Giant Gap, North Fork of the American Part 2
This past Sunday I made it down Giant Gap on the North Fork of the American for my second time this season. The flow was somewhat lower at around 850 cfs, but it is still a quality run even at that flow. The scenery alone is spectacular.
The video does includes a couple of scenes from my first trip, but I felt important to include them in order to give a more comprehensive picture of the entire run.
It is difficult to capture many sections of the roughly 14.5 miles simply because the canyon walls are quite steep, friends are often impatient about waiting while I set up, and I have a hard time stopping to film when I really just want to run the rapids. Despite a certain amount of diligence, there are still many other fun class IV rapids that are not featured in this video.
On another note, I still struggle with the public release of information regarding special places like Giant Gap. But my firm belief is that knowledge is power, and the more people that appreciate the beauty and remoteness of places like Giant Gap, the more chances we have to continue to protect and preserve places like them.
Josh said:
Nice music
wolfy said:
I’m glad there are people out there videoing this, cause I’m too chicken to try it.
I think you’re right about the knowledge thing.
I supposedly have a press pass for the river fest, but I might not make it down. Not sure what the press pass gets you, but it’s probably better than yard work.
-M
Steve James said:
Is that all you got? It’s doesn’t even look like you guys are putting forth the effort.
Seriously, you guys rock! I love the vids Robert!
Robert said:
Thanks Steve!
Phil said:
Any word on how the flows will be this summer? We’re thinking of taking a youth group to the Middle Fork. It’s dam controlled so I assume it will be OK…but it’s been pretty dry this year.
Robert said:
Phil, I would recommend checking http://dreamflows.com/ before heading out. However, because it is run commercially and dam controlled I suspect you will be okay. Alternatively, you could always run the South Fork and do both the Chili Bar and Gorge runs. I heard they were guaranteeing flows through most of the summer.