Intro

River Kayak Training Trips, Part 1 (one day river trip)

"The moguls are moving." That tagline got lots of skiers into river kayaking, and it's so true -- running a river is a lot like skiing except there's no bad snow days. Come play with us on some easy rivers and see what it's about! Forget those images of people going over waterfalls etc., that's not what most river kayakers do for fun. River kayaking can be as challenging or mellow as you want to make it because you can choose a section of river that is within your limits. There are numerous rivers for paddlers of all skill levels to learn and play on within an hour's drive of Seattle. Few locations in the world are so ideal for year round river kayaking.

Description

If you've started rolling and can keep a river kayak going straight in flat water -- you're ready for this taste of the fun. Your roll doesn't need to be perfected, just having worked on it enough to understand hip snap and bracing that is needed for this level experience. This course will maximize your time on the river. To assure you'll receive individual instruction, we limit our class size. Before getting into current, we'll review the strokes and boat edging you'll need in flat water. 

Our goal is to make this an easy, confidence building transition from flat water to a mild whitewater environment. On rivers, the level of difficulty is mainly determined by the volume of water flow and gradient of the river bed. This makes the river environment so consistent that guidebooks can rate the level of difficulty for a given section of a river, and river kayakers can choose to run just the sections that are appropriate for their skill. We'll choose runs where you won't be bored, but you won't be scared senseless either. You will get hands-on white water kayaking experience including running Class II to Class II rapids (rivers are classified I to VI in ascending order of difficulty). 

In addition to getting some whitewater trip experience, you'll practice peeling out of eddies, ferrying across the river, catching eddies, surfing standing waves, and reading moving water. With these skills and a good roll you'll be ready for our next progression in river play, RK 206 course.

Details

Location: TBA (depends on water levels)
Duration: 1 day
Class Size: 5
Tuition: $275.00 (includes free use of dry suit, booties, and scull cap)
Dry Suit Rental: No Charge - Included with tuition
Kayak Rental: $50.00 for the day, plus tax. Boat is delivered to the lesson. Rental includes boat, paddle, PFD, helmet, spray skirt, and rear float bags.

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