My kids have both discovered kayaking. Re-discovered may be a better description. They have done trips with me in IK’s down the Middle Fork of the Salmon, the Grand Ronde, the Owyhee and others beginning at age 9. But this year, mid summer after a trip down the Middle Fork, the bug hit them for the hard boat experience. Now it is all my son Conner Jackson (CJ - age 14) can talk about….think about….dream about. He writes about it. His English Teacher is a Kayak instructor with Cascade Kayak and a class V boater. And now he is devoting himself to furthering the cause of the Boise Whitewater Park. He wrote the mayor. He is pushing buttons to get answers. He tells me he will retro-fit a bike trailer to carry his kayak down to the white water park in the summer mornings to paddle all day. He wants it done before he goes to college. I love the passion. He went from a kid that was scared to be in a hard kayak early this summer to being a full on surfing machine with a bullet proof roll now. I thank the Cascade Kayak operation for providing the instruction and the venue for his advancement. Soon he will have his own published piece on the Jackson Kayak web site as he was invited to write a piece by Devon Barker. Here he and his friends are…..Surfing Boise
CJ’s Fist big hole ride Now he has the hang of it….
The Master…65lbs. of Kayaking fury…Troy Wilson Conner McLoed….Mr. Happy on the surf
CJ in big water, Staircase on the S. Fk. Payette CJ Surfing the Hero
The Daredevil…..Ethan McLeod Lauren McLeod and Brindi Jackson-IK Surf





2 Comments
It’s really been fun this year watching CJ go through that ‘break through’ this summer! Those boys were really tearing up the Main on Sunday - no wave unsurfed
Yes it has been a treat. I wonder what next year will bring in a new Sidekick he says he will be asking me to buy him after he gets straight “A”’s this year. We shall see!
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