Jay Kincaid makes a Northwest Tour of Jackson Kayak Dealers- see his update!

I spent the last week doing dealer visits in the frosty North West.
First stop was in Spokane at one of the nicest outdoor shops that I have ever seen, Mountain Gear. I met up with a small group of people around noon and we paddled at a great wave that Jud Keiser built on the Spokane River. We had a great time surfing but our session was cut a bit short due to the 18 degree weather. Yep, 18 degrees and having fun. That evening I met up with the staff back at the store and we did an in store clinic on product new and old.

Next I was heading to Leaven worth to visit Leavenworth Mountain Sports. Driving from Spokane to Leavenworth made me feel good about the idea that I was not kayaking at this stop. The average temperature was around 9 degrees, the river was frozen over, and the snow bank confirmed that it was indeed ski season. We had a nice in store visit though, and I am jealous of the great water that Leavenworth will have all summer long.

From Leavenworth I headed to Seattle to visit Seattle raft and Kayak. We went paddling in the morning on the Skycomish which was a ton of fun. During the process of getting to the put in we got the shop van stuck in the snow and had to dig it out with our paddles. The river itself was full of little play spots and lots of rock spins.
Back at the store we all had a great time visiting, eating, and going through the Jackson Kayak product.

I was then off to Portland for a morning visit at Alder Creek. They were obviously very busy, but it was a good in store visit none the less. Everyone seemed to be really excited about the new product and I got a lot of great feed back as well. It should be a great year for Jackson kayak in the Portland area this year.

Next up was a stop in beautiful Hood River, at the Kayak Shed, with the main man John Hart. John was really stoked on then new Funs and Rockers, as in his area both boats should do very well for him. I would have loved to have shown him, and all the other dealers, one of the new Stars, but I don’t have one yet. It was great to visit Hood River and I am excited to come back during the summer time.

From there I raced to the Clackamas River and Bob’s Hole to get a quick paddle in before dark. I got there just in time to surf a small wave upstream for about 45 minutes. Both Bob’s Hole itself, and Joe Bob’s were not at a good level, but I did come back the next morning and surf that same small wave again, as it was still a lot more fun then not kayaking.
Across the board it was a great trip. I had a lot of fun seeing everyone and am looking forward to doing it all again when kayaking season is in full swing.

Jay Kincaid