Red Elvis: Picking-Up Kayaking At 60 And Loving It!

Facing midlife in total denial required me to take up a new hobby. Loving water, I discovered Kayaking. Seeking a little adventure, I chose whitewater kayaking. Rather than becoming complacent in my old age of 60, I chose to step just outside my comfort zone.

Kayaking is a wonderful experience. We have a variety of lovely places to go, both lakes and rivers with clean water and sublime scenery. Moving with the water through such beautiful natural surroundings is a head clearing experience. Sections of calm water between turbulence is a metaphor for life. Life is a flow. A kayak is a beautiful thing; purposeful, simple and competent. This one was red and had an upturned bow and a sexy curve. I named it Red Elvis.

And so with a few hours of practice and much reading up on the do’s and don’ts of paddling technique, I was ready to experience a real river trip down the renowned Rogue River in southern Oregon. This would be a fun run, a recreational section of the river very popular with paddlers.

There are two kinds of “white water” kayaks; There are “I.K”s, inflatable kayaks that resemble narrow versions of blow-up backyard swimming pools while the more traditional hard shell Kayaks are what people envision plunging off waterfalls with gleeful abandon or of Eskimos hunting seal. Mine is a hard shell. However, most everyone on this stretch of river were in the little inflatable I.K’s or “rubber duckies” or large expedition rafts tours.

It seemed strange that only myself and one other person were in “real” kayaks and only one of us knew what they were doing in such a boat and it wasn’t me. Hmmmm.While we were equipped with helmets, spray skirts and emergency whistles, the IK people were in bathing suits, suntan lotion and equipped with potato chips and dip. I was beginning to sense a cognitive disconnect. Were we on the same river? Yes and No. The same river yes.

The same experience no. Like a big inner tube, the inflatable type of watercraft  sits on top of the water and float along with the waves, they bounce off things and generally meander downstream with the current. You sit safely cushioned inside and paddle mostly around in circles and work on your tan. If you fall out, you get wet, retrieve your soda and then climb back in with the soggy potato chips. You are more of a passenger than a pilot.

A hard shell kayak on the other hand, is like a little ship. It sits down in the water and you have full control to power it, steer it and balance it. You can cut through the waves, maneuver through the current and avoid things, but you can also capsize and fill up with water just like a vessel at sea.  You are captain but you are also the crew. We launched our boats and began our big river adventure. Down stream lie 27 miles of majestic scenery and a series of 48 rapids class 1 to 3. It was going to be a bumpy ride.

Rapids are turbulent currents caused by water flowing downhill over submerged rocks. When water goes downhill, it speeds up, with lots of splashing waves, called “white water.” Getting flushed through a rapid is like a roller coaster ride. It just grabs you and takes you with it. When the water levels out and slows down, it is called “flatwater” like a pond.  For a kayaker, flatwater is a period of time to bring the heart rate down and bail out the boat and say things like, ”Good run, dude” in a brave sounding voice.

On this river section the rapids come and go. If your kayak flips over, you simply hang onto your paddle and your boat, float to calmer water, empty out your boat and continue on. Its a learning experience. You steer by paddling to keep balanced and pointed the right way and you learn to ride out rapids like a buckaroo on a horse. A good kayaker can roll right back up and keep on going. Not me. I am  to be to be baptized in the water by the water.