Matt Thomas positions his feeble arms to prop himself upright on a padded hospital bench, trying to teach his muscles how to work again.

AGNESS — Pete Pollard walked up the remote trail through the Lower Rogue River Canyon with the melancholy of a man who knows his one missed oar-stroke killed his daughter's dog.

Paddling atop a 60-foot waterfall — while inside nothing more than a glorified milk jug — Chris Korbulic's mind calmly analyzes the speed, trajectory and technique that make kayaking over mega-waterfalls more about precision than insanity.