Celestial Falls

Height: 45-55 feet (depending on the flow)

Gauge: 235-260 cfs on February 1, 2009

By: Christina Russell

Last Sunday, Josh and I headed to Maupin, OR to huck Celestial Falls.  Neither of us had run it yet but we had seen PLENTY of photos.  It isn't called "Celebrity Falls" for nothin'!  We have both been actively planning lots of paddling trips this year and we thought Celestial would be a kick in the pants after a few heavy weeks of school.

We left early on Sunday morning and picked up Tyler Roemer who is a fantastic photographer.  Check out his work at http://www.tylerroemer.blogspot.com.  After we grabbed him, we headed about two hours North where all you can see is rolling hills and farmland.  We pulled over next to the trail down to the falls- it couldn't have been a stranger place to find a waterfall!  We were in the middle of no where with NO water anywhere and FLAT land.  The trail is about .25 miles down to the viewpoint where you can check out the upper falls (which land on rocks) and see the lower drop-celestial.  The put-in was a bit tricky as the bushes were completely covered in ice (9 degrees the previous night) but we lowered the boats and seal-launched in.    

Once you are in the pool above the drop, it's basically the point of no return.  I guess you could find some way to get out but it would be a real pain!  

Here's the footage of the day-Note- the height of the falls is mislabled...my bad! :(

check out photos from the day at: http://www.tylerroemer.blogspot.com

Anyways, Josh went first while Christie and I waited for the go-ahead from Heather down below.   

I went after josh and was very happy with my line....and Christie followed me. :) All in all the day went pretty well...

Thanks to Tyler Roemer who took photos!  We will post some of his work soon...

For more information on the drop check out http://www.oregonkayaking.net...AW is not correct on all the falls info.

Ice Ice Baby!

Honoring the local paddling, our friend Tyler Roemer came out to take photos of us at Dillon Falls.  He is a professional photographer from Bend, OR and really does great work.  Check out his site

 at http://tylerroemer.blogspot.com/.  

Anyways, we decided that we should have someone who really knows what they're doing come take photos as Josh and I are moving to Portland soon. I'm starting nursing school and neither of us know when we will be able to see these runs again.   So here is Dillon in all its over photographed beauty...enjoy! :)

Hooray for local paddling!  Check back soon for photos from out PNW huck sessions! :D

Happy Paddling,

Christina Russell

Hey everyone! The Kamchatka Project needs your help to get off the ground! Please check out the website for more information and enter the contest to win a pair of Rudy Project sunglasses! 

"The Kamchatka Peninsula in Eastern Siberia is one of the last truly wild places on Earth. It is a place wherebetween one sixth and one fourth of all salmon spawn, a place with some of the densest brown bear populations in the world, a place with no dams, no massive extractive resource operations, less than one person per square kilometer, and only one major highway on the 600-mile long peninsula. It is a place that is unexplored, a place that is worth saving and a place that needs attention now. "

"A team of expert expedition kayakers will attempt source to sea first descents of the lllmahaka and Kapaza Rivers in an effort to help further a salmon stronghold in Kamchatka. Exploring by kayak will lead the team directly to the salmon, conservation issues and the cultures of northern Siberia."

http://www.kamchatkaproject.org/

Check it out and spread the word!

-Christina Russell