Not sure if this is the right forum for this, if not i'm sorry but does anyone else here Kayak? I first went out with my dad and now im addicted and take the kayak down to the river as often as i can, it's so relaxing just going at your own pace and you get closer to most wildlife than you otherwise would and get to experience so much more of nature, i love being that close to the water, it's so peaceful and beautiful. anyone else love kayaking? :cheers2:
Yeah kayaking is fun I haven’t been in a few years but there was a few summers when I was a kayak bum, for real I quit my job and kayaked everyday. In Colorado we have some good kayaking every thing from easy winding rivers to class 6.
wow steve. that photo is amazing. did you that shot? that must have been such a great expereince. i want to go!! and zigher, i would love to do that for a while, it sounds amazing. thanks for sharing guys
I found a pic from my kayak bum days, it was like 10 years ago. This is me and my Bandanna Boat it is really ugly but it was a great boat and handled great. I lived in that van and just wandered around kayaking different rivers all summer, good times. The pic was taken at the Gunnison River I kayaked it form where it starts to the reservoir, awesome ride, I ended up doing it a few times.
zihger, that is so cool. you sound like you have had an amazing time what you did is a dream to me, i would love to do it one day.
Why not consider kayak guiding for a summer? I do not know how it is in the UK but in Canada you can get into it pretty easy (www.skgabc.com). It will not make you rich but you get to paddle in all sorts of cool places and at least get paid for having fun. If under 30 there are all sorts of visas you can get to work all over the world.
I love kayaking! I boat every chance I can get. I started with a rec boat, then got into whitewater about five years ago, now I'm addicted. From playboating features on easier rivers, to surfing in the ocean, to hucking water falls on creeks, it's all good. Last spring I ran the grand canyon in a boat similar to zihger's bandana boat, what a blast! There's something about the chill of being in the middle of a raging river, like the calm at the eye of the storm. It's like a form of meditation to me. And the view you can get from the middle of the river, you can't get that anywhere else. Here's a shot of me on Furnace Brook in Vermont.
mellow, thats amazing. i havent done white water before. i havent been kayaking all the long so i just do rec at the miniute, would love to get that good. i bet u had such a cool time. and zihger i've only ever kayaked in england and just on the rivers down the road from my house and the like.....going to go to scotland in the new year
Friends of mine from the UK tell me the rivers are very restricted over there, which is unfortunate. In the US, no one owns the river bed, they only own the river bank down to the high water mark. In the UK, they do own the river bed, and they have strict no trespassing laws from what I'm told. Scotland's different, however. A friend of mine, who's moving there in a few months, and who's one of the best kayakers I know, says it's a gold mine for creeks, and they don't have the restriction issues the UK does. If you're interested in whitewater, hook up with some folks who can teach you the basic skills, like strokes, maneuvers, and the eskimo roll. It's also important to understand and respect the hazards involved, but it's worth it once you know your limitations. 'Looks like rain tonight in the forecast, so I'm gonna pack my kayak and gear on the car tonight so I can bail on work tomorrow afternoon and do some runs on the local creek.
hey mellow. yeah scotlands law of trespass are very different from englands and kayaking on the lochs with all those beautiful mountains in the backdrop would just be amazing, but yeah england can be restrictive. the river near my parents house is a anyone can use it, its on the estuary to the sea and is used by lots of boating and kayakers etc but the river near my house u need a permit to use and pay a fee, so i tend to only kayak wen staying at my parents at the moment which is a shame. and i will definatley look into getting some tuition of the white water. i think theres some places in wales thats good for that too! have a great day tomorrow out kayaking! Let me know how it goes/
I went out only to find the river too high, I'd never seen it that high. It was too dangerous, so I just walked through the gorge and observed it in awe. The water was in the trees, ripping through the gorge like a freight train, and the hydraulics were terminal. I went back Saturday, and it was at a decent level, but the temperature was in the low 20's. We ran it anyway, a group of about eight guys in dry suits. I got stuck in a hydraulic at the bottom of one of the bigger drops, and was forced to bail out of my kayak for the first time in a couple years. I tried like hell for over a minute to dig my way out of that thing, but the curtain of water kept beating down on the deck of my boat, forcing me back into the hole. It was a cold swim, but I got all my stuff back, jumped back in the boat, and had a great run the rest of the way down the gorge. I went kayaking again yesterday on a local river, which is still running pretty high. We got quite the flood there.
Went back Christmas day to even the score. The guy I was with took a swim at the bottom of the first major feature, a clean thirteen footer into a deep pool, not so clean if you land sideways. The whole run went really smoothly for me, including the slide which did me wrong last time. What a ride, hit the boof straight on in just the right spot, landed down stream of the recirc, it was glorious!
If you're in VA I highly recommend you get into the sport, lotsa great whitewater down that way, and y'all don't have the seasonal limitations we do up here in the frigid winter northeast. You can get all the gear you need to get started for under a grand if you buy it used (plenty of gear for sale online), and once you've got it, there's nothing to buy 'cept the gas to get to the river. I never took formal lessons, but I did hook up with some buds who taught me the ropes. I also read books, watched videos, and went to pool sessions and lakes to get my roll bomb proof, which is important if you wanna have fun out there. If you wanna meet fellow boaters try boater talk. But just like anything else, you gotta put in the river time to get the skills, but that's easy if you're addicted like I am...
