My fears of public school  vanished as I arrived to yet another rainy day in Portland, OR. Every drainage in the pacific northwest was flooding beyond belief, with my favorite local runs more than double the average flow. My arrival back home marked the end to a glorious four months traveling with World Class Kayak Academy across the East Coast of the U.S. and Canada, and to Zambia and Uganda. (…

In this video Dagger Team paddlers Tyler Bradt, Brendan Wells, and myself paddle with Erik Johnson 70ft. Outlet Falls in Washington State. Because the area rarely sees enough rain to bring the drop to runnable flows, Outlet Falls has only been run on a few occasions. After our first day on the drop we returned for a second round, in which we also ran the first descent of the lead-in rapids to the falls. For my full write-up and some stellar photos by Bennett…

I've got loads of new creeks to explore on my list and am hoping to knock off as many more before the water runs out as possible.  Here is a look into my mentality as a boater.

into the outside

   -Jacob

Laura Farrell takes some time to answer a few questions, make sure to check out the video as well!

Where are you from? Where do you live? 

I grew up in Tampa, Florida but moved up to Western North Carolina the morning after my high school graduation and…

Those who've paddled the 200 miles of the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon know how special of a place it is.  Not much compares to spending 3 weeks with a small crew of friends completely isolated from the rest of the world in a stunningly beautiful place.  Sure the world class whitewater and perfect glassy surf waves are fun, but it's…

I just got done competing at the Northwest Creeking Competition.  It's the biggest and most fun event to race at on the west coast. 

I'm not just saying that because I won all three races.  By far the most fun race to compete in was at Canyon Creek.  The water was high!  During practice there were three swimmers out of the same hole. 

There was an eight person mass start above the gorge.  Mass start races are very difficult to have a fair start because there is always a faster…

Last weekend was the Kern River Festival in Southern California. There were multiple events ranging from the Brush Creek down river race to the Hooligan, make your own boat race to a stand-up paddleboard race.

The day after the races, a few friends invited me on a trip down Upper Brush Creek. This section is not run very often but another group had been in earlier in the year and the water level seemed perfect. With the warning to watch out for trees we set off to find the…

Last weekend marked the annual Demo Days Festival at the Nantahala Outdoor Center.  In addition to a weekend full of boat demos the event also hosts the NOC Freestyle Shootout and the Dagger Dash Attainment Race competitions.  This years events saw high water due to heavy rains on Friday night which led to some tricky competition environments but allowed everyone to slip away in the mornings and evenings for some great runs on the Cascades.  All in all it was a great weekend as the sun…

Check out David de Rothschild's new site myoo.com I'm honored to be a contributing editor and recently wrote this article about a first descent in Madagascar for their site's launch.

http://myoo.com/features/around-the-bend/

Jason Beakes takes a quick minute to answer a few quesitons about himself and his kayaking life.  Read on!

Where are you from? Where do you live?

I'm from Bethesda Maryland and live in Poolesville MD.

 How/Why did you start kayaking?

I…

This one is simple. With kayak season right around the corner, I need you all to start challenging yourselves to get ready for an epic season of run off.

Here it is: If you know a young adult 18-39 with cancer (they can have it, have had it, be in treatment or anything in between) your challenge is to tell them about the free adventures that First Descents offers. This is a chance for you to share your love of kayaking with someone who could really stand to benefit from it!…

Well, it brings me great pleasure to say that the Southeast is officially back!  After a few years of much lower than average precipitation, this winter and spring has been pretty darn awesome for natural flow rivers and creeks.  Times like these are why I live in this area. 

I’m getting pretty excited about the Whitewater Grand Prix competition in Quebec in about a month.  I’ve definitely been trying to get out from…

A quick introduction with Christie Glissmeyer, read on!

Christie smiling big as always!

Where are you from? Where do you live?

I grew up in Utah and now I live in Hood River, Oregon.

How/Why did you start…

After a big wreck a couple weeks ago running Abiqua Falls I cant help but look around me at the rising rivers think about the springtime paddling which is already underway. I am sidelined until early June at the soonest so I might miss out on a lot of spring paddling, but at least I have lots of memories to reflect upon during my down time. …

Team Dagger's Iker Beristain Van Dusen check's in from his home country of Mexico to answer 6 questions about paddling, Mexico, and where he's going this year.

Where are you from? Where do you live?

Mexico City, I’ve been living here my whole…

Check out the carnage reel from over the years, thanks to Chris Gragtmans.  And remember not all the lines are good:)