Here are some vids from rafting the Penobscot River in Maine last week. We did the full river last year at 2300cfs, but this trip was a double run through the Ripogenus gorge which is a 6mi(?) ClassV section which contains two V rapids; Exterminator and Cribworks, the latter being the most technical rapid run by commercial outfits in New England
There were nine of us in the boat, which usually holds eight. We had a lucky rafter rotate out of the "bitch" seat which was essentially ballast. They just got to hang on to the bow line for the ride.
First trip through the gorge we noticed the flow rate meter at the hydro station said it was running at 3150cfs! Thats a lot more water than we rode last year, so this was going to be much bigger.
Here is the first run through Exterminator
Im sitting on the side closest to the camera, second one back. The wall you see on the other side of the boat is the base of the 90 foot gorge wall which was only 3 feet from us. Pay attention to the dude sitting in the bitch seat, youll see more of him later
Next is the first run through Cribworks. We hit this perfectly and posed nice and pretty like for the camera going through Final Chute.
Last big rip on this section was Big A rapid, the A standing for some long indian name that I dont remember. Im sitting bitch on this section. The clip is real short.
At the bottom of Big A, the same section we just hit, is a good spot for surfing. You hit an eddy just below the final wave, turn around and paddle back up into the wave. It sucks you in, tosses you around, and sometimes dumps you over and/or out.
Second time through the gorge, the flow meter read 3200+ so the waves were BIGGER than before.
Exterminator again
Im in the same spot with my wife, Kim riding bitch this time
And finally was the biggest debacle of the day. Right before the Cribworks is an eddy where each raft stages before going through, one at a time. Down stream at the top of the rapid, our bus driver stood holding a paddle which gave us the go or stop command. We waited our turn and he gave us the GO. A second after, something must have happened and we got a STOP. Well rafts dont have real good brakes, so we had to plow into this small island and wait it out. After a few minutes of wrangling our boat out of the rocks, we were back on the way, but our line was all farked up. This is where the video cuts in
Heres the sequence of events, narrated by me
1) we come in too wide of that pour over
2) this caused us to hit "Pain in the Ass"
3) Johnburns goes for a swim (same dude that went out surfing)
4) to get him back in, we have to turn the raft below him so he doesnt get all mangled up
5) this caused us to T-Bone "Guardian" rock above "Final Chute" as Johnburns is hauled back into the boat.
6) momentum catapulted two people out of the raft, Lisa in the back and Jeff, the first bitch, out of the front. (Im sitting on top of the rock at this point)
7) Lisa worked her ass off to get back into the boat, rescued by the guide
8) Jeff had worse luck
As we freed ourselves from the rock and went around the backdoor, Im looking around for Jeff "where the fark did he go??!!" He got scooped out of the water further down by one of the other boats in our covoy.
Final tally from Jeff, only one loss shoe (you see it get flipped off as he tumbles over the "Boulder Pile") and a few scrapes
We were down three paddles and one shoe, but everyone was in one piece
All in all, everyone gave it
Two rivers down, one to go: Dead in May at 40*, Penob here, and Kennebec at 8000cfs in September
I :heart: rafting
All vids courtesy of Putfile
most are about 5-8mb. If you only watch one, do the second run through the Crib
There were nine of us in the boat, which usually holds eight. We had a lucky rafter rotate out of the "bitch" seat which was essentially ballast. They just got to hang on to the bow line for the ride.
First trip through the gorge we noticed the flow rate meter at the hydro station said it was running at 3150cfs! Thats a lot more water than we rode last year, so this was going to be much bigger.
Here is the first run through Exterminator
Im sitting on the side closest to the camera, second one back. The wall you see on the other side of the boat is the base of the 90 foot gorge wall which was only 3 feet from us. Pay attention to the dude sitting in the bitch seat, youll see more of him later
Next is the first run through Cribworks. We hit this perfectly and posed nice and pretty like for the camera going through Final Chute.
Last big rip on this section was Big A rapid, the A standing for some long indian name that I dont remember. Im sitting bitch on this section. The clip is real short.
At the bottom of Big A, the same section we just hit, is a good spot for surfing. You hit an eddy just below the final wave, turn around and paddle back up into the wave. It sucks you in, tosses you around, and sometimes dumps you over and/or out.
Second time through the gorge, the flow meter read 3200+ so the waves were BIGGER than before.
Exterminator again
Im in the same spot with my wife, Kim riding bitch this time
And finally was the biggest debacle of the day. Right before the Cribworks is an eddy where each raft stages before going through, one at a time. Down stream at the top of the rapid, our bus driver stood holding a paddle which gave us the go or stop command. We waited our turn and he gave us the GO. A second after, something must have happened and we got a STOP. Well rafts dont have real good brakes, so we had to plow into this small island and wait it out. After a few minutes of wrangling our boat out of the rocks, we were back on the way, but our line was all farked up. This is where the video cuts in
Heres the sequence of events, narrated by me
1) we come in too wide of that pour over
2) this caused us to hit "Pain in the Ass"
3) Johnburns goes for a swim (same dude that went out surfing)
4) to get him back in, we have to turn the raft below him so he doesnt get all mangled up
5) this caused us to T-Bone "Guardian" rock above "Final Chute" as Johnburns is hauled back into the boat.
6) momentum catapulted two people out of the raft, Lisa in the back and Jeff, the first bitch, out of the front. (Im sitting on top of the rock at this point)
7) Lisa worked her ass off to get back into the boat, rescued by the guide
8) Jeff had worse luck
As we freed ourselves from the rock and went around the backdoor, Im looking around for Jeff "where the fark did he go??!!" He got scooped out of the water further down by one of the other boats in our covoy.
Final tally from Jeff, only one loss shoe (you see it get flipped off as he tumbles over the "Boulder Pile") and a few scrapes
We were down three paddles and one shoe, but everyone was in one piece
All in all, everyone gave it
Two rivers down, one to go: Dead in May at 40*, Penob here, and Kennebec at 8000cfs in September
I :heart: rafting
All vids courtesy of Putfile
most are about 5-8mb. If you only watch one, do the second run through the Crib
