Trip Report – South Sauty, December 20, 2002

Dave Curry

Mark D’Agostino (C-1), Ken Pevahouse (OC-1), Dave Curry (OC-1)

Mark had been trying to get me on South Sauty for over a year. I used every weenie excuse I could come up with. Apprehension towards rapids with legendary names like Jonah’s Whale, The Slot, the Mine Fields, and Bone Crusher were driving my fear factor higher than its normal sky-high level. Mark, however, was his typical bulldog persistent self, and I eventually ran out of excuses and capitulated.

When we got to the gauge at the takeout, the level was 1.7 feet, somewhat higher than Mark would have liked. He bolstered my confidence by telling me that it wouldn’t be all that pushy, he knew all the lines and would hold my hand all the way, and I should be able to handle it, more or less. I’d heard this tale from Mark before, and, just like before, I fell for it.

At the put-in, Mark and The Peve decided to run the first drop. I looked at the 8-foot long log going round and round in the pool and decided to take the “sissy option” and put in below it. Mark said the log just added a Russian roulette element. They both ran it without incident.

The first half of the run, we had no problems, just fun. The creek was pushy, the rapids long, and the holes were big, but everything was pretty well manageable. We bank scouted the first major rapid, Welcome to Sauty. There is a huge flat area to the left of the rapid where Mark said he wanted to have his wedding ceremony (Mary had control of that social event and had it in church). The rapid was pretty straight forward: just peel out, ferry to river right, avoid the big rock in the middle at the top, and work left to avoid the monster undercut at the bottom. At Jonah’s Whale, I used my patented “boat assisted portage” technique to scrape down the rocks on the opposite bank to avoid the hungry grasp of the whale’s mouth. At Cliff Left, I sort of messed up by going to the right around the Mushroom Rock, but squeezed through the slot in good shape. The Peve, who was also making his first run, was having a great time bouncing over the holes and through the waves. Mark was doing a good job of showing us the lines.

After lunch we hit the really tough stuff. Drunken Horseman was easily boat scouted by sitting in the eddy next to the rapid and looking over the rock right next to the drop. Both Minefields were long and tough; they required catching the necessary eddies, making the right moves, and keeping the boat pointed downstream to avoid being “window-shaded” by one of the zillion big holes. The Peve and I both did OK, although I did spend a bit of time going sideways in the Lower.

At the Slot, things began to get a bit messy. Mark said it didn’t need scouting; all you have to do is enter the slot in the right place, and the rapid will take care of everything for you. The Peve and I were sitting in the eddy while Mark went round and round in circles trying to decide how to enter the Slot. I was getting antsy and started nagging him to hurry up. He gave me a dirty look and turned his boat downstream. The current turned his boat to the right and the last thing we heard was the staccato rattle of his paddle as he rock-braced his way down the right hand side. I followed, but further to the left; I heard a grinding noise as the rocket-alloy gunwales of the Whitesell cut a groove in the rocks. Luckily, I managed to stay straight and the rapid did its thing with me. As I paddled downstream, I started looking for Mark. I eventually saw him standing on the bank draining the water from his boat. He had flipped just below the Slot and after about ten roll attempts had “pulled the plug.” He yelled at me to look upstream. The Peve was following his lead and bouncing over the ledges on his side. Mark threw him a rope and all was well.

We had a brief Class III+ no-name breather before Bone Crusher, which I had planned to sneak. Mark and I ran the short entry rapid and were sitting in a “truck-stop” eddy when The Peve blew past us on the left with half a boat full of water. I saw him disappear round the bend. I was sure he was swimming by then and Mark and I gave chase. We caught a couple of tiny eddies on the left just above the really nasty stuff. From there we could see Ken safe and sound about 100 yards downstream. I realized then that I had screwed up running the sneak and had to run the meat. It looked fairly simple: slide just to the left of the big pour-over, get right quickly to avoid the two massive bone crushing boulders, and then just bounce over the drops while avoiding the holes. I did OK on the first part. I skimmed past the pour-over and started to get right. In my efforts, I got spun around by a small hole and was facing upstream. I wasn’t sure I could turn the Whitesell back downstream before I got my face smashed on the rocks, so I just ferried to the right and ran most of the rapid backwards. Somehow, just like The Peve, I made it safely to the bottom.

We had only a couple of miles of Class III+ whitewater to go. This was time for sightseeing. Mark pointed out several important sites, such as the place where Chris Parker trashed the nose of his boat, several places where Dave Branham had messed up a boat, and near the end, the spot where he (Mark) pinned his boat; see the Alabama Whitewater web page for photographic evidence.

When I at last saw the Buck’s Pocket ranger station, I would have twirled my paddle in exuberance, but I was too tired. It was a long run and I was glad to have made it in one piece. I just might want to run it again.

[Dave has since run it up to seven times a year, and I think he has still yet to have any swims, nor has he run the put-in rapid]