While our crew started out with Gareth, Ben, Adam and I, along with our Kiwi friend Rachel, by the time we finished the hike and made it to the put in, crowds of people were showing up behind us. Turned out we weren't the only ones excited about spending the Fourth of July weekend on Dinkey creek.
Getting ready to hike into Dinkey
Hiking down the granite to get to the goods
We quickly peeled out of the put in eddy and started our way downstream hoping to beat the crowds at least for a little while. After a few big slides to get warmed up, we quickly arrived at the infamous Willie Kern Slide, the biggest unportable rapid on the run. Starting off with a fifteen footer into a low angle slide, it finished off with a 40 foot high angle slide. Following this the river continues to drop off into a granite wonderland all the way to camp, including two 20 footers, a big portage and a number of other sweet drops.
Rachel Curtis hitting the entrance boof to the Willie Kern Slide
Adam Bixby about to fall off the lip of Willie Kerns
A new perspective on the Willie Kern rapid (Photo of me by Darin McQuoid)
Gareth stomping the sieved out twenty footer
The manky exit to the twenty footer
Jonas Grunewald dropping in on the granite planet
Me on the Good Morning slide, which was the Good Evening slide for us because we decided to run it on Day One and camp just below (Photo by Darin McQuoid)
After an awesome day of kayaking, we were all psyched to get to camp early and spend some time relaxing and fishing and just chilling out. Once dusk settled in and all of the groups had found a camp spot for the night, we did a total count of everyone on the river. There were 35 people paddling and camping in Dinkey on July 3rd this year. Among the five different groups, there were four different camp spots being used, all of which were in eyesight of each other. It was quite the fourth of July party, with fireworks and all!
Day Two we paddled with Darin and Jonas for most of the run and had a great time firing off the oh so many classic class five rapids Dinkey has to offer.
Jonas Grunewald running the pothole drop
Darin McQuoid boofing into beautiful Dinkey scenery
Adam and I cruising through a steep rapid (Photo by Darin McQuoid)
Ben Blake showing us how to boof
Darin and Macey tag teaming a twenty footer
Darin hitting the perfect line in the Nikki Kelly Slide
Gareth Tate entering one of the last big rapids of the run
This was my third trip into Dinkey Creek and it just gets better every time. For only having two mandatory portages and tons and tons of big clean beautiful rapids, I truly believe that Dinkey Creek is one of the best creeks in the world.
