When Salmon Creek Community School hired Ben York as the teacher last year, no one knew he was crazy.  He seemed sane. Look at the picture above.  He looks like a nice, intelligent guy but today he and three friends carried kayaks through our woods and down the steep hill.

There they scoped out the action (go below the fold for the tale of Banzai Ben and his Crazy Compadres.)

They climbed onto the hills overlooking the approximately 50 foot drop between the first fall and the last.

Planning to survive took time and looking at the Falls from different angles.

Then David Ernst, a professional kayaker from Germany plunged over the first and second and third falls without me managing any decent shots.  Below you can see him taking the approximately 25 drop into the final pool.  How does he stay alive through these perilous plunges? “Ernst told me, “You don’t think or feel.  You don’t pay attention to what is going on around you.  You FOCUS!”

Ben came next.  The first hole is the worst. It could swallow the unprepared.  Most of the water goes under the rock but boats, of course, need to go over.

Those falls are wild!

Here comes Dan Menten who, according to Ben, was an Olympian at slalom boating.

He drops off the first fall.

Attacks the second.

And heads for the third!

And he makes it.

Here in the heart of Salmon Creek, even crazy kayakers survive to be crazy another day.   Thank God as we still need Ben to teach our kids on Monday.

Not shown was John Warner who along with the rest completed the creek run down to about two miles from where Salmon Creek meets the Eel.