Once Upon a Time...

Once upon a time there were three, extremely hot chicks who decided to run the St Louis. Lori, Natalie, and Nora. One by one they gathered in the evening at the Outpost for a little wild wilderness camping. That night they drank a little Summit and watched shooting stars while talking about things only three, extremely hot chicks will talk about. Morning came with a beautiful mist over the reservoir and the promise of a gorgeous day. We drove to the put in and saw a wonderful couple standing by the river. Becky and Dan. Dan looked at us and said Becky, I have to paddle with those three extremely hot chicks. Really, how often do you see three extremely hot chicks on a river? Becky said she understood and told Dan she would wait for him at the Outpost...even if it took forever. So three extremely hot chicks and Dan paddled off down the river. We came to the first wave and played a bit. We soon saw three more men paddling so hard you would have thought the devil was following them in a raft. They slid into the eddy and said that they had heard way over in the small distant town of Jim Falls Wisconsin that three extremely hot chicks were going to paddle the St Louis. They drove many miles because really, how often do you see three extremely hot chicks on a river? So Chris, Daniel, and Mike joined the three extremely hot chicks and Dan to paddle the Louis. While we hung out at first wave, a cute green frog popped up between Natalie and Nora with a wistful look on his face. Being extremely hot chicks he realized that there was no getting any lip from either us and he swam slowly away. Extremely hot chicks don't fall for the "Really I'm a handsome prince routine". Soon a raft with three "domesticated" men and a wife and children on board came floating by. They looked wistfully at the three extremely hot chicks and thought "Really, how often do you see three extremely hot chicks on a river. They floated on down the river. Then the three extremely hot chicks led the men down the river. Several of the men were newbies. Some without a roll or float bags but they did very well on the rapids. The three extremely hot chicks had the only playboats so we played the eddyline in the canyon. Dan's boat was a bit of a cross over so he was able to get some enders in also. We paddled on to Electric Ledge. Natalie and Nora looked at each other and said how do you want to do this? Rock, paper sissor's, and Natalie got to lead. Natalie and Nora styled down and waited for Lori to follow. She styled it down and hit a roll just for fun at the bottom and so the three extremely hot chicks waited to see how the men did. One by one they came down and they all did very well!! We were happy. We paddled out the last set of rapids and prolonged the day by playing around Upstream Downstream for a while. One last hurrah with the seal launch in the reservoir and we were back at the Outpost. Becky was waiting for Dan on the shore. Next time Becky will paddle with us and there will be four extemely hot chicks on the river and really how often do you see FOUR extremely hot chicks on a river?

Midwest Freestyle Clinics

Last year started the tradition of having freestyle clinics the two days prior to the competition. Colin Kemp and John McConville taught some great clinics last year that were so popular Wausau added a third instructor, Brian Tupper, to accommodate the increase of students. Last year my instructor was Colin. I paddle often with John so I was secretly hoping to have the "unknown factor" of the new guy, Brian. I got my wish. Brian has all kinds of mad skills and a very calm personality that enables a paddler to relax and work on skills. Patience being one of the most important traits for a whitewater teacher, Brian had it all. In my class I watched the students visibly improve within the first day and a vast improvement over two days. I would rate Brian as a top notch instructor and I was fortunate to have him. If these three instructors return again next year I believe that Wausau is going to be known for the Freestyle clinics also. Plus the addition of Bear Paw doing the intro to whitewater course I can easily see an influx of many new paddlers to the sport. With these types of instructors I can see so much growth across all levels of paddling ability. It's interesting to see the different needs of different levels of kayaking. I believe it gets to a point that for a very experienced student the technical ability of the instructor is just an afterthought where as what is needed for an experienced kayaker is a coach that can motivate the mind. Someone that knows how to break past that barrier in a paddlers mind to push them to believe the next step is possible. Even with teaching beginners mind control/fear control is important. Bottom line is instilling confidence in your student. That said I can confidently say the beginners that took the classes were confident enough to throw down at the competition. Next year it is going to be even bigger. My only regret is that I wish they would have the classes on Wednesday and Thursday and have Friday as a rest/practice day. Just my two cents. Hint, hint.

Midwest Freestyle Championships

The Midwest Freestyle Championships is the premiere kayaking event in the Midwest. This is Cole Jacobson's second year chairing the event and as his ideas have grown so has the Championships. The changes made this year encouraged many new kayakers to give it a try. The beginner class was huge! Cole's idea to combine men and women in the beginner, intermediate, and expert class really hit the mark. Women who would never even consider competing felt comfortable joining in the fun. The woman's division doubled this year! When I count the women in the beginner class and other women in the sport I am confident we can double that amount next year. All in all the women really rocked the park. The skill level of the ladies has increased dramatically! It was awesome to see the ladies throwing loops and Godzilla's. Next year who knows...maybe there will be a few attempting a Phoenix Monkey or more. This years top women were Crystal Gustin, 1st place, Melissa Manger, 2nd, and Amy Vickers 3rd.
The men's division was incredible also. With more and more pro boaters coming to Wausau, the expert division was redefined. Many paddlers from last year dropped down to the intermediate division leaving the very cream of the crop in experts. The judging was precise in the expert division with no charity given for "almosts". Yeah...we saw some good sh...uh, stuff in that class!
The intermediate class was great to watch...some of the boaters will easily go to expert class next year. Top men this year were John McConville, 1st place, Craig Esposito, 2nd and Colin Kemp 3rd.
Boatercross was wild as usual. Lot's of flips and drama but no injuries. Colin Kemp taking 1st and Bryan Zlimen taking 2nd.
Team Rodeo had a new twist to it this year also. Teams of three paddlers were determined by drawing one name from the experts class and two from the rest. Although I miss my team from last year it was fun to take a chance in the drawing.
This year Cole had provided commemorative medals to all the participants. The top place finishers were awarded belt buckles. Very nice. Very very nice! I'm looking forward to collecting many more. Maybe even a belt buckle! This year the swag drawing was huge thanks to Jackson Kayak, World Kayak, Midwest Moutaineering, Bear Paw, Whitecap Kayak, and I'm sure many more. Melissa Manger won this years Jackson kayak. I was very happy to get a Level 6 shorty dry top. I had been shopping for one since this spring.
The fun didn't stop when the water turned off and the sun went down. There were movies to see and beer to drink. Four Square and Hoola Hoops in the parking lot. Blues Festival on the island. Sunday paddlers service under the tent. Even all the pooches were having a great time hanging out.
Many thanks to the City of Wausau for hosting this wonderful event. Huge thanks to all the people that work so hard to put this on. Cole, for chairing the event...the Wausau Whitewater board, Diver Dan Conrad and his rescue swimmers...awesome! And the most special thanks to Julie Walraven without who Wausau wouldn't be Wausau! Check out these photos from Bryan Koops at http://www.thisoneday.com/proofs/wausau2/ and be sure to check Bryan Zlimen's blog on the right. Next year promises to be even bigger!!

Double Wausau

Exciting weekend! Wausau is really becoming a destination mecca. Paddling, climbing, biking, restaurants,micro brewery's, fairs and festivals. Summer in Wausau just rocks! I went out Friday night after a 12 hour shift thinking that the rain was over...nope...I ran right into it. I had visions of all the sensible paddlers staying home and dry and thinking I may be the only one camping in the rain that night. I was glad I was wrong...very wrong. It looked like the start of a great party. I was up early on Saturday and the first one on the course. Lots of new faces from even further destinations. Montana being the furthest. The weekend went well. New paddlers getting out and spreading their wings. The classes that Bear Paw are putting on are wildly popular and what a great place for instruction. The bottom part of the course after this last change is perfect for newbies. Saturday night we had an incredible storm. I found myself wishing I could watch it from Rib Mountain but I settled with watching from Toaster Flats. Some people catch lightning bugs...I caught some lightning. It was pretty tricky but I worked it out. Sunday was another great day of paddling. I paddled until I was just about too tired to roll and called it a day. There's a lot of excitement in the air...The Midwest Freestyle Championships are this coming weekend and everyone is practicing hard. Over the years the regular paddlers have gotten so good...it's great to see. It used to be a loop could win it...now it looks like you'll have to pull a Phonics Monkey out of your pocket to win. There's a few that can do it! Little Drop can be a fickle place. Your roll needs to be quick or you'll flush down stream. Ah well...wish me luck...it's seems lately I've lost my mojo but after three hours tonight on the Verm I have it back. I love my Verm! Keep praying for rain!! It's working!

Sturgeon Falls

Burgess and I in need of a playboating fix headed to Sturgeon Falls this last weekend. The level was dropping fast so we didn't know what to expect when we arrived. Someone upstairs gave us a break and the level jumped Saturday to 45,000cfs giving us the precious eddy access. The weather was raw with wind whipping up the lake into whitecaps and blowing spray off the tops of the waves. Burgess and I had the place to ourselves. The waves were fun. Surfers just had a very small foam pile on it but Chamelion and Triple S was in. Later in the afternoon Trevor and Paul from Winnipeg came out followed by a paddler from Saskatchewan and a crew from Thunder Bay. Even with occasional wind driven rain we were having fun. Three board surfers joined us. It was great to see them rocking the waves also. I really have to give it to them paddling those boards out there. The surfs were long but the paddle back for them was REALLY long. Definately a great group of people on the island! The next day Burgess and I had to do the early morning shift. The weather was so nice it hurt to think we only had a few hours to play. The lake was glass to paddle across but unfortunately during the night the level had dropped and the eddy access had left. We carried up repeatedly to get as many surfs in as we could. I can only pray that we ALL get more rain soon! Here, there, and everywhere! I've been to Sturgeon now four times. Each time my curiousity is piqued about the rest of Canada. I've met paddlers from several of the Provence's and love hearing about their country. It's a place I hope to explore more.

Call me Ishmael...

Jim Fall's...I remember my first year kayaking and I went there. It looked really big to me...five years later I can call it pleasant water. I met up with one of my three favorite open boaters, Dave, to catch a quick paddle. Brian Brezinski has been running Safety Classes there and we watched the class put on. There was an excited buzz and I asked what was up? Brian said he had seen a sturgeon jumping on the far side of the river. We watched for a bit but it didn't jump again...of course. Dave and I decided to do some attaining to warm up. We paddled to right below the dam. I could see the tail fins of some huge sturgeon poking up in the wash from the dam. Now I like sturgeon. I see raw beauty in the ancient, prehistoric, remnant from another time. A glimpse of the past we can only imagine. We turned and paddled easily down stream enjoying the river when BLAM...about 18 inches from the side of my boat the biggest sturgeon I've ever seen jumps completely out of the water. Holy sh%$@#!! Dave was turned around at that time and saw the whole thing. He estimated the fish at almost the length of my boat. My boat is 6'1"! Up close and personal it looked like Moby! Oh man did we laugh...after the initial shock wore off...! Dave and I paddled over to see what the Safety Class was doing. Jim Falls is a great location to have this class. This is the second year Brian and Glenn have been doing this class and they do a fantastic job of arming new kayakers with important information they will need on whitewater. If you haven't had a safety class try to make one of theirs. You will walk away with more confidence on the water and it's definitely fun. Onward Dave and I went to Wausau for the clean up...Craig had organized a clean up and there were lots of people that really pitched in and cut the brush away from the river...It looks fantastic! The rest of the weekend was bouldering on Rib Mountain with Amy, John, and Tommy. Wet rocks in the evening. Dry rocks in the early morning. It was all good! I love it up there! God's playground for climbers. Now for Wausau...Changes were made and they were awesome! Mike had some great inventive ideas! At the very bottom they formed a new wave by blocking the river right channel. This deepened the left channel so when the newbies swim they won't be bouncing off the rocks like before. Great idea!! The holes at the bottom were changed into more waves and my favorite bottom hole (sorry that sounds "bad") turned into a wave...a surging unpredictable wave...I loved it! My rock star newbie Pamela joined me for her second time at Wausau. She did great and learned a lot of new things this weekend. The big news came late in the day that Little Drop is going to be the location of the rodeo hole for the Midwest Championships. Personally I haven't been in that hole very much so I thought I'd better start working it and see what it can do. I ferried out and thought hmmm...easy spins..left and right. Very retentive..I could paddle back up without being washed out. I was starting to think it was going to be pleasant...then I started sliding down into the trough of the hole backwards and thinking I better throw something soon or something is going to happen. Being the end of the day I just didn't feel like throwing anything and yep something happened. It caught my stern and threw me up and backwards...I tucked tight but when I landed it was hard and I came a bit untucked. I crunched back up to my boat knowing it was shallow and rolled up into a perfect rock splat on the rock behind it. My backband then popped loose and I slid down and got into an eddy and thought Damn! What a hole! I am really looking forward to playing more there. Bryan Z had some fantastic runs in there and loved it! Comp is going to be tough this year! Cole has been working hard and has a great format for the weekend. It promises to be insane fun! The "new" Wausau was so much fun I didn't have time to take out my camera...can you believe that? Sorry about that but you'll just have to drive out and see it yourself...it's better in person! Here's some photo's from bouldering and Jim Falls.

Ha! What a Joke!

I laughed when I read my fortune cookie at dinner Saturday night and asked if anyone wanted to trade. I was very confident that it wasn't going to happen. The fortune said I would soon start a new hobby. lol! Anyone who knows me knows I have enough and have not enough time in the day for the ones I have now. My good friend Bryan, who knows me well, said right out "You don't need another hobby Nora"! I agreed, we laughed, and I thought that was it. "There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, Than are dreamt of in your philosophy." This is how it went down. I think of it as a hat trick. That evening under the stars while sipping wine with blackberries crushed in it we were slack lining and and just hanging out. John had shown me before these chains with kevlar on the end used for fire dancing. I just thought "so cool". After it got dark he gave a demo. It was the most exciting thing I've seen in a long time! Damn he was good! The womens estrogen equinox group all came running over to check it out also. We were all amazed and I had that old feeling again...I gotta do that! John showed me how to start and it's tough. He's spent years working at it and it shows. Yes, I'm going to start out with the socks first to avoid self immolation. I feel also that with my left shoulder not having the sparkle that it once had it would be a great way to work it back to being coordinated again. Keep posted on this one...it could be interesting. The plan on Sunday for Aaron, John and I was to get up at the crack of dawn and go up on Rib Mountain for some bouldering. I have never done bouldering outdoors and very little of it in the gym. It hadn't piqued my interest that much before but I was going to give it a try. We went up the mountain and gave a holler to Craig to wake him up and went and looked at the boulders. The formations were fantastic! I was excited! Bouldering is quite a different mind frame from the climbing I've done. No ropes. No draws. Just shoes and chalk and one crash pad. I gave it a try and discovered I love it! I can't wait to get back to Rib Mountain to try it again. The climbs were high enough that a fall past a certain spot was not an option. Your mind had to be one notch past lead to do this kind of rock. It definetely caught my intrest now! On the day went and wow was Wausau fun! It was great to see Caleb, Dennis and Graeme on the water as work and new family responsibilities have kept them home. They looked fantastic out there! Bryan was rocking the hole with and without a paddle and just being awesome! This was also the first World Kayak Hometown Throwdown Competition and it was just great fun! John McConville taking first in points and Craig Esposito second...but hey, it didn't matter as the prizes were awarded by a drawing. I got a water bottle :) The day continued and there was a record amount of people on the water. 149 total!! It was good to see two of my students from CanoeU there, Doug and Stan, and doing great! There were more graduates from some of the other classes there also! Fledglings learning to fly! The day wore on and by three my roll was coming slower and I knew it was time to hang it up and call it a day. Up above I saw Dan the Rescue man...he smiled and said remember what you promised? Uh...yeah...I would swim the course this time. I slipped on my neoprene pants for protection from the rocks and we went up to bwahahaha...Diagonal! Dan was great! He gave me the boogie board basics and I started surfing....cool! Then it was time to ferry over to surfers left of the hole. I got out there and the water was much more powerful but I was surfing! Oh no! I felt my pants start to slip down from the water. Oh NO! They started to fill with water! I looked over at Dan and said I think I have a problem...help!! By then my pants were down below my butt...not good! Dan grabbed me and rolled me out of the wave. I told him what had happened and we laughed and I said next time I'd wear the full on wet suit....yes there will be a next time as I found that to be really exciting also. The whole weekend turned out to be just a great party on the river. The banks are looking great but still need more work. The 25th is the clean up party to finish the work. We have to keep Wausau looking great! I know I have a machette someplace in my house...what could be more fun than that? I'll fit that in between my three new intrests...bouldering, Poi, and boogieboarding rapids.

Fourth of July!

Fourth of July at Sturgeon Falls didn't happen this year for me. I went to Milwaukee to see my nephew Allan who had open heart surgery the week before. Allan, 31, has Becker's Muscular Dystrophy. A condition that affects the heart. Allan was on the transplant list when things got critical. He needed a pump put into his heart to be able to live long enough to get a transplant. People talk about hero's and courage but Allan is the definition of it for me. The week preceding his surgery he had to make the choice of whether to get the pump or not. It amounted to nothing more than a chance to live or go home with hospice. No guarantees on the surgery. The surgery went well until he started bleeding that night. His chest cavity was opened up twice in one day. The amount of selfless courage it took to undergo this surgery is staggering to my mind. He took the chance and hopefully he'll be able to spend a long wonderful life with his wife and children. Here's his Caring Bridge page http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/racer88 I spent Friday with him and even though he looks like he's been through a war he looks good. A hero is judged by how much of yourself you are willing to sacrifice for others. Allan is tops of my hero list!
Saturday morning I spent getting to know a distant relative of mine, Sherie, and her family. I learned how to "float a cow". It was fun being on a working dairy farm again. I fell in love with her Scotty puppy, Sam. Played with Allan's children and hit up the Sheboygan waterfront. Then I took the long way home. I got the call my paddling partners were on the move north...destination Norway MI. I hit the road and found myself within 10 miles of them on the interstate. We stopped in Styles WI for a brief picnic and made it to Pier's Gorge for some evening fun. The crew ended up being Gus, John, Justin, Paul and I. We played down at the bottom before taking Justin up to run the falls...he's a newbie. Whoops! It was kind of rough but he did great! That night we sat around the campfire looking at the gorgeous sight of the moon, one day short of full, reflecting off the river. Fireworks exploding in the distance, A nearby shotgun going off...twice. The night quieted down and one by one we fell victim to the Sandman. Morning came..hiking, biking and sleeping in seemed to be the various choices of our crew. We paddled the river and just enjoyed the day. What a great summer destination! Free camping and pleasant water! It was definitely the long way home late that afternoon but all in all a great weekend! Independence Day..a day to remember that it's honest independent thought that drives freedom and the heart and commitment to follow through.

When Playboaters Attack

Like moths to a flame, playboaters were drawn to the Wausau Whitewater Park this weekend with the promise of three open holes at the top of the course. It was the Wausau Whitewater Weekend. A weekend filled with all kinds of slalom racing events. I have always loved the grace and discipline of slalom boating. It's an incredible sport. In recent years the playboating scene has exploded in Wausau and for good reason. Many playparks only offer one or two holes. Even with the course taken up by slalom racing there is a lot to offer every level of kayaker in the top three holes. With a whole flock of us players there we joined in on the fun. Always true to our natures... freestyle is so ingrained in our psychics that we couldn't hold to the discipline. Since Little Drop has gained popularity as a nice playspot it was quickly figured out that if you run a slalom race you could stop and...oops...play Little Drop. Of course it was on the second run. First runs were reserved for dominating their class. John McConville had the fastest time on the course in a Jackson followed by Drew Ehlert in...yes...another Jackson. Sunday was the Slalom Survivor. A fun new game brought to us by Joe Jacobi. Just a short slalom with a few tasks that had to be done. Like head butting the poles and tossing toys into a basket. It was quite entertaining for sure. Best of all was if you ran the SS you were entered into a drawing for prizes! Top prize being a new Shred Ready helmet. Drew, John, Justin and I looked over the box of prizes and made our wishes. Justin is a new kayaker being mentored by John McConville and doing great. This weekend was his third and fourth day of whitewater and he was competing in the races! Sound familiar? Being new he needs a bit more gear. A helmet being on top of the list. Drew won the helmet and gave it to Justin in exchange for the pair of Crocs he had won. Whitewater kayakers are just great people! With the decline in the slalom boater numbers and the increase of playboaters a lot of thought was given to how to improve next years event. Most everyone was thinking that a combination run of freestyle slalom would be fun where you could stop and throw down until washed from the hole...or something on that line. Personally I ran as many races as I could. It was the first time running slalom for me and I really liked it. It's a great way to improve your skills in boating. We'll see what next year brings. Wausau would love to hear any suggestions or comments on this. Many more releases coming up soon!!