So after an awesome Moosefest, the water just stayed up. The Oswegatchie kept rising, and I knew it was going to be awesome on Tuesday, so I sent out a call using a high-tech new device made to contact large groups of people all at once: The Facebook Status.

Invitation in place, I headed out to drive to school, but before I could fasten my seatbelt I got a text from Jim Dobbins asking if I wanted to paddle. Great minds think alike. When I got back, Dave G(n)ardner had also answered the call to stout, arguing "why not today?"

With plans in place, I went to bed dreaming of huge boofs, scary holes, and big drops.

I had only paddled the Os once before, in the spring with Scott Martin and Alan Panebaker. When we went, the gauge was reading crazy high, up at 2230 cfs, so we were a little nervous paddling into the unknown. Luckily, we had the perfect flows, and I couldn't imagine it being nearly as much fun with any less water. You can check out Scott's awesome writeup and photos here! He even got a shot of a scumbag like me in Banks Mag from the trip!

So when the guage read 1800 cfs the on the cold and dismal morning just two days after Moosefest, I was confident that I would be running almost everything. That's not to say that I was going to go in there guns ablazing, but come on, how bad could it be?

Well, there are reasons Jim likes to call it the Out-To-Get-Me. I think the river was doing it's best to seduce me into a false sense of security this spring, because as soon as we got to the takeout I could tell it was high. I mumbled something about taking a look at the West Branch (renowned for it's flatwater), while Jim and Dave were already buckling the belts on their big boy pants. After changing, we rode up the bouncy, rocky, dirt road to the put in in Jim's subaru outback. I sat quietly in back, remembering with a faint sense of irony, that my Hyaundai Accent has significantly less ground clearance than most cars.

At the put in, we once again commented on how high the water was. Dave cheerily added that he had snacks. "Oh good," I thought, "at least I won't die on an empty stomach..."

Truth be told, I wasn't that scared. I new just about everything was pretty easy to walk, but I was definitely a little nervous. We had all done it before, but Uncle Jim was the group veteran, and he did an awesome job guiding us down. Without his verbal beta and quick 1 man scouts, the take-out would have been much darker when we got to it. Dave might have even had to go snuggle with the dog that kept barking at us for warmth, it wouldn't be the first time after all. But that's another story...

I ended up walking Nipple Twist Falls, while Dave and Jim both styled it.

 We all ran the entrance drop above Rainbow, but Jim and I managed to tweak our backs pretty good at the end of the slide. As soon as I saw Rainbow I got fired up to kayak such an incredible waterfall again. Still, it was big and intimidating, and I had no problem letting Dave probe. I even took video...

After a line like that, I couldn't not run it. I gave Dave and Jim the thumbs up and took a last look at the lead-in and got in my boat. I lined up using the same two curlers I did last time, and not surprisingly, had almost the same line I did last time. I end up getting a half boof off the flake on the right, so next time I think I'll follow Dave's line a little closer and look for a pot of gold at the base of the Rainbow.

As I rolled into the lip, I felt incredibly calm and ready. I felt like I was where I wanted to be, but at the last second I started getting pulled over to the right side again and just nicked the flake on the right, twisting me sideways. I planted a big brace in there and worked it out, straightening out before impact and resurfacing slightly sideways. It's always a surprisingly soft hit, and surprisingly smooth the whole way down for that matter. 

After re-grouping at the base, we cruised the fun gorge below and relaxed in the easier water on the way out to Bryants Bridge. From there starts section 4.

Both sections are roughly equal in length, but characteristically different. Section 3, in my opinion, involves more time spent wondering what's around the corner and navigating cool mini-gorges. Section 3 also has Rainbow Falls, which is a really fun and (seemingly) forgiving big drop.

Section 4 has less consistent whitewater, but more big rapids. There's a bit more flatwater on this stretch, but if you're ready to run the big ones, it packs them in nicely. Sluice Falls offers a great finale for those looking to lose some vertical with a little more challenge than on Rainbow.

I was really surprised with how much different this stretch became with higher water. The holes got significantly more powerful, and I ended up walking some of the drops that I thought were the most fun last time. Fortunately, the river isn't going anywhere.

Dave did a great job of showing the Toothferry who's boss, and we both took huge hits at the bottom of Panther Falls. Jim probably drank a glass of milk while he watched us, leaving us to damage our spines. While filming at Panther, Dave said I disappeared in the spray and the next time he saw me I was resurfacing 30 feet from the base.

Once again, Uncle Jim led the charge through the blind corners and boat scouted the stuff Dave and I were too scared to run blind. When we got to Sluice, I needed about 30 seconds to decide that there was too much water for me to feel comfortable nailing my line. Jim started the portage, and Dave fought the good fight: Seeing the line, but just not being sure enough, and finally decided to take the sneak (portage).

We ran the final rapids and settled into an easy cadence of paddling and talking for the next 20-30 minutes to the takeout. 

Quote of the day: "I was supposed to do basework today, but I looked at Tom and I said 'No, Tom, I'm not doing basework today. I'm going stouting.' And I packed my stuff, and now we're going stouting!"

And of course, the obligatory video-edit!

Self proclaimed line  of the day: