Word 1-1-11

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!

Canoe U 2010...First Weekend

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!

Southeast Trip...Baby I Love You!

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!

A Day with Boof or Die on the split Rock River

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.

Picture the North Shore

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.

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

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.

Lower St. Louis on a Beautiful Fall Day

Happy Birthday to Dan! One of my three favorite open boaters. We celebrated in the best possible way...on the river! Aaron, Alan, Dan and I hooked up to catch a last run on the Lower St Louis before they cut off fish flow at the end of this month. The weather could not have been better...warm and sunny...the leaves just starting to turn colors. I haven't been on the Lower for quite a long time. I still hadn't ran Octopus and the Swinging Bridge yet. My first attempt at running Octopus was aborted due to a 20 foot log jackknifing out of the Beak in front of me blocking me from coming out of the Room. That was June 2007! Well today was the day...we had a small tight group and we were on the river to just enjoy. We leisurely meandered down the lower enjoying every possible bit we could and doing quite a bit of videoing. We set up at Octopus and scouted...everyone had a great run. The day was cruzing! Even the Boneyard was enjoyable for almost all of us. We pulled out and scouted Left Slot and the Hanging pool. With video set we all styled it. By then the Swinging Bridge was completely full of people watching us and more on the side of the river. Snakebite was just fine and we paddled towards the cheering crowd on the bridge. They were applauding us when Alan whipped off a roll...sheesh...the crowd went wild! Funny how we just ran all THAT and what tickled them the most is a roll. We pulled over and it was decision time. Dan has been wanting to run Fin Falls in an open canoe for awhile. We discussed it and the boys were all for it. I had a stellar day so I said I would run the video. At the top of Fin we scouted. I set up video and Aaron had the rope after deciding to not run it leaving Alan and Dan. Alan has speculated that he's never heard of anyone running Fin in an open canoe before so this was going to be something. Alan paddling a C1 led off and waited for Dan. Long story short Dan and Alan both styled it all the way down! What a great way to spend a birthday! Everyone has their top shelf of river memories where they store moments of very special runs. This run definitely went on the top shelf. I took a few photos along the way but here's Dan's video from the day.

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.

Ah Yes...Partytime, er, I mean Paddletime, Ah it's PADDLEMANIA TIME!

Paddlemania is fast approaching. June 20th! It's the time of the year when Team Midwest Mountaineering has their thank you bash for all of their loyal whitewater customers. Last year they changed the venue to the Outpost on the St Louis giving us so much more to paddle. There's going to be camping, river tours, boat demos, and gambling. By gambling I mean the Slot Machine Showdown where paddlers can take their chances at running the Slot. I see prizes are going to be awarded to all participants...hmmmm. Midwest usually gives out some good stuff. I got my favorite paddling top at one a few years back. Plan to camp and run the river both days. This will be my 4th year coming and my first time not having to fit work into the weekend! It's going to be a great time! Put a search in on my blog to check out the past Paddlemania's.