ON THE BRINK: Goshen Pass

For some reason, I had an itch to go check out Goshen Pass on the Maury last weekend. All friday night, I was waivering between hitting Wilson's with some friends or exploring the Pass for the first time. Finally, on saturday morning, I decided I was going to go to the Maury yet I didn't have anyone to go with me. I called Grant at 7:00 am and asked if he was up for it. He thought about it for a couple of minutes and, by 7:30 am, we were on the road heading north.

Eddy chat with John and Fred

Before we even got to the Maury, I had planned on parking at Laural Run Picnic Area and walking the shuttle. This would allow us to run the stretch with the Kitchen and all the way down to Corner Rapid if we were willing to walk back up. Fortune was in our favor......John & Fred, a couple of local kayakers, happened up and were kind enough to run a shuttle for us. We met up with them around Devil's Kitchen and stopped in the eddy below to chat for a while.

Dropping into the Kitchen

A Devil's Playground

After John and Fred headed on downriver, Grant and I decided to hike back up for another run down the Kitchen. It is most definetely one of the best rapids on the river with multiple lines, a ton of eddys, and some good playspots along the way.

Grant Shouldering the Astro

Dropping In....Again

Grant Staying Cool in the Kitchen

Kevin in the Heat

Eddy Hopping

Once we finished playing around at Devil's Kitchen, which included some nice rock splats by Grant, we continued downriver to the next big 'un....Corner Rapid. This was a pretty sweet rapid, with a standing wave at the top and a nice hole below. Next time, I want to try and catch a surf on these features. Along the way to the takeout, we had a hoot sliding along the wall and surfed a few of the smaller features before Indian Pool. I'm glad to know a new river and look forward to catching this run with a couple grand more CFS flowing through.