Elbows in... Elbows in..... Elbows in (I gotta remember that)

That drop to the left is the Class IV drop called Soc 'Em Dog on Chattooga. It's about an eight foot drop off of what's called the launch pad over the foam pile hydraulic at the bottom. I've had some good runs of this drop in the past and last Saturday sitting in the eddy up top I was really looking forward to dropping off this puppy.

The current tries to push you way to the left (way off line) as you approach the edge. So you have to fight to keep your boat right so you can line up to drop. On this particular day I had some decent runs through the Five Falls above (Corkscrew upside down, rolled before the middle hole, it was sweet).

So I'm approaching the launch pad for Soc 'Em Dog and I'm getting pushed left but fighting the current to stay on line. When I finally get to the edge, I have a severe right angle as I go off the drop. I drop eight feet into the foam pile on my left side; left elbow too far up as I'm landing with the current pushing up on the paddle.

Suffice it to say that landing from eight feet with all your weight on your left paddle blade and your elbow and shoulder exposed too far out is not a good thing. The "POP" I heard as my shoulder gave way told the whole story. Upside down at the bottom, I heard it get somewhat quiet so I knew I had washed out of the hole. It was really difficult setting up to roll so I reached over and felt my shoulder in the wrong place. I reached back over and grabbed my paddle with my good arm and immediately felt my left shoulder move again (back into place). Oxygen was getting at a premium by this time, so I tried to set up my roll again and was able to come up finally.

When I made it over to the eddy at the bottom I knew exactly what I had done and now that time was catching back up with me, the pain was finally setting in. I just sat there for a good long while waiting for the rest of my crew to make it off the drop. They all had good runs. We ran the last two rapids (ironically the next rapid is called Shoulderbone). The we had the two mile lake paddle to get to the take-out. It's been a week now and it still really hurts. I think at the beginning of the week a referral to a physical therapist may be a good idea.