Clay and I finished up with the Intro to Whitewater Trip on the Lower Sky and headed up to Index for a play run afterwards.  We caught up with the The Outdoor Adventure Center/ WaveTrek guys at the Index Tavern and got them to run shuttle while we got on the river around 4pm.  This was pretty exciting because its was the first time in months that I've gotten on the Sky in Index with enough flow to make the North Fork part of the run interesting.  The snow is beginning to melt, and I'm really looking forward to a good spring.

The other great thing about this run was that I got to paddle the first Bliss Stick Mystic to make it out on the west coast (courtesy of the OAC... you guys rock my world!).  It was its first time out on the river as well, so I was pumped to be padding the newest boat on the market (Bliss Stick released this boat a few weeks ago).  As I paddled down, I really appreciated the extra volume the boat had and noticed how well it busted through hole and resurfaced instantly.  I played the hole bait game the whole way down and didn't get stuffed once.  I'm going to get one as soon as they are available in quantity.

Moving down the North Fork, the river had changed a lot since last year.  A lot of the rocks have moved, and although there was no new wood, there is some strong erosion on the left bank most of the way down.  The first rapid is Llama Ledges, which can be run anywhere and is a fun boulder garden.  There is a great camp spot for the summer on the right side here, and it has free camping along with river access and parking... a rarity these days.  The ledges is more of a boulder garden with some smallish pourovers and compression waves.  I prefer the line on the right because it has more tight moves around rocks, but the left side is more open and clear.

Below the ledges there are great views of the Index Climbing Wall, another great outdoor resource in the area.  After this small break is SnaggleTooth which is marked by the river bending hard left in front of a large boulder and then back into a narrow channel.  The channel picks up speed and drops over some rocks and holes.  This rapid has changed a lot, and the rocks in there have been totally rearranged in the last flooding.  I didn't see it, but there is apparently a new piton rock in there somewhere.  There are also many trees from the left bank that are falling in the river, and may pose a wood hazard in the near future.

The rest of the North Fork was good until the confluence.  From there down it was the normal rapids and stuff.  No new hazards, nothing too different.  There was enough water to "Butter the Biscuit" on the slide rock in the rapid above Boulder Drop.  The drop was at a great flow and Clay got his first run down on this trip.  I forget my camera, but the water was starting to come over the notch on Ned's Needle Rock.  We ran that and then headed down the middle.  Really fun water flow and not pushy at all.  I think this might be an ideal flow for a first time Boulder Dropper.  The entrance was a but pushy, but all else was good.

I was feeling super solid in the new Mystic so I decided to go  big over Lunch Hole.  The drop was sweet and the boat came up like the hole was nothing.  I was really impressed with the control the boat gave me, and how well it handled the larger rapids.  It has a soft chine and a second running edge on the hull, making it neither displacement or planar hull.  It is super bombproof and Bliss Stick has made it tougher than nails with thicker plastic (the boat weighs 47 pounds!).  The outfitting is also much more comfortable than their old stuff, and the new thigh brace design rocks!  I can't wait to get mine.

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