Just returned home from my adventurous summer in Buena Vista, Colorado where I worked for Kodi Rafting as a raft guide. Even with the season being as busy as it was and without a car halfway through the summer I was still fortunate enough to explore a lot of local gems in the area.

The best part of the summer had to of been safety kayaking for Kodi down the Numbers which is a class IV section of white water on the Arkansas River. Most days the job was easy and I got a free meal on the river. I think it has to be ranked top for one of the best jobs I’ve ever landed.

During the last few weeks of my stay two friends from Maryland, Eric Haley and Eliza Burk came out for a couple of days to visit and I was able to get some time off to show Eric down the Numbers before they had to leave for their next departure to Yellowstone. Here are some pictures that Eliza took of us from the roadside making our way down the river.

Good times and good lines by all. I am home now in Pennsylvania still working as a part time DJ and starting school this week. Hoping to see everyone this year at the festivities. I’m sure it is going to be one sick season of paddling!

Peace out.

-Brenton

One of the greatest things about the current Grand Canyon permitting system is the “follow-up lotteries that happen throughout the year to fill unclaimed and canceled launch dates. The closer the launch date gets, the less people apply for it and the odds of winning are much higher. The toughest thing about these follow-up lotteries is that when you win a permit for a launch, you have one day to pay a deposit to claim your date. That means you have to figure out if you can throw together the trip almost immediately or lose your chance.

Another rule of the permit system is that you can only go once per year. However, I had been lucky enough to organize two previous trips on the Grand Canyon a mere six months apart (within the rules because they were in different calendar years). My first trip was in December of 2009 and then again in June of 2010; kayaking both times and having oar rafts haul our gear. After completing two raft-supported trips in such quick succession, I decided if I got another permit I wanted to put together a kayak only trip. Little did I know, but the opportunity would come sooner than I thought.
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Quick video of a fun youth freestyle event on the new olympic course,

Edited by Me and pringle.

See you on the water,

Bren

What can I say, I love classic multi-day River Trips.  There is something about casually floating downstream for a bunch of days, living next to the river without a care in the world that keeps me yearning to do more.  When my friend Dorrie asked me if I wanted to go to the Selway, I jumped at the chance.  I also thought it was a good opportunity to see how much crap I could cram into the Fusion.

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The British Universities Kayak Expedition team have just completed another few runs, including a 2nd descent of the Rio Aricagua – a 2 day run of continuous 4+(5).

Check out the team blog for the photos and stories.

As a longtime fan and occasional contributor of LVM, I was sad to hear it was going to draw to a close. However, all things must end at some point and now that LVM is no longer a business, I see no reason not to put the segments that I have contributed online for all to see. The Alabama Winter Update was originally filmed for and featured in LVM #35: Love Thy Self and can be seen HERE.

If you’d like to see more winter footage from these two runs, click HERE to check out the video Winter B-Roll, which is all the extra footage I didn’t use in the LVM segment.

Last winter Charlie Mix and I also filmed a cold snowy day on Little River Canyon and I put it together into a video Winter Weather Advisory, which can be seen HERE.

Until Next Time…

-adam goshorn

After a spectacular mission in California, Demshitz returned to Pennsylvania where they were blessed with holy water on Sunday in the Delaware Water Gap. The Hornbecks and Raymondskill creeks served up some good fun and there was plenty of Brown to Brown. Check out the Video!

After a good, but long week hanging out with the Pyranha family at Outdoor Retailer in Salt Lake City, we headed back to Colorado for some actual kayaking. Here in the inner Crystal Gorge, Josh Bechtel is trying out the new creekboat; the Shiva.

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