A Note From the Editor
Our days on the river and in life can go in many directions. Some days, all is good and fruitful and joyous. We stick the eddies, we hit the waves head on and we look where we want to go. …
Category: Paddler
Cleatus Among Us
Cleatus Bass, the Cleatus Maximus of Tubing Standing at the 2022 Week of Rivers morning meeting, your Carolina Paddler reporter was intrigued by the colorful person approaching the microphone to address the group. This speaker looked a good bit …
Canoe for Your Life?
In the past several years there has been widespread publicity and public acceptance of the beneficial effects of conditioning exercise as a deterrent to the development or progression of coronary artery disease. Thousands have started jogging, cycling, and swimming. Perhaps …
Summer School at the WWC
The U.S. National Whitewater Center opened in Charlotte, N.C., in 2006, with two established goals: provide a world class training facility for American athletes participating in the Olympic discipline of canoe slalom and to provide a unique boating course for …
Larry’s Tips No. 5: The Vacuum Sealer
Some gear is meant to get soggy. Some is not. I like to keep each in its own realm. For gear that is not meant to get wet or simply just creates added weight (or mold) when it does get …
The Colors of Paddling
Have you ever noticed how some people show up on the river and their gear appears to be a hastily arranged carnival parade? Lots of bright colors with no clear idea of coordination? Like a baby sibling outfitted them? …
Water Words: “Exploring Virginia’s Waterways”
Exploring Virginia’s Waterways A Paddler’s Guide to Waters of the Old Dominion State By Edward Gertler Seneca Press, 2022 411 pages Report by Bob Brueckner In the opening chapter of his new guidebook of Virginia’s rivers, author and paddler …
Water Words: “Riverman”
Riverman An American Odyssey By Ben McGrath Alfred Knopf 2022 256 Pages Ben McGrath, a writer for the New Yorker magazine, was with his son on the banks of the Hudson River, when a neighbor, Scott, appeared and …
Water Words: “The Canoeist”
The Canoeist A Memoir by John Manuel Jefferson Press, 2006 215 Pages The Canoeist recounts the early and middle life of John Manuel from his early years spent in Ohio until his relocation to North Carolina in his twenties. …
Water Words: Comparing Rapids Ratings
Comparing Rapids Ratings By Bob Brueckner How close together are guidebooks when it comes to rating a rapid or a section of a river? I compared the ratings for the Balcony Falls section of the James River in Virginia in …