Ohiopyle State Park

       Ohiopyle State Park has been a really popular choice of destination when I was leading kayaking trips for Hopkins. Doing the kayak loop on the lower Yough and canoing on the middle Yough were our bread & butter. The loop is a cool run that is very suitable for beginning boaters. A few rapids such as Cucumber and Table Saw are very fun and friendly. To run the loop, you put in right below Ohiopyle Falls and there are a few waves and small rapid at the beginning and then Cucumber would start the show as the first exciting rapid. The next few rapids are all segmented by flat water and are smaller than Cucumber

Middle Yough

Railroad right above the Yough

Wilderness Voyager Outfitter

       The town of Ohiopyle is this cute and friendly town where the majority of the local business rely on outdoor tourism, mainly rafting, kayaking and hiking. The place where we stayed was provided by one of NRA students, Mackenzie Hatcher’s family. The house was very nice and spacey. Some students and teachers stayed in the house while others stayed in the hotel ran by Mackenzie’s grandparents. Thanks, Mackenzie's family!      

       After leaving Ottawa, finding a good teaching space became a tricky task. There were many places where teachers used such as the area near Ohiopyle Fall, Firefly coffee shop, the kitchen, living room and porch of the house, etc. I took my students to the Waterfall the first day, and the background noise was so loud! No one could focus, including me. A waterfall has what I call “Bond fire effect.” People can stare at bond fire for hours because firstly, it’s warm and secondly because it is charming and magical. Waterfalls are the same. I can follow the flow of a big chunk of water to see how it maneuvers through the rocks or I could trace a single drop of water and observe how it free falls down the waterfall. I can do that for hours and hours. It feels like meditation in that it clears my mind and makes me calm and return to myself.

Upper Yough

        Ever since I heard about Upper Yough, I haven’t heard anything bad about it (except when people get hurt, of course). Everyone is always talking about how super fun the upper is. I have dream about paddling it for 4 years now and today I finally completed my dream.

       The drive to the put-in was a bit longer than I thought and it made me a bit anxious but excited. I started imaging how narrow and fast the creek was—lots of boofs, technical turns, slides and drops…

       The weather was great, the air fresh and my blood burning hot. After the first 2-mile flat water section, the river started to pick up the speed. There were so many rocks sticking out here and there that I needed to make turns or boofs. We went through a few 4-ft water drops in a roll which required boof, but with a playboat, it was challenging to make such move. On one of the drops where I had to paddle out to the very right of the rapid to catch the rock as a boofing platform, I messed it up and got caught on the stern which immediately flipped me over and worked me good. The river was definitely fast though. The water was low that day. When it gets a foot higher, it would be a lot more challenging but fun.

            Upper Yough was a fun river. The day was great and I was very pleased.

Upper Yough beginning flat section

Part of Upper Yough run

Helicopter Trip at the Niagara Falls!

    On our way traveling down from the Ottawa back to the States, we stopped at Niagara Falls and did some tourist activities. It was my third time there, but there is always something new about each trip. The first time, I went with a group of thirty Taiwanese students for learning English in Canada. I was 13 years old back then and we did the boat tour at the Falls which was tons of fun. We got those sweet blue ponchos and got splashed underneath the falls. The second time, it was a family trip and a nice vacation. No big deal


But, the third time…

That's right!! A HELICOPTER TOUR!!!


That was SO sweet…It is run by a family a former New River Academy student, Jassica. They gave each of us a FREE ride (normally costs $150-$200). Wow, that was once of a lifetime experience! We could see the river above and below the Falls, which provided an interesting perspective Niagara Falls. The shear volume of water pouring into Niagara gorge was incredibly large.

Do you see the rainbow over the Falls?

The river section right above the Falls

      Doesn’t matter how many times I see Niagara Falls, it never fails to amaze me, especially from an angle above it. Apparently, Jessica’s family’s company, Niagara Helicopters (http://www.niagarahelicopters.com/home.php) is the oldest helicopter tour company in Niagara City (since 1961). They own many beautiful helicopters and the pilot were all extremely professional and skillful (well, obviously…). Anyway, that was pretty cool and next time if you visit Niagara Falls, you should definitely check them out!! Ok, instead of me keep boasting on and on about how awesome it was, a video would probably do a better job…enjoy!!

NRA family at the Niagara Helicopters. Thanks for such a wonderful ride!!

Day trip to LaChine (Canada)!

   My biggest wave ever surfed record has again being broken on the day trip to Lachine in Montreal. They were 5-ft high and about 20-ft wide in the middle of a 200 meter-wide river—LaChine (translated: China) and it can easily fit 4 surfers at any moment. I was surfing with Tino and all a sudden he did an airscrew right next to me; It looked like a slow motion: each water drop was left behind seemingly much slower than his boat. It felt like his boat had just penetrated the wave like a red bullet and the spin evaporated the water in its vicinity. It was incredibly beautiful, hard to describe it with words…

2010 Pan American freestyle kayak competition on Ottawa River

   Something about dream come true...


   Have I ever thought about I would one day compete in the same freestyle competition with Eric Jackson and Stephen Wright—I would tell myself that I was out of my mind. But it happened! It is definitely the highlight of the week. Alright, just a brief introduction on EJ: he holds four World Championship titles in freestyle kayaking and is still a very competitive kayaker. He is the founder of Jackson kayak, which is one of the most popular freestyle kayak options in the market (I just bought a new Jackson All Star). Stephen Wright has been a rising star in freestyle kayaking after EJ. He gets huge air on his moves, I mean HUGE! He also has several US freestyle kayaking championship titles. He is also part of the Jackson kayak team. Both EJ and Stephen are very cool.

At Pushbutton--Judges were setting up

and competitors were warming up.

Men's pro competitors (from left: Tino, Stephen, ..., Francois, Devyn.)

    

NRA student-Jason getting ready

NRA student-Hunt is inflating his air thrust.

NRA student-Jacob can't wait to throw his huge air screw!

NRA student-Taylor in her competing ride.

The audience cheering up for the competitors

   The water wasn’t great on the competition day but was definitely decent. I was registered in the Men’s recreation division and luckily, there weren’t too many competitors! The most awesome thing was that EJ was my MC during my ride!

My ride. Trying to stay on the wave.

    He talked about how I came all the way from Taiwan just to compete in the competition (Of course, that was what I told him. Lol. We had a brief conversation earlier). The crowd was super cheering end encouraging even when I was not doing huge tricks, comparing to the other Pros. Man, the competition was a lot of fun the level of focus that gathered in my system was incredible which allowed me to perform well and squeeze out some extra juice when I needed to. I got a picture with EJ but when I was trying to get a shot with Stephen, the batter died, I tried 5 more times, but didn’t work. It was too bad.

EJ and myself

    Overall, I got 2nd place in the competition!! I received a medal, a Kokatat rash guard, and a Level Six air bag!! It was super cool! The first medal in my freestyle kayaking career! Let’s go HUGE!

Morning paddling on the Ottawa River !

   
    When the sun was still quietly hidden behind the fog curtain, the sky was haunted by the forest blanket, partially green, partially purple and partially black. 

 6 a.m. on the Ottawa River

I was awaken by my Enrique Iglesias alarm clock at 5:30 am. The air was cold with a little damp, river funk smell. The smell was comforting and fresh, reminding of the nap during each kayak trip with my instructors from Hopkins. It was that smell. I rolled out of my down sleeping back, put my kayaking gear on and head to the river. A tiny sunray escaped from the horizon, like a sharp medieval knight’s sword, cutting across the sky. 

I exhaled all the way from the bottom of my lung, attempting to pull out all of the fatigue and frustration from the previous day. Then I took a deep breath, trying to fill up my lung with energy, fresh air and spirit of nature. Taking the first stroke of the day on the Mighty Ottawa.

Sun rise. baby face wave

            Dark green water,

            The dark purplish sky it reflects.

            I took the first stroke with my pitch-dark carbon paddle,

            Surfing on the mighty Ottawa River, the dark Ottawa.

            On the wave, carving form left to right and then back to the left,

            I screamed, “This is life!”
            

Meals at the New River Academy

     Morning workout starts not long after the sun has risen and is followed immediately by healthy, delicious and energetic breakfast prepared by the staff and students in charge that day. Which school on earth begins with such a perfect morning!? Meals are à la carte everyday in order to feed the picky mouths of 20 kayakers but it usually does not take more than some grill cheese and pancakes. We have had, the best ones, Loré’s Chilean corn pasta, Chris’ green bean salad, Tino’s banana pancakes, Kira’s vegetarian burrito and my chicken fried rice. Students have four class periods before lunch and 3 after. The same crew also prepares lunch and the teacher in charge usually has to teach the class while cooking. So, the class kinda looks like one of those culinary TV shows. 

New River Academy Staff Team 2010-2011!!

     This year NRA has added some international spices into its staff team, one from Chile and one from Taiwan! Without a further,  I'm going to start off with our most beautiful English teacher in NRA!

     

     Kira is a bad-ass kayaker from sun Valley, Idaho. She graduated from Middlebury College, with a degree in Environmental policy. Kira picked me up when I first landed in Yeager Airport, WV. She is super out-going, loves running and doing yoga in her spare time (hardcore) and always is the center of the attention of the gents when we go out to disco! BTW, she eats super healthy. We are best allies in food nutrition!

Kira showing students how to do ab exercise on a bridge on el Rio Claro

Kira Running a drop on Entres Saltos on Rio Claro

     Our next star is Lorenzo Andrade Astorga from San Jose de Maipo, Chile! The first thing I remember he told me when we first met was, "Dun't eva tach anyshing when a Chilean is cuking!" It was hilarious! Lore teaches Spanish and is the assistant kayaking coach at NRA. Growing up on the Maipo River, he was blessed with great white water around the area, such as the Maipo and Yeso, which offer great creeking practice. He used to be on a very prestigious football club in Chile and he is also very talented with quena (a type of Chilean flute) and slack line. His life moto is: if I were to do anything, I am going to be the best!! When he is not teaching, you will find him either practicing his new move on the slack line or hear his quena...Lore is going to start his own raft/kayaking company with Tino next year on the Maipo river and I believe they will do very well!

Lore dressed up as a Chilean gansta

Lore running the middle Palguin (70 foot)

     Next in line is our super History/Chemistry teacher: Chris Smith from Brooklyn, NY! Chris has a master degree in geology and was TAing in WVU before he came to work at NRA. He is currently living in Morgantown, WV and is a big fan of the Mountaineers! Chris is an experienced boater and has been to many places in the US and in South America. He always got some crazy stories that surprises the hack out of me. Under his calm and chilled appearance, there is this playful and vivid side that shows up quite frequently. He is super chill and awesome!

Smitty wearing his super-hero t-shirt singing at NRA karaoke night 

Chris on the 20-footer on Siete Tazas

    Tino Specht: an NRA alum, current kayaking head coach and video teacher at NRA. Growing up in Massachusetts, Tino started kayaking on the Deerfield River of which he holds deeply in his heart. A former team Dagger kayaker, he is now kayaking for Blisstick from New Zealand. He is also sponsored by Teva, Lever-Six, Werner, etc. Tino is a self-made man. He proves that a passionate heart is the only thing we need to be successful in anything. He writes songs and taught himself guitar, Spanish and video shooting and editing. His beautiful music and singing is always the most popular thing in any social gathering. We all think he is going to be the next Jack Johnson, but weather of not he is going out to give a try, we'll see. This year, a film that Tino and his friends made about the Yangtze River (Facing East) got picked up by NBC which was a mile stone for him. Congrats Tino!

Link to the trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SQTRLfJlVCof

Tino teaching students how to throw rope during one of the morning safety sessions.

Tino styled the first drop on the Siete Tazas

      The last one is~The founder of Huge Experiences and New River Academy: David Hughes! He currently lives in Fayetteville, WV which is the hometown of the Gauley and new River. Dave has been working in kayaking/education world for the past 10 years. Before he started NRA, he was the head wrestling coach in a high school in TN. After he founded Huge Experiences, he realized how much impact it could have on young kayakers. He believes that a program that has great teachers as role models, rich cultural component and a small teacher-student ratio can make all the difference in a student's life. With that belief, the school started to thrive after a few years of ground work and Huge Experience transitioned into Hew River Academy. 

Dave at Valley Falls, PA.

Dave running Gargata de Diablo on Rio Claro

    Myself...I'm from Taichung, Taiwan, a small country on the coast of China. I have been studying in the US for the past 8 years and just completed my BS degree in Chemical Engineering from JHU. Originally, I was only applying for teaching during the Spring semester and use the summer time and from September to December to work on another job. However, life isn't always that beautiful when it comes to planning. One day, I got a phone call from a man and it turned out to be David (it is really rare that he calls). He told me that either I teach for both semesters or teach nothing at all. He said he has an Harvard graduate competing for the same position...Well, it wasn't so hard of a decision to make after all. if I chose to teach for NRA, I got to travel to Chile and Uganda with flight, lodging and food totally paid for...and I got to beat a Harvard graduate! Alright, there I was, packing up early, leaving for West Virginia for staff training. Currently,  I teaches Math (Algebra 2, Precalc and AP calc) and physics (conceptual and AP physics) at NRA. Frankly, teaching is my side job and kayaking is what I was hired for, really :)

I am really grateful that I am having such a wonderful time and super thankful for everyone who made this possible: Shane, Dave, Matt Hardy, Claude and all the staff. Thanks!

I was pumping gas...(photo by: Tino S.)

Kai-Wen running a drop on Siete Tazas (Photo: Jason T.).

At the Niagara Falls wax museum
From the right: Chris, Kira, Lore, and....I (Photo: Tino S.)

The mighty Ottawa River, we arrived!

   Wow! It’s almost been a month since I started teaching at the New River Academy! The first 3 weeks, we traveled to Beachburg, Canada, residing right next to the infamous Ottawa River—one of the best freestyle kayaking spot in the world! 

upstream of Phil's

The resort where we stayed at was called “Keener Ville.” Keener program has been one of the most prestigious junior freestyle kayaking programs in the world along with the New River Academy.  Keener Ville is located right in the heart of the best rapids on Ottawa River, such as McCoy which has Baby Face, Leftside and Corner Wave (“the best wave in the world”~Tino, our head coach at NRA) and also Garberator, Gladiator, Push Button, etc. It literally takes 10 minutes paddling from the shore to those surf spots. How awesome is that! 

Dave doing a stern stall

Baby face eddie

Enjoy!