Swift Water Rescue Incident Report
South Boulder Creek, CO
Spring 2001

Trip Report: Strainer, South Boulder Creek, CO
By Kayaker X

(Editor's note: I thought about changing some of the more graphic language, but decided to leave this article as the author intended. I believe it shows how much of an impact this incident continues to have on this person considering this article was written 7 years after the incident occurred.)

This was crazy. I was 21 at the time and it was 2001. I was in college in Colorado, and I had a couple buddies, (Joe) and (Mike) I had been running lots of hard stuff with for a couple of years and we were going after it hard. We had run all the hard stuff in Colorado and I had traveled the country with (Joe), so we were really comfortable together and great friends. We were really fired up.

Early in the season before anything had come up, we saw that Eldorado Canyon (South Boulder Creek) had enough water to paddle. It is a burley stretch of water right outside Boulder, we had run it a few times before, and it is rowdy. We went out at like 8am before class, because it is only like a half mile long of straight class V+ the whole way. It was really low but still good to go.

I led through the first series of drops, just styling it, having a great time. Then we got to Harmon Falls. I ran the entrance drop, and then caught this low water eddy above the main drop, something comparable to Gorilla (Green River Narrows, NC). I said "I think there is a log in there" (Joe) then said "it is only on the shore" and he went, and made it through fine. Then (Mike) went, and he had something weird happen to his boat. It looked like a weird pirouette ender thing in the middle of it, but he made it through, and I was up there by myself, like, fuck they made it through. So I went, and of course, my nose went under the log. This is right in the middle of this big cascading narrow drop that is big and powerful.

At first it was fine, I was way above water. But then in an instant, my boat fell harder under the log and the log pinned me at the waist and it got REAL bad. I was under a log. I wedged my paddle on the river bed and had the top of the paddle with my finger tips so my head was above water, but water was splashing in my mouth. And I was all by myself.

I held on for a few minutes like this until my friends noticed I was not around at the bottom and came to investigate. They then saw that I was pinned, boat completely invisible underwater, and my head barely above water, but very sketch. Not getting good breaths. (Mike) hopped on a rock near me, and they were asking me what was going on, I said I was pinned at the waist by a log. They were like holy shit. I was getting really tired and in a weird balance, and I was also being stabbed by a branch in my stomach, for real stabbed. (Mike) grabbed my hand, but couldn't get to the back of my boat to pull because it was too deep in the fast current. I was fighting against the water pressure the whole time.

Then (Mike) said. "You have to get out of your boat." He said "For REAL!!!" Then he saw where the log was coming out of the river and started kicking it. I felt current going under me. I was able to monkey fuck one of my legs out of the kayak, and started kicking the cockpit. Right before this I was like "FUCK!" I really felt like this was the end. I had this divine emptiness fill my soul, but (Mike) kept me fighting. I started kicking my cockpit as he kicked the log, and sure enough, my boat slipped out from under me, then I was swept into the current next, under the log.

I heard (Mike) Rebel Yell as I came out the other side of the log, ready to swim a drop that is comparable in gnarlyness to Gorilla! I style the line. Killed it, and then barely beached myself on the bank. I barely got out. I was so hypothermic and exhausted I couldn't walk. (Mike) jumped his way down to me, grabbed me and threw me away from the river.

I couldn't walk. I was coughing up water, and had tears running down my face.

Writing this makes me scared all over again. I was close.

(Joe) said his hands were shaking the whole day after that- he thought I was a goner.


Lessons learned:
If you see a log- check it out
Only paddle with bros (people you trust)
Realize shit can happen and ask yourself is it worth it. Dying with your eyes open in a pin is now the worst way to go in my opinion.


I quit paddling for a couple months, but then got back into it with better judgment, and huge amounts knowing how real it is.

My near death story. It was fucking real!

Peace and Love
Kayaker X
Asheville NC


Had gnarly stuff happen since, but nothing that scary. I have had some nice crashes though. I have mad respect for wood, and (Mike) saved my life- Straight the fuck up! I love that dude!