Brush Creek Extreme Slalom Race and Gold Medal Camp, Kernville, CA.

For the 2nd year in a row, My family and I traveled to Kernville, Ca. to compete in the 47th Kern River Festival and 7th (?) annual Brush Creek Extreme Race. We arrived about 2 weeks early so I could attend the Gold Medal Camp put on by former Olympic Gold Medalist Joe Jacobi, former Olympic coach Bob Campbell, US National Jr. Development coach Tom Long, and former National Team members Chad, Kenneth and Anne Long. The weather wasn’t the greatest, (it even snowed!) but the coaching was! I highly recommend this camp to improve your slalom or overall river running skills. Then it was time to put my new skills to work and train for Brush Creek and the Kern River slalom course. Brush Creek was about 3 which is a great flow for the race, and I was the only Jr. girl among the 3 jr. boys that included my friend Daniel who was competing for the first time. Several other Jackson Kayak paddlers were there, including Colin Kemp and Darin McQuid, and fellow Reno paddler Noah Frasier made the journey down as well. I was able to boof over my problem area from last year (Fuzzy Bunny) so I felt very good about my race. Then it was onto the slalom race in downtown Kernville where they just received the permits to build a whitewater park. The water was very high and fast so the course was challenging. I think everyone had a great time! Hopefully next year they also have freestyle in their new whitewater park!

Awesome New Boat Color!

I just received my new Rasta (red, yellow, and green) Shooting Star kid’s playboat and I love it! Jackson Kayak also has Goth available (green, white, and black) as a standard color for boats now. The first thing I did was head down to the Reno Whitewater Park to try it out on a nice, high flow of about 900 cfs. It was super easy to loop and cartwheel. I was also able to try my new orange Lightning Freeride Junior paddle available through Jackson kayak, and it’s awesome! It is very light and easy to get used too.

With a very high snowpack this year, all of California and Nevada’s rivers are running high and will be for sometime, so I am spending lots of time in my Jackson Sidekick too. It is a very stable river runner and creek boat that I have been using since I was 7 and ran most of the rapids on the Grand Canyon in. Mom always said I looked like a weeble that wobbled but wouldn’t fall down! It boofs like a dream, punches holes easily, and pops up from drops like a cork. If you have a child who wants to get into kayaking, this is the perfect boat to start them in!

Right now, I am packing my van to head down to Kernville, Ca. for the Kernriver Festival where I hope to compete in the Brush Creek Race (if it’s not too high!) and slalom race. I will also be doing some fundraising for my friend and teammate Jason Craig, so if you like earrings, look for me!  Then it’s home to prepare for the Reno River Festival! Hope to see you there!

Career Day, Billinghurst Middle School, Reno, NV

Last week I was invited back for a second year to speak to kids about different river careers at Billinghurst Middle School in Reno, NV.  I open my presentation with a kayaking video, then put on an informational slideshow, and  close it with another video of kayaking.  I also like to ask trivia questions to make sure the kids are paying attention, and give out Jackson Kayak Promotional DVD’s for correct answers. It’s amazing how many kids remember how much a topped out Grand Canyon guide can make on a 16 day trip!  After I pass out JK stickers, I invite everyone up to check out the boats and gear. I put on the same presentation 5 times to different groups of kids everytime, so I spoke to over 100 kids!  I know I had fun and I hope all the kids did too.

Sage