The Topo Duo
By Geoff Jennings

Last July, Kim and I paddled a two person kayak down the Gorge, a class III run on the South Fork American - I just got a copy of some photos. There are some pretty good ones, it's worth clicking all the way through.

Sometimes nicknamed a “divorce boat”, but we did OK. It wasn't all smooth sailing, but we made it through almost every rapid upright.

Kim and I had a great time running the river.  Check her out. Focus and poise.

I'd promised Kim that we'd scout “Satan's Cesspool” a Class III rapid with a bit of a tricky turn to make. That face in the back is me seeing the photographer, and realizing that we're there...

I haven't paddle the Gorge that many times, and I wasn't 100% confident we'd make it through this rapid without flipping. Nor was I 100% confident that I could roll the boat if I did flip. I wasn't looking forward to the possibility of Kim and I both swimming in a rapid, or dealing with that HUGE boat filled with water.

  Uh - Oh!

I think I was trying to brace here and keep us from flipping.

Clearly, it didn't work.

Rolling a Topo-Duo solely from the back is tough especially in whitewater. I missed the first roll...

I made it on the second try. Right before Kim found the strap to bail out....

Here's Kim, reacting with suprise that we made it up and happy that we didn't have to swim. Remarkably, she agreed to marry me just a few weeks later, and has expressed interest in going paddling in a Topo-Duo again. Imagine if I'd blown that roll. =>