Category: Uncategorized
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Fan Mail: Ban the Van
A reader sends a critique of #vanlife. Dear Site Zed, My friend once told me, “Vans are for posers.” I didn’t know what he meant until recently. I was at a river festival a few weeks ago. Takeout parking was limited, not because of crowds-because of vans. Hipsters adorned in mullets, mustaches and flat brimmed…
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Exploring Tajikistan’s Untamed Rivers Part Two: The Muksu
The team, burdened by leaking drytops and broken kayaks, explores the frigid, high elevation Muksu River.
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Go Fast Season Is Here
CKE The new year clicks over. Rain-dependent rivers start to flow. Group texts light up. And across the Southeast, a familiar mental math kicks in for a small crew of paddlers: Can I leave work early? Will the level hold? Is this actually happening? Every winter and spring, those questions signal the arrival of Go…
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A Story for the Ages: Exploring Tajikistan’s Untamed Rivers
By Middy Tilghman, Simon Beardmore and Andrew McEwan Note from the editor (SZ): In 2007 Middy Tilghman, Andrew McEwan and Simon Beardmore wrote the following grant proposal to fund an ambitious kayaking expedition to Tajikistan: In the decade following its independence, Tajikistan was embroiled in a civil war that took a devastating toll on its…
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LETTER FROM THE eDITOR
I grew up deep in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Rugged, worn, peaks tucked Sylva, North Carolina, into a high valley. Early morning fog blanketed the valley floor on my way to aptly named Smoky Mountain High. Ridges poked out of thick clouds and announced the day. Easy river access, reliable flows, and a temperate climate…
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Adrift: Savoring and Suffering in the High Sierras
Zak offers an intimate glimpse into the joy and hardship that comes from exploring unknown rivers in the High Sierra while balancing the responsibilities of fatherhood, family and the life that pulls one away from big river trips.
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Absolved
Nathan’s relationship to paddling was forever changed when he was on the scene of a fatal accident on his home river. Through years of growth, new friendships and the nurturing of a different approach towards the sport, he finds absolution and ultimately freedom.
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Linville Gorge: Triumph and Tragedy
Dylan McKinney and his team were on track to have one of the best days of their kayaking careers on the Linville River. But they were forced to reckon with the extreme highs and lows of the sport when they paddled into a tragic scene.
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The Sandbags of Time
With little to no formal infrastructure, a kayaker’s progression is often founded on the mentorship of others. Matthias Fostvedt weighs both sides of the equation, offering wisdom that can only be found from the frequent oscillation between that of a mentor and mentee.
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Ultra Classic: the Wayne Gentry Interview
In this interview, kayak video pioneer Wayne Gentry (Southern Fried Creekin’, Green Summer) discusses the early days of whitewater videography in the Southeast, and his influence on the modern era.
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