The format for the rodeo was two 45-second rides. The scoring was to be done on the best two tricks. Evan’s first ride included some cartwheels and split wheels. On his second ride he nailed a loop. Evan took home the bronze!
Glenn headed down Chili Bar with another paddler. Evan, Gary and I headed down to the Gorge after the rodeo. We decided to start from camp Lotus and play at barking dog. There were only 13 people sitting in the eddy. We got in a couple of rides and then headed down stream. We had forgotten how much flat water there was from there down to the Gorge. There were also hundreds of rafts on the river. It was crazy!
Once in the Gorge we all had a great time and enjoyed some nice rapids. This was my third time in the Gorge and I decided to hit Satan’s Cesspool for the first time. I caught the seam down the middle...no problems.
Saturday night we headed to the awards ceremony. Evan was awarded the bronze medal and $150 cash. In support of the American River Conservancy we also participated in a raffle. I won a kayak coffee table book, semi-dry top and a used Dagger Kayak.
Sunday morning we headed up to Chili Bar. Glenn volunteered that morning at the slalom race while Evan, Gary and I headed down river. We got to the put-in early and beat most of the rafts out onto the river. We stopped to play at Maya and First Threat. At First Threat there were only 11 people in the eddy waiting to surf. Those waiting included river boarders. We made several rides, with Evan nailing a couple of spins.
I had only run Trouble Maker once before and half of it was swimming alongside my boat. This time I caught the eddy with Evan and paddled over Goal Post. No problems! Gary ran it flawlessly too.
Good times at the American River Festival!
Larry
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