canoe west home | canoeing instructors | Klamath River Guidebook
canoe west home | canoeing instructors | Klamath River Guidebook |
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Whitewater Canoe Clinic Info Canoeing Instruction Home| 2-Day Canoeing Workshops | Boy Scout Canoeing Clinics |
| One of the great things about canoeing is that you can learn enough in a few days so that you can really enjoy the sport, and there are always enough new things to learn to keep you occupied for years. |
| So how is a canoe
clinic run? Naturally, each group will vary depending on the composition and needs of a
particular group. The following is a typical itinerary for the first couple of days of a
clinic: Arrival Day: Canoe West's instructors meet with the group (many groups base camp at Sarah Totten Campground) to introduce themselves, discuss the schedule, any special needs the group might have, and fit equipment. Day 1: Your instructor will pick a nice flat section of water with a nice sandy shore suitable for dry land drills and then water drills. We'll unload the boats and gear, discuss safety, introduce basic paddling strokes, body mechanics, upstream ferries, peel outs, eddy catches, and the patois of river rats. The first day might seem a little "schoolish" for some, but these preliminaries are integral to your journey to become a real canoer. After lunch, we typically head downriver to see how much everybody has learned. Because there are so many things to practice, we seldom travel more than three or four miles on the first day. |
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| Day 2: Typically the day will start around 9:00 am and your instructor will pick a nice stretch of water, around 7 or 8 miles, that will allow everybody the time and opportunity to practice their new skills. The rapids will most likely be a little more complex than the first day, so time will be spent learning to "read" rapids and select routes. Usually the weather is warm (if not downright HOT), so we swim with our boats thru some of the flat sections or practice whitewater swims and learning to use throwlines. Usually we'll be back in camp around 3:30 or 4:00 pm. |
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