SNOW DAY

We are snowbound. The latest leaves are shaken from the oaks and alders; the snow-laden pines, with drooping boughs, look like barbed arrows aimed at the sky, and the fern-tangles and meadows are spread with a smooth cloth of snow. --John Muir

The plan was simple. Drive to a regional park and snowshoe around the lake to view the waterfall above the lake. We had done the same hike many times before, but this time the snow levels in the foothills had dropped as low as Camino, California along Highway 50, making Sly Park and Lake Jenkinson a winter wonderland.

Scottish poet, William Sharp wrote, 'There is nothing in the world more beautiful than the forest clothed to its very hollows in snow. It is the still ecstasy of nature...every intricacy of twig is clad with radiance." Those words described our trip down the highway through the snow-covered forest. Each turn of the road our eyes were greeted with dazzling displays of nature reserved only for snow globes and holiday movies.

"A what a difference it makes by covering it with a layer of white." my wife Debbie said as we approached the gates to the park.

But sometimes even the best of plans are melted away. At the park's gate, we were met with a reception of park closed and no parking signs. The narrowly plowed road around the edge of the lake didn't even leave an inch of parking space to pull in our pickup. I likened it to finding a river access for my kayak. Great view of the water, but no place to stop to put in. Our trip around the lake would have to wait for springtime and our snowshoe adventure would take place higher up.
    
But Nature is not in a hurry. With God 'a thousand years is as a day.' Suppose you could have been a spirit in one of the past periods of the creation of the world, and that the Archangel Gabriel had taken you to a place' where you could see the earth as it was then covered miles deep with snow and ice, the air still full of swirling snowflakes that seemed to be burying the world forever. --John Muir

Further up Highway 50, we turned left off the highway and over the South Fork of the American River and up Ice House Road, leading to the Crystal Basin Recreation Area. It's the home to many of mountain reservoirs in the western Sierra including one of my favorite's Loon Lake. But, we wouldn't get that far. Our afternoon was getting away from us and we stopped at the first place we could find. It was a cleared away spot to an un-plowed work trail leading to the river. It offered a spectacular view of the snow cover glistening mountains and the canyon below.

“When you go to the mountains, you see them and you admire them," said mountain climber Edmund Hillary. "In a sense, they give you a challenge, and you try to express that challenge by climbing them.”

It was a quick lesson on how to walk again, once we strapped on our snowshoes. Step a little wider and pick up those knees. No dragging my feet, Debbie reminds me,  like I customarily do while out for a stroll.

"Snowshoeing you kind of have to be more centered," said British journalist Laura Clark,  You have to be able to rock from side to side more. Instead of just going forward, it's a little bit of a sideways step to it. You've got these big things on your feet."


Along the ridge, there is the soft silence of nature without the clamor of our urban world filling the winter air. The wind dances across the canopy of trees as we catch sight of a bounding deer leaping through the snow. Looking almost effortless, it flies across the snow kicking up a frosty froth. The only sounds we hear come from the squeaky crunch of our snowshoes and the warm heave of our breaths as we trudge through the deep snow.

"That's the trouble of snowshoeing. You have to keep looking down at snowshoes or you'll fall over." Debbie said to me as we stop and looked over the canyon. All around us the mountains and the pines were textured in white. They never looked so magnificent. Looking out she paused like the view had taken her breath away and then said, "And then you miss all the beauty around you."

The glorious crystal sediment was everywhere. From wall to wall of our beautiful temple, from meadow to sky was one finished unit of beauty, one star of equal ray, one glowing sun, weighed in the celestial balances and found perfect.--John Muir

RK1 BASICS

I gave my heart to the mountains the minute I stood beside this river with its spray in my face and watched it thunder into foam, smooth to green glass over sunken rocks, shatter to foam again. I was fascinated by how it sped by and yet was always there; its roar shook both the earth and me.
- Wallace Stegner

"Swimming is part of the sport." said whitewater paddling instructor Dennis Eagan, "Every paddler, even the good ones are in between swims."

That was a shot of reassurance for the class, that everyone starts out the same, paddling skills are learned and developed over time and being able to swim in fast water is always an essential part of whitewater kayaking no matter what your levels of abilities. It's the basis for Whitewater River Kayaking 1 (RK1) with Current Adventures Kayak School and Trips. A class to develop a foundation and skills necessary to paddle fast water. In talking with the class participants, I learned most had some experience with fast water and one had even rafted down the Grand Canyon. However, the reason they were there was to learn the fundamentals by getting back to the basics of paddling.

"I want to do the Grand Canyon next year, " said student Scott Billups, "I've done quite a bit of sea kayaking in Alaska and have a SOT on my sailboat which I use quite a bit for diving and coastal touring. I've always thought that it (whitewater kayaking) would be fun but never lived close enough to whitewater to make it worthwhile. Sea kayaks want to run straight and cover a lot of ground as effortlessly as possible. Whitewater kayaks just want to turn and play."

It was a typical summer weekend on the South Fork of the American River atHenningsen-Lotus Park in Northern California.
Flows and the river traffic were high. It seemed like an endless parade of river rafts, kayaks and tubers floating down the stream while we unloaded and fitted the class up with their kayaks. "The fit it really important," Eagan told the students, "You want to be snug and your boat. That is really important. It gives you more control. You want to be snug like the boat is a part of you. Snug but comfortable.

After sliding into their kayaks and into the river, one by one, the students are literally submerged into the world of kayaking with wet exits and bow rescues.

In the bow rescue, Eagan capsizes each student as they hold the bow of another student's boat forming a T and progressively tips the kayak further and further over until they can complete a roll from upside down. Two different skills are practiced by the students, Staying in your kayak while using the support of another kayak to bring you upright and learning stability for the rescuer. Also, the students, get a boost of confidence in overcoming any fears of being upside down underwater. "No issues really." said Billups, "I do a lot of diving and am very comfortable in the water."

The South Fork is known for its dependable flows of whitewater. Popular rapids like Barking Dog, Troublemaker and Meatgrinder are just some of the rough waters that make the river attractive to the area kayakers. However, on the first day of the class, Eagan started with an easy moving section of the river to introduce some basic paddling strokes and techniques. "Most people do not spend enough time on flat water when they are learning to kayak." Eagan told the class, "I see lots of kayakers paddling down the gorge in Class III whitewater, but they still haven't developed a really good stroke technique. And even though they are paddling Class III they still haven't got that good foundation, because everyone is in the rush to get into the excitement of the white water instead of working on the drills."

For the rest of the session, the paddling students practiced integrating and completing their strokes and edging ability while working on an assortment of river maneuvers. "Once you get edging down you won't tip over very much," Eagan told the boaters. Edge control is a skill used for balance and control of the kayak. It involves holding the kayak tilted on one side (edge) or moving it from side to side (edge to edge) in the oncoming current, while at the same time as performing bracing strokes. "In any paddling, there are only three problems that you have." said Eagan, "One is momentum. You don't have enough speed. Two, You don't enough edging, and the other is boat angle. The last your going to working for the rest of your (paddling) career."

 

With increased confidence later on that afternoon, the paddling students were weaving and gliding through rocks and ripples along the South Fork while practicing ferrying, a maneuver to get across the river, along with eddy turns and peel outs. It was a day getting back to basics and learning some new skills over again. "It's not thinking about any text-book stroke, " said Eagan, "But, blending them all together."

Whitewater kayaking is an ongoing journey. As the poet Herman Hesse said "The river has taught me to listen; you will learn from it, too. The river knows everything; one can learn everything from it." It's consequential that kayakers keep listening, learning, and holding true to their paddling basics.

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

This article was originally published in Outside Adventure to the Max October 10, 2015.

ATMOSPHERIC RIVER

This week the usually calm waters of Lake Natoma under the Rainbow Bridge are a boil.

In Northern California, we have been riding the "atmospheric river" since last weekend. For boaters,  it's a Class 5 like a waterfall that has swelled the state's rivers, flooded neighborhoods, and vineyards, all while dumping snow and rain on the Sierra Nevada Mountains and causing mudslides on hills scorched by summer's wildfires.

An atmospheric river is long and narrow bands of water vapor that form over an ocean and flow through the sky. Massive quantities of Pacific Ocean water
from as far away as Hawaii have pummeled California with a series of storms like a long blast from a fire hose.

Courtesy of Heavenly Mountain via Facebook

Blizzard conditions forced road closures to many of Lake Tahoe's ski resorts that had to shut down and dig-out after being buried in snow. Nine feet fell in over three days at Kirkwood Mountain Resort in California making it the snowiest January in 45 years. Most of the ski resorts it looks like will try to open at least some terrain this weekend.

The Yuba River rose again to a little over 85 feet in Marysville California, while the South Fork of the American River are creating “once-in-a-decade” conditions on the American River for expert kayakers like Dylan Nichols. “We don’t have the option to run it this high maybe but once in a decade," Nichols told ABC10, "So it’s special for us local paddlers to be able to come out and take advantage of it,” Nichols and other expert kayakers paddled on the river from Chili Bar Park in Placerville California to where the water pours into Folsom Reservoir. He estimated the flow at 20,000 cubic feet per second, compared to a normal pace of anywhere from 1,500 to 3,000 cubic feet per second.

South Yuba River at Highway 49. Photo by Rich Shipley via Facebook

“It’s extremely unusual conditions,” professional kayaker Isidro Soberanes told ABC10, “It gives me the opportunity to experience a river I know really well at extremely high, high levels. Basically, I’m expecting to paddle some of the biggest rapids I’ve paddled in California.”

To see their trip down the South Fork, check out this link.  http://www.abc10.com/news/local/american-rivers-once-in-a-decade-conditions-draw-thrill-seeking-kayakers/385347076

Folsom Lake continues to rise with the week's rains, as water managers releasing even more water downstream.  Early this week the lake's water level stood at 422 feet elevation rising 13.5 feet higher than what it was 5 hours earlier. As the lake becoming fuller, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation opened five floodgates at Folsom Dam and 18 gates at Nimbus Dam releasing the water downstream.

Due to releases and rain, the usual peaceful waters of Lake Natoma under Folsom's Rainbow Bridge became a violent torrent at the entrance to the lake. While downstream large sections of the American River Parkway and several popular Sacramento County parks were closed earlier this week after days of rainfall and heavy releases from reservoirs flooded recreation areas around the region.

The Jim Jones footbridge, one parkway’s biggest popular attractions for boaters, fishermen and summertime rafters at the Sunrise Recreation Area, remains underwater this week as the American River gushes over it. Meanwhile, much of the western half of the parkway, Discovery Park to about Watt Avenue, also will remain inaccessible for the time being due to flood waters.

While most atmospheric river events are weak. But the powerful ones like the one that just targeted California this week, can transport an amount of water vapor equal to 15 times the average flow of water that flows out of the Mississippi River's mouth, according to NOAA's Earth System Research Laboratory. This drenching is good news that might help bring a dramatic turnaround for the state's water supply after more than five years of drought.

A SHINY NEW YEAR

          The best way to predict your future is to create it -- Abraham Lincoln

It has been raining in the lower elevations of Northern California and snowing higher up in the mountains this week. Good news for the state's water supply.  The Sierra Nevada snowpack is a frozen reservoir that provides roughly one-third of the state’s water has been given a much-needed boost after several major storms have dumped between up to four feet and ten feet of new snow over the mountains.

“Things are looking very positive,” Frank Gehrke, chief of snow surveys for the state, told the San Jose Mercury News after officials Department of Water Resources earlier this week took their first manual snow survey of the year near South Lake Tahoe.
“We’re showing a wet, cold pattern for the rest of this week into next. That’s a real good sign. In years past we have come up to do the survey and the forecast is for dry. But now we have a nice wet pattern setting in right now.”
So as California enters what could be its sixth year of drought, the statewide total was at 70 percent of normal and according to Gehrke, certain to increase in the coming days.

So forget the ball drop in Times Square, watching the snow fall and listening to the sound of rain is the only way to ring in the new year.  It's time make that New Year's resolution to kayak more because the rivers and lakes will be hopefully brimming with water. Plan an expedition or at least an overnight canoe trip. It's a new year and time to think big!

On New Year's Day, Freya Hoffmeister announced her next challenge, the never-before-attempted kayak circumnavigation of North America. The German adventurer will attempt the 30,000-mile journey over the next eight to ten years, paddling alone in stages of three to five months. The route travels of the famous Northwest Passage, a crossing of Hudson Bay and a trip through the Panama Canal. It will outline the coastline of 10 countries, including the United States, Canada, Mexico.

“Freya will paddle in two half loops, starting twice in Seattle and finishing twice in New York City,” explained in a press release posted on her Facebook page. “She’ll paddle northwards half of the year’s trip time and southwards the other half." Hoffmeister is one of the world's most prolific expedition paddlers. She circumnavigation Australia in 2009 and her circuited of South America, in six stages from 2011 to 2015. She also circled Iceland and New Zealand’s South Island, both in record time. Last year she paddled around Ireland, a 43-days, in yet another groundbreaking expedition.

 Okay, maybe not that big. But for some even small trips can be big.

Last year Florida paddler Mary Meyers, 83 and a half-dozen girlfriends, the average ages of 80, got together and kayaked four of her state's central rivers in four days. Based in a cabin they paddled some of Florida's prettiest waters.
"We inspire each other," Meyers told the Tampa Bay Times, "There's so much talent among this group. We find solace in the river."
She has some advice for the new year to anyone who hesitant about not getting outdoors for an adventure, "Get rid of your pills, get rid of your pillows, and get yourself a paddle!"

While you won't see one drop of water in the movie La La Land, it's hard after watching the film not to come away without some motivation and inspiration about following your dreams.  It's about aspiring actress Mia, and a jazz pianist Sebastian trying to make it big in show business. In one discouraged by a lack of not getting jobs, Mia unloads on Sebastian about her failing career. Sebastian pulls her back to reality by saying, "This is the dream. It's conflict and it compromises and it's very, very exciting."

So it's 2017, dream big, plan big. Take along the trip, or be in kayak or canoe race and just get out there.  The former member of the Canadian Freestyle Whitewater Kayak Team and Bronze medalist, Anna Levesque said, "You don't have to be a daredevil to enjoy the river."

And we agree. You just have to dare yourself to get out there and enjoy it.

CHRISTMAS FOR KAYAKERS

The usual calm waters of the American River just before into pours into Lake Natoma are a torrent this week as the outflows at Folsom Lake has more than doubled from 3,000 cubic feet per second (CFS) to 8,000 cfs according to officials at the Bureau of Reclamation Mid-Pacific Region. This is a rare event in recent drought years to release water from Folsom Lake after last week's series of rainstorms.
Another pre-Christmas storm with rain, wind and mountain snow will affect much of the western United States is forecast this weekend. It will bring another dose of drought-denting rain and dump more snow onto the ski slopes.

The gift of the rain and snow will benefit us all by supplying our reservoirs with a steady supply of water for the year ahead, which is good news for area paddlers after a few lean years of drought. It's is what we at Outside Adventure to the Max are thankful for this holiday season. The gift of water in our area lakes, reservoirs and rivers. We like all of you hope it just keeps flowing in.

OAM would like to thank guest blogger Pete Delosa and Kate Hives for their insights and views this past year. They have certainly made OAM better by providing a different voice in the world of paddling. We certainly look forward to a future post in the upcoming year.

We would also like to thank Dirt Bag Paddlers & DBP Magazine Online, The River Store. Bayside Adventure Sports and Rapid Magazine for sharing our post on their social media pages. They help us so much to spread the word about our weekly post.

Most of all, we'd like to thank our readers and follower who check us out every week. We hope you enjoy our thoughts and pictures about our outside experiences into 2017.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from Outside Adventure to the Max.

2016 IN REVIEW: PICTURES OF THE YEAR

San Francisco Bay with Bayside Adventure Sports

In everyone’s life, at some time, our inner fire goes out. It is then burst into flame by an encounter with another human being. We should all be thankful for those people who rekindle the inner spirit. -- Albert Schweitzer

I have to admit when it comes to kayaking, I could be classified more as a fanatic than just plain enthusiast. I think about paddling all the time day and night. I dream about my next trip on the river and visualize my last trip to the lake. I consider a day that I don't get out on to the water as almost a day lost.

Professional paddler and filmmaker Rush Sturges wrote on Facebook, "I go to sleep thinking about this river and I wake up excited to paddle it.  People ask me if I ever get bored?  And I never do at these levels. This is the first section of the Little White we call "Gettin Busy" at 4 feet today. It's fast, technical, and steep. But when you're in control of the flow, there's nothing better."

On Lake Tahoe with Cole Carlson

Lake Natoma with Taylor Carlson

I can picture myself in the same way. Anytime I cross any river bridge I look down wishing I was there.  Like Sturges pointed out, there is nothing better than being on the water. So as 2016 draws to a close,  I look back at some of my favorite places and people I had the good fortune of kayaking with this past year. My two sons who both came out to California for a visit this past summer. It was thrilling to take Cole on his first trip down the South Fork of the American River and both got to on an overnight trip to Lake Tahoe. Father and son camp-outs are always special no matter how old they are.

Any day on the water on with Dan Crandall, Kim Sprague, John Weed and the rest the gang at Current Adventures Kayaking School and Trips and The River Store, is always a great day. If it was just a job to them they would have quit it a longtime ago. But, it is their passion for kayaking that flows through them like an untamed river. They are deep in experience and share their thirst of paddling with first-timers and veterans with assurance, confidence and conviction. After paddling with them, you only have one question. When can we go again?

The Lower American River with Current Adventures.

And only to go again and again with Erik Allen, Brian Hughes and members of Bayside Adventure Sports. God created the Earth to RIDE IT. CLIMB IT. CATCH IT. EXPLORE IT. PROTECT IT. I'm hoping for some more trips like the one to Angel Island along with many day trips to some area lakes and rivers.

But mostly I couldn't do any of kayaking without the support and encouragement from my wife Debbie. Always up for an adventure, she shares my same passion of being outside whether on the water, snow or trail.

Lake Jenkinson with Debbie Carlson

In Chasing Niagara,  a film directed by Sturges and produced by Red Bull that focused on Rafa Ortiz’s journey of being the first person ever to go over Niagara Falls in a kayak, Oritz offers this lesson. “I don’t really believe in regretting things, you know?” said Rafa Ortiz. “I believe in that anything that has happened in my life is for a reason and you know there is definitely things that have happened in my life that I would, you know, if I could I would think that I want to change but I think that anything that happens is for a reason and it just makes me who I am.”

Like Oritz, these experiences made me who I am. So as the year comes to a close, I look forward even more adventures on the water, in the years to come and wish you all the same.

The Lower American River with Bayside Adventure Sports

Eppies training on Lake Natoma

Eppies training

Kids Class with Current Adventures

Eppies Race Day

Barking Dog Rapid

The Rainbow Bridge

Lake Valley Reservoir

Loon Lake

Loon Lake with Current Adveentures

The Shoe Tree on the Lower American River

Sunset on Lake Natoma

SNOW & FLOW

Courtesy of Heavenly Mountain via Facebook

 What good is the warmth of summer without the cold of winter to give it sweetness? --John Steinbeck

The snow industry and paddling industry are strapped together like kissing cousins. For the skiers, those glistening snowy covered mountains will supply a winter full on thrills and spills, while the paddlers looks for big flows once that snow begins to melt come spring and into summer.

"My board is waxed, paddle gear packed, and jeep loaded. Bring on the snow!" exclaimed Natalie Carpenter, " Precipitation is crucial, for both job security and free time. Nearly every activity I choose to participate in is driven by precipitation."

Natalie Carpenter

Carpenter is working at Colorado's Telluride Ski Resort this winter and has been raft guide on the American River in California during the past 4 summer seasons. She loves the benefits of a snowy winter.
"A good snow-pack not only means a winter full of steady work, but it also determines what my summer is going to look like." said Carpenter, "The whole reason I decided to move out to California this past summer was due to the fact that the snow-pack was good from the previous winter. Which led to high water and incredibly fun spring runs, something the American river hasn't been so lucky to see in a couple years. It was a full seven days of work a week for four whole months!"

As December got under way many area ski resorts opened with limited lifts, runs and terrain available after roughly 50 inches of snow fell in pre-Thanksgiving storm on the Sierra Crest near Lake Tahoe jump-starting ski and snowboard season in the mountains of Central and Northern California. Skiers are crossing their fingers for more this winter, while weather forecasters remain cautious taking a wait and see approach.

"This winter could go either way." said Sacramento Fox 40 meteorologist Darren Peck, "There is no way to come up with a good long-term prediction of this winter as is the case with most winters."
The Sierra's annual snow-pack functions as a reservoir of much of the state’s water supply and while last season’s El Nino did help push snowfall levels up to normal. it failed to deliver that knock out punch to end several years of drought across the state.

"Last year, seemed to be a snowy year," said Peck, "But it was average. Last year,  came pretty much spot on the mark for 100 percent of average. Northern Sierra was a little above, Southern Sierra a little below and right here in the Central Sierra we were at 98 percent. But, this where you get into the huge issue in the world of weather.  It seemed like a big year because of our perceptions and memories of things are very bias from what our personal and nostalgic memories are of winters past. But when you're looking at the statics last year was average."

Sage Donnelly and company didn't wait for spring. Photo by Peter Holcombe.

After these early fall storms, Carpenter remains hopeful more is on the way.
"I'm still checking the weather, snow reports, and river gauges daily. Gleefully watching inches accumulate and rivers rise." said Carpenter, "Even heading into this winter season an early snow fall allows me to take advantage of the rising rivers and continue my pursuit of more challenging whitewater. More snow equals more work, more terrain to explore, and ultimately a greater ability pursue my passions, all fueled by water."

It's still to early to tell where and how much snow will fall this winter but as a French proverb suggests,  A year of snow, a year of plenty.