Weekend at the Tot

[Lapaddld]

I am sorry guys! I was unable to go to the river this weekend.
I unexpectedly caught the flu(ewwww) and have laryngitis and am unable to talk on the phone.




Diona

[Andy]

After a LOT of coaxing from friends I finally made my first trip to the Tot. What a beautiful and exciting river. Want to thank Cowper for showing me the lines even though I didn’t do a very good job at following his directions at times. Thanks to Liz, Heather and Lucas for a great day and to Dale for helping us out.

[RomanLA]

It wasn't the run I had hoped for, but I learned a few lessons that should serve me well in the future. Thanks for all of the encouragement.

Here's a link to my pics...
http://outdoors.webshots.com/album/570543110YbcjBg

[Ryan Viser]

Wasn't the run you'd hoped for?!?!

You mean you didn't like the Tot?? Or it didn't like you???

[RomanLA]

You mean you didn't like the Tot?? Or it didn't like you???

I think we'll work through our differences.

[Cowper]

Want to thank Cowper for showing me the lines even though I didn’t do a very good job at following his directions at times. Thanks to Liz, Heather and Lucas for a great day and to Dale for helping us out.

That was partly my fault. Usually someone has been coaching during the shuttle drive "don't follow Cowper", but this time it was a smaller group, so maybe nobody in your vehicle had emphasized that, so I should have said something myself. It can be confusing when I say, "do a-b-c", and then head off into the rapid and do something completely different myself.

Overall, I was really happy with how everyone in our group paddled - we had a great level, and everyone seemed to be on their game, with the vast majority of the flips ending with combat rolls.

It would have been nice to see the sun at least once on Sunday, but at least I guessed correctly and wore enough polypro to keep it a very comfortable day.

Also, for those who run below the Falls, the "LA Express" route has been reopened for business down at Devil's Hollow Falls. This is a rocky bypass chute on the far, far left that can be used as an alternative to portaging at levels of about 4.2 and up.

[Lupe]

Thanks again Cowper for doing the full run with me, Liz and Lucas (and Andy on Saturday). We know you sacrificed a lot of play time at the falls to do the distance with us, so we are VERY grateful that you agreed to help us down the full length. We learned a ton!

And, yes, Cowper's school of instruction: "do as I say, not necessarily as I do (or do as I do at your own risk!)."

Awesome weekend even if the sun never saw fit to grace us with its presence!

It was neat too just seeing so many paddlers from all over the area along the river (and at the White House for dinner! Mmmmm, PIE!). All in all, that was a spectacular Cossatot weekend!

[T Yamashita]

what time did you guys finally get off? Did you go all the way down to 278? Corey, Doug, and I took off after we saw luc swim at the machine and cowper heading back up for the upteenth time :roll: to run the falls. Sorry if you were looking for us. We were done by 4 or so.

ty

[smcurtis]

And, yes, Cowper's school of instruction: "do as I say, not necessarily as I do (or do as I do at your own risk!)."

This is especially true if you get enrolled in Cowper's Super High Intensity Training program.

[Lupe]

Ty - that's okay - we didn't expect you all to wait forever on us! I think we eventually got to 278 around 5 (or was it more like 5:30?) Hey, we were with Cowper and yet we didn't need to use a flashlight, so I think we have to still consider that an "early" take out time!

BTW - thanks for demonstrating for us why it can be hard to catch the upper right eddy at Whiplash!

Your second run was really stylin' though!

[Boofaholic]

Spanke,I went wed. to the tot. Stayed close to home and bagged a 1st D in central ARK. on thurs. thats 2-3x as long as norrell and a full step up (4ish!)at low to mod. levels.High it'll be BIG! :twisted: wish i had your # as I soloed that sh!t! (w/ 1 safety/camera man for support)! We stayed the rest of the weekend @ the tot. See ya next time.Pm me your # and jermdogs if you get the chance.Suckerbill I apologize in advance for not hollerin on thurs, but I didnt figure you would be down for gettin south on a weekday.See ya soon!

[Lucas]

Great first trip to the Tot. It definitely lived up to expectations.

Many thanks to Cowper for showing us down the river and all the help along the way...was honored to receive the Super High Intensity Training. Best way to learn!

Great to paddle with Heather, Liz, and Andy as well. Looking forward to the next trip.