Get Out and Paddle!

If your car hasn't transformed into a shuttle bus yet this year, you're missing out!

It's been a while since I've had time to write. That's because I've been out enjoying myself on the river!

And that's where you should be. Get out and paddle before the season slips away! Hit your local backyard run the next time a summer rain brings it up off the river bed. Plan a trip to a dam-release run. Or go hit the local park-and-play. Low-water is better than no-water.

Wherever there's water, get yourself there! Or the prime paddling season will slip away before you know it.

It's OK to Push Yourself

From trench to crest, this wave easily topped out at 5 feet. Photo Credit: Matt Jackson

Paddle at your own pace. That's my mantra. By that, I mean know thine own paddling skills and know when you're ready to progress from paddling Class II+ to Class -III rapids.

I've been relegating myself mostly to Class II or Class II+ for the last few years. I've been paddling easy rivers that I turn into personal slalom courses. I've learned almost every move on them and can hit the lines with ease. I could have easily spent yet another season on these waters trying to get creative and find lines that I might not have seen before—and I still will.

But I recognized it was time to move on. I was lacking a challenge. In order to start advancing my skills, I needed to find places where I could try moves and lines that I couldn't do in my sleep without risking the need for a brace or roll. I needed water that would take me not a leap but a step beyond my comfort zone.

And I did it on a river I'd been paddling the last two seasons. This spring after a heavy snow melt some friends and I headed to the lower section of Slippery Rock Creek, which at normal flows is not much more than Class II. Typical summer flows are between 0 feet to 1.5 feet, and we've run it countless times at the median level. This day, we had a healthy 4 feet, which is a lot of water for a small creek like the Slip. 

The nature of this stretch is largely devoid of dangers like undercuts and strong pour-over holes. This means at high water the natural rapids turn into fun slide-like drops with huge wave trains.

One of the normally gentle drops creates a huge series of waves on the lower Slippery Rock Creek. Photo credit: Matt Jackson

That run gave us a big-water feel without the risk of paddling a stretch of river we might not have been prepared for. Still, despite its relative ease we had to be on our guard—particularly for strainers. Plus the water and air temperature combined for less than a total 80 degrees.

A few of us, myself included, were hesitant to hit the water that day. After all, we'd never run it at that high level before. But after the run, we were all smiles and couldn't believe we'd been contemplating passing up a great day on the water and a great chance to advance our paddling experience without stepping too far outside our comfort zone.

Knowing, and paddling, at your own pace is important. But it's also important to know when the time to hesitate is through.

When Kayaking Calls for A Helmet

How many helmets can you count? Here's a weekday group paddling the low-water remnants of the 271 Wave on the Cuyahoga River in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park.

A friend asked me "When is it time to start wearing a helmet when I'm paddling?" 

Naturally, I started thinking about all the times I'm paddling when it's OK not to wear a helmet. And I couldn't think of any.

Of course, really only one instance came to mind. The only time I would consider not wearing a helmet is if I were paddling on a really deep inland lake, where there's almost zero risk of hitting a submerged strainer, rock or other object if I inadvertently flipped or rolled intentionally to cool off on a hot day.

And even when I do, I still wear my helmet.

So when should you be wearing a helmet? Every time you get into your kayak. I'm not a Class V paddler. I haven't even fired up a Class IV yet. I've paddled my share of flat water—and still do. I got my start in a rec boat. Whether it's a flat-water doldrums stretch between rapids or a lazy Sunday afternoon paddle, I wear my helmet every time. It's incredibly unlikely, yet still not impossible, to flip in a gently moving flat water stream. Even still, the risk of getting walloped by a strainer creeping underneath the surface or a boulder remains.

I was on the Lower Yough recently, paddling with a group of more experience kayakers, when the most-skilled paddler came through a rapid without his helmet. I figured he lost it somehow. His answer? He was too hot. At the standard release of 1.8 feet the Lower Yough is overflowing with boulders ready to jump up and crack your crown. He cinched his chin strap after seeing the dumbfounded look on my face in response to his justification for relying on his skull as his brain's last line of defense.

Are you paddling shallow Class II or better? You should absolutely be wearing a helmet every time. Even if you're just a lazy weekend paddler, a $75 brain bucket is cheaper than any concussion—or worse—you could encounter underneath the surface. 

The bigger question is: should you go full-face or not? And that's a question for another day.