Over the last couple of months, I was back
in the US from Uganda. It was wonderful because spring in the US is my favorite
time of year there. The weather is completely unpredictable, and all the blooms
and buds are just waiting for their moment to pop. Each day in spring is a day
closer to the longest day of the year and thus more time to be outside and
play. April this year was uncharacteristically cold punctuated with a few warmer
days. The accumulation of snow in mid April was winter’s last exclamation
point, thank goodness. The T’Ville Triple Crown took place over the Weekend of
April 12th combining down river racing, slalom paddling, and freestyle
kayaking on the Farmington River in Connecticut. A good group of paddlers from
near and far turned out as well as a lot of local support for the event. It was
a great way to kick off the North American paddling season.
Miraculously,
the week after the Triple Crown, a fabulous surf wave on the Connecticut River
came in. Though the temperature of the water required all my winter paddling
gear to brave, the wave, known as Wave – O – Saurus because it is near some
fossilized dinosaur footprints, was well worth it. I had not been there in 12
years and with the 2014 Rockstar, I was in surf heaven. A bunch of board
surfers showed up as well as local kayakers during the week that it was in,
lots of people were enjoying Wave - O.
Next
stop on the US tour, was a trip to Buena Vista, Colorado, for the CKS Paddle
Fest on the Arkansas River. Buena Vista is the definition of paddle friendly
towns – almost anywhere you stay in town, you can walk to the river. It is
truly awesome. This was followed by a stop in Glenwood Springs for another big
beautiful wave recently in from all the snow melt. Colorado had a very good
snow pack so there was plenty of water everywhere! After two days of Surfing in
Glenwood with kayakers from all over, SUPers and surfers, it was time to head
to the tiny town of Lyons.
Lyons
had been devastated by severe flooding last September and has been in the
process of rebuilding ever since. Talking to some of the locals, it’s amazing
that everyone survived the flooding. Luckily, this natural disaster brought the
whole town together – so much so that every person we met in town was very
happy to welcome us for the Outdoor Games. Though there were many obvious signs
of the flood’s damage, life was moving ahead as usual for everyone. Incredible
how there can be so much beauty and destruction side by side. I felt truly
inspired seeing the how well the people of Lyons bounced back from this natural
disaster.
Finally,
the US Spring tour concluded with a trip to Idaho for the Payette River Games.
Two hours from Boise, is a fantastic whitewater park called “ Kelly’s
Whitewater |Park” just upstream of the famous very difficult section of the
North fork of the Payette River. Cascade, Idaho, population 2,000, is home to
Kelly’s. The scenery is stunning wild open space with beautiful mountains
surrounding the open space. Pelicans and Osprey fly overhead and nest near the
river. If you are out for a paddle, you are sure to see some of these Osprey
grabbing a fish right in front of you. The pelicans in the middle of Idaho really
threw me though! The Payette River Games brought together many of the kayakers,
SUPers and surfers I had been seeing in other places in addition to many others
from far away destinations for one big weekend of whitewater fun. It was really
great to share the river with so many water enthusiasts and catch up with many
people I had not seen in years. Reconnecting with people from the river
community and meeting new people is always one of the best things about being
at any of these events. Even my good friends from Connecticut, Dave and Paula
Saaf made the journey across to check out the Payette River Games. Hopefully,
they'll be back next year.
I
should say that I think my most favorite event of the spring is that the
Housatonic River in Connecticut is paddalable most of the time. This Spring I
enjoyed a good number of days kayaking there and even some special dusk to
moonlight paddles that were later and later as the spring went on and the days
got longer. As a kayaker, I feel like I
have grown up on that river and I always love coming back to surf there and run
the river. Its always beautiful and enchanting – I fall in love with kayaking
and the beauty of the river every time I go back, and its something I really
like sharing with other people. The first time I paddled the Housatonic was 18
years ago when I was a medical student – it was a great restorative for my
mental, physical and spiritual health and it still is!
[Dr Jessie Stone is Aquapac Outdoor Champion 2014]
