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” […]
Tag: paddling
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 […]
Last Ice Paddle of the Season
Last evening (April 30) I paddled on Green Bay with kayaker friends Mike Stone and Jacob Tarlton. We wanted to paddle around the last big ice sheet remaining on the bay — right in front of my house — which required launching at Volks Landing down the street and paddling […]
The Myth of the “Experienced” Kayaker
We’re now in the most dangerous time of year for paddling. Air temperatures are rising. River and lake ice is breaking up. River levels are high. The desire to get on the water in marginal conditions — possibly without proper equipment and training — inevitably leads some people to the […]
2017 Images in Review
It’s New Year’s Eve so it must be time for a Liquid Adventuring year in review. Three outdoor themes stand out for me in 2017: 1. Stepping up my whitewater kayaking skills on new-to-me rivers out East; 2. Mary and I becoming motorhome owners; and 3. Being named a brand […]
Sesh on the Pesh: 3D Motion Capture with Video
I posted before about 3D motion capture using a Xensr device. Here’s my most recent demonstration, a kayaking session (or “sesh” as the cool kids say) recorded Sunday, Nov. 5 on the Peshtigo River in Wisconsin. To create these videos on my computer, I overlay Xensr moving map and motion […]
Camping with a TRAK Kayak
Can a TRAK folding kayak safely carry more than 60 pounds of camping gear? I was fairly certain it could but I had to check it out for myself. So that’s what I did this past Labor Day weekend while camping at Wisconsin’s Rock Island State Park. I organized this […]