PETE'S RIVER TIPS

Photos provide by Pete Delosa

Tuesday tip: When you're headed out to the river, make sure you're getting in your boat for the right reasons. You will have to decide for yourself what the "right reasons" are. For me it's about sharing the experience in a beautiful place with beautiful people. What are the "right" reasons for you?

California based kayaker Pete DeLosa is headed back to school this month. This time as a full time high school instructor teaching introduction to engineering to the next crop of students. DeLosa writes that he is very excited about his road ahead and looking forward to great many opportunities to inspire our next generation.
Here at Outside Adventure to the Max ,, where Delosa is often featured as a guest blogger, we are not surprised that Delosa, a Current Adventures Kayak School & Trips  instructor will be sharing his knowledge with future engineers. The guy loves to teach. We know this from his love of paddling and his desire to instill that into others. Whether you are an experienced paddler or brand new to paddling, DeLosa is always willing help you as a boater develop that edge you want to make you a bettet kayaker.
"Pete is hands down one of the most awesome human beings I've met," said  paddler and The River Store empolyee, Ethan Howard, "Along with mentoring me in the game of whitewater, he has also taught me valuable life lessons that I will never forget."
So as we send DeLosa back to classroom, we look at some of his wit and wisdom he has shared with us in his Tuesday Facebook posts offering insight, protocol, and civility for your next time on the river.

Tuesday Tip: If you're headed to the river with out a crew of your own and just hoping to meet up with someone who you can tag along with and get a shuttle, don't go to put it and wait there. This is generally considered bad form. Instead, go to the take out and wait for others to show up. This way when you are talking to people you can offer to participate with the shuttle. You may get lucky and not need to but people will appreciate the offer and you won't be making them choose between squeezing you in and leaving you stranded.

Tuesday tip: We all know we're supposed to point positive on the river. What about talking positive? It can be loud and hard to hear on the water. Recently while kayaking I heard a buddy behind me say "left." That was the only word I caught. I thought I knew where I was going, but he did know that run better than I did so I changed course and went left. Turns out, what he said was "don't go left." Well, all's well that ends well and it worked out OK. I just missed a sweet boof and instead beatered through a janky crack. For future let's all get in the habit of talking positive as well as pointing that way.

Tuesday tip: If you're carrying your boat on a narrow path with a wall on one side and a cliff on the other, don't carry your boat between you and the wall. Keep it on the cliff side. This way you won't accidentally bump the wall with your boat and send yourself flying off the cliff.

Tuesday tip: When you're surfing a wave and you're at the top trying to stay on, leaning forward will help you slide down the wave. Similarly, if you're at the bottom and you want to get to the top, leaning back will drag you up the wave.
Tuesday tip: When doing stern squirts don't throw your body back as you take your stroke. This actually keeps you flatter. Instead, concentrate on squeezing your knee to your chest.

Tuesday tip: Have you been working on flat spins or cartwheels lately? Make sure your keeping your head and your shoulders ahead of your rotation.

Tuesday Tip: When taking your boof stroke, do not throw your body backwards. Throwing your body back drives the bow of your kayak down which is the opposite of what you're trying to do. It is bringing your chest to your knees that will keep your bow up. Keep your core engaged and imagine you are doing a sort of sit up as you take your stroke.

Tuesday Tip: If you're headed to the river with out a crew of your own and just hoping to meet up with someone who you can tag along with and get a shuttle, don't go to put it and wait there. This is generally considered bad form. Instead, go to the take out and wait for others to show up. This way when you are talking to people you can offer to participate with the shuttle. You may get lucky and not need to but people will appreciate the offer and you won't be making them choose between squeezing you in and leaving you stranded.

Tuesday Tip: You know that hole you paddle around on your local run? The one you never go in because you're a little scared of it. We have one somewhere. Next time you go by it, consider floating into the hole sideways. If you continue kayaking sooner or later you're going to get caught in a hole by surprise and you're going to get worked a little. Nobody ever thinks to practice this but if you do get a little stuck on purpose every now and again, you'll be much more ready for it when it just happens.

Tuesday tip: If you're going to keep your kayaking gear in your car consider getting a dog such as a pit bull with rabies to keep watch over it while you're away. Another good option may be a vehicle that explodes during forced entry. This will go a long way to prevent your stuff being stolen, or at least if it is stolen the thief won't steal from anyone else, ever.

California based kayaker Pete Delosa is a member of Team Pyranha and sponsored by Immersion Research and Shred Ready. You can catch up with Pete on his blog River-Bum.com and watch his videos on You-Tube. 
Outside Adventure to the Max is always looking for guest bloggers. Contact us at Nickayak@gmail.com if you are interested.

OVER THE BOW: LOON LAKE

“For my part I know nothing with any certainty but the sight of the stars makes me dream” – Vincent Van Gogh

Clear skies the group, mostly 20 women boaters getting ready for their first trip on water. The pristine blue water and textured granite shore of lake creates a post card like vision. There is a lot more water than the year before. California's drought seems like a distant memory with views of patches of snow can be seen on the horizon of mountains, while the cobalt waters of the lake are brimming up along the rugged shoreline.

At 6,378 feet, Loon Lake sits in the northern section of the Crystal Basin Recreation Area in the Eldorado National Forest along the western slopes of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. Nestled up close to the federally protected Desolation Wilderness, the recreation area is capped by the majestic granite peaks and traversed by lakes, reservoirs and streams spanning over 85,000 acres of forested rugged terrain along the Crystal Range.

Current Adventures Kayak School and Trips has hosted this two-day overnight one-of-a-kind camping experience in August for last decade. During the days, paddlers escape the heat while exploring the pine scented lake's many sapphire colored coves and bays and textured granite islands.

 At night the campers are treated to a night-time paddling experience to view the Perseid Meteor Shower.
All the meals, camping equipment and kayaks are provided for paddlers and first time campers to enjoy a cozy "roughing it" in-style camp-out, freeing them to only de-stress and unwind in the realm of nature.

If you want to go  
Current Adventures Kayak School and Trips 
PHONE: 530-333-9115 or Toll-Free: 888-452-9254
FAX: 530-333-1291
USPS:Current Adventures, P.O. Box 828, Lotus, CA 95651
info@currentadventures.com
owner Dan Crandall dan@kayaking.com

Over the Bow is a feature from Outside Adventure to the Max, telling the story behind the image. If you have a great picture with a great story, submit it to us at nickayak@gmail.com

POSTCARD FROM EPPIES

 "Every stroke, every few strokes, at least, think about opening those top hand fingers. If your just clenching down you are going to get tired in a hurry. Your whole body is going to tense up. It's not going to as fun and your'e not going to be as fast. You're going to be a lot faster. If you have a lot better technique. Its going to be a lot easier on your for that last part of the race." --- Dan Crandall 

Training night

For the past month Current Adventures Kayak School and Trips was conducting  intensive kayak workouts for racers building up to last weekend's Eppie’s Great Race.  It's the final leg of Sacramento's annual race. Iron men, women and teams will transfer from bicycles to kayaks and canoes at the Jim Jones Bridge and paddle the rest of the 6.35-mile stretch along the scenic American River Parkway to concluded  this weekend. Known as “The World’s Oldest Triathlon” the race is one of the largest paddling event in the United States.

River lines from Dan Crandall

Founded in 1974, the race features a 5.82-mile run, a 12.5-mile bike and paddle on the lower American River from the Sunrise Access to River Bend Park. Filled with all its ripples, eddies and one rapid requiring whitewater skills the paddling portion of the annual race is for most the exciting and challenging part of the race. While most participants come with running and biking skills many of them have never paddled the river. The Current Adventures instructors helped those paddlers with fundamentals of paddling and river reading that will came  in handy on race day.

Running San Juan Rapids

Here is a look back of at some of the highlights of race day and those training sessions on the river.

 

Pre-Race Clinic

Race Day

Race Day

Current Adventure Kayak School ant Trips
PHONE: 530-333-9115 or Toll-Free: 888-452-9254
FAX: 530-333-1291
USPS:Current Adventures, P.O. Box 828, Lotus, CA 95651
info@currentadventures.com
owner Dan Crandall dan@kayaking.com

BORN TO PADDLE, KAYAKING WITH KIDS

    The first river you paddle runs through the rest of your life. It bubbles up in
  pools and eddies to remind you who you are. --- Lynn Culbreath Noel

"Can I fall in?"
That question is usually unheard of in my adult classes. Just the thought of rolling upside in their kayak would strike terror into them. But, this query came from smiling freckled-face ten-year-old girl with boundless energy and little fear.

"Sure if you want to," I replied.

The girl and kayak in one motion capsize with a plop, gurgle and splash. An instant later, in text-book maneuver, she lowers her head to the bow, pushes her legs and feet clear of the kayak and then drops them to the bottom and brings her still smiling face up alongside her kayak.

It's an annual rite of summer on Lake Natoma near Sacramento Ca., as nearly dozen kids were taking part in Current Adventures Kayaking School & Trips youth kayaking classes. There the students learned paddling skills and water safety while developing a deep appreciation nature.

"Kids love kayaking and most take to it almost instantly," said Current Adventures' Dan Crandall, "We get them smiling at the beginning of class and have them laughing by the end."

Anyone who works with kids regularly knows they come with have short attention spans and aren't to focused on learning the technical aspects of the forward, back or sweep strokes.The key for instructor John Weed, is to keeping paddling exercises fun, short and interesting. He used a game of keep-a-way to get the students to paddle and steer their boats. From the shore, it looked like a mayhem of bumper boats crashing about the lake, but before long the students are discovering how to propel and turn their boats while chasing a green ball.

Another game Weed used to help kids practice boat control all while having fun was called Sharks and Minnows. He is instructed one kid to be a shark while all the other kids were all minnows.

"I'm hungry!" called out the shark.

"And I'm a little minnow," cried the scattering minnows trying not to get tagged by the shark, because once tagged they become a shark.  It kept going until every paddler became a shark. By using these active games the young kayakers were soon making new friends and having fun all while building paddling skills that they can be used on the lake or river.

Next, it was off to explore. Across the flat-water, the lake offers some special hideaways like “Swampland” and “Berry Pond". As the kids toured the hidden backwaters occupied by turtles, tadpoles, deer and other critters, the wonders of nature came alive to them. Quietly paddling along they became naturalists as they explored and made their own discoveries in the lush wetland.

On day three the Junior class ages 10-14, moved on to the easy moving waters of the Lower American River. On the river, the young paddlers after two days of paddling lessons tested their new skills on moving water. While a little apprehension came over the group at the sound of rushing water, but it was all smiles on the other end after they punched through a series of fast water. Before the day was over the youths are immersed in river reading, river signals, and moving water paddling maneuvers.

"This class leaves them begging for more, said Crandall, "The kids always leave these classes super excited and many come back year after year."

Meanwhile back on the lake, I had pushed the kayak up on to shore and dump all the water out of it with help from the still smiling and dripping wet ten-year-old girl. I was going to get plenty of practice doing over next couple days when she asked, "Can I do that again?"

 If you want to go

Current Adventures Kayak School and Trips 
PHONE: 530-333-9115 or Toll-Free: 888-452-9254
FAX: 530-333-1291
USPS: Current Adventures, P.O. Box 828, Lotus, CA 95651
info@currentadventures.com
owner Dan Crandall dan@kayaking.com

California Multi-Day Kayaking: Not Just for Class V Paddlers

BY OUTSIDE ADVENTURE TO THE MAX GUEST BLOGGER PETE DELOSA

I’ve been kayaking in the Sierra Nevada Mountain for nine years now, and it is hands down my favorite place to paddle. I’ve seen some amazing rivers with countless more I have yet to explore, and I’ve met some really amazing people along the way. If you ask paddlers around the world about whitewater in California, you will probably get a lot of responses referring to the classic multi-day trips that these mountains are known for. High sierra bed rock granite class V for days brings kayakers from all over the world even in years of low snow pack. What about those who want to explore some multi-day self support kayaking or raft support kayaking without having to face the extreme class V conditions of the high sierra? Are there still runs that make fun multi-day trips for the everyday paddler? Yes. Yes, there are. Here are a few suggestions for runs that make great overnight trips without the class V element.

• South Fork of the American (full river) Class III
  1. You probably already know this stretch pretty well. Why not start at chile bar on Saturday and camp on the BLM beach just downstream of greenwood on river right? Then, you can finish the trip through the gorge the next day. If you’re doing this when flows are normal, waiting on the release on Sunday morning makes for a great casual breakfast hangout by the rio.
• East Fork Carson Class II
  1. This 20 mile section in on the eastern slope of the Sierras has ample camping opportunities with hot springs at the half way point. I highly recommend this trip to anyone wanting to enjoy a weekend of paddling, camping, and hot springs.
• North Fork American (Giant Gap) Class IV
  1. This 13 mile run is typically done in one day but it could easily be split into a two day. This canyon is incredibly beautiful and would make a great spot to hang out with friends around a campfire for a night.
• Middle Fork of the American Class II-IV
  1. The tunnel chute run is long. Why not make an overnighter out of it? While you’re at it you could add another night or maybe even two going from the tunnel chute take out down to the confluence with the NFA. Double check my beta on this lower section because I haven’t actually done it, but I think it is a pretty nice class II paddle with just the one bigger rapid right at the confluence which would be an easy portage. You could also just overnight the lower section I think if you didn’t want to do the tunnel chute run.
  
  
  
  California based kayaker Pete Delosa is a member of Team Pyranha and sponsored by Immersion Research and Shred Ready. You can catch up with Pete on his blog River-Bum.com and watch his videos on You-Tube. 
  Outside Adventure to the Max is always looking for guest bloggers. Contact us at Nickayak@gmail.com if you are interested.
  
  

EPPIES TRAINING 2017

Eppie's Great Race is coming up fast. The event is presented by the Eppie’s Wellness Foundation is Saturday, July 15, 2017. Since its debut, Eppie’s Great Race has been held every year in Sacramento becoming a Northern California summertime tradition for elite athletes, fitness enthusiasts, and their families. The race features a 5.82-mile run, a 12.5-mile bike and a 6.10-mile paddle held along the scenic American River Parkway in Rancho Cordova and Sacramento. Its designated beneficiary is Therapeutic Recreation Services, a Sacramento County program for people of all ages with special needs and developmental disabilities.

The river portion of the race makes it one of the largest paddling events in the United States, offering a different dynamic from other triathlons with a "no swim" competition.

However, most of the participants come with running and biking skills but many have never paddled the river before or even sat in a kayak. Because of this, Current Adventures Kayak School and Trips has set up uniquely designed training sessions to help racers ensure success come race day with their Current Adventures Eppies Great Race programs. Expert instructors to help the participants build their confidence, paddling skills and river reading knowledge.

"With the high water this year on the Lower American times will be faster," said Current Adventure's owner Dan Crandall, "But, only if you understand how the lines and safety concerns are different in a year like this. Let us help you prepare for the high water conditions and race day success."

TRAINING DATES ARE JUNE 27, 29; JULY 6 10 12, 2017
Email us at Info@CurrentAdventures, com or Call 530-333-9115 to register for kayak rental and training options

To give you an idea of what it's like to train with Current Adventures for Eppies Great Race paddling portion here is an article that was originally published in Outside Adventure to the Max, July 8, 2016

The water glistens in the late afternoon sun. Across the way, kids frolic in it ankle-deep, while father down fishermen dot the rocky shore of the stream and huddling below the bike bridge kayakers in PFDs and bike helmets lay out a rainbow of kayaks at the edge of the beach. Anticipation, elation and anxiety churn in each one like the river before them. Looking out over the quiet scene their thoughts of doubts and hesitation are instantaneously interrupted by the booming voice of Dan Crandall.
"Are you ready to paddle tonight? We gotta about a week left. I want to hear something out of you otherwise we're just going to give up...Go home. Watch TV. Eat popcorn. Peppermint Patties. Drink milkshakes. All that good stuff you want to do, that you can do the day after the race."

Crandall and his staff from Current Adventures Kayak School and Trips have been conducting intensive kayak workouts with racers for the past several weeks building up to Eppie’s Great Race. Known as “The World’s Oldest Triathlon” the race is one of the largest paddling event in the United States. Founded in 1974, the race features a 5.82-mile run, a 12.5-mile bike and a 6.35-mile paddle held along the scenic American River Parkway in Rancho Cordova and Sacramento. That 6.35 miles down the American River with all its ripples and one rapid requiring whitewater skills presents the most challenging and exciting part of the annual race. Participants are expected to transfer from bicycle to boat at the Jim Jones Bridge for the final leg of the race. While most of them come with running and biking skills many of them have never paddled the river.

"Kayaks steer from the back," Crandall tells the group in some beach instruction, "You have to learn to speak this boat's language. It's a combination of edging correctly so the kayak knows what you're after and following your stroke through behind you, that matters."

Current Adventure's sessions have given instruction on paddling technique, river reading and turning troublesome San Juan Rapids into a speed bump. However, this year the rapid has offered many challenges for the new paddlers. "Lean forward and smile, " said Crandall, " Show the river you are not afraid and keep a paddle in the water."

There are three ways to pass through San Juan Rapids. Being off to the right provides the best waves, in the middle for a fun drop and extended bubble wave or stay to the far left and avoid the rapid only to feel it's powerful eddy effect. Underneath the rapid, the river flows back together smashing into the cliff creating a circular boil, before slowing down to gentle speed. The practicing racers are encouraged to run the rapid a couple of times to familiarize themselves with its nature.

Some paddlers have used these sessions to update their skills and get in a practice run for the event, while others are kayaking for the first time. The instructors help each paddler with paddling fundamentals that will be handy come race day.

"You gotta stay in the current all the way till the outside of that corner." Crandall, calls out as the kayakers raft up together, So just think about that tonight. Start being very aware of the lines on the river. Use landmarks look ahead. Every time you come around a corner, set a new course to the next corner, don't just be staring at the bow or the deck of your boat. Looking ahead is what makes you faster and keeps you on better lines."

At the end, of course, tired paddlers pull their kayaks across the finish lines with an understanding of the river and what is hand for the great race.

Current Adventure Kayak School and Trips
PHONE: 530-333-9115 or Toll-Free: 888-452-9254
FAX: 530-333-1291
USPS: Current Adventures, P.O. Box 828, Lotus, CA 95651
info@currentadventures.com
owner Dan Crandall dan@kayaking.com

LIKE DAD

 BY OUTSIDE ADVENTURE TO THE MAX GUEST BLOGGER TAYLOR CARLSON

My siblings and I continue to have the same argument. Who is the most like Mom or Dad? While I can see a lot of our mother in my sisters, by having a passion for cooking and strong religious family values. I started to think, what makes me the most like my father? I agree that unlike my younger brother, Cole, I share more similar interests in pop-culture with my father.

From my enjoyment of old adventure movies like Indiana Jones to his taste in 70s folk music to even, yes, wearing the same out-of-style clothing I wore back in high school (apparently, Livestrong bracelets aren’t a thing anymore). Yes, as I’ve gotten older I’ve become more and more like my Dad. And while this may sound like a sigh of relief for my brother, there’s one thing that he, along with me and Dad, share a strong passion for The Great Outdoors.

One of the first camping trips I remember sharing with Dad was during the week of Father’s Day in 2002. Dad and I, along with my Boy Scout troop, took part in a father-son fishing trip to the Paint Lake Provincial Park near Thompson, Manitoba, a small nickel mining town near the Hudson Bay. Prior to this trip, Dad could only attend small, weekend outings to nearby Minnesota lakes due to his busy schedule.

However, that was not the case with embarking on a 700-mile trip through the Canadian wilderness to spend one week in a wooden lodge, only eating nothing, but what we caught (or what the resort diner was serving across the lake).

At the time, I was at that age where I was not that impressed with being in the middle of nowhere. Instead, I just wanted to do teenager stuff like run around in the woods with my friends or simply stay inside my cabin and read some paperback book that I took along. But my father was excited and woke me up every morning at 4 AM to watch the sunrise as we cast our fishing poles off the dock. By the end of the week, I ended up catching the biggest walleye out of the troop.

Since that trip, every summer, to this day, I long for spending time in nature. The wide open lakes, the sound of the loons, the smell of a campfire, and the sight of the northern lights. But nothing reminds me more of that than of the great state of Minnesota. In June 2006, as I was coming to end of my journey on the Boy Scout trail and advancing towards the lifetime rank of Eagle Scout, my father had this grand idea for me to continue my career in Scouting by encouraging me to apply for my first ever job as a camp counselor at Camp Wilderness, a Boy Scout camp in northern Minnesota.

His reasoning was he wanted me to have a “life experience” and not work the boring, in-town job at a local McDonald's like other teens. Despite being against the idea at first, in retrospect, the summer of 2006 was one of the best summers of my life due to my time spent as a counselor.

In fact, I enjoyed it so much that I continued going for seven more summers, even becoming a counselor at my sisters’ Camp Fire Girls summer camp. Dad and the family did visit me often on weekends. While Mother took us to cute nearby towns to enjoy an ice cream cone, Dad took me on even more camping trips like to Bemidji State Park or to Lake Itasca, the source of the Mississippi River.
> It was during these trips that I picked up another trait from my father: becoming that annoying know-it-all guy on a vacation who points out historical landmarks only to give a history lesson to those who listen. In repeated trips to Bemidji, I don’t know how many people I have told people that the local Dairy Queen is built on the sight of tribal huts of Chief Bemidji.

As me and my siblings became older, our days spent as counselors became numbered. Gone were the days of long summer camping trips with the Boy Scouts. Instead, the focus became on smaller, trips to go kayaking. It was time for us to spend as a family, reminiscing with stories around the campfire about previous camping trips. During the kayaking trips, Dad chose to go to places that we had never been before, mostly so that he could buy a new T-shirt from the gift shop.

On one-Fourth of July trip, we were kayaking through the Old Broken Down Dam on the river as I calmly paddle down river, texting some girl on my phone, as Cole and Dad excitedly awaited upcoming rapids. Dad warned me to put away my phone as the current will become stronger and that I might drop it. While I insisted that he was wrong that I won’t drop my phone, I didn’t predict that I was going to fall out of my kayak and into the water.

While I survived just fine, my phone did not. I was upset, but Dad knew how to help… by taking us all to our traditional last stop: Pizza Ranch Buffet!  Looking back, out of all the camping trips I have taken part of with the Boy Scouts or as a counselor, nothing has been more fun than giving me lifelong memories attending these trips with my father.

Happy Father's Day
Taylor Carlson
June 2017

Taylor Carlson is the oldest son of Outside Adventure to Max blogger Nick Carlson. He grew up in Fargo, North Dakota and spent many summers in camping, hiking, and boating in Minnesota. He now resides in Omaha, Nebraska.