2013 was a big year, despite its humble (and hungover) beginnings on the Middle White.

After a few warm up laps on the class II-IV rivers in the Portland area, I quickly set out to help my friends get stout. Gus Kilgore, Kyle Gnarsper, and Harrison Rea found ourselves involved in a surprising rescue at the lip of 45 foot Celestial Falls. Swimmers will remain anonymous, but needless to say, we were all fired up at the end of the day. Harrison made 2 laps, allowing me to get some stellar photos, one of which was featured in the Stephen Forster Flipbook from Bombflow.

About 2 weeks after our adventure at Celestial, I skipped out of work to join Harrison for a sunset Eagle Creek mission. Harrison probed Punchbowl, taking a big hit to the nose, and I followed with a line that I would later regret. We were both in some pain in the pool below, but because the level was so good, I had to continue downstream to run Metlako. Harrison graciously took photos, while Dan Phillips headed further downstream to maybe catch a shot or two and more importantly get a visual of me in the pool below.

My poor line on Punchbowl left me with a torn Labrum, no kayaking for nearly a month. It felt like forever, but forced me to actually earn some money, which I promptly blew on paddling trips when my shoulder was feeling better.

I tentatively paddled at the Creeking Comp held anually at the East fork of the Lewis and Canyon creek in Washington and made a bunch of new friends from Whitman College. Little did I know, these friendships would be my key to a whole slew of kayaking adventures I never would have expected. I also made it onto the C&K blog along with Adam Elliot for our coverage of the event.

After warming up, I felt surprisingly good. I caught Canyon for another low lap with great friends (and the generously lent DSLR from Chris Rourke), and then was somehow convinced to make my way down the Little White again.

The Little White, which I had held synonymous with "Terrorfest" from my previous speedy laps at med-high flows, was actually pretty fun with Johnny Ott and John edwards leading the way. We took plenty of breaks, and the flow of 3.2 was actually rather perfect. I would go on to make one more lap before other, bigger trips took priority.

The 3rd annual Sandy River Showdown hosted by eNRG Kayaking allowed me to create more work with C&K, all the while being reminded about my cracked boat by Mike Braun.

My budding friendship with the Whitman College crowd would be solidified in early May with a trip to the Lochsa. Within hours of arriving at camp, it became clear to me that a certain Tom Whipple would be a friend and paddling partner of great promise (and incessant self expression, in an endearing way, of course). High water lead to multiple laps of Fish Creek, the spectacular Lochsa, and one nonstop blitz down Boulder Creek.

Needless to say, I was hooked on Idaho, and weasled my way onto a Middle fork trip within the week.

Michael Jorgenson, Katie Chapman, Devin Kuh, and Adam Michel would all be making their first trip down, and it was only during the long drive to the put in that I discovered we'd also be paddling the Main Salmon- upping our trips mileage to the low 200 mile range. In 4 days. Not bad for my second ever multiday. 

Remarkably, we managed to find a pit toilet every day on the water... no Groover for me.

As we slowly returned to the daily grind, I had the fortune to show Adam and Tom down a near flooded Canyon Creek. They performed well, especially considering they had anticipated the usual intro to class IV+ creek and were met by a pushy class V river.

After an aborted mission to Upper Lewis Falls inspired by Harrison, we concocted a 36 hour blitz to the Skykomish drainage, inviting Mr. Whipple at the last moment, ensuring a true adventure. Faced with a raging Top Tye, we opted for the (still) wood-choked Lower tye, followed by an exciting Foss lap. Poor Tom biked our shuttle... in the wrong direction in the fading light. An easy Skykomish lap provided a good warm down the following day, and we battled traffic to Portland.

I somehow found myself joining Jarred Jackman and Nate Merrill on their first Salmon River Canyon trip. We were fortunate enough to have first descent mastermind Jacob Cruser along to offer beta. Half canyoneering adventure, half kayaking trip,  Salmon River Canyon is not to be missed. Anotyher C&K writeup found here.

The next day, I hopped aboard a plane and entered the wettest June my hometown has seen in recorded history. Great friends highlighted the high water, best described via photos.

Tom Whipple would again inspire a long string of far fetched boating dreams come true...

A successful Upper Upper Cispus and nearly portageless Truss to Columbia run on the White Salmon capped off the summer season in the PNW.

Tom and Connor Dixon at the Cispus

Stuart having fun on the Middle White.

I hopped aboard a plane to revisit the ultra classic Beaver River Festival near my hometown in NY. There, I was joined with tons of friends and family. With nothing left to prove to myself, this year's beaverfest was the most relaxed I've ever had. It was great too, since I got to show Scott Martin around for his first time.

Scott follows Dustin down one of the best rapids in NY, Moshier Falls.

Danny Siger skies the boof on one of many laps.

Less than a week after my return to the northwest, I rallied north to BC with Harrison Rea, Niko Peha, and Ben Ghertner. We joined Matt Taylor and Sam Swanson on an ominously high Clendinning River, which resulted in an epic portagefest, and some seriously stout whitewater run blind in loaded boats.

Stoked on our shuttle

Unwilling to let the dream end, I joined a big crew from Portland for their first time down the Ashlu Box.

Shortly afterwards, the Whitman connection grew yet again, with an invitation to Hells Canyon on the Snake. New friends Kira McGuisssomethingorother and Thomas Moo-My would also be joining.

Thomas took the hero line.

For my 22nd birthday, I somehow convinced Harrison Rea to run Metlako for his first time, and my third time. He ended up styling it. I did not.

Harrison in a classic place

This is what happens when you boof an 80 footer. somehow I didn't break my back, and I'm still grateful for that.

After my near miss at Metlako, I no longer had a boat, and I was honestly a little scared of running anything too stout. For some reason, Upper Upper Cispus at a high flow didn't register to me as "stout" (more likely didn't register at all), so I joined Ryan Cole and Jah Bradley for their first ever laps down the classic. We decided the water was a bit high at Island, and discovered a relatively easy hike out there.

Ryan boofs, while I realize the river is definitely rather high.

Myself on Big Bro Gus Kilgore Photo

A surprisingly warm november day on the Truss with Jarred Jackman

I've been shooting Big Brother a lot, but it's hard to find a unique angle. Some brainstorming and Harrison's background in slacklining provided the perfect opportunity to do something a bit out of the ordinary.

Alex Loren on the line, Harrison Rea on another kind of line.

2013 was a huge year for me, made possible (and even better) by great friends. My new year will start equally blessed by these people in the Grand Canyon. I'm especially excited by the support from eNRG Kayaking and Clif Bar for the extra snacks, Pyranha Kayaks for designing the bad ass Shiva I'll be taking down the river, Goog's Oceanside Pizza for the longest pizza delivery in the history of the world, and of course my family, who have been so incredibly supportive of my ridiculous habits.

Thanks for reading, and for more photos from 2013 and beyond, take a look at the Photo Annual of The Dirtbag's Guide to Whitewater, due out New Years Eve!

Yesterday was the last day of finals for a lot of my friends. Not just for the year, but for their entire undergrad career. It was potentially the last "Final Exam" many of them will ever have to take.

Congratulations to all of you!

Recognizing this got me thinking about where I am in life versus where I would be if I were with them right now. Having a minimum of a year and a half left of school while my friends are moving on to careers and the questions that come after graduating is daunting and a little discouraging, but looking back I don't see any room for regret. I may have stopped going to school (temporarily), but that doesn't mean I stopped learning.

While most of my exploits since I left the traditional undergraduate pursuit behind can be found in the archives of this blog, this post serves as a photodump/chronicle of just some of the highlights.

Dec. 31, 2011: Inspired by Scott Martin and with the help of several other talented paddlers/photographers/designers I released Issue 1 of The Dirtbag's Guide to Whitewater

May 18, 2012: After returning to the PNW to set eNRG Kayaking up for a successful summer season, I took my first lap down the Little White Salmon River. The level was 3.7 feet. I was more gripped than I had ever been on a river and ended the day with a skirt implosion and far more flips than I felt comfortable with.

Days later I spent an extended weekend in beautiful British Columbia with Kate Daniel. The highlight of which was easily Captain Holiday's incredible hospitality.

May 28, 2012: A return to the Little White Salmon where I snapped a paddle, followed by a scout of Metlako with Steve Fisher and crew for the now infamous Contour duo drop. 2 days later, I paddled over the lip, tucked up tight, and fell 80-something feet.

June 14, 2012: I returned home and embarked on my first source to sea kayaking expedition. It would also be my first overnight self-support kayak trip. I had far more food than I needed, and there was much less water in the river than we expected. Despite this (or perhaps because of it) the 2012 Source to Sea Expedition of the Cheticamp River in Nova Scotia is a mission I will never forget. Thanks to Ben Schott for the invite, Mike Mainer for joining us, and Catharine Hull for driving shuttle and convincing her mother we were worthy of sleeping in the gorgeous camp!

August 2, 2012: Amidst a low water summer filled with raft guiding at Whitewater Challengers Black River (A place I will always consider my second home) and Bottom Moose laps, I found my way to the  Ottawa River and learned that, given a big enough wave, even I can get some air.

Somewhere in the transition of late summer to early fall, I got my first laps on some long coveted ADK classics. Great Falls on the Black, Twin Falls of the Grass, the Raquette, and the Moshier Spillway.

September 19, 2012: Alan Panebaker drowned in a sieve on the Upper Pemi in NH. While this day will always be filled with a great sadness, it also will always remind me of the incredible and inspirational life Alan led. From the start, he was one of my favorite people to paddle with, and every time I reach a milestone in my life, I remember his advice to "remember the little people."

September 20, 2012: I packed my car and headed south, then further south, then even further south, and finally west and gradually north. To sum it up nicely: 3 days on the Upper Gauley, a week in the Nantahala Gorge, 1 lap on the Nantahala Cascades, a busted paddle, 1 lap on the Ocoee, first legal beer El Rancho in Durango, CO, sunset in Arches National Park, sunrise over the Bonneville Salt Flats, Sunset and rise over Crater Lake, a scout of Toketee Falls, and too many hours in the car.

Full report here.

Mid-October: Joined Steve Fisher for the PNW Congo Premiere Tour, rallying from a HIGH water trip down the Hood River to Boise, to Jackson, and back to Boise. Let's just say that Jackson was cool, but Boise knows how to party.

Thanksgiving 2012: An incredible feast with Kate Daniel and family. I really can't say enough good things about these folks.

December 21, 2012: My first run over Celestial Falls, followed shortly after by my second. It was at a great flow and Adam Elliot and John Edwards were probably the best people I could have done it with. Plus a sweet crew of photographers was on scene.

Christmas 2012: My first christmas away from home couldn't have felt more at home. Katie Rogers and family is another group of people that are truly indescribably kind and generous. Plus an East Fork of the Lewis paddle!!

New Years Day, 2013: Despite an extraordinary hangover, I joined John, Cat, and Mike for a celebration of the new year on a very snowy and cold Middle White Salmon.

March 27th, 2013: The sun popped out, and we all got bold. I joined forces with Harrison Rea to take Gus Kilgore and Kyle Gnarsper down Celestial Falls. Things didn't go as smoothly as we had hoped, but no one was injured. As far as I know, Gnarsper is the first to go for a half hail mary in a creek boat...

Easter 2013: Escaping from work early, I met Harrison Rea and Dan Phillips for Punchbowl Falls on Eagle Creek. Harrison 45ed and bloodied his nose, I got twisted midway down and wrenched my shoulder pretty badly. Metlako looked too good to pass up though, so I headed down to the quiet pool above, this time alone.

April 13, 2013: The Dirtbag's Guide Issue 5 is released. It receives over 5,000 hits in under a week.

I was out of paddling commission for about 3 weeks waiting for my shoulder to heal, and decided to test it at the Northwest Creeking Competition. April 20th and 21st brought with them an incredible sense of relief as I got my shoulder back into the swing of things. Plus Canoe & Kayak published my coverage of the event!

By Canyon Creek the second day, I was feeling pretty good... Adam Elliot Photo

May 2, 2013: Return to the Little White Salmon. Despite significant apprehension, I ventured up to the Little White for the first time in almost a year. It was running about 3 feet. John Edwards, Johnny Ott, and Tony Skriv took their time showing me down, and I ended the day with 3 portages (two around wood, one at spirit) and no flips. It was an incredible day, and I view it as a breakthrough in my paddling ability. I've been back once since, and can't wait to get back again.

John and Johnny headed for the put in boof. Kim Becker Photo

May 4, 2013: With a shiny new (to me) DSLR in hand, I headed to the Sandy River Showdown to cover the event. Mountain biking, kayaking, beer, and an invitation to an awesome mission in California made for a great weekend.

These highlights say nothing of the great people I've met along the way, the satisfaction of overcoming the challenges of the "real world" college no longer shelters me from, and all the awesome things I don't have exact dates on. Thank you to everyone who has supported me, bought me beer, let me sleep on your couch/guest bed/floor, and listened to my ridiculous rants.

This view will never get old. Mt. Hood from WA.

Eli Nicholson surrounded by the kind of canyon the PNW is famous for.

Steve Fisher gets rowdy off the water as well as on.

An hour and a half from Portland, might as well be another planet. Mike Braun Photo

Here kitty-kitty

Kay, Megan, and Willa underneath North Silver Creek

Mike Braun going for the fun line at Alder Creek on the Sandy River

The sea is a good place to reflect

Adam Elliot perched above the East Fork of the Lewis, patiently awaiting the shot.

Raging Metlako

Follensby Pond, NY

A tough hike on its own, the loop to Kings and back up the Wilson River trail was the hardest hike I've ever done. Mike enjoying the pain train.

Sunrise on Saddle Mountain. Do it.

Stay tuned for a Lochsa trip report this time next week!