Featured
Michigan Booze Cruise
A look at one of the Midwest’s most popular kayaking events, this weekend’s 27-mile Short’s to Short’s Paddle, which has competitors race across a series of northern Michigan’s lakes and end at the Short’s Brewing Company production brewery in Elk Rapids, Mich., with a few pints to celebrate the arrival of summer.
All Features
Hendri Coetzee Killed By Crocodile
12.08.2010
(Editor’s note: This story has been updated, below.) By Joe Carberry Published: December 8, 2010, 12:03 AM PST In a horrific turn of events, South African paddler Hendri Coetzee was killed by a crocodile earlier this week on a tributary of the Congo River in central Africa, multiple sources have confirmed to C&K. Coetzee, 35, [...]
Chelan River: The Next Washington Classic?
12.03.2010
Central Washington’s Chelan River goes against the grain of typical Pacific Northwest whitewater. It features the same technical slots, big drops and massive boulders of classic runs like the White Salmon, Skykomish and Snoqualmie, but the water is warm and the scenery decidedly arid. And yet today the four-mile section of burly Class V drops [...]
No River For Old Men
12.03.2010
When Chris went down with a broken leg halfway through the portage, I started doing the numbers—25 miles against a strong current back to the put-in, then God knows how long a hike to the nearest home. No way. The takeout was 52 miles downstream, through a dozen named rapids we’d never seen. That would [...]
Instructor Profiles: Wayne Dickert
12.02.2010
Photo by Patrick Cavan Brown While Wayne “Wayner” Dickert is working toward his Master of Divinity degree at Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary in Charlotte, N.C., it’s on the water, preaching his paddling wisdom, where he truly shines. “I like to teach a concept and work around that, rather than just a skill,” says the 1996 [...]
The Klepper
12.02.2010
By Jeff Moag Published: Canoe & Kayak Magazine, December, 2010 The story of modern kayaking begins with a German tailor named Johann Klepper. He didn’t invent the folding kayak—that honor goes to Alfred Heurich, borrowing liberally from Greenland Inuit—but Henry Ford didn’t invent the automobile either. In 1907, Klepper bought Heurich’s patent and began mass-producing [...]
Running The ‘Last Great Unknown Canyon In Peru’
12.02.2010
“I mean, it wasn’t like a bullet-proof plan. But it was good enough.” — Matt Wilson Of the major tributaries that flow from the Andes into the Amazon River, only one section of one of them—The Great Bend of Rio Huallaga, in central Peru—could be classified as unknown at the beginning of 2010. Much of [...]
Once ‘Round The Big One
12.01.2010
Lucas Will and Greg Petry’s dream to paddle around Lake Superior began five years ago. As roommates and outdoor education students at the University of Minnesota-Duluth (UMD), Will, 30 and Petry, 29 talked about their passion for the lake and how it had shaped their lives. They promised each other that in the summer of [...]
From Reg Lake’s Perspective
12.01.2010
C&K Profiles Reg Lake—Plus Reg Lake Footage From Dicey Deception Pass
Instructor Profiles: Les Bechdel
11.25.2010
Photo by Alpenglow Press For McCall, Idaho’s Les Bechdel, rescue should be a vital part of any paddling instruction program. He should know. An ACA instructor-trainer for the Nantahala Outdoor Center for 10 years, it was the drowning of an NOC raft guide that led to his co-authoring River Rescue with Slim Ray in 1985, [...]
C&K’s 2010 Holiday Gift Guide Part 2
11.24.2010
Teva continues evolving from its humble Velcro sandal roots into more lifestyle-oriented, yet functional riverside footwear. Case in point: the new Kayode Mid, a flexible Mush-infused insole paired with a rugged outsole and suede leather/canvas upper that keeps your ankles covered during any holiday snow stompings ($90). Too much fashion over function? The worthy Sling [...]
C&K’s 2010 Holiday Gift Guide
11.23.2010
You won’t find many waterproof-breathable jackets as reasonably priced as Immersion Research’s Zephyr. One hundred bucks gets you a foul-weather friend for drizzly days on the water, with a unique anti-microbial mesh liner to prevent post-paddling funk ($110, www.immersionresearch.com). Cut off an extra slice this holiday season: Give your paddler more slice through [...]
Video: Kate Wagner on the White Salmon
11.19.2010
Soulful look at paddler Kate Wagner on one of her local favorites, the White Salmon River, in fall, by filmmaker Skip Armstrong and Banks Mag. — C&K Staff Kayaking the White Salmon River, Autumn – Kate Wagner from The Banks Mag on Vimeo.
Justine Curgenven: ‘I love wild places’
11.19.2010
Justine Curgenven has targeted Tierra del Fuego, at the southern tip of South America, for her latest expedition kayaking project. Photo: CackleTV.com Our ancestors had stories and theories of what lay at the ends of the earth, but Justine Curgenven would rather find out for herself. As the creator of the award-winning, internationally acclaimed This [...]
Instructor Profiles: David Johnston
11.18.2010
Photo by Jovan Matic David Johnston’s motivation as a sea kayak instructor changed when he no longer had to make a living at it. “Now I tell the students, ‘This better be fun because I’m on vacation,’” says the Toronto-based civil servant and Web designer. It’s not that Johnston didn’t know how to have a [...]
One Paddler, One Ocean
11.18.2010
Aleksander Doba’s custom trans-Atlantic kayak measures 23 feet long and 39 inches wide, weighs 1,200 pounds fully laden, and features an enclosed cabin and a self-righting design. Photo: Lamin Sanyan, Arsoba Travel Polish sea kayaker Aleksander Doba began an epic solo crossing of the Atlantic Ocean in late October beneath the radar of the paddling [...]
Fish-Seeking Missiles
11.16.2010
Fishing and other sporting kayaks continue their exhilarating evolution. Where once they might have all popped from the same mold, these days manufacturers are busy filling every conceivable design niche. Many new fishing kayaks are stable enough to stand in, providing anglers an elevated view. Also in the past year, kayaks equipped with small electric motors hit the market in a big way. If that rankles your paddling-purist sensibilities, take heart. The traditional fishing kayak is still going strong, and why not? It was practically perfected over the past few years.
Buyer's Guide
