A family friendly river run

The Payette River Flatwater Trail is an easy river float through the lower end of Long Valley, combined with a mountain bike ride on a gravel road as a shuttle.

It offers a gentle (no rapids) 12-mile float that takes three to six hours to paddle from the Idaho 55 bridge on the southside of Cascade to the Cabarton boat ramp off Cabarton Road.

This section is ideal for families in kayaks, canoes and stand up paddle boards.

Sometimes the wind blows upstream, so adjust your time schedule to allow for a slower trip.

Expect to see lots of birds, including a great blue heron rookery, ducks, eagles, ospreys and other birds. There is also an elk-viewing area on the river.

Read more HERE.

Kayaker dies on North Fork of the Payette

The 55-year-old New Hampshire man who died while paddling the North Fork of the Payette River Sunday afternoon was a senior executive at one of the nation’s largest mutual fund companies.

Boyce Greer was head of Fidelity Investments’ institutional-investments unit and an investor and major investor in Legacy Paddlesports, according to published reports.

Read more HERE.

Tree across North Fork

Kayakers running the upper river will want to stop and take a look. A large log is across the entire river and looks to be about chest high off the water. It’s easily visible from the road and probably easy to spot from upstream, but with the continuous nature of the whitewater, getting out before it and portaging could be a challenge. I couldn’t tell how many branches were submerged, but it’s a nasty looking log that could cause some serious problems if a boater isn’t prepared to deal with it.

Read it HERE.

Idaho Throwdown #2

Yesterday was this seasons opening day for Kelly's Whitewater park and the second Throwdown for Idaho. The weather forecast was bleak with snow expected for the day, however we arrived in cascade with sunny skies and a temp of 36 degrees. We began the day at 8:30 with a fantastic KWP opening-day breakfast of pancakes with awesome berries and sausage - what a way to start the day! Next we had a dedication of the bridge to rock island. It's pretty incredible to watch an entire community back a whitewater park - you gotta love Valley County Idaho! The waves were all at a great stage. A bit of tweaking of the top wave has actually directed more water to feature 2 on the far side of the island which will make it even better than last year. We didn't know how many competitors would show up given the forecast and the recent snow, but there ended up being ten of us in all, which included four or five  people new to the Throwdowns. Turned out to be a great group of really nice paddlers of all skill levels.  A few spectators showed up and watched us playing around in the cold water. We ran two hole rides and then held a boater cross that seemed to be a big hit.  Natural features at the park made for a great course.  Surprisingly we had close finishes and everyone had a blast. We all went up to the grassy hill afterwards to divvy up the prizes and chat about upcoming events. About ten minutes after we left the snow showed up, but it didn't matter then. turned out to be a great day and we were happy with the weather and waves! We were also treated to a little Red-Bull Booty display as Tanner and Brian had a little bet going as to who would have the best score in the Throwdown. Since Brian had the higher score in the Freestyle and Tanner placed higher in the Boater-X we got a double disgusting show :-P Looking forward to our June Throwdown and WARMER  weather! Scores:

Youth
Name
Tanner Griffith	1
Troy Wilson	2
Connor Jackson	3
Mens K1A
Mark Cecchini	1
Brian Ward	2
Tristin McClaran	3
Daniel Dixon	4
Mens K1B
Tyler Wilson	1
Andrew chamberlain	2
Womens
Kate Beaver	1

[gallery link="file" columns="4" orderby="title"]

Idaho Throwdown #1 2011

Last Friday we had our first  Idaho Hometown Throwdown of the year at the gutter. We had a good turn out for a chilly April evening, 10 competitors and a bunch of spectators  Alpenglow was nice enough to bring a gaggle of demo boats for whoever wanted to try them, including the new Rock Stars from Jackson kayak which drew lots of “Oooo’s and Ahhhh’s” from those that tried them out.

The wave wasn’t the best for aerial tricks, but a great front surf and spin wave. Mychal Hayes was the only one to throw a big move, a sweet aerial loop – but we saw some cartwheels other advanced moves from Jackson paddler Devon Barker and regional paddlers Micah Kneidl and Alec Voorhees. It was good to see a couple of kayakers new to surfing out there, one of them threw the biggest window shade I’ve ever seen – getting blasted under the wave and shooting vertically out. Big cheers and worth some ‘That-was-Awesome’ points from the style judge Where else can newbie surfers rub elbows and compete with veteran world class paddlers like Devon Barker and Jim Grossman? After two hole rides we held a boatercross. Then wrapped it up because it was getting chilly. Overall it went well and it was a great time. I hope we’ll see you at the May Throwdown at Kellys Whitewater Park in Cascade!

On Saturday we had a booth at the Whitewater Expo / boatswap at Alpenglow. This was a first of what I hope to be many Put on by Chuck and Anne Cremer. Quite a few vendors were there and educational seminars were held. They even had a drawing for a Jackson Star as well as a bunch of other WW gear.  If you missed it this year make sure and check it in 2012!

Here are the scores:

Adults:

K1 A:

1: Mychal Hayes
2. Devon Barker
3. Micah Kneidl
4. Jim Grossman – Boatercross only

K1 B:

1. Gary Mattos
2. Will Howerton

Juniors K1:

1. Alec Voorhees
2. Hayden Voorhees – Troy Wilson

Cadet:

1.Buey Grossman
2. Connor Voorhees