I love exploring new sections of whitewater and while the Raging River in Washington state was narrow and chocked full of wood, it was still a beautiful and enjoyable adventure. The Raging is a tributary to the much larger and popular Snoqualmie River. A team of Pacific Northwest paddlers came together to explore two sections…

Being a newcomer to the Pacific Northwest, I finally got around to making the trek to paddle in British Columbia in Canada. I had never been to Canada before and is there a better way to experience the country for the first time than to load up my Jackson Kayak Nirvana and head on up…

Multi-day trips are a big deal in the Pacific Northwest. It’s as if every paddler here has done at least one. Multi-day trips were more of a sea kayaking thing while I was living in the Southeast, but even those rarely extended beyond two days. It wasn’t often that I’d hear about someone doing a…

The Pacific Northwest, the PNW, #pnwonderland. What river comes to mind for you? For me, being formerly a southeast paddler, I only heard about one river in the PNW, the L Dub, the Little White Salmon River near White Salmon, Washington. It’s as if no other river existed in the Pacific Northwest. And then I had…

The follow up event to the PNW Collegiate Whitewater Fest hosted on the Skykomish River in Washington (http://jacksonkayak.com/blog/2017/12/26/pnw-collegiate-whitewater-fest/), the White Salmon Collegiate Whitewater Festival offered another free whitewater race for anyone who is attending high school or college at least part-time. The event offered an intermediate race (class II-III) from Rattlesnake through Cave Wave, and…

I recently adopted my first dog (in my entire life) and dubbed him Oliver the Adventure Corgi. Prior to adopting him, I had a lot of concerns about being able to continue my lifestyle as a frequent paddler. Others shared similar concerns that I would have to “quit kayaking.” I desired to have my dog…

The Deception Pass Dash, an incredible competition hosted annually at Deception Pass State Park in Oak Harbor, Washington. Paddlers from all disciplines travel to the Pacific Northwest to compete in this 6+ mile tidal race in December. Kayaks, tandem kayaks, canoes, standup paddleboards, surf skis, outrigger canoes, and more were at the start line. 6+…

The Collegiate Whitewater Fest is a FREE race open to anyone who is attending high school, or college at least part time.  A group of paddlers from all around the Pacific Northwest and British Columbia flocked to the Skykomish River near Index, Washington in November for this once-a-year whitewater race. This was my first time…

In October, I had the fortunate opportunity to attend the 2017 ACA Swiftwater Rescue Conference in Mill City, Oregon. This was my first time attending the SWR conference, and it surely will not be my last. The best and brightest in Swiftwater Rescue education presented topics on mechanical advantage systems, entrapment situations, rescue scenarios, steep…

I know, I know. People often want to hear about the new stuff. But I figured I’d spend this blog post reflecting on 2015 Jackson Kayak’s Zen whitewater kayak. This kayak changed me as a paddler, my relationship with Jackson Kayak, and how I thought about sizing with kayaks. First off, the Zen was the…