Our fourth day on the river had already seen some spectacular whitewater challenges. Now it was time for one of the biggest. According to trip leader Steve Mace, Hance would be the most technically challenging rapid we would encounter during our 12-day trip. I love the following description of Hance […]
Tag: kayak
Grand Canyon – And Google Maps!
I was asked to not share this news until today. If you’ve been following posts about my experience with Team River Runner’s Grand Canyon trip (The First Three Days and Day 4, Part 1), you may remember I mentioned we had a photo/video crew accompany us during our 12-day whitewater […]
Grand Canyon Adventure with a Mission
It’s starting to sink in. As I prepare to leave for our Team River Runner Grand Canyon adventure, I’m reading a riveting book, No Barriers, by Erik Weihenmayer. It includes photos of our trip organizer, Lonnie Bedwell, the first blind person to kayak the Grand Canyon; and Steve Baskis, who […]
Team River Runner – Apostle Islands 2018
For the second year in a row, it was a pleasure to lead a Team River Runner kayak camping trip in the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore. Last week, 17 participants, (including nine military veterans, some with disabilities) enjoyed the spectacular beauty of this Lake Superior archipelago of 21 islands. SATURDAY, […]
Team River Runner’s Wausau Whitewater Weekend 2018
Team River Runner‘s sixth annual Wausau Whitewater Weekend was a huge success this past weekend, with 128 vets, volunteers and family members. This was by far our best-organized Wausau weekend ever, thanks in large part to event organizers Tom Schrader, Linda “LT” Tomsevics and Craig Esposito. A big “thank you” […]
Kayak Summer Camp: DCSKS
The annual Door County Sea Kayak Symposium (DCSKS) is always one of my favorite weekends of the year. This year the 15th annual DCSKS — my eighth as an instructor — was once again a sold-out event, with 170 paying participants, 30 instructors, a handful of staff members from Rutabaga […]
TRAK Kayak Summit: Unveiling the 2.0
One of the benefits of owning a TRAK Kayak is the sense of community built around the uniqueness of the product. Like Ducati motorcycles and Tesla automobiles, TRAK is a distinctive product with a loyal and growing customer base. As a TRAK “Pilot” brand ambassador, I was invited to join […]
Great Day for a great Dane
Sabastian, our Rotary club’s 16-year-old exchange student from Denmark, was introduced to whitewater kayaking on the Red River, which was running at a low, beginner-friendly level on June 12. He did great! A natural on the water. No capsizes other than premeditated ones for safety training purposes at the beginning […]
Assessing a Kayaker’s Skill Level
Have you ever wondered how your paddling skills and knowledge stack up against other kayakers? There are ways to find out. Informally, you can paddle with more experienced kayakers. Observe. Ask questions. Emulate what they do. Maybe you want a more definitive rating of your skills. Or maybe you’re thinking […]
Lester River Race 2018
Held each spring to coincide with the start of the snow melt runoff, the Lester River Race marks the unofficial start to the whitewater kayak season along Minnesota’s North Shore, drawing expert kayakers from across the region. Uniquely situated within the city limits of Duluth on the Lester River as […]