Intoxicating optimism – Kelsey Edens dances atop her gear boat. Maggie Ryan Photo. Concussion waves shook the earth through the bedrock, sending chaotic surges in every direction. I turned to my best friend Kelsey, and we talked about our options. The right was a shit storm. The middle, a black hole horizon line. The only […]
Category: Archive
I had kayaked Gore Canyon in Colorado a handful of times before the day I let my guard down. I don’t remember what I was thinking, except maybe “I got this”, or “The hard stuff is mostly over”. It was the day of the canyon race, so there were lots of people on the shore with […]
As I pulled up to the front of the Riversports Adventure Center, I was struck by the sheer magnitude of the venue. It was massive….. Spanning 11 acres, and clocking in at a whopping $42.5 million to build, I quickly realized that there was a lot of hard work and serious planning put […]
Quim Fontane Maso, three time European Freestyle Champion, took time from university and training to speak with DBP-UK Admin and Team Paddler Chris Macdonald on all things whitewater kayaking. We are stoked to bring the Dirt Bag World this exclusive interview. Cheers! CMac: What mental preparation do you do prior to the competition, to calm […]
DBP MAGAZINE ONLINE asked its regular contributors to serve up their best carnage stories for this month’s ode to the WALLACE. I was honored that Mike would ask me to write on this important topic as I am fairly new to the boater beater squad. I have just put my first year of Baby Wallacing […]
Calling all paddlers! It’s time once again for the Appalachian Paddling Enthusiasts’ (APEs) 13th annual Nolichucky River cleanup. As APEs we pride ourselves on our particular emphasis, to protect the rivers we love and spend so much time on year round. For several years now the club has organized successful cleanups, and this year we […]
RageCage. It’s not a group name, it’s a lifestyle. Following a win in the French Broad River Race, RageCage member Alex Wilson was asked by Dirt Bag Paddlers Admin and whitewater rafting badass Aaron Erdrich to help put together a team for the R6 National Championships (R6 denotes a six man raft racing team). Alex […]
Bogart: How’d you like it? Hepburn: Like it? Bogart: Whitewater rapids! Hepburn: I never dreamed. . . Bogart: I don’t blame you for being scared — not one bit. Nobody with good sense ain’t scare of whitewater. Hepburn: I never dreamed that any mere physical experience could be so stimulating. -The African Queen Erik Allen […]
Before the dam went in at Big Brother Rapid on the White Nile the best class V hit of the day was Total Gunga rapid. It was over three hundred meters from top to bottom, a maelstrom of pressure waves, conflicting currents, massive holes, and enormous boil lines. And all of it was created by […]
As we all know, we’re all in between swims. It’s a part of boating, especially for us rafters. But it’s those swims that make us wonder, “Is it really worth the hurt and pain to keep doing this?” I definitely had that moment on the Upper Youghiogheny River in Friendsville, MD a few […]