Hace mucho frio en Oregon!

Josh and I headed out this afternoon for a nice local paddle in the snow. It 's been pretty friggin cold out here and the mountain is finally getting the snow it needs! The rivers are still a tad low so with that and the finals I have this week, I am stayin' local. We opted for the standard Dillon through Lava. The flow was around 560 cfs so the drops had a lot of F.U. rocks to avoid. I guess on Josh's last run down, one of his buddies managed to put a huge hole in his boat! Not cool.

This was my second run in my Jefe Chico so it was nice to get more time to figure it out. I absolutely love it! It boofs like a champ, resurfaces quickly, and carries a tons of speed! prety different from the Huck but Im getting used to it.....ha ha yeah Im getting used to it :)

So...behold! The first shot I have of Lava 1...this section if ya cant remember is directly below Dillon Falls(Above) Lava 1- top part

(Above) me on the lower portion of Lava 1

(Above) me testing my new Jefe Chico on Dillon- she's fantabulous!

(Above: Running through Dill Hole)

(Above) josh boofing Dillon in HIS Jefe ha ha go Liquidlogic! :D

(Above) He is a happy camper fo sho

We took our time with taking pics and enjoying the weather. It was cold but the snow was awesome. My dog Pepper watched the car and when I got back, began to de-thaw my fingers...I am pogie-less now.... :(

yep, another fantastic day on the rio. Team Banana strikes again! mwhahahahha! Funny how we both have the same boat, same color :D

Till next time peoples!
-Christina

Brand Spankin New Jefe Chico!



First off, I want to say how impressed I am at the new Jefe Chico. The guys and gals at LL did an amazing job at creating a new seat, new adjustment system, and a new look for the company. Thumbs up to everyone! The first time I sat in the boat, was also the first time I thought I could take a boat out for a paddle WITHOUT any adjustments to the outfitting. I'm impressed!

My Jefe Chico just arrived at Aldercreek and I finally got to adjust the bulkhead which translated to....getting my arm stuck in the bulkhead. ha ha my mom walked in and decided it made a funny pic so here I am, arm stuck in the bulkhead and all. I DID get the larger plastic support installed and I'm adding more foam to what was included.....just in case of a serious impact. I'm crossing my fingers that I wont ever NEED it but I'd rather be safe than sorry.

Thanksgiving break is coming up soon so when my sister gets back home, we're stinkin we will road trip to Hood River for the weekend! :) Time to huck it!

Happy Paddling,
Christina

Coast Update:

Hey everyone! This was the forth weekend in a row that I have driven to the Florence jetty for some good surfin'. This weekend the swells were a bit bigger. The average height on Sunday was 13 feet...the average height on monday was.....17.5 feet!

Sunday:

We got to the coast around 1:30 pm and put on immediately. Our friends from Eugene were already on the water. Pepper sat in the car and watched all the wildlife- completely confused as to her lack of participation. This surf session was a bit of a work out...the rip tide was intense. If you weren't paddling, you were going to be sucked out to sea with the real big fishes eek! just to stay in the same spot was ridiculous. The sets were pretty inconsistent but wow, when you caught the right wave, it was all worth it :)


This time around, Josh didn't get hit in the side of the face by a mister Chris and I didn't get plastered on the barnacles, but we DID see a shark. Yeah...that was not so cool. It's like everyone gets paranoid and each riffle is then caused by a shark. ha ha my guess is that it was only an eight footer but that was PLENTY big for us. It made us all nervous but we just couldnt rationalize going in and giving up the good waves...they were too good!

We finally decided to get out of the water as the sun was going down and the sets were farther and farther apart. I was worried we wouldn't be able to get back in if the waves weren't coming close enough together. It took us about twenty minutes to get far enough inside the jetty to get out. Our buddies from Eugene took a few pics for us and headed back to Eugene...they didn't want to camp out when they only have a one hour drive back home. I on the other hand decided to car camp just up the road with Pepper dog and catch the surf early the next morning......atleast, that was my plan

Monday:

I got up around 7:30 and headed back to the jetty to find the waves rolling in at a pretty regular fifteen feet but the period between sets was about two to three minutes. In that time, the riptide would be pulling you a good distance out to sea. The wind was blowing about 30-35 mph and the rain was coming down hard. Decision- take a pass on the ocean surfing. I was super bummed because the waves were, can I say this any other way, PERFECT. Barreling and breaking far enough inside the jetty. I was too concerned about the strong riptide and there were only two of us...bad set up.

I turned z car around and headed back to Eugene to visit with my sis and some friends. Todd made some fantabulous coffee for the road and then I split for home- the rain was coming down hard and there was a storm warning for the Santiam Pass...time to go!

This weekend I'm crossing my fingers for some kick ass creeking and the chance to take my brand spankin new Jefe Chico on its maiden voyage! WOO HOO! Keep on smilin' peoples!

-Christina



Paddler: Christina Russell

Biffs, Barnacles, and Ben&Jerry's...

Date: November 8,2007

For the past two weekends, I've been drivin' over to the jetty in Florence, Oregon for some ocean surfing. With little rain in the forcast, the ocean has looked mighty fine.

Saturday:

I convinced a few buddies of mine to come over with me. Two of which were planning to kitesurf....it's very different from the standard kite boarding. The winds weren't blowing too hard on Saturday until the evening when it picked up to about 20 knots. Chris Gabrielle drove down from Corvallis to meet us on the coast. He had never been ocean surfing before but he sure picked it up fast.


When you arrive at the jetty, I recommend that you drive out toward the point...ONLY if you have the right tires. (There are some nasty sharp rocks out there). When we arrived on saturday, the swells were already rolling in. There were plenty of seals and yes...the salmon were running. Not exactly what makes ya feel comfortable about ocean surfing right?

(Above) Again, duct tape can fix anything!

Before I geared up, I decided to take my dog Pepper on a mini walk....this really consisted of letting her yank out my shoulder, chase the seagulls, freak out when she got splashed by a wave, decide that was alright and chase more birds, see a seal...try and get it ... confused, then sprint back to the car. She just turned lucky 13 and she was a happy happy dog.

Swells peaked around 2 pm and then gradually declined as the tide came back in. That seems to be the pattern in Florence. We all had great rides and a fair share of beatdowns...I'm pretty sure the guys up in the coast guard tower found us all entertaining. (There happens to be a CG base right at the entrance to the jetty) Chris figured out how to blunt and I learned how NOT to get out at the jetty. I was trying to ride a small wave up to the boulders where we get out. I timed it wrong and before I could throw the boat up on my shoulder it filled with water and decided to beat the crap out of me....barnacles suck is all I'm gonna say.

(Above) Chris Gabrielle dropping in

(Above) Christina using the ju ju

After about four hours of surfing, we unanimously decided to call it a day and head to the Firehouse Grill in downtown florence for their world famous garlic fries... when in florence, you CANT miss the place. Now when most of us hear garlic fries, we think "ah a little garlic seasoning on top" well, this place piles on the raw stuff and wow it has a kick to it!


Sunday:

Since we drove all the way over from Bend, there was no way we were going to just surf for one day. We returned to the jetty on Sunday for another sweet session....by the way, you can camp just down the road where they have freshwater showers...it's friggin awesome. oh ho I can't leave this part out....ok. On Sunday morning, Chris was trying to avoid a campsite fee so he was going to move his car out of his site....unfortunately for him, the park staff saw him pull out and before we knew it, there was a low speed chase going on as Chris tried to pull out onto the highway. Ha ha they pulled him over and slapped him with ...wait for it....wait for it....a $5 fine. yeah I know, all for $5. I'm pretty sure the park staff has been waiting all year to turn on their lights!

We got back to the jetty and were pleased to see that there were some good sets coming in already. It was still a wee bit early but we got out on the water.....

(Above) Party wave...that's three surfers and two kayakers....YEAH!

(Above) Christina blunting left

The ocean is always a great spot to work on tricks and of course, enjoy a nose full of seawater. :) Hopefully I will make it back there this weekend...if no creeks come up that is. Hope everyone is getting out on the water! Till next time....

-Christina