{"id":39369,"date":"2026-05-17T08:00:12","date_gmt":"2026-05-17T15:00:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/community.nrs.com\/duct-tape\/?p=39369"},"modified":"2026-05-12T14:23:27","modified_gmt":"2026-05-12T21:23:27","slug":"smalls-to-the-wall-just-your-little-hometown-extreme-kayak-race","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/community.nrs.com\/duct-tape\/2026\/05\/17\/smalls-to-the-wall-just-your-little-hometown-extreme-kayak-race\/","title":{"rendered":"Smalls to the Wall: Just Your Little Hometown Extreme Kayak Race"},"content":{"rendered":"

Gene Crosby is standing on a bridge at a rest stop along Maine\u2019s Highway 4, explaining what he\u2019s waiting for at 9 a.m. on a Saturday in mid-April. \u201cI heard about these lunatics, and I was like, \u2018no way,\u2019\u201d he says. \u201cWe have to go see that.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Then, with wide eyes, Gene interrupts himself: \u201cOh, someone just came down. Holy shit! Oh, that is awesome. Oh shit. Wow. That\u2019s crazy!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s hard to describe the timbre of his voice, but the feelings are awe, wonder, and joy. The time I\u2019ve spent on rivers has been in pursuit of just those emotions. To see them so easily and freely shared feels like cheating. Life can really be this fun?<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

To that, the organizers of the waterfall kayak race, known as Smalls to the Wall, would likely answer, \u201cYes. As long as you set up enough safety.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Gene is facing Smalls Falls, which, from his vantage point, looks like a three-tiered cascade crowned by a 20-foot waterfall and quickly followed by a 14-foot drop and 5-foot ledge. It\u2019s an eye-popping sight even without the candy-colored boats plunging down amid the spray. And this is just the warm-up. Paddlers are running laps of the course, which includes four falls in total, to prepare for the 1 p.m. race. Since the Sandy is undammed, the event relies on natural water flows. Most competitors haven\u2019t had a chance to run the section since last year, if ever.<\/span><\/p>\n

It also means that conditions are never guaranteed, a crazy-making detail for organizers Matt Jameson and Alex Horne. \u201cIf we could get guaranteed water,\u201d says Matt, \u201cthis would be one of the biggest events in the country. There’s nothing like it. It’s so unique to have a race on such a steep creek with such big waterfalls stacked one right after the other. It’s\u2026 it’s awesome.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

And, as mentioned, it\u2019s roadside, which makes it a uniquely popular event. \u201cIt’s park and huck,\u201d says Taylor Walker, a local paddler, knife-maker, and founder of the Maine Whitewater Championship series. \u201dOnce the race starts, there’s gonna be hundreds of people here. It creates exposure that whitewater kayaking doesn’t have in a lot of places.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n