Two Shorts
Last spring and summer I was working with Katie Spotz towards making a documentary about her plan to row solo across the Atlantic Ocean. In May we filmed a series of interviews at and around her home in Mentor, Ohio, and we continued to seek financing for the project throughout the summer and into the fall. As her December departure drew near, we both realized that we lacked the resources (both time and money) to complete the project at a high level of quality; so we amicably parted ways.
Katie is currently several hundred miles off the coast of South America in her rowboat Liv, and it will only be a few weeks before she lands at her destination in Cayenne, French Guiana. She’s had a hugely successful journey so far, and it looks like she will finish her trip well ahead of schedule. You can follow her adventure here.
In anticipation of Katie’s arrival, I went back and dusted off some of the old footage we worked on together. I’d hate to see this content go to waste, and I’m also hopeful that I’ll be able to license some of this content to news outlets that want to tell Katie’s story. This short video reveals a bit about Katie’s anticipation of her journey as well as some of the tensions that emerged amongst her family as she pursued her unconventional dreams:
Katie Spotz - Row for Water Interview from Horizonline Pictures on Vimeo.
Just before my visit with Katie I spent two weeks touring the North Shore of Lake Superior in Minnesota, kayaking a handful of world-class whitewater runs. Part of my trip took me north into Canada where I got to boat three beautiful, wilderness rivers with John Alt, Pete Gehrels, and a few other good friends. John contacted me the other week asking to see some footage of a beating he took on the Cypress River on our first day out in Canada. Rather than just post the video to facebook, I thought I’d work it into more of a finished piece–a small preview of the extensive content from the North Shore that I will be producing with Rapid Transit in the coming weeks. Stay tuned for more!
The Cypress 30′: a North Shore Preview from Horizonline Pictures on Vimeo.
Thanks for checking in. Let me know your thoughts on the videos and on shorts.
-Chris (more…)
Linville in the Fall
- Dewey Gibson in Jailhouse Rapid
I really enjoyed reading Rush Sturges’s recent account of his autumnal trip down the Middle Kings (check it here, http://theadrenalinerush.blogspot.com/2009/10/first-fall-middle-kings-descent.html), and I was inspired to do a photo blog about a trip we took down the Linville gorge this past Sunday. California may boast grueling, multi-day expeditions and 11,000-foot snowy passes, but down here in the South we’ve got deciduous trees!
On Saturday, I was feeling pretty sorry for myself for having to miss this year’s Russell Fork Race (due to a sprained wrist); so when Ben Blake messaged me that he’d be going to Linville Gorge on Sunday, I checked my sore hand and gave myself Dr.’s approval to get out and have some fun. We met up with a good group of guys (Jonathan Absher, Mike Patterson, and Dewey Gibson) and found the Babel Tower parking lot packed with the cars of people out to see foliage colors. The gorge was brilliant with fall beauty as we hiked down to the river. It seemed that the leaves were peaking a bit early this year and that we chanced to get out on one of the prettiest days of this fall.
When we got down to Babel Tower rapid, Ben and Mike guessed that the level was just over 2 feet: a nice, controlled volume with enough flow to make the rapids fun and not too scary. Everyone did some comparison of their Linville River experience level: today would be Jonathan’s first run, it was run number 3 for Dewey and I, Ben had been down about 10 times, and Mike had logged some fifty plus runs on this river (so he says!). Regardless of how familiar one is with the Linville, I always sense a strong undercurrent of nerves as everyone suits up at that put-in. But maybe that’s just me.
- Dewey and Ben Put On
On this day I was pretty intent on building a mental map of the river, memorizing as many lines and rapids as I could in order to return without a guide in the future. This went pretty well for the first six to eight rapids, and then my visual memory maxed out and I was no longer able to log away any of our directions. That’s the way it is with the Linville: it’s a long, consistently good river with one horizonline after another, making it a tall order to remember anything beyond the major rapids. Ben was usually at point in our group, and whenever he couldn’t recall which way to go on a rapid he would consult Mike, who generally responded, “I’ll probably know once I’m halfway down.”
- Hawksbill Peak
What a day it was to be out in the gorge. Fall is the season of beautiful colors, comfort food, and also of creek races and competition. I often find myself getting wrapped up in the drive to perform at my best and to get down any given river as fast as I can; so it’s really good to get out for days like this–to remind oneself of the core of kayaking. You’re out in the heart of nature, flowing down the river with good friends, and every few minutes you drop into another exhilarating rapid and give a whoop and a holler for sheer joy of being in this awesome place.
- Ben, Cave Rapid
Ever notice how the Linville bares a colorful variety of rapid names? You’ve got your standard, foreboding/correctional-facility imagery (Jailhouse, Drunktank, Fight Club), a bit of childhood nostalgia (Dr. Seuss), a nerdy, gamer reference (Donkey Kong), and the reverent language of the church (Cathedral Gorge). I think this pretty well covers the range of emotions one experiences while descending this river. Here’s a glimpse of my favorite spot on the Linville: Dr. Seuss Gorge. This stretch is also known as the Bob Ross Gorge . . . “We’ll just put a happy little tree over here with its leaves burning red, and some nice, gentle cliff walls right here, and a pretty, little class five rapid as you leave. There we go.”
- Dr. Seuss Gorge. Where did it get it’s name?
What can you say about the Linville? It’s truly a southeastern gem, and on days like this, there are few places I’d rather be. A few more pics from the end of our day:
- End of the day.
That’s all, folks. Thanks for taking a look and sharing the experience. To see larger versions of these photographs, you can visit my flickr stream here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/12168432@N00/. Enjoy what remains of the fall paddling–it’s about to get cold up in here!
- Focus on the water.
The Rapid Transit DVD Premiere! (for Georgians)
Cover Art for The Eddy Feeling
This Thursday, January 21st, Rapid Transit (a collective of kayaking film producers of which I am a member) will be hosting a premiere for our first DVD, The Eddy Feeling. The show will start at 9PM at the Cine in Athens, GA (http://www.athenscine.com/intro.php), and it is free (thanks to the UGA Whitewater Club!).
From my unabashedly biased perspective, I can report that this is an excellent movie that introduces the viewer to a collection of unique individuals, each of whom add something different to the film’s exploration of why kayaking is such an engrossing and enjoyable pursuit. The movie also gives an in-depth look at the Linville River, a remote, class V gorge in North Carolina that ranks among the elite whitewater runs of the world. Spencer Cooke wrote, produced, and edited the movie along with the collaboration of Rapid Transit producers Daniel Windham (From the Darkroom), Chris Gragtmans (Catalyst Media), and myself (Horizonline Pictures). For more info about the DVD, click here: http://www.rapidtransitvideo.com/blog/?p=207#comments.
Also, on January 20th (Tuesday) between the hours of 8 and 10, Riot Kayaks will be hosting a boat demo and roll session at Ramsey pool on the UGA campus. Contact the UGA Whitewater Club for more info on this.
There will be two other premieres for The Eddy Feelingcoming up on February 5th, 9:30PM at the Brew’n'View in Asheville (http://ashevillepizza.com) and on February 25th at Cabin John, Maryland (http://liquidadventures.org).
I am personally very excited about this first movie to be released from Rapid Transit. It represents the core of what we’re about as a group: telling rich, exciting, fascinating stories from the world of river running adventure. I hope you’ll take time to check it out, watch the flick, and that you’ll forgive the poofy, bowl-cut hairdoo in my brief appearance in the film. We all have bad hair days.
Much love from the Southeast,
Chris