An East Coast Summer

This marks the first summer I haven’t traveled out west in a long time.  The west coast gets all the glory for summertime paddling in the US and rightly so as California, the Pacific Northwest, Idaho, Montana and Colorado are all at their prime right now.  However it doesn’t mean that you can fully overlook the right side of the country as there are plenty of quality options!  Also as I’m still in the process of healing a herniated disc the East Coast offers me some great summertime paddling close to home and  a chance to get to some places I haven’t been in a while.

The best part about kayaking in the East in the summer is the heat, and that means day after day in a shortie!  It’s pretty good to be on a creek run without a dry suit and a bunch of fleece.  Many folks think that the water goes away here with the end of spring, not so.  Summer time thunder storms, some timely dam releases, and just plain big rivers lend themselves to great paddling all the way through the dog days of August.

This year with the start of the first heat wave I packed up the van and headed North for my first paddling trip since finding out I had a herniated disc.  It’s been really good to be back on the water and traveling, two of my favorite things in life.  Enjoy the pictures!

Wouldn’t be complete without a little Green River action in here.  The Green is one of the best rivers ever in the summertime, lots of releases, good drops, and warm temperatures.  Shane and I at the put-in on retro day.

 

 

Rolling over Gorilla on Retro Day, good to be back in a boat and stomping this rapid.  A 90 degree offset….well that was a little more challenging!

 

 

The van outside Moutain Man Outdoor Supply Company in Old Forge, New York home to the Moose River.  Due to a lucky lightening strike the power plant was releasing water into the Bottom Moose which allowed me to get my first ever run on this iconic Adirondack river.  It didn’t disappoint!

 

 

Lining up a boof on the Bottom Moose, I can’t believe it took me 20 years to get on this run.  Glad I got to it I felt like I’d been doing the East Coast an injustice:)

 

 

Following Will Crimmins down Sure Form one of the great slides on the Bottom Moose

 

 

Another takeout after another great day on the water!

 

 

The view from Grace Under Pressure on Great Falls, Potomac River.  Great Falls and the Potomac are one of the great urban jewels of East Coast kayaking.  20 miles downstream of this boof is the Whitehouse.  It’s pretty cool kayaking resource as it has something for all levels of paddling right outside of Washington DC.

 

My cousin Ben and I at the Center Lines on Great Falls.

 

Shredding the O-deck waves in my Axiom!  Great waves and great boat!

 

I think two of my favorite parts of a good road trip are the people you get to see and the random things you end up doing.  It’s good to have a plan sometimes but sometimes you just gotta go with the flow….

 

Stand up Paddle Boarding on an upper section of the Potomac

Evening on Lake Placid, New York.  Can’t be afraid of some different craft, my friend Christian paddling home after drinks at the Lake Placid Lodge

Speaking of different craft to where am I going with this again?…..

Never be afraid to take advantage of croquet

And above all never go anywhere without your PFD

 

Catch you next time and happy paddling on whatever craft this summer!