Perfect weekend, kayaking the American and Climbing at Phantom Spires

I had a perfect weekend!  I spent Saturday kayaking Chili Bar on the American and had a blast surfing Maya, then on Sunday I spent the day climbing at Phantom Spires by Kyburz, Ca.  I love this area because the hike in is short and the climbing is great.  I climbed my favorite lie back and Mom and Dad played a lot on a 5.10b crack.  We also had a lot of inter-action with a rattle snake that was sunning itself along our route.  I named him fatty because he was the fattest snake I’ve ever seen!

Truckee River Foundation Kids Safety Fair

Truckee River Safety Fair, 2009

We just wrapped up another successful safety fair sponsored by the Truckee River Foundation and I was lucky enough to help! We had about 120 kids from the ages of 4 to 14 show up to get a free helmet, pfd and water shoes and learn how to safely float through the rapids on a river. The most important thing I learned was to never dive head first into a river because you can not see the bottom, and always make sure someone has an eye on you. All the kids separated into age groups and I helped out with the little kids, which was mostly teaching the parents about water safety, and that most drownings happen in the presents of an adult. After each class, the kids received a free t-shirt and ice cream and then decorated their helmets at a station set up by the girl scouts. Some of the designs were super neat. Thanks to all the volunteers that helped!

Peace,

Sage Donnelly

 

I just got back from my whirlwind 7 week tour of whitewater competitions in Colorado and I had a blast! 

 

 This month has been very busy for me.  It started out with the Truckee River Races in Reno, Nevada where I ran the Downriver Race on Saturday and the Slalom Races on Sunday.  I placed first in both of the races and qualified to compete in the Junior Olympics as a Cub Cadet this summer in Canada!  It was also the first time I paddled my new fiberglass slalom boat.  It is super fast and fun to race in- and it’s orange!

After the races we packed our van and drove to Colorado for several weeks of kayaking on rivers and competing in rodeos, clinics and races all over the state.  We started out at Glenwood Springs where the river was running about 15,0000 cfs, way bigger than I’m used to seeing rivers flow, and surfers on surfboards were riding it like they do in the ocean.  It took a lot of tries but I finally caught the wave!  Team Trials were held here and I was the only female cadet who competed.  I was able to catch the wave and front surf it but it was super flushy and I had a hard time staying on it After team trials , we drove to Buena Vista on the Arkansas River where I helped teach a kids clinic with Dane Jackson and Lauren Buress.  It was a lot of fun and the kids had a great time playing Red Rover and chase around the pond.  After the clinic My family and I ran Browns Canyon and the Fractions on the Arkansas River. It was a blast! We then hit the Golden Community Rodeo where, as usual, I was the only girl in the cadets and I placed 4th over all.

 

After Golden we hit the Buena Vista whitewater park and ran the Numbers section of the Arkansas River.  It is a solid class 4 section and I ran it with my Mom and Dad, fellow Team Jackson members Devon Barker and Alec Vorhees and Devon’s friends Kat and her husband David.  The Numbers was super fun and it was the first class 4 I ran in my Shooting Star.  To top it off, I only had 2 braces the whole run!

 

 

Our next stop was the Lyons Outdoor Games where they have a large cadet competition on the South St. Vrain creek.  It attracted a lot of participants, including fellow Reno paddler Trevor LeMay!  There were 14 kids total in the cadet rodeo and, as usual, I was the only girl and there was only one other 8 year old, my friend Henry Hyde from Texas.  It was a tough competition and I was second, with fellow Jackson team mate Alec Voorhees taking first.  After the rodeo, I ran the slalom race and placed second in Jr. girls behind fellow Jackson paddler Lauren Buress.  I had a blast!

 

 

After Lyons it was off to Fibark for another rodeo with a large junior class.  There were 4 of us under 10 so they broke the results down and made a cadet class where I placed second again, and then I raced in the Slalom races where I once again placed second to my friend Lauren Buress.

 

Our final destination was the Gunnison River Festival in Gunnison, Colorado.  The wave there was huge  and I managed a few practice runs, but was super happy to find out the cadet rodeo was on a much smaller wave.  I met Evan and Anna Schehrer and we had a great time competing.  I was able to stay on the wave the entire 45 seconds and did spins and shuvits on each side-I had a ball!  I managed to get my 1st first and also competed against my first girl ever!  Hopefully other girls decide to compete and we can get our own cadet girls class!

 

 

Back in Carson City now where the only rivers running are American Whitewater scheduled releases.  Lots of fun still to be had and lots of rivers/races/rodeos still to be run!  

 

Peace,

Sage

The New Jackson Kayak Dynamic Duo

This week I finally got to try my Dynamic Duo! My Dad and I took it out on the South Fork of the American’s Chili Bar section with my Mom and our friends Colin and Hope Kemp. We had a blast! It was super stable and maneuverable and sliced through the holes like butter. We added two 200 bean Happy Seats and another set of hip pads so I could paddle it and both Dad and I were very comfortable. I started out kayaking class 2 rivers at the age of 3 in a tandem whitewater kayak and transitioned to my first Fun 1when I was 4. My parents were amazed at how I could eddy in and out and ferry on my own as well as read water which I had learned from kayaking in a Duo with my Dad. The Dynamic Duo is the perfect learning and training tool for anyone who wants to get on the water, and especially great for introducing your kids to one of the most fun sports a family can participate in!

American with the Girls

This week  I got to kayak the Chili Bar section of the South Fork of the American river with some of the greatest kayakers in the world!  My coach, world champ and Canadian champ Ruth Gordon, Australian champ Tonya Faux, my mom and dad, mom’s cousin Jessica, our friends Shelby and Brett and Ruth’s boyfriend Toby who was trying his shoulder out after surgery.  It was incredible watching Ruth and Tonya play at Maya and First Threat but the highlight was acing Trouble Maker with everyone watching me-Tonya even told me it was awesome!  One of the best parts too was the fact that we had more women paddling then men in our group.  That doesn’t happen very often.  See you on the river

Reno Home Town Throw Down #1

We had our first home town throw down and it was a big success!  These competitions are all about getting people out in the river to have fun and get wet.  Plenty of by standers stopped to watch as some people took it very seriously, and others were just there to have a good time.  I was the only junior but placed 3rd over all in the woman’s group-My Mom was last but had a good time too.  It was especially fun because my whole family competed and my Dad was also 3rd.  I hope to make the next one but might be on my way to Kernville for the Kern River Festival where I will race in my new Galasport glass boat for the first time!  Here is a link to the write up on Worldkayak.com.

http://worldkayakblogs.com/throwdown/2009/04/02/reno-hometown-throwdown-1/

Being Coached by World Campion Ruth Gordon!

This is turning out to be a very exciting year for kayaking!    It all started when I was asked to be on Team Reno for the Reno River Festival which meant I was going to be trained by the woman’s world champion, my adopted big sister Ruth Gordon.  I was going to be the the intermediate kayaker and there were 3 other people who were picked to be on the team who had never boated before.  Unfortunately, the sponsorship fell through and Team Reno was dissolved, but Ruth called me and asked if she could still train me to compete in the Rodeo!  I have been meeting her at the whitewater park on the Truckee river at least twice a week and am really getting good at spins and am trying to turn my plug into a loop.  It’s hard work but I am having so much fun.  I hope to have a loop and cartwheel by the Reno River Festival about a month away.  You can get information at renoriverfestival.com.

Why we love this place!

We love living in Carson City!  There are not a lot of places where you can ski on Saturday and kayak on Sunday, but that is just what we have been able to do.  Sage has started her Jounior Expedition Team skiing at Kirkwood Mountain Ski Resort in California and had a Giant Slalom race this weekend, competing with about 60 other kids and finishing in the top 20. It was a warm day and the racecourse was very hard and icy, but all the kids had fun.  Next competiotion is a Rail Jam in February so terrain park practice has begun.

On Sunday, we hit the Chili Bar section of the South Fork of the American River.  It had been about a month since she had run this section, so aside from a little first rapid jitters, she rocked it!  The highlight of the day was when Sage tried to paddle through first threat on the sticky river right side but was sucked back in and performed a few unentendo cartwheels before losing her paddle and flushing out, then doing a hand roll right in front of Mom and Dad–we were ecstatic.  After that high, the rest of the river was unimpressive and Troublemaker was just a bump in her boat.

With the super, unseasonably warm temperatures we are experiencing in the Sierra Nevadas, Skiiing hasn’t been that great but we have been able to hit the Reno White Water Park several days a week.  In fact, We just ordered a racing slalom boat for Sage for spring competitions!

Sage at the Moke and Feather races

I raced at the Mokelumne races in September and placed first in both the down river race and the slalom course in the cadets class.  I got to paddle with my friend Ben Young who is also a good kayaker.  He is trying to get a slalom boat too!  The next weekend I raced in the Feather river races where we had a very interesting course.  I placed first in cadets again in the slalom races and paddled with my friend Molly, who is the daughter of Dave Steindorf, our American Whitewater representative.  I also ran Carl’s Kitchen, the biggest rapid on the Rock Creek section.  It was lots of fun!  The races are over for the year, but I hope to continue paddling all through the winter.

Sage on the South Fork of the American River

Here is Sage running Satan’s Cesspool and Troublemaker on the South Fork of the American. She ran the Chilli Bar section while still 7 years old, and the Gorge shortly after turning 8!

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