Video: Taking my Uncle Tom and cousin Jonny for a Duo Ride

I have a little cousin from Hawaii, his name is Jonny, he is 10 year old, and can be a bit of a fire ball. He was able to come to Canada and spend 6 weeks up here visiting our family.

Everyday I saw him I asked if he would like to come kayaking with me. Obviously the river can be a bit intimidating, and being only 10 years old, with no idea of kayaking, expect watching some of my video, he decided to pass on the opportunity.

So after 6 weeks, Jonny’s dad, my Uncle Tom, comes to pick him up. Now Tom has always wanted to try kayaking, and asked if I could take him for a run down the river. This is where things got a bit complicated, because Tom flew in on a Thursday afternoon, and I was leaving for the Grand Canyon Friday. I had one shot to do this, and hoped that Tom would be into the idea of traveling 20 hours and jumping into a kayak with me.

Luckily for me, both Jonny and Uncle Tom showed up Thursday night ready to Rock. I then had to find a second Duo guide, and found my Mexican buddy Rafa to be the perfect fit.

It was a great opportunity, I was able to share my love of kayaking with some family who had no idea about it. Uncle Tom was fully ready to get wet and after a couple rolls in the flat water he was comfortable. Jonny on the other hand didn’t want to get wet, and definitely didn’t want to roll. With some encouragement we had him rolling and loving it.

Next up was the Phil’s Hole punch. Anyone who knows anything about the Ottawa knows about the giant Phil’s Hole, which is avoided by most. Rafa and I confidently guided our two rookies down with ease. Tom and Jonny didn’t know what hit them. With new stories to tell, and smiles all around, Rafa and I continued down through Corner Wave, and Right side Horseshoe.

With some eager beavers in the front of our kayaks, we decided to give a shot at surfing Baby Face. This was much easier with 60 pound Jonny in the front. Though in the end, with one swim, and two rolls, we had both Jonny and Uncle Tom surfing.

As we took out after our adventure down McCoys, Jonny asked about the large slide and ramp. After demonstrating how it worked, I let them both give it a shot.

We all ended the great day will smiles, laughter and a couple drinks and good steaks at my parents house.

Here is the video of our Adventure down McCoys rapid of the Ottawa River.

Nick Troutman

Alpenglow and Cascade create a fun Weekend on the Payettes…

This past weekend Dane, Kristine, KC, and I spent with the great folks at Alpenglow.   Alpenglow is a Jackson Kayak Superstore in Boise, ID on Bogus Basin Road.  Chuck and Anne Kremer are the owners and have been incredibly positive forces in the paddling community there.    We also got to paddle with the instructors and kids from Cascade’s River Kids Program where they teach hundreds of kids to paddle each summer.    What a perfect combination for Boise area.     During the Week we got to paddle the North Fork at close to 3,000 cfs, a fun ride!    On Friday, Dane and I did the dealer visit at Alpenglow store.    We met a bunch of customers, kids, parents, etc. and hot dogs were being sold to benefit the Idaho River Kids program.    Saturday was a busy day.  At 10 Am Dane and I taught a Strokes and Concepts class at the “Gutter”.    At 1pm we taught an intermediate playboating class, and at 3pm an advanced playboating class.    At 6 Pm we met up with 20 people to run the South Fork, Staircase section of the Payette.     Dane and I took the Dynamic Duo, and so did Jim Grossman and his son Bo.  

On Sunday we did an Idaho River Kids paddle with 20 kids and instructors down the main payette to the Climax Wave.     Dane and I got some good time on the Climax wave before loading the RV up for our drive to Salt Lake City where we flew from to get to the Ottawa.    We did the 7 hour drive with no major issues, other than me getting too tired to drive and having Kristine drive.    We arrived in Salt Lake in time to eat and catch our 11:45 pm flight to NYC.   We just landed in NYC at JFK and will board to Syracuse in a couple of hours.     Emily will pick us up there and we’ll have one final leg, a 5 hour drive from Syracuse to the Ottawa River.    Dane and I fully intend to hit the river when we arrive!  On Wednesday, we begin 14 straight days of teaching the Keener kids and a 5 day adult program as well for Ottawa Kayak School.       We’ll then fly back to Salt Lake and drive up to Jackson Hole, WY to catch up with Rendesvous River Sports on the Snake River.

I don’t have any photos of this weekend, as they had me pretty busy!

EJ

Fun flows on the Truckee river!

We have had some really nice flows on the Truckee over the past few weeks.  It has given the Reno community the ability to get out and enjoy all of the different sections of river that we don’t normally get to boat on.  I was able to get a few laps on the upper sections of my new home river for the first time.  It only took me 4 years!  The upper sections have a bunch of non stop class 3 with one or two easy class 4 rapids thrown in for good measure.  There are also a pair of totally safe and fun to run dams.  I know it sounds bad, but they are really good to go and they are a great time.  Enjoy the video!

The Duo delivers great times on the Feather River!

This past weekend I was able to take my dad out for his second kayaking river trip ever.  We had a great flow of 1350 cfs and we were lucky enough to see a family of river otters.  I love the fact that the duo has allowed me to show my dad and other friends a part of my world that he would never have been able to see otherwise.  Not only is it great to be able to share the experience, but it does deliver a different challenge that allows me to spice up a section of river!

Bel Haven in New Jersey another Fun Day for the Jacksons

I get to chalk up another Personal First D on the Oswego and Mullica Rivers with a group of Bel Haven staff and customers from all around NJ and PA.     This was also my first time seeing the Bel Haven store .    It is an awesome store with some really cool ideas in it and an awesome JK section.    They will be receiving the Villains and Journeys very soon, as well as the new Day Tripper Elites.    they currently have a full range of whitewater boats in the Hero, Fun, Star, All-Water, and Dynamic Duo series.   They have demos as well to use on the lake on the property or the local rivers. We had a great crew including Lev, a 78 year old whitewater paddle, originally from Russia, and a 6′ 4″ red headed girl who paddles the Super Hero.    We had all sizes and shapes from 100 pounds to 350 pounds, in canoes, kayaks, rec boats, sea kayaks, and playboats.    The 7″ of rain last week created  some high water, three feet higher than normal.   The river was a slalom course with trees as the gates.   Dane and I did some quality tree splatting, rolling under trees, Mary Lou, etc..    The Bel Haven owners had yummy food ready, including shrimp coctail (oh yea!) before the run and then after the run.  I brought some Bud American Ale to cap off the 7 hours of or so we spent there.    We didn’t make it too far last night and stopped at what we thought would be a good spot but got kicked out by the NJ Police.    We backtracked to a good spot and had a good night’s sleep, after KC decided he would sleep at 11pm.   We played a game (Dane, Kristine, and I) of Settler’s of Catan before bed.   I woke up early but KC didn’t so we didn’t leave our camping spot until around 9am this morning heading to Connecticut for the Triple Crown.  Thanks for a great day, BHP! EJ

I get to chalk up another Personal First D on the Oswego and Mullica Rivers with a group of Bel Haven staff and customers from all around NJ and PA.     This was also my first time seeing the Bel Haven store .    It is an awesome store with some really cool ideas in it and an awesome JK section.    They will be receiving the Villains and Journeys very soon, as well as the new Day Tripper Elites.    they currently have a full range of whitewater boats in the Hero, Fun, Star, All-Water, and Dynamic Duo series.   They have demos as well to use on the lake on the property or the local rivers.

We had a great crew including Lev, a 78 year old whitewater paddle, originally from Russia, and a 6′ 4″ red headed girl who paddles the Super Hero.    We had all sizes and shapes from 100 pounds to 350 pounds, in canoes, kayaks, rec boats, sea kayaks, and playboats.   

The 7″ of rain last week created  some high water, three feet higher than normal.   The river was a slalom course with trees as the gates.   Dane and I did some quality tree splatting, rolling under trees, Mary Lou, etc..   

The Bel Haven owners had yummy food ready, including shrimp coctail (oh yea!) before the run and then after the run.  I brought some Bud American Ale to cap off the 7 hours of or so we spent there.    We didn’t make it too far last night and stopped at what we thought would be a good spot but got kicked out by the NJ Police.    We backtracked to a good spot and had a good night’s sleep, after KC decided he would sleep at 11pm.   We played a game (Dane, Kristine, and I) of Settler’s of Catan before bed.   I woke up early but KC didn’t so we didn’t leave our camping spot until around 9am this morning heading to Connecticut for the Triple Crown. 

Thanks for a great day, BHP!

EJ

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Continued here:
Bel Haven in New Jersey another Fun Day for the Jacksons

Villain Steals to Tellico

With not much else running and eager to paddle downstream, Tara Etter, Emily Jackson, Brad Cisco and I headed to the Tellico. Tara and I paddled the Dynamic Duo again – and it’s so fun to paddle with your partner! I especially like the challenge of trying to boof that long thing, and we did really well on all the drops – barely getting the hair wet on the drops and even getting some good boofs along the way. Emily and Brad (your JK production manager) got to paddle the Villain for their first times

Read more from the original source:
Villain Steals to Tellico

Villain Steals to Tellico

With not much else running and eager to paddle downstream, Tara Etter, Emily Jackson, Brad Cisco and I headed to the Tellico.

See the original post:
Villain Steals to Tellico

Winter Kayak Carnival

By Devon Barker

Mccall hosts Winter Carnival in late January for ten days. This year Kelly’s Whitewater Park had a snow sculpture and a float in the parade. The theme was Wild Idaho. On our float we had a whitewater park made out of paper mache’ with an All Star, Dynamic Duo, and a Hero and wild animals paddling the kayaks. It was super fun to ride on the floats. We thew a sea of candy and KWP t-shirts to the crowd. Everyone is very excited for the park to be finished. I cannot wait for the first surf in March. The live web cam will be up soon at the park. I will make sure I update you all as soon as it is in.

It is winter here but close to the beginning of surf season. Come surf in Idaho with me and Kelly’s Whitewater Park!
Devon

kayak float

Kellys Whitewater Park

KWPinIce

Parade day

Wild Idaho kayakers

Winter Carnival

Winter Kayak Carnival

By Devon Barker

Mccall hosts Winter Carnival in late January for ten days. This year Kelly’s Whitewater Park had a snow sculpture and a float in the parade. The theme was Wild Idaho. On our float we had a whitewater park made out of paper mache’ with an All Star, Dynamic Duo, and a Hero and wild animals paddling the kayaks. It was super fun to ride on the floats. We thew a sea of candy and KWP t-shirts to the crowd. Everyone is very excited for the park to be finished. I cannot wait for the first surf in March. The live web cam will be up soon at the park. I will make sure I update you all as soon as it is in.

It is winter here but close to the beginning of surf season. Come surf in Idaho with me and Kelly’s Whitewater Park!
Devon

kayak float

Kellys Whitewater Park

KWPinIce

Parade day

Wild Idaho kayakers

Winter Carnival

Whitewater Kids!

By Devon Barker

Here is an article on kids and kayaking. You can see the video that goes with it at
http://isurfvideos.blogspot.com/ Enjoy and I look forward to seeing you all on the river soon! Devon

I do not remember my introduction to whitewater. Not remembering my introduction has driven to think about helpful ideas to share with others when introducing kids to whitewater. Here are some of the don’ts and dos that I have found helpful when instructing kids. I am often asked how old should kids be before taking them rafting or kayaking? When should I teach them to roll? Can they use my equipment until I am sure they like it? All kids are different but I hope these pointers will get you all in the water enjoying rivers for a lifetime together.

Winter is a perfect season to go to hot spring pools or swimming pools to let kids use kayaks as pool toys and to help them become accustom to helmets and lifejackets. Once kids know how to swim they are ready to play in the pool. Kids have a ball floating in their lifejacket, climbing into the cockpit of a kayak, becoming comfortable when it tips over with them, and learning to hold their breathe and swim under the water. I like to flip the kayak over and show kids how to swim under and come up in the cockpit for a breathe of air. My friend calls this game "caving with kayaks." Once they are comfortable they will beg for a paddle and begin racing end to end. It is empowering for kids to be able to direct their kayaks and makes them much more comfortable when they are asked to tip over on purpose or when you introduce different strokes to them. When the weather warms the next great place to take kids paddling is a local lake or pond
they have played in before.

Since they became comfortable wearing their helmet and lifejacket in the pool the only new experience will be the water. Kids will usually ask when they are ready for another challenge. This is a great time to ask them if they would like to practice wet-exits with a skirt on. Make sure you use a lose skirt that they can put on and take off with out much effort. A one-tug skirt is a must! Also using a skirt with a lose tunnel is great as sometimes kids forget to pull their skirt and wiggle out instead. It seems like they will wet exit perfect and then the tenth time they will forget, panic for a second, and then wiggle out. No harm as long as they can wiggle out. I use NRS adjustable nylon skirts when teaching wet exits.

Once they are comfortable with wet exits and hanging out upside down before they wet exit they are well on their way to their next challenge. Taking the times to do a million wet exits makes kids comfortable with the water and their kayak. Then they are usually ready for easy rivers. I often have kids paddle inflatable kayaks down a stretch first or paddle with me in the Dynamic Duo from Jackson Kayak before they paddle their own kayak. This takes the pressure off of them and allows them to view their next step without the worry. My best advice is not to rush the progression from here. They will tell you when they want to learn to roll. Once they do, you know they are ready to learn their roll and paddle the easy river with a skirt!

I think it is best to hire an instructor or enroll kids in group kayak instruction once they have expressed interest in learning to roll. It is very powerful for kids to see other kids rolling. (It is great to start two kids together from the beginning! Encourage a friend to come along to the pool). It is very important that they have a kayak that fits them and is outfitted so they stay in the kayak but not too snug. Make sure there is a little wiggle room. Many kids programs have kayaks for rent. Yes, the right size is important.

Enjoy the progression and know that it will pay off when you are running the river together and having a blast. The first combat roll will be as exciting as the first wet exit! Whitewater play parks offer a safe place to paddle and work on the fundamentals.

Enjoy this winter at the hot springs and pools with your kayak. Also, don’t forget the snow, as a kayak makes a great sled and offers one more fun way to get acquainted with kayaking! Enjoy this video. You can send questions about introducing kids to kayaking to devobarker at yahoo dot com. Enjoy the progression- don’t rush it and above all, have fun.

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