IT'S A WONDERFUL KAYAKING LIFE

Remember, George: no man is a failure who has friends. ---It's A Wonderful Life

It never surprises me that the kayak community is much like the fictional town of Bedford Falls in Jimmy Stewart's classic Christmas movie "It's a Wonderful Life". In the movie, Stewart's character George Bailey was at the end of his rope and, all seemed lost. But at the end of the film, he wasn't thrown just one lifeline, but instead, hundreds as his family and friends from the town rallied around him by donating more than enough money to cover the missing funds and pulling him out of the depths of despair. His brother raises his glass and toasts George as "the richest man in town" while he receives a book with a note reminding him that no man is a failure who has friends.

I think we've all been there. Certainly, I have. I can't remember all the times I have been helped out by others while kayaking on the river or lake. When I forgot my paddle, need a boat? No problem, someone came through. When I needed a bit of help loading or unloading, the same thing someone came through. Once, I didn't want to be a burden to the paddling group and watched my whitewater boat float away on an untimely swim when I even turned down the help. I can handle I said. Which was not the case. It didn't matter. The paddling friend ignored my plea and helped gather my boat and gear anyway. 

Kayaker Scott Lindgren, the subject of the documentary film, “The River Runner” was released on Netflix. It takes an up-close look at Lindgren's amazing career as one of the world's most premier whitewater kayakers and his raging first descents on the epic and burly waterways of the world. In his prime, no challenge was too great, no drop was too big.
But it also gives a portrait of a paddler struggling with substance abuse and later a brain tumor that would capsize his kayaking career for ten years.
During the movie, Lindgren found that while the river gave fury, it also offered healing. Next-generation paddler Aniol Serrasolses presented him with an opportunity he had been waiting his whole life for, a run down a Himalayan river known as the Indus. It would be the final chapter in Lindgren's epic quest of running the fabled four rivers of Western Tibet's Mount Kailash.

"The fact that Aniol would consider inviting an old broken-down boater into his world blew me away," wrote Lindgren in Outside Magazine, "He was offering me something I never would have offered anyone in my condition when I was his age."

In his months of training, Lindgren wrote how the younger paddlers rallied around offering help, encouragement, and but mostly hope.
"The kids didn’t just teach me how to kayak again, they helped me open my heart," wrote Lindgren in the article.

When doctors told him the tumor had grown, Lindgren had a decision. Resume treatment or continue training. He chose kayaking. He skipped radiation, canceled his doctor appointments, and channeled his energy for the Indus run.
After what he described as a white-knuckle week through massive mountain peaks and the equally massive river, Lindgren completed his life-long dream. Realizing that, he leaned forward and put his head on the deck of his boat and wept.
And like a Christmas movie, three days after returning from the trip, he went back to the hospital for an MRI and found that his tumor had stabilized and there was no growth. The river indeed had offered healing.

Lindgren's is just one of the many paddlers helped by other paddlers. There are countless more stories out there. Many paddlers and non-profit organizations provide support and opportunities to wounded veterans and other adaptive sports programs. There are paddling groups that encourage diversification on the water. They organize welcoming paddling events for people of color to expand our paddling community that has traditionally drawn primarily white participants. And other paddlers are volunteering in thousands of river or lake cleanups across the country to remove litter and debris from our waterways. As I have said before, everyone is a friend when they have a paddle in their hand.

"Everyone recognized that we’d all have good days and bad days, and that there no shame in scaling it back when we weren’t feeling 100 percent, physically or mentally," Lindgren offered this perspective in Outside Magazine article, "The approach helped me measure my kayaking—and my life—not in wins and losses, but in whether I showed up with an open heart. If I had a bad day, I told myself it was my turn for the universe to kick my ass. If I had a good day, I enjoyed the flow of life. It was all so simple."

This Christmas, I would like to send a big thanks out to my paddling family for helping me paddle through another year. Thanks to Dan Crandall and the other superstars on Current Adventures Kayaking School and Trips, who have been there for guidance and encouragement. I look forward to returning a 2022 schedule of classes, tours, and moonlit paddles.
To the rangers and staff of Sly Park Recreation Area, thank you. I certainly hope for another successful season on shimmering Lake Jenkinson this year, with more water and no forest fires.
I lost count of my paddling events with Bayside Adventure Sports this past year. The highlights of our year included our annual Lower American River run, our camping kayaking trip to Loon Lake, and our always popular sunset and moonlit paddles on our area's lakes. Of course, none of it would have been possible without our leaders, John Taylor and Randy Kizer. Sure, I had some great ideas, but those two made it happen. I have more trips and adventures planned for the upcoming year.
My wife, Debbie, is and will always be my guiding light and inspiration. She has a deep devotion to God and love for everything living both great and small, like the starving kitten that found its way to our doorstep. I continue to strive to be like her in mind and spirit. We are both excited about being grandparents now.

And I would like to thank our faithful readers of Outside Adventure to the Max. I hope the future is now brighter for you all.

Merry Christmas

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