Mixed Blessings

Some times the stars align and sometimes they don't. Last weekend we were scheduled to teach a Whitewater Kayak Class on the Eel River. We were stoked. We had a bunch of students interested, and the flow on the river was perfect for instruction and play.

As life (or work) issues came up for our students, we didn't have enough students to run the class. The river was still running so off we went for some professional development. Of course, it happened that quite a few of our "foul weather" friends had rallied for a day on the Eel too.

Too much sunshine made photography difficult so after the second rapid, I stowed my camera and paddled the river. I decided to work on my river running skills and focused on peeling in and out of eddies, ferry gliding across the river, and surfing waves.

Like earlier in the week, a variety of craft were represented on the river. There is more than one way to go down river. And looking at the smiles on everyone's faces - they are all fun.

Nancy glided down river in her glass slalom kayak.


Diane finessing her way down the river in her C1.


Hans surfed and eddy hopped in his open deck whitewater canoe.


Paul and Matt cruised in their inflatable kayaks.


Jeff and Don played and surfed their way down the river in a playboat and river runner.


Chuck boofed and played in his creek boat.


The flow of the river was playful and fun - perfect for eddy hopping down through the rapids and taking more challenging routes.

We have started a tradition of doing the 7 mile run twice. It is an easy shuttle and fun to take different lines through the rapids the second time down.

Looking at our weather forecast, it appears that we are going to have a wet spring. Guess that we will just have to go with the flow - down river.