The Savage is a dam-controlled river that only has 3 water releases a year. It is a special river because it is essentially one long 5 mile long rapid without any pools in between. Therefore, a strong roll and boat control are essential. The release lasts from 9am-3pm and a shuttle is provided, this allowed us to make three laps on the river. The river is a cold 45 degrees because the water comes from the bottom of the reservoir. I think that Ivan was the only person on the river who was not wearing at least a paddling jacket! We all had a great day on the river! We only had 2 swims, and that is good because it is really hard to catch a swamped kayak on this river! Unfortunately, David broke his new paddle that barely even had an scratches on it! Matt got to hand-paddle the rest of the river. After we got off the river, we all camped out at Piney Mountain Campground near the Upper Yough Put-in.
-B. Kish