Sea-Boo

First Days in Pucon!

2012-02-02T07:27:00.002-06:00

The flight down was a combination of delay, relay and run for plane. But as it always does everything worked out and I landed on time in Temuco, Chile! I wasn't in the country but an hour when I got my first kiss! It's customary to kiss cheeks when you meet or say goodbye here...I'm going to like this place!

I arrived at the Pucon Kayak Hostel in late afternoon. Sun shining bright and hot out! I hadn't slept in well over 24 hours so I was fried. Still I hiked around and looked at the river and checked out my boat. The hostel is an amazing place! From domes to bunkhouses to gypsies wagons. The center piece is a quincho! This building is a pure form of artwork! It's the gathering place for everyone here.

My second day here the weather had turned colder and misty. Still tired from my trip and not too much for cold weather paddling I went about getting my pesos and shopping done. When I finished the weather turned to a cold drizzling rain so I just decided to hang out and outfit my boat.

The third day the temps were very cold and still overcast and drizzle. I took a mountain bike and put on 30K for a good start. Just after I got back to the hostel the rain came down seriously and it rained for two days....remember all those prayers for rain up north. Well God does deliver but he gets to choose the time and place. No matter. I had a guide arraigned for the next day and the waters were rising! Sunshine and warmer was predicted!

Well as things go when the water rises guides go (understandably) for the class V fun so I had to wait till afternoon for my run on the lower Trancura. I took the bike up the Rio Turbio for another 30K bike ride. Just an amazing place! I met a young college student going the same way and he wanted to talk English and I wanted to talk Spanish. It worked and we had a great time exploring. There are climbing areas back the and I was also able to do a little bouldering. But oh my! Such great sport routes up there on fantastic rocks!!

Back at the hostel my guide was back and ready to go. Nothing is done in a hurry down here and I really don't realize time or days anymore...it's good. My guide is Tino Specht from Bomb Flow!! Oh yeah! I know I won't have to worry on this river. Looking at the river there were far less rocks, thank you rain! We warmed up on the first drop and then headed down. The water was just big water fun. Nothing too hard...just big fast fun! One wave was so big it almost stopped and surfed my Villain! I felt pretty good after warming up on that run. Unfortunately Tino had plans to head to the Fuy the next day so I ended up getting another guide. I wanted one more run on the Lower Trancura for warm up before hitting harder runs. My guide for my second run is Aniol Serrasolses from Spain! Watch for the next Bomb Flow episode and you'll see Aniol! As it turned out Tino didn't go to the Fuy as planned and another couple joined us with Tino as his guide. The water had fallen back to the level it was the day before but it was still fun.

Next up today the upper Trancura...a step up from the lower. Then maybe work up to the Palguin. So far there have been amazing things down here. The buildings are incredible works of natural art! The food is amazing! I had the pleasure of going out and dancing one night and I can still move it :) All is good! So would I ever come back here!! Oh hell yes! I can see why many boaters and people make this place their home. Next year for sure!
I have 2 more weeks here! I'll write more when I can get to town which isn't often. Con amour de Chile!!
Did I mention Volcanos!! Wow!!

Environmental Learning Center of Red Wing goes Whitewater!

2012-01-20T17:42:00.007-06:00

The Red Wing Environmental Learning Center has gone whitewater! I met the instructors Brad Nagel and Chad Nelson a few years ago when they commissioned pool time for kayaks at the local YMCA. With a hodgepodge of older donated kayaks, paddles, and gear they were teaching rolling in the pool. Personally I was overjoyed to not have to drive an hour plus to go to a pool session. It was heaven to just drive 5 minutes and be in a warm pool with my kayak.

Brad was interested in what we have been doing with the pool sessions in the cities. Polo, skills, rolling, and open pool time make up our winter pool activities in Brooklyn Center through Rapids Riders. We talked and Brad being a long time whitewater paddler was very enthusiastic about developing a whitewater program for his students.

Last winter I loaded up my quiver of kayaks and brought them to the pool along with whitewater paddles and spray skirts. We played hard and had a lot of fun. Brad was hooked on the Jackson Star playboats. Working with Jackson Kayaks, the ELC was able to buy 10 Jackson Star series kayaks to jump start their program.

This last summer went great for the ELC whitewater program. Brad and Chad introduced many young adults to whitewater paddling. They made several trips around Minnesota and Wisconsin, with their students, running our classic Midwest rivers.

This coming spring, Brad and Chad, will be leading a trip to Southeast to run rivers such as The Nantahala, Nolichucky and other SE classic runs. Focusing on getting his young adults ready for this trip, he had set up pool sessions for teaching basic skills to the ELC students. Rolling was easily mastered by the students and they acquired a very good understanding of kayak polo. Lots of fun! They're in for a trip of a lifetime!

Whitewater kayaking has been a welcome addition to all the amazing programs the ELC offers. Climbing, ice climbing, skiing, backwoods trekking, rafting trips, canoeing....the list is long. It's a very well run organization providing many opportunities that would otherwise be unavailable to young adults. It will be great to see where these boats will take them in their adventures.

This winter the ELC added several new whitewater specific paddles to their gear box thanks to Midwest Mountaineering. . Still needed are whitewater sprayskirts. The ELC is a non profit organization and any donations are very welcome. And tax deductible! Gotta an old skirt?

Winter Whitewater

2011-12-21T14:45:00.002-06:00

A little rain and a little thaw opened up the Vermillion River this week. I was working hard so I had to wait until the weekend to paddle. Saturday morning dawned with a fresh coat of snow covering everything. Beautiful! Snuggled in my electric blanket and sleeping in for the first time in quite awhile I did not want to leave my bed to go to a frozen river and paddle. Thoughts of "Are you crazy?", You're old, you can beg off this run." Yes just about every excuse it the book went through my head. But I got out of bed and threw the gear in the truck and headed off to meet Josh.

Instantly my attitude evaporated as I left town. The fog hugging the valley, frosted trees and new snow brought back the feeling of why I love paddling in the winter. Sure my bed was warm but paddling in the winter is in itself a surreal feeling. I was glad I was on my way.

This was Josh's first winter paddle. The class V hike down to the river was a new experience for him. So much more to see with the foliage gone. Cliffs, caves, crevasses, and many sights that are unseen in the spring and summer.

We walked to the put in below the falls. Ice had started to form at the sides. Long before winters end the whole falls will be covered with ice. An incredible sight! Ice lined the banks. Sometimes in little rows of ice bells just touching the water.

Josh and I put on. It felt so good to be on the river again. The last time we had paddled any whitewater was the end of September when we did the Lower St. Louis. It had been a long time. I told Josh to splash his face with river water to avoid the gasping reflex if you flipped. Brrr! Chills ran through me again remembering how cold it was. I then pointed out that the ice shelves at the banks actually form undercuts and were to be avoided. Then we were off.

The beauty of paddling in the winter is hard to describe. Brutal cold water. Stunning ice formations and the soft quiet of new snow. Truthfully an environment hostile to life, challenged by those who seek...
The river was low but still navigable. Little bits of play here and there. Triple had a nice feature. Railroad was in, as was S-Bend. Donut was great! We surfed our butts off in Donut until time ran out and we had to leave. I spent the following day with old pros at winter paddling, Bryan and Dennis, and a third day again with Josh. The river may be low and the features easy but it's all fun practice for the spring flows.

The river shows no sign of freezing anytime soon and I believe the level will stay what it is right now. Winter paddling is dangerous. Even class I or II can be easily fatal. If you decide to paddle in the winter take into consideration the temperature, length of river, class, gear, and your skill level. Then make an intelligent decision and err towards safety. Even a large plastic garbage bag can be a survival blanket and keep wind off of you. Easy to store in a boat. If your footwear isn't adequate your feet will literally freeze within a minute. Wool or fleece socks inside your drysuit work good. Check the large pools on the river to see if they're frozen over. You don't want to be surprised by a river wide ice shelf. Check the take out to make sure it isn't iced in. If possible go with someone experienced in winter paddling and knows the river. Winter paddling is beautiful! Just make sure your prepared.

Floating on Dreams

2011-12-06T12:05:00.004-06:00

   I just turned 55 last week. The thoughts that you dwell on at this age are many. A turning point in the stretch of time that is your life. Change. Childhood. Teenager. Your twenties. The full length of your adult prime time. And now. I've worked hard in my life. Sometimes 2 or 3 jobs to support my son and I. Commitments and responsibilities directing my life. Now I find I have the time to do for myself. Surreal feelings.

Since I have started kayaking I have lived my inner desires through others. My young friends with no responsibilities, no house. Just river gypsies traveling the world. I have great admiration for them. Always thinking to myself...one day. One day will come and I'll get out there.

This fall has been the hardest in the Midwest. Not one river ran even once. Sure...I ran the Cannon River. Twice. Beautiful but class I. It's not the same. I started looking at trip options. Chile has always fascinated me since a group of my friends spent an entire winter (their summer) down there. The photos they posted to their blogs were amazing! Then it hit me. It has to be this year that I go. I have so many places that I want to see. It's time. Other than Canada I have never been outside of the US...ever!

   Now that the decision was made came the logistics. Money first. Work has been busy providing me with as much overtime as I can handle. Maybe there was a reason we had no water this fall. It's left me with time to work weekends. The last two months have been grueling to say the least. The price of a round trip ticket isn't cheap. The day before my Birthday I said "Happy Birthday" to myself and clicked confirm. My ticket was bought. I'm on my way. Since I have committed to this trip amazing things have happened.

   I am very blessed to have so many friends in my life. I have been contacted by many of them with references and help. Everything in the planning of this trip has fallen into place by amazing circumstances. My friend Todd suggested I buy the Lonely Planet Travel Guide to Chile.   The very next day it was on super sale on the Clymb! From a boat to places to stay to incredible adventures to be had. I am very excited to be going!

The only fly in the ointment was that the hostel only has a reservation for me to the 9th and after that they're booked. At first I was worried but then I fell back on my philosophy of when something doesn't happen the way you thought it would it only means there is something more amazing you should be doing. I know that somehow my last 6 days in Chile are going to be an amazing impromptu adventure. I love a surprise!

As I write this I have 51 days until I leave. I have been searching the internet for information about things to do and places to go. I see there is a mountain bike trail right next to the hostel. I will have to have a bike while I'm down there and I'm assured that there are many bike shops in town. I've researched the rivers and am excited to run as many as I can. Wow! It will be almost 6 months since I had been on any whitewater when I go. The longest I have ever been off whitewater since I've started boating!!!

Climbing is available and a friend is hooking me up with the best guide who is a friend of his. Horse back riding in the mountains! Oh so many things to do and see!

For now I work. Long hours and giving up my weekends. I miss the time hanging with friends. But I want to be able to afford all I want to do down there. You hear the words "trip of a life time". For sure! I am still deliriously happy that everything has fallen in place and it's all a go. Many people including myself get stuck in a routine and see others making "trips of a lifetime" and think someday and someday never seems to come. Due to responsibilities of life at the moment. And then realization dawns, and it's time to break out.

So now I live at work. Connected to my friends through Facebook. My mind cluttered with Chilean fantasy's...floating on dreams.

Grumpy?

2011-10-25T21:06:00.002-05:00

It's been a month since whitewater of any kind has dried up in Minnesota. With the exception of sporadic surf on Lake Superior the rest of the state is below runnable. Pacing has been included in my list of exercises. Mind, body and adrenalin in a beautiful natural environment is like my breath of life. I need it to feel...to feel alive.
I have cheerfully engaged in other sports hoping to fill the time until the rivers run again. It's just not the same. I have thrown myself into planning a super trip for this winter. Daydreaming and fantasy helps but still leaves me unfulfilled. Bottom line is passion is interrupted in my life right now. Where to go from here?
I have searched my mind for interests that I have had in the past to rekindle. Having seen the Zorongo Flamenco Dance perform before I was always left with the "I want to do that" feeling. The dance is as passionate as it comes combined with a flowing beauty that leaves you breathless. Click, click, aha! Monday night intro class! I am so there!
First I checked YouTube for the dance basics. I'm glad I did. It does help to have some knowledge beforehand. I showed up early and asked about the dress code for the class. A simple flowing skirt fits right in. Clicky heels a must!
The class was small. Just the instructor, Deborah, and two other students. It starts off with dance moves carefully disguised as stretches and before you know it you have the beginnings of your arm movements. Then it moved into the foot work drills. Smoothly it then transgressed into simple steps put together and repeated. Add another sequence and repeat. Then another sequence of steps added. Followed by a proper twirl. Before I knew it I had all the steps to Sevillanas. Of course it was only my first class but I kept up fairly well. I danced, laughed and really had a lot of fun. I will be back but I will also be back with much more practice under my belt.
Then the advanced class came in. The room filled with many women from young to much older than I. The instructor, Susana Di Palma is a woman I have seen perform before. Well into her sixties she looks like she is maybe forty but an awesome forty. She has traveled the world in search of her passion for Flamenco. Just a phenomenal dancer and woman! I watched her lead the class. There is an essence that fills the room from the dance. One of strong femininity and ageless beauty. Passion, the soul of Flamenco. I'll be back because I enjoyed it. It spoke to an aspect of myself that needs to be fed and without whitewater this is a perfect time to indulge.
It's a shame I live where I do. There is so much to learn out in the world and I have to drive so far to do it. Still it is worth the effort to explore any kind of education because in the end you are really just finding yourself and developing who you want to be. Passion! Without it you're just grumpy.

No Water!

2011-09-30T21:02:00.003-05:00

That's it. It's final. The last day of release on the Lower St Louis. There is no quality whitewater left in Minnesota at this time. Believe it or not, life doesn't end. It doesn't even have to slow down. Just keep charging forward taking the opportunities as they come. Search yourself and search out what you want. It's out there. Information is probably a click away.
Right now for me it's time to take a breather. I have a couple of ailments that just won't go away so a trip to the Dr. was in line this week. First off, my hand. Dr. looks at it and says you need to see the hand surgeon. "Would you like a mammogram with that" I say "What?" She says you're due for one so I say ok, why not.
Next I whine about my heel. I had stepped down on a sharp rock in soft booties and it's hurt now for five weeks. Dr says Plantar Fasciitis. Ibuprofen and ice. The nurse asks if I'd like a flu shot with that...am I at McDonalds???

Hand surgeon today looks at my finger and says I have trigger finger. He sticks me with some cortisone and says to give it three weeks. If there's no improvement then there's surgery that can be done. So all in all with an incredible amount of water that I paddled starting in late winter to just this last weekend two booboos at the end of the summer isn't bad. It's actually a good thing to let your body take a sabbatical from paddling. Letting your muscles rest and heal will only make them stronger.
But what the devil are you going to do in the meantime? You can only watch so much kayak porn before you go blind crazy. Plus how will you see those paddling friends. The ones you've shared your soul with on the rivers. Well now it's time to do all those other sports people have been saying are fun but you've ignored for so long because you couldn't see past your paddle. For me it starts with mountain biking.

For years some of my boating friends have been telling me to try it out. You'll love it! It is a lot like paddling. On the other hand I have seen many of them seriously injured from that sport and shied away. Until last fall. I caved and thought I'd just buy a cheap bike and give it a try. I found an old 1998 Specialized FSR for $200. Good enough for trying out the sport. Yes, it is just like boating...addictive. Fast pace mind and body...hit your line or hit a tree. Addictive! The adrenalin rush you were missing away from the rivers you can easily find on a single track trail. Plus the beauty of nature surrounds you and you're able to go where few others can. It's the perfect compliment to a paddling lifestyle. When it's dry and sunny the bike trails are fast! When it's wet and rainy you keep off the bike trails and head to the rivers. Yin and Yang..perfect balance.

Go rock climbing! Learn your knots. Work with ropes and beeners. All this not only gets you out with your paddling friends but it builds strength and stability. It teaches you how to work with ropes which is something you will need on creeks and rescues. Another mind and body sport in a beautiful natural environment.
What else has been on your list of things that catch your fancy? Personally I was actually caught in a hall in the YMCA after a weight workout. A friend I hadn't seen in awhile grabbed my arm and pulled me into a yoga class. In past years I've taken a few classes when I had time. Yoga builds strength and flexibility and for kayaking strength and flexibility are very important. Next class is Tuesday...I should be there. Really, I should!
OK what else besides surfing weather reports for weather that isn't there. Or hanging on Facebook and forums hoping someone has some secret whitewater location that will magically appear. For me it's a time to dream. Maybe South America this winter. What to do with my next seven days off. Where I could travel. How to make it happen. What new boats I want. Is that new gear? It's also a time to repair what you have. I look at my fleet and they have taken some abuse this season. Time to learn how to weld plastic. Fix my Thermarest. Get my gear washed and ready to go at the drop of a drop. Fall rains have always came. I can't remember never getting a good fall bump on the rivers. This lull is just that and should be used and enjoyed. The leaves are starting to turn. Even a flat water paddle down the Cannon or Kinnikinic river is a beautiful way to enjoy a day. It's also an easy enough float that all your non whitewater friends and family can enjoy.

They call this Indian Summer. Temperate days, chill nights. Colors an artist can only envie. Play hard at cross sporting. Try something new. Clean the house, knock off some projects. Winterize now because shortly...before you know it...it'll rain. And the rivers will run. And life will feel normal again.

Rapids Riders Vermillion River Clean Up 2011

2011-09-26T13:24:00.007-05:00

How much love can a little river generate? Some places are special and have a place in our hearts. The Vermillion River in Hasting MN is one of those special places. An urban playboat run tucked into a canyon surrounded by what could be a spectacular park but has deteriorated into a brush overgrown urban natural area with bike paths through it. Along with the grown up brush, the fringe people make this area their element. Kids with nothing to do but trouble. Drug addicts and drunks. Homeless and the lost all find their way to the Verm. Nothing is ever so simple and with all the beauty and pleasure the river gives us boaters we accept it with the bad and coexist. Love is always complicated that way. Unconditional.

45 people showed up today to show that unconditional love for this little river. Determined to step into the wilds of this lawless area and cheerfully clean up the debris. A very daunting endeavor! Paddlers arrived early this year and set out in groups and alone. "We'll take the far side." "We'll head down to RR pool" "I'm headed to the falls" Impromptu plans at the pavilion resulting in full coverage of the park. Some people went into the river. Some took the trails. Some in the park above. For three hours paddlers from around Minnesota worked very hard to remove all kinds of junk.

The informal contest is who can find the most bikes! We usually get 20 to 30 bikes out of the river each year!! We were close to that number this year. Oddly enough a whole bike rack with bikes still attached was found in the river and pulled up the cliff by volunteers and removed!! Sadly, one full suspension mountain bike was found. Older model and not salvageable.

The other informal contest is who can find the most unusual item. This year there were several items but I think the heavy weight punching bag took the crown here.

Whiskey is the drink of choice in the back bushes. The amount of bottles found is staggering! Another shocking discovery was a pile of over 200 used hypodermic needles. This is so tragic in many ways.

These needles were NOT picked up by our volunteers as they are a bio-hazard. They were reported to the authorities and will be cleaned up and dealt with by professionals.

The pile of debris removed grows big! The volunteers all return to the pavilion for a pizza lunch provided by Friends of the Mississippi . Trevor Russell, from MFR, gave a very interesting talk on the water quality of the Vermillion River. It is the only urban trophy trout stream in America! Amazing! He went on to explain the coming project in place to restore clean water to the Mississippi and it's watershed. Friends of the Mississippi are an incredible organization that keeps projects going year round to improve the wetlands of the water shed. This has a direct result in improving not only the river habitat but also our quality of paddling. Several years ago there was massive building of pre-planned neighborhoods in the suburbs up stream. The most dangerous threat to a natural trout stream is the urban runoff. Rain that is shed from streets directly to the river not only carries pollution but is warmed by blacktop raising the river temp to uninhabitable for trout. Water that is not slowed also causes major erosion to the river banks. FMR has many projects to plant rain gardens and natural habitat to slow run off which cools the river and naturally filters pollutants. And of course slower runoff means the river holds water levels longer. The housing projects have all incorporated rain gardens in their design to protect the Vermillion. Thank you FRM!

Then we had the swag drawing! It was so exciting! This year Jackson Kayak donated a Star playboat to give away! Brian Guimond won the boat! Brian already having a Jackson playboat turned around and immediately sold it to James Iliff, who was stoked to be able to get it! Midwest Mountaineering as always was a great supporter! WRSI for the second year donated a beautiful helmet for our swag table! Seals Sprayskirts joined us this year donating a great mesh gear bag! Immersion Research was new this year on the swag table donating several great items to wear and Werner sent us a goodie package also. 3M has been with us for about 5 years donating gift bags of products. KIND Healthy Snacks provided the fuel with a huge box of delicious bars. Gluten free and heathy...not to mention tasty!! Thank you to all our sponsors! You Rock!
For a few hours given up on a Saturday morning by 45 determined hard working paddlers the Vermillion River is a better place to be. Thanks to all who came and worked hard! Let the fall rains begin! Photos by Bryan Zlimen, Trevor Russell and Nora Whitmore. More photos from the day can be found here.

Midwest Freestyle Championships 2011

2011-08-22T10:21:00.025-05:00


Jack Blomquist

This weekend was the 2011 Midwest Freestyle Championships! Sunshine and smiles was the theme for the weekend! Paddlers from all over the Midwest converged to throw down and party.


Jonathon Sisley

Brian Tupper

Each year representatives of Jackson Kayak hold a freestyle clinic for beginner to advanced paddlers. The three top instructors, our own John McConville , World competitor Colin Kemp, and Brian Tupper teach two days of nothing but freestyle. The results from the clinics that are reflected in the competition are phenomenal! New kayaker, Nick Pritchard, learned to cartwheel just the day before competition in John McConville's class and nailed first place in the beginners class!


John McConville

Colin Kemp

The competition in general has benefited greatly with the addition of these classes. Giving substance to dreams of "going big". This synergy has brought more and more paddlers each year to Wausau Whitewater to try their skill against some of the best!


Bryan Zlimen

This year our own John McConville took first place in the men's expert division for the fourth time in a row! Colin Kemp, a world competitor, took a close second with our own Craig Esposito taking third! It was no easy feat to be at the top of the expert division this year. Each paddler in the expert division had it in them to place...they were all that good!


Craig Esposito and John McConville


Jake Ament

The women's division was dominated by Melissa Grover who won first for the second year in a row. Christa Gornjak taking a close second and Ashley Knutson taking third! Ashley is also the director of Wausau Whitewater! She competed in many classes all while keeping a huge event perfectly organized! Thank you Ashley for all you do at Wausau! Full results can be found at Wausau Whitewater Park.


David Conrad

The freestyle team event was a hoot again this year with a whole lot of creative paddling! And lots of carnage! The boater cross did not have a heat that didn't have boaters upside down and colliding! The competition was a hot battle in both these division!


Ashley Knutson


Christa Gornjak


Melissa Grover

Part of the magic of The Midwest Freestyle Championships is the community. Tradition has found us every Saturday night in the parking lot of the VFW playing Four Square late into the wee hours. Someone always rides the plane at the VFW in ever creative ways despite the chain link fence surrounding it. It's always friendship and and smiles when we all get together!


Kristoffer Kuhn


Komtanoo Pinpimai

Behind the scenes the very backbone of Wausau is at work. Our hard working team of volunteer rescue swimmers, led by Dan Conrad, are expert at swift water rescue. Pulling paddlers and gear out of rapids preventing many injuries! Many others generously donate their time to man the tables, scribe, erect the structures and keep events moving smoothly. In a word all these volunteers are AWESOME! Thank you so much for what you do!


Diana Kittelton

Familiar faces returning each year contribute to the magic! Chad Kehn returns every year to judge the competition. Fair and precise in his judging, he lends a continuance of stability. We are lucky to have Chad as our very own judge! A big thanks to Chad!
Mike Schroeder was in attendance to witness the joy his design brought to all the paddlers. He has worked hard for years to create a world class whitewater park. His design is creative, beautiful and innovative! We can only be blessed that he has dedicated his time and talent to the park. Thank you Mike!!


Kevin Haro


Zack Porod

Ben Peters

The end of the day on Sunday brings the tear down and then the drawing for door prizes! Top prize this year was a Jackson Star!! Bob Menard won the drawing for the pretty red kayak! Every paddler won something in the drawing! Amazing! A big THANK YOU! to all the sponsors who help put this on!


James Illiff

The saddest part of the day is the goodbyes. The apex of the summer is the Midwest Championships and it's over. Hugs and farewells. Sweet memories embedded to relive in dreams and day dreams.
I posted four volumes of photos on Facebook. Volume 1, Volume 2, Volume 3, and The finals. Enjoy!

Sign of the times...

2011-08-17T09:54:00.011-05:00

Earlier this spring MN DOT had placed a big sign on the bike trail at the Vermillion River just a few feet from the bike bridge. It was held down with some sand bags. I shook my head as I knew it would soon be thrown in the river by the local kids. It lasted on the trail for longer than I thought but then I saw it half way down the cliff hanging on some trees. I thought, "At least it's not in the river." It stayed there quite a long time until one day when I entered Triple Drop I saw it right in the middle of the river. Emergency eddy out! I pulled it out and stuffed it up against the cliff and a large rock where hopefully no more kids would see it. I called the Hastings Park office and reported it. Barry said he'd have the park crew go and pull it out. They couldn't find it. I offered to paddle down to it and tie a rope on it but things never came together and it didn't happen. Then I found the sign stood up right next to the river...the kids had found it again! So I stuffed it back in it's hiding place and hoped it would last until the clean up. I had horrible visions of that sign getting lodged in RR Hole causing serious injury to any paddler who would flip there. Yes I am a Mom so I worry! Powershading into that sign could take your head off!


The rope throw

Everything happens for a reason. I had a flat tire this Friday after paddling the Kettle River. Great friends helped me get the tire fixed but I was on edge all weekend since my spare was ruined and the garage man said it wouldn't last long. I planned to pick up a set of tires before heading back home on Monday morning but I was only able to get one for my spare. I stopped in Hastings and made an appointment for 10am the next morning. Then I made a quick stop at the Hastings Park office to sign the papers for the Rapids Riders Vermillion River Clean Up. Kristen wasn't there so I said I'd stop back in the morning after I got my tires changed out.

Pinned down by water


On it's way up!

The tires were on in no time at all and I headed to the Park office to sign those papers. I saw Barry while I was there and asked about getting the sign out of the river. I told him I had time to kill and could do it right then. He got the maintenance supervisor and he told me he'd meet me there at noon. They looked to be a couple of muscular men so I thought they would be able to handle hauling it up the 89 feet to the bridge.
I paddled down and pulled the sign from it's hiding place. The boys threw down a rope and I tied many, many knots making sure the sign would not come loose on it's journey to the top. I told the boys to pull and they did. But the sign just flopped into the river and was pinned by the water. Ah well... I waded in and tried to pull it out. It wouldn't budge! While feeling around for purchase I found a 1 inch hole at the top of the sign. I ran the loose end of the rope through and then using my weight on the rope slowly pulled the sign up and free. I yelled at the men to pull again while I held the rope end to keep it from swinging into the middle of the river. They were able to suspend it half way up when I saw they had tied it off. They had to call in 2 more men to help with the job.
My part being done I hopped into my kayak and surfed Triple and then hit up Donut Hole. It was low but fun! I walked up, changed and went to thank the men for getting it out. I found out they had only gotten it as far as the bridge and couldn't get the legs past the bridge. They had a forked branch they were trying to push the rope with. I moved the branch down low under the chain link fence and stood on the branch to hold the sign away from the bridge. The sign came up and we rocked it over the fence and onto the bridge. High fives and smiles all around!!

The effort put in to bring this sign up was a lot. It required gear, knowledge, team work, and 5 people to remove one sign. It took us an hour in all to get it out. This is just one piece of garbage in our favorite play river...just one. Rapids Riders has been cleaning this river for over 10 years now. In those years we have literally removed tons of garbage from the Vermillion River and hauled it up the cliffs by hand. Bikes, appliances, scrap iron, light posts, and even one motorcycle. The effort is tremendous but rewarding to be able to show a little love for this river. This years Clean Up is Sept. 24th at 9am. Meet at the falls pavilion. This year we have many sponsors that have donated door prizes. Jackson Kayak, Midwest Mountaineering, Immersion Research, WRSI, Shred Ready, Seals Sprayskirts, KIND Bars, Werner Paddles, Friends of the Mississippi, Adopt a River, 3M and more coming! Always a good time!
Everything happens for a reason...I'm glad I got the flat tire on Friday! Without that (bad) event the sign would still be in the river!


This is one BIG sign!

The Rest of the Story

2011-06-23T11:51:00.001-05:00

Last year during a rain event the Vermillion River came up to huge levels. As usual when a whitewater river floods during the summer the locals still see it as their friendly fun swimming spot. Totally oblivious of the danger of swift water. I was in a position to rescue a girl who was talked into swimming down through Donut Hole by her boyfriend when she did NOT KNOW HOW TO SWIM!! Here is the link to my blogpost from that day. Hero? No. As a whitewater paddler we all pull people out of the rivers on a regular basis...it's what we do. And what others enjoy doing for us at times.

The girl I could tell had very low self esteem. Though she was very pretty she was carrying a few extra pounds. Not much but her self image was reflected in her choice of boyfriend. He was a garden variety sociopath. As I was struggling to ferry her on the back of my boat across the current I could see he had no care or concern for his girlfriend and I had to yell at him several times to come and help grab her. He never did...waiting until I had her safely on the mid river sand bar before coming over. Then after expressing my thoughts about him taking a girl who couldn't swim down rapids he took her over on the sand bar and convinced her to come and tell me that she really did know how to swim...just so he wouldn't look so bad!! I was livid! I also ferried her the rest of the way to shore before I left. My impression of her was that she was a very sweet girl, very polite, just a girl who had a beautiful innocent glow about her. I worried about her with that boyfriend. He on the other hand sent me looks of hatred. I wanted to tell her that this boy was dangerous and she needed to get away from him asap but the young man stuck to her like glue. He knew what I had to say. She did thank me again in the parking lot while the look he gave me was very clearly one of "I'll get you for this". Ah well...I've seen worse looks. I did worry for my truck that he might damage it while I was on the river at some other time.

This last year I thought about her often. Wondering if she made it away from that thug safely. I had two regrets. Not being able to tell her to run as fast as she can away from him and I also wondered what her name was. I'm a mother so I worry.

Last week a few of the newer paddlers and I were having an amazing night on the Verm. Anna, 14 years old and a first year boater, stomped her first Vermillion River run at a good stout flow. Amy nailed her first combat roll! Josh had just bought his first boat and gave it the virgin run on the Verm and did awesome! Everyone else had a super fun time on the river and we had beer and root beer in the parking lot after. While laughing and enjoying the glow from the river a pickup truck pulled in and suddenly stopped next to us. A girl hung her head out the passenger side and asked if we were the ones that pulled her out of the river last summer! I was amazed! I said that was me and she just wanted to thank me again! See, I said she was very polite. The next words out of my mouth were "Did you dump that boyfriend of yours?" She laughed and said "Oh yeah!!" They parked and she hopped out...wow! She lost the few extra pounds that she had and was a knock out! Still oblivious to how gorgeous inside and out she really is. Laughing and having a great time she went off with the guys she was with to see the level of the river from the bridge.

Personally I couldn't be happier to see her again! Alive and healthy, without the thug. When they came back from the river I asked her her name. Brittany. I can stop worrying now.

Paddlemania! 2011

2011-06-21T12:10:00.002-05:00


Paddlemania Paddlers!

Midwest Mountaineering's 13th annual Paddlemania was enormous this year. The Midwest paddling community has been rapidly growing. Many new paddlers young and old have found out that the Midwest has some world class whitewater! Who knew!

I came up early Saturday morning to a drizzly gray kind of day. The parking lot was filling fast with boaters. By noon there were vehicles left in the lot but everyone had hit the St Louis River! Paddlemania coincides with the dam release at Thompson. A health 650cfs release on the Lower section both Saturday and Sunday. The upper was a great low level for new boaters or anyone that wanted a pleasant fun float. The lower a good run for those wanting to step it up. There were experienced boaters guiding people down each section. Both sections had their thrills and spills.

By far the highlight of the day was the Slot Machine Show Down. Below the dam the water spills down massive slabs of rock. Through a deep cut slot that ends with a tight right turn down a falls with a nasty hole at the bottom. You climb down a crack in the cliff with your boat. Balance it between a rock and the cliff. Drop in and you're on your way...to fame or $#*! Roll the dice. Running this drop is gambling. You either make it through or not. If not there's a pool below and excellent safety waiting.

This year 20 paddlers including me, gambled. The most ever! The top prize was an oh so sweet yellow Jackson Star generously donated by Jackson Kayaks! One by one we all tried our luck. Beatdowns and swims galore! A few good lines and some great escapes. All in all the house won this year but I think the spectators were the ones who really won. People were stopping on the road and there was standing room only on the shoulder to watch a hoard of crazy kayakers having fun.

Really! What could be funner than Slot Machine?

Then came the big drawing for swag! Jade Zachman won the Jackson Star! Congratulations to Jade! The table was filled with much more though and everyone was able to get something.

The sun never did come out and a feeble attempt was made by the clouds to get us wet but it didn't stop the festivities. Brats were grilled, beer was drank. Stories were told about the days carnage or victories. Several newer boaters were able to run sections of the Lower St Louis for the first time thanks to expert guiding An awesome bonfire overlooking the reservoir completed the evening.

Then the rain came with intent. An all night torrential downpour! I stepped out of my tent in the middle of the night to find my tent was in an inch of water. I moved it to higher ground and went back to sleep. In the morning it was like waking up to Christmas. Levels on the creeks and rivers were climbing! A rare occurrence in June! Plans were made and everyone headed to their own piece of heaven.

Thanks again to Midwest Mountaineering and Jackson Kayak for an incredible fun weekend! Next year proves to be even bigger!

Paddlemania 2011 Quick Edit Slot Machine

2011-06-20T11:31:00.001-05:00

Here you go. A quick edit of some of the gamblers this year on Slot Machine. As you can see the house did very well.

There are Times.....

2011-06-14T19:37:00.000-05:00

Argh! What a day at work! I nearly ran out the door and was questioning my sanity for NOT having a boat in the back of my truck. I needed the soothing of my river. The melting of chi into relaxing mush. But I had made a decision to mountain bike tonight since I had spent the last four days in a row on the river. I stopped off at home and checked the radar online. Ooh the rain looked so good on the radar but why did it have to be so close on my mountain biking day?! I took a chance and headed to Memorial Bluff.
Driving through town I could see the dark clouds in my rear view mirror. Guesstimating the time I would have on the trail I figured I could always loop out to the fields and get back to my truck and only get minimally wet.
I took my familiar trail and kept an easy pace today. This week I finally started investigating the advanced trails. One loop I was familiar with and getting better. If the rain held out I was going to try another loop I was curious about.
Faster around on the trail. Checking the clouds every time I got close to the fields. The rain was so close I could see it coming down on the other side of Red Wing. Still dry on the bluff, I ventured on. The air thick with warning.
Thunder rumbled to me. I was on the backside of the bluff and still pressing on. I could see the clouds dark with lightning flickering generously across the sky. So close! I had to make a decision. I had three options. Take the field...the fast way back to the truck. Take my familiar blue trail to the end or satisfy my curiosity and take the advance trail that branched off. I picked number three.
It started off tight with lots of curves and narrow lines. This was going to be nice! Then oh wow! That was a jump I didn't quite expect! The super dip came up fast and then OMG...screetch to a stop...look at that jump...and the landing. I "portaged" thinking "oh yeah, I can so do this next time through."
I pedaled on. I came around a corner shortly after the OMG jump and stopped and stared! There are times when you come across something that not only excites your appreciation for beauty but also calls to your soul. The vista before me was like a ravine from Avatar. Trails intersected. The one from the left arched over the ravine on a rustic wooden bridge and joined my trail and headed up hill. What called to me was incredibly the other trail that flowed from me under the wooden bridge and steeply down the ravine. Tall ancient trees creating an intense dark green canopy denying much of the days struggling light. The sides of the ravine were steep and narrow, covered in last years leaves flowing down in colors of muddled bronze to the smooth vein of dirt that followed the narrow floor of the ravine descending until it was lost from sight. More thunder...surreal...quiet yet everything spoke to me on a different level. Other senses aroused. Primal. A yearning to go there and just see more. More thunder and another decision. Descend or ascend?
Ah so much to do and I want to be able to explore this reflection of Heaven when I have all the time in the world to absorb it in. I chose ascend and headed back to my truck. The lightning was closer and I could feel a few drops. I made it back to my truck and loaded my bike and headed home. The raindrops became serious as I pulled onto my block. My thoughts were of what I now call Avatar Ravine in my mind...tomorrow I'll go and see what's around the bend.

Colorado Memorial Day Trip and Angels

2011-06-10T12:48:00.005-05:00


Old School FSR

Memorial Day saw me heading west to visit my son, Shane, and his girlfriend, Nicole. I loaded up a creek boat and a play boat because, hey, it's Colorado! I also threw in my mountain bike remembering the great trails in the Boulder area.
The trip out was long with only one unfortunate event in the parking lot of a wayside in Colorado where two thugs tried to steal my boats while I was in the rest room. Dark and traveling alone late at night I know I look like an easy mark. My truck was the only vehicle in the car parking lot and a very large lawn separated the truck parking area. When I came out of the rest room I saw two men walking away from my truck and crossing the lawn back towards the truck area. When I got to my truck I saw one of my boats was pulled up but the cables thankfully held. There was a pile of propaganda newspapers next to the truck they had just dropped. Obviously they had planned to break some windows on my truck for a quick grab and decided not to. Looking back it could have been much worse. I know I have a Guardian Angel watching over me.
I arrived at my son's very late after a straight through drive. My son's girlfriend offered me a Raging Bitch beer to relax and it was off to bed shortly after. Raging Bitch is actually very good! A Belgium IPA.
With everyone still working the work week I was left to my own devices during the day. First off...check the river levels around Boulder. Everything was below runnable with a few exceptions of low runnable that I wasn't interested in. So I loaded my bike and headed to Eldorado Canyon to ride and sight see.
Just coming into Eldorado Springs is unique. The paved road stops just inside town and everything is dirt and pot holes from there to the park. Sleepy unique houses and structures. Mellow dogs walking loose. Art studios, Yoga studios and a really awesome pool at the end of town. Just beyond that is the entrance to the park. What I didn't expect was that Eldorado Canyon was a climbing mecca! Bouldering, Trad, Sport, and eerily enough it was also a location where people free climb...it was all there. Unfortunately I had only brought a harness and shoes with. Foolishly not thinking on my part.
I drove to the top and parked and took the trail recommended by the ranger. Then I followed another trail and had a gorgeous view of the Flatirons! It's amazing up there. I rode far enough that I came down in the foot hills and took the road back to the park. I love this place! I scouted the too low South Boulder creek and saw why it's class is V+ but dangerously beautiful. Later when Nicole came home from work we went back since my day sticker was still good and we hiked. That's when we saw the free climber. Nuts!!! But he made it about 3/4ths of the way up before returning. Still nuts!


Free Climber...nuts!

The following day went the same. Left alone for the day I followed Boulder Creek through town on my bike and went up into the mountains on a trail that followed the creek. All it would have taken was just a little bit more water to run it but it wasn't to be so I biked. Outside of Boulder I came to a climbing area and again thought how foolish I was to leave my rope and draws and such at home. Honest...I wasn't thinking!! But the day was still incredible on my bike!
Finally the weekend and my son was off work. We had a wonderful Saturday together hitting up the Boulder Festival and then touring a Meadery. This is the oldest form of fermented beverage known to man. Wine derived from honey. It was all very interesting including all the tasting! We both bought a bottle to take with. That evening I had to run to Buena Vista to pick up a boat from Jackson for the Vermillion Clean Up and my son and his girlfriend were attending an exclusive brewers party.
I checked the levels of the Arkansas before leaving and saw it was low runnable. I brought my boats and left the bike. I was lucky enough to make it in time that evening for the Freestyle Finals! Watching it was amazing! Lots of Pro talent there throwing around Jackson Rockstars. I watched until the end and then had dinner with friends. Slept in the truck and declined paddling on Sunday and just headed back to spend the day with family.
When I got back Shane, Nicole and I rode Betasso Trail. It's a really nice single track and we just loved it! Mountain biking is becoming just as addicting as paddling for me. The sports compliment each other perfectly!
My last day I spent on a foothills trail south of Boulder while everyone had to work. Mountain biking is a sport that I never thought I'd be attracted too but I was so wrong. It has all the appeal of whitewater paddling. The mind/body connection. The lines to hit. The adrenalin. It has it all plus a very good work out! I know now after being on many other trails that my home trail on Memorial Bluff is a very quality trail and I'm lucky to have it so close to home.

Sad to leave but I had to go. I made the trip home in one long drive again arriving late at night. I made an appointment for an oil change that day and was informed that my fan clutch was extremely bad and I was very lucky that I wasn't stranded somewhere like Nebraska. Again my Guardian Angel on the job!
With every intention of paddling this trip the low water and bad timing prevented it from happening for me. No regrets since I got to spend quality time with family and get to know my mountain bike better. Of course the water started to rise the last day I was there and I see it's gone sky high right now. Timing is everything! Still, I loved every minute in Colorado! BTW in Colorado my bike was considered a classic...back home in Minnesota it's just old. I think it rocks!

Canoe U 2011

2011-06-09T10:59:00.000-05:00

HUGE! It was HUGE this year! With four full classes of students it was the biggest Canoe U that I've seen since I started 6 years ago. Even more exciting was the amount of safety boaters that volunteered! Usually there's a shortage of safety boaters for the classes but not this year. Canoe U Graduates from previous years and experienced paddlers flocked to help the newbies out! Between safety boaters and instructors many classes had more support paddlers than students. An excellent ratio!
The first weekend started out staying at the Norway Group Cabins in the St Croix State Park. Nice cozy cabins and a great central hall with fireplaces and a super kitchen! Our volunteer cooks are the best and food was plentiful and great!
The water chosen for the first day was the lower Kettle. Lots of practice on flat water and easy moving water. Our students learned basic moves such as ferry's and eddy moves. A good day on the river!
Evening came with intense storms. The lightning show was beautiful! Morning broke clear of rain and the classes headed to the upper Kettle in Banning State Park. More flat water work and then running some real rapids. I was happy to see the level had come up high enough to cover most of the annoying rocks but not too pushy yet for the students. Our class had a great day on the river...challenging but they rocked it! There were lots of smiles at the end of the weekend as we said good bye for two weeks until Graduation Weekend.
Could there have been a better weekend for Graduation Weekend? I don't think so! The weather was the most perfect I've ever seen! Sunshine! Warm! And you won't believe this but the easy wind was at our backs for the long flat water paddle on the Reservoir!! That almost never happens!
This is the weekend we push our students a little bit more. Our class did the upper St Louis on Saturday. Lots of eddy and ferry work. Lots of flips! I was really impressed with how determined the students were and especially how long they hung out for a T-Rescue! They did awesome! The level of the river was great! 2100cfs which meant annoying rocks were covered but not too pushy...perfect!

Sunday our last day on the river we chose the upper Kettle through Banning. The last day together before sending these people out on the rivers on their own. It's my last chance as an instructor to emphasize the skills they personally need the most to run rivers after they leave the safety net of Canoe U. We warmed up on flatwater. Ran Blueberry Slide. Some students ran it a second time. We sat in the sunshine and had lunch watching the other classes run Blueberry and Shoulder Hole. Then we ticked off the rapids one by one. Happily throwing them off the seal launch rock below Dragons Tooth. "Yes we're sure it's safe to do this" Little Banning Rapids we let them pick their lines down. Then one last run of Hell's Gate. It was a great day on the river! By far the best thing for me was watching everyone of my students paddle the long flat water at the end using a great forward stroke!

She's Here!!!

2011-06-01T13:39:00.003-05:00


Back in her protective sock until September 24th!

Here she is! A Brand New Jackson Star! Generously donated by Jackson Kayak for the Vermillion Clean Up. This boat has already seen some miles in her journey to Minnesota. First in the truck of Clay Wright for 1333.88 miles from the Jackson Factory to Buena Vista, Colorado. I'm sure she picked up some great river karma and infused river talent by association on that trip. Then 1046.21 miles in the back of my truck to Minnesota where she'll wait for the lucky person whose name gets drawn. Of course hanging with me will give her a tendency to be a gypsy. You'll go places with this boat for sure! Mark your calenders for September 24th this year and plan on being there to give our sweetheart river the loving she deserves! Thank you Jackson Kayak for everything you do for the sport of paddling!!

Midwest Whitewater Paddling 101

2011-03-12T19:28:00.018-06:00

Are you thinking about doing Canoe U and becoming a Midwest Whitewater Paddler? Awesome! Now sign up! The Midwest is a very underrated whitewater treasure. Most people are unaware of the beautiful rivers in the Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan area. Here's what you need to know and do to join the community of dedicated paddlers.

First off is your boat. There are so many whitewater designs to choose from. I would suggest doing a little research on youtube to determine what type of whitewater paddling you're thinking of doing. Searches should use the three main words, creeking, playboating, river running. There are boats specifically designed for these three types of paddling. If you want to do a little play and river running there are crossover boats that work very well too. Then go to your local kayak dealer and demo as many boats as you can. Our very own Midwest Mountaineering in Minneapolis, does a demo night at the Rapids Riders pool sessions. This is the perfect time to try as many boats as you can in a nice warm pool. They also have demos during the summer at local lakes. Check their website for upcoming events. Boats are made in different sizes and volumes. Pick one in your weight and size range. Feel the balance and performance of the boat and also very important check the comfort of the outfitting. Can you spend hours in the boat comfortably? You will know what boat works for you and what doesn't. Also don't forget to check out the whitewater canoes. OC1's and C1's are just another fun way to enjoy whitewater. Make sure you buy float bags for your boat!

Second piece of gear you'll need is your helmet. Most helmets now come with velcro outfitting pads that give you a snug custom fit. The safety factor of helmets have come a long way in about the past 5 years. Better fit and still maintaining style and looks. Buy a set of nose plugs to go with your helmet. The Midwest rivers are not known as deep big water runs. Our "good" season is short and the rocks can be razor sharp. Full face helmets are recommended if you're thinking of running creeks. Plus they look badass!

Third up is your paddle. Paddles are a very personal piece of equipment for me. Buy the best one that you can afford. Again size and shape matter. The shafts come in straight and ergonomically bent shafts. Some paddle manufacturers make two different size diameter shafts to accommodate hand sizes. There are general sizing charts that you can use to determine the approximate length of your paddle. Personal preference will refine what you feel comfortable with. Then there are the blades of your paddle. The offset can vary from 45 degrees to zero offset where the blades are even. This is a personal preference also. I started with the standard 45 offset and switched last year to zero. Before I switched I noticed that my right hand was the dominant control hand. I had a good sized paddlers callous on my thumb. After the switch my lazy left had to step up and take just as much control as my right. Now I have a callous developing on my left thumb. The zero offset is popular among playboaters. Again it's what YOU like.

Fourth is your Personal Flotation Device or commonly known as a PFD. Buy a whitewater specific vest and make sure you can move and bend while in a sitting position with it on. Again it must be comfortable enough to breath yet snug. You can upgrade and buy a Rescue Vest. Highly recommended if you plan on creeking. More on that later.

The fifth and final thing you need to get on the river is a sprayskirt. There will be two sizes listed on them. The size of your cockpit and your waist size.

These five things are mandatory to get on the rivers. Count to 5 every time you leave the house. If you plan on doing a creek add on a good set of elbow pads.

Lets talk about what you wear up here in the frozen north. Drysuits are the best bet for warmth here. They have their drawbacks only in the cost. If you can afford one then get the best one you can. You should get one with a tunnel and a relief zipper. Ladies buy a funnel to go with your dry suit. I like the hard plastic versus the soft. You will also have to wear warm layers underneath your drysuit. Polypropylene is good. Union suits work very well also. If you're on a budget then grab the poly sleep pants you find in the men's department on sale. They work good. For your feet make sure you have a very warm pair of socks. The booties on the drysuits come in latex booties or fabric booties. Both have their positives and negatives and again it's preference or what you can afford. You may still find some with latex ankle cuffs. Pass those up. I had those on my first drysuit and I tore several of them plus at the end of a cold run peeling them off with frozen fingers doesn't work well.

Dry tops are another option for cold water and very handy to have especially while transitioning to warmer weather. For very cold weather, a farmer john wet suit topped with a dry top works well. Layering under the dry top with synthetic fabric like polypropylene helps keep heat in.

For your feet there are a several of options. The lightest being rodeo socks. If you've chosen a playboat you will most likely need the lighter type of booties. If you are kayaking while there is snow and ice on the ground you can add a stout pair of sandals over your booties for traction. Beener the sandals in your boat while on the river. If you've chosen a river runner or creeker you can go with stouter water boots. You will need them for the razor sharp rocks we have here in the Midwest. Just make sure that what you buy will fit in your boat while wearing them.

Get a neoprene hoodie for under your helmet!

Gloves are a must also. Good neoprene, snug but not too tight to restrict blood flow. Note that one small hole in your glove will compromise the ability of your gloves to work. There are also poggies which are like mittens that velcro around your paddle. I've never used them so I don't have an opinion on them.

Then just keep adding to your layering wardrobe with rash guards and poly and you'll be set for anything that the Midwest throws at you. Remember to dress overly warm as you can take off layers. If you chill yourself on a cold river it's very hard to regain the body heat until you're off the river. Hypothermia can develop within minutes during a swim if you're not properly dressed. The length and class of a river is a good thing to keep in mind along with the temperature when dressing for the day.

Whitewater is the most legal fun you can have but it can be dangerous. Quality instruction is priceless and the fastest way to excel safely at your new sport. If you don't have a boat and you're not sure what you want there are good schools that do provide the gear and boats for you. You will find a kayak instruction list on the right side bar of my blog. All are outstanding schools! Personally I volunteer teach through Rapids Riders. We do not supply boats and gear. Midwest does have a rental fleet and they're good about having nice, newer boats. Reserve early though.

If you choose to take the Canoe U course here is what to expect. You will get a pool class where we take you through flatwater basics. The first weekend we camp at St Croix State Park in the Norway Group Cabins. Come early to get the best cabins. We'll determine the best rivers at optimal flow for beginners and start you off. Good paddling, good food and lots of fun camping with the group. Bring your cameras!! You will then have two weeks off before we reconvene again. In those two weeks try to paddle as much as you can. Flatwater is great and it's best to keep practicing those strokes! Weekend two we'll tent camp at Robinson Park . More of the same with just a bit more challenge.

Now you've learned the basics. You have "graduated" from Canoe U and find that you have an insatiable desire to paddle....worse than a crack habit and the best part is it's legal and good for you! How do you continue? It's summer now!! First you should have already joined the Canoe U 2011 Facebook page. Your classmates are going to be your paddling peers. Get to know them and trust them. There is a special bond between whitewater paddlers and you've just joined the "tribe". Post on the Rapids Riders Forum. Hook up with more experienced paddlers who are willing to mentor you. Make sure it's someone you can trust. Reward them with drink, pie and shoulder rubs...they like that. Then start putting in the hard work so you're ready for next spring. The Kettle, St Louis Upper and the Vermilion are all good rivers. It's summer so watch for the levels when they come up. But then the best place in the world to develop those skills during the summer is The Wausau Whitewater Park .

Wausau is an incredible asset to our Midwest paddling scene. A dam released specifically designed whitewater park with free camping all right in downtown Wausau. On a warm summer day you'll find over 100 paddlers from the 5 state area throwing down and running the park. The bottom of the course is designed to be beginner friendly and just work your way up until you're stomping the whole run and playing the holes. Network and meet others. Wausau has several awesome volunteer rescue swimmers that love nothing better than to sharpen "their" skills. It's all good!

The highlight of the summer is the Midwest Freestyle Championships. I know you've just started paddling this year but there is a Freestyle Clinic taught by Colin Kemp and John McConville of Team Jackson and they teach all levels. Sign up early as it is filled up each year. Then enter the competition and just have fun. A drawing is held at the end of the comp for a mountain of swag including a Jackson kayak of your choice. How cool is that? And all you have to do is enter! The cost to you as a paddler is nominal and the park runs mostly on donations.

Another super asset is Jim Falls. Brian Brezinski and Glenn Felske have been teaching whitewater safety during the releases. If you paddle whitewater you should have a good knowledge of rescue techniques and they teach a very good class. UMD, Bear Paw and Wausau Whitewater all have excellent Whitewater rescue classes too. Remember that Rescue Vest I mentioned before. This is where you will learn how to use it with actual hands on in the river scenarios. Good knowledge for your whitewater tool box.

Other great events you really shouldn't miss are the Kettle River Paddle Festival , Paddlemania, and the Vermillion River Clean Up. Good Midwest fun on the rivers.

THE book to have on running rivers in the Midwest is Northwoods Whitewater by Jim Rada. An excellent must have book written by the man who pioneered many of the runs we now enjoy!

I hope I have covered most of the things you will have to know about starting to paddle in the Midwest. Now it's up to you how far you go with this sport. Nepal? Africa? The rivers are as endless as your imagination. They will change your life!

Sneek......Peek

2011-03-09T22:38:00.002-06:00

Really! Who buys a new kayak and doesn't tell anyone? Uh, that was me. In my insane, insecure, infatuated, in love, drive to have the newest, bestest toys I ordered up the new Jackson Rock Star . I didn't tell anyone. Do you realize just how hard that is to do? I almost exploded. I told them any color so I had no idea what it would be. Kind of like having a baby without an ultrasound. It would be a surprise! WhooHoo! Congratulations! It's a green one!
It came on Monday and I had to wait the entire week until Saturday to paddle. Keeping quiet was hard but I was imagining who of my friends would notice first that it wasn't my Super Star. I arrived at the put in and put it on the snow with everyone else's and waited. No one noticed. We all talked as more people arrived and still no one noticed that I had a bright new shiny green Rock Star. Hmmm. I picked up the boat and headed down the cliff to the put in below the falls. Tony, who was my number one guess, was waiting at the falls and took one look and started with the "WHAT the HECK is THAT? I HATE YOU!" I laughed and told him "No you don't cause you know I'll let you paddle it" Finally some one noticed. I think maybe Dan's brand new Esquif L'Edge was stealing a lot of the show that day.

I set it down on the ice ledge and hopped in. Finally I would get it wet. I slid off the ice into the water and went whoa! Jackson had said that the edges were different and once you get used to them the boat rocks. Moving my hips around I felt for the boundaries of the initial stability. The little bit of pressure you feel before transitioning to the secondary stability. It didn't feel like there was any. The boat was "on", ready and very willing to move in any direction. I paddled around the pool below the falls feeling it out. This was one moving boat. The slightest move or angle and it wanted to go much further than I intended at a speed much faster than I intended to go. Ok...this should be fun running the river...especially the narrow ice ledges on Triple Drop. We made it down with only one spin backwards.

I played a little bit in my favorite hole that day. Not too much as there was a big crowd. The boat moved quickly and I had to be precise on my balance at all times. I let young Tony take it out and play. He's not afraid to roll in freezing water like this, ahhh, old lady, and he rocked the boat!
Sunday was pool day and I was teaching a group of ladies my age. The pool was packed and I was anxious to see what the boat could do in (warm) flatwater. When it came time to show the ladies a roll it was going to be my first one in this boat. I prayed to God it would roll easy with the extra height on the seat. It was a piece of cake. Since then I've rolled and flipped it quite a bit and it's just as easy as my older Star's.
Second run down the river I was pretty much getting the hang of the edges and it all went more comfortable. I played the hole and I like the smooth balance of the boat. I've now spent the last 3 nights in the pool and have gotten very used to the edges and it feels comfortable now.
My take on the boat is this. I am a 54 year old woman and I like to play a bit. I'm not going to be throwing huge but will probably have just as much fun as the throwing huge crowd. This boat is a pure pro boat. A (~wet~) dream come true. This boat has more ability than I can probably handle well but that's not gonna stop me from paddling it. If you're not a pro boater this boat will take you farther and faster than you can imagine if you give in and let it have it's lead. You won't have a choice. I haven't had it in a good deep hole yet as winter is still here but I can sure tell that if you even think of throwing a move the boat will be two steps ahead of you. I think David Knight and Eric Jackson have designed a very, very good boat!
The Rock Star is a fun boat but how does it compare to my Jackson All-Star 07 or Superstar 2010. I paddled my All-Star tonight in the pool and it's still a super great boat. Great play and super river running ability. I have many great miles and memories with that boat. My Superstar also is a great boat but just a bit too much volume for me. Still an awesome boat! The Rock Star comes in between those two in volume and I would say it is the perfect volume for me.
As it has become my habit to name my boats now I have christened this one Sneek. It fits...

Season Opener! What? Just Two of Us?

2011-02-26T09:29:00.001-06:00

This is my 6th spring being the watcher for the Vermilion River ice out. This year I faithfully checked each day after work but my friend Tony beat me down there on Thursday and announced it was open. I must be slipping. Or maybe he was too excited to try out his new Allstar on a river.
We made plans to paddle Friday and put up the posts on Facebook and the local forum. We had no takers. A few said we were crazy. The others said take photos.
Tony bought a cheap rope to install on the trail down. Each year this part of the trail is by far the most dangerous thing on the river. With deep cold snow it was much more easier to traverse the trail and install the rope. When it is in full melt the ice mixed with mud has made many paddlers slip and drop their boats and/or paddles down the cliff into the water. I refer to it as the Express Put in. The rest of the trail below this was still steep and dangerous. While hanging on to my boat I had to rely on my paddle placed horizontal in the uphill snow to stop me from sliding off the trail and down the slope. It was a tough climb and trek through the snow down but we were walking into a fantasy winter wonderland untouched with the exception of a few critter tracks.
We launched off an ice ledge and started down. The level was pleasant and not pushy. Higher than the day before. The ice formations were still incredible to see. Quiet with the exception of the river we paddled just soaking in the view from below.
This was the first paddle of my 7th year kayaking and Tony's 2nd year. His first time paddling through an icy wonderland. Once in the river it all becomes worth it! Tony has unlimited enthusiasm for the sport and combined with the energy of the young he played hard despite the temperature of 11 degrees. When we arrived at the top of Triple Drop I saw that it was a narrow chute down the middle with ice ledges the whole way down on both sides. Narrower than I would have guessed from the bridge above. I told Tony I was running straight down, no stops and to keep in the middle and led off. It made for a harder run avoiding the ice but fascinating to see the difference in the river. Like running a whole new run.
Down at Donut Hole it looked like great play. Again Tony had fun in the hole taunting me to jump in. I had worn the wrong boots today for my playboat and couldn't fit into the boat completely leaving me partially off the back of my seat and not very comfortable in my kayak at all. I used the patience and wisdom of experience and said there's all of next week to play and it's going to be much warmer than 11.

The take out was slabs of ice right up to the cliff trail. Hard to get up with our boats and gear. I thought the last time I was on ice and snow this steep I had my crampons and tools with. Again using my paddle horizontally in the snow helped immensely. The Verm is officially open.

Click on any photo to enlarge. Sorry about the spots in the camera. Ice is hard to get off a lens.

Midwest Telefest 2011

2011-02-15T11:45:00.003-06:00

By nature, I'm a curious person. This one trait has brought so much pleasure into my life alone. Not to mention adventure! I never want to stop learning! One thing I've always looked at and admired is Telemark skiing. I've made some attempts to learn. I first bought a set of used skis. Then I tried to learn by videos on my computer....skreeeetch...stop! The best decision I made was to commit to going to the Midwest Telefest and taking their classes.
I arrived Friday evening and settled into the motel. I then went to see if I could find where Tele Central was and get registered for the weekend. Driving along the shore it was dark but I could see the ice on the lake. I was expecting to see lights and a well lit ski resort but instead came to a dark sign that pointed the way.
The chalet was softly lit with a huge wood fire and a tele movie on a big screen. I registered and was given a beer and I thought this was good.
The next morning I was there bright and early for my class. Down Wind Sports had all kinds of demo gear there so I let them pick a pair of skis out for me to use in the class. They told me the new equipment was almost like cheating compared to the used skis I had. OK let's see what they've got.
Bob and Mike were my instructors. We had a class of seven students. Bob and Mike only had us do two runs down the mountain but they spent three hours instructing in those two runs. Giving us very basic building blocks and working from there. Very hands on and very personal one on one. As a group we had progressed by leaps and bounds in our understanding and ability by the end of the afternoon and there were smiles all around. There is no substitute for personal instruction! Maybe some people can pick up things from a video easier than others but nothing can replace being able to ask a question.
Then we were free! I went up and down the mountain. I gave back the demos skis and went back to my old skis praying I wouldn't hate them after using the new state of the art skis. I was very happy to find I loved them just as much as before. Towards the end of the afternoon I was debating whether I had anything left in my legs for one more run. You know the place where you have to gamble possible crash versus one more wheee down the hill. I went with one more wheee. I bent down to snap my heel throw on and it snapped off in my hand. Bummer! I opted to watch the uphill downhill race start and head back to the motel for a beer and hot tub before the evening.
The evening festivities started with an awesome pasty dinner and a band called Chasin Steel. I was really impressed with this band. Very talented musicians and everyone of them had a beautiful voice. If you get a chance to hear them I highly recommend it! I headed back to the motel after the first set but I heard the band played until they had to move it to the motel bar and then they played the night out. The party was rocking!
Sunday was a slow start for everyone. Down Wind promised to hook me up with demo skis all day so I took them up on the offer. I tried many different skis with the last one being Rossignols Backcountry skis. I liked those. I also liked the BD Aspect's too.
As with all sports there are different muscles for each. My legs were screaming at me so I had to call an end to the tele skiing for the day even though I wasn't completely tired out. XC ski trails abound so I switched out and did about five miles on them. The photos I took do not do the subtle colors justice. The woods was a cold ancient beauty. I am looking forward to exploring the area more.

This weekend was going to be a retreat for me. A chance to learn something new in an anonymous environment. A quiet sabbatical where I could relax, write and explore. What I found was an awesome festival with an incredibly fun group of earthy people. There were many people that showed up but there was never a crowded feeling. I found I knew people there and met some really cool new friends. Next year I will be back for sure!

Verm Watch 2011

2011-02-15T09:56:00.001-06:00

2-14-2011

Not yet...

Kaleidoscope Dreams

2011-02-10T17:55:00.002-06:00

Day dreaming is a passion for me. I dream of smiling friends who I share the rivers with. I dream of the new students that will share the love for the rivers. I dream of new rivers to run and renewing cherished rivers of past. Challenges that arise and challenges I manufacture for myself. I dream of the crystalline beauty of nature pure. The colors fly recklessly though my mind, faster and faster. My thoughts speed up as time is short. Blues of sky and water. Earthy tones of forest and mountain. Colors of skin...the colors of smiles. Skittles of boats...the sounds of laughter. The forever sound of the river. Faster they swirl lest I forget to remember one. Crowding my mind in glimmer and facets. The scent of rivers, neoprene, hops...a fresh breeze on a cool mountain morning. My tent. My truck. My boats. Wausau. Passports and continents new. Plans for now and plans for later. The starting line is within my sight. Rivers on the edge of break. I stand caught in my kaleidoscope of dreams paralyzed...waiting. Waiting to step into the dream...soon.

First Ice

2011-01-06T10:39:00.000-06:00

I finally feel like winter has started for me. I got my first ice climb of the year in. We had planned to do Homer's but the ice wasn't very good so we beat it over to Ivy Falls. Here's a helmet cam of one of my climbs today.

Word 1-1-11

2011-01-01T17:44:00.003-06:00

Today I had the most stunning compliment I've had in years. It provoked a lot of thought and memories. This winter I have been trying to swim at least once a week. I've been a swimmer for my entire life and it's just a natural part of me. I love it! I start with easy laps in the pool and then when I'm warmed up I will do a power lap. I did the push off and backstroked the length of the pool. Smooth stokes with speed and power. I loved the feeling of putting everything I had into it. At the other end of the pool I was surprised when I heard a man exclaim "Very well done!! Have you competed?" I smiled, mostly to myself, as I thought of my negative tumultuous younger years when I should have had the opportunity. I answered "No I've never competed" He said "Well you sure could have! That was good!" I took a close look at him and made an assessment. Fortyish, still nicely toned swimmers body, real swim trunks...not those awful speedos...I think he knew a thing about the sport of swimming. I was flattered..and I realized also inspired! Someone had noticed that I was good at something I do. Memories hit me from the past and I remembered the days when I would have done anything to hear even one word of praise or encouragement. Dissecting the compliment to understand why it resonated with me I came up with this explanation. It was honest, unsolicited, spontaneous, and didn't expect anything in return. A simple powerful statement that inspired me. Just a few simple words spoken.

As a kayak instructor I have seen many students whose confidence levels have varied from chest pounding to very timid and even shaking from head to toe scared. With the former being mostly men and the later being mostly women. Each year I seem to have one woman who will have a turning point during the class which will change her life. It hasn't come about due to me screaming "Yes! You can do it's." (which I do say frequently) but by a few honest words spoken at a crux. A stubborn refusal on my part to buy into her self doubt. If she thinks she can't do it and senses that you think she may have trouble that makes two people that think she can't do it. Odds are she won't do it.

One of my duties as an instructor is to architect the best possible environment for my students. Carefully picking the rapids and lines for them to run for the best possible outcome. Initial confidence is fragile and should be a main concern to an instructor. There are some people who will teach fear. Some sick bastards will actually have fun scaring the newbies. Again this will happen more to women..sad to say. Painting verbal pictures of death and destruction does little to boost confidence or build skills. Such as "If you hit a rock you're gonna die" "If you go into that hole you're gonna die" Unfortunately my very first instructor embodied this attitude towards women. As an instructor now I prefer to teach information and problem solving. For example, "This is what will happen if you hit that rock and this is what you can do about it." "Sometimes it can even be fun when done on purpose!" Using this method you can usually dissect the reasons for a students fear and once the fear is understood, evaluate if it is a valid fear or just the boogieman in your head. Then you will have a clear picture of how to proceed.

Words are very powerful! They can inspire emotions as euphoric as the caress of a lovers hands or the biting pain of a whip on a soul. Some words will stay with a person forever. Good or bad. What you say to a student will stay with that student. Honest encouragement and unwavering belief in them will go a long ways in creating a skillful confident paddler. In 2011 I truly hope I can use my words to inspire others as that man's generous words did for me today. His last words to me were, "Have a Happy New Year!" Word!

Rockstar!

2010-12-27T19:13:00.001-06:00

Yes I know it's a sickness. Yes I know I have an addictive personality. And yes I have a thing for having the best toys and yes too many toys. My sickness is addiction, my addiction is kayaking and my new desire is the new Rockstar. I haven't had the opportunity to try one out yet as they haven't started production but after reading the article it makes a lot of sense. One of the critical changes is the seat being raised an inch and a half. When you sit lower in the boat it makes for a more stable platform. Raising the seat brings your center of gravity in line with the pivotal center of the boat. Basically it sounds like Jackson greased the bearings and you're in for quite a wild ride. I'm really looking forward to trying one out. I wonder if I can handle this loose of a boat? Meantime since I am in the frozen north and they haven't started production just yet, soon, I'm going to raise the seat a bit on my Superstar and see how this idea works in the pool up here. Now what color should I chose?

Last Dance?

2010-11-20T20:03:00.002-06:00

November 20th. 27 degrees. Vermilion River at a pleasant play level and still open. Today was my first day off work in two weeks. Oh Lord did I want to play!
Friday after work I met up with Jim at the river and we played for a couple of hours in balmy 40 degree weather. Life was good. This morning I spent mountain biking up on Memorial Bluff...I love this new pastime! My friend Shirley and her husky, Beo, joined me up on the bluff. The day was sunny but cold with a bite to the wind. It didn't matter as I generated quite a bit of heat on the trails. While walking together a Bald Eagle came soaring above the fields...hunting. Shirley pulled out her camera to get a photo and just like she called to it, it came and circled right above us. This was special. We're very lucky to have a bluff with some of the best mountain biking trails and an off leash dog park up there to boot. Very special morning!
A quick stop at home to switch out the bike for a boat...but not my playboat this time. I have been meaning to take my Villain to the Verm and play it and decided that since this may be my last paddle of the year it was time. I've done this with my old creek boat and find it helps you to bond with your boat more personally so when you get stuck in those nasty holes you have some play foundation established with your creek boat. Believe me it's money in the bank to do this.
I met Tony at the parking lot at 1pm today. He's a first year boater with a super dooper helping of natural ability and enthusiasm. A joy to paddle with! My gear was still frozen from yesterdays paddle and I used the truck heater to thaw it out. At the put in my skirt had refrozen and Tony had to help me get it on my boat. Once in the water all was good. We paddled down to Railroad Hole. Tony played it. I declined and said I'd wait till Donut. It was too cold to roll in my opinion but Tony played it well. With a roll or two....brrrrrr!
Then it was on to my favorite play spot in the world...at least my world. Donut Hole! I kept putting my Villain repeatedly in the hole...first starting out slowly...even a little bit shyly to just get the feel of how he played. As I got used to the feel I went further. Gliding in softly and controlling the edges. Anyone can slam their boat into a hole and react to what happens but that's not how I like to play. Tony and I spent two solid hours playing. I can say the Villain worked every bit as fun as my Superstar. I could spin, side surf, front and back surf in him. Towards the end I noticed my face was starting to freeze up a bit and I was having some trouble talking. My gloves didn't want to work today like they should and my hands were getting very cold. Neither of us wanted to leave...just the thought that this may be my seasons end for me kept me on the river longer than I should have been. Finally we had to "rip the bandaid" and just leave. The Verm has always been an old friend to me. Many wonderful memories of my friends on this river and so many more good times to come. I felt very nostalgic as I paddled to the take out.

Back at the truck I saw the water on my drysuit and pfd was freezing up fast. My fingers were not working very well so I thought the best bet was to have Tony unzip my drysuit for me and then just wear everything home in my truck and let it thaw. Just getting my frozen pfd off was a chore for my frozen fingers. In the truck I found it difficult to punch the numbers on my cell phone to get my messages. Whoa...just how cold did I let myself get? With a quick stop at Culvers to get dinner I headed home. A trail of wet gear led to the bathroom where I soaked in a very hot shower for a very long time. Will this be the last paddle of 2010 for me? It's been an awesome year for sure. With only ten days left until my, gasp, 54th birthday...I always hope I'll get a birthday paddle in. Some years I am able to get one...some years not.

I didn't have a camera with me on the river today but here is some from yesterday that Jim took.

Mountain Biking!

2010-11-09T12:46:00.001-06:00

For several years now my friends have been telling me I needed to give mountain biking a try. They have said I'd love it! I have looked at all the injuries and thought yeah right...maybe kayaking is safer. Well finally my curiosity got the better of me. And they were right! It's a blast! I have found that single track is my niche...so far. It has all the thrills of whitewater. The lines, the mental game, the challenge, the fun! So much correlates between the two sports. There are different levels and when starting out even little looks "big". As your skills come and you become comfortable, your perspective adjusts it's self accordingly. Today was my fourth time on Memorial Hill in Red Wing. The trails up there are amazing. The red trails would make a rock pee it's panties...damn! But the gnarly boy and girls hit em up! One jump I am told is forty feet down! Relate it to waterfalling in kayaking. It's all good!
My bike is considered old school but that's OK. I tried a newer version today at the take out and found there really wasn't that much difference. Except in price. My bike is a very good fit for me and works like it should. I love it! I did rent a hardtail up north a couple of weeks ago and I have come to the decision that full suspension is the way to go! Here is a little video from today. Remember I'm new and this is just a fun easy part of the trails up there.

2010 in Review...Wow!

2010-11-01T17:42:00.004-05:00

Wow is all I can say about the year 2010 and it still has exactly two more months to go. Spring in Minnesota started out with a fizzle. The rivers ran for less than a week before the water was gone. My planned week of spring creeking on the North Shore was replaced by Plan B. The Southeast. This was my first trip to the Southeast and it was amazing! After my first years of kayaking the same local rivers over and over I was able to get on new rivers. The crew that I was with were very experienced and I was able to learn so much more about leading down new rivers. My season started with a euphoric adrenalin high...life was good!

Fizzle went another tradition of spending Memorial Day at Sturgeon Falls. Again lack of water forced us to Plan B again. This time it was Colorado! The water went insane the day after we arrived. The gauge shooting straight up! It was another super trip with great paddling and great friends!

The Triple Crown was completed by my trip to The Northwest! Oregon, Washington and Idaho! Words cannot describe how I feel about the rivers and friends I visited along the way. I spent time on some of the most amazing rivers...The Payette, White Salmon, Lochsa...I fell in love with Northwest whitewater.

Truly I feel very blessed by each of these trips and the friends along the way. Still another blessing is to be able to teach new kayakers though Canoe U each spring. This was my fourth year being involved with the classes and my second as an instructor. It's always a thrill to see former students going after it! Showing up at the rivers and throwing it down at the playpark. Their progression is amazing! Love it!!

So many things this year! This was also my fourth year organizing the Vermilion River Clean Up. The Vermilion being my home river is important to me and it's very gratifying to see the many boaters that come and put in the hard work it takes to clean a river. Rapids Riders over the years that they have done this have removed literally tons of garbage from the river it's self and the surrounding park. The river outdid herself this year by being the highest it's ever been for the clean up! WhooHoo!

Two new boats followed me home this year. My Jackson Superstar and Villain! I named them Sunshine and McMurray respectively. I love my boats! I made the change from offset to zero offset on my paddles. A good move for me.

I touched a bit on the darkside starting to learn how to OC1. I have so much respect for open boaters that throw themselves down the same whitewater next to me. It isn't easy but I am enjoying learning a different craft.

I attended the Kettle River Festival and ran the race with good results. Always a good time! I enjoyed the hell out of Paddlemainia and I competed at the Midwest Freestyle Championships and didn't do too bad for a 53 year old lady. Most importantly was I was having fun with friends!

I had a super year of personal growth. Both on and off the river. Looking back on my year I know it surpassed all my expectations. Although I am not goal orientated I did make a guideline list of things I wanted to achieve this year... I did pretty well on my list. I am reluctant to declare any goals for next year but I know I would like to do one really good overnighter on an awesome river. Do more trips and get a bit better with my canoe. With such a great year like 2010 has been, I can only hope 2011 is just as good!

Return to the Baptism River

2010-11-01T15:34:00.002-05:00

My first creek experience was on the Baptism River on the infamous North Shore of Minnesota. An amazingly beautiful creek with tough portages and fun whitewater. First time down I was a still new boater with a so so roll and I followed three extremely talented boaters down...no scouting. I did OK until the very last drop when I flipped and took a couple of hard hits to the face. Ouch.

Flash forward 3 1/2 years to this weekend. Much more experienced now with an incredible year of new rivers behind me I returned to my first creek.

The crew today was solid! Andy, Bryan, Dan, Dave and I had an early start on a cloudy morning. The level was 12.7 which was much higher than I had run it before. I approached this day with a bit of a philosophical view. The mental game is so important in whitewater kayaking and I was doing "checks" to see if my past experience on this river had an influence on my confidence this run. I won't lie and say no. Before putting on I had a bit of the jitters but they soon faded after the first rapid. Most of us had a great day. One of us had an off day resulting in the demise of his boat. Not an uncommon occurrence on the North Shore rivers. Two were retired this weekend on the shore. Other than bumps and bruises no serious injuries.

We paddled down to Ilgen Falls where our friend Joi and her husband Dwight waited for us. Joi is a very talented artist and wanted to photograph Bryan and I, as the only kayakers in the group, running Ilgen Falls for our first time. We looked and both came to the conclusion that it was on the high side and with only the two of us it would be a bit foolish to attempt. We hung out for awhile and took photos. Joi and Dwight ran our shuttle for us and we enjoyed a bit to drink in the parking lot. It was a good day.

Looking back on my perception of what was big to me three years ago and what I consider big today it's interesting how your view changes. But I guess by looking at the photos one thing never changes and that's my smile...I love rivers and always will!

Photos by Joi, Bryan and Nora

Caught my Fancy!

2010-10-18T19:22:00.001-05:00

For quite a few years now my friends have been telling me I needed to try mountain biking. Yeah...someday maybe. This year I have spent quite a bit of time on my road bike and have started to develop a curiosity for the mountain bike thing. There must be something there that my friends love. I began researching and realized this is something that can be quite a bit more expensive than some of my other sports. Ouch! Especially since I figure I would want a full suspension bike. For the last couple of months I have been watching the used bikes but just couldn't justify the big bucks for them. This last weekend one came on that I thought hmmm. It's an older model but was top of the line when it came out. Well taken care of and in good shape and most importantly, very, very reasonable. I gave it a test drive and it felt immediately comfortable and solid. I looked the guy in the eye and said what's your bottom line on this bike. He quoted a price $140 LESS than he was asking...sold! Very reasonable! No guilt buying this toy!
Today was our virgin ride on the single track trails in Red Wing. The bike was awesome! It may be old school but we did just fine together. I had the trails to myself tonight so I was able to take it at my own pace and learn. The suspension worked super and I was getting the hang of it. I could have gone for a long time but the sun was setting and I had to get home. Such a beautiful night! I'm so looking forward to spending whole days on trails and seeing where they take me.

Kim and Bryan Zlimen

2010-10-09T09:53:00.000-05:00

Congratulations and the very best wishes to Kim and Bryan.

Vermilion River Clean Up 2010!

2010-09-27T09:28:00.003-05:00

Oh my I was running late this morning. I actually forgot my cell phone and had to run back home. The clean up started at 9am and I was the organizer. I had all the "stuff"! I made it there at 8:50am...whew...no one would know. Hey, we're all kayakers and on kayak time, right? But what was this? 9am and a boater pulls in the parking lot? Followed by more? Paddlers were rolling in on time! We had a super turn out today despite the drizzly start of the day. Nearly thirty men and women came to give our local play run some lovin. The Vermilion River is a very beloved urban river south of St Paul in Hastings MN. Once a year Rapids Riders hold their Vermilion clean up. The section of river we clean runs through a narrow, deep canyon with sketchy trails descending down to the river. Our "run"... from the falls to the old ruins. Over the years Rapids Riders have removed literally tons of garbage from the river and banks by bringing it up the cliffs. Not an easy task at all!
A strategic map of the river was drawn and plans were made. Some had brought tools for trail maintenance. Many had brought ropes. Everyone took bags and off they went. It just amazes me when I see the massive amount of work that gets accomplished each year and the ingenuity of how the paddlers accomplish it. The trail was cleaned of all the downed wood and overgrown brush in mere minutes. Ropes were set up and paddlers worked in unison to gather bikes, scrap iron, tires and miscellaneous items and haul them up the cliffs. Several spread out and picked up garbage from the park above. Many beer cans, bottles and articles of clothing and it's always good to know that the park goers are practicing safe sex. The find of the day was a full can of Budweiser 2009 Sturgis edition beer. Noticeably the actual amount of garbage being removed each year is less and less! In the past there has been a huge amount of industrial garbage that has been down in the canyon for years. From the efforts of paddlers the bulk of this has been removed and the present garbage is the yearly litter. Yes we are making a big difference!

During lunch, Tom Lewanski gave a talk about Friends of the Mississippi River and all the great projects they do to help the Mississippi river and it's tributary's which the Vermilion is one of. Not an easy task these days with invasive species invading many of our rivers and lakes. They also fund projects to restore habitat along the rivers. Fight urban runoff. This organization are our advocates at the DNR. A very good cause!
After lunch was the drawing for door prizes! Our awesome sponsors really came through this year!. Midwest Mountaineering has been our sponsor since the beginning of the clean up 11 years ago! My favorite store! This year we had two great helmet manufactures donate helmets. Shred Ready and WRSI. I personally own a couple of both helmets and love and wear each. Yes I am a woman and they're kind of like shoes for me. The right helmet for the right occasion, and of course color is important too. Werner Paddles was a new sponsor this year and I am so glad to have them! I love my Werner paddles! Are you getting the hint I just went through my gear when I made out the sponsor list? I did! New this year are KIND bars. I love these bars! 3M provided the gift bags of various products again for the fourth year. Thanks so much to all our sponsors who donated so generously!

Then the fun begins! This year the Verm was the highest it has ever been during a clean up! A very strong rain event happened on precisely the right day to bump the river to peak precisely on our clean up day! Yes we had another spontaneous sponsor from above! With the river running at insane levels for the third time this year the brave paddled the mighty Verm. The incredible played the mighty Verm at this level! A few beers were cracked in the parking lot and it was the end of another great clean up! Thank you to all that came and made this the special day with special friends that it is! Good times!

Click on any photo to enlarge it for detail.

OC1... My First River Run with Montana

2010-09-06T06:08:00.001-05:00

For a while now I have been watching my open boating friends and wondering "How do they do it"? All of them awesome paddlers styling their way down rapids with one paddle and an open boat. AND on their knees. Last fall I bought a Dagger Ocoee with the intent to try to learn. I named her Montana after the state I bought her in. I have many reasons for wanting to learn OC1. Extended whitewater trips. A reason to keep my body flexible. A new challenge. And mostly I just admire all the C1 and OC1ers I paddle with.

This summer I must admit the canoe didn't come out much. I took it to Wausau and did a tiny bit of practice at the bottom of the course but nothing much. I did some outfitting the day before on my boat and a quick flatwater paddle to see how it fit...ready or not. Today Alan Faust was going to take me down my first river. I considered myself very lucky to be able to learn from him. He has the ability to inspire you to be the best you can be.

We first worked on basics in the flatwater. My worries about today centered in thinking that my legs wouldn't be able to take the kneeling on an extended basis. My other fear was swimming....funny! I felt like a newbie again. My thoughts drifted to when I took my friend Joi for her first run down to First Wave. I knew exactly how she felt that day.

Entering the first riffles it felt good. I eddied out just fine behind a large rock and then it was on to First Wave...the first rapid on the St Louis. Easy swim if you crash and burn. My river skills and kayaking skills easily crossed over and we styled it down. We did more work on turning and edging as we made our way down to Two Hole. At this level on the St Louis I knew the rocks were going to come into play more the further down the river we went making it more technical. I really am a fan of more water. Things went fine and I had my first feel of maneuvering my boat. The Canyon was next. Now here Alan changed things up. I have run the Louis many times and I usually pick the same lines down. Alan knows this and he had me do things very different. Catch the eddy on the left and then a long ferry back to right, turn and follow him down. All through more rocks. Again it challenged my skill and it did go very well. Same again with Hidden Hole.

We came to Electric Ledge at the same time the rafts were running it. We watched hoping for a little carnage but not to be had. Alan had me portage and he styled it down with his signature move. Then we were at the last long rapid called Little Kahuna or Rescue Rapids. At this level it would be a technical and pick your way down carefully or broach rapid. I figured this to be my most likely swim of the day. Towards the bottom it got tight but I was very happy with how Montana edged and glided around the rocks and down. Smooth! Very smooth!

I learned some very good lessons today. One being your anxieties are for the most part useless. With several stretch breaks my legs did just fine in my canoe. The vision I had of pulling out at First Wave with unbearable cramps didn't happen. Swimming didn't happen also which was good but I know it's coming and I know I swim very well.

Will I give up kayaking to go OC1? No. I look at it as another aspect of enjoying the river. I am definitely going to keep open boating. It has a graceful feel to it that talks to a part of me.

Taking the Guess out of Vermillion River Levels

2010-08-17T09:43:00.002-05:00

With the huge amount of rain the Vermilion River has came up to epic levels this last week. The gauge is on one of the forks and only records the amount that that actually passes through there. It has always been a guess as to what is in the river by time it gets to Hastings. This Sunday I went up to see if I could see the old stick gauge on the mills just above the falls. I was happy to see that they had installed a new gauge to the left of it and it is readable from across the river. Here are some videos rcording the level of actual level of the river along with the gauge reading. This will be helpful in the future when the level is playing the guess game with us.

Polish up Those Paddles! Midwest Freestyle Championships are almost here!

2010-07-22T21:37:00.003-05:00

Can it be only a few short weeks until the Midwest Freestyle Championships? Only two more weekend releases to practice your moves? It's coming up fast!
The Midwest Freestyle Championships are rapidly becoming a premiere event attracting several Pro Boaters last year. The moves are more daring and complex and it takes a whole lot to shine in the expert class now. Last year had a huge showing in all of the men's divisions from novice to expert...the number of men competing keeps growing. I have been watching the men grow as playboaters over the summer and there is some very, very solid competition out there this year.
I remember a few years back when I first started coming to Wausau the women's division could only be described as scant. Very few wanted to brave throwing themselves in a hole in front of...well...everyone. Last year with the combining men and women in the Beginner, Intermediate, and Expert classes encouraged a lot of first time beginner women to give it a try. The result was a very large turnout and incredible fun had by all.
The Women still have a division of their own. Last year had the most women participating to date. I expect even more this year! What is even more fantastic is that the Midwest women really have a tight Sisterhood and encourage each other to do their best. The resulting synergy is really a reflection of the love and respect we have for each other. The women have come a long way over the last few years with a few competing in the Expert division and everyone really throwing it down. The Midwest girls are rocking!
If you seem to be short on "moves" Colin Kemp and John McConville from Jackson Kayak have a Freestyle Clinic on the Thursday and Friday before. Awesome teachers that have paddled around the world. These classes fill up very fast so be sure to register today.
Think you're too old to throw down....not so! The Masters division is for anyone over 40. And of course if you just want to bomb down a river, racing some other bomb dudes, the Boatercross is for you. Fun to do and fun to watch the carnage. You never know what to expect here.
There will be an OC1 and C1 division. I have a lot of respect and admiration for these men and women. You'll see some amazing moves here from our local home gown paddlers!
Free camping as always and the swagg is like none other with top prize being a Jackson kayak of your choice. Now how awesome is that?
Here is my post from 2009.
Here is my post from 2008
Check out the photos and moves from the recent past! I hope to see everyone there this year!

The Northwest...Washington and Oregon!

2010-07-21T21:07:00.002-05:00

I cruised into Hood River just after dark wishing I could see more of the Gorge. I had spotty cell reception on this trip and directions that told me to go a mile exactly from a gas station and I'd find the private drive to Lori's. No problem...I've had worse directions and still found my way, in the dark. Lori gathered her gear and we set off to find the boys at our home base camp at Trout Lake. I had recommended to Lori to take the job at Wet Planet leaving all she knew in Minnesota for the unknown. As an avid "mother hen" I was anxious to see how she was doing.

She was doing fantastic! We went to the The Trout Lake Country Inn for breakfast and I walked into my past. The building is ancient with all the original woodwork. The front had a small bar area and tables with a comfortable sofa area and TV. The back was the old style dance hall with a classic stage. In the olden days I was told there used to be bath tubs lined up for the locals to come and buy a bath. The decor was antique everyday items. My favorite item is the picture of the Duke, John Wayne, hanging on the wall. The front porch was just how I remember the porch on our old farm house was. Memories blew through my mind like the cool evening winds I recalled rocking on that porch. Lori and I schemed our first day together...heehee!

Scott on Husum Falls

First off was paddling the White Salmon. Lori is truly blessed to have this stream as her home river. Everything from class II to V. What a beautiful training ground. We then went to the Wind River and dropped three of our group off there and then Lori, Chris and I went to do the hike into Falls Creek Falls. Walking in the northwest woods is like walking in a fantasy world. Emerald greens and rustic colors so rich it's hard to believe they're real. The hike was long and we had almost given up finding the falls when we came out on an overlook and saw the falls down below us. We cracked our celebratory beers, took some photos and wondered why our path didn't take us to the bottom like the guide book said it would. Darkness was on it's way and it was a long hike out. We decided to finish our beers as we walked further on the path to see if it went to the top of the falls. Sure enough just as I was finishing my beer we arrived at the top of the most magnificent, three tier falls you could imagine. Standing at the top was breathtaking! The guide book mentioned a root ladder along the side of the falls you could use to climb up. We started down climbing the root ladder. With each level the falls revealed more! Wow! This is THE BEST part yet! Down climb some more...No no! THIS is the best view yet. The beauty and immensity of the falls is humbling! I found myself trying to capture the complete aura in one photo but was unable to fit so much into my lens. There are so many hikes they recommend out in the Gorge area...I recommend this be your first. We took lots of photos and then with dark almost upon us, headed back out. Personally I love trail running downhill. It was over two miles to the car and we trail ran most of it until it was too dark to see the roots and rocks on the trail. We ended the day hooking back up with the Wind river group at the bar for dinner. Great start for our Washington/Oregon trip!


Chris and Lori Falls Creek Trail


Falls Creek

Me on the overlook


First Tier of Falls Creek Falls


Second Tier Falls Creek Falls


Third Tier Falls Creek Falls

Awesome hiking crew!

Day two started with breakfast at my favorite inn. An early morning run on the White Salmon. Then we all went for a group paddle on the Clakamas River in Oregon. A friendly playboat run just outside of Portland. This river was just pure fun! We followed with a group hike to Punchbowl Falls on Eagle Creek. Some of our group deemed it to be runnable and made plans for the next day to huck it. We finished the evening with dinner at the Full Sail Brewery. Awesome stout beer and an awesome day two!


Below Punch Bowl Falls on Eagle Creek

Punch Bowl Falls on Eagle Creek

Day three, Lori had to go back to work so we did an early morning bomb run of the White Salmon only starting higher up on the run. Afterward the group scattered to do separate adventures. I wanted some alone time in Hood River just hanging out, getting my bike fixed and taking in the neighborhood. Some of the others went to huck Punchbowl Falls and Oggie went hiking with his Uncle and Brian waited for his friend, Eric, at the campsite. On my way back from town I stopped to drop some lunch off with Lori. She heard there was going to be an ender contest at Top Drop that evening. Wow! We need to get one of these started here in the Midwest! The rules were your boat had to be nine or more feet long. You get three minutes to see what you can do in the hole and with each move the crowd shouts out a number from 1 to 10. A score keeper does his or her best to average the score. Sound like fun? You bet it was!

Ironic that day four was the Fourth of July! By this time Brian's friend Eric had joined us and our group did another paddle on the White Salmon. Lori had to work but begged off early in the afternoon so our core hiking group consisting of Lori, Chris and I could hike Sleeping Beauty. A small mountain (by comparison) from which on a clear day you can see Mt. Adams, Mt. Hood and Mt. St Helen's. It was clear when we started but after hiking to the top we were just in some light clouds that obscured the view. Still we were able to look down at an incredible sight! We celebrated this hike with an awesome stout!

Back at camp Chris was talking about going with me when I left in the morning so we could do the Lochsa River on the way home. Chris was fired up to hit this river and I was curious. I loved the Payette and was having thoughts of going back to it and doing one last big water playboat run on my way home. Chris assured me that the Lochsa was big water and you can do it in a playboat. We were on the road at 5:30am headed east. Just because you're headed home doesn't mean the adventure is over.

Kiters in Hood River. Maybe I should have brought a kite or two.

I really need to apologize for the lack of abundant river photos. My Optio took a dive off my truck and I hadn't replaced it before the trip. I used my SLR camera for these shots so if you click on the photo it will enlarge and I truly hope you enjoy them. I have since replaced my Optio and I promise you I will go back there next year and shoot up the rivers. I have some helmet cam that I will be editing as soon as I find a bit of time.

The Day I Forgot my PFD!

2010-07-15T00:22:00.002-05:00

I am known far and wide as "THE" person who has extra of everything stashed in my truck. If you forgot it, Nora's got it. I always carry two PFD's in my truck. My rescue PFD and my play PFD. Not this day though. I had just gotten back from the Northwest and unloaded my truck. With my brand new PFD just arrived I took my older ones out and hung them on their hooks. I didn't get around to putting my new PFD in the truck before I went to my home river...The Vermilion. I was bummed when I discovered this fact in the parking lot. Since it would be an hour round trip home to get it and I spend more time in Donut Hole than on my living room couch I decided to paddle without it. All things considered including that I am a very strong swimmer and it's a small pool drop park and play river with lots of paddlers there, I wasn't too worried.
The river was up from the summer rains. We had a fairly large group gathered to play. The Verm is a place to just go and hang out with friends and have fun. Some of my best paddling memories are from this river. We made it down to my favorite hole...Donut! It was stomping and so much fun. I chased one paddler down to the pool below when she swam. It's a large safe pool for the most part and a favorite swimming hole for the local kids. The only current is a jet on river right that pushes along a slightly undercut cliff wall. In the summer the young people that hang out also like to butt slide down through Donut hole so it's not unusual for us to wait for them to go through. Two young men were taking turns in the hole with us. All was good. Then one of the young men decided to try to talk his girlfriend into sliding down. I could see she was very reluctant. He then decided to try to persuade her by making out with her above the drop so all of us could watch. "Come on baby...I'll be there to save you." We could see it all coming down. I was next in the hole and it was to be my last ride and then I was headed out. The pool below was filling up with the boaters that had washed or swam too far down and it was time to go. Well she was finally convinced so I let them slide hand in hand through the hole and then I jumped in for my last surf. As I turned to head down to the pool I saw only her in the fast water along the undercut with her boyfriend nowhere to be seen. I had a suspicion something was very wrong and sped down to her. When I caught up to her she had sank completely underwater and I could see she had no idea how to swim. I was horrified to see she was actually drowning. I looked to grab something on her to pull her up but there was nothing to grab. I was just about to jump out of my boat when she hit the wall and grabbed on. She pried her head above water as I pulled up next to her. She didn't realize at first I was there but pressed her head into the rock. She was terrified, sobbing and hysterical. I talked to her to calm her down and explained that I was going to give her the back of my kayak to hold on to and I would take her across the current. Bobzilla had caught wind of what was going down and was there if I needed him.
She was a sweetheart and listened to my commands. Not being a swimmer she was hard to ferry across the current since she didn't know how to float. I saw her boyfriend just watching in waist deep water on the sand bar. I yelled at him to come and help her. No response. Again I told him to come and help her. Very little response. He took a few slow steps. It was pretty obvious he really didn't give a %&*$. Wow! When I did get her onto the sand bar and she was standing I asked her if she even knew how to swim. She said "no". Now here the story pauses on my blog...One of my rules for my blog is to post nothing negative. When I learned her boyfriend had encouraged her to go down through rapids, without a PFD, when she didn't know how to swim a few, ah shall we say, negative things came out of my mouth. It wasn't pretty.
Ok back to the story. The sand bar is only in the middle of the river and there is a small deep area next to the shore she needed to get out on. I told her I wasn't leaving the pool until she was safe on shore and towed her to shore.
Observations in hindsight. A friend just sent me this link today about drowning. The parallels are amazing. She was bobbing with her feet hanging down and her hair was just floating in the water around her head. There was a total of about fifteen paddlers and young people hanging out down there and thankfully I saw what was happening. No one else noticed. A drowning person can easily panic and pull down their would be rescuer. I was very aware of this as I helped her out. Being without my PFD put me at a disadvantage. But then, in the past, I have rescued a few others in serious drowning situations while just swimming without a PFD. The best thing is to have training. Not only in swift water rescue but also in CPR and lifeguard. I am also trained in First Responder. Thankfully it all came together and it was a good feeling to know it turned out right in the end. Bobzilla remarked that "somebody" owed me some beer. I laughed and said "somebody" probably wasn't old enough to buy me some beer. I truly hope she dumped that boyfriend!

The Northwest ...Payette River

2010-07-14T11:31:00.004-05:00

Minnesota girl headed out west! YeeHaw...oh...wait...I lived in Oregon a long time ago. This was my first trip back to the state I grew up in since I left in "69". My first stop was to see Andy and John in Idaho. They were both working for Cascade Raft and Kayak as instructors and raft guides. I don't think I've seen a better operation yet. It is owned by the Long Family...world class kayakers and incredible teachers. The knowledge they pass on to their employees is priceless! John and Andy both encouraged me to attend a rolling clinic put on by Cascade to see first hand their teaching technique. I was amazed at how easily Chad Long put a new student in the proper position to roll within seconds. I will definately be putting this knowledge to work back home.

I was camped out with John and Andy on an island on the Payette River neatly tucked in between two class V rapids. As music has the ability to penetrate your physical body and affect your soul the sound of the river flowing a few feet from my tent saturated me with it's song. It became an essential element for me that I was reluctant to leave. The Payette was my intro to big water...yes it was big in Colorado a few weeks ago but I have never seen whitewater such as this. From class V rapids that stretch non-stop for miles, to super fun huge class III. I could spend a lot of time just enjoying the area...and I will be back.

Kelly's Whitewater Park

I took the time to go up to the new Kelly's Whitewater Park to check it out. After looking at HUGE water on the Payette for days it struck me as small. Well it's not. My whitewater perspective had been pleasantly skewed. The features are excellently created from easy to challenging. The park it's self has brand new landscaping and a beautiful clubhouse. Plenty of comfortable viewing for spectators and a backdrop of snow capped mountains...I just love Idaho!

Special note. The guys from the Midwest and I decided to do an easy paddle on what is called the Swirly Canyon section...class II-III. The guide book says there's just some squirrely eddy lines in the canyon. What it didn't say is that it takes about 500 whirlpools and squeezes them down into a half mile stretch with sheer walls. If you know me you know I really dislike whirlpools. There wasn't a single straight line anywhere to be found. People were flipping (not me) and it was quite a time getting through. I was taken spun backwards and slammed into a wall at one point. By far the most unique stretch of whitewater I've seen yet. But everything for a reason...once through the canyon your fear of whirlpools is gone.

Hot Springs at the Swirly Canyon Take out

The rest of the crew moved on to Washington in the morning and I took Emily up on her invite for one more run on the Main Payette before I left. I took my playboat this time and it was addicting!
I was very reluctant to leave Idaho, but Washington and Oregon were calling and I needed to see my friend Lori to see how she was fairing. That evening I crossed over the Oregon State line for the first time in 41 years. I wondered if I would make it back to my home town of Coos Bay this trip.

Paddlemania with my My Personal Villain!

2010-06-21T19:58:00.005-05:00

This weekend was the 12th annual Paddlemania. It was going to be special for me as Saturday morning I was picking up my new kayak! Not just any kayak but my Personal Villain! This boat was darn hard to come by. I wanted the the Elite and the wait I was told was going to be three weeks...at least! I was leaving for the Northwest in two weeks! The demand for this boat is exceptional! I did my home work and located one at Whitecap Kayak . It was the only one in the Midwest for sale and I was hoping it was any color other than red, white, and blue. I had fallen in love with the blue, black and white one at CKS and was regretting not getting it while I was out there. Lara said it was....yes...red, white and blue. I saw it at Wausau and thought it's a swirled pattern and doesn't look too much like a Bomb Pop. OK...I'll take it! I had already decided on the name of my Villain weeks ago. Meet McMurray. McMurray came into my loving custody from the hands of a Pastor. Pastor Neil Schroeter, the owner of Whitecap Kayak. All things considered I asked him to Bless the boat. Up until now all my boats had their virgin run on my home river, the Vermilion. It was only fitting that McMurray was broken in on the razor sharp rocks of the St Louis during Paddlemania. It paddled like a rock star! I put it through the hole at the bottom of Electric Ledge and it didn't even pause a second. Still it wasn't the color I had imagined for my boat. Back at the Outpost just about everyone wanted to see the large Villain. I was amazed at the reaction to the color...people loved it! I was assured over and over that red, white and blue IS the hottest color to get. OK... it's my personal Villain and I still love it even though it's extremely bright and attracts large amounts of admiration.

The 12th annual Paddlemania happened with a little bit for everyone. A few lessons...a few tours...a first D with a Duo...lots of swims...one double extended swimming tour of a hole that was pretty bad and even a little stitching practice for our resident paddling MD...Burgess. Surly Beer was consumed at record speed. The Slot Machine Showdown was great entertainment as always. Thirteen paddlers gambled....only two lost. The door prizes from Midwest Mountaineering really rocked this year! I had been putting off buying a new spray skirt and I won one right off the bat! WhoooHoo! Unfortunately there was no rampant nudity this year...maybe next year. Thank you Team Midwest Mountaineering for putting this on! Here is Todd's video of the Slot Machine Showcase.

And for those of you that follow my amazing friend and artist Joi Electa...she had her second whitewater river lesson. She styled down First Wave rapid! Awesome!

Colorado 2010

2010-06-03T12:28:00.000-05:00

This year has not been a good year for whitewater in the Midwest. The creeks came and went so fast in Minnesota I changed my vacation plans and went to the Southeast for water. Sturgeon Falls, our usual Memorial Day destination, was dry also. Bryan, Caleb, Jade, and I made wise plans to go to Colorado instead.

We came into Salida late in the evening and got our playboats wet and then had a beer with my friend Chris at the "Rope". The next morning the river had risen to nearly 3000cfs. Our plans for the day was to do the Fractions. We hit up CKS in the morning for their Riverfest Sale. I was pleasantly surprised to see Nick Troutman there and also meet Clay Wright. I admit I was drooling over the Jackson Villain . I'm still waiting to get mine from my local dealer, Midwest Mountaineering. Then something happened that I have never seen before. Clay and Nick said to go and take one of their personal Villains down the river today and give it a demo. Yowza! I went down and picked the color I liked and we headed to the Fractions. Thank you team Jackson!

On the way to the river I started to wonder if this was a good decision to take a new boat, not outfitted for myself personally, on my first run of this river at extremely high levels. It turned out not to be a problem. Jackson's outfitting adjusts so easily I fit snug in a matter of seconds.

We met another group at the put in and we arraigned shuttle with them. The Fractions start out very fast at 2900cfs. I was feeling the edges on the new boat and seeing what she could do. On the first rapid one of the guys we had joined up with for shuttle swam. We got him to shore and the crew chased the boat down around the corner and out of sight. I stopped with the swimmer to make sure he was OK. I looked around and saw I was the only one who had stopped with him. I told the swimmer to walk downriver and I was going to find the crew. I looked out and saw a rock and wood strainer taking up half of river right and I would have to do a must make ferry to river left and head down by myself until I caught up with the boys. OK lets see what this Villain can do. Dropping my blade into the water I headed across the current and made my line with ease. Right now I'm feeling a lot of loving thoughts about the Villain! Down a ways I found the crew... but no boat. It was gone. The swimmer joined us and we told him we'd keep an eye out for it.

The rest of the river was high speed fun! Back at Buena Vista I was reluctant to give back the demo Villain. I had bonded with the boat and really didn't want to go back to my old boat for the rest of the weekend. They will be in soon at Midwest. I don't do "waiting gracefully" very well but I will have to wait for my "personal Villain".

That night we listened to music and watched the pro boaters and drank some very good local brew. It was a really great day.

Day two and the water just kept going up overnight! We decided on Brown's Canyon. We hooked up with three Minnesota boaters we ran into the day before. Again at 3400cfs the river is fast. The easy start to this river lulled the paddlers that hadn't ran it before. Don't worry...it picks up further down and boy did it! We picked up a couple of swims from one of our group who is a good kayaker but was just having a bad day....we all have them. After her second swim she decided it was enough and started walking.I myself had a bad turn of events at the bottom of Zoom Flume when I was flipped and rolled and rolled and was slammed down each time again before I could get a breath...after several attempts I was out of the thin stuff they call air up there and pulled out. Caleb got me to shore and asked if I had hit my nose cause there was a little blood...no just a little too long under water. After that episode he suggested my name should be Gnara....I kind of like it...lol! I got back into my boat and we all paddled on.

Before setting out that morning I had wondered what the Giant Steps would look like at 3400cfs. I ran them at 1200cfs so I knew what the structure was underneath. I could only imagine what it looked like at this high level. It was incredible!!! The biggest and longest wave train I have ever ran! Some waves were over 10 feet high! Unfortunately one of our crew swam at the top. FORTUNATELY...she was out of the river in seconds as a swim here would be a nightmare. This is the start of the infamous boat rescue! Bryan, Caleb Jade, and Jeramiah chased that boat for over a mile through huge rapids. The strength and stamina to be able to do this is huge! I was running sweep so I didn't realize there was a swim until I saw her boat in an eddy part of the way down. I pulled over to get my breath on the river right of a huge rock and started looking for the swimmer and paddle. Since Jeramiah was running after the boat I knew the swimmer was OK and headed down the rest of the rapid alone....again....as everyone else was so far ahead of me. This rapid went on for over a mile before letting up. At one point one of those waves knocked my paddle out of my right hand and threw me back on my boat. The river here is very constricted and the waves refracting off the shore made for quite the paddle down. I loved it! The boat was rescued and the paddle was lost. Again a good paddler just having an off day...everyone has theirs. Back at the take out we all headed to Salida for beer and food...a great end to a great day!

Monday and we only had time for a very quick paddle before hitting the road home. I opted not to paddle the Fractions again but the boys made a bomb run down. I took photos of them at Frog Rock and went back to CKS to drool, again, over the large Villain. So maybe I like bad boys. We enjoyed a few more beers at the Buena Vista take out with the other Minnesota crew and headed home.

This was an awesome trip with awesome friends! Our crew was solid and times were good! Memories that will last a lifetime! Video is still being processed and I will post when they're done.

Side Note....

I did make a big mistake that I will mention here. While packing I reduced the gear I usually take along. I had to pick one PFD and chose my rescue PFD. What I didn't realize at the time was while it fits snug at an elevation of 800 ft. things change at 10,000 ft. When I started running rivers at that level I found I couldn't breath....literally! It was scary to say the least. When I asked Bryan to help me zip it before Brown's he pointed out it was too tight and that's why I had so much trouble breathing! Your chest has to expand much more to compensate for the thin air. Once it was loosened I had no trouble.

Canoe U 2010...First Weekend

2010-05-24T21:21:00.003-05:00

Rapids Riders is a club that is committed to teaching whitewater kayaking and canoeing in a safe and fun environment. Each spring we lead a fresh batch of newbies out on the fast moving waters of Minnesota. I have been with Canoe U for four years now. The first two as a safety boater and this is my second year teaching. One of the most rewarding things about teaching is seeing the growth of your students. From Saturday morning on the lower Kettle to Sunday evening the growth as a kayaker was immense. The joy on their faces at the end of the day on Sunday says it all. Kayakers are a special breed of people. Bonded together through the love and challenge of a river. At the end of the weekend, nine students understood the experience of running a river.

This year I'd like to highlight the ladies! We had a very nice group of ladies and they all were amazing women! Each one taking the challenge of water in her way from bold to determined...all were successful! My goal as an instructor is to make it easier for women to learn, and most importantly, stay with whitewater.

Now the men...whooo boy are they fun to teach! We had a fun group of men with also that were not shy about running those rapids! Reports from the other two groups confirmed that all the students were rocking the river and having fun.

The growth doesn't stop there. Looking at the instructors and safety boaters many were students from the previous years. Amazing kayakers now and awesome friends! Check out Bryan's Blog for his super photos!

In two weeks the students will come again to the rivers for their graduation weekend. Another solid two days of running rivers. It just doesn't get much better than this!

Kettle River Padlle Festival Number Four!

2010-05-03T10:08:00.004-05:00

Tony Vavrika started the tradition of the Kettle River paddle Festival four years ago. Since it's conception the water level has been varied from high water down to this years low water of 340cfs. Still the highlights of the weekend are the down river race and the rodeo.

Saturday morning the weather was gloomy but it didn't dampen the spirits of the many paddlers that showed up. My crew did a playboat run in the morning just for fun. We found play still on Blueberry Slide and various spots down the river. We turned around and went back to the top for the downriver race. As we waited for the racers to arrive at the put in we saw John Abraham pull up and we knew who first place was going to be. John is an amazing racer from Duluth!

It was decided to go in heats separated by one minute. They asked for the serious paddlers who considered themselves to be the fastest to go in the first heat. Four young men and I stepped forward. OK...I thought...so what if I'm left in the dust. I came to race. We started out in a group and I was in the middle. As we approached the first drop I slowed to let the men boatercross battle it out for the narrow line down. I'm not a fan of boatercross racing. I stayed with the pack after that never losing them as I had originally thought. I ended up taking 4th in the fastest kayaks! Even at low level there was carnage.

Back at Robinson Park we were greeted with Surly beer, I love their coffee beer, and more and more paddlers were rolling in. It was time to head to the Gaslight bar where a great chicken dinner awaited us. I have to say I love the Gaslight! They have the best Bloody Marys and always have great music! Tony as always puts on a very fine event and the swag table was heavy with great products from the sponsors. The paddlers were truly Blessed to be provided for by those sponsors!

Everyone outside NOW! The fireworks were to begin! I am not exaggerating when I say these are THE BEST fireworks I have ever seen. The first year I saw these fireworks the lady next to me had tears in her eyes!

By then I was pretty tired and was thinking my tent sounded pretty fine but the movie was starting. The Call of the River by Kent Ford. I thought I'd watch a bit and then head back but I was hooked from the first minute. This is an amazing film documenting the history of whitewater paddling. The old footage and photos of some of the worlds pioneers in paddling! See how many you can recognize.

Sunday dawned with sunshine and warm temps! Beautiful! Rodeo day! We all put in and paddled down leisurely. We had many new paddlers and with the river low it was the perfect time to mentor them down. Hell's Gate is the last big rapid on the river and our destination was at the bottom. The hole was friendly and the competition just as friendly. Graeme Bloor taking first place.

This years low water attracted many new paddlers as well as the experienced. As I looked at who I considered experienced I saw that it was many Canoe U alumni that have gone on to become solid paddlers. Some becoming instructors as I did. The community is also growing with more women coming into the sport. Also Ivan Bartha from the University of Minnesota St Cloud came down with a large crew of new and experienced kayakers and brought various boats for everyone to demo. Predominately a variety of Jacksons but also some C1's and canoes.

Thank you Tony for another great Kettle Fest! Also a great big thanks to the city of Sandstone and the sponsors that make this a spring tradition! You can check out all the information at Kettle Fest I'm looking forward to next year!!

Jackson Kayak is so Wrong!

2010-04-26T19:14:00.005-05:00

They call this color "moss green". They're so wrong! It is exactly the same color as "sunshine on spring leaves". I knew this spring I wanted a new boat. I had been at the top weight range of my Allstar and knew it was time to find more volume. I had tried out the Superstar a couple of years ago but found the boat itself to be too big for me to be comfortable in. While I was comparing boats on Playak.com I saw that the new 2010 Superstars were about the same length as my older Allstar just with more volume. Precisely what I was looking for. In my mind I started dreaming...I thought a yellow and white kayak this time and for some reason I named her Sunshine in my mind. When I called Midwest Mountaineering I talked to their sea kayaking specialist Jerome. Looking on the computer he said there was only one in stock and it was red. I wasn't excited. It didn't fit as Sunshine and I didn't want to wait as the first Wausau Whitewater release was this weekend. I called back a bit later and talked to their whitewater specialist Peter. No he said...the red one is the older style. We have one 2010 Superstar and it's moss green. I thought not quite the Sunshine I imagined but I told him I'd take it and pick it up the next day. He described it as a light green and I though it could be any kind of green but green is a favorite color of mine so what ever it was I'd be OK with it.

I got up early in the morning and headed to Midwest. They were setting up for the Expo so they were closed but "open" for me to pick up my new boat. Jerome led me into the boat yard and I saw her leaning next to the door. A little thrill went through me...Damn she was cute! Perfect! The color was unusual and alluring. I loaded her up and headed to the river for a quick paddle before work. I was able to play for an hour on my favorite hole. The sun was shining down though the newly budded trees and on the carry back up I stopped for a rest and noticed there was no difference between the color of my boat and the color of sunshine on spring leaves. I know I'm going to love playing in Sunshine!

This year I also want to go with more volume on my creek boat. I was able to sit in the Villain S prototype at Canoecopia this February and liked the feel of it. The larger Villain has 92.5 gallons of volume and I am thinking that this will be my next creek boat. I was able to demo a Villain S at Wausau and was very impressed. I took my first stroke out of the eddy and was impressed with the acceleration speed. I took the Villain S down the slalom area of the park looking to see what kind of precision control it had. The balance was great and it handled each move with ease and a crispness I liked. Most of all I like the feel of the lower deck height and my knees being in a better position to control the boat. Very nice!

Strange how things work in your life. My Occoee that I bought last fall was the first boat I named and I call her Montana since she came from Montana. I knew before I saw my Superstar she would be named Sunshine and she is sunshine...on spring leaves. Daydreaming about my new creeker to come a name popped into my head and I knew immediately that it was the perfect name for my Villain. I'm going to call him McMurray. Somethings you look at and you think...aw that's naughty...and you smile. I'm going to enjoy riding the hell out of McMurray...that boat needs to be paddled hard. Now hmmmm...what color should I choose?

Southeast Trip...Baby I Love You!

2010-04-19T10:47:00.006-05:00

A beautiful spring in the upper Midwest and NO WATER! I think this is the shortest paddling season the Midwest has ever seen. It all went off at once and it was gone in a blink. The quest for water began. When I heard my Three Favorite Open Boaters, Alan, Dan, and Dave, were headed to do the Tellico River in Tennessee I joined right up! To date I consider the Tellico to be the prettiest river I have ever seen and a must run. I met up with Brian and Lori for a warm up run on the Nantahala and then we headed for North River Campsite number 2 in the dark of night. Morning dawned and the river was running at a low of 300cfs but still runnable. When I was car scouting I met a group of three very nice young men who were doing laps. They gave me a few tips and wished us well. They lapped us several times.

We put on and followed Alan's lead down. We scouted and took our time just enjoying the beauty and and shooting video at all the fun drops...which were many! We came to Baby Falls... a 19 foot falls landing in a baby soft pool. For many of us this was the highest falls we had done. Everyone styled their lines! Could there ever be a better start to a trip? Brian and Lori had to reluctantly leave to go back north and the rest of us traveled in the dark to the Chattooga River.

After a breakfast at Waffle House we were joined by Art for a day on Section 3 of the Chattooga. The sun was shining and the day went very well. Ticking off the miles of rapids with smiles. More video and photos and then we realized we needed to boogie to make it to the take out before dark fell. As twilight descended Alan yelled back...it's Bull Sluice. Alan was intent to run it and Dan set video fast. The rest of us portaged trying to beat the dark. We put in below and Dave said to follow he as he could see. I couldn't see much else but I spotted some white sand on the other side and bee lined for it followed by Art. We all met up in the parking lot and headed back to town. We needed food!

We found a nice bar called Zeppelin's that stayed open just a bit longer to accommodate us. Fantastic place to eat in Clayton, GA with a hard core 60's early 70's rock theme going on. Tomorrow was Section 4 and we all agreed that it was going to be a long day and we needed to be off before dark.

I cooked breakfast at the put in parking lot. Easy start to the day. The Chattooga is an awesome immensely beautiful river! The rapids of section 4 follow much closer together and are just fun! We followed Alan as he picked the lines down. Needless to say I learned a whole lot about river scouting this trip. After paddling the Chattooga I can see how the southern boaters become such great paddlers with the long runs like this. The day was long and again we realized we needed to boogie hard to get to the end before dark. It became a paddle hard to get to the Five Falls Area. We agreed to portage there as we had no time to scout or clean up any swims. It was getting dark fast. When I came around the corner on the last riffles and saw the bass boat with it's lights on I knew there was no more whitewater. We had made it off before dark...just barely. Just two miles of lake in the dark to find a take out that had no lights. By then I was on a mission. Dan and Alan stopped to stretch and put on more layers. Art, Dave and I paddled on. Dave stopped and checked his GPS. Art and I paddled on. Art stopped to go back and find Dave...I paddled on. I was intent on finding the take out and getting off the lake. Being a Yankee I wondered about water moccasins, alligators, and yes hippos. On the water in the dark solid black of night the mind has fun freaking you out and my imagination can be a trip. I love it and I let it run and enjoy the trip. I imagined I even heard banjos. I came around the corner and caught sight of the lights of a boater pulling his boat out. Hallelujah! I marked the spot on the dark horizon and paddled hard towards it. When I arrived I flashed the lights to bring the rest of the crew in and stripped naked in the parking lot to change. After all you couldn't see two feet in that dark. I was cold and hungry and needed a beer. Back at the vehicles one of us had lost his key. After looking we concluded that it was not to be found and headed to town. Our favorite bar was just closing the doors when we arrived. Damn...being the only woman in the group I knew what had to be done. I made it to the grocery store with only a few minutes to spare. Grabbed some cheese to make nachos in the microwave and a tub of ice cream. After an intense food session we all were happy and watching the videos from the day. Next year on the list is all the rapids I didn't get to run because of the dark and also a Tallulah release.

Well it was time for a day off. Art had to get everything arraigned to have keys made for for his vehicle and it poured down rain for the most of the day. The only thing I regret on this trip is not going through all the wonderful art shops in downtown Clayton. We watched the gauges go sky high and past the unrunnable level for our group that night. We wondered what we were going to do the next day. As it turned out the Tellico had come down to the high runnable range in the morning and we drove back there as fast as we could. The features had changed a bit and I did my first rapid backwards after being spun by a sneaky rock. No problem...I styled it that way. We all ran down having a blast. Baby Falls was bigger and the landing softer. Baby I love you! I think we all do...such a great waterfall!

This was my first trip to the southeast rivers. Wow! We met some really cool people while we were down there. The rivers are so incredible and fun! Next spring it'll be a two week trip to tick off more rivers and warm up for our creeking season up here. Looking back I know the Tellico will always be my sweetheart river of the southeast. The redbud trees were in full bloom everywhere! The beauty of spending Easter morning in the Smokey Mountains....priceless!

Sick Creeking

2010-03-22T12:16:00.006-05:00

The Midwest creeking season always starts hard and fast. It doesn't wait for anyone and the window is small. Even smaller this year. The Vermillion River, which is my home river and spring warm up, opened up last weekend. I wasn't on the starting line for the first time this year as I attended Canoecopia for my first time. Monday afternoon found me paddling the Verm at a nice high level. Life was good but I noticed I was coming down with a head cold. I blamed the wild party at the bar Saturday night in Madison for the virus...but it was a great night so I didn't mind. I spent the week just running the Verm with my creek boat. Once with my play boat but declined to play since this cold was developing nicely and I used my better judgment (for once) against rolling in Vermillion water. I wanted to be ready for this weekends creeks. I did notice that the only time I could breath was when I was on the river so this was good. So I thought.

Friday night I talked with Anthony and said I'd be up in the morning unless I came down with pneumonia. I knew my cold was kicking my behind but this only comes once a year and I didn't want to miss a minute of it. I'm "over 50" now and know my creeking days are going to be short. I handcuffed and muffled my better judgement and drove the three and half hours north. After all the plan was only to do the Lester and maybe the Stewart or Sucker river. Easy put ins and take outs. I knew being sick I could still do those easily and get my fix.

I met the crew at the Lester River. Unfortunately the levels were falling out extremely fast. I was disappointed as it was to be my first run on the Lester. We drove north. Low water everywhere until we saw the full parking lot at the Split Rock. My favorite run of all times, I had run it last spring and had the most fun of any river. The computer in my head said glitch...there is no way you will be able to make the 3 mile hike in AND paddle while being sick. I reached for more mental duct tape and muzzled my better judgment. I did briefly entertain thoughts of just running my camera instead...very briefly.

I did the hike in....3 miles up hill with my boat wheezing and hacking. I arrived at the first rapid and knew I was done before starting. But the river lured and enticed me as they do every paddler. I put on hoping I still had it in me. I was running with Aaron, Andy, Anthony and Dave. They waited patiently for me to get my breath but it felt like I was holding the reins on four wild horses that wanted to run. So off we went...I felt so good to be on the river and running. The first big drop and I pitoned and missed my two rolls at the bottom. Having run this river before I knew I had no time to play with another few rolls as what was coming up next was no joke. I pulled out and finally admitted to myself...hey I'm really sick and this river is really something you need to be top of your game to run. I told the guys I'd catch up with them tonight and not to wait for me and started the walk out.

Well I started the "drag my boat out" walk. Three miles down hill right? I hadn't gone far when I slipped in the mud and fell with my leg twisted in a bad position. My thought was I could have easily broken a leg there. As it was I took the skin off of my finger tip. I walked a bit further on when I saw I wasn't carrying my paddle. I had stowed it in my boat. I looked back and sure enough it was gone. I ran back and found it close to where I took out. OK now I'm standing there with all my gear...mud all over my new drysuit and blood freely running off my hand feeling pretty disgusted with my self not running a river I love and not accepting my limitations. Totally ignoring my life rule of if something is in the way of what you want to do accept it as it was not meant to be because there is something better you should be doing instead.

So I trudged on. Three miles down hill...right? Oh no..it's the only place in the world other than our parents memories that it's up hill both ways. For real! I came to the biggest hill and looked way up at the top. I just didn't have it in me mentally to go up that hill. It had bothered me that the river was just down the hill and that alone I could easily paddle the water between the big rapids. I knew the river well so I wasn't too worried. So with my hand still dripping blood I started through the woods to access the river. At least it was really downhill. Pulling and jerking the boat through trees and downfall I was determined to reach the river. Well I did reach the river below Under the Log rapid but found a high steep cliff ended the hill. Looking back up at the loooong way I had come down the hill I knew there was no way I was going back up. The sun was dropping and with thoughts of my cockpit being a cosy place to sleep for the night I searched for an access. I found a steep rock strewn gully with ice still clinging to the sides that cut down the cliff to the water. OK...it would be a bit difficult but the other option was back up the hill. I roped my boat down between the trees. climbed carefully down on the ice and rock aware that no one knew I was here and it would be kind of bad if something did happen. Being independent all my life I have done a lot of outdoor adventures like this so you just slow up and make sure every hold and move is solid and counts. As I approached the bottom I was dismayed as it didn't look like there was any place to set my boat to get in. I thought I'd have to drop into the current and swim my boat and paddle to the shallow island in the center and get in there. But as luck would have it there was a small shelf of rock just upstream that with a little finagling and fine balance I was able to get into my boat and launch. The stress melted away with the first paddle strokes and an euphoria wrapped around me....I was happy. It had turned into an adventure.

I floated out to the lake and was surprised to see boats in the parking lot still. I had said my goodbyes to Caleb and told the rest of the crew I would meet up with them later. They weren't the crew I was with but another crew of paddlers I knew, and they, on the other hand, were shocked to see me paddling out as they were waiting for me to come out of the trail. I took them up on their offer of jambalaya and a warm place to stay for the night. I was touched by their concern but it also made me realize that my mind set is so very far from others. I have spent a lifetime of relying on myself only and being so independent and single minded that I forget others don't think that way. I tried to thank them and they had to strain their ears to hear me since my voice was now nearly gone. The next morning I woke with no voice again and listened to my better judgment and opted not to paddle. It nearly killed me not to paddle. It was a great weekend and I was glad to see friends and get to know some of my fellow paddlers better. I lent my helmet with my GoPro to Dave that day so he captured some video of what I missed. Check it out.

Verm Tuesday

2010-03-16T16:51:00.003-05:00

Fisherman's drop today. The standing waves before the drop are gone and this feature developed. Check out the video also. The second photo is what is in the hole they blasted yesterday. An old drain pipe...ok? Why?

First Run of the New Year!

2010-03-15T19:11:00.001-05:00

I guess some people call January first the new year. The Chinese started their New Year out on February 14th this year. As a kayaker I call the new year when the first river runs. This last year was an awesome year! Today I started my New Year off differently from all the others. I didn't paddle with my usual river buds as I was out of town. I also paddled it today without having a Summit afterward. But one thing remains the same. It started on the Vermillion River. Dan and I ran it today and it was the highest I have ever ran it! It was fast and stopming for the Verm! So much fun! So here's Happy New Years wishes to all my paddling buds! Game on! It's going to be a great year!

Friday's Verm...the Last Look

2010-03-12T23:46:00.000-06:00

Thursday Verm

2010-03-12T09:20:00.003-06:00

Can you spot the first bike of the season in the video? Ya...it's da Verm.

Wednesday Verm

2010-03-10T23:26:00.000-06:00

Getting closer...soon!

Tuesday Vermillion

2010-03-09T23:25:00.002-06:00

Monday Vermillion

2010-03-08T23:16:00.000-06:00

I stopped today and took photos at 1pm. The water is starting to go over the ice so it can break anytime now. Curious as I am I also stopped after work tonight to check again. Not much change from this afternoon.

How Big is your World?

2010-03-08T08:41:00.003-06:00

I just spent the morning reading Andy's most recent write up on their adventures in Chile and the destruction of the Siete Tazas. I followed up by reading my friend Laura's email on her and Anita's wandering travels. In my younger years I traveled a lot around the country on a Harley. I stopped to raise a fantastic son and now am working a "job" for insurance and security. Traveling is in my Gypsy blood and has been calling to me like a crack habit ignored. I am inspired by these people and feel a change is coming in my life much like you can feel the changing of the season's. I just wish I could see the path I'm to take more clearly. The one thing I'm certain of it will be by river. Enjoy Laura's email and check out Andy and John's blogs for more inspiring stories.

Hey!! Hard to believe it's only been 2 months and not 2 years on the 'road'.. train, rickshaw, cycle rickshaw, poleboat. I miss each one of you! I'm poppin' up for air in the shadow of our first snow-capped Himalayan peaks, to attempt a few vignettes of life in Incredible India...

We started out in a forest of palm trees at the southern tip of the country at Amma - the hugging saint's - ashram. We had planned to stay-put for a month (remember, my visions of yoga on the Arabian sea, reading, writing, transitioning?). Well, it didn't quite fit once we tried it on. The highs for me at Amma's were the masala chai tea every morning while watching dolphins jump in and out of the sea and spying motorized pirate ships in the distance.. joining a day trip with the ashram nuns out to the rice paddy fields where we worked together, ate together, got tired and scratched up together, laughed together. There was the ole swapping stories of favorite Hindu deities, learning to identify tapioca and cashew nut trees, figuring out new ways to wear a buff while carrying rice on my head and new knots to tie in preparation for Outward Bound. A downside of Amma's was the difficulty letting go of childhood Temple of Doom associations with the central feature of the temple being the huge black-faced, red-tongue-wildly-sticking-out Kali-ma Hindu goddess. Flashing fluorescent lights on the altar. (Mostly kidding). The hard-to-identify stink in this holy place: human poop, garbage rotting, exhaust. Disrepair everywhere, paint chipping, piles of random construction materials in every corner, trash along every walkway. Perhaps most strongly it was the unblinking devotion of her devotees who would un-mindfully shove each other out of the way to get closer to Amma. We pretty quickly moved on to a yoga ashram tucked up into the hills within earshot of the lions which would yawn roars as we sleepily began meditation each morning before sunrise.

A 60-hour train-ride shuttled us past huge expanses of this beautiful country (I LOVE train rides- good thing, we've probably spent 25% of our time on them!), and back up to Delhi where the traffic is an amusement park ride, especially the cycle rickshaws which don't even have flimsy sides to feign protection from the oncoming, speedier autos. We affirmed Lonely Planet's caution about the scamming touts all over town. Wanting to get to the Old Delhi spice markets and well-known Karim's Restaurant, supposed birthplace of the butter masala sauce, we hired a cycle rickshaw driver who told us in a very kind way that everything was closed on Sunday and Monday. "No spice market. No Red Fort. Why would you want to go? Maybe you should go on Tuesday?" Partially swayed by his convincing and friendly tone, but partially listening to some inner wisdom that questioned why Old Delhi would shut down for 2 days each week in the middle of tourist season, we told him we'd still like to go. He promptly took us to his friend's spice shop in the opposite direction and then faked a headache so he couldn't take us to Old Delhi. Both laughing and irritated, we walked away and asked an auto-rickshaw driver how much to Old Delhi from this new neighborhood. He responded "Old Delhi is SO crowded right now. Why would you want to go?!"

To briefly paint the broad sweeps of where we've been Delhi to present... From Delhi, we traveled on to the wild frontier of Rajasthan, home to fierce and proud historical warriors and desert people on the border of Pakistan. We trekked into the Great Thar desert atop camels sleeping under the stars, watching sunrises and sunsets over the sand dunes, cooking chapatis over open fire. We sat on the rooftops of the sandcastle city of Jaisalmer sharing traditional thalis with a traveling Indian pilgrim. From Rajasthan we took a night bus through Gujarat (where I wondered why sleeper bus companies don't recommend women wear sports bras like the camel trekking companies do.. the back of a sleeper bus is infinitely bumpier), and onto Madhya Pradesh to meet Caitlin, a friend of a friend who works for the Real Medicine Foundation in one of the 10 poorest districts of India. We volunteered teaching English at their residential school (ages 5-15) for the poorest tribal kids that are falling through the cracks with no access to an education, and taught games and initiatives (thank you Anita's Outward Bound training) to a weekend workshop kicking off the hiring and training of 55 poor, rural, tribal women beginning to work as nutrition educators in their own and nearby communities. From there, another long series of trains and buses brought us up north to Himachal Pradesh, 'Land of Gods', here in the gateway to the Himalayas and to my own spiritual practice.
The Buddhists say our human existence is the sanskrit 'duhkha', which is like an axel in the wheel that is kind of stuck, not turning well, not moving smoothly. I like this description- not so dire and seemingly inaccurate as all existence is painful suffering. For the first month of traveling, my axel looked like days full of stops and go's, emotional energy stopping and energy flowing, something not feeling quite right but I couldn't always articulate it or figure out the cause of the halting and hiccups - whether with Anita, my own being whipped around responding to ever-changing, chaotic India, the roller-coaster of shifting identity with no job or home to define 'me' anymore. The front-end of the trip was full of moments like these (mixed in with a whole lot of fun and crazy sights of course), and it's just been the past few weeks in the mountain air that my heart is steadying and the wheels are more and more consistently greased and rolling.

Reflecting back on that period of constant travel, uprooting and traveling some more, there was the perpetual sickness: diarrhea, constipation, sinus infections and coughs, cramps, a stress fracture in my knuckle from rolling over yoga headstands..unrelenting. There was a pretty consistent thread of unease for me around Indian men. There's a tendency here to stare, unsmiling. So most trains there will be at least one guy who just stops in front of our seats, stands there and stares at us. One particularly creepy guy on a train along the Keralan coast sat in the doorway to the train staring and wouldn't get up to let us off the train, wanting us to step over him, until some of the locals hollered him out of the way. He followed us all the way to our rickshaw sneering and staring creepily. There are the requests to have photos taken with us (so they can go home to their villages and tell stories about their American girlfriend, our Indian cooking teacher Nisha tells us). And there was the challenge of figuring out complicated cultural norms surrounding our camel driver's touchiness, resulting in both Anita and my speaking up trying to explain why this might be uncomfortable.

The first month was a sensory overload: poop smears (animal and human) in the streets of course, but on tiled floors of the train stations and post office steps, too. The squat toilets in all conditions. The cows, donkeys, sheep, goats, chickens, monkeys - it's a menagerie, wandering and rooting through garbage. We've watched cows licking public drinking fountains, cows stuck in traffic lined up just like any other honking auto or rickshaw. Noisy radios blaring while trying to sleep on trains. Dozens of languages auditory and visual from Malayalam's loopy oval rounded script to the straight upper line and right angles of the Hindi script. Tamil. Sanskrit. The infamous head wobble - which is neither a yes or a no in the west, but means both yes and no here. "Is the train to Delhi platform 4?" (headwobble). "So, yes, platform 4?" (headwobble). I'm learning not to ask yes and no questions. Journalists of the world - India is excellent training. The scale of the public works projects is astounding - sidewalks and roads being created, repaired, repaved. Tiles and bricks, pavers, cement and dirt everywhere. New plumbing and gas pipes being laid. (Good grief - talk about an employment program!!) The ups and downs of relationship with food. Milk stalls, food stalls, fruit stands, juice stands. Masala-flavored everything - Lays masala magic chips. "Chai chai chai chai chai" call out the chai-wallahs up and down the train aisles and street stands offering India's national "milk, sugar, cinnamon and a bit of tea" drink. Spicy means 'full of spices and flavors', not 'hot spicy' - allowing us to eat all the more. :)

You can never know what to expect here in India, an important life-lesson for occasional control-freaks like me. In India, you can't control anything. You go to the same restaurant for breakfast twice and order the exact same thing - comes out entirely differently. Offices closed for the eclipse on one of our first days in southern India. The post office seems to be open arbitrarily, not remotely related to the hours listed on the door. Same with the internet cafes in some places. But the blessing of impermanence and change of course is that when you're not attached to expectations, you can receive amazing things if open to them. For every guy like the touchy-feely Rajasthani guide, there's the unexpected guy at the Ahmenabad ticket counter concerned for our safety recommending we spend the night in the private train station retiring room we didn't know existed. For every workman carelessly dropping bricks almost on our heads from the worksite above, there's an army man who takes 10 minutes explaining the local bus system to us and how to avoid being cheated.

So a month in, the energy started to flow a little more visibly. Knots of tension in me held-over from a crazy and significant departure from the twin cities, compounded by India stimulus, started the process of dissipating like a good massage (with a few hundred more bodywork sessions needed in the wings). Anita and I began feeding off each others kindness, and the open, best parts of ourselves started to emerge. For me, energy flow can often be measured by my putting some kindness and generosity into action, and then watching it come back around in unexpected, wonderful ways. Having no idea how much a kilo was, we accidentally bought a grocery bag full of cookies which we began giving out to our rickshaw drivers and the post office staff (small gifts DO make a difference, John Marty!)- who all returned the kindness in their own ways. A quiet guy on the bus to Dahod turned down the cookies but helped us find a hotel in a small non-English speaking town, and returned 20 minutes later to the hotel restaurant where we were eating with a bag a famous Gujarati snack to gift us. We exchanged some meaningful conversation (and a few Harry Potter readings) with a native Delhian pilgrim in the desert, and upon learning that I was interested in looking for a skirt in town - he passed along a skirt that he had bought in the past month not quite knowing why.. these things just keep happening.

Traveling general class on a 5-hour train ride human bodies piled close, families squeezing trying to fit everyone's limbs. Bars on windows, berths/shelves for people and/or luggage. whatever fits wherever. Legs dangling in front of Anita's face. 6 of us squished into a bench designed for 4. Then comes the awareness that despite my discomfort and reeling, the man next to me is seriously sick, coughing up mucus and spitting it out the window every few seconds. The children and women across from me are dirtier than I have ever seen. Hiding away under their shawls, occasional glimpses of matted chair, clothes fraying, threads coming loose. The 2 year-old boy has a tear in his pants exposing him. I often find myself more comfortable than most in unfamiliar settings, but I can't pretend I have no reaction to and a flood of questions about what I'm seeing. This morphs into a couple moments of exchanging smiles, watching families interact and the fast realization that we're all people. After a few brief moments, what I am seeing is the same human emotions I know, I experience. The curiosity of the kids peering out the window for hours (I do the exact same thing). The shyness. The playfulness. The concern from the parents for the kids safety, wrapping them in a blanket when it gets colder, their smiles watching their kids' smile.

So much here opens my heart. The famous Indian monk Shantideva describes this as the sensation of being enclosed in a cocoon and there's no fresh air. "But what if someone takes a penknife and slits the cocoon and suddenly light comes in through the darkness? What if you poke your head out and see the whole universe? The 'slit' could be an explosion outside, or the sound of a bird, or someone teaching the dharma. Something gets through to your heart, and suddenly it seems like the whole universe is available to you."

The kids that we volunteered with get to my heart. These kids face overwhelming, unimaginable challenges. Visiting one of their homes - they come from tribal areas receiving no government attention and little aid assistance, overwhelming poverty, isolation and discrimination, loss of tribal culture and identity, from areas where cotton farmers are committing suicide because of the extreme debts green revolution seeds and fertilizers put them in year after year. Real Medicine Foundation medical teams visit these villages and identify children that would not only benefit from being sent to school, but have no other option. It is amazing that there is a building for these kids to go to for school. It is amazing there is some money to hire some teachers. There are endless challenges trying to keep the teachers there for enough hours each day, not to grade papers during class time, to only instruct in English, to encourage and maybe someday train them to teach more interactively with less rote memorization. Anita and I joking referred to the chemistry classroom or the library while we were there, but 'chemistry' and the 'library' were two separate cabinets in the same classroom. The teachers never use the chemistry equipment and perform experiments because they can't afford to replace the chemicals. So the students just look at the pieces and memorize what they're called and what their function is. (I discovered I have no recollection what half of them are). There are only two wardens for all the kids (it's a residential school). While we were there, the politics of the ex-school principal came into play sending the kids home on a 21-day unscheduled break. Staff tried to contact families and get the kids back within 3-4 days. Despite these challenges, 260 kids show up and live there and learn. We were astounded at how obviously these girls value their education. They would self-regulate study time on their own without adult supervision, the older girls keeping the younger girls on task when needed. Not even the presence of two fun, game-filled western women deterred them from studying for exams from 2-4pm, or doing their chores and laundry at 4:30. It was amazing to observe. They wanted to do well and very clearly understood this was a special opportunity.

Listening to our new friend Poorwa's stories of kids standing up to the dowry system gets to my heart. Killing girl babies is still pretty common apparently in rural Madhya Pradesh. It happens mostly because the anticipated dowry and weddings will be too great an expense for poor families. Women are told by husbands and family members to kill their own children. Poorwa told us that young people are starting to stand up to their parents and say this system of dowry marriages is an old (and technically illegal) custom. These kids are standing up within a culture where we don't see women out in the public markets very often. The ratio of women to men was about 1:10 in Jhabua markets. The culture is one of women doing heavy labor, often construction jobs, hauling heavy buckets 1 meter in diameter of dirt, while the men oversee their work, drink chai and chat.

In these heart-opener moments, it does feel like the universe is open to me. I can observe the ebbs and flows of my cart stopping and going. And at some point I have to ask myself where is this cart moving towards? Why do I want the wheels to turn well? Because it feels good day-to-day to not feel stuck, sure. But maybe because I'm also trying to get somewhere. Where am I trying to 'get to' in this life? Luckily, I've gotten all sorts of prompting on this question along the thousands of kilometers of train track, standing in hours and hours of lines (when and where people choose to participate in the concept of line), etc. People ask me: "What is the purpose of your life?" "What is your aim in life?" "What is your life's goal?" (They don't mess around with small chat here). How many of us can answer this question? I want to raise educated, compassionate kids. I want to be a great teacher, challenging people to realize and actualize their potential. I want to build my own house. I want, I want. But even these seemingly important wants are constantly shifting. To help people? To at a minimum, not harm people?? To be happy? To not experience the roller-coaster? To know what matters and what to shrug off? To not perpetually be grasping at praise and pleasure and all things my ego drools over? Sleeping on a train's upper berth across from someone's ashes (a man had reserved a berth solely for his mother's ashes which he was carrying to Haridwar to place in the headwaters of the holy Ganges River), I had to ask myself, what truly matters? Reflecting on the inevitability of death, the preciousness of my short, short life - what really matters? Will I remember on my deathbed how much it sucked to miss banana and tea-time at the ashram? Will I remember that I was pissy about it for at least three hours? Will I remember putting in 16 hours at work five days in a row? or will I remember when I gave a friend a really awesome gift because I knew it would make her smile and feel cared for, no strings attached.

I think this might be a good place to pause, my dears. I will try to write again after I soak up another month or two of Incredible India. Until then, I welcome your emails. I do get online from time to time and it's fun to hear from folks I love back at home.

Namaste!
xo, Laura

Verm Today. Click to Enlarge Any Photo.

2010-03-07T22:42:00.003-06:00

Winter on the North Shore

2010-02-22T10:09:00.011-06:00

I think one of my favorite weekend winter trips is exploring the North Shore and the creeks that run to the lake. I've done it twice now. The first time in Feb. 08 the weather was fierce...high wind and sub zero temps. Not a soul out. Survival mode in the wilderness. This year though I was hoping for stormy weather and crashing waves, it was dead calm, sunny and warm and I shared the wilderness with others. I headed north at 5am Saturday morning with my new camera lens already to play.

On a whim I stopped at the mouth of the Lester River to see what the lens could do. Walking out I looked down and immediately saw a rose in a rock. It was going to be a great day. My destination was the Split Rock River. When I arrived the mood was crystal still. Absolute silence. Perfect reflections in the lake. A day that heals and feeds the soul. I strapped on my snowshoes and loaded my telemark down hill skis on my pack along with my camera equipment and started the hike. Having never snowshoed before I got into the rhythm right away. It's easy to pick up and a good workout. I took my time photographing as I went. I came across a wolf killed deer to remind me I'm not the only one out here.

When I reached the top I stopped and had a snack and pondered my idea of using my long and fast telemark skis to come back down on little snow cover. Ah well what's the worst that can happen? The first thing I learned is your center of gravity changes dramatically when you have packed everything but the kitchen sink in your pack. I walked a few places and was only on my butt once but the trip down went very, very fast. I enjoyed an Extra Special Bitter in the parking lot at the bottom and planned my next move up the shore. I didn't drive far when I turned into the Split Rock Lighthouse State Park. Again the stillness enveloped me as I walked the shoreline. Deer browsing in the woods. Not a whisper of wind. The beauty I hoped to find in a storm was replaced with the beauty of the opposite. Two moods intensely beautiful but yet they touch you so differently. I just surrendered to the peace.

Evening was spent with my friend Joi. I can say Joi has become my mentor in returning me back to my artistic self. I learn so much when I'm with her. We ate dinner at a nice restaurant whose owner covers the walls in his own photography. He still uses 35mm film cameras and the results are incredible!! I will definitely be trying out some of his techniques. Of course he didn't disclose his secrets...but Joi did.

Day two started before dawn. Breakfast with Joi and then I was off up the Shore. My first stop was the Onion River. It's just a short walk to Tears for Fears drop. Winter scouting the rapids brings back memories and inspires dreams of things to come. As I looked up the drop I am still amazed that anyone runs this drop. But they do...I was there when John and Chris ran it. My next stop was the Cascade. Raw beauty and incredibly drops. Then on to my favorite hike of them all. The Kadunce River. I've hiked it in the summer and twice now in the winter. I hope to be able to run it this spring. For the most part there is only one line down as the walls are narrower than your boat. I followed many footprints up the creek until the falls in the cavern. There is more water running through right now and to get past the falls you needed tools and crampons. After I climbed that fall my footprints were the only ones...for a while. Closer to the top people were able to come down the river. Back at the truck I had lunch and just enjoyed the lake. Thin ice pushed up like broken glass reflecting sparkling sunlight. Still blue waters out beyond the ice. For some reason I was pulled to the lake a bit more than the rivers this trip.

I decided to head up to see the Witch Tree in Grand Portage. Joi had given me great directions as they don't have signs or any indication on how to get there. The trail in was hardly used in the winter. As you approach the forest changes. Hanging moss covers the pines and with the sunlight slanting through it gave the appearance of walking through an Enchanted Forest. Unique colors blended together. The tree was everything I expected. Perseverance on a brutal coast. It's lived a long time in the harshest of conditions yet when you look at it you see only the beauty.

Well here I was looking at the Canadian border and I knew I had only enough time to do one more river. I opted to do the Devil Track. I hadn't used my XC skis once yet this trip and flipped a coin to determine skis or crampons. Crampons won and I was glad as snow was scarce and there was a lot of nice ice. I walked to Nightfall and a bit beyond but darkness comes fast in that deep canyon. Always incredible to see. I can only imagine how incredible it is to run in the spring. Back in my truck I made one stop at the Java Moose in Grand Marais and headed south. I drove into my driveway at 10pm. End of another winter North Shore weekend. Click on any photo to enlarge it.

Just Saturday

2010-01-23T18:43:00.004-06:00

Today I had plans to go ice climbing at Sandstone but with the storm threatening ice and destruction I stayed home. I looked out the window and saw my neighbors smoke was blowing flat straight and the wind was beating the trees. I do have those small kites I wanted to try so I spent the morning waxing my skis and getting my kiting gear together. I didn't know what to expect when I got to Lake Pepin. The wind was southeast and blowing hard. Since I was alone I just threw up my trainer kite. I was getting pulled just fine on it but then it started to downpour on me. Along with the rain the wind calmed down to below the trainer kites range. I picked up my soaked kite and skate skied back to shore. Well it's my only day off so I just went to the Cannon Valley Trail and put 4.2 miles on my XC skis. It was a good day to get wet...very wet. Here's some photos.

Maybe I'm Amazed!

2010-01-22T19:11:00.003-06:00

This is AMAZING were the thought's I had as I drove into the Ice Pits. I was looking at the largest quarry I had ever seen with natural ice seeping in motionless falls in places along the cliffs. As I gazed in amazement the man said this is nothing...the real ice climbs are around the corner in the back. He was right. At the back of the quarry were farmed ice routes in excess of 100 feet. Not just one or two but the whole back wall and side were covered in ice. Every route you could imagine from mixed to beautiful ice. The color palate of the ice was clear to white and some the most crystalline shear blue you could imagine. A small waterfall still played down the wall on one side. This was the first Ice Pits Festival and things couldn't have turned out better. The weather was warm for January as Lori and I arrived early Saturday morning joining the rest of the Minnesota crew that had came out the night before. What an awesome day climbing ice! The Ice Pit is a non profit club dedicated to keeping ice climbing alive in the quarry. Dan Kopperud led the efforts to put this festival on and he did an awesome job. The members of the club did a whole lot of work to make this happen and made everyone there feel at home. There was demo gear available to try. Good treats to enjoy...I loved the Kind bars! And just a lot of great people to climb with. This place is so amazing it's hard to believe you're still in Wisconsin. Evening came and we were all hot tubbing it at the motel. After a great dinner, Dean Einerson gave a great talk and slide show on moutaineering. This was accompanied by two kegs of free beer and a great drawing for swag. Sunday dawned and it was another fun day of climbing ice. This was the first time I have been to the Ice Pits and certainly not the last.

A Day with Boof or Die on the split Rock River

2009-12-26T18:08:00.003-06:00

This is from Andy McMurray's blog. An account of my first run of the split Rock River. Thanks for the kind words! It was a day I won't ever forget!

Nora drops the Split Rock

Six years ago, Nora Whitmore, a older female kayaker from the Midwest began her kayaking career. From then till now, she's become a solid female paddler for the region, competeing in various freestyle competitions, instructing new boaters in the area's local clinics, and has even progressed as a creekboater. Determined to push the limits and in continous improvement of the sport, Nora's enthusiasm to whitewater kayak is second to none, in addition, she's tough.

Photo: Full Face and Romping.

Taken by Chris Baer

With good warm temperatures and medium flows on the Split Rock, the Team Boof or Die crew figured that all was set into place to take Nora down her virgin run of the Split Rock. It would be the biggest and most extensive challenging whitewater she had faced to date.

The result: She styled it.

Photo: Nora sans lift tickets on Ski Jump.

Taken by Chris Baer

Photo: Even the boys were having fun.

Taken by Chris Baer

Photo: She thought long about this one. Riding Shotgun.

Taken by Chris Baer

Photo: Maybe we had too much fun.

Taken by John McConville

A more first hand testimonial of Nora's experience via words and photos can be witnessed on her excellent blog by clicking here.

Twas Murder on the Bunny Mile Tonight!

2009-12-21T18:21:00.004-06:00

Sometimes I just have to say that was incredible Lord! Tonight was one of those nights that started out with no plans but to get some exercise to wear off the office treats. I grabbed my skis and opted for the Cannon Valley Trail. Easy groomed local trail that I usually Rollerblade in the warmer seasons. The first mile is what I call the Bunny Mile. I usually do laps on this when I don't have the time to head way out on the trail. The peculiar thing about this mile is the over abundance of bunnys! Always darting out in front of your blades at the last second. Hence the Bunny Mile. I got a late start and considered just doing the laps but kept going instead. Everything was perfectly groomed with just a dusting of snow from today. I noticed the blood right away. A spot of bunny poo with blood. I thought someone has a problem and skied on. Then another spot and then more. Some with a few strips of fur. Some with more blood and some with less. What was killing the bunny's? They seemed to be killed right on their game path from their dens so there were lots of small tracks. I had saw a young man with a slingshot killing bunny's last summer and wondered if someone was shooting them for food or what. The tracks didn't add up to anything conclusive. There were some dog tracks, lots of people tracks, and I followed a cat for a bit on the trail but none were common with the blood sites. It was starting to get dark and I was about a mile yet away from my truck when I saw a bunny run across the trail ahead of me. A large hawk landed on the trail just after it but the bunny made good his escape. Then I knew. I watched the hawk as I skied up and was surprised when I saw a man come out of the brush and pick up the hawk. Wow! You don't see that everyday. Fascinating! I stopped and talked to the man. His bird was a rescued hawk. Blind in one eye. She personally didn't have any luck with the bunny's tonight and the man speculated it was wild birds that hunted there today. They must have been very well fed. I talked for quite awhile to the man about his bird. We got on the subject of exercise as he mentioned it was the first time out for awhile for him and his hawk due to the Holidays and a family tragedy. Oh no I thought! I just had gotten back from a weekend with my nephew Allan that had just had a heart transplant and I thought could it be possible? I had to ask. My heart went out to him when he told me of his wife's sister in law that just committed suicide and he told me the story. I had to tell him the reason I asked was because of my nephew Allan who had just been transplanted last week. No she wasn't the donor but here the story gets more incredible. He said his first daughter had a heart transplant at 5 weeks old and he had been through the whole life changing event! Time for his daughter to receive a heart was extremely critical and they flew to St Louis to be in a bigger district as our district is very small compared to others. He told me the whole story...all the trials and triumphs. His daughter today is 14 and normal and active in all ways. Very inspiring and uplifting! To top it off he grows natural prairie flowers for seed. We had a long talk about that as I have bags of seeds that I collected this fall for a project in the spring. Sometimes I'm just amazed at how God brings people and/or events into my life. What turned out to be a quick XC ski before making dinner turned out to be a very incredible night! As I sit here writing this I am still amazed at the night! Thank you Lord for Allan's heart and for placing this man's story in my path tonight!

Two Men, a Passion and Vision.

2009-12-15T10:01:00.011-06:00

Love is a wonderful word. It's birth in a soul starts with that first flash...like a spark from flint. Hot and fast. A quickening in your center and a drawing that cannot be denied. Love has no boundaries and no rules as to what it chooses. Tony Vavricka and Greg Martin experienced this the first time they climbed ice. A passion for ice was born that could not be denied. From the early days of mismatched tools and borrow and swap gear they nurtured this love to what it is today. December 11th - 13th marked the fifth annual Sandstone Icefest organized by Tony and Greg. Definitely a mile stone establishing it as the premiere ice event here. Two years ago I stumbled upon a post on a board about the icefest and on a whim signed up for the intro to ice climbing class. I felt that same spark and haven't looked back. The icefest has clinics for the brand spanking new climber to advanced. This year I brought my whitewater paddling friend, Lori, with to introduce her to ice. Her experience climbing consisted of one trip to Vertical Endeavors the week before. The clinics provided all the gear and the instruction was top notch. Having gone through all the emotions two years before it was special to watch Lori experience the same. The first incredible awe of seeing the beautiful ice wall and thinking "I am going to climb that?" To the moment you see the spark ignite. This not only happened for Lori but was repeated many times over as I watched the excellent instructors teach the clinics. The excitement was addicting. This years featured climber was Dawn Glanc. Winner of the 2009 Ouray Icefest. I was very fortunate to be able to take two of her clinics. I started with the intermediate clinic on Friday and was amazed. Just the smallest of details make the biggest advancement in climbing. Saturday I was in the advanced clinic. For me this was my intro to dry tooling. So many techniques were shown. Again being precise was more. Dawn is truly an amazing woman and great instructor!
The clinics are not the only thing going on. Routes were set and climbers could climb all day. Gear reps were there to loan out the best of gear...fun!! In the evening, music, dinner, the best fireworks you'll ever see and a slide show by Dawn taking us on her journey from the spark to the amazing climb she did to win the Ouray! There was a mountain of swag given out and the party went on through the night. Sunday featured the chili cook off and more climbing. The city of Sandstone is the epitome of Minnesota nice. The local businesses welcomed us with open arms and great food (and beer). The local residents came down to watch the fun. There are miles of XC ski trails in Banning State park...not to mention a few other (forbidden) ice climbs in the park. Another aspect of the Festival is the winter camping. Many forms of tents and shelters were assembled and I must say it did spark some curiosity in me. There was even a tee pee. Some were heated and some were not.
Vision...if you can dream it... Next year will be a whole different animal. Born from the hard work of Tony and Greg and the pasion over the years from all climbers the city of Sandstone is installing piping along the entire quarry cliff creating an awesome ice climbing park! Mark your calenders for next year...it's going to be huge!! What?! You can't wait that long?! Then mark your calenders for the first annual Ice Pit Gear Demo and Climbing weekend in Green Bay Wisconsin. January, 16-17, 2010. More fun and we also get to hang out at an indoor waterpark at night! More information and amazing photos can be found at www.theicepit.org

Picture the North Shore

2009-12-05T08:52:00.010-06:00

After leaving the St. Louis River I continued north to Tofte Minnesota where I met up with Joi. Our plans for a girls weekend were many. Kayaking, hiking and photography. We started with breakfast and made an itinerary...I have no idea why I even attempt to make an itinerary as I have never kept to one...but it gave us something to do while eating breakfast. We decided to try to photograph the wild wolf pack and then hike the Kadunce. We headed to the wolves den. I have seen Joi's photos of them from this summer so I was anxious to see them. Unfortunately they were not a home. Lots of tracks and scat but no wolves. Stops that morning included the Cross River and Sugarloaf Cove for a little photography. Then I thought I'd like to see the falls on the Caribou River. The Caribou was the first waterfall that I had ice climbed, or I should say ice bouldered because I wasn't using a rope. I was interested in seeing how deep the pool was at the bottom. The hike is stunning! I had never been to the top of the falls and found it to be well worth it. Joi and I were taking tons of pictures along the way. We had nothing but time. I used several different settings to see what was working and why. At the top we followed the river for a short time. I started to get a bit of a hincky feeling at the top and then Joi said she had heard something moving in the bushes up ahead. It could have been anything but we didn't see what ever it was. But...my devious mind was at work. I was thinking how freaky it would be if when we got back and went through our photos we saw a cougar in the background tracking us. Maybe even two. It would make for a great story. Now I know that the only thing in the woods that frightens Joi is cougars so I didn't bring this up until we were back down closer to the falls. Needless to say I totally creeped her out. The rest of the weekend while hiking I was doing the "here kitty, kitty, kitty," thing. That evening we had a nice paddle on Lake Superior and then demoed more kayaks in the pool. Sunday we were up before the sun and did some sunrise photos and then headed to the Split Rock. Joi had never hiked it before and wanted to see it. We spent another day photographing one of the most beautiful rivers on the North Shore. Time for me to start heading south. I made stops at Gooseberry Falls, The Knife River, and Stoney. By that time the sun had set on a great weekend spent with great friends. Just before I left I confessed to Joi that there really were two courgars in the woods...her eyes got wide with fright and she said "No!' I smiled and said "Yes there were...us." Enlarge the photographs by clicking on them...you may just see something else or maybe not.

Black Friday...Beautiful Day.

2009-12-03T18:36:00.006-06:00

Finally I had a weekend off. Three days of no work and the weather for the end of November was incredible! I stopped at Midwest to pick up a few boats for Joi to try out and headed north. I actually had butterflies in my stomach I was so excited to be back on the road again! It has been a long time (for me). The sun was shining and my first destination was the St. Louis River. Actually it was the only destination in Minnesota with any water running to speak of. This late in the season I was curious to see what the mystery last drop looked like. The reservoir is drained each winter and with the dropping of the level one last drop opens up. I met up with my friend Jack at the Outpost and we ran the shuttle. We both had opted for creek boats today as the water was mucho cold and we were just into running the river. How blessed were we to have a warm (for Minnesota) sunny day with just a fun level to paddle. We took our time and just enjoyed the paddled chatting, laughing and just hanging out. We finally made it down to the Mystery Drop at the end. I wanted a good look at it as the one and only other time I ran it it sucked my playboat back in and I had to surf it out. We pulled out and looked at it from the right and then crossed over and looked at it from the left. We both took the small boof on the left and then we ferried out to look and see what the middle looked like. I am told this ledge becomes a very sticky hole at certain levels. Very interesting to see. The sun was on it's way down as we crossed the reservoir. Thin ice lay in patches around the edges and I had my fun ice breaking through. Was this my last paddle for 2009? I can't say for sure but if it was Jack and I had a stellar day on Black Friday!

Beautiful November Day

2009-11-08T10:38:00.005-06:00

So rare to see a warm sunny day WITH water in November. By this time each year many paddlers have hung up their paddles and are waiting for the pool sessions to begin. There was a whole bunch of paddlers out enjoying the Kettle yesterday. It was fantastic to see so many women out! Our group running down the river actually had more women than men. Not something I see often around here but it's happening more frequently. Today I decided to give Montana a taste of easy whitewater. I have only paddled her twice on flat backwaters on the Mississippi so this would be the first moving water. Armed with my three favorite open boaters as friendly instructors I warmed up on the flats above the rapids. I then started down river right with Alan, Dan and David waiting to play "catch" if needed. I made the eddy at Warm Up wave and then paddled down over the slide and into the eddy at Shoulder Hole. I practiced ferry's for a bit and then decided that it was time to change out to my playboat for the rest of the run. Many thanks to Alan, Dan, and David for being so patient. Being a crowded river I didn't feel comfortable paddling it down and would like to work on the basics on a easier river until I get the techniques down. It's funny how you view a river by what is under your butt. Yesterday was feeling it out and seeing just what to expect from her edges and stability. I like it! It was exciting to try out something new on the river...just like being a newb again.

Apple Cake

2009-11-04T16:59:00.001-06:00

Apple Cake...best for fall paddling!

German Apple Cake
Here's the recipe for that cake I brought with to Lake Superior. I'm going to give the original recipe and I'll add how I changed it. I never follow recipes completly by the letter...so here it is. Enjoy!
4 eggs
2 cups sugar
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons vegetable oil..I used canola or grapeseed
1 tsp real vanilla extract

2 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp cinnamon...I also added 1 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
4 cups chopped peeled tart apples..I used almost 5 cups of Haralsons
3/4 cups chopped pecans or walnuts..I used 1 1/2 cup walnuts

Directions: Peel and chop the apples and soak them in a bowl of cold water with a splash of lemon juice added. Set that aside. In a large mixing bowl, beat the eggs, sugar, oil, and vanilla. In another bowl combine the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda, and salt. Add to egg mixture and mix well. Drain the apples well. Fold in apples and nuts. Pour into a greased 13x9x2 in. pan. Bake at 350 for 55-60 min. or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Frosting:
1 pkg. cream cheese, softened...I used 1 and 1/2 pkgs
2 tsp butter...I used about 2 tablespoons.
2 c. powdered sugar...I didn't measure. I just kept adding until it was the thickness I wanted.Directions: Beat cream cheese and butter together and then add powdered sugar. Refrigerate the left overs. There usually isn't any.

Montana

2009-10-10T11:58:00.004-05:00

My belief in life is that if you ever stop learning or trying new things you're just sitting around waiting to die. I've been paddling with some open boaters now for a couple of years and have looked at their choice of boats with curiosity. This summer at the Wausau Whitewater Park Michelle lent me her Ocoee for a spin. I surprised myself by being able to actually paddle it...per se it was the bottom of the course but it went much better than I expected. When I got home I did some checking. First off Ocoee's are next to imposible to find used...anywhere! The new ones cost more than I can afford. I was overjoyed when I found one on craigslist of all places for a very, reasonable amount. The only catch was someone else had dibs on it and she would contact me if it fell thru. Several weeks later Kate contacted me and said it was mine for the taking. Whoo Hoo! I went right over and picked her up. She was in almost new condition fully outfitted and all I needed was a paddle. Strange feelings have emerged since I bought this boat. I have waxed her twice. Will not let her play on the Verm...too many rocks. I have also named her...Montana. She looks like a Montana. Today after applying the second coat of wax and wondering about the turn of events I came to the conclusion that I have bought a much needed pet. Since my pugs are all gone it has taken everything I have to not aquire another pet. My lifestyle right now would not be good for a dog or even a cat. Don't worry about me giving up my kayaks though. This weeks outings have been Jackson...3, Montana...1, Maybe two later today.