The Best In Paddling
THE BEST IN PADDLING
We’ve all been there, lingering in a warm bar after a raw day on the river, or huddled under a tarp on some remote beach, shouting to be heard over the surf and spattering rain. We talk until we’re hoarse about the day’s paddle, about adventures long past and yet to come. The debates are good-natured, sometimes earnest and frequently turn to what’s best about the sport we love. To that end, we present more than a few of those arguments, each artfully refined by dozens of tellings around the campfire.
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| Posted on Mon Feb 8, 2010, 1:35 PM by Todd Richardson |
| Pat Keller has won the Green Race seven times is not correct. Tommy Hilleke won the race 7 times not Pat. |
| Posted on Mon Feb 8, 2010, 1:45 PM by Eds. |
| Between the longboat and shortboat divisions , Keller has won the Green Race seven times. |
| Posted on Mon Feb 8, 2010, 2:04 PM by Kirk Eddlemon |
| There is only one winner each year at the Green race. While the different classes top times are of mention, the fastest time is the "winner" of the green race. This isn't my opinion, but the general consensus amongst all the organizers and key players in this grassroots event. |
| Posted on Mon Feb 8, 2010, 2:21 PM by clay wright |
| The take-out eats and park n huck location seem odd choices. Consider: Fat Eddy's - Gauley River (old DQ just up from the dam), Green River BBQ - Saluda NC Pies n Pints - Fayetteville WV Secret Stash - Crested Butte CO not AT the take out but damn good. Park n Huck: North Fork Lewis - 4 waterfalls (2 are tough) and scenic trails / over looks. Great Falls MD - so many lines... Tygart - Valley Falls WV - just one, 2 sides, 15'? RI - many lines, surfing below, Baby Falls - Tellico River this 14'er gets more runs per rainy weekend than most rivers do all year. Bald River Falls - Tellico trib, put in for the last drop of a massive drop in progress - rolling 20' ... Cleaner, prettier drops and much more popular. |
| Posted on Mon Feb 8, 2010, 2:40 PM by Jeremy Laucks |
| I'm with Clay on the post-river eats. I'd say nation-wide, Pie-n-Pints probably wins. Even in BV, I'd have to go with Quincy's. There's just something about a restaurant where the only choices are how big of a steak, how you want it done, and if you want butter and sour cream on your baked potato. That just screams "I just got off the river and I'm starving." And the best shuttle rig is Clay's truck- or maybe Leland's van. |
| Posted on Mon Feb 8, 2010, 6:37 PM by Bill Kirby |
| Some interesting choices, but mixing whitewater paddlng and flatwater in the same article just doesn't work. The two communities don't speak the same language, and there's little overlap. |
| Posted on Mon Feb 8, 2010, 6:52 PM by Dave Hoffman |
| Having paddled the EF Lewis yesterday and grown up on the Potomac, I've gotta say that just can't compare to Great Falls, VA/MD. In good year, you've got six months to drop Sunset. Its more like 11 for Great Falls and never gets too low. Add to that warm water, multiple access points and nearly too many lines to count and Great Falls has to be the best Park and Huck on the planet. Don't get me wrong - I love Sunset Falls. But there's a reason they call it Great. |
| Posted on Mon Feb 8, 2010, 8:43 PM by Ferg |
| Add Chris Spelius to that list. Controversial at times but he fits every criteria. |
| Posted on Tue Feb 9, 2010, 1:21 PM by Alex B |
| "Best Reason to Paddle: The Overnighter?" I'd think something more like escaping everyday life/ civilization, oneness with nature, or time with friends. I think that if you took a survey of paddlers overnighters would hardly be on the list. |
| Posted on Wed Feb10, 2010, 12:07 PM by Kyle McCutchen |
| A lot of interesting choices. "Best Reason to Paddle: The Overnighter" I fully agree. Be it self-support ultra-light kayak, river touring desert canyons with speed and extra gear, canoes with leg room, and the all encompassing luxury of a raft floating down the river for days on end, our river craft are best for supporting us while we camp in the sickest cracks and canyons of the earth. Regardless of whether you float through a permit system or huck yourself down walled-in waterfalls, you know that your camp will be more pristine than most. Whether your camp is a sandy beach or a pile of rocks, whether you sleep on a paco pad with just a blanket, or shiver on a rock next to a fire, you know that morning is going to allow you to wake up and go explore the river downstream, and it's always worth it. |
| Posted on Tue Feb16, 2010, 3:32 PM by Derek DelBuono |
| Dear Canoe&Kayak, I honestly think that the picture portrayed of the green race counter-point, is most definatly my favorite picture. I however am bias, because it is a picture of me! My name is Derek Del Buono, i was number 105 in the 2009 green race. I've been boating for a hair over 2 years now. That was my first green race and it was all possibly the best day of my life. I would like to know if at all possible there is anyway for you to send me an original copy of somesort. Anything, please, like a negative or a photo, something. I would be happy to pay for it. Thank you for your consideration and great issues. Keep em' coming! |
| Posted on Fri Feb26, 2010, 11:12 AM by Tom Leutner |
| Other than for historic reasons, why do you call your magazine Canoe and Kayak? It really is about Kayaking. As an old fashioned canoe tripper, I really miss the articles about canoe trips, tips, tricks and equipment for canoe trekking. Maybe I need to see an article about kayak tripping including the portage of equipment and kayak, that doesn't use a "mother ship" to "get it." Maybe I’d even trade in one of my canoes! |
| Posted on Wed Mar 3, 2010, 12:05 PM by Mike faussett |
| Rob Mckibbin? How can you possibly have a best of and not include Rob Mckibbin? Rob ran the legendary Sunset Falls near Index Washington last year. This is a feat that has only been done once before. Larger than Life Al Faussett ran the falls in 1926 and it has never been done again until Rob ran it on his lucnh hour last year. How cool is that? Word is that even the great Tao Berman took a pass on this ride. |
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