Making Miles on the Lehigh
Here's a pic of me taken just below town of Jim Thorpe.
There is a long-standing debate over whether the Lehigh really has true Class III rapids or not. This is silly. The river certainly is not continuous Class III, but when you're in the middle of Bridal Veil, Pipeline, or Snaggletooth there is no question that these are Class III rapids, albeit short and well-defined. Sure, the Lower Yough and Tohickon are more difficult, but the Lehigh is harder than the Delaware and any number of the smaller Class II rivers in the region. Look up American Whitewater's description of the scale of difficulty and these rapids easily rate Class III or at least III-. Although none appear on AW's list of Benchmark Rapids I think it's mainly because rivers like the Yough are so much more widely known by all sorts of paddlers. None of the Lehigh rapids mentioned here is a straight shot down a wave train. All three require dodging significant boulders or ledges mid-rapid unless of course one has the balls (and skills) for going ballistic and launching off of them.
That said, I completed my sixth run in the Gorge this past weekend, four of them this season alone. It took the past two summers to build up to a comfort level on the Lehigh, but now this run has become a standard training ground. There is still plenty of challenge out there, some holes and ledges that I don't willingly approach, as well as some intimidating eddies I have yet to catch (when I finally have the guts to try to eddy behind Flipper Rock I will inform you right away).
With me this week were my wife Andrea, our good friend Cagno, the now-unleashed Mike Ein, and a new acquaintance of his known only as "the Boy". This guy was the most experienced paddler in the group and had pearls of wisdom to share - thanks - always good to hook up with new paddlers and learn from them. Actually, this is one of the greatest parts of whitewater kayaking: it is a group sport and we are all friends on the river. Paddlers will almost never miss an opportunity to help others on the river with tips, information, rescue, and recovery. It really is the epitome of "Do Unto Others . . ." because we have all been helped by other paddlers at some time, even if only for shuttles.
The part-time guiding continues, but there is little to report except for ushering tourists down the lower section and cleaning up the goons at the back of every group who just can't figure out how to steer. The mileage has been great for practice and conditioning though. I turned down an opportunity to guide in the Gorge two weekends ago, not feeling ready for the must-make moves and uneager to work twice as hard for the same compensation. I will be guiding the next four weekends consecutively and August will be the meat of the guiding season for me. I don't know about the rest of you, but come Labor Day I'm praying for rain.
Creeks on this fall's hit list: Muddy Creek, Nescopeck Creek, S. Branch Raritan, and the season finale, the Tohickon. See you there or, if you can't make it, I'll see you here.
Punching Waves Saturday 8/14 Courtesy of Francis E. Walters Dam on the Lehigh
