Wausau 9-7-09

It's tough to beat good playboating in September. The good folks at Wausau Whitewater added two double-releases on the whitewater course for September this year, and it was a great idea. When everything else is drying up and paddlers are normally turning to other ways to have fun, we now get an awesome get-out-of-boredom pass for the fall. There are two-day releases the first and third weekends of the month, and even though I won't be able paddle to both days at either release, I'm definitely heading out to each.

Caleb and I made our way out to the first release Saturday night and were treated to perfect camping weather while we caught up with the other paddlers. Sunday morning we got to take advantage of the first-ever breakfast buffet at the VFW. $5 for blueberry pancakes, eggs, bacon, sausage, and beverages! If you're camping out there from now on, leave the breakfast bars at home and head over there. It was awesome. After breakfast we were both off to a little bit of a rough start (maybe ate a bit more than we should have), but found our grooves after taking a morning break.

Caleb's been working on getting his cartwheels down, and after yesterday can definitely check that off his list. He was wheeling away in little drop all afternoon.

I seem to have found my loops again, managing to land the majority of the throughout the day. It's a great feeling to be able to get in there and throw the moves with some confidence again. Wheels, spins, and loops were all working. Now if only I could get that to happen on a competition weekend...

We didn't take any pictures, but got some video in the afternoon. I missed Caleb's best runs, but you can get the idea from what we did get on film. He managed to get some strong runs for me, which seems to never happen once a camera comes out.

By the end of the day, we were both grinning like fools and happy as can be. Warm weather, warm water, great features and great friends.

Midwest Freestyle Championships!!

From '09 Midwest Championships

It was like a gigantic party with all of your best friends, but with a backdrop of awesome whitewater and amazing freestyle moves for entertainment. That was how I'd describe the Midwest Freestyle Championships in Wausau this past weekend.

From '09 Midwest Championships

There were nearly 100 competitors going head to head in freestyle competitions, boatercross races, and other events. We had record numbers for nearly all of the levels of competition, but especially huge beginner's and women's categories. Both had big increases in both over last year and the weekend was definitely more fun for it.

From '09 Midwest Championships

Several pro and sponsored paddlers competed this year, as well as the local experts fighting for the top spots. The expert and intermediate level events were held at Little Drop, which was more retentive and versatile than last year's spot. That difference showed in the number of cartwheels, splitwheels, and other spinning moves competitors were hitting. Don't get me wrong, there were still plenty of big air loops and space godzillas, but it was fun to see some more balanced runs. Also, the new venue was way better for the spectators with tiered seating, lots of space, and no train bridge to get in the way of the view.

From '09 Midwest Championships

I participated in the Boatercross, the Intermediate Freestyle, and the Team Freestyle events. The boater cross was a head-to-head downriver race that started just above Big Drop and ended towards the bottom of the course. Along the way were obstacles and required moves that jammed all of the racers together and led to some great carnage. No one was injured, but Big Drop definitely saw its share of flips and pile-ups as heat after heat of racers piled into the side curling wave on river right.

From '09 Midwest Championships

On my first heat of boatercross, I nearly ran over someone as they flipped right in front of me in Big drop, then I flipped entering the eddy for the attainment. I rolled up, caught a lucky break climbing into the Little Drop eddy, and wound up winning the heat. After that, it was time to run back up to the top for the "Finals." Because there were so many competitors, however, we wound up with 9 finalists and had to split into two semi-final heats.

From '09 Midwest Championships

My semi-final run went much smoother, without me flipping at all. There was a bit of bumping and crowding in the Big Drop eddy, but the run ended up pretty smoothly with me finishing 2nd. That was good enough to get me into the Finals, where the boat bumping began almost immediately. I found myself neck-and-neck with a much longer boat just above big drop. As we entered the drop, he pulled slightly ahead of me and I was able to push his stern and send him off-line. That lined me up perfectly for the bouey, and then it was neck-and-neck again through little drop. Once again, I was saved by a lucky attainment move getting up into Little Drop Eddy and wound up 2nd overall to Collin Kemp, who (in addition to being a really nice guy) is supernaturally fast. Because I was either racing or running back up for the next heat, I didn't really get to see many other people's runs, but I know that nearly everyone gave it a shot.

From '09 Midwest Championships

The Freestyle was lots of fun to watch, with John, Collin, Craig, Tommy, Doug and others really putting on a show. I had a couple decent runs, but definitely know that I could improve upon them next year. I wound up 6th in the intermediate division.

From

Huge thanks to Julie, Cole, Collin, Chad, and everyone else who organized and help run the weekend. It was action-packed, full of fun stuff, and definitely made for some great memories for all involved. Also congrats to Melissa for winning the new boat this year! It couldn't have gone to a nicer and more deserving person. Speaking of the boat, that was one of a ton of really awesome prizes put out by Midwest Mountaineering, World Kayak, Whitecap Kayak, Jackson Kayak, Bear Paw, and more.

From

From '09 Midwest Championships

Wausau Opener!

Talk about making the most of a cool, gloomy day. The temps were around 50 with a breeze that made it feel cooler. The sky was heavy overcast, just waiting to rain. The great thing about kayaking, though, is that none of that mattered at all. Once I got the gear on and got in the boat, I was warm and comfy. And, as a huge and surprising bonus, the water was extremely warm. All that water sitting in the sun up in the reservoir definitely pays off.

So, that's how the first Wausau release of the year began. I got on the water early and had the place pretty much to myself for almost 45 minutes. I think the weather took a bit of the hurry out of people's journey from parking lot to river, so there was room and hole time to spare!

As always, it's great to be back at Wausau. The course is nothing but fun from top to bottom with lots of variety and friendly features. It's also a great place to catch up with and meet other paddlers. It was really nice to see Team Pabst again after the off season and I look forward to paddling with them this summer!

Nora took some time to guide some newer paddlers through the course. All three handled it really well and were surfing and punching through the features on their way down the river.

I was making my maiden voyage in my new (used) boat. I got a great deal on another Kingpin and couldn't pass it up. Mine was getting pretty worn out, but I still hadn't found another boat that I liked that much, so when I saw this one up for sale I grabbed it. Looking forward to getting a few more good years out of it!

After a frustrating year of regressing freestyle skills last year, I finally feel like I'm starting to get some of the bugs worked out on my tricks. I've pretty much got my loop entry issues worked out, now I've just got to get my arms up and speed up my rotation. That said, I did hit 3/3 in little drop and about 1/2 in the street bridge hole. The rodeo hole remains my nemesis, but I'll keep working on it.

That's it for now. I was hoping to get some helmet cam footage, but my warm-up run never ended, so I didn't get back to the truck to grab it. Next time... This week will be the Canoe U Survivor's party, then I'll be spending this weekend here, likely doing dry activities for a change. Here's to another summer of Wausau whitewater!


Pics:
1) checking out the new boat
2) Pamela running Big Drop
3) Doug, looking very Zen as he punches the rodeo hole
4) Pamela's brother (name? sorry!) punching Rodeo
5) Me getting a faceful
6) Mike M in the rodeo hole
7) Melissa in the rodeo hole
8) A huge, freaky looking bug on the rocks by Rodeo. Anyone know what it is?

Kite & Kayak

I finally got to take out some of my favorite toys this weekend. On Friday I drove down to Lake Pepin to take out my big kite and see what water kiting is like. Nora was kind enough to show me a perfect kiting spot, as well as to stand in waste deep water (and a mushy clay bottom) for an hour helping me try to get the kite airborne. As usual, the wind was perfect when we were setting up the kite, but then shifted and died once we were ready to go. We did get the kite up a few times and got some practice with body drags, but it was never steady enough to actually get on the board. Next time. Huge thanks to Nora for showing me the spot, helping with the kite, and taking the pictures.

Saturday Graeme and I drove out to Jim Falls for some kayaking. The city of Jim Falls, WI has several recreational water releases for whitewater paddlers each year. The water was mostly class II with one tougher drop, but no play. It was great to get on the water though, and it's always fun kayaking with Graeme.

Sunday was my first time this year out at Wausau, and it was worth the wait. The whitewater course was redone this year to make it both more playable and more friendly. Hats off to the designers because every feature on the river is now a fun spot. Not only are the features better, but because there's more of them the crowds are more spread out. It's great! Despite a very rusty morning, I had a great time in the afternoon hitting a few cartwheels and a loop. Bill, Bob, and Brian J all drove out for the afternoon and it was great to see them again. The only problem is that it seems like those guys have been improving all summer and I've been regressing. Still, it was fun watching Bill hit his loop and Brian trying loops and wheels. Those guys are really ripping it up this year. Definitely good times.

Wausau 9-3-06

Made it out to the last Wausau release of the year. It was great to see Dennis, Bill, Kari, Nora, and others out there. Unfortunately, I wasn't paddling that well, but the weather was great and it was a good time. Also, Kim came along to check it out and shoot some pictures. After the release, we hung around wausau that night, then stopped by the Leinenkugel brewery on our way home on Monday. Fun weekend, despite my paddling issues.

Wausau 8-13

Finally made it back to Wausau for the first time this summer. Bill K, Dennis, Nate, Ben Swails, and some others got to go play on the course all day. Can't get enough of that loop hole. Everybody managed to hit some pretty sweet moves and we all got treated to watching some great paddlers going big. Can't wait to go back.