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.

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.