'Road to the Mountains': GoPro Tech Tips- EP7

This episode we have made it to Colorful Colorado, and I have a couple tips on GoPro mounting, settings, and how to get some great shots and step up your game with your GoPro.

'Road to the Mountains': Family paddle with Tucker- EP6

After a couple weeks of training and competing I figured it was time to get the whole family out on the water and take our 2 year old son Tucker out kayaking. Emily and myself, along with two close friends, Jason Craig and Phil Sheppard, took Tucker down the Truckee River in Nevada. It was a epic day of river fun with some train spotting, looking for animals like beavers, ducks and geese, and a great finish with some jungle gym fun in the park. I know Tucker had a blast, check out the video for yourself and let me know what you think. 

'Road to the Mountains': Reno River Festival/ National Championships- EP5

The family is off to the biggest little city, Reno Nevada. Both Emily and I competed in the Reno River Festival and the National Championships for Freestyle Kayaking, where Emily took home the title National Champ, while I won the C-1, Slalom, Boater-X and took second in the Freestyle. So much fun to be had at the 2016 River Festival.  

'Road to the Mountains': Race Tips with Rush Sturges- EP4

I caught up with Rush Sturges on my way back down south for another quick lap on the Little White Salmon and a couple tips for Race Training. 

'Road to the Mountains': Skookumchuck- British Columbia- EP3

Well after several week in my creek boat I figured it was time to get back in the ol’ play boat and work some freestyle skills. So I figured I would take advantage of being on the west coast and make the trek up north to British Columbia to surf the world famous Skookumchuck tidal wave. 

Skook is one of both Emily and my favorite places to surf, and we knew Tucker would also love the experience, the purple starfish ended up being a big highlight for him. Dane and Alec both ended up joining us for an epic week of surfing this amazing wave all to ourselves. 

Check out the video from our northern adventure. 

'Road to the Mountains': L'Dub White Salmon- EP2

We have finally made our trek out to the west coast, and then we kept driving north to White Salmon Washington. Once here we met up with some friends to enjoy the outdoors and get some creek race training in on the famous Little White River. 

Northwest Creeking Competition

Well we finally made it to the west coast, and then drove north until we made it to Washington State. Our first stop was the North West Creeking competition. I have heard a lot about this event, though I had never been before. I arrived on Friday morning and it was pretty empty, I had to search to even find another kayaker to paddle the river with. Though by the evening the whole park was starting to fill in.

Saturday morning was a shocking surprise when I woke up to find a couple hundred car, trailer, tents and people that had swarmed and taken over the whole park. Registration started in the morning and even with the announced low water there were still at least 90 competitors for the Lower Lewis Race. 

I ended racing in the short and long boat classes, and had a blast on the amazing river and tight little gorge. The run itself was a blast, but adding the excitement of the race made it even more fun. After an exhausting 10 minute race my arms felt like jello, though my hard work payed off with a win in both classes. 

Though the real show began in the evening as the party kicked off with an amazing BBQ stake/chicken dinner. It didn’t take long for the Ninkasi kegs to start flowing and the music pumping. It was an amazing event and I can’t wait to head back next year!

Here is my winning short boat lap from the race.