The 2010 Triple Crown…A Fresh Combo Move Which Spans Oceans…

There are moments in time, where you think to yourself…”This isn’t really going to make sense, or sink in for a while.”  This post, chronicling the greater part of the past year, is an attempt to put some of those types of moments and experiences into words.  I’m sure the feelings and meanings of the adventures described below will change over time, but for now I hope you enjoy some thoughts and pictures on what I consider one of the more ambitious combo moves of my life…

Attempting anything new will always provide a challenge and possibly some anxiety.  However, what is considered new can also be familiar, and what is familiar can also be new.  Finding myself in Stanley, Idaho for the second summer in a row was about as good of a set-up for any multicontinental combo move one could muster up.  With 100-year floods gracing the state with large quantities of water late into the fall, there was ample opportunity to push one’s limits paddling a kayak in what is known as the Big Water Arena.

Here we find Sir Wilbur Tinsley Stubblizer charging down the peaked out North Fork of the Payette.  Will also partook in all three stages of the Triple Crown combo move, yet again progressing his river skills by leaps and bounds with a style and intelligence smooth enough to be included in any list of the top large volume whitewater kayakers around today.   (Photo by Emily Meridith)

Whitewater is found throughout the world in varying styles, volumes and accessibility during the summer months.  Each destination has a group of paddlers who base their lives around being in that specific area they enjoy the most, during the time of year when the whitewater there is at its prime.   Here we find Freddy Coreill, Ryan Casey, Mark ChCheeny and yours truly enjoying the fruits of road and railway blast right where we want to be, right when we want to be there! (Photo by Ted Werre)

Jacob’s Ladder is one of those rapids that can stick in your brain all winter long.  You wake from dreams at night sweating from getting right banked, you day dream at work about that nose-up boof you hit with only your boys around to see, your vision blurs at a moment’s thought of the confusion only known as The Golf Course.  This photog captured me lining up the crux of Jake’s in my first run of the beast last season. (Photo Ted Werre)

16 times 3 equals 48 plus 1 times 1700 times 3 plus an extra Jakes and Golf Course equals just shy of 50 miles of kayaking in one day descending about 5280 feet with a remainder of a mostly full cube of PBR to celebrate one of the best days of kayaking Idaho has to offer.  Math can be hard…so can kayaking.

As the summer turned to fall over the Sawtooths, thoughts quickly moved toward the next step in the Triple Sec…the mighty Himalaya.  The world’s largest mountain range had been placed into the equation the night before I left North Carolina.  After going over some pictures and maps with JJ Shepherd,  Wilbur Stubbs and Issac Thomson at the Team Renegade HQ deep in the deciduous forest of the Southeast, we made plans to rendezvous in Delhi, India on October 5th, 2010.  The plan was to pull off a ten week long kayaking adventure moving east from Uttarkhand, India to Central Nepal paddling as much high class whitewater as possible with an international team hailing from both North Carolina and New Zealand.

Departing the Motherland from Southern California enabled us to swing by my main man, Kelly the Script Flippa, for a last minute dance and style consultation visit.  Big Ups to Jim, Tom and Sophie for the digs, parking, surf sessions and hospitality while in the Juanita scene! (Stubbs photo)

I’m not sure if Will or Issac retained much from Kelly’s style consultation, however upon arriving in Asia we immediately met up with Issac and Kev England to explore the sensory overload known to the world as Delhi, India. (Photo by Coop)

“Elevate your thoughts on the vibe that we brought, while we climbing we shine like a Super Bowl ring.” (Coop Photo)

After the arrival of our final two team members, JJ and Toby McDermott, we hit the road en route to the Himalayan foothills in what can only be described as one of the most eye-opening automotive rides I’ve ever experienced in my life.  This pictures illustrates the Indian perception of adequate passing room. (Photo by Coop)

From the resourcefulness of these crumb-snatchers, to the cricket pitch kids, to the village of hokie-pokiers, the kids of the Himalaya have a knack for keeping themselves entertained no matter what situation they find themselves in.  It is quite humbling to witness after you’ve spent over $1000 for a plane flight, another $100 for your kayak, paddle and gear to get on board, and a helluva lot of time organizing, researching and preparing to entertain yourself on a few silly rivers. (Photography by Coop)

“Just some more Himalayan roadside class III!” From day one, we immediately became accustomed to finding whitewater at least one or two grades higher than what we saw from the van up on the road.  Here Toby Dog and Wilbur scout out one of many large torrents encountered on our mission. (Photo by JJ)

As long as we kept driving up river valleys containing “Himalayan Roadside Class III” we continued to find ourselves putting on ultra-classic stretches of some of the most satisfying class IV-V kayaking you can imagine. Pictured above, Issac, Toby, Will and I (from bottom to top) bomb into the first rapid of the Bhagarati River.  The Bhagarati is commonly known as the source of the Ganges River, which is considered the holiest of all Indian rivers.  Getting to experience such a meaningful place to so many people in a way they would never dream of makes you feel quite privileged to say the least. (Photo by JJ)

Kids, don’t try this at home.  As a matter of fact, don’t try most of the highly skilled manuevers of Mr. Jason Jason Shepherd anywhere in the world.  This man is as widely traveled as the International Man of Mystery himself, and has the smoothest style of anyone I know when it comes to simply making it happen.  Thanks buddy, for putting it all together and stepping into the role of The Captain like the crunch knows how to make the munch lunch.

Since returning from the trip, JJ has put together a complete trip report of our mission on his own blog, Hydrothinko.  I’ve listed the posts he has completed in chronological order to assist the keen reader…highly informative…highly pictorial…highly recommended…

1. India Nepal Mission

2. The Bhagarati and Upper Mandakni

3. The Pindar River

4. From India to Nepal (Dawn of the Sport Bus Riding)

5. The Modi Khola

6. The Kali Gandaki

7. The Mighty Marsyandi

8. Humla Karnali Day 1-3

9. Humla Karnali Day 4-6

10. Humla Karnali Day 7-9

11. Humla Karnali the Last Leg

Here we find one of the two Kiwi residing Team Renegade members, Kevin England, tackling one of the many big lines of the Bhagarati River.  (Photo by JJ)  Kev came to India in the midst of finishing his post-graduate research on West Coast landslides at the University of Canterbury, as well as fresh off the sewing machine at the Cactus factory in Christchurch, NZ after recently restarting his whitewater safety gear company, Hydroscapes.  Bringing with him the first four Full On Vests off the line, we felt a lot better about dropping into some of the unknown canyons we did with the peace of mind knowing that we had “the world’s safest PFD” on our backs.

Kev was also the only one to actively post updates about our travels on the internet while in action.  Check the goodness out at…http://www.whitewater-safety.com/category/news-blog

Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers, A peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked; If Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers, Where’s the peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked? (Photo by JJ)

Exploratory whitewater kayaking missions are in their golden age right now due to scenes like the above photograph.  All over the world, developing countries rich in water and gradient are cashing in on the resources blessed onto them by nature.  As kayakers, we possess a unique perspective of watersheds, rivers and the connection between human beings and the hydrosphere in which we live in. Over the upcoming years, paddlers need to emerge at the forefront of water discussions to provide a voice for speechless rivers around the world.

For more information on the value of free flowing rivers around the world, check out the California-based non-profit, International Rivers.  For information about their work in the Himalaya, navigate to their South Asia page.  This is my second international paddling trip, and each time I go abroad I am reminded of and thankful for the progressive leadership and infrastructure we already have in place here in the USA to protect the places which fill our lives full of happiness and adventure. Thanks to the work of organizations like American Whitewater, and large environmentally conscious companies such as Patagonia (who have an unique Our Common Waters program), we have the opportunity to support the initiatives we feel passionate about. (Photo by JJ)

The Reverend will now step down from the alter to present to you, Team Renegade in all its glory… (From left to right) Kev England (NZ), Issac Thomson (NZ), Brotha Laxman (India), Toby McDermott (USA), Cooper Lambla (USA), JJ Shepherd (USA), Will Stubblefield (USA).

This brother is on Team Renegade too…he just doesn’t know it yet. “We are all renegades, we have been renegades for a long time, and we will continue to be renegades.” -Toby D.

After dropping Kev off in the border town of Banbasa we continued eastbound and down first into No-man’s-land, and then finally after some serious rickshaw negotiations and a hefty (by Asian standards) Visa entrance fee, into Western Nepal.  Here we have The Captain himself settling into what would be a little over a month’s worth of freestyle transportation. (StubblePhoto)

Technically transportation really was the focus of our trip.  As a matter of fact, transportation is the focus of any kayaking adventure.  To roughly quote the great Willy Kern, “I think kayaking will always be about putting on a river, paddling down it, and then taking off.”  Profound.  Almost as profound as the scenes held within this video shot and edited by Mr. Will Stubbs.

“Ah, why like this?” Awaking in a D-Pan haze after the first of three trans-country bus rides, Team Renegade settled into its unofficial Nepalese HQ located at Ganesh’s paradise in the lakeside town of Pokhara, The New Future Way Guest House. (Photo by JJ)

Along with not having our own form of private transportation, Nepal immediately provided a harsh contrast to the undeveloped tourism style we became accustomed to in Uttarkhand.  We quickly got used to haggling down white folk bus prices while keeping an eye out for power lines, tree branches and bad men.  “Tell me I’m a bad man!” (Photo by Coop)

This was a trip of many firsts on many fronts for me, one of which included the use of porters as a means to access remote, roadless rivers.  Each time we hired these hardworking men I couldn’t help but think of how ashamed Adam Herzog would be of us.  Here we have Issac, Toby and I along with some of our Team Renegade sanctioned porters, cruising up the Modi Khola river valley with Annapurna III looming overhead. (Wilbur Photo)

It’s no secret…the Kali Gandaki got that action satisfaction, the brothers with that positive reaction!  A post about this trip would not be complete without a special thanks to some very generous folks who support grassroots kayakers getting amongst it…BIG UPS out to Marc and Simon at Riot Kayaks, (who are BACK in the game, despite the word on the street) Bryan KIrk, Josh and Kurtis at NRS, Tom and Spence at Shred Ready and finally Mike and Rich at Snapdragon Designs.  It’s trips like these where you realize that putting yourself into committing situations requires gear which you can trust your life on…Thanks for making it! (JJ Photo)

The world is small.  It’s a fact.  NASA recently discovered 68 planets larger than our earth in the Milky Way.  However, I think subcultures like the kayaking community exemplify how small our world is, more so than most NASA scientists can.  Showing up in a new corner of the world with a kayak will almost always run you into either old friends, or at least new friends who have old friends in common with you.  Pictured above is Ben Lemmond, no less than one of my best friends and a fellow childhood renegade, Ben made the trek up from Ahmadabad, India to share his renegading knowledge with us.  The ability to meet him in the chaos of the streets of Dumre (not Lumle!) was a product of the size of our earth.  Thanks for the effort and all the laughs!  Kia Kaha buddy! (Photo by JJ)

This is Toby Dog.  Toby Dog dislikes Nepali tractor rides, children, explosive diarrea, excessive talking and hangovers.  Toby Dog likes whitewater kayaking.  If it looks like Toby Dog is one of the smoothest kayakers ever to grace the Marsyandi’s water with his presence…it’s because he is.  Toby provided Team Renegade with unprecedented experience, logic and style.  You da’ man, Toby…All aboard the Toby TRAIN!!! (Photo by Stubblefield)

With just under three weeks left in the Himalaya, we moved back to the western side of the country with the intent of hitting at least one of Nepal’s classic fly-in, multi-day whitewater adventures.  Finding ourselves in Nepalgunj, (possibly the worst town any of Team Renegade have ever visited) we discovered tickets into Nepal’s most remote airstrips were more expensive than previously thought.  The resulting eddy-out in “The Ganj” gave us time to study the guide book and map, buy food, freshen up our moustaches, rest and generally prepare for the mighty Humla Karnali…what would end up being the climax to our Asian paddling adventures. (Stubbs Photo)

It’s not like a UFO coming into town, because there are recognizable human beings piling out of the truck, and assumptions can be made about the colorful “dungas” which are toted along, however almost everywhere we found ourselves in the Himalaya we represented some type of circus rolling into the natives’ lives.  Needless to say, showing up to an airport in such a fashion isn’t any different.  (Photo by JJeezy)

“The Greatest Show on Earth” coming to a high alpine, Himalayan town near you!  (Photo by Stubbs)

On most flights, every kid wants to hang out in the cockpit, and get the pilot’s view.  However when you notice things like a completely fogged-over windscreen as the plane picks up speed for take off, or the microscopic size of the dirt strip you are about to attempt to land on…you have second thoughts about those childhood dreams.  (Coopstaphoto)

After what seemed like an eternity of preparing, negotiating, driving, flying, hiking, and projectile vomit assisted floating…we finally arrived at what we came for.  Here we find Toby Dog running what would turn out to be the entrance to the first major portage of the river.   Sometimes you are pleasantly surprised by rivers, and sometimes the river unpleasantly surprises you.  (Stubblephoto)

Utter exhaustion doesn’t really begin to describe the mood on the side of the river that evening.  It was day 2 of what we were hoping to be an 8-12 day trip, The Captain had barely been able to eat a thing for at least 36 hours and we had just finished our second rope-out-of-a-gorge-to-portage combo move of the day, (requiring the combined length of everyone’s rope and taking 2.5 hours to pull five boats out from what was thought to be quite the pleasant lunch spot).  I’ve heard the scene above described as the 1000 yard stare before…we think it looks way more hard core if yer rocking some bangin’ moustaches!  (Photo by William Tinsley)

The Humla Karnali was described by one of Himalayan whitewater’s original explorers, Mick Hopkinson, as “the most committing river I’ve ever run”.  Finding yourself in such committing situations equates to a feeling of being smaller than Alice while she’s talking to the hooka smoking caterpillar.  In a Wonderland of his own, Tobadias MacD commits to one of many monster rapids ending in what I wouldn’t neccesarily describe as a rabbit hole! (JJ Photobanger)

Mr. Issac Thomson, “The Koala” himself, experiencing a new definition of  what is known as “continuous whitewater”.  “There’s no beginning and there is no end, time isn’t present in that dimension…When we’re rocking, rolling and walking…Feels like I’m dreaming, but I’m not sleeping…” (Photo by Thor)

The Stubblizer, voted “Soul Boater of the Year” by the honorable Talifarious Werre, executing when it counts on the good morning rapid of Day 6.  (Jason Jason Photograph)

If Koalas are fuzzy, soft and cute, then whitewater on the Karnali packs a kick the size of the Italian boot.  It can be described as the dream you never knew you had, a dream which can most certainly, very possibly go bad.  But with the right attitude, crew, gear and food, it’s a mission which contains potential to brighten your mood……….Pretty sure those were Issac’s exact thoughts at this freeze still in time.  (Stubblization)

This scene originates from the longest distance I think most of us have ever covered in one day with a kayak.  It can only be described as “the goodness…followed by the lightness…followed by the darkness.”  (Fine photography by Jason upon Jason)

Looking back on the first overnight kayak trips I ever completed, I remember one of the biggest challenges was deciding what kind of food to bring, how much, and how that weight would affect the handling of my kayak as well as stability while portaging.  These challenges were exacerbated to the maximum on the Humla due to A) the type of food available and B) the length of the trip.  Luckily due to the dense population residing in even the most remote corners of the Himalaya, we were able to rely on being able to re-supply our food stock once on the main Karnali (The Karnali Nadi).  Here, on Day 7 we made the first of three food re-supply stops in the river-side town of Rakam. (JJ)

The Captain…in all his glory.  Not only did JJ bring with him some extraordinary leadership skills on our trip, but also a book titled “Man Eaters of Kumaon”.  Turns out Kumaon is the eastern most region of Uttarkhand where we traveled, camped and paddled for a month.  The book, written by Jim Corbett, describes in detail the hunts which were aimed at tracking down deadly tigers and leopards in Western Nepal and Kumaon.  Countless times on our trip we either heard “Tiger!” or saw the hands-curled-by-the-face human impersonation of a tiger after attempting to communicate our plans of camping on the riverbank to the locals.  JJ ain’t scared of no pussy cat.  (Photo by Coop)

Of the few group shots produced from our trip, this has got to be one of my favorites.  The morning of Day 13, our last day on the Karnali and last day together on a river in Asia for the mission.  The photo says it all…Team Renegade assembling together amidst sickness, fatigue, hunger, success, hope and satisfaction, basking in the camaraderie shared upon many river-side beaches, $2 hotel rooms, vans being driven by Indians asleep at the wheel, maxed out moving bus roof racks, Nepali hay rides, pedal rickshaws, goat feces covered pull-outs on the side of the road and countless eddys among some of the most enjoyable whitewater rivers I’ve ever paddled in my life!  Here’s to ya boys…Keep on renegading that shit!

Culture shock is typically reserved for entering a foreign country where nothing is familiar; funny how it always seems to be more influential when re-entering the familiar from the unfamiliar.  Before leaving for Asia, Will and I’s plans of flying back into Los Angeles, California with less than a week to get to Flagstaff, AZ, assemble our next team and put-on the Grand Canyon of the Colorado River seemed like a slight time crunch.  However, upon return we quickly realized the stars were primed to align, meaning time to surf, watch soccer tournaments, spend time with friends and family and of course…put down some In-N-Out Burger.  (All Grand Canyon photography by Lee Timmons unless otherwise stated…Nice eye there Debutante!)

Assembling a group of 16 people anywhere in the world, even without being out of communication and the country for the previous 10 weeks, can be difficult.  However, when the right 16 people are the ones in need of uniting…”If you build it, they will come.”  All together for our first time the day before our planned launch date, the Canyoneers got our first view of the mighty Colorado river around four miles downstream from the put-in.  For some, life-long dreams were about to become reality, for others, a curiousity was becoming even more of an unknown, and for only a couple was there some familiarity to the feeling.

And that’s just how we roll.  Rigging the rafts at Lees Ferry was made relatively stress-free due to the outstanding outfitting service provided by Brady Black and all the hard-working players at Moenkopi Riverworks.  From quality and durable gear, to super customizable options, to the extremely helpful and friendly staff, to the amazing food packed for us, to perfect housing options before and after the trip in Flagstaff, Moenkopi exceeded all of our expectations.  Thanks HEAPS gang!  Look forward to doing the tango again in the future!

“Deep, deep, I’ll take you deep…”  And before you know it, you’re deep in the most famous river canyon in the world.  Here we have kayakers, Jim Moser, Quay Hunter and Fletcher Haaga admiring scenery which only your imagination thought it could create.  Jim and Quay paddled literally the entire Grand Canyon in their kayaks.  Mr. Moser doing so with only hands paddles…with no gloves…did I mention our put-on date was December 18th?  That’s not to take anything away from Mr. Haaga, who brought to the table some fine clear-headed thinking and quite the oar-rigging skill set.  My hat is off to all three of you fellers for being an inspiration day in and day out.

These smiling old-timers happen to be my parents.  Ladies and Gentlemen the creators themselves, Mr. and Mrs. Ken and June Lambla.  Warning: A 25-day trip down the Grand Canyon may contain explicit language, renegade behavior, some-to-full-frontal nudity, harmless violence, varying degrees of alcohol consumption, and potential sexual content.  Despite the Motion Picture Association of America’s warnings, this trip is Parent Approved!!!  Needless to say, having my entire family (Mom, Dad and Sister) along for the ride made this a true trip of a lifetime.  Mad RESPECT to the whanau for stepping up to the challenges day in and day out, despite having very little river-running/ whitewater experience and doing so with a smile on their faces!

Many river trips have a moment where things sink in, the task at hand hits home and you truly understand what’s at stake.  It wasn’t until we rowed into House Rapid, the first grade 8 rapid of the trip, that I realized that I had assumed responsibility of my family’s lives in a type of whitewater craft (an oar rig) I had 100% zero experience in.  According to the picture above, it was also the point of the trip when my sister fell in love with whitewater.  The word on the street is she can now roll a kayak!?!!?!

Dora the Explorer herself, Annie Lambla, making sure the Renegade Flag was tied on daily and never hit the ground!  Can’t say enough praise about my sister’s contributions and accomplishments on this trip, as a matter of fact everyone on the trip achieved goals they never knew they had, pushing limits they never imagined coming close to.  I hate it when the truth sounds cheesy, but sometimes the truth just sounds the way it is.

Any conversation about pushing oars, pushing limits or pushing human waste on the Canyon is not complete without mention of the one and only…Poo Boat.  These two striking men, Ted Werre and David Clarke, showed up to the Canyon expecting to use their craft of choice, a kayak, to navigate the inner streches of the Colorado River.  Upon arrival in Flagstaff at two o’clock in the morning the night before we headed to the put-in, the lads agreed to make a last minute change and take the reins of one of four oar rigs carrying the group’s gear and people down the river.  Becoming notorious for rebellious behavior and “running the meat” of every rapid encountered, the Poo Raft gained respect for their ingenuity and pure desire to survive the obstacles thrown at them by the trip.  Big UPS to ya boys for not only pulling it off, but for doing so with a style truly encompassing the word unique.

The trip marked my first Christmas Day spent on a river.  Timing allowed us to stop by Phantom Ranch to send and receive mail, as well as do some caroling, row through Horn Creek Rapid, and finally camp at the brink of Granite Rapid.  This campsite enabled us to make lap after lap of the giant wave-train in the kayaks, satisfying a severe two-bladed paddling hunger growing among the oarsmen of the crew.  A little surveying of the fish in the pool above the rapid was a very necessary step to a successful run in the playboat.

And the water doth fall, from thy sky…or is it thy rock, which didst caught my eye.  For thy persons who doth stare, at this grand affair, are bless-ed onto us, by none other but a greater ridiculous.  Thy heavens above, and thy hell below, dost tell a story of watery woe.  Thy story dost proceed, infront thy eyes which doth heed, thy blessing from thy sky to appreciate thy minds which have doth been freed.

The many scales of the Grand Canyon are not necessarily anticipated, yet they are appreciated to the fullest every day of the trip.  The expanse of the Canyon’s size is a scale indescribable even by its inclusion in the Seven Natural Wonders of the World.

On the other side of the spectrum, the effects of water on the smaller scale of the canyon are just as impressive, if not more so, due to the effort associated with noticing such details.  Here on New Years Day morning, one of the colder mornings felt on the trip, the combination of water, temperature and sand produced a spectacle worthy of visual enjoyment.

Planning a Grand Canyon trip to span the heart of winter, through both Christmas and New Years, had most people I talked to about the idea shivering at the very thought of such a mission.  With the majority of our skies clear, a group willing to put a positive attitude at the forefront of every day, and enough party supplies to warm everyone’s innards on demand, the benefits of a mid-winter trip far out-numbered the few numbing moments we had.  Here, during the collaborative New Years Eve cave party with our new-found friends from Ireland and Canada, apparently warmth was in excess.

Warm and fuzzy are not exactly how I would describe this infamous torrent of whitewater.  Chunk and Muz powered the Team Kiwi raft flawlessly through the mighty Lava Falls in the photograph above, setting a beautiful example for the rest of the rigs to imitate.  And yes, that is an 18 foot, two ton oar rig  lost amongst the froth of the magma!  (Photo by Haaga)

Team Kiwi really deserves top notch respect for their efforts, enthusiasm and style in the canyon.  Chunk, Muz and Toby rode fire breathing dragons to North America just for this trip.  Making sure to tantalize various parts of Canada, Alaska and Las Vegas with their presence along the way down to the Greatest Ditch in the World, Team Kiwi showed up in Flagstaff dressed about how they are pictured above, making a statement that “You soft handed, glove-wearing Americans aren’t ready for this!”  Little did they know, some of us don’t wear gloves, and were ready for them…whether we knew it or not.  Chur CHUR gang for repping hard, wouldn’t have been the same without ya! (Photo by Annie)

As the whitewater is buried by the outstretched arms of Lake Mead, you have time to sit back, relax, and reflect on the world, life, the trip, friends, rivers, geology and fish.   It wasn’t really until we were floating on this stretch, looking back on the Canyon upstream, the Himalayas and Idaho did I realize how fortunate I was to experience three such amazing places with uncountable sets of amazing people, back-to-back-to-back.  It was a combo move not necessarily planned as such, but more so a combo move planned out of necessity. (Cooper photo)

Needless to say, I felt like one of the luckiest kids alive.  (Photo by Annie Lambla)

Similar feelings might have been drifting through this kid’s mind as well.  While I can’t speak for the reflections on his own experiences, I can say it was a privilege and honor to have Will Stubblefield along on all three stages of the combo move as a paddling partner and best friend.  There aren’t too many other folks I’d rather do a verticle mile, ride around Asia for 10 weeks, and then co- lead a 25-day Grand Canyon trip with.  Here’s to ya, mate…can’t wait for the next mission! (Photo by Annie)

And for people I’d like to spend 25 days with up-close and personal…there’s hundreds.  However the 2010/2011 Christmas, New Years, Multiple-Lunar Eclipse Canyoneers will never go down in my book as anything less than the best Grand Canyon crew that ditch has ever seen…(from left to right) Top Row: Annie Lambla, Quay Hunter, Fletcher Haaga, Ken Lambla, June Lambla, Cooper Lambla, David Clarke, Lee Timmons, Will Stubblefield, Ted Werre, Ben Robinson, Jim Moser, Bill Stubblefield; Bottom Row: Simon “Chunk” Henson, Marie “Muz” Louise Finch, and Toby How.  Can’t say enough praise about each and everyone of you, as well as the crew as a whole.  LEGENDS!!!

And so Team Renegade’s flag flies on…representing a mindset, a subculture, an attitude and a feeling which can be felt no matter where you find yourself.  It doesn’t have to be a far and remote land, a world renowned geologic phenomenon, or a flooded river…wherever you are, live it up, follow your nose and renegade the life you love! (Photo by Annie Bananie)

HEELLLLOOOOOOO California!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (Photo by D Clarke)