Any Sugestions for a noob?

Hey guys,

Since i have known my girlfriend she has talked about wanting to Kayak. When we lived in colorado she always mentioned it when we were driving up poudre canyon, but its something we never really tried. She is very supportive of my bike a ski addiction and is also a ski adict.

Id like to surprise her this summer for her birthday, is there a good place on the East Coast for a noob to rent or take some instructoin or a tour or somthing? I thought it would be good for her to try it out and see if she digs it.

Thanks

Pedro

http://americanwhitewater.org/content/River/ This site should have any information you need about rivers on the east coast.

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Originally Posted by kayaktheworld

http://americanwhitewater.org/content/River/ This site should have any information you need about rivers on the east coast.

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Thanks!


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There is a lot of boating in PA, I have heard. I would suggest finding the most local shop and talking to them about where to go for pool sessions, and a little basic instruction.

It would definitely be worth your while to hook up with some people who know what is going on. The learning curve for whitewater is pretty damn steep.

Also, it would probably be worth your time to post on boatertalk.com and ask where to go in your specific area for these things. There are ton of east coasters there.

Good luck...for my money, boating is every bit as good as skiing, and with more dependable conditions.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Pedro

Hey guys,

Since i have known my girlfriend she has talked about wanting to Kayak. When we lived in colorado she always mentioned it when we were driving up poudre canyon, but its something we never really tried. She is very supportive of my bike a ski addiction and is also a ski adict.

Id like to surprise her this summer for her birthday, is there a good place on the East Coast for a noob to rent or take some instructoin or a tour or somthing? I thought it would be good for her to try it out and see if she digs it.

Thanks

Pedro

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Ask this question on mountainbuzz.com too. It is a Colorado boater's site but there are a lot of former easterners out here who can steer you in the right direction.

Just got back to my machine & found that rootskier said most of what I was going to say (but he said it more succinctly).

The one thing I'd add - if you can swing the budget, consider a multi-day camp. Or at least a sequence of lessons. The better schools will start you in pools or ponds or safe warm eddies and spin you up the right way. Prematurely jumping onto moving water, let alone whitewater, in a closed boat can be a formula for a less than happy time - or worse.

Historically, Otter Bar Lodge in CA, and Nantahala Outdoor Center in NC were two of the Meccas for beginner camps. I've heard more mixed things the past few years about some of their beginner instruction being a bit more "old school". Don't know if that really holds or not. Still likely to yield fun and good results.

One of the newer centers of gravity is Fayetteville WV. Stop in for breakfast at the Cathedral Cafe in Fayetteville WV on any random morning and it may well seem like half the sponsored boaters on the planet are there... A quick perusal on the net & I found: http://www.class-vi.com/kayaking.cfm I know these guys are generally well thought of down there. Not too far from PA...

As previously noted, there are probably some good kayak schools in PA as well - or if you or your gf are connected to any of the colleges/universities, some well regarded university outing clubs may be available and useful to you.

Actually, PA has some great places for kayak instruction. One of the best schools of kayak instruction in the country happens to be in Confluence, PA Riversport School of Paddling (The website isn't that impressive, but the instruction is top notch, several pros and former Olympians have been on staff there.)
Another option I would recommend is Widerness Voyageurs, in Ohiopyle PA. http://www.wilderness-voyageurs.com/

I have heard great stuff about some of the above mentioned places (Otter Bar in CA is supposed to be amazing). However, if you are looking for something a bit more accessible to New England, there is Madawaska Kanu Centre in Barry's Bay, Ontario. My wife and had been boating for a few years and had hit somewhat of a wall in regard to our abilities...we found ourselves not really progressing. We went up there for a full week 2 years ago and had a blast. Amazing instruction. Great food. Fairly inexpensive all things considered. And the real kick-in-the-ass (in a good way) is that you get to paddle the Ottawa. Most of the instruction is on the Madawaska River, which is warm, which = boating in just a pfd. It is about a 10 hr. drive from New England to get up there.
http://www.owl-mkc.ca/mkc/
Liquid Skills is also up there in the same area, but is much more freestyle-oriented. Regardless, I've heard good things about it, too.

We got our feet wet in the sport about 5 years ago out at Zoar Outdoor in Charlemont, MA. Solid instruction and very accessible to much of the EC (only about 2 hrs. west of Boston). The Deerfield is a great "learning" river, and the releases are damn-controlled and run pretty much every weekend late spring through late fall. Zoar has all sorts of instruction packages, too, from one-day private stuff all the way up to full-week packages.

And I second Rootskier's recommendation for Boatertalk. Seems to be a bit more oriented to SE boating, as mountainbuzz seems to be a bit more geared toward Western boating. New England Paddlers Message Board (http://www.owl-mkc.ca/mkc/ is a good New England-only online community.

The best of luck. The sport is damn addicting...almost as bad as skiing.