Sampson's Spot

6.24.07...Another Green Day

2007-07-19T18:03:00.000-06:00

An afternoon on the Green River, NC..........

click here to see Another Green Day

photo: Gabriel Latini
paddler: Keith Sprinkle

video: Bryan Owen
paddlers: Houston, Bartholic, Elliot, Issac, Gareth, Sprinkle, Pilson, Bednar, Latini, Owen

Astral Currently

2007-06-28T11:26:00.001-06:00

Howdy Sampsonspot fans. Its been a while since you got an update from your homeboy Sampson, but I assure you that he is up to his usual program of eating, being gaseous, and reporting on his friends' paddling exploits. Sampson's Southeastern Crew, aka Moustacheville, has been getting on the Rio Verde a good bit. In addition Sampson has joined forces with his boys at Astral Buoyancy to bring you a new web endeavor Astral Currently. Please check out this new online project and enjoy some of Sampson past videos, located on the sidebar to your right!

Salud,

Bryan

above: John Pilson finishes Frankenstein on the Rio Verde. photo BO 2007

Black Canyon Rangers Video

2006-11-05T19:46:00.000-07:00

So yesterday I finished up a video project that has been in the works for the last 2 years. You will find some liks at the end of this post that take you to the video called "Black Canyon Rangers." It has been split into 2 mpeg videos so it loads faster. If you want to read about some of my best memories from the Black Canyon check out the CKS Squad Blog.

Thanks to all the JR Rangers out there especially to Larsen, Milo, and Ben for showing me the way down!

Bryan Owen
Salida Ranger 420

click here to view the "Black Canyon Rangers" Part 1

click here to view the "Black Canyon Rangers" Part 2

CKS Launches New Website and Team blog

2006-10-23T16:07:00.000-06:00

Chris Menges runs Dragon's Back

Lime Creek, CO

Read more at the Colorado Kayak Chronicle

We've been busy out here in Colorado launching a new website at CKS and developing the Colorado Kayak Chronicle, a blog that will inform the paddling public on events in the CKS world. If you have a moment, check out this new blog at www.coloradokayak.blogspot.com

Also, I'm happy to announce a return to the Southeast for CKS Staff and Squad member Bryan Owen and his fearless hound Sampson in November. After 5 years of the wild west we are heading home to the dirty south. I'll throw up some Southeastern shots as soon as we hit the Green.

Thanks so much to CKS for being such a great place to work! Check out their new website at www.coloradokayak.com

On Setting Out

2006-10-10T09:59:00.000-06:00

On Setting Out

by Diane Smart

Time flows by slowly, quietly

We drift in the stream

surveying the shore,

content to pass,

but discontented still,

We change direction.

The current sweeps us away

From all we know

while we watch

those we leave behind

slip away

Their images grow dim.

Ahead the bright, churning water

Approaches, and fear

of what might happen

of what must happen

of what might not happen

As we are swept along.

The thrill of the ride comes

From knowing

there are no rapids

without rocks and

no ride worth taking

Without risks.

Sampson Goes to British Columbia (part 2) with Video

2006-09-18T17:30:00.000-06:00

So after having a good time creek boating near the Sea to Sky Highway, Sampson's crew headed to Horshoe Bay to hop on board the ferry to Langdale. From Langdale the crew had some beta to check out a little place called "Roberts Creek." Robert's Creek is not really a "creeking" destination but a hippie commune that started sometime during the Vietnam war era. We met up with a few locals and enjoyed an evening of camping, talking to bears, and hearing crazy stories of the Roberts Creekers.

The next day we packed up and drove an hour or so to the town of Egmont near the Skookumchuck Narrows.

The ferry is the only way to get to skook and costs about $100 canadian to get across (both ways).

BC sunsets are amazing, especially from the ferry ride.

Skookumchuck is probably the most predictable surf wave around as its actually a salt water inlet, so tidal flows determine the rapid's timeframe. As you know, tides are dependant on the moon and skook was running about 14-15 knots for our trip. Bryan liked to surf skook when he wasn't shooting video (see link below).

Germans like to use creek boats to surf at Skook. This guy really tore it up, no joke!

At skook you are likely to meet Mike Olson (Oly) and he likes to bring lots of boats to Skook. We saw him in a squirt boat, a session, and a Zodiac (motorized raft). Mike is an amazing guy and has a really cool family. He definately showed us a great time and helped us get some incredible footage from his boat. Thanks Mike!

Steven Olson is still in high school but rips like a Skook vet. He also enjoys creeking with his dad on the Little White Salmon.

Max Keller enjoys Skook when its big and fluffy. He also likes to avoid going on the "tour" which lies downstream. Here whirlpools develop that could swallow Sampson whole!

Meng was also killing it at Skook. He can surf for hours and still throw down. All 3 members of Sampson's crew (Max, Chris, and Bryan) were loving the Liquidlogic Vision 56!

Afterwards Capt. Mike Olson took us on a tour of the Skook zone. Sampson was loving his ride in the Zodiac! We set up camp, ate fresh fish and clams, then enjoyed the bioluminescent creatures of the Sechelt Inlet at night.

The next day we had a brief surf session then motored over the border back to the US. Mission Burn Sampson 420 was a sucess. On the way home we were jonesin' to boat so we hit the NF Payette again. It was a sick trip thanks to a great crew, and I can't wait to go back!

Bryan Owen

click here to view the Skook video

Chris Menges and the BURN MISSION

2006-09-17T09:19:00.000-06:00

Below you will find a link to some video of Callghan Creek, BC and Chris Menges paddling his new Pyranha Burn "Mission" kayak. It's a short video with 5 or so drops that shows some of the highlights from this sweet run:

click here to view the BURN video

Sampson Goes to British Columbia (Part 1)

2006-09-10T19:06:00.000-06:00

In August the rivers started to drop out in Colorado and Sampson's Crew was still looking to get some quality kayaking in before fall. The idea came up to check out British Columbia, known in the kayaking world for its' top notch creeking and big wave surfing at Skookumchuck.

We decided to do something different, something fun, and maybe a little risky....We named our little adventure "Mission-Burn Huck Ze Gnar Sampson 420 BC" (we wanted it to sound hard core). All we had to do was load up 1 Hound Dog (sampson) + 3 Kayakers (Bryan, Max, and Chris) + 6 Kayaks (2 each) + all our stuff... into a 2 seater truck and drive it to BC.

We borrowed a trailer from CKS and a license plate from our friend Nadia and set out with the "Learn to Kayak" trailer to BC on a 2 week trip.

On the way we (1) learned about wiring trailer lights (2) met a nice cop in Utah (3) went to the OR trade show for 2 hours and met the "Cat Crap Girls" (4) washed the smell of dead animal off Sampie at 3 am in Oregon (5) met a dude named "Scab"...

..AND ran Idaho's NF Payette River (lower 5 section)

The North Fork of the Payette is awesome and contains 15 miles of roadside class V big water pseudo-mank (reminiscent of Pine Creek Rapid for 15 miles). We all agreed that we could spend our whole trip here and work our way up to the upper 10 miles....but that wasn't the plan. We reluctantly said goodbye to the NF and headed to Squamish BC...

We would have some photos of this but unfortunately our NF camera couldn't swim :(

AW's NF Payette Info
http://www.americanwhitewater.org/content/River/detail/id/592/

We took the Sea to Sky Highway from Vancouver into the town of Squamish. The town's proximity to both epic mountains and coast make it one of the most naturally beautiful places I have ever visited. You will find many steep creeks intersecting the Sea to Sky as you make your way to Whistler.

We met some BC locals and paddled the Checkamus River...fun creeking with a big water feel and one HUGE hole! It was fun so we ran it 2x.

After checking out the town of Whistler BC we headed to Callaghan Creek with very little beta. We found the put-in and enjoyed the next few hours of exploring this Personal First Descent for ourselves...

The locals thought Callaghan might be too low, but they probably haven't been creeking in Colorado. Max Keller thought it was perfect (above).

The creek provided some clean and beautiful waterfalls. There was a clean 15 footer (pictured) and a really nice mandatory 25-footer (below). Callaghan also has some boulder gardens and slide rapids that boated really nice. Uncle Mengo demostrates the boof in a Pyranha Burn Mission kayak (above)

The water was a greyish-blue color and the rocks were what seemed to be a smooth basalt. This combination gave Callaghan a five star rating from Sampson's crew and we had 2 great runs down.

Bryan (above) really like this run because he got to jog 6k to run shuttle when we finished...a small price to pay for such a great run!

Meng was excited when he came to the lip of the big one...he even thought about running it drunk with 1 hand paddle but realized that he left his squirt boat at home...bummer :(

Bryan likes to use his "air time" to think about important issues like "I hope my dog isn't being eaten by a grizzly at the takeout"....

When we paddled up to the rig we found a happy Sampson ready to play a little frisbee. We tossed the disk and devised a gameplan for part 2 of our adventure...Skook!

More photos and VIDEO of Sampson's BC Adventure COMING SOON!

photos by Chris Menges, Max Keller, and Bryan Owen

SampsonVision: Episode 1...Escalante 05

2006-09-02T17:36:00.000-06:00

The First Video from Sampson's Crew is now online.

click here to view the ESCALANTE video

Pine Creek Boater X

2006-06-17T16:25:00.000-06:00

photo: Chris Menges

So above you will notice the fine picture of the Pine Creek Rapid during the boater X during Fibark 2006. This years race was a big sucess, showcasing lots of great paddlers going head-2-head in the biggest, rowdiest rapid on the Ark River. Sampson's crew took many a practice run to prepare for this race. Variable water levels during practice proved that:

1) You can "eat the meat" above 2000 cfs, busting through the center of the hole. this is called the bitc#slap...

2) If you surf the hole below 2000 cfs, and its easier to get out in a playboat.

3) "Throwing Down" is a proven method of escaping the hole (aka: Moonpie...because its sweet, white, and can make you puke)

It was amazing to see world class paddlers like Jason Beaks, Jon Myers, and Jules Campbell battling it out for first place in a head to head race (see photo). I had my first Pine Creek race this year...made it past the hole and got beat down when I lost my paddle at the takeout...and proceeded to swim about 1/2 mile of class IV (not recommended after Pine Creek Race.) .....

I'm going to paddle the topo-duo tomorrow on class II.....

via con rios,

Sampson

Black Canyon with the Liquidlogic Crew

2006-05-24T15:04:00.000-06:00

I had the chance to run the Black Canyon of the Gunnison River (personal trip # 12) with some of the great folks from Liquidlogic.

Shane did a great job of documenting the trip, so if you want to see some photos and video from the trip here's the link:

http://shanesliquidlogic.blogspot.com/2006/05/day-5-and-6-black-canyon.html

The Black is one of the most amazing places on the planet and as Shane put it "a must do."

Bryan

2006 Gunnison Freestyle Kayak Competition

2006-03-22T23:07:00.000-07:00

Colorado Adventure Sports Festival

June 24-25 2006.

In the 4th year of competition at the Gunnison Freestyle Kayak Comp you can expect to see pro, expert, and sport competition from some of Colorado's best kayak athletes...

Offering $5000 in cash and prizes...

While you're there check out: Captain Black's Challenge Boatercross, rock climbing, adventure racing, bike trials, big wheel races, kayak videos, and the NEW BELGIUM ROCKSTAR PARTY featuring Eddy Bacon and the Shagnastys.

This event promises to reach an new level of rowdiness in 06...see you there!

For 2006 event info go to www.whitewaterpark.org

2005 Gunnison Freestle action is presented on LVM #18 ""The Best One Yet".... www.lvmvideo.com

Daniel Delavergne

2006-03-09T19:47:00.000-07:00

Daniel on the Rio Blanco, Arg.

photo: Chris Larsen

Daniel was a big influence on many people including myself. I met him in college at Appalachian State in 1999. The word was that he had only been paddling a few years but had already become one of the best kayakers in the South and an ambitious videographer. I got to know Daniel better over the years from boating, events, and the kayak industry. He was one of the most talented people I have ever met. His hard work and personality helped to shape the kayaking world forever.

Thanks for your inspiration!

Bryan

The Black Canyon Project

2006-02-09T01:27:00.000-07:00

...another restless winter leaves Sampson's crew jonesin for some EPIC wilderness boating. The Black Canyon of the Gunnison is a beautiful canyon nestled outside of Colorado's whitewater capitol, Montrose. An ongoing project invloving Sampson's core team is in progress. Stay tuned for more beta on the BLACK CANYON PROJECT...

photo: Chris Larsen

Sampson's Offseason Photo Gallery cont'd...

2006-01-24T22:32:00.000-07:00

Brent Bradley, Rio Puesco (Tres Troncas Rapid)

River Crossing, Rio Trancura

Broken Boat, put-in Rio Fuy...Chile

Our Friend, Brent Bradley from Bellingham, WA

Tres Kayakistos, Rio Fuy

photos: Bryan Owen 2005

Sampson's Offseason Photo Gallery...

2006-01-24T12:20:00.000-07:00

M-Wave...this super fast and sometimes scary wave can be found in Colorado's Whitewater Capital, Montrose. This special place is home to all kinds of great (but sketchy) paddling. If you don't believe me ask Milo, he'll take you down the Chukar Narrows sometime.

photo: Chris Menges, paddler:Mark Olson, location:M-Wave

CKS Paddler Chris Menges throws a Bob Marley Blunt, M-Wave Colorado

photo: Marko

Bobcat in the Black (I said it was sketchy!). This is one of Sampson's Favorites.

photo: Chris Larsen, Black Canyon of the Gunnison River

Photographer Chris Larsen in Argentina...after a day on the Rio Blanco, Arg (best run in South America).

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!! sAmpSon
photo:Bryan Owen

The CKS Crew During the Holidays

2005-12-22T12:56:00.000-07:00

When you're the biggest kayak shop in the US, boat storage is important. Marko loads a kingpin into the truck. Next we take it to a high-tech secret boat storage facility located underneath Mt Princeton...

Menges tackles all the toughest customer service issues from the "think tank," basically this is where we slack off and pretend to work. You can see why CKS won "2005 Retailer of the Year."

When its sunny we put demo boats outside. The blind lady in town is always walking into our boats and then gets mad at us. We think her seeing eye dog is trying to kill her...

Bryan checks out BV real estate while carrying a body to the dumpster, disguised as a kayak. Sampson thinks he might worship the Devil :)

Merry Christmas from CKS!

Sampson interviews Mitch Bateman

2005-11-30T12:02:00.000-07:00

...after getting skunked on a Thanksgiving run on Lake Creek, Sampson and his crew headed over to Pine Creek Rapid. Here they met up with local hero, Mitch Bateman. Arguably, the most competitive kayaker in the west. Between runs Sampson was able to catch up with Mitch to see whats cookin for the upcoming 2006 season. Here's what he found out:
(photos by Bryan Owen and Adam Chase)

Sampson: Mitch, most of the kayaking community realizes how much of a bad ass you are. Please share some of your training secrets with us.

Mitch: Well Sampson, basically I'm always training. From the moment I wake up to the second I go to bed. I like to analyze every movement I make...just like in competition. I like to practice my helix in the shower and donkey flips in the backyard. I have also been training with "the Legend," he's the kung-fu master of rodeo kayaking in Salida and happens to live behind the liquor store down the road.

Sampson: I notice you hit boofs without taking strokes. What's up with this?

Mitch: Visualize...be the boof! You must practise young Sampie...

Sampson: Ok Mitch, So I hear you've been spending lots of time at Pine Creek in the last few months. Are you giving up on the rodeo scene or just mixing it up. Any plans to win the race next year?

Mitch: Hell Yeah! I'm sure you have all heard about Pine Creek rapid and the big nasty hole near the end. Well, welcome to my world! I've been training for the race all summer and fall and feel confident in a mass domination of FibArk this year. I play in this hole at high water for fun...

Sampson: Mitch, tell us a little about new projects that you've been working on.

Mitch: We'll I've been working on a new series of instructional videos. The first one is kinda specific. It's called "Playboating for Drunk Guys" its a comprehensive instructional video that teaches you some new moves. Its actually shown in double vision, so you need to shut 1 eye to see the screen.

Sampson: That sounds fascinating. Well, thanks for talking to me. I know I'm a dog, and talking dogs usually freak people out. How do you feel being interviewed by a talking dog?

Mitch: I thought it was all in my imagination, but I'm open minded.

Sampson: to see Mitch Bateman's LVM spotlight, click here: http://www.lvmvideo.com/cotw_archive/movies/lvm_cotw12.mov

Sampson gets shafted...

2005-11-25T14:03:00.000-07:00

Sampson's crew decided to head to Lake Creek for Thanksgiving. Fluctuating water levels (from 130-500 cfs) over the weekend, made the dream of running Lake Creek in late November seem like a reality...
On the drive to lake creek...we knew it would be cold, but didnt think we would have too much ice...
The Dam at Lake Creek. This is between Paralyzer and the Cauldron. It can be a very sticky hole with a little water...this was our first glimpse of the creek (notice icy conditions)...Sampson thinks Lake Creek is sketchy enough, even without ice.
Sampson frolics in the snow on the banks of Lake Creek on Thanksgiving....
Entrance to the Paralyzer, frozen...
The Brains...too much ice. Actually lands next to undercut ice sketch...
Adam chase contemplates running Lake Creek and decides its too icy. The crew then went to Pine Creek Rapid to paddle with local hero, Mitch Bateman (coming soon to Sampson's Spot)...

Sampson Builds a House

2005-11-19T14:21:00.000-07:00

A beautiful snowy morning in "How-weird" Colorado...

Adam (aka Maynard) our lead carpentar demonstrates the use of a circular saw....

Sampson has weird looking ears. He is the dog version of Samuel L Jackson and has a personalized wallet to prove it. He takes no sh@t from nobody...

House near Howard Creek. Standard stick framing with gable roof with 2nd story loft. Creek is left of embankment by tractor. Sampson likes to bark at stuff in the creek....

Adam (right) and Mark (left) take a break to discuss job site safety...

Sampson is having a great fall and is excited for winter. Stay tuned to Sampson's Spot for more adventures to come...

Crystal Gorge

2005-10-13T14:58:00.000-06:00

Sampson likes to reflect on good boating trips long after snow has fallen in Colorado. One of the most memorable trips of the year was the Crystal Gorge, although Sampson didn't go on the trip (due to the fact that 4 of us piled into a small pickup and the 80 pound hound, aka Ramone Escalate, would destroy us with his laziness and spread hix toxic gas in the vehicle)...we gave him a full trip report upon returning. Yes, even Sampson knows the river dosen't flow into the lake.

The Crystal River Gorge is a beautiful creek run outside Marble, Colorado. Its high alpine feel is reminiscent of the Crested Butte zone in May. The Crystal River Gorge runs late in the season and provides some great class V creekin. This year Sampson's crew, featuring many CKS kayakers and local heroes, enjoyed a beautiful late season afternoon in the gorge. Here's some photos of the first gorge on the Crystal....

Uncle Mengo boofs pine tree...
DK runs clean...
Dave in corkscrew
bryan boofin first drop...

about to get jerked between rock and tree...

After this the river goes into the inner gorge. It looked fascinating and burly. After a litttle scouting of this Gorge...and downstream, including the marginably concevably runnable "Miller's Falls," Sampsons crew headed to the takeout. Bryan was found downstream of the takeout by a group of locals. Having missed the takeout, swimming to avoid trespass, and bushwhacking he found his way back to the car and a cold PBR. When running the Crystal Gorge remember the river DOES NOT flow into lake (as stated in guidebook)

Even Sampson knows this!

photos courtesy of Chris Menges

sampson

2005-10-13T14:28:00.000-06:00

Surprise Valley CB

2005-09-22T21:04:00.000-06:00

Sampson and Bryan moved away from Crested Butte in spring 2005 after about 4 awesome years in the valley....

From "Bad Dog Alley" to the "lower loop" and "OBJ" Sampson and Bryan trod the mountains, streets, and creeks of CB...

We want to give a big woooohhhhooooo to all our crew out there in the valley!!!!! Thanks for living everyday to the fullest and looking out for good friends. Salud!

Steve Melenick hikes into Ruby Anthracite Creek, photo Chris Larsen

Sampson's dad

2005-05-16T14:48:00.000-06:00

winter 04/05 Chile and Argentina photos

2005-05-16T14:47:00.001-06:00

In the winter of 2005/2006 Sampson's friends Bryan and Matt went to Chile for a kayaking trip. Sampson was happy staying with Jen and Cleo in Denver as his boys traveled to the Southern Hemisphere. We traveled to Chile and met with friends from the US, South America, and Europe for some great rivers and great experiences!

Thanks to Matt, Jen, Mom, Dad, Larsen, Sampson, and many new friends for making this trip happen! During the winter months Sampson will showcase some of his crews best shots and stories from this trip as well as Colorado summer highlights...

The Black Canyon Project

2005-05-16T14:47:00.000-06:00

Milo in first drop of "double trouble"

Captain Black, early exploratory descent

Portaging or "river viewing" is one of the many benefits of running the Black Canyon...

The Black Canyon of the Gunnison contains many unrunnable waterfalls, cataracts, and sieves...

Bryan on the 18 footer, Black Canyon, circa 2001

The Walls of the Black are 2,000 feet high and 20 feet wide in the Narrows, this combined with a steep gradient make the canyon a remarkable and spiritual place to paddle....

Sampson's crew likes to spend the night on the river and one of their favorites is the Black Canyon of the Gunnison. Sampson's crew has been running it for years and have developed a devoted group of Jr. Black Rangers. Led by the fearless Captain Black, the JR Rangers continue to explore the inner canyon in their kayaks. Stay tuned for info on the Black Canyon Project, an educational video project about kayaking the Black Canyon of the Gunnison, in collaboration with Below Zero Digital.

photos: Chris Larsen and Bryan Owen

Escalante Canyon, Colorado

2005-05-16T14:46:00.000-06:00

escalante canyon

2005-05-16T14:14:00.000-06:00

sampson at escalante

Sampson Goes to Escalante

2005-05-13T11:54:00.000-06:00

Sampson (aka: Sampsonatrix, Ramone Escalante, Scampson) and his boys: Bryan, Meng, and Parker decided to take a weekend trip to the beautiful Escalante Canyon near Delta, CO in early May 2005. Escalante was medium-high and Sampson was a big fan of that. He likes the shit to be clean for his boys to run, and indeed it was. Sampson also likes hanging out in beautiful places and enjoys the abundance of small rodents and birds at Escalante. Sampson prefers Escalante due to the classic Colorado desert nature of the run as well as the high ammount of carcass there, in fact he was chewing on some animals vertebrae at the takeout. Stay tuned for photos and video from Sampson's Escalante trip...COMING SOON