Bardstown Whitewater Park Donations

We are getting close to our goal of raising $2200 so the process of getting a site assessment for the Beech Fork Bardstown Whitewater Park can begin. To find out more visit the Whitewater Park page.

Only $300 left to go!

or mail to:

Bardstown Whitewater Park
200 Big Eddy Road
Frankfort, KY 40601

Big South Fork Canyon - Thanksgiving

SOUTH FK CUMBERLAND RIVER AT LEATHERWOOD FORD, TN: 750cfs

Pictures

Josh, Jay and I met up at the Canyon on Saturday for 2 great runs on a warm Saturday in November. Mike Goodman and Mike Brady ran the gorge and we saw them at the bridge, but other than that I was very surprised that no one else was out there paddling this day. We did have a crowd of 4-wheelers at the bridge to watch us run the last rapid of the day. The water was very cold, but it was around 65 degrees so it was a very nice day to be out there.

Josh has a trip report and pictures on his new blog at riveraddict.blogspot.com.

Mike Brady has trip report as well at the Viking Canoe Club forum.

Rio Grande in 2007

The little-known stretch of the Rio Grande just downriver from Big Bend National Park in southwest Texas, showcases the riverine glories of the desert Southwest: twisting slot canyons, fortresslike bluffs, hot springs, and sporty rapids. Better still, expeditioners here can often paddle for a week to ten days without encountering another party. For more info visit National Geographic.

John Mathews and I are planning on going back to the Rio Grande in March of next year. Zach Nelson, Kenny Thomas, John Mathews and Jay Thomas went to the Rio Grande in March of 2005. I separated my shoulder the night before the big trip and was unable to go. Kenny took my spot at the last minute.

So this time I vow to to undergo no injuries and finally get back to this great expedition river run that I greatly missed the first time.

Right now I am penciling in March 3rd through the 11th as the dates for the trip. This would leave 2 travel days, the first Saturday and the last Sunday. The other 7 days would be spent running the class II-III 80+ miles of the Lower Rio Grande. I am thinking of flying in to Midland Texas, then renting gear and a shuttle in Texas.

American Whitewater's Reach
Daily Report: PDF (between 3.5 and 4.5 feet, at Dryden, ideal.

Let me know if you want to go!

The Way of the Whitewater Park

In the last decade communities have managed to build dozens of whitewater play parks and slalom training courses, often overcoming a force as indecipherable as nature herself, if not nearly so benign: local bureaucracy. Artificial whitewater courses are popping up across the country, in traditional whitewater towns like Salida, Colo., and less likely locales such as Fort Worth, Texas, and Charlotte, N.C. You can spin and blunt on engineered rapids in Green River, Wyo., and Ogden, Utah, and challenge your slalom skills on a world-class training facility outside of Washington, D.C.

Whether the project is a single play feature added to an existing stream, a diverted channel or a completely self-contained artificial river surrounded by a stadium, artificial courses across the United States are providing local communities with new recreation opportunities.

Judging from the precedent of other outdoor sports, whitewater parks could help fuel a paddling boom. Olympic paddler-turned-course designer Scott Shipley envisions consumers “taking whitewater for a test drive” on artificial courses complete with moveable obstacles and adjustable play features. With the advent of indoor climbing gyms, a new generation of convenience-oriented enthusiasts is now a mainstay of the outdoor sports community.

Established boaters salivate at the thought of quality year-round whitewater just minutes from home or work. While all paddlers can appreciate a convenient spot to paddle for fun and fitness, few hear about the behind-the-scenes wrangling needed to secure permits, water rights and money to bring these water parks to life. With prices ranging from the tens of thousands to the tens of millions, the success of a whitewater park often relies on being able to fund its design and construction.

Truckee River, Reno, Nevada

The country’s best-publicized whitewater park, Reno, Nev., is redefining the whitewater destination. “It’s a true source of pride,” Reno resident and 2003 world freestyle kayaking champion Jay Kincaid says of Winfield Park’s $1.5 million whitewater course, which includes walking paths and sitting areas.

The park’s multiple channels offer something for every paddler, from rodeo boaters to slalom racers and beginners. World-class paddlers convened at this park in May of last year for the invitation-only Grand Opening—an event that was held during drought flows and in which hometown favorite Kincaid narrowly bested current World Champion Eric Jackson. Though the course has yet to see the average 2,000cfs spring flows it was designed for, 30,000 people visited the three-day festival, and the local inner tube concessionaire rang up 10,000 rentals during one three-month period.

Despite its success, the whitewater course was a huge gamble, even by Reno standards. “We’d secured funding through a statewide municipal bond, but we’d planned to start construction before the funds would be available, forcing us to face the possibility of having to wait an entire year,” says project manager Jim Litchfield. “We asked the owners of two large hotel casinos, Harrah’s of Reno and The Eldorado, to each provide a bridge loan of $500,000, interest free and unsecured.”

Remarkably, the casinos each wagered a half-million dollars that the course would be a success. The Reno city council also put up $500,000 to show its commitment to the project. The gamble paid off. “I don’t know if I could ever accurately portray our stress through this period,” says Litchfield.


Clear Creek, Golden, Colorado

The Clear Creek Whitewater Park in Golden, Colo., has become a centerpiece for the picturesque mountain town, a source of municipal pride and—most importantly for the development of whitewater parks nationwide—an economic catalyst. Built at an initial cost of $165,000, economic projections have the park bringing the town more than $1.4 million every year. That figure has inspired local governments in Colorado and beyond to pursue whitewater parks of their own.

But the Golden course set more than just a profitability precedent. It also has shaped the water-rights landscape in a part of the country where water rights traditionally have flowed to ranches.

Although whitewater parks don’t consume water, they do require water to flow downstream. To agricultural interests who count on holding scarce water resources in reservoirs, letting water flow downhill for something as frivolous as kayaking is a major threat (see sidebar). In 2001, Golden went to the Colorado Supreme Court to win guaranteed water releases for its whitewater park. “That decision was the big breakthrough, and Golden has shouldered the burden since as the lightning rod for subsequent water rights cases,” says Glenn Porzak, who has represented several Colorado cities in similar court cases. Golden, Vail and Breckenridge all have prevailed in court cases asking for recreational water releases. Gunnison’s case is in the courts now, and Steamboat Springs and Salida each have cases that are likely to go to trial. “A municipality’s strongest argument is that the use is non-consumptive and beneficial to the community,” Porzak says.

The State opposed the City’s recreational water demands because it considered the requested flows “excessive and unreasonable,” says Colorado Water Conservation Board lawyer Ted Kowalski. “The State is not against recreation. But we don’t know how to define a specific flow level as ‘reasonable’ according to the law on a course that’s going to be engineered anyway.”


Gore Creek, Vail, Colorado

Vail, Colo., is no stranger to whitewater, but until 2002, whitewater events such as the Teva Mountain Games were held on the Eagle River outside of town. Tourism is the lifeblood of Vail’s ski-town economy, and town planners recognized the value of positioning an outdoor-sports event in the downtown business district, particularly one that can draw visitors long after the snow melts from the ski slopes.

Early in 2002, the Vail Valley Chamber and Tourism Bureau proposed modifying Gore Creek so that freestyle paddling events could take place in the heart of Vail Village. They commissioned a design that provided high-quality whitewater without looking man-made. With the backing of tourism bureau, the $130,000 project was completed in a matter of months. The park has since played host to the most aggressively promoted annual freestyle competition in the country, part of the Teva Mountain Games.

The Vail park has had a dramatic effect on an otherwise winter-based town. Despite the park’s short season, pre-construction studies projected more than $1 million per year into the local economy. Tourists can watch paddlers in action, and local boaters—while not flocking to the artificial creation when Colorado’s natural whitewater is running—give it a solid workout daily.

The park does, however, point out the hubris of trying to improve upon nature. Sedimentation from the yearly cycle of high water often neutralizes man-made features, requiring periodic maintenance. Sediment has already affected two of Vail’s features. The town is currently looking at ways to re-engineer the project, says Ian Anderson of the Vail Valley Chamber & Tourism Bureau. “We compromised too much of the project for aesthetics,” says Anderson, also an avid paddler. “With proper planning venues can be built to be both structurally sound and aesthetic.”


Upper Ocoee: An Olympian Effort

When the Ocoee River was tapped to host the 1996 Olympic slalom competition, engineers, led by John Anderson and Rick McLaughlin, converted the shallow shoals above the traditional put-in into one of the world’s premier slalom courses. The $7.7 million facelift to the river bed—plus more for a visitor’s center and other amenities—also created some excellent play spots, including the challenging hole above the aptly named drop Humongous.

Olympic organizers came to the U.S. Forest Service, which manages the Ocoee, with exacting requirements. “The course had to fit into the environment, it had to be a world-class venue, and if it cracked one-eight of an inch we were done, as it needed to withstand periodic flooding of 30,000 cfs or more,” says Paul Wright, who managed the project for the U.S. Forest Service. On top of all that, it couldn’t cost the Atlanta Olympic organizers a dime.

U.S. wildwater team member David Jones and others rallied unprecedented political momentum, forcing the Forest Service to foot the construction costs and the Tennessee Valley Authority to supply the water. The cost savings allowed Atlanta organizers to sweeten their bid, and the slalom course became a key element in bringing the 1996 Olympics to Atlanta.

The race course and the Olympic slalom competition were both unqualified successes, but four days after the Olympic torch went out, the team that designed and built the course was reassigned. "The Forest Service was tired of dealing with it," Wright says. In the years after the Olympics the TVA allowed only 10 to 20 releases per year, based on a burdensome fee system.

The last great slalom event planned on the Upper Ocoee, the 2001 Whitewater Slalom World Championships, was cancelled in the wake of Sept. 11. With infrequent releases and world-class play five miles downstream at Hell Hole, the Ocoee park has never established itself as a river-running and playboating attraction. The natural river section just downstream (popularly known as the Lower Ocoee, though technically the Middle Ocoee) hosts thousands of rafters every summer weekend.

Local outfitters and American Whitewater successfully resolved a seven-year effort to secure 54 releases each year on the Upper Ocoee in 2003 which will last for at least the next 15 years. Thanks to these releases, raft trips and non-commercial paddlers are enjoying the Upper Ocoee, and the venue once again has a chance to realize the potential shown during the 1996 Olympics.

Dayton WW Park Idea May Return

From the Dayton Daily News
By Ken McCall

October 26th, 2006

The disappointment in the paddling community was thick last week when a study found the proposed white-water park on the Great Miami River was too expensive.

The Miami Conservancy District and Five Rivers MetroParks wanted to build a white-water play facility that would also give less experienced paddlers a safe way to get around the low dam near the Monument Avenue bridge.

But the study found the park cost would total close to $10 million. That was too much, the agencies decided, and the proposal has been scrapped.

Interviews with folks from the two agencies and the community found spirits to be running at low ebb last week. But the people involved are regrouping and looking for other ideas.

Carrie Scarff, the park district's point person on the white-water park, said she's feeling better.

"You recover from the disappointment," Scarff said Thursday, "and you start to think of the other opportunities that are out there."

Scarff said the park and conservancy districts won't be considering another big white-water attraction, but they still want to create "fun places to paddle" on the region's rivers.

"If there's a place like where we can add some rock to the river and enhance spots that already exist or create other spots or provide eddies, we're going to look for opportunities to do that," she said.

The top priority, however, is creating ways for people in kayaks and canoes to get around the low dams. The two districts, she said, want to make the rivers as easy to travel as the bikeways that run along them.

So they're going to look at fixing the dangerous dams, creating places to park, to put in and take out boats, and even some remote camping spots in the parks along the rivers.

"Whether you're taking a daylong trip, an expedition or a quick trip down our rivers, we want people to see the rivers as a great recreational asset," she said.

Whitewater Warehouse co-owners Bernie Farley and Jeryl Yantis said they were deeply disappointed by the high cost of the proposed park.

But they say the decision to abandon the proposal was responsible and predict it will lead to an even better project.

The shop, located on Valley Street along the Mad River in Old North Dayton, sells and rents kayaks and equipment, and offers training events on the Mad and other rivers.

Farley said he'll be pushing another proposal soon.

"I've traveled around the country and have been to several white-water parks," Farley said. "If we don't do it, I guarantee you someone else will."

People currently rent equipment, he said, and drive up to six hours to boat on a white-water park in South Bend, Ind., or on rivers in West Virginia, so he's sure the demand is there.

Miami Conservancy District General Manager Janet Bly said the community showed enthusiasm for the project in public meetings, but she said the agencies need to be more creative.

"The conceived project was a great idea," Bly said, "and we just need to come up with something that's just as great only costs less."

Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2393 or kmccall@DaytonDailyNews.com.

Recounting Mount Taranaki

Back in March of 2004 I spent some time in New Zealand. Our recent Red River Gorge hike got me thinking about some of my New Zealand adventures. Climbing Mt. Taranaki was one of them.

Dominating the regions landscape from every conceivable angle, the picturesque Mount Taranaki is the North Island’s second highest mountain, and The Egmont National Park is New Zealand’s second oldest National Park. Mount Taranaki was used as a backdrop for 2003’s epic movie “The Last Samurai”.

• My trip report from March 28th, 2004

Red River Gorge Hike

Red River: 50cfs

Jay and I met up with his brothers, Bill and John and the four of us headed out into the gorge to try and hike all the way to the Red River narrows where the hardest rapids of the whitewater run are. We were unsure of any trails that existed past Clifty Creek, but we would try to stick to the river and see how close we could get.

We didn't make it. After Clifty Creek the trail turns into a small road, about the size for a 4 wheeler. After the very next creek it begins to wind up the cliff away from the river, then it begins to turn back on it's self and head the opposite direction we wanted to go. It was at this point that we gave up this trail. We couldn't find much of any other kind of trail that kept by the river so we opted to head to Clifty Creek and setup camp.

We had great weather, great if you like to take on all the elements, cold rain the first day followed by just the cold the 2nd. Personally I was glad to be out hiking and camping in this stuff. We had the gear for it. We a had a good fire. It was a whole lot of fun and the scenery was beautiful. I love the Red River Gorge.

Also 50cfs would be very low and any canoe would scrape in many places along the river, BUT it is certainly doable for a canoe to make it down the river. And it may be the best way to see all the great scenery within the narrows.

So look for us next Spring to go back, this time by boat even at a low water level, for another overnight trip into the Gorge.

Also on the way back home we stopped at the Pilots Knob State Nature Preserve and climbed to the top of Pilots Knob where there are some great views of the Bluegrass. We could see Lexington in distance some 35 miles away. It was a very cool side hike outside of Clay City.

Another great trip!

• pictures

Alternative Sports Groups Continue

The entire article can be found at the Kentucky Standard.

--------------

Bardstown Boaters, a group of local whitewater enthusiasts, first proposed the project and have since compiled a preliminary informational package for local officials to review.

Fund-raising efforts to generate funding necessary to hire a design firm to compile a formal study of the whitewater park began Sept. 30 with a paddlers poker run on Beech Fork which raised almost $1,000.

Spalding Hurst, Bardstown Boaters president, said in a recent interview that local businesses were also being solicited for donations to fund the $6,700 cost of hiring a design firm for the preliminary studies.

Dawn Ballard, Bardstown-Nelson County Tourist and Convention Commission vice-president, said the next step for the whitewater committee would be solicitation of Bardstown City Council and tourism officials to request matching funds for the hiring of a design firm.

That meeting of whitewater proponents and public officials was delayed until after Election Day.

The work to be done by the design firm is a must-do before definite plans for the whitewater park and possible raising of the rock dam can continue, according to Bardstown City Administrator Larry Green.

He began researching available funding for the whitewater park and dam work and said state and federal agencies require professional designs and cost estimates prior to earmarking funds for a project like a whitewater park.

Whitewater parks throughout the nation, similar to what is planned for Beech Fork, range in cost from $140,000 to about $2 million.

Bardstown Election Results

Heaton wins nod for Bardstown Mayor - Kentucky Standard

Election 2006 provides pundits with plenty of surprises - Nelson County Gazette

About the City Council

Bardstown Mayor
• Dick Heaton - 1,528 Votes - 55%
Dixie Hibbs - 1,130 Votes - 40%
Steven Wimsatt - 152 Votes - 5%

Bardstown Council
• Tommy Reed - 2,047 Votes - 16%
• Robert Simpson - 2,000 Votes - 15%
• Francis Lydian - 1,869 Votes - 14%
• Bill Sheckles - 1,822 - 14%
• Fred Hagen - 1,763 - 13%
• John Royalty - 1,464 - 11%
Joseph Hicks - 1,122 - 9%
Rick Molyneaux - 1,089 - 8%

Precincts reporting: 12 of 12 (100%)
• Winner

The Nelson County Gazette

I just ran across a very interesting website that I had not known existed. The Nelson County Gazette, an enhanced weblog that examines news, politics and life in and around Nelson County. They go by the slogan "Freedom of the press belongs to the man who owns one." So far I have found the site quite interesting. I have included some links to articles that may be of some interest to us boaters.

Meeting attendees cuss, discuss city environmental issues

Two canoeists safe after getting lost on flooded Beech Fork