Take Me to the River

Since the first of the year, my life has been a bit too busy.  I've had my head down with a remodel project in our home and been working on the nuts n bolts business end of Liquid Fusion Kayaking.  Things are coming together, and I am starting to see the light.  Now it is time for my sweetie to take me to the river.

My first multi day kayak trip - 169 miles self support on the Eel.

Many women dream of trips to Hawaii, Mexico, or Europe.  My vacation fantasies are mostly about multi day kayak trips in the wilderness.  I enjoy the simplicity of boat, camp, be.  No telephone, no Internet, no lights, no driving - just being.

Camping in the Grand Canyon

In particular I like river trips.  On the river, the weather and the logistics tend to be simpler than trips on the coast.  Freshwater is present for drinking, cooking, and bathing, and the weather tends to be less temperamental.  It is nice to not have to be prepared for coastal paddling's weather what if's - what if the fog socks in, what if the swell picks up, what if the tide/currents are different than our calculations, what if there is no fresh water.  On the river, we go with the flow.

Packing the provisions and the necessities

Going with the flow depends upon the river and the paddling group.  Some river trips are relatively calm, flat water trips while others involve whitewater.  I tend to like a little bit of both.  I love the challenge of running rapids.  However, one of my favorite parts of river kayaking trips is lazily drifting in the current - floating, spinning, day dreaming, and being a part of the river.

Spectacular River Scenery

Eventually one finds a paddling partner or group that has similar go with the flow interests.  Some paddlers like to do it all and see it all and rack up the miles.  Others tend toward more leisurely trips.  Jeff and I are definitely of this mentality.  Let's do the fewest miles in the most days possible.  We love leisurely mornings and lay over days.  Lay over days are days where you don't break camp and stay in the same spot.  They give you the opportunity to explore an area more by foot, rest and relax, fish and forage, soak in a spring, or play on a surf wave.

Camping on the Eel River

I'm ready  . . . Take Me to the River!

Stepping It Up

Sometimes you DO IT . . .
You get into the zone and JUST DO IT . . .


We didn't get much whitewater river kayaking in this winter, but somehow I stepped up my game from being a schizophrenic class II/III boater to confidently paddling some class IV.

I'm not sure how this really happened but suspect that it had a lot to do with the time that we spent this winter in the surf zone.


Capsizing in the surf zone when you are kayak surfing is inevitable and even a good strategy so needless to say a winter of kayak surfing meant lots of time upside-down and rolling in moving water.


When I started whitewater kayaking, my main goal was to remain upright. I was terrified of flipping and being flushed down a rapid upside down. Through experience, I have come to realize that a capsize and roll only takes seconds and that you don't end up way downstream in the process. It is almost like time stands still and you roll up in almost the same spot where you capsized. The key is confidence in your roll.

So this whitewater season, I surrendered myself to the inevitability of capsizing on the river. My mantra shifted from take the easy line and stay up-right to see your line and execute it. If things go to !@#$ - roll up and paddle to safe water.


On our Eel River Mountains to the Sea Paddle last month, We encountered a couple of stretches of Class IV. Our last paddle of the trip was on the Middle Fork of the Eel River at 3500cfs. The run was 25 miles of class II and then probably the hardest rapid that I have run yet in the class IV range.

We scouted the rapid and the middle looked downright ugly. It had 2 consecutive but slightly offset recirculating hydraulics - DEFINITELY not a place to be. Neither the left or right had a clear path but the left looked like the best route to take and not end up in the messy middle. Of course the left had 2 considerable hydraulics to be negotiated. The plan was to avoid the first and punch the other one (most likely capsize, flush-out, and roll-up) and enjoy the wave train finish.


Of course, I capsized on the entrance drop into the rapid - rolled up and eddied out. THUMP, THUMP, THUMP - I felt my heart beating through my chest. The thought "I could get out here and portage," shot through my mind. I erased the thought and told myself to charge it. I ferried midway across but should have ferried further to the left. When I turned to head downstream, I was heading right at the hole on the top that the plan was to avoid. I didn't have time to avoid it and tried to drive through it.

It grabbed me and flipped me. I rolled up and continued driving for my target rock on river left. I got there and somehow skirted the flush-out and roll up hydraulic. F - Yeah!!!


It might have been nice to run the lines cleanly, and I am sure that someday I will. But there is definitely satisfaction in nailing a combat roll in a critical situation - not to mention nods of approval from paddling companions.

Paddle to the Sea

Recently I picked up a dvd from the library called Paddle to the Sea. It is based on the children's book Paddle to the Sea by Holling Clancy Holling. It was a delightful film, and I just discovered that it is posted on YouTube.




The phrase from the film "Please put me back in the water" has been resonating in my head over the last week as I have been displaced from the sea. I have been in the pool swimming and life guard training so not totally displaced from the water but my soul craves the sea.

Craving the ocean and paddling - is it an addiction? The psychologist William Glasser talks about positive addictions that we create for ourselves. So my spin is that paddling must be a positive addiction - a need that my body, mind, and soul seek for pleasure, release, and solace.

With that thought, I am off to paddle to the sea.