Monday, August 18, 2008

Hangin' in the Hood

(Just a cool photo)

After OR I spent some time hanging with my friends at H2O paddles before they flew back to Canada.  I also got a chance to see The Dark Knight in an IMAX theater in SLC before I left.  Definitely worth checking out on the BIG screen.  I then drove up to Hood River, OR to hang out with my friends from Baltimore, Joe and Rachel.  They have been great hosts and I've been crashing in their spare bedroom.  The week has been full of paddling, eating out, and watching the Olympics.  I paddled the Truss with Joe on Thursday, and then again on Friday with Andy Maser, another Baltimore paddling friend.  On Saturday a crew of 8 of us drove up to the Cispus River in Washington.  It was a really fun creek, but the water was a bit low and there where lots of trees in the River.  I walked the big rapid on the run, but will fire it up next time for sure.  My paddling skills are all there, but they aren't coming second nature like they should to run the really big and hazardous rapids.  On Sunday I did a whole lot of nothing as the stress, allergies, and everything else finally caught up with me and I got a bad cold.  Today I'm working hard on job applications and followups, as I do everyday, and trying to get rid of this cold.  I should have an interview in Portland this afternoon and another again tomorrow afternoon.  We'll see what my over 14 applications for various positions make happen.
(Joe running Big Brother on the Green Truss section of the White Salmon river in WA.)
(Me having a solid line on Big Brother and being the only one of 6 on this day not to go into the cave on river right.)
(Me at the put-in for the class V Upper Upper Cispus River in WA.)
(Joe's fully loaded rig on the way back from the Cispus with Mt. Adams in the background.)
(Sunday saw the return of the wind to the gorge and everyone was out enjoying it in Hood River.  This shot is from the windsurf launch and doesn't come close to showing the magnitude of this place and the wind junkies that are out enjoying it!)
(This guy was just going off doing huge moves all afternoon.)
(Some of the pros set up a video shoot with this guy on a ladder about 100 ft. away from the sand bar.  The ladder is probably only in about 2 ft. of water.)

(Photos of me taken by Joe Stumpfel)

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