The Pro's Picks

Where do the pros like to play? Don't tell them you heard about it from us, but following is a sampling of their favorite spots.

Paddler: Dan Gavere
Homebase: Salt Lake City, Utah
Age: 28
Years Paddling: 15
Boating Background: 4th place, 1996 Rodeo Pre-Worlds; 1st place 1995 World Extreme Championships; 2nd place (hole riding) 1993 World Rodeo Championships.
Favorite Playspot: The playhole and huge wave below the Kootenay Falls in Montana.
Reason: "It's a natural kayak fun park. It's got a 25-foot waterfall, 50 feet below that it's got a great cartwheel spot, and 50 feet below that is the biggest surf wave you've ever seen."

Paddler: Mark Lyle
Homebase: Chattanooga, Tenn.
Age: 35
Years Paddling: 13
Boating Background: "I've made the U.S. rodeo team the last five years, and in 1996 I took six firsts and four seconds in the 10 rodeos I entered. I also won 1996's Pre-Worlds on the Ottawa, won this year's Team Trials at Rock Island, and have won the Ocoee rodeo three times in a row."
Favorite Playspot: "Any place there's not a line. Actually, I kind of hate to say it, but Hell Hole on the Ocoee is hard to beat when it's at the right level (1,500-1,900 cfs)."
Reason: "If you have the skill, you can throw just about any trick you want to there. There's also no rock to worry about bashing your boat on, and the concrete umbrella of the bridge keeps you from getting sunburned."

Paddler: Corran Addison
Homebase: St. Augustin, Quebec
Age: 28
Years Paddling: 22
Boating Background: "I competed in K-1 slalom in the 1992 Olympics for South Africa and took second at the 1995 World Rodeo Championships. Now my focus is not so much on competition, but rather on inventing new moves and playing new places. I'm also into endurance races now like the Raid Gauloises."
Favorite Playspot: Lachines--St Laurent, Quebec (home of this year's Pre-world Freesurf Championships).
Reason: "It's a wave 10-feet high and 20-feet wide. It's very unstable and surgy, so it opens up a whole host of new moves that can only be done there. Behind the wave is a hole, and slightly downstream are about a dozen house-sized holes where you can do whatever you like."

Paddler: Tracy Clapp
Homebase: Chattanooga, Tenn.
Age: 30
Years Paddling: 18
Boating Background: "I seem to place 3rd to 7th in just about every rodeo I enter. I'm getting sick of all those tiny little mugs. I want a big one."
Favorite Playspot: Great Falls, Caney Fork, Tenn.
Reason: "It's a nice big hole and there's usually nobody there. It also has killer surfing and is incredibly gorgeous. And the fishermen don't throw too many beer cans at you."

Paddler: Clay Wright
Homebase: Rock Island, Tenn.
Age: 30
Years Paddling: 20+
Boating Background: "I placed 4th at the Augsburg Worlds in 1995, took third in the Pre-Worlds on the Ottawa in 1996, and this year won the squirt division at the Ottawa Worlds. I also took second at 1997's East Coast Team Trials at Rock Island. "
Favorite Playspot: Upper Railroad on the New River
Reason: "It's got a wild corner on the left that turns into a wave, but turns sharply back into the hole. You can use that to do a lot of loops and it lets you catch huge air."

Paddler: Brandon Knapp
Homebase: Medford, Oregon
Age: 21
Years paddling: 6
Boating Background: 3rd on the 1997 East Rodeo Team, 1st in '96 and '97 at the Kern Rodeo, 2nd at the '96 Ocoee Rodeo, and 1st in '95 and '96 at the Big Eddy Rodeo. Also a member of the 1997 European TEVA whitewater kayak tour.
Favorite Playspot: Worm Hole, Rogue River Oregon
Reason: "That's where we train in the winter. There is a bridge overhead with lights on it so we surf at night. It's a fun hole that lets you do a lot of different maneuvers."

Paddler: Chris Spelius
Homebase: Bryson City, N.C.
Age: 47
Years paddling: 24
Boating Background: 1984 National Sprint Kayak Champion (and Olympic team member); 1989 Senior National Slalom Champion; owner Expediciones Chile. "I won all the big rodeos (Bob's Hole, Payette, etc.) back in the early days, and probably helped contribute to the professionalization of kayaking because I was one of the first guys to get paid for it."
Favorite Playspot: Wave/hole combo above The Terminator, Rio Futaleafu, Chile. ("Of course, I also like Devil's Dip on the Tuckafiege near home--you can put in a load of laundry, go down and play, and then come back and throw everything into the dryer.")
Reason: "It's too good of a set-up to be true. The sun always shines on shore on natural, polished rock formations, making perfect bleachers for spectators; a big eddy feeds into a huge surfing wave, where you can do cross-overs with three boats; and at the far end of the wave is a white pile/hole. There's one small wave right below it and then you drop down into a world-class rodeo hole. The only problem is that the intimidation factor is huge--80 yards downstream and you're in The Terminator. You don't want to swim or even pop a skirt."

Paddler: Eric Jackson
Homebase: Washington, D.C.
Age: 33
Years paddling: 27
Boating Background: 1992 Olympic Whitewater Slalom team (K-1); 1993 World Rodeo Champion; 1997 World Rodeo silver medallist.
Favorite Playspot: The waves at the base of Great Falls on the Potomac at six, seven and eight feet. Also a hole called The Humbler.
Reason: They're just huge, exploding, really fast 15-foot waves that break on the top. And you have to run about half of the falls to get there. My favorite hole, The Humbler, is located at the island below Horseshoe Falls and is best at about seven feet. You go in belligerent and come out humble.

The Nation's Top Playspots

Tired of your local playhole? Want to cartwheel with the rad dads? Then take a roadtrip to the following playspots throughout the country where you can cartwheel until the cows come home.

Hell Hole

Ocoee River, Tennessee

Named by local rafters, who after cresting the wave above it are rewarded with "a view straight down into the depths of Hell," Hell Hole on Tennessee's Ocoee River lives up to its billing for boaters not accustomed to its pulsating temper. But its bark is worse than its bite, and on a crowded day as many as 30 playboaters can be found lined up in one of two eddies waiting for a crack at the Ocoee's most popular playspot. The eddy on river left lets you ferry over to a large wave above the hole; the eddy on the right lets you plunge your bow in right away.

Don't expect to find the hole at flood stage, as it washes out above flows of 2,500 cfs. But the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) makes sure it's there Thursday through Monday throughout the summer, and on weekends from the second weekend in April to Memorial Day. Flows usually average 1,250 cfs, and the hole keeps its hellish form from about 900 to 1,400 cfs. To get there, either park on Hwy. 64 right at the hole or head to the put-in for the 4.5-mile main Ocoee run below TVA Dam #2. Look for a bridge spanning the river next to a powerhouse towards the end of the run, and look for playboaters of all walks--many of which have likely competed in rodeos at the hole every year since 1987. (In 1993 Hell Hole served as the site for the World Rodeo Championships.)

All these people, of course, means having to wait in line. But like the hole, the wait is usually worse than it looks. "The rides in Hell Hole are short," says Kelly Fisher, author of A Playboater's Guide to the Ocoee River. "Although the top guys can stay in there forever, most people can't stay in for more than 30 seconds. That makes the lines move quickly." When your sinuses are fully douched, head to a bar called Wildwater about five miles downstream for the best medium-rare burger in the valley. If you have any energy left afterwards, join the die-hards at the new Grumpy's dancehall across the street, where you can practice spins and other moves you couldn't master on the water.

Hole Hints:
Run/Class: TVA Ocoee Dam #2 to Powerhosue #2; III+

Post Paddle Hangout: Wildwater (burgers, medium-rare); Grumpy's.

Best Place to Buy Noseplugs: Nantahala Outdoor Center.

Stickiness Factor: Will spit you out like a sunflower seed.

Optimal Water Level: 1,000-1,400 cfs.

Water Level Window: Releases occur from Memorial Day through Labor Day, Thursday through Monday, and on weekends from the second weekend in April to Memorial Day.

Screw-up Factor: Just hit your roll before Powerhouse Ledge.

Locals Tip: Lines alternate from the eddies on each side.

Great Falls

Caney Fork River, Tennessee

Good luck finding the Great Falls hole on Tennessee's Caney Fork. In the first place, it's in the middle of nowhere. Secondly, the Class III run it's on is only 50 yards long, from power generator turbines to a lake. Thirdly, none of the non-kayaking locals are likely to offer any help, and local paddlers are likely to keep their lips sealed for fear of word getting out. Still, if you can bushwhack your way through the area's poison ivy, snakes and kayak-hating locals, you're in for a Tennessee treat like no other. The hole offers one of the best cartwheel spots east of the Mississippi, and comes complete with a picturesque waterfall dropping into the river a throw-bag's throw away. The hole is so conducive to linked vertical moves, in fact, that despite its inaccessibility and the locals' inhospitality, it served as the site for the 1997 East Coast team trials for the U.S. Rodeo Team.

There's more to it, however, than simply dealing with defensive fishermen, poison ivy and snakes. It's one of the more dangerous holes in the country, with large undercuts located directly downstream. It's also located in a state park that carries a host of visitation rules. To top it off, access is poorly marked and roads getting there are lousy. And local boaters might not be too helpful if they catch you snooping around--it's their little secret, and they hate to see a good thing spoiled.

Hole Hints:

Run/Class: 50 yards/Class III

Post Paddle Hangout: Although the only store within 15 miles is the Rock Island Market (great for a whitebread-and-butter greasy breakfast while you're getting gas), hit the Fog Light Food House in nearby Walling for fried pickles and ostrich.

Best Place to Buy Noseplugs: You had better not forget them; the nearest paddling shop is all the way back in Chattanooga.

Stickiness Factor: Moderately sticky at lower levels; molasses-like at higher flows.

Optimal Water Level: 3,200 cfs, but anything between 2,400 and 3,600 is fine.

Water Level Window: Depends on power demands and how much water is in the lake. Sometimes it's playable year round.

Screw-up Factor: Undercut limestone just downstream. Even top rodeo dogs have been in danger of washing into them.

Locals Tip: Stay out of the walleye fishermen's way--they get violent if molested. Rumor has it local paddlers don't even go to the hole unless they have more boaters than there are fishermen.

Hungry Mother/Insignificant

Gauley River, West Virginia

By all accounts, Hungry Mother on West Virginia's Gauley River, lives up to its sticky billing. Located below Pillow Rock and before Lost Paddle rapids, Hungry Mother has caused more than one playboater's eyes to widen in fright while stuck in the hole and staring up at a raft full of commercial customers. But it will spit you out eventually, and is as good a place to practice intentional and unintentional cartwheels as you'll find anywhere. It lets you hit vertical moves on both sides, and although it changes at different water levels, there's usually a good eddy on river left. The other hotspot on the Gauley is Insignificant, named by some wise-ass who said everything above Pillow Rock was insignificant. The spot is more of a surfing site than a rodeo hole, though good paddlers can link cartwheels on the leftside break. The wave/hole is formed from the river feeding onto a large, slightly undercut, hotel-sized rock on river right. The wave is about 30 feet wide and six feet high at the peak, and is accessible from both eddies (although the left one is easier). Both spots offer the usual East Coast warm-water paddling, but the releases come in September and October, so the air temp can be cool, and downright cold at night. Be prepared to paddle in 80-degree F weather one day, and 40 the next. The river is undercut everywhere so paddle with care, and beware of the Panther Creek takeout--the march up the muddy hill is likely to send you cartwheeling faster than Hungry Mother.

Hole Hints:

Run/Class: Upper Gauley/Class IV-V

Post Paddle Hangout: For food, head to Fayetteville, W.V., and get the pasta special at the Sedona Grill; the lasagna at Basil's; or a trendy daily special at the new Cathedral Cafe. For libations, head to the Red Dog Saloon (especially if you feel like dancing), or Charlie's Bar, where the drinks are stiffer than your surfed-out body.

Best Place to Buy Noseplugs: Three choices, all in or near Fayetteville: The Starrk Moon, Mountain State Canoe and Kayak or North American River Runners.

Optimal Water Level: 3,000-3,500 cfs for Hungry Mother; 3,000-5,000 for Insignificant.

Water Level Window: Six weeks in September and October, weekends only.

Screw-up Factor: There are rafts everywhere, so be on the lookout at all times. The best plan is to put on after noon.

Locals Tip: Avoid the seam in the center of Insignificant; it sometimes drops out, leaving you with nowhere to turn except over. And don't get caught sideways in Hungry Mother.

Upper Railroad/Ender Wave

New River Gorge, W.V.

The New River Gorge in West Virginia isn't new to playboaters. When it's running 4.5 feet or so, one of the best playholes in the East shows itself right at the put-in parking lot, drawing local video boaters and guides to it like barflies to a happy hour. The Upper Railroad hole lets you cartwheel 'til you puke, and is a favorite among locals for its steep wave on the left that throws you quckly back into the hole. This lets you catch air normally reserved for surfboards performing cutbacks in the ocean.

When the water's too low for Upper Railroad, head downstream to Ender Wave, which kicks in at six inches to 1.5 feet on the Fayette Station gauge. It's located right next to an eddy for escalator service back upstream, and has a 360-degree spin hole right above it that lets you spin before landing in the hole. Perhaps the best thing about both of these holes is that you don't need a shuttle driver. For Upper Railroad, simply park at the put-in. For Ender Wave, locals usually paddle down the mile and a half and then paddle and portage their way back up

Hole Hints:

Run/Class: New River Gorge/Class III-IV

Post Paddle Hangout: Same as after a day on the Gauley: Head to Fayetteville.

Best Place to Buy Noseplugs: Pick them up in Fayetteville before you start playing.

Stickiness Factor: Both can be quite retentive--especially if you try to get out on the left at Upper Railroad.

Optimal Water Level: Ender Wave: six inches to 1.5 feet at the Fayette Station guage. Upper Railroad: 3.5 feet to 6 feet (ideal is 4.5 feet).

Water Level Window: Varies throughout year depending on rain. Look for Upper Railroad to hit 4.5 feet during the spring.

Screw-up Factor: Hitting bottom in Upper Railroad can separate ribs and shoulders. Swim left (carrying your detached shoulders) and you'll be fine.

Locals Tip: Hit Upper Railroad before 5 p.m.--that's when the video boaters arrive for their daily fix. And drop into it from the top the first few times before trying to ferry over.

Santa Rita

Animas River, Durango, Colorado

The Santa Rita hole on Durango, Colo.'s Animas River is somewhat of an anomaly: In the spring, it usually doesn't show up until the river hits 2,000 cfs or so; but as the river drops during the course of the summer, the hole keeps its shape down to as little as 500 cfs. "It's kind of weird," says Perception rep Andy Corra of Durango. "It has to push the silt out or something on the way up, and once it has momentum, it stays a hole on the way down."

Located towards the end of Durango's Class II-III town run, below the Hwy. 550 bridge, Santa Rita is best accessed from an eddy on river right (you can also get to it from behind one of the bridge pylons). Most people put in upstream at Whitewater Park, and paddle and play the Smelter section before reaching Santa Rita. The best take-out is about a half-mile below the hole at Four Corners River Sports, which also lets you surf the Sawmill and Big Kahuna waves after getting trashed in Santa Rita. If you show up at the hole after a work day, expect to see a few other folks in the eddy waiting in line, and a few spectators lining the bank to watch the carnage. Also expect the crowd to be tough to please. The hole has been the rodeo site for the Animas River Days festival every year since 1982, is a regular venue for the National Organization of Whitewater Rodeos and it hosted the U.S. Rodeo Team Trials in 1994. Although top rodeo paddlers know its intricasies well, newcomers might have a harder time. The hole is formed from a long, sloping rock shelf immediately upstream, and many a bow has been dented from the rock at low levels. Because of this, it's not the best cartwheel hole unless you know exactly where to plunge in. Vertical maneuvers are possible at higher levels, but you can still hit the rock if you line up in the center. Setting up for moves is further thwarted by a large sloped ramp of Santa Rita froth. Still, the hole is there for the playing at virtually any level and affords a dose of big water hole-riding at flows above 5,500 cfs. "I've never seen it wash out," says Corra, one of many paddlers you're likely to encounter there on summer afternoons. "It just keeps getting bigger and bigger."

Hole Hints:

Run/Class: Durango Town Run; Class II-III

Post Paddle Hangout: Gazpacho's (frozen margaritas); Steamworks Brewery (Lizardhead Red).

Best Place to Buy Noseplugs: Four Corners River Sports.

Stickiness Factor: Easy to exit--if you know how to move your boat.

Optimal Water Level: 3,000-5,000 cfs.

Water Level Window: Early to mid-May through July (sometimes August), depending on flows.

Screw-up Factor: No downstream rocks--just a big wave train.

Locals Tip: If you flip upstream, tuck tight; a lot of upstream bracers come up without a blade.

Derby Creek/Burns Hole

Colorado River, Colorado

"You can multi-point there to your heart's content," says kayaker Steve Conlin, who lives a few miles downstream of the Derby Creek/Burns playhole on the Colorado River. "The problem is you often don't want to."

That pretty much sums up what some boaters are calling the hottest new playhole in Colorado. Located on the Colorado River on County Road 301 (about 100 yards upstream from the confluence of Derby Creek at Burns, Colo.), the hole is a cartwheeler's dream. As with all things too good to be true, however, it doesn't come without its price. "It's definitely not a beginner's site," says Chan Zwanzig, owner of Wave Sports, a kayak manufacturer in nearby Steamboat Springs. The main reason is a rock island located just below the hole, giving those who wash out upside-down one roll attempt before testing their helmets. (In its early days it had even more dire consequences--a raft frame, which is now gone, was stuck on the island).On the bright side, those intimidated by its consequences can head to a cartwheel pourover a few yards downstream on river left.

The Class III rapid housing the hole was created 20 years ago when a landslide filled the river with assorted Colorado debris. The hole wasn't noticed by rodeo paddlers until September 1995 when a contingent of Team Wave Sport boaters drove past and saw that the rapid had changed; runoff from the year's heavy snowpack had cleaned-out the debris, bringing the hole to life. It didn't take long for playboaters to see the hole's potential, and by August 1996 the hole hosted its first informal rodeo. In 1997 it hosted the Western U.S. Rodeo Team Trials, as well as a second informal rodeo two weeks later. "It's the best hole in Colorado--and one of the best in the U.S.," maintains Zwanzig, who makes the one-hour journey from his factory to the hole regularly. "It's not playing host to the team trials for any other reason than it's good. Plus, it always has water."

Hole Hints:

Run/Class: Lower Colorado (below State Bridge); Class II-III

Post Paddle Hangout: State Bridge bar and restaurant (juke box, pool table and Sunday night bands).

Best Place to Buy Noseplugs: Colorado Canoe and Kayak, Glenwood Springs, Colo.; Backdoor Sports, Steamboat Springs, Colo.

Stickiness Factor: Like bubble gum dipped in honey and then covered with molasses--as sticky as holes get.

Optimal Water Level: 800-1,600 cfs (above that, see Stickiness Factor-or head to the more user-friendly hole just downstream)

Water Level Window: Thaw to freeze (Early April to November).

Screw-up Factor: Enough time for one roll attempt before washing into a pile of rocks (Pablo Perez, the winner of the 1997 West Coast Rodeo team trials, swam there after his winning run).

Locals Tip: Don't paddle it alone--even the top rodeo dogs show up with someone else in case of a mishap.

Bob's Hole

Clackamas River, Oregon

If a playhole can be diagnosed as schizophrenic, Bob's Hole on Oregon's Clackamas River is the perfect candidate. In February 1996, a 60,000-cfs flood careened down the Clackamas, filling a mainstay on the NOWR circuit with enough silt and debris to turn the hole into relative flatwater. The hole disappeared, and NOWR had to cancel its Northwest flagship event. In December 1996, however, another flood washed everything out again, causing Bob's Hole--named after 77-year-old retired businessman Bob Breitenstein--to once again emerge from the depths. "It seems identical to what it used to be," says Dave Slover, a Bob's Hole regular and owner of All Star Rafting and Kayaking in nearby Maupin, Ore. "People are going there pretty regularly again."

For good reason. Located 13 miles above the town of Estacada on Hwy. 224, Bob's Hole is a playboater's dream, combining a meaty hydraulic with an easily accessible eddy on river left. These two features led to the founding of the Bob's Hole Rodeo, held every year since 1982 (except the past two due to flooding). Most people park right at the hole and jump headfirst into cartwheels. Others park about a half-mile upstream for a quick surf in Toilet Bowl Rapid before hitting Bob's. Wherever you start, expect to see up to 15 people ahead of you in the eddy on the average spring Saturday. If the line is too long, head downstream on river right to Joe Bob's Hole, which doesn't pack quite the punch of its older brother but can still doll out a solid thrashing. The downside to these playspots are that cold water and air temperatures come hand-in-hand with hole rides. "It's the best playhole in the West," maintains Slover, "but I've seen a lot of guys move out here from the Southeast to play in the hole all winter, only to see them leave after two weeks. To play in Bob's, you have to be hearty--and enjoy ice-cream headaches."

Hole Hints:

Run/Class: Three Links Powerstation to North Fork Reservoir; Class III-IV

Post Paddle Hangout: Cazadero Inn (where you can watch hoops), and Taco Time (get the vegie burrito), both in nearby Estacada.

Best Place to Buy Noseplugs: Alder Creek Canoe & Kayak Supply.

Stickiness Factor: Trashing factor rises significantly under 1,800 cfs, enough so "100-lb. paddlers get recirculated with their boats."

Optimal Water Level: 1,800-3,000 cfs for Bob's; 3,000-4,000 cfs for Joe Bob's.

Water Level Window: In and out from October through June, depending on rainfall and snowmelt.

Screw-up Factor: The hole is deep, but hit your roll fast or be ready for an ice cream headache.

Locals Tip: Don't forget your neoprene hood--and bring Dramamine for the motion sickness from endless cartwheels.

Trestle Hole

Deschutes River, Oregon

While most Oregonians have lamented the onslaught of heavy rains and floods over the last few years, kayakers have been jumping for joy. Anyone who has spent time at Bob's Hole on the Clackamas has heard of Oregon's newest playspot: Trestle Hole on the Deschutes River. Though actually not new, Trestle Hole, named for an old railroad bridge just upstream, was scoured clean and greatly improved by the recent floods. The improved hole has become one of the best playspots in the Pacific Northwest, and in 1997 hosted a rodeo attracting dozens of the region's top paddlers.

Lurking on the right side of a small island just a few miles downstream from Scherar's Falls, Trestle Hole is a magnet for local paddlers. It is wide (upwards of 30 feet), easy to approach (the left side eddy easily holds a dozen kayakers) and incredibly versatile. It can accommodate three or four kayakers blasting at once, and has enough seams to facilitate linked horizontal spins. Although it's a bit shallow below 3,900 cfs, higher levels allow for cartwheels, splitwheels, and all sorts of other vertical maneuvers. As levels approach 6,000-7,000 cfs and higher, the hole becomes huge and sticky. Big enough, in fact, to almost dwarf its namesake trestle.

Hole Hints:

Run/Class: Trestle Hole is the second rapid on the Lower Deschutes, a 44-mile Class III run in Central Oregon.

Post Paddle Hangout: The nearest town--Maupin--ain't exactly Durango, Colo. Head up the hill from the hole for a country-style breakfast at the Deschutes River Inn; hang out at one of the local photo shops in Maupin; or meet at the Maupin Bridge and figure out where to go from there.

Best Place to Buy Noseplugs: Cascade Whitewater Center in Hood River, or Alder Creek Canoe and Kayak Supply in Portland.

Optimal Water Level: 4,000-6,000 cfs

Water Level Window: April-October

Screw-up Factor: Keep your boat flat at flows under 3,900 cfs, or risk whittling your bow down to a stub.

Stickiness Factor: You can windowshade your way to the funny farm at higher water levels. Otherwise, the hole is pretty forgiving. Just watch out for a small, sticky pocket on river right.

Locals Tip: Spend your morning surfing the waves at Surf City or Elevator on the run above Scherar's Falls, then come on down to Trestle after the crowds have disappeared.

The Wheel

Canyon Creek, Amboy, Washington

"Gently retentive," is how Cascade Whitewater Center co-owner John "Tre" Trujillo describes the Wheel playhole on Canyon Creek near Amboy, Wash. For some that's an oxymoron. For others it's an apt description of one of the Northwest's best newly discovered playspots. "Where Bob's Hole on the Clackamas is great for flat spins, the Wheel is great for cartwheeling," he says. "If you start cartwheeling, you're going to stay in it. It's not uncommon to see people link 15- and 20-points at a time."

Of course, such moves don't draw too much applause--firstly because everyone is doing them, secondly because the hole is in the middle of nowhere, about a mile into the 4-mile, Class IV-V Canyon Creek run. For those who don't want to run one of the Northwest's best boofing runs, complete with a 20-foot waterfall, two 15-foot falls and plenty of horizon-line ledge drops, the section leading to the hole is Class III. Instead of getting a Class V fix, you can take out after playing the hole and hike back up to the road. To get there, head north on Interstate 5 from Portland and take the Battleground exit once you reach Washington. Head towards Amboy, which marks the put-in, and check the level on the bridge pylon to see if the hole is happening. A good place to meet is the Texaco halfway between the put-in and take-out. When you get to the hole, prepare to get dizzy. It's one of the most retendo-friendly holes in the country, complete with large eddies on both sides of the river to escalate you back up for another whirl. It's so rodeo friendly, in fact, that in early May Portland's Alder Creek Canoe and Kayak Supply sponsored an informal rodeo there. Rumor has it that winner Richard Oldenquist and second-place finisher Dan Gavere are still seeing stars.

Hole Hints:

Run/Class: Four-mile Canyon Creek run; Class IV-V

Post Paddle Hangout: Replenish with pasta at Call's Italian Restaurant in Portland.

Best Place to Buy Noseplugs: Portland's Alder Creek Canoe & Kayak Supply.

Stickiness Factor: Will keep you cartwheeling 'til vertigo sets in.

Optimal Water Level: No gauge and no flow phone. Look at the base of the bridge pylon on river left at the put-in. If the water is at the concrete lip or up to six inches higher (about 800-1,000 cfs), put on your rodeo hat.

Water Level Window: Fed by Northwest rains from November through May.

Screw-up Factor: No consequences at all--save for bruises to your ego.

Locals Tip: Initiate your cartwheels on the river right corner of the hole and spin away.

Inflatable Hole

Main Payette, Idaho

It's known as Gutter, Rubber, Tube, Pulp Mill, Boom and simply The Hole. Whatever name Idaho paddlers bestow upon the state's latest and greatest playhole, the hole is in a class by itself, largely because it's formed by an inflatable dam, made from an 8-foot-diameter rubber tube stretching 220 feet from bank to bank. The dam is computer controlled, diverting water to a power plant downstream. When these adjustments leave the dam partially inflated, it creates the most unique rodeo hole in the world.

Depending on the amount of air in the tube, the wave grows until it forms a break and collapses under its own weight. Then the hole grows, boasting varying degrees of stickiness, until it intimidates even the most seasoned rodeo boater. Depending on run-off, it can vary from a 40-foot-wide, 12-foot-tall monster to an innocuous riffle and everything in between. Last year's Payette Whitewater Round-up saw it dialed in perfectly to form the ideal hole, deep and sticky, with loose corners and dual-eddy service. "It's definitely the best hole I've surfed in the rodeos out West," maintains Marc Lyle, who won the inaugural rodeo there in 1996. Adds local Ken Long, who has as many hours in the hole as anyone, "It's about as good as holes get." As with all things too good to be true, however, the hole does has its downfalls--primarily in aesthetics. Instead of looking out on pristine Idaho forest, surfers stare at banks lined with concrete and a chain-linked fence.

Hole Hints:

Run/Class: Main Payette; Class II-III

Post Paddle Hangout: If you're heading north, hit the Bank's Caf for a Payette or Rafter Burger; if you're heading back to Boise, stop at the Lucky 13 (across from Idaho River Sports) for a pesto sauce pizza.

Best Place to Buy Noseplugs: Cascade Rafting Co. and Kayak School five miles upstream.

Stickiness Factor: Capable of getting really big, although its stickiness factor doesn't rise proportionally. But still expect to get windowshaded a few times.

Optimal Water Level: There's usually something going on all season, both at the hole and in the nearby fish ladder.

Water Level Window: Half-inflation of the dam; 2,500-3,000 cfs for the fish ladder

Screw-up Factor: You have days to stick your roll, but it might mean walking back up.

Locals Tip: It's unpredictable. Go there ready for anything, from a simple surf wave to a giant hole with a foam pile four feet overhead.

Cedar Hole

Lochsa River, Lowell, Idaho

Although it's about as predictable as Idaho's weather, if you hit it on the right day, Cedar Hole on the Lochsa River near Lowell, Idaho, is about as perfect a playhole as Mother Nature can provide. The key, of course, is getting to it at the right flow. Conditions were right in 1993 and '94 for it to serve as the site for the Lochsa Rodeo, but in 1995 organizers had to move the contest to the Pipeline Surf Wave and in '96 the event moved to a spot downstream. "It's definitely a tough one to hit," says rodeo competitor Dan Gavere. "I've seen the hole come and go in an hour." When it's ripe, however, hang on for the ride of your life. Located about halfway down the main Lochsa run in the middle of the river, the hole has a tall shoulder that lets you hit 360-degree spins before even dropping down in the trough. It also has great eddies on both sides of the river that provide valet service back upstream. And don't worry if you miss either eddy. At the right flows, several play waves exist downstream, including a large crasher at higher flows downstream on river left. If you want to get back to your friends upstream, head back to the road and walk up to mile marker 115.5, where a large cedar tree marks the hole site and gives it its name.

Hole Hints:

Run/Class: Main Lochsa run; Class III-IV

Post Paddle Hangout: Lochsa Lodge in Powell, Idaho (get the Patty Melt or Lochsa Burger, which features two-thirds of a pound of beef and a big chunk of ham).

Best Place to Buy Noseplugs: Board of Missoula, Missoula, Mont.

Stickiness Factor: Sticky as molasses at low water, less so at higher levels (6-7 feet).

Optimal Water Level: 4-5 feet on the gauge.

Water Level Window: Mid-April to early July.

Screw-up Factor: Zilch--just the possibility of buying the first round at the Lochsa Lodge if you swim.

Locals Tip: Stay on the river left side of the hole; river right is where people get spanked.

SuperHole

Kootenai River, Montana

The Super-hole on Montana's Kootenai River is not a standard destination for playboaters. But those who have been there swear by it. Located on the Kootenai Indian Reservation about a two hour's drive on Hwy. 2 west of Kallispell (about three hours east of Spokane, Wash.), the aptly named Superhole is about a football field's length downstream of a river-wide 20-foot waterfall occasionally run by experts (see the cover of Paddler's 1998 Calendar). You don't have to run the falls, however, to get to the hole; a trail leads down right to the river's edge, letting you put in right at the hole or hike farther upstream. Featured in the film PaddleQuest, the hole exists regardless of whether the river is flowing 5,000 cfs, 30,000 cfs or anything in between.

Naturally, the hole varies at these different flows, from a smooth diagonal wave feeding into a 10-foot-wide, five-foot-high foam pile, to a 60-foot-wide, 10-foot-high monstrosity. At any level the hole is safe and flushes out in the center, but sometimes (in the case of a beating) it takes a few seconds to be pushed there. Be prepared to get cartwheeled if you lose control. When you get spit out, roll quickly and paddle hard to the left to catch an eddy that will escort you back upstream. If you don't, and instead get carried to the right of a rock island 50 yards downstream, you have to get out and walk and then ferry back over above the island. "It's not dangerous," says rodeo paddler Brandon Knapp, "it's just kind of a drag because you miss the eddy."

Hole Hints:

Run/Class: Kootenai Falls; IV-V

Post Paddle Hangout: Head back to Whitefish and hit the Great Northern Brewery for libations, and Truby's (wood-fired pizzas) and the Tupelo Grill (Cajun pasta) to replace carbs lost on the Kootenai.

Best Place to Buy Noseplugs: Bring them from home; otherwise, improvise or head to the Snow Frog in Whitefish.

Optimal Water Level: The lower end of the 5,000- to 30,000-cfs range makes moves more manageable, but it'll surf you at any level.

Water Level Window: Spring runoff will give you high levels for a maximum scare factor. Late summer is mellower and more manageable.

Screw-up Factor: The run below the falls is a very pushy Class III-IV, about a mile and a half long. Swimming is a very bad idea, and it could become dangerous quickly simply because of the high volume.

Locals Tip: You're in the woods here, so pack a lunch (though food can be purchased within 30 minutes of the falls). You'll also burn up as much adrenaline getting there on Hwy. 2 as you will in the hole (small road, no speed limit). Finally, the water is very cold, and is always feeding to the center. Dress warmly.