Knee surgery, the right boat and low water on the Middle Fork

August 17, 2006

I injured my knee back in February. After months of hoping it would get better without surgery, I had to circum to the “knife”. A few days before my surgery I got an invite for the Middle Fork of the Salmon River in Idaho. I informed my friend that I definitely wanted to go, but for one small problem–I was having knee surgery and would be a total gimp. I thought I would need to spend most of the time just being a passenger in one of the rafts, if I was able to go at all. The trip was leaving only a week and a half after surgery and I didn’t think there would be any way I could think about getting into a kayak.

After surgery I was healing quickly, so I thought maybe I’d just take my roomy Rocker and be able to kayak after all. Then, the day before we left I thought maybe I’d just try to squeeze into my 4 Fun and Superstar and see how they would feel on my knee. I have always been impressed with how comfortable the Jacksons are, but this was a true test. Wow! Both the 4 Fun and the Superstar totally supported my knee in the most comfortable bent position and didn’t place any strain on the knee at all. I took both boats to my local bay and spent some time paddling and rolling just to make sure I wouldn’t be hurting my knee if I took one of these on the trip. The verdict: I would be taking a “play boat” after all!

I traveled to Idaho with Dan Rubado’s family, which had a permit for the same dates as my group. At Dagger Falls on the Middle Fork we found the river to be at 2.03 on the gauge. Both Dan’s group and ours had the same experience. With the low water, the first 40 miles resembled a nearly continuous boulder garden. Rafts were getting stuck every 50 feet or more. This is where the short Jackson playboats became invaluable to the groups. We were able to zip around in the boulder fields with ease, stopping in the smallest of eddies to assist with stuck boats. Often, without even getting out of my boat, I was able to place the nose of my boat against the offending rock and pull on the boat’s chicken line enough to get the raft moving. The last half of the trip, as the river deepened, we had some good drops and some play. Dan and I even managed to paddle together for most of one day, despite being in separate groups.

I just find it amazing, less than two weeks after surgery, while still having difficulty walking up an incline or carrying any weight, how good my knee felt while in the Superstar. Even with all the maneuvering, pulling and hole play, my knee felt secure. I didn’t feel any strain on it. During the seven days I was on the river, each day I had improvement of my knee and will be back to work soon, I am really thankful to have such a comfortable boat to rehab in.

Andy Graham aka Kayakmedic