Athlete Stories

Paddling stories from professional athletes. Get stoked with tales from those pushing the boundaries of today’s kayaking, stand up paddling, canoe, and whitewater rafting.

Athlete Stories

Skiing and Pack Rafting Iceland’s Vatnajökull Ice Cap (Catching Up with Chris Burkard)

Want to combine pack rafting with skiing across a glacier? Get in touch with Chris Burkard. Last spring, using Alpacka pack rafts as tow-behind...
Eugene Buchanan -
Athlete Stories

Patagonia Releases “Into the Thaw: Witnessing Wonder Amid the Arctic Climate Crisis” by Jon Waterman

Just in time for winter to set in, Patagonia has published a first-hand account of the Arctic crisis, "Into the Thaw: Witnessing Wonder Amid...
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Athlete Stories

Ode to the Green River Narrows (By Chris Gragtmans)

With the cancellation of this year’s Green Race in North Carolina for the first time since its inception more than two decades ago due...
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Athlete Stories

Jim Cassady (Author, Adventurer, Self-bailing Raft Inventor) Passes Away; Tributes Pour In

Tributes are pouring in for whitewater rafting pioneer and guidebook author Jim Cassady, who passed away in early November. Cassady was a whitewater pioneer in...
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Athlete Stories

NRS Releases Finding the Line Film

NRS is proud to announce the release of “Finding The Line,” a short film by Katie Hake that explores the relationship between art and the...
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Athlete Stories

The Green After Helene: A First Look at the Green River Narrows

While thousands of people are still struggling with the aftereffects of Hurricane Helen, a few intrepid paddlers, taking a break from rescue efforts themselves,...
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Athlete Stories

New Wick Walker Book: Torrents As Yet Unknown: Daring Whitewater Ventures into the World’s Great River Gorges

Like river reads the raise your hackles? Then you’ll love a new book out by longtime expedition paddler Wick Walker, “Torrents As Yet Unknown:...
Eugene Buchanan -
Athlete Stories

Fox Takes Olympic Gold in Women’s K-1

There was nothing sly at all about Australian Jessica Fox's commanding gold medal win in women's K1 Slalom at the Paris Olympics. She won...
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Athlete Stories

5th Time’s a Charm: New Zealand’s Luuka Jones Preparing for 5th and Final Olympic Games in Paris

Count 'em...New Zealand’s Luuka Jones will have a whopping 20 years between her first and final Olympic appearance as she prepares for her fifth and...
Eugene Buchanan -
Athlete Stories

Palm Equipment, Pyranha Celebrate Bren Orton with Community Paddle Day Aug. 31

Let's call it a Bren Day. Or, as Bren Orton would say, a "Class Joy" day—which, to us here at Paddling Life, is the...
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Athlete Stories

The Great Loop: Solo Canoeist Sets out on 6,000-mile Odyssey Throughout East Coast

Peter Frank is being frank. This summer, he embarked on a 6,000-mile solo canoe loop throughout the East Coast pretty much… just because. And...
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Athlete Stories

Three, Three, Three Golds in One: Aussie Jessica Fox Makes History Winning Triple Golds at Slalom World Cup

Really, is there anyone who has dominated the slalom kayaking scene more than Australia’s Jessica Fox? Fox made more canoeing history in early June, becoming...
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Athlete Stories

Bad Ash Outdoors On a Mission About Fishin’

Ashley “Bad Ash” Nichole Lewis is on a mission…a mission about about fishin’. Lewis, a 142nd generation angler, a member of the Quinault Indian Nation, a...
Eugene Buchanan -
Athlete Stories

Op-Ed: The Problems with Kayak Cross 

(By Alex Dodge): A few weeks ago, the US Olympic Trials for slalom kayaking were held at both Alabama’s Montgomery Whitewater and Riversport in...
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Athlete Stories

The Origin of the Brown Claw!

What is the "brown claw" hand signal? In case you're ever driving down the shuttle road and see a fellow boater flash you a downward-facing...
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Athlete Stories

Bridging Memories: Reflections from the 1,300-mile, 52-day Columbia River Canoe Project

Professional outdoor athlete Robert Lester from Butte, Mont., recently traveled through Bridgeport, Wash., along the banks of the Columbia River on the on his...
Eugene Buchanan -
Athlete Stories

Jim Good on the First Descent of Ernie’s Gorge on WA’s NF Snoqualmie

(By Jim Good/photos by Mike Hagadorn): From out of the darkness the first twinkling lights appeared. We were overcome with relief, then jubilation. It...
Nick Hinds -
Athlete Stories

Day 100 and Counting: Update from Tez Steinberg’s 5,000-mile Row from Hawaii to Australia

Want to know what it’s like to row 5,000 miles from Hawaii to Australia? We managed to catch up with Tez Steinberg, 36, who,...
Eugene Buchanan -
Accessories

Exostosis/Surfer’s Ear and Kayakers

What do high-level kayakers Rush Sturges, Tyler Bradt and Peter Csonka have in common (besides the ability to nail a line)? They're just three...
Nick Hinds -
Athlete Stories

Sea Kayaking, Whitewater, Climbing, Suffering and Love: Check out New Erik Boomer Baffin Vid!

We know Valentine's Day has passed, but that doesn't mean you have to write off romantic sufferfests for the year. Or maybe, not so...
Eugene Buchanan -
Athlete Stories

A Test of Pelican’s 1120 Protector Case, A Lost Boat and a Swim to Remember

Photo by Mike Hagadorn I was about to be a new father and had been working as a rep for Werner paddles for only three...
Nick Hinds -
Athlete Stories

Row, Row, Row Your Boat, Mom: Mother Solo Rows 3,000 Miles Across Atlantic

Let's just say that's a heckuva lot of strokes, blisters and not having to think about packing kids' lunches for school. According to Scotland's Evening...
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Athlete Stories

Listen to Armchair Explorer’s Podcast with “Amazon Woman” Darcy Gaechter

The Amazon River is known for being the largest river in the world by volume and the second-longest river on Earth. Due to the frigid source...
Eugene Buchanan -
Athlete Stories

Swimming Whitewater on Purpose: Five Minutes with….the Frogman!

While Paddling Life constantly scours the internet for people paddling interesting and bold watercraft, we stumbled upon one person using no craft al all—just...
Nick Hinds -
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Latest news

Paddling Industry News

Ocoee River Sees Historic Flooding

Historic Flooding Hits Ocoee River Region, Shattering Water-Level Record It's not just the desert Southwest of the Rockies getting record...
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Accessories

Summer Swagalicious Gear Roundup!

Okay okay, it's still a little early for Christmas. But it's coming, and the goose is getting fat. So,...
Stand Up Paddle Boarding

Isle Paddle Boards: A fun alternative to whitewater kayaking

ISLE Pioneer 3 & Pioneer Pro 2: A New Perspective on Stand-Up Paddling Looking for something to mix things up...

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Athlete Stories

TikTok Influencer Paddles 450 Miles Down Congo (And Creates Meme Game for Followers!)

Welsh explorer Ash Dykes spent weeks telling his TikTok followers he...
Athlete Stories

Paddling Camps and Clubs, How our Sport Can Grow

What brings folks into whitewater paddling, and did the...
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The Paddling World’s Greatest Unsolved Mysteries

So Halloween just ended…but not the following paddling mysteries that continue to haunt history buffs across the canoeing continent. Read on, if you dare…
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Tumultuous Waters: Man-made “Dallas” Wave Not Up to Snuff

A man-made whitewater park on the Trinity River in Dallas is making waves, but not the kind it’s supposed to. The city is in an uproar over a $4 million kayaking playground built in 2011 that has never functioned as intended. Now the Army Corps of Engineers is giving the city an ultimatum: either repair it, or remove it...
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