Last weekend was the annual Northwest Creeking Competition put on by Next Adventure and Alder Creek kayak shops. The NWCC is held at the Sunset Falls Campground in Washington about an hour north of Portland. It consists of two races. Saturday kayakers race down the East Fork Lewis. The race starts with a short sprint to a 10 foot waterfall. After the initial drop there is a lot of calm water with class III rapids spread throughout. The section of river is really pretty and makes for a fun trip when you aren’t trying to see how fast you can get through it.
Dave Fusilli on the initial drop of the EFL in the Machno
Saturday Top Finishers
Men:
- Dane Jackson
- Brenden Wells
- Colin Hunt
- Dave Fusilli
- Kyle Anderson
Women:
- Nicole Mansfield
- Beth Morgan
- Tracy Tate
- Anna Wagner
- Jordan Slaughter
Demshitz lifestyle
Demshitz followed up their domination in the race by indisputably winning the party Saturday night. It might have been freezing cold and raining but that didn’t stop us from building a fire, turning up the music and raging into the night. It was a great time to catch up with some friends I haven’t seen in a while. There was a definite excitement in the air about the upcoming runoff both for Washington and California. The past few years have been less than ideal for both regions as far as snow pack is concerned, so we’re all super stoked for this year’s melt. A lot of plans were made for the upcoming Cali season over perhaps a few too many beers. Unfortunately I can’t really remember the details all that well the next day.
Sunday morning everyone is off to a slow start for the hangover race on Canyon Creek. This course is really fun and a bit more challenging than the EFL. I had only paddled this course twice prior to the race so I was pretty happy to only get lost once and take just one hole ride. Not conducive to going fast but fun none the less. The highlight of this race for me was landing a smooth line off the 20 foot waterfall in the middle of the race course. I’d like to learn the course better and be more competitive in the future but for now I’m stoked on the small victories and having a great time going fast against my friends.
Sunday’s top finishers:
Men:
- Isaac Levinson
- Rush Sturges
- Dane Jackson
- Greg Lee
- Sam Swanson
Women:
- Nicole Mansfield
- Anna Wagner
- Tracy Tate
- Beth Morgan
- Jordan Slaughter
The girls showing off all the bling they earned this weekend
What do you do when you have driven 12 hours to get there and the race is over and you’re in the Columbia River Gorge? You go kayaking, of course. We’ve had some time to hang out and enjoy the goods of the area post race. We’ve gotten Farmlands, Upper Wind, Middle White Salmon, Ohanapecosh, surf session on the Deschutes, and we have a couple more days to go.
Anna Wagner sending Lava Falls in her 9R
Beth Morgan in the Machno on the same
We’re off to have more fun. I hope to see yinz at the Kern River Fest next weekend. Cheers!