By:
Ben
Coleman
By Aeon Russo The Dagger Nomad has been my most trusted chariot on every stout I’ve stepped up to because of its responsiveness, forgiving nature, and reliability. The Contour Ergo outfitting makes me feel as if the kayak is an extension of myself and the impacts are way softer than you could ever imagine. When I drop in, the Nomad gives me the confidence I need to turn off my mind and tune into the flow. Top 10 Reasons Why the Dagger Nomad Stomps the Stouts 1. How smoothly it transitions to vertical. All you need to do is relax, plant a stroke, and tuck up when you’re about to plug ‘er deep...
By:
Chris
Loomis
Cancer is lonely. Young adults affected by cancer know this all too well. One of the biggest contributors to feelings of loneliness for young adult survivors is the lack of belonging. It can be hard not knowing if there are others out there like you, dealing with the unique challenges a cancer diagnosis presents during the “formative” years of your life. On September 26, 2013, just two weeks after my 24 th birthday, I was diagnosed with Burkitt’s lymphoma, an aggressive form of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Just mere months after graduating from college, I was to be sidelined for the next 6 months...
By:
Brendan
Wells
I know it's a bit late, but here's a post from a few weekends ago. Rush told me that over the weekend, there would be a helicopter filming some of my favorite rivers and waterfalls around my home town of Trout Lake, Washington. I was super excited to see a new perspective on kayaking, especially on the rivers that I have grown up with and have shaped me into the person I am today. We started out the weekend by driving to one of my very favorite drainages that runs off the east side of Mt. Adams-- the Lewis River. The all too classic Upper Falls was at a perfect level and something like...
By:
Hannah
Kertesz
I arrived in Medellín on Thursday night (11/6) and the next day I was hiking through the jungle towards my first Colombian river - el río verde! We drove 2 hours outside Medellín to a village called San Francisco. Not exactly the same as the San Fran we all know. The streets are narrow and more populated with donkeys and horses than with cars. Jules met up with his friend who owns a hardware store full of machetes, etc and arranged for a shuttle driver. We packed in with the driver and continued down a dirt road through San Fran, pushing through the herds of donkeys. We came to a fork in the...
By:
Tom
Janney
We had to divert back to the takeout and jam into one vehicle but luckily Rolf was able to get us a shuttle driver saving us 2-3 hours of driving. We made it through the maze of backroads to the hike in spot just past ross crossing at 4pm and down the hill we headed through a nicely groomed trail thanks to Darin Mcquoid. We were geared up and shoving off at 5:30pm, all of us had done the run and felt good bombing most of the first big drops. Jim got out to scout the biggest drop on the run since it had been 5 years since he had been down but besides that we stayed in our boats and made good...
By:
Jason
Beakes
“Flow” is a state of mind – achieved when athletes feel completely engaged in their performance, lose their perception of time, concentrate on the moment (without distraction or dilution), and, perform at extremely high levels. Essentially, these are the moments in sport that we as athletes, coaches, and consultants are all striving to accomplish. Not only has the Flow state of mind been linked with outrageously positive accomplishments in sport, it is also the state of mind that has been shown to offer us meaning in our lives.” Racing kayaks down hard whitewater is one of the finest ways to...
By:
Hannah
Kertesz
I arrived in Medellín on Thursday night (11/6) and the next day I was hiking through the jungle towards my first Colombian river - el río verde! We drove 2 hours outside Medellín to a village called San Francisco. Not exactly the same as the San...
By:
Brendan
Wells
Of course, I love multi-day whitewater trips, but it’s definitely a luxury to be able to pack twice as much stuff and have it all much more accessible in a sea kayak. I’ve gotten to paddle my Alchemy all around the San Juan Islands, which are just...
By:
Tom
Janney
This year while planning for our two month cali season one thing that was a disappointment was that we were told "upper cherry is closed this year". The reason behind the "closure" was the rim fire in the fall of 2013, closing access to the cherry...
By:
Tom
Janney
Jim and I were lucky enough to get 3 separate runs in on fantasy falls this summer all at a variety of different water levels. The camping is amazing and the rapids are incredibly good and if you want to you can go HUGE on this run. Enjoy the pics...
By:
Brendan
Wells
Plus, it had all of the extra features to make it the perfect boat for long over-nighters on rivers and even to explore the San Juan Islands outside my back door in Bellingham, WA. With a drop-down skag and convenient back hatch, I feel confident...
By:
Brendan
Wells
I know it's a bit late, but here's a post from a few weekends ago. Rush told me that over the weekend, there would be a helicopter filming some of my favorite rivers and waterfalls around my home town of Trout Lake, Washington. I was super excited...
By:
Tom
Janney
We had to divert back to the takeout and jam into one vehicle but luckily Rolf was able to get us a shuttle driver saving us 2-3 hours of driving. We made it through the maze of backroads to the hike in spot just past ross crossing at 4pm and down...
By:
Tom
Janney
The trip stated with a bang and Jim and I drove from Colorado through the night after my last day of work to meet with Rolf Kelly and Jared Johnson the paddle Dinkey Creek. We didn't put on until 5:30pm but we knew the run well and were able to make...
By:
Site
Administrator
On a recent trip to some popular surf breaks in San Diego, I was sensitive to this issue and took time to inquire about beach etiquette. Rules are posted at each break and after chatting with a couple locals to get my bearings straight, I felt...
By:
Christie
Eastman
For this trip it was necessary for us to apply for visitor permits and travel far upstream near the border of Tibetan China. It is a remote region with a strong military presence and we passed by many base camps on our way to the put-in. As we drove...
By:
Ryan
Mooney
The Raquette and Beaver Rivers release several times over the three-day period. The Raquette is short section of river with five major drops and a few other rapids sprinkled in between with a sharp riverbed. The Beaver is a section of whitewater...
By:
Laura
Farrell
So it may not be a summer filled with lots of water here in California, but that doesn't mean you can't still get out and have a good time. Living here as taught me the importance of being able to enjoy lots of different sports, so when the weather...