Canyon Creek of the Lewis Incident Report
Date: 11/15/20
Name: Blaine
Other paddlers: Orion Junkins and Thomas Franco
Age: 20
Boat: 9rII
River: Canyon Creek Lewis
Section: Classic (Fly Creek bridge to Yale
Bridge on Merwin Reservoir)
Blaine
had been in my life since childhood, but we got close in New Zealand. I was
over there for a year of school and he was roaming free trying to find himself
through paddling and climbing. We chased rivers all over both islands, growing
very comfortable on steep read and run boulder gardens trusting each other
immensely. He’s saved my life. I've saved his.
While I came back in
February, Blaine stayed on for several more months after numerous cancelled
flights due to Covid. As was his way of life, he embraced this and kept on
living, building a life on that side of the world. He flew home in early
November, spent only a single day with his family and jumped in a car to chase
rain like we always have.
After
a day on Truss and a day of laps on Canyon Creek, the heaviest rain came
saturday night. Not sure where we would head in the morning, we parked at
Sunset Falls to set ourselves up for several options. Gavin and I slept in the
back of his truck and Blaine was just short enough to stretch out across the bench
seat in the cab. We got a groggy early start at the crack of dawn and drove
back into coverage to check levels. Hagen Creek had been on all of our lists so
we headed that way to meet Thomas but it was just a touch too low. As we looked
for other options, we saw a rising Canyon Creek level and drove back to that
area first seeking out Kalama falls.
Blaine
had run the falls 2 years prior but it was new for the rest of us. From
previous back injury waterfalls are no longer to my liking, so I just brought a
camera in and ran safety. Gavin and Thomas took their first laps - Gavin went
over the bars and ejected, losing a paddle, Thomas styled it but missed his
hand rolls. Blaine was up next, laying down a perfect line. Gavin and Thomas
both went for redemption, keeping their paddles this time and styling it.
After
the hike out I was still eager to paddle as I hadn’t been in a boat yet that
day. We dropped Thomas’ car at Canyon Creek takeout on the way up, checking the
level at the Chelatchie store. 1750 and dropping fast. The rain had stopped
early that morning, and it was now just after 2:00. All of us had run the creek
numerous times before and I had previously been in there at about 1500 which
had felt good. 1750 didn’t seem like a huge step up, all of us were feeling
strong in our boats and we all trusted each other. We didn’t have a full day,
but we felt it was enough time and I brought along two headlamps just in case a
hike out was necessary.
Gavin, now without a
paddle, was content just driving shuttle, dropping Thomas, Blaine and I at the
top. We began to float through the warm up, getting acquainted with the volume,
growing apprehensive but excited for what was below. The three of us reached
Swizzle Sticks, eddy hopping as best we could and moving slow. At Terminator,
we all jumped out on the right bank. There was definitely a doable line and
bank safety was reasonable, but all of us chose to walk. We had a group
discussion emphasizing that we were not there to send hard lines, just get down
safely. We could come back at that level with a big crew and more time and get
everything. After the portage we kept moving efficiently. Prelude was a very
full-on, backed up hole which I came through cleanly, but Blaine got
backendered prompting Thomas to walk. Again we had a group check in, ensuring
we were all comfortable, reiterating the extent to which we needed to be
conservative. We all felt good and carried on.
Thrasher went smooth. We
eddy hopped the lead-in to boulder garden before giving it a long scout - it
was huge and intimidating, but very flushy so we all chose to give it a go. I
had a good line but got hung up on the right wall at the bottom for a moment. I
grabbed the wall just long enough to see Blaine fly through the last two moves
with a proper 9rII skip-out before peeling back out into the current. Like
Terminator, Kahuna had a line, but our ‘get down, don’t send’ headspace which
was dominating the day again prompted us to portage. We seal launched below.
We continued to just
above Champagne and had a talk. Looking at the walls, scouting seemed like a
daunting task and for one of us to hike down for safety purposes would be
incredibly time consuming. From memory of lower water levels and how everything
had felt up to that point on the run we had a very good idea of what things
would be like: Champagne would be fine, potentially a sticky spot but a good
easy boof. The boil would be bigger, wanting to reject you right or left of the
line to the hammering spot boof. Hammering spot would be an intense hole, but
the river right flake would still be present. The run out would be big, and Toby's would be powerful but everything below Hammering spot would be
reasonable.
Our plan was simple.
Drive off Champagne erroring a bit to the right (while hard to escape, ending
up in the river right eddy would be better than running Hammering Spot left of
the flake). We would run Hammering Spot direct and regroup in the river right
eddy which is present regardless of flow. We all felt comfortable to a very
high degree of confidence, opting for 5 second staggers in between our peel
outs up top so that if any of us did get surfed, the other two would be close
enough to offer help.
I went first, carrying
my speed off Champagne all the way into the eddy below Hammering spot. I drove
straight to the bank, finding a handhold and getting ready to hop out in case
it was needed. I turned around just in time to see Thomas skip in just behind
me. Blaine followed shortly after, and while he was still on the flake, he was
a touch further left leaving him less room to pull a stroke. He still got a
boof, but his tail was in the curtain just enough to catch. Time slowed down.
As soon as I saw him
ender, I jumped out and began pulling my bag. He gave a solid fight in his
boat, but it was too violent and chaotic to bag him out while still in his
kayak. He pulled his skirt and went deep. After a few seconds he popped up in
the river left eddy near the wall. A brief memory of a swim I had witnessed
there years prior flashed through my mind - that paddler flushed to the same
spot and pushed downstream along the wall until he could self rescue. I hoped
the same would happen for Blaine, choosing to save my rope for the time being -
it was a long toss which I didn’t feel fully confident in. He had a handhold on
the wall for a moment, but suddenly started drifting back up stream. At the top
of the eddy he hit hole again and went deep. I believe the eddyline caused him
to flush deeper than he otherwise would’ve as it took several seconds to come
back up. He surfaced at the bottom end of the eddy and again seemed like he was
on the verge of drifting downstream, as he swam hard against the eddy to the
left shelf. Again, he began to slip back upstream slowly at first but picking
up speed. He was visibly exhausted so I used my bag but missed. It was a hard
throw but it was the one that mattered and I failed, landing the rope a bit
upstream and a bit short.
At
the top of the eddy he hit the hole again, going deep for the third time. At
this point Thomas jumped onto the bank tossing me his bag while he pulled his
boat out of the water. Blaine popped up further out in the middle of the hole,
but I was ready a second too late and he disappeared again, this time for a
long time. Frantically we contemplated options as we waited for him to surface,
even considering live bait for a moment. Thomas took his bag back and found his
footing for a throw. I began to repack mine just in case - coils would have
been borderline useless due to the distance away we were, but even a half
packed bag may have been enough.
After
far far too long Blaine popped up, this time below the boil line, but before
either of us threw we realized he was limp and face down. Both of us jumped
back in boats immediately and chased with myself just in front of Thomas. I got
through the run out just in time to watch him tumble over Toby’s. I made a
gamble and assumed the normal river right line would be fine at this level,
charging off the curler as fast as I could. I saw his paddle or some other piece
of gear on the right bank, causing me to hesitate for a moment, before seeing
his body further downstream. I got to him just as the rapids flattened out,
pulled my skirt and dove on top of him dragging him onto the bank. I started
compressions over the PFD for a moment before reaching underneath. Thomas was
out a second later, taking over compressions while I loosened the PFD and
pulled it up. For several minutes we alternated compressions and breaths. Each
of us took a turn at compressions when the other fatigued. Thomas had more
medical experience and took the lead counting off compressions, checking pulse
and giving breaths appropriately. We got a couple of small coughs and twitches
but no real response. After several minutes it became clear we needed to send
for help. Due to my lesser medical knowledge I elected to paddle out taking
Thomas’ boat as mine had drifted after I dove out. In between compressions
Thomas told me that there was a PLB in his car and described where his keys
were stashed.
I
sprinted to the takeout bridge as fast as possible, pulling my boat up on the
rocks and running up the stairs. I banged on Gavin’s truck window getting his
attention. I was rushed and hyperventilating but gave the information I could,
sending him on his way to the Chelatchie store to call 911. I tore Thomas’ car
apart and found his beacon, pulling the antenna and pushing the button - I had
no idea who exactly this would call and whether or not they would communicate
with local police but at that time I didn’t care. I wanted to stay at the
takeout with the beacon to communicate with Gavin and whoever came but wanted
more help if possible. Pulling my headlamp from my PFD I set it to a strobe and
started waving at passing cars pleading for help. A family in two cars pulled
over and I gave a brief explanation. I articulated that we needed a boat - heli
would have been useless in the canyon and there was no way that I knew of to
hike into that spot. They were locals and knew where the sheriff’s office was,
driving straight there to seek help.
Minutes
later Sheriffs and ambulances arrived all asking the same questions. They got
three boats inbound from three different sources but none of them were close
enough, all with 20-30 minute response times. I was brought in an ambulance
across the river to Cresap Bay Rec area from which they were coordinating the
rescue and launching boats. I continued answering questions as needed but it
eventually became a painful helpless waiting game for the boats to arrive. As I
understand it, bolt cutters and a hacksaw were used to cut a boom blocking the
ramp and the boats set off quickly with swiftwater teams once they arrived. I
wanted to be in the boat with them guiding to the location but instead they had
me pin the exact location on a map and stay put. They set off and I sat
helpless.
The
ambulance brought me back to Yale bridge, and Gavin and I brought both cars to
Cresap Bay to sit and wait. One fireman stayed with us and maintained
communication with those on the boat. After an eternity we heard they had
arrived on scene, now roughly an hour and a half since I first paddled off.
After another eternity we heard that Blaine had not made it.
The boats returned to
Cresap. Thomas approached us and gave a long hug as we all broke down. He had
continued compressions the entire time and done everything he could. The medics
had given several injections and used a CPR machine on site also doing
everything they could. The body was loaded into an ambulance, Sheriffs took the
information they needed and we were told there was nothing else we could
do.
Acknowledged mistakes and lessons.
PLB. Blaine and I did not have one. Thomas had
one in a dry bag at takeout, but we were rushing to ensure we had adequate
light and we neglected to throw it in the shuttle going to the top. Every
paddler should have one on their person.
Medical Experience. I have first aid training
but nothing beyond the basics. I was comfortable giving CPR but lacked the
composure to remember to count compressions. Thomas knew far more and was able
to take the lead. Every paddler should have a WFR or something similar as a
minimum.
Headlamps. Headlamps left with Thomas for
signalling the rescue boats would have been very helpful. We had two, but one
was in my boat and the other in my PFD, which I neglected to leave when I
departed to call for help. Every paddler should have a waterproof headlamp on
their person especially when days are short, runs are long and/or start times
are late.
Time. We had enough light and were willing to
hike out, but we definitely sought to move efficiently and quickly which put a
slightly rushed tone into how we ran things. We had made good time up to
Champagne, so we had more than enough time to scout and set safety more
extensively, but we were in the headspace of moving quickly and failed to slow
down for the final drop. That said, had we scouted, we still would have run it
how we did - it looked exactly as we expected. If we had opted to traverse
along the canyon wall to set safety before running it, we would have put a bag
on river right at Hammering Spot where we ultimately were anyways - setting
safety beforehand would have yielded the same outcome.
Blaine’s gear. Blaine was in a borrowed 9rII
with a borrowed paddle. For this kind of run every paddler should be dialed in
their kit and have the best gear they can get ahold of. Blaine had paddled a
9rII a bit in NZ but it still wasn’t his boat, and the paddle was worn and
shorter than ideal.
None of these things would have made a
difference in the outcome, but they are still points worth acknowledging and
learning from. The only thing which could have changed the end result would be
not paddling in the first place. I know I did everything I knew how to do. I
know Thomas did the same. I know Blaine knows that.
