for the best". We walk about another 200 yards or so and I'm whistling to the top of my lungs. I finally here a shout over the raging waters and I think it's Fish. I'm then yelling over and over again, "have you seen Chitwood"? I can't here what he is saying. We walk up and I can't believe my eyes, it's Eric. He then Tells us that Fish is on the other side of the creek looking for us. He finally here's my whistle and comes upstream to us. We're yelling back and forth and I can't hear what he is saying, but he can hear me. We can't even see one another from being dark and thick vegetation. We finally get enough information across to sleep the night out and meet right here at daybreak. We try to find a place to sleep for the night and we hold up on a 45 degree slope on the side of the mountain. It's the best we can find for the only light we had was from my camera and it was minimal. We are all so glad that for the most part we are alright. We lay down and don't speak much for awhile for we are all in disbelief that things didn't go worst than they did. After about an hour we start to talk and realize how stupid we were and that we never wanted to top this epic trip.

We layed there all trying to go to sleep because we all knew that was going to be the only way to make this night go by fast. It was the longest night of my life. We did not speak much, for we didn't want to keep the person beside us awake. We all knew that sleep was our quickest way to morning.
After a couple of hours I couldn't take it anymore. I had to find a better spot. So we got up and search for a flatter place. We finally found a place that was big enough for the three of us and was soft from thick dead leaves and also the only place in the woods that was not any poison ivy. Eric was about to lay down when he realizes something is biting him. Then again. I turn my camera on and he has two yellow jackets on his leg. I then inspect the ground about the same time he gets bit for the third time only this time it was big red ants. The ground was covered in them and they were pissed that we had tried to squat on there home. So we leave quickly and go searching for another spot. We found an OK spot and layed down again in the poison ivy.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity we could see that it was going to be daylight soon. We all hope that Fish is OK. Luckily the water has dropped over night and we can at least barley walk across the creek. Fish walks over to us and we decide to go and retreive mine, Zach's, and Eric's boats. As we walk by Eric's boat we are glad to see that his boat was still there and couldn't believe that his paddle was floating up against the rock the tree was up against. We go on upstream to get our boats. I look at my boat and right then was when I realized what happened to me in the slot the night before. I have a huge dent in my stern and you can see where my boat creased at the cock pit. We get in and decide to boat down to just above the strainer, for there were eddies now that didn't exist the day before. By the time we get To Eric and Fish, they have the boat and I then realise just exactly how lucky Eric was to get out of his boat. The boat was destroyed. So we now have three paddles and two functional boats. I talked Eric into taking mine for he could barley walk because of his almost foot entrapment on his swim after his tree encounter. I voted that we all stay together and we slowly get out of this creek and go home. Fish didn't like this idea for he wanted Zach and Eric to get to a phone and call my wife for he thought that she would be freaking out. Democracy sucks, this was the third time I was out voted. When will they learn to listen to me?

They take off for the take out and Fish and I decide to walk beside the creek hoping to find his boat and paddle. We eventually find his boat and I give him my paddle. I walk the bank and he stays along side of me in his boat. We finally make it to the truck and there is no sign of Zach and Eric. We then realized they over shot the take out. We figured they would be here pretty quick because when they hit Hurricane Creek they will realise they went to far. We wait for about an hour and can't believe they are not where we are at. I find a local and go to his house to call my wife. I then find out that Tom and Steve are coming to find us. I told Sarah that everyone was OK, but we have temporarily lost Eric and Zach. I told her to call Tom and let him know that we were at Boss Hollow because they were heading to Beech. I didn't want to call off Tom and Steve cause I thought we could use them to find Eric and Zach.
It was sometime in the afternoon before they found there way back and after Tom and Steve paddled 13 miles or something searching for them.
When we all got back they were there waiting for us and life was good again.

Sorry to have bored you to death with this crappy trip report, but I was tired of everyone wanting to here the story and didn't really want to talk about it, for it was not one of my best moments. I again have learned a lot about decision making and hope not to get in this predicament again.