Made a last minute decision to get a final hooraah on some Western waters the past few days…
My little brother and I paddled Gore Canyon last November for the first time with lower flows ( 850ish), so we were stoked to catch this run with optimal levels…
Went out there with the intention on bagging Gore Rapid and Tunnel, but after some ‘back and forth’, opted not to run the meat line of Gore, as the sneak line was plenty for me!
When we arrived at tunnel, I wasn’t feeling it in the slightest. It consists of a relatively small ( 8 – 10) ft sloping drop, into an absolute mess of a ledge hole.
We walked it on day one, but bucked up and bought into the “Paddle and Pray’ philosophy on day two.
After Terry fired up Tunnel, he then went for the mega-boof over the nastiest hydaulic on the river; The infamous Toilet Bowl. Prior to this point, I had only heard stories of this river wide ledge hole. Innocuous but nasty! I followed a few feet behind only to watch his boat get stern squirted back into the meat. As colorado legend has it, NoOoboOoDdDy surfin’ outta that hole. Terry fought it for as long as he could, failing to get to a sidesurf. Upon ejecting, he balled up, but hoovered at the surface. After going deep once and resurficing, he went through one more body circ’ before balling up and shooting deep.
As always, a humble reminder of the power of symmetrical pour-overs; Keep those ropes ready, and know which bank will provide when shit hits the fan and immediate action is needed.
If the canyon itself isn’t worth the drive, the new addition to the take out sure is! Just recently, they completed a manmade play wave at the Pumphouse take out. It is saaaweeeet.