River Log: June 12-13

This was an amazing trip. Just being with all my classmates was a ton of fun but couple that with one of my favorite things in the world and that is a recipe for amazing.

We met early Thursday morning and packed everything up and headed down southeast towards the town of Green River. Once we set up camp and had some lunch we headed to a wash to put in. I jumped in a kayak (as I did each time I ran the river) as did Scott and Brennen. The kayak I had was a medium sized Dagger, a bit wider. It was stable and at the same time easy to roll. After we put in we immediately hit some rapids but they were only about a level 2, I'd say. We were supposed to grab an eddy after the rapids but as the kayakers approached the eddy, Scott got knocked over. Luckily a duckie was nearby so that they could do a T-rescue because I think the shock of the water got to him a bit. Later on we practiced some rolls and I felt pretty good about everything. I was able to roll without a problem. Brennen tried but ended up smacking his head on my kayak during the T-rescue.

The first time I went kayaking I had the philosophy to not paddle while in the rapids so that the paddle wouldn't cause the boat to move more than it normally would. This time however I realized that was wrong. Without the paddle in the water you can't control the direction too well and if you are a good paddler you won't let the cross currents alter your position too much. So I kept my paddle in the water while doing the rapids and I felt a lot more stable.

After driving the trailer once I got back in the kayak for the last run of the day. This was basically the same as the last except it was just Gardner and I in the kayaks. Everything was going great, my practice rolls were great and I was becoming more confident in approaching eddys. Then during one rapid my backend got caught in an eddy and while I was trying to paddle my way out I lost my paddle and I got hit over. I didn't feel confident enough in that moment to try the paddle-free roll - even though I can do them - so I wet exited. And I don't feel too bad about it either. Sometimes you need to do a wet exit just to remind yourself that it is always a possibility.

We did one more run the next morning with myself, Scott and Carol Ann in the kayaks. Both Scott and Carol Ann had to wet exit during the run but they tried the rolls and they felt pretty good. All in all, the trip was great and I feel much more confident in my kayaking abilities now.

River Log: June 3

Today we went down the Provo River as a class. Carol Ann and I saddled up in an inflatable kayak and she took the back rudder position. We put in close to Deer Creek Reservoir, just below the old bridge and went down to Vivian Park. The whole trip was fairly short but fun. Carol Ann struggled a bit at first with the J-stroke that she was practicing, but got it (I think) in the end. And I had fun pulling us into 360s and such. Provo Canyon is a beautiful place and I am really going to miss it. But I am going to have a lot of fun on the rivers back east, so I think that I will manage.

I can't say that I learned too much besides how to correctly handle the eddys. The way to get into an eddy is to turn into it at the head so that you are already turning the direction that the water is going to take you (back upstream). And the way to get out of an eddy is to go to the head and then turn into the current. That way once you hit the current it just finishes your turn for you and you are heading down the river.