Intro To River Running on the Upper James! Beginner Whitewater Kayaking

OVERVIEW

hello my semi-aquatic river rats and various aquatic flora. do you love the water (yes), do you want to learn to shred said water when said water is white (yes), then come join me on a wonderful and educational jaunt down the Upper Jimmy!

WHAT
this trip is an introduction to whitewater kayaking. we will go over basic outfitting of whitewater gear, basic paddle strokes, reading and running rapids, and perhaps even exciting activities such as surfing! this trip is more geared toward instruction so please come stoked to learn!

WHERE
we will be paddling a section of the James river near Richmond commonly known as the Upper James. this is a great learning section with class I-II rapids, a nice flatwater section for learning, and wonderful rocks to chill, snack, swim, and explore off of. It stretches about 4.5 miles from Pony Pasture Park to Reedy Creek Park, right within a stone’s throw of downtown RVA. Check out this link to see what it’s all about: https://www.americanwhitewater.org/content/River/view/river-detail/1951/main

WHEN
8:00 – meet at corner of echols, confirm boat and gear sizings, hit za road.
9:30 – arrive at reedy creek park, drop cars for shuttle, do any needed changing/dry clothes distribution
10:00 – arrive at pony pasture park, unload and gear up, quick gear and outfitting seminar as needed, choice of JAH FLUME or chill pool, start paddlin!
11:30 – chill mid-river on super secret river chill spots, mad snacking and potential roll instruction ensues
2:00 (at latest) – arrive, having paddled our little hearts out, at reedy creek, take out, load up, dry off, reset shuttle
2:30 – on our way back to cville!
4:00 – back at echols
*** these times are in an attempt to be conservative but jah river (and humans) is unpredictable and things may run over ***

WHAT WE BRING
– us; in the form of animistic river spirit guides
– kayaks/paddleboards and their respective paddles
– PFDs, kayak skirts, and helmets
– probably some dry/splash tops to keep you from getting too chilly
– extra water and a couple dry bags

WHAT YOU BRING
– you; in the form of an aquatic or semi-aquatic native fauna
– clothes that can get wet and that you can swim confidently in. it will be a little chilly on the water so swim shirts, synthetic compression gear, neoprene, and even fleece if you want are recommended
– shoes that are cool with being in the river
– sunscreen/maybe a hat if you want
– water + snack if you want
– change of clothes and a towel for after
– maybe a plastic bag or your own version of a dry bag for your stuff you want on the river (snack, sunscreen ect.). we have dry bags but this can be your bag within the bag (bagception)

NOTICE
whitewater sports are inherently dangerous. we lead trips at a level where we feel confident about our ability to keep people on our trip safe. your safety also depends on YOU, your honest communication of your abilities and state of being, as well as respect towards any safety advice.

WAITLIST POLICY
If you are on this waitlist you are committed to coming on the trip! Please remove yourself if your plans change. Participants will be selected from the waitlist on the basis of their kayaking experience and attendance record. This policy is a rough guideline and subject to change.

“expert” participants: 1/8 will be selected and will have strong knowledge and practice of the kayak roll.
“experienced” participants: 4/8 will be selected and will have some knowledge and practice of whitewater kayaking skills and/or the kayak roll. They should be comfortable performing a t-rescue or wet exit.
“beginner” participants: 3/8 will be selected and may have little to no kayaking experience.

These quotas will be filled starting with the participants who signed up first. If there are still spaces available after these quotas have been filled to their fullest extent, more participants will be added at a ratio of roughly 2 beginner participants to 1 experienced participant, or 3 beginner / 2 experienced participants to 1 expert participant

Participants who attended a similar previous trip within the last three months will have lower waitlist priority than those who did not. Participants, especially those at the expert level, willing to instruct or give advice to others will receive priority over others at their level.

DRIVERS
drivers, especially those with roof racks with crossbars or with a truck are needed! drivers will get gas reimbursed and a 50% tip up to $20

thanks for reading the entire trip descrip! hope to see ya on the river