Catch a Wave and You're Sittin' on Top of the World

With the end of Spring Term for both Josh and I, we decided to take our annual trip up to the Wenachetereee...that's Wenatchee for those of you who dont recognize that. We split right after my microbiology final on Thursday....thank goodness those tests are done with! The good ol' Tacoma was loaded down- and I do mean loaded, as we left for a seven + hour drive to Northern Washington.

When we got to the Wenatchee, we beelined for our fave camping area- Icicle Creek Canyon. Absolutely amazing I tell you! We crashed early and woke up the next morning for Granny's Wave......

To say josh was tired would be an understatement. He has been going full tilt for the past few weeks and didnt get any recoup time before heading up here. He was justifiably sleepy but as always, had a good attitude. :)

We got to Granny's to find it bigger than ever. It was about 5800 cfs and dropping...perfect. We quickly learned that it's flow was pretty sticky and not the best for surfing but once it dropped to 5600...magic happened he he he

Photo: josh Mckeown
Me getting ready to get eaten at Granny's

Photo: Josh Mckeown
Me mid- Blunt

Photo: Josh Mckeown
Me throwin and air blunt

Photo: Christina Russell
Josh Mckeown throwin' a Pan Am on Granny's Wave- 5800 cfs

Photo: Christina Russell
Josh gettin' wet

Photo: Christina Russell
"The Dave" - another Peak UK enthusiast


Photo: josh Mckeown
Doin' what I love most

After a full day of kayakin on the Wenatchee, we wanted a bit of Switzerland....Leavenworth here we come! yeah Leavenworth happens to be a town that went with a Bavarian theme....and I mean EVERYTHING is Bavarian....even the Golden Arches and Starbucks are Bavarian. It's pretty friggin awesome. Josh and I grabbed some icecream to cool down and then mozzied on up to Icicle Creek Canyon- our favorite place to camp.

Icicle Creek is known as a pretty stout creek in Washington. This June, it was HUGE! The middle section was crankin' and as it was just the two of us, we didnt hit Icicle. Next year next year.

(Above) this was the view we had from our campsite. It got pretty chilly up in that canyon but we were prepared....we even remembered firewood to stay warm :) *try starting a fire in a damp, cold canyon with 30mph winds- doesn't work well!

The next day we got up early to get out at Granny's. It just so happened that the Wenatchee River Festival was moved this year and was happening over our trip. There was supposed to be a rodeo at Granny's but Josh and I were just in the mood to play- not compete.

The rodeo was pretty small and people were throwin down- although Im still partial to Josh who was Helixing and combo-moving like no other. In an hour, the whole thing was over and done and once again, we were alone with Granny's wave to ourselves! How awesome is THAT?! :)

We stuck around on the Wenatchee for an additional four more days and played at Rodeo hole, Turkey Chute and Drunkards but Granny's was by far the best at the flows we experienced. On Wednesday night, we said goodbye to the Wenatchee and hello to Hood River......... Stay tuned for the next post on the Women's Paddling Festival!!

Happy Paddling,
Christina