Eel River Whitewater Class

Its always a treat to get to run the Eel River in May.  With a wet winter and spring, we expected that it would be running still in May and scheduled a whitewater river kayaking class.

Whitewater kayaking class on the Eel River.

We gave first dibs on the class to several of our regular customers and then through word of mouth it filled up and we had a waiting list.

The weekend was spectacular.  We had nice weather and a fun, friendly flow for learning.

Our students built confidence and skills over the 2 day class.

Whitewater kayaking fun on the Eel River.

Several joined us for an optional day 3 of running the river.  This was a great experience for them to practice their skills from the weekend and enjoy another beautiful day on the Eel.

Tunnel 2 rapid on the Eel River.

Jeff and I got to tune up our whitewater river coaching skills.

Jeff Laxier coaching whitewater river kayaking on the Eel River..

A wildlife highlight of the weekend was getting to see lamprey's in the water - both alive and dead.  Pacific lamprey are not technically an eel but are the namesake for the Eel River.

Pacific lamprey die after spawning.

Sadly our season on the Eel is over until next year.  We are planning a variety of whitewater classes for next spring.  Our whitewater fix is not of the salty variety - whitewater of the sea!!!

Whitewater ocean kayaking on the Mendocino Coast

Spring Run Off 2017

We are back from our Spring Run Off 2017 Trip.  This year we journeyed 118 miles down Oregon's John Day River.

Jeff and Cate kayak the John Day River. Photo by Cate Hawthorne

In 2011, Jeff and I started the tradition of a Spring Run Off Trip.  In 2011, we did a Mountains to Sea Whitewater River Kayak Trip on the Eel River.  On this trip, we discovered that we both love multi-day river kayak camping trips.  Since 2011, we have scheduled a couple of weeks in April to go with the flow - down river.  Our spring run off trips have included the Eel River, the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon, the McCloud River, the Upper Sacramento, the Smith River, the South Fork Eel River, the Colorado through Black Canyon, the Owyhee River, and most recently the John Day River.

Jeff enjoying the scenery and geology of the John Day River. Photo by Cate Hawthorne

Boom - we are home now and getting ready for our busy season with our first Whitewater of the Sea Adventures and a Sea Kayak Rock Garden Class.  Next week, it is setting up our Noyo River location for our summer tour season on the Mendocino Coast.  Before we get too busy with our summer season, we look forward to sharing photos and tales of this year's spring run off trip on the John Day and will start dreaming of our next trip.  Please let us know if you have any suggestions.

A Bighorn Sheep on watches us float by on the John Day River.  Photo by Cate Hawthorne