{"id":19115,"date":"2016-10-13T16:06:37","date_gmt":"2016-10-13T16:06:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.pyranha.com\/blog\/?p=19115"},"modified":"2016-10-14T11:19:57","modified_gmt":"2016-10-14T11:19:57","slug":"feather-fest-now-and-then","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pyranha.com\/blog\/feather-fest-now-and-then\/","title":{"rendered":"Feather Fest, Now and Then"},"content":{"rendered":"
As Galen Volchausen and I watched cars, trucks, and vans pull into the\u00a0small abandoned school called Indian Jims, not the most PC name but that\u2019s the name, we watched the campsite fill up and I remembered when my family used to come here\u00a0on the same weekend years before it became a large west coast paddling gathering. The\u00a0campground is beside the North Fork of the Feather River just out side of Orville\u00a0California, east of Chico.<\/div>\n
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\"DCIM100GOPROGOPR1430.\"<\/p>\n

\"DCIM100GOPROGOPR1434.\"

Feather Racers Gathering<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Fall colors were starting to pop and the air was cool with a\u00a0slight breeze that made it pleasant and not too cold. As more kayakers entered and our\u00a0camp started to fill with familiar faces, some I had seen recently and others I had not,\u00a0you could almost feel the energy that would reach a high point and evolved into the\u00a0largest kayak festivals on the west coast, known as Feather Fest.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Feather Fest started as one man\u2019s birthday party. Roland Mcnutt\u2019s\u00a0birthday happened to fall on an AW (American Whitewater) organized release of the\u00a0North fork of the Feather. Slowly his birthday parties grew and grew in popularity and I\u00a0can remember being around 13 at my first Feather release\/ Roland\u2019s birthday and soon\u00a0it became Feather Fest, known through the west coast for its party, race, and California\u00a0life style. The release happens on the last weekend in September, which by this point all\u00a0the water on the west coast is gone or at summer flows and the only runs are usually\u00a0dam releases or commercially rafted sections.<\/div>\n
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\"DCIM100GOPROG0191335.\"<\/p>\n

\"DCIM100GOPROG0191290.\"<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

The section of river that the dam releases is great place for all skill\u00a0levels. The upper section known as the Rock Creek section, named after the dam that<\/div>\n
releases, is a class 2-3 section of whitewater great for beginner kayakers and\u00a0rafters. The campground and ground zero for the festival is the take out and you can put<\/div>\n
on there for the Tobin section. The Tobin is a great class 4-5 run that only lasts a mile\u00a0and a half. There are many lines through the mile and a half of classic California granite\u00a0boulder gardens. It\u2019s real easy to get lost sometimes in the Tobin section due to all the channels and slots, but still many age groups paddle this section.<\/div>\n
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\"DCIM100GOPROG0211380.\"<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

This was my first class\u00a05 run, and its pretty cool that I did that in a Pyranna MicroBat when I was around\u00a0thirteen. Now kids as young as nine race and paddle this section; a true testament to the\u00a0growth of our sport. The Tobin section ends and a great 3+\/4\u00a0section called\u00a0Lobin is next. Lobin is a great stepping stone run with good moves and some<\/div>\n
consequences for messing those moves up. Rafters and kayakers alike both run this\u00a0section and it rounds off the river release with a good intermediate run making the\u00a0Feather river a great place for all skill levels and ages.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Feather fest also offers multiple races during the weekend; there is a\u00a0slalom race just upstream of the campground as well as a down river race through\u00a0Tobin section and ends half way down the Lobin. The race is a tough one, I have raced it\u00a0now twice in my lifetime, because the river doesn\u2019t run consitently enough for people to\u00a0have it super dialed and know which channels are the fastest. Racers can race long boat\u00a0and short boat making it an iron man race if they choose. I chose to do that and it was\u00a0pretty comical in my head. As I was reaching the last minute of the long boat race,\u00a0which my time was 13.21, I was thinking to myself, why did you sign up for short boat\u00a0as well? At the end of the long boat race I caught a ride back up with Gareth Tate and a\u00a0few other racers, had a quick dance party, and went to grab my short boat.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
My short boat of choice for all things right now is the 9R. I love that\u00a0boat, but for this race I was taking out a new steed for myself to meld with. I raced the\u00a0new Pyranha Machno.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\"hesh-machno\"<\/div>\n
I have\u00a0paddled this boat a few times and like the design. It’s quick for a boat designed just to\u00a0run anything and boofs amazingly. The bow of the boat was easy to keep dry and it was<\/div>\n
easy to maneuver. In the end it served me well for the short boat class even though I\u00a0suffered through the entire race. In the end team Pyranha came out pretty well. Dave<\/div>\n
Fusilli tied for second with Rush Sturges in short boat with Ian Jonska coming in 5th and myself in 6th. I placed third in the long boat category as well. Will Pruett took home<\/div>\n
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the title of Champion wining both the short and long boat class.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
The best part of any kayaking festival is the party, hands down.<\/div>\n
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\"DCIM100GOPROGOPR1442.\"<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
I always feel like letting loose after making myself race hard, fast, and loose. Its just\u00a0that little reward that makes you paddle that much harder. As well with the party there<\/div>\n
was a raffle to benefit American Whitewater, who makes these releases reality.\u00a0Pyranha donated a sweet Teal purple Loki for the silent auction and Dave, Ian and I<\/div>\n
answered questions about our boats. Later in the night the band came on that was\u00a0super groovy. After they were done a DJ, who just came back from Burning Man with<\/div>\n
his art car, kept the party going till the early morning, and in the morning everyone was\u00a0moving slow. Major thanks to Dave Steindorf for making the release happen and<\/div>\n
putting on a great time.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Till the next eddy…<\/div>\n
Kyle Hull<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Photos: \u00a0Dave Fusilli<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As Galen Volchausen and I watched cars, trucks, and vans pull into the\u00a0small abandoned school called Indian Jims, not the most PC name but that\u2019s the name, we watched the campsite fill up and I remembered when my family used to come here\u00a0on the same weekend years before it became a large west coast paddling … <\/p>\n

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