Plans

Dry session: This usually happens early in the week before the course, and provides a time for the students to learn about gear, logistics, safety, etc. This may get put off until Friday night or even Saturday morning if the clinic is really small.

Saturday morning lake session: We will meet at the boat ramp on Lake Chapman in Sandy Creek Park, just north of Athens of US 441 9:00 AM Saturday. After a short shore school, we'll get in the boats and work on paddling forwards, turning, and sideslipping. We'll finish up with a little brace work. Come prepared to paddle and perhaps get wet. People have been known to flip and swim at this session, but we're not planning to get into the water. I've placed a map to the Park here. The park is right at the top of the map.

Saturday afternoon river session: After lunch, we'll shuttle over to a flatwater section of the Broad River near Danielsville, GA. The river session will have a strong emphasis on skill building, learning the three essential white water moves: the eddy turn, the peel out, and the ferry. We'll also learn to recognize important river features then. Since this section of the Broad is flat, there's no need to worry about flipping while learning these skills.

The session ends at a small rapid that's easy to run, with a big pool below. We'll run the rapid, then purposely flip in the pool to practice rescue skills. Then we'll walk back upstream and swim through the rapid to learn about rope rescues.

Sunday river session: We will meet at the Broad River Outpost (the takeout on Saturday) to run the 5.5 mile Class I-II section of the Broad. There are about 5 named Class II rapids, none of them dangerous, most of them thrilling.

At all times, safety will be a primary concern. Each rapid will be explained and, if necessary, scouted from land. All rapids are optional; there is never any shame attached to deciding to walk around. Having said that, the rapids we'll encounter are well within the capabilities of beginning paddlers, we've been teaching beginners on this river for years. The instructors are skilled at boat-based rescues, and in the event of a spill, will get you back in your boat with a minimum of drama. It's rare for anyone to be injured in one of these clinics, although there have been a couple of close calls.

Sunday is a long day, and you will be very tired-but with a feeling of accomplishment--at the end. I cannot estimate when you will get home. I have a rule to never make dinner reservations for a river day.

Gear:

You provide your own boat, paddle (an extra paddle isn't a bad idea if you've got one), and PFD (life jacket). We paddle white water kneeling, not sitting, so some knee pads stuck to your legs or to the bottom of the boat are recommended. A helmet is optional. A few other pieces of gear you should have:

1. River clothes: In early spring, the water may be brisk, and hypothermia is a danger in the spring and fall. On the river, I wear head to foot polypropelene, Thermax, Coolmax, or Capilene (no cotton!) with a nylon shell to add if it gets chilly. You can buy Patagonia Capilene for $30 or generic poly for $8 at Wal-Mart, your choice. If you get chilled easily, I'd recommend a wetsuit if it's cool.

2. River shoes: Sport sandals (e.g., Tevas) are great for rafting, but not so good for canoeing, as they do not provide any protection for the tops of your feet when kneeling. I suggest water shoes of some sort. An old pair of sneakers is great. The $6.95 beach shoes from Wal-Mart work just as well as the expensive versions. If you insist, you can spend $125 on these things. SCUBA booties also work well. You must have footwear, because you never know when you'll be walking on the rocks and/or through the briars.

3. Personal comfort: sunscreen, sunglasses with cord, waterproof snacks (Clif bars, Nabs, GU), toilet paper in a plastic bag (there are no bathrooms on the river). Bring any personal medications you might need, but no drugs or alcohol.

4. Lunch packed in a waterproof bag. If you don't have a regular drybag, pack stuff you want to keep dry in a gallon-size ziplock bag, then put that bag inside another one. Don't trust your Nikon to this system. No hard-shell coolers in the boat, although it's fine to have some cold beverages waiting in one in the car.

5. Water bottle. It's very important to stay hydrated, so bring along the equivalent of at least a liter of water, two if it's hot and sunny. Bike bottles or any bottle that has a one hand easy-open spout make grabbing a drink in an eddy much simpler.

6. Some people like to paddle with gloves. Bike gloves don't work very well, as the padded palm makes you grip too hard. Simple SCUBA reef gloves work fine. If the water's cold, dishwashing gloves (really) are surprisingly warm. The goal with gloves is to fit them snugly, so that the paddle rubs against the glove but the glove doesn't rub against your hand.

7. Flotation keeps the water out of your canoe when it's upside down and makes it easier to rescue. In extreme situations, it can even keep it from bending in half if you pin it on a rock. Most beginners aren't in full-fledged WW boats with flotation, so anything you could add, like a truck inner tube jammed under the thwarts and inflated, could help a little, but make sure it's well attached and below the gunwhales.

8. A bailer to empty out the water when it's only 3-4 inches deep (more than that you go to shore and dump). I prefer the square windshield washer fluid bottles with the bottoms cut out, but anythin will do. Don't bother with a sponge unless you're totally obsessive.

9. Painters are lengths of rope tied to your bow and stern to help rescue if necessary. The length should be 1/2 the length of your boat plus 2 feet. Floating rope is a plus. Home Depot has floating braided polyester in various colors. Black is not the best.

10. The instructors will have a throw rope and a first aid kit, but you're welcome to bring your own as well. You're going to need to when you start paddling on club trips anyway.

If you have questions, feel free to email me or call me during the day at 542-5589 or evenings at 706-208-8382. I'm looking forward to paddling with you.

Steve Cramer