Pictures and video from The Big Piney at low water.

[Phil W.]

http://www.flickr.com/photos/cosmicdude ... 281717194/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

http://youtu.be/pQ6MHseJT14" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Roger]

Good stuff especially the shots showing all the rocks with the eroision grooves. Where were you at?

[Phil W.]

I started at Long Pool and walked north or up creek, I got as far the the Mother Rapid.

[fryingsquirrel]

"And now I'm going to walk down and show you the rock known as 'The Mother' - ooh a fish"
/sorry. couldn't help myself. nice video, though.
Find any good yard sale items?
Jon Ellwood

[Phil W.]

I did look for "yard sale items" but didn't find any. I was surprised I didn't find a fishing pole, paddle or even a boat just layin around.

[fryingsquirrel]

I always consider it a blessing when I go out and there is very little litter on the streambed. Yard sale items or not, trash is one thing that really ticks me off. Good so see that the piney was pretty clean.
Jon Ellwood

[ARzach]

I always consider it a blessing when I go out and there is very little litter on the streambed. Yard sale items or not, trash is one thing that really ticks me off. Good so see that the piney was pretty clean.
Jon Ellwood

Yeah, that kind of surprises me.

Did you run into many creatures of the slithering variety?

--Z

[okieboater]

Back in the old school long kayak days (Response was a real popular kayak for attainment), a bunch of us used to paddle up to Surfing Rapid from Longpool just to surf. I did it a lot when I was there alone in week and could not hitch a ride to Heltons.

There were a couple spots where I would get out and with the shoulder hoopie strap wade past drops I could not paddle. If you picked your lines carefully it was not bad at all. All in all it was not a big deal.

Been a while for me to run the Piney and with short boats, the attainment moves might be a bit harder.

[Natural]

The mother doesn't look quite as scary dry. Just to let you know i have seen it both upright and upside down.

[Phil W.]

You know I was surprised that I didn't see any snakes on my adventure. Really the only things I saw were birds, butterfly's and fish. I saw plenty of deer and raccoon tracks. The butterfly's were the most amazing thing. As I walked along I would pass through like 15 to 20 butterfly's, it was neat. I plan on going back Saturday morning not for the grueling hike I took last week but this hike will be for photos and searching for a better trail to get up to the bluffs. If you like taking pictures there are many opportunities where I plan on going.

[Eric Esche]

I particularly enjoyed seeing the low water shots of the Big Piney even though I have yet to run any part of it. I will get there eventually and before I do, I will go back and study the low water shots again to appreciate better what I am seeing when it has water in it of any color or level.

With thousands of runs down the Chattooga, I never began to feel I really "knew" any rapid on it until I started "seeing it" at higher levels and remembering each rock and it's structure and placement in detail. Then intentionally running every thing on it backwards while playing became a study in itself and part of my "ownership". Such detailed knowledge gave one more freedom, but the Chattooga was still the Chattooga to keep you from getting too cocky. I have several hundred slides of the Chattooga (thanks to Robert and Tina Harrison of Whetstone Photgraphy) and once arranged them sequentially going down the river as you would in a trip, but as a composite of all the trips, showing each rapid as the river rose, so beginners could see how each rapid changed as the water rose. It was a tad disconcerting as you flickered through all the cloud, weather, and seasonal conditions affecting the lighting and the color changes in the water going from green to muddy brown at high water, but I was often asked when presenting the slide show to slow down and then back up to the low water shots so folks could see those underlying rock structures and study them closer.

Again - thanks for hiking in to get those important low water shots.

Eric Esche