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My Home Run: Part Two

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Every paddler has a ‘home run.’ A favorite river section or a local creek that they know at every level, can paddle in any boat, in any condition. The My Home Run series follows six paddlers from the Northeast to their favorite local runs.

The Moose is an interesting river. You have in about a 20-mile stretch pieces of river that are appropriate for almost every ability level.” At nearly 70 years old, Chris still loves the challenge of big drops and technical creeks, but convenience, fun, and good company have become equally important over the years.

“At the Moose, you show up, you hang out, you get on the river, you get off and a half-hour later you’re in Old Forge on a comfortable bar stool ordering beef dip at Slickers.”

The changing of the seasons can be rough. It means saying goodbye to mountain biking and rock climbing. It means waiting around to go kayaking. But it’s the in-between that’s the hardest. When the cabin fever sets in and you get antsy. “It’s never a good idea to go out and play in the water when it’s 30 degrees,” but for Michael Hunt, that’s when the South Sandy runs, and you go when it runs.

“It’s like you hit the reset button and now everything is good again.”

“I think sitting in that last eddy above One Whistle Falls is one of the loneliest eddies in the world. You start thinking about what’s important to you, who is important to you, why you’re taking these risks. And then you have to go, because there’s no other choice.” Once you’ve chosen to paddle Brokeback Gorge, there’s no going back. It’s a consequential run in upstate New York, and the crux of the run involves a 45-foot waterfall that you can’t scout and you can’t portage.

https://youtu.be/lGwCg9Gj7_4

“How do you describe a place that you love but also fear?”