In June 2006 I decided I should try hand paddling an entire river so I’d have a better feel of how they worked (they always just stayed in the back of my boat as backups). It was the mighty Hiawassee. A common class II run in the southeast, it has enough playspots to help me really get used to the dynamics of hand paddling. and by the end of the day, I was hooked.
I kept with my stick for any III-IV rivers the rest of that summer, using my hand paddles for the class II runs to get more used to the different dynamics of hand paddling. By September 2006, I made “the switch” and now only use a stick for attainment workouts on a local river and when helping to instruct in a group setting.
This blog is nothing more than a self-centered web-archive for me to blab and share some aspects of these hand paddling experiences when I think about it …
10:03 am - 7-11-2007
Yay Hand Paddlers! I’m an avid hand paddler myself. I occassionally take a stick to the lake to see how I roll with it, but I have no desire to take a stick down the river. Lovin my hand paddles!! And they will get you down (right-side-up) most of the rivers here in the Southeast. Love your blog title!