Roadside
Adventures
One of many fun drops on the Black Stone River, Alberta
Root
of my Passion:
In the beginning there was only fear!
Fear of death... Fear of injury beyond belief... Fear of the unknown,
yet... I still call them my friends? This was my introdution to paddling!
Paddling
started for Carol and I when friends
from Revelstoke, and Nelson B.C.. invited us on our first
paddle trip in July of 1996. One of which put the
fear of moving water into
me eleven years back, so we accepted this invitation with trepidation.
Meeting in Revelstoke, the
gang embelished old times with the assistance of rum, and prepared for
a road
trip into
the Kootenays. As an added bonus, I attempted paddling
for the second time in eleven years, and once again found myself
in a kayak learning how to roll.
Although, at one point during this trip I wanted to inflict
pain on my instructors for not informing me about paddling features and
manouvers such as..
Holes,
Eddies and Ferrying. even how
to lean would have helped!I
did learn some nifty chants and praises from my rescuers! They also
accept
gifts for pulling you out of the water. (beer or alcohol in general)
It came back
to me — like a ten pound hammer setting a tack!
Once again the desire to paddle was eclipsed by my fear of moving water!
unfortunately, the remaining portion of the trip involved taking pictures
from the beach dealing with my anger of failure. My resolve was to learn how to paddle at my own pace--
dealing with my fear of whitewater in a controled manner.
We eventually purchased our first paddling gear and began a love affair with our new
"River Life"!
