It’s so close you can almost taste it… paddling season! With 30 days to go, here are the top five things that you should be focused on:
1. Paddling Plans – start to plan out your summer festival schedule. There are a lot of great paddling events in Western Canada so be sure to get those vacation requests in early! (See below for a starter list for consideration) Check out Paddling Maps for some inspiration on where to explore this season!
2. Paddling Buddies – paddling is better with friends. Get your calendars out and start to get commitments made for some epic trips this season. Fit in some festivals, some new rivers and some old favorites.
3. Gear, gear and more gear – can you really ever have enough? Go back through your gear and confirm the list of what you need to round out your collection. Keep an eye out for the Aquabatics gear swap and on local facebook groups to pick up what you need. If you don’t see it, then check out Aquabatics as they will have all of their new spring gear in by now.
4. Your boat – does your boat match your paddling goals and new abilities or is it time to upgrade or expand? The gang at Aquabatics have a great program where you can demo the new boats before buying one. Test out a few and see how far technology has come and how much stronger a paddler you actually are.
5. Give back – find a local club or organization that is doing a river clean up and get involved. It’s great to get outside, help make a difference and you’ll probably meet some new like minded people. Grab a group of friends and make it even more fun!
Summer Whitewater Paddling Events:
May 17 – 20: The 3 River Rendezvous
May 31st – June 2nd: Kicking Horse PaddleFest
June 21st - 23rd: Grand Cache Wild Water Rendezvous
July 19th - 21st: Clearwater Kayak Festival
July 12th - 14th: Sundre Paddlefest
July 26th – 28th: Toby Creek Race
August 2nd – 5th: Jordan River Festival
August 2nd – 4th: Slave Riverfest (NWT)
August 9th – 11th: Kanfest
August 30th – September 2nd: Fraserfest
September 20th - 22nd: Unlikely Paddlefest
September (dates TBD): Cheakamus Huckfest
Aquabatics Edmonton is now OPEN and the ever-popular gear swap will be happening in Calgary in mid-April! We look forward to seeing you out on the river!
The Vincent Family
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