Outside Magazine Lists DAK As Top Kayaking School!

Wondering why Phil is covering his face with the February, 2008 issue of Outside Magazine? He’s blushing with pride because Outside lists DeRiemer Adventure Kayaking as THE best place to learn whitewater kayaking. Not bad for a small company! The reason we stay small is to make sure that the quality of your experience with us is of the highest level. When you paddle with DAK, you paddle with one or both of the owners. Whether on or off the water, we want you to have an amazing time while improving your skills, and we’re committed to providing you with the best experience. You can join us for instruction on our home river, the South Fork of the American in California or join one of our multi-day paddling adventures; Oregon’s Rogue River, Idaho’s Middle Fork of the Salmon, Arizona’s Grand Canyon of the Colorado, Ecuador, or Bhutan. We have something for every level of kayaker and we look forward to sharing time on the water with you!

Ecuador- Jan 5-13 class III+; Newbies And Veterans Unite.

A pleasant start to this trip for us came in the form of a box of handmade truffles brought down by Deb C. of Seattle. Espresso, lemon-rosemary, orange, pure chocolate and mocha were the mouth watering flavors found within the handmade box that contained them. I’d show you a photo of the truffles but they met with an unfortunate feeding frenzy accident.

The inspirational cover to our box of handmade truffles.

Another treat for us was having Ben T. along. Not only did Ben travel outside of the U.S. for his first time, but he took his first flight ever to get here! Needless to say, he was often wide-eyed during the trip and the group was more than happy to show him the ropes. His enthusiasm reminded us all of the thrill and wonder of being a first-time traveler.

Ben’s grin was never ending.

Guides Corner- The Highly versatile Waist Sling.

I first started using a waist sling many years ago after taking a river rescue class from my good friend Eric Magneson. At that time it was mainly suggested as a simple means of having an anchor system for a river rescue situation with you at all times.

A waist sling and locking carabiner.

Not just for anchors:

Since then I have found that I use it less for an anchor (It would be a reflection on my judgment and that of the people I paddle with if I was setting up anchors all of the time.) and more for simple tasks like lowering a boat down a steep trail at the put in, corralling boats in a eddy at a portage or scout, keeping all of my gear clipped together at the take-out, or improvising a means of carrying gear.

Ecuador- Dec 25- Jan 2 Friend’s Classic

Two trips, two skill levels, two different years…and at first, too much water! These were characteristics of our concurrent trips that ran through the New Year.

Locals here believe that the phase of the moon strongly influences the amount of rain. And why not, since it affects the tides of the oceans? The belief is that a full moon will bring dryer weather. That theory was literally and figuratively blown out of the water with the full moon that occurred just before Christmas day. As our Class III and Class IV trips searched for appropriate put-ins, the rivers of the Quijos Valley raged. Fortunately, the Tena area was not affected, so we juggled our schedule (so as not to miss out on any paddling) and left the near-flooding rivers behind. We headed over the Guacamayo range for some good fun on the Upper Misahualli. The Class IV group put in at Cotundo, while the Class III group put in lower down. After just 1 km. of paddling we felt the volume grow due to rains somewhere up in the headwaters. Fortunately, the rate of increase was reasonable enough to allow us to continue. We finished the day on a high note rather than on high water!