Spring has come to Central Oregon, and we’re getting some nice sunny days with a little bit of warm weather. After spending all winter in the pool perfecting my eskimo roll I’ve finally had a chance to practice in some moving water. Two weeks ago on the McKenzie River I hit my first combat roll [...] Read more »
First Eskimo Roll Ever Today!
A good bombproof combat roll is an absolute necessity if you want to paddle whitewater bigger than class 3. Until you’ve learned one you’ll probably go swimming a lot in class 3 whitewater. That’s just the way it is. The water gets big and pushy and next thing you know you’re upside down in the [...] Read more »
McKenzie River Kayaking 2nd Trip
Wednesday August 5th was my 2nd run down the McKenzie river in central Oregon. We ended up being a flotilla of 3 canoes and 6 kayaks. John and Christy in John’s We-No-Nah Rogue Tandem White Water Touring canoe, Ben and Celia in an Old Town tandem white water canoe, Zak in an Esquif Raven solo [...] Read more »
Brace and Roll part 2
Last Tuesday’s trip on the McKenzie River was great motivation to get back into the pool and work on my roll. There was a big class. We had six boats in the water not counting Christina Russell’s boat. She was teaching. There was a family of four. Mom, Dad, brother and sister all learning how [...] Read more »
First Whitewater – The McKenzie River – Oregon
Kayaking is one of the primary reasons that I moved to Oregon. My Dad taught me how to canoe when I was still wearing diapers, and we were always going on great weekend canoe trips in Louisiana and Mississippi. Sometimes we’d go a bit farther out. These were great beautiful rivers with swift currents, and [...] Read more »
Brace and Roll at Juniper Park Pool
Finally, after almost two years, I’m getting some time in the cockpit of a whitewater kayak. This past Thursday I participated in Alder Creek Kayak and Canoe Shop’s “Brace and Roll” class. Taught by members of Alder Creeks staff at Bend’s Juniper Park Pool, the Brace and Roll class is the perfect place for newbie [...] Read more »
Seal Launch at Tetherow Logjam
This past weekend I was out with the crew from Alder Creek Kayak and Canoe shop in Bend, and Geoff Franks busted this great seal launch just below Tetherow Logjam on the Deschutes River. I did my own seal launch just a few feet downstream from here where the bank of the river was only [...] Read more »
Kayaking on the Deschutes River
Last weekend my niece Joanna Ridgeway came to town for a visit, and we went kayaking on the Deschutes River. No white water on this trip, just a pleasant paddle upstream from Alder Creek Kayak and Canoe Shop to the Bill Healy bridge. This section of the Deschutes is backed up by a low damn [...] Read more »
Boofing on the Colorado River in Glennwood Springs, Colorado
The city of Glennwood Springs built a rapid on the Colorado river that draws a nice crowd during the summer months. In between the rafts, kayakers and surfers paddle out to the large waves to surf. Here are a few photographs and some video from Saturday afternoon May 31st 2008. If you’re one of the [...] Read more »
Spring finally conquers Winter
Although it may still get a little cool at nighttime, spring time has clearly established it’s dominance over winter here in Ashland, Oregon. The sun shone brightly all weekend kissing faces and bare shoulders all over town. Students from Southern Oregon University held a Peace parade, the local Library hosted a May Day activity for [...] Read more »