Eric Seymour sends in this sweet WY update!

Photos

By Eric Seymour

Central Wyoming Creeking in the Super Hero

Deer Creek is relatively unheard of and was first run over ten years ago by Ed Conning and some other WY boaters. Since the run was first completed it has only seen one other decent of the lower gorge. We heard there was quality whitewater, a long day, and a lot of rapids that were left unrun. That sounded like a perfect adventure for Ben Stookesberry and myself. We rallied WY guru, Aaron Mulkey, who is the owner of Core Mountain Sports in Cody, WY and Colorado renown paddler Gary Edgeworth for the trip. Casper locals Mike and Alex also joined us for the trip and were a huge help with logistics.

Getting to Deer Creek is an adventure in itself. The road to the put-in is the gnarliest four wheel drive/mud pit infested road I have ever been on. Gary rallied his big ford truck to the put-in, refusing to hike where most would have turned around miles before. He gunned the truck through huge mud pits and Melissa our shuttle driver looked more nervous the further we got. Melissa was a rockstar and rallied the truck to the takeout completeing the two hour shuttle.

At the put-in we noticed a lot of water in the creek. We knew it was going to be a big day looking at the first large Class V drop with a huge hole at the bottom. Our lines were a varying degree of success with several members having to surf out the left side of the hole. I was able to pull a huge boof off the curler and didn’t even get my hair wet. Yes, I love the Super Hero.

Ben convinced me to move my seat forward four to five inches and the boat excelled in everything. The Super Hero punches holes like a madman, doesn’t get messed with in the funky currents, drives like a sports car with its edges, turns on a dime and boofs like a dream. I would highly recommend trying the boat out with the seat moved forward. Ben Stookesberry, Jesse Coombs, and I have our seats all the way forward in the Super Hero and we love it! The boat is so responsive and is amazing at punching holes. Just thinking about the boat makes me smile and want to go creeking.

Deer Creek was amazing and all of us agreed that the run is a classic. For seven miles one gets to experience an amazing canyon and solid whitewater. We saw three huge elk grazing on the side of the river with antlers covered in velvet. Ben got the first and only decent of a twenty foot falls into a gorged out canyon with a nasty hole at the bottom. The rest of us only portaged that one drop. The run is filled with the highest quality boat scouting and a tons of big rapids with huge holes. If you ever get the chance to go creeking in WY, go for it, you won’t be disapointed.

Eric Seymour