Kayaking the Royal Gorge
My First "Epic" River Adventure

I got flipped unintentionally only once today in the Royal Gorge, but it was a doozy. I was in Sledgehammer Rapid after Sunshine Falls. Somehow I was flipped with my back over the stern of the boat. I was still partially in the air as I went upside down over a drop. I was staring at rock slabs along the drop just inches under my face, but I was able to use the paddle to keep my face clear during the slide until I dropped into deeper water where I could then submerge for a roll.
This unusual airborne/rock slab flip is one reason I may eventually choose to kayak with a face cage, as I have seen a few other kayakers do.

I came up quickly enough from the flip once I got into the water at the base of the drop, but when I came up I was off the precise line we had chosen when scouting the rapid earlier.
Amusingly, Lisa, Eric, and Jay were all ahead of me and did not see me flip. As they settled in an eddy at the base of the rapid to wait for me, they saw me taking a ridiculous and undesirable line down the rapid.

At first they thought I was crazy and chose the more difficult line on purpose, but it was chosen for me because of the flip. Everyone was impressed that I made it through the unplanned route unscathed, but I hadn't really noticed how bad the line was as I paddled it. I was still feeling exuberant from rolling up from the unsettling airborne/rock slab flip. Sledgehammer is not a good place to be upside down for very long.
I was also feeling relief that I didn't scrape my face off on the exposed boulder slabs during my long upside down drop.
You can view the upper portion of Sledgehammer in the scouting video below.

I did take a hard hit to my upper right shoulder during my moment underwater after the drop. Some PFD's come up higher on the back than my Stohlquist Brik. I think a higher backed PFD would have helped a lot with this particular impact. I ended up with a nasty bruise, but I was able to continue paddling with an acceptable level of discomfort. (A special PFD Journal Entry will be added to the site after I get caught up with all the Paddle Day Entries.)

	Lisa with Royal Gorge train in background.	Jay and Eric scouting Sledgehammer Rapid.

You can see above why the upcoming rapid is called Wallslammer. There is a giant wall that the water slams into as the river takes a left turn. The wall appears to be undercut and probably not a good place to swim. I was careful to avoid getting shoved against the wall by the current. The above right video gives a taste of the ambience near Wallslammer Rapid.