High Water Adventure in the Misan Valley......

Well....it has been rainy for the last few days and we are excited to see what the river will be like. The main run of the Naerichon is at 71 on the internet, later when I returned home and checked, it was at 172. So....we finally experienced some high water.
Our day was one of the best so far!!!



the clouds are laying low with intermittent rain showers....



we stopped at a service station for some coffee and snacks for the river. Saw this and had to give it a try....potatoes....good carbs for the river!



Luca checking out the pile of squid....



we noticed a low tire....stopped at the next service station a found .....



the culprit....a screw....so the service man plugged it at no charge and we're on our way to the Misan Valley.....



A nice view of the Misan section of the Naerichon, what an incredible place!



Well, looking at the high water made the coffee kick in and I had to run to the bushes to relieve myself and drop off some unwanted weight... :) had to take the umbrella......




two foreigners in the heart of S.Korea about to have some fun. This was our first trip with out the Korean kayakers...
1 Italian and 1 American/Slovenian



Oh yeah....definitely filled in from the last time. If you look back a few months ago you will see this same pic with a small fish flow!



Luca munching on some potatoes.....while I take a few scenic shots....



Looking down at the usual put~in....we decided to head about 6km up stream since the water was running high and run the upper section.



we set the camera timer and goofed off a bit at the put~in....doing the river dance



Luca on the upper section. Now that I have the Olympus Waterproof camera it allows me to take more pics....although I have to work at more exciting action shot....there was plenty of that but I guess with only to of us I was being conservative. I'll work on that for next time!



We found a Whinny-the-Pooh raft stuck in the bushes....so we set him free.....



Old bridge......and chocolate brown water....



some mountain flowers...



We stopped at the usual put~in to stretch our legs, and we heard some music....checked it out and found some students having a music camp learning how to play some of the traditional Korean music. was a nice cultural experience....



kids having fun!



and more kids having fun.....we found a couple of beers, so decided to make an advertisement for CASS Fresh...salute to a great day on the rio.....



Yes....CASS....when you are thirsty, it tastes 'OK'....but still, I prefer foreign beer!



Luca making it through a wave train....need to work on my action shots....as stated earlier!



Well....the last few times on the river I noticed a side creek coming in...when I asked the others about it, they said, it's not runnable....WHAT?!? I thought to myself...and I kept telling Luca we need to hike up it, so as we were not in a hurry on the river we enjoyed a side hike. AND it was worth it. It's runnable...YAHOO! We will be back to run it one of these day....it will definitely be a long day adventure, but worth it, as any of my kayaking bros know about 1st descents....
Definitely we saw some marginal runnable rapids and other fun looking rapids. Excited about this one, when the timing is right, we're there!



Check it!



Beautiful area.....definitely no shortage of eddies (like you see here in the lower right of the photo, a calm part of the water behind rocks, a rest and scouting area)



cool looking vegetation....here's a large fern....



keep discovering new flowers....



one of the marginal looking rapids, maybe at a lower or higher flow, but looked ugly today!



looking up at some read and run fun!



hiking back from our scouting adventure. I did not have the appropriate shoes, but the KEEN flip-flops worked just fine...the paddle came in handy to push some plants away....



getting back in our kayaks....



Luca hanging out in an eddy.....



second drop (falls)......



definitely filled in....with water!






some family fun!






Luca contemplating the top of triple drop....it was looking a bit munchy, so we put in right below....the line was fine....with only two, you tend to take a conservative line....it will be there again....that's the beauty of kayaking....you can always come back when the time is right!



Yes...that hole is big over there......



feeling a bit nervous.....




A view of the lower part of triple drop....



goofing off again....here we are hitch hiking in Korea....who wouldn't pick us up... :)



Luca....yes...he is Italian.....



Very cool area....much different than Colorado....



well we ended up getting a ride....here we are at a little orange tent, or pojangmacha having some coffee on our way to our car...Koreans in the countryside are very hospitable....



so...we got our car....stopped by to get a person's number that took our photo earlier in the day and long story short, his uncle picked us up hitch hiking and here we are heading up to eat some freshly killed pig....So...definitely worth the stop and made some more friends in the Misan Valley.....



preparing the BBQ



Hanging out having a good 'old time....



preparing all the side dishes....



time to cook it up..looking very tasty after no lunch and just some candy bars and potatoes on the river....



we had quite the fiesta....



the sparks were flying and the pork was almost ready.....






A new friend from Misan....Dong Hyun!



very delicious.....



the meat just kept on coming.....look at the bags of meat...



almost time to leave...it's 9pm and we still have a 3 hour drive back to the city....



making a stop on the way home.....enjoying a little coffee....not Italian, but will suffice.

We may be heading back this coming weekend, and it looks like the weatherman is calling for a 100% chance of rain for Thurs. and Fri....and you know what that means....BIG WATER FUN!

Until next time......