Whitewater Kayaking Page

The reaction of the average person to the arrival of a rainy day, or a week of rain, or the occasional flood  might be, 'Rain, rain, go away...'  But for the whitewater paddler--be he kayaker or canoeist--rain is an event to be celebrated.  For rain brings life not only  to the crops and to our drinking supply, but to our rivers.  And if those rivers have a steep enough gradient, it brings whitewater.  

Before becoming a complete whitewater paddler, one must learn how to roll, i.e., to return one's boat to an upright position, in case of an upset (the occasional upset being almost a foregone conclusion in anything above Class II water).

It took me several months to learn to roll, but I've seen others learn in as little as one lesson.  My wife Merrianne and I both learned to roll in our backyard, which is the Greater Neshannock Creek.  Here she is proudly paddling her brand new kayak for the first time.

Having learned to roll, one can practice paddling techniques and work up to Class III, Class IV and, if you're really confident and searching for thrills, Class V, defined as 'the limit of navigability'.  Being a whitewater paddler opens up a whole new vista for connoisseurs of God's beauty.  One gets to admire nature from a vantage point not available to the average tourist.  Here I am during a trip through Colorado's Royal Gorge on the Arkansas River.

  Wow!

One of the most famous of the eastern whitewater rivers is southern West Virginia's Gauley River.

After becoming proficient with paddling downriver, one can learn some new tricks, such as performing 'pop-ups'.  This is done by inserting the bow of your boat into the 'sweet spot' of a certain shape of hydraulic, and the water will sink your bow, then cast you straight up out of the water vertically.

Whitewater paddling can sometimes be an adrenaline sport.  I personally believe that the release of adrenaline is rather good for a person, especially if one does it with a healthy respect for the river and alot of common sense, including a realistic evaluation of one's own skill level.  Running waterfalls may look dangerous, but if done with proper preparation it can be relatively safe.  It never fails to give me a nice adrenaline rush!