The Squirtle Sqwad returned to Crested Butte both excited and cautious for this year’s Oh Be Joyful (OBJ) Steep Creek Race. Last year’s event was plagued by high-water and hospital visits. After a series of training laps led to numerous injuries and two major evacuations, organizers made the tough decision to cancel the race.
This year, the water was on the low side of medium, and as confidence began to return, so did the stoke for this iconic high-elevation, steep, wilderness race.
After two practice laps the day before the race, I was still flipping every time off the big drop. I was too nervous to commit to the boof line—one that lands close to the right wall in shallow water, where a mistake could easily result in a nasty piton (at best).
On race morning, I hiked up for one final practice lap. After watching countless paddlers stick the boof the day before, I finally decided to go for it. I leaned forward, tucked my paddle away from my face, and boofed off the 23-footer. The landing wasn’t perfect, but it was better—and definitely faster—than plugging. That small success gave me a needed boost of confidence heading into my first OBJ race.
Lap 1 felt smooth, though I held back until I cleared the big drop. My time was mid-pack, but I was content just to have raced cleanly. I was ready to call it a day until Nathan Werner convinced me to go for a second lap, pointing out that the water was rising and that the winning times usually came from the second lap.
Lap 2 kicked off with a solid boof off the entrance 15-footer and I decided to push a little harder through the class III/IV boogie water leading up to the 23-footer. One more big boof, and I was in an all-out sprint to the finish.
I had zero expectations going into the race, so I was pleasantly surprised to finish 12th out of 35 with a time of 4:27.7. Check out footage of the event here: https://youtu.be/iZus4Jg66Xc
-RMA Team Paddler Ryan Baird
