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Re: upper yough

Posted: Fri Oct 11, 2013 12:11 am
by Bruce Farrenkopf
I think Hat Clauer might have the record of most swims on the Upper Yough - something upwards of 14! I was in an eddy with Hat on the Tohickon and a boater charged into the eddy, looked at Hat and said "Hey, aren't you the guy who swam the entire Upper Yough? A bit of an exaggeration but Hat did have a good go at it. Can anybody verify Hat's performance that day?

Re: upper yough

Posted: Fri Oct 11, 2013 12:55 pm
by KNeal
PAC wrote:Swims also depend on level and line! :o
I'll add to what PAC said with, swims also depend on who you're following. Tom, you have a really good crew here at home who knows the river well, who has led several successful PFD's for first-time UY paddlers, and they know YOU. Any of them should help you down but it would be best if you could follow a fellow canoer who knows the routes well. I would also suggest you take your Descender for your first time.

As we are rolling into the fall paddling season, I am guessing you plan on the springtime/early summer to get that run in. Are you stoked to do it yet? :D

Re: upper yough

Posted: Sat Oct 12, 2013 5:04 pm
by Cheeks
I didn't mean to imply that the UY isn't Class IV, I think it is. While someone has been saying that it is Class III, that guy also swam five times, so...

I think from Gap to above Bastard is Class III+

Bastard to National is Class IV+

Tommys to F-Up is Class IV

and below F-up is Class III+ again

that said, not all of the rapids within those chunks are all the same. Charlies and Triple Drop are harder than National, Zinger isn't as bad as Tommy's and Heinzerling, and so on and so on

What I was trying to say, is that there are easy lines and hard lines around almost all the rapids. You can break the UY down and make it much easier or much harder. You can sneak around Tommys and Rooster Tail, you can take the Ohio line at National, and so on and so on. You should have Class IV skills to do the UY but that said, you can make it a little easier on yourself in a lot of places to keep it within your comfort zone.

Make no mistake, the Upper Yough is solid Class IV. It's typically a warm water run and safer than many comparable Class IV+ runs in terms of sieves and whatnot, but that doesn't mean you won't get your butt kicked if you aren't aggressive are aren't ready.

Re: upper yough

Posted: Sun Oct 13, 2013 1:24 pm
by FullGnarlzOC
gonzo. i swim the UY for fun. cuz the high i get from it is free

Re: upper yough

Posted: Mon Oct 14, 2013 11:28 pm
by the great gonzo
Tommy, Why do you bring a boat then. Just seems to be an unnecessary hassle in that case :lol: !
Aand Swimming the UY top to bottom, that I would call Fullgnarlz!

TGG!

Re: upper yough

Posted: Tue Oct 15, 2013 1:29 am
by PAC
"NO BOATS!!!"