Maury River in February

On February 6, Goshen Pass was still running (but dropping) for the third day in a row. John, Zander, Mike K. and I decided to give it a go at around 400 cfs. Even though the water was low and some of the lines were a bit bumpy, it was still a very worthwhile day on the river. We did two laps and it was a beautiful, sunny, dry-hair day.

Creeking 101: Notes from Last Fall's Creeking Clinic

Last September, I took Dave Kessman's Creeking Clinic. The two-day, two-student course was held on the Lower Yough in Western Pennsylvania and was very worthwhile. Before the clinic, I had almost no experience in a creek boat and was unfamiliar with both the lingo and the technique that is specific to running creeks. I jotted down some notes of what drills to practice, which I've listed below:

- Rotation Strokes

- Power Stroke: both hands on one side of the boat; head follow all the way through the wind-up

- Cruising Stroke: wind up, unwind; hand goes straight across face and doesn't stop

- Draw Strokes: open and closed face (bow, hip, stern); sweep and draw combo

- Boof Stroke: same as power stroke; practice planting paddle and crunching forward

- Spins

- Back-ferry: switching angles on eddy line

- Front-ferry: use draws instead of prys to adjust angle

- Smears: lateral angle; smear rock; power stroke on non-rock side; switch edges mid-air

- Boofs: crunch forward after power stroke; practice boofing holes

- Wording: boof vs. smear, edge vs. lean

Pump up the Volume

Welcome!

As we wait for the rain to come and the weather to warm up to temperatures that permit circulation in our phalanges, I thought it might be helpful to funnel my constant "I-want-to-paddle-now" thoughts into a fancy new blog.

The urge to record my paddling tidbits was recently heightened by two awesome events that have aspired within the last two months:

1. John's declaration that he wants to train to be an Olympic Slalom Champion, and my resolution that I might as well earn the glory in the women's category.
2. My recent acquisition of a CREEK BOAT, which I have long yearned for and was made possible by a generous and surprising gift from Dr. JT.

So, there you have it: this is my paddling blog. I'm pumping up the volume of my water craft with my new lime-green Mamba creek boat and hope to be able to post photos of gnarly boofs and smears sometime soon. Get your claw, fist-pump, or your favorite "woot" holler ready -- "Don't Worry Mom" has arrived.

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