100 Paddling Days – Goal Set, Goal Achieved

100 days of paddling on the water, I’d never done it in my 15+ years of paddling. Would I ever be able to accomplish such a feat? When I hop on social media it sometimes felt like everyone in my network was paddling 100+ days on the water. While browsing a research study which included surveying the average number of paddling days for a river kayaker, the data was around 7-8 days on the water per year. This was a humbling piece of information for me to encounter. In many people’s eyes, it’s hard to fathom how many days I get on the water, let alone trying to strive for 100 days. What seemed normal/average to me was FAR above average. Paddling was certainly a privilege in my life and I’m appreciative of its impact on my life.

In 2024, I saw an opportunity to strive for something more than I’d ever done. I’ve been maintaining a log of all my paddling days since 2013 to keep track of the many great places I’ve paddled. The highest number of paddling days I had was 88 paddling days in 2015. 2024 didn’t exactly start how I hoped, having lost my job in mid-2023, navigating a stressful job market, anxious about my health after spending a good bit of 2023 rehabbing injuries, and having lost multiple friends and family members. I needed something to focus on, something to be excited about, and something to distract me from job rejection emails. I’ve leaned on paddling many times over the years to reduce my stress levels, recenter my mind, and live a healthier lifestyle. My new found free time felt weird but also an opportunity to invest more time in things outside of my primary career. I told myself, if there was ever a year I could achieve 100 days on the water, it would be this year.

#1-#10: Off to a great start! I started off 2024 well by paddling on January 1st on the Lower Cispus River with friends and in my Antix 2.0. In these first 10 trips of the year, I had a mix of the local favorites to the Greater Seattle Area along with my favorite stretch of PNW whitewater, the East Fork of the Lewis River. I’m continuously amazed by how many great whitewater rivers are a short driving distance from Seattle. The Snoqualmie River and Green River are cherished waterways for Seattle area whitewater paddlers. Both rivers offer beginner, intermediate, and advanced sections. When it comes to amazing whitewater, it’s hard for me to not think about the East Fork of the Lewis River. It offers the spectacular waterfalls of Sunset Falls and Horseshoe Falls along with the magnificent feeling of flying through the air after a good boof. Most frequent craft of choice: Jackson Kayak Antix 2.0.

#11-#20: Getting in a rhythm. The 2nd 10 paddling days again featured the Green River and Snoqualmie River, as well as another trip south to the East Fork of the Lewis River. I had fun (and chilly) hand paddling laps in my Mixmaster, which is such a happy place boat. I also kicked off my prep for spring season whitewater slalom races in the area, paddling at the Cedar River Slalom Course just down the road from my house. For those unaware, the PNW has a great circuit of whitewater slalom races in Washington, Oregon, and B.C. Most frequent craft of choice: Jackson Kayak Gnarvana.

#21-#30: Guide/teacher life. I kept consistent in the 3rd 10 paddling days with trips to the Green River, Snoqualmie River, and the Cedar River Slalom Course. I also kicked off my season of teaching kayaking for Ballard Kayak and Paddleboard in Seattle which was my only employment to start the year, and something I haven’t been able to focus completely on in years past. And yes, I again traveled south for another glorious East Fork of the Lewis River lap and added on a trip to the amazing Sauk River. This year, I also really leaned into getting more comfortable and competitive in my slalom kayaks. I am someone who really appreciates paddling all sorts of different paddle crafts. Most frequent craft of choice: Jackson Kayak Antix 2.0.

#31-#40: Competitor and teacher. The 4th 10 paddling days was in the middle of my very busy month of April. Every April, I compete at the spring Cedar River Whitewater Slalom Race just down the road from my house. I’ve really loved getting more into slalom and connecting with a new community of paddlers as well as some familiar faces. With having more days on the water than usual, I felt stronger and more confident in this race than ever before. I was very happy to finish 2nd in the Senior Men’s K-1 division and 1st place K-1 Hand Paddles division. I still have A LOT to learn about slalom and I’m enjoying the journey of learning so much new stuff this far into my paddling career. April is also the time of year I travel to the Columbia River Gorge two consecutive weekends to develop and certify a new cadre of ACA River Kayak Instructors at the fine paddling school of Wet Planet in Husum, WA. I’m so thankful to our growing PNW community of paddlesports educators! Most frequent craft of choice: Jackson Kayak Gnarvana.

#41-#50: Play time! The 5th 10 paddling days saw more play boating in my Mixmaster and Rockstar. This aligned with the ramp up and snowmelt of Wenatchee River season. The Wenatchee River Play Run includes big water features, incredible river surf spots, and world-class views all around. Upstream of the play run is the class V Tumwater Canyon for those looking to spice up their day. The highlight of this period of time for me was participating in an ACA Adaptive Paddling Workshop. We learned about people and technologies used to support paddlers with disabilities. By the end of this workshop, we learned a ton and constructed kayak outfitting to support a paddler with a spinal cord injury to zoom around the water in a kayak, expanding my mind of what’s possible and where our sport has room to grow. I also got to experience a new stretch of whitewater for the first time, a section of the North Fork of the Snoqualmie River below Ernie’s Gorge. I joined a crew of pack rafters with my Mixmaster on a hike-in mission to explore this calm section of whitewater with jaw-dropping views. Most frequent craft of choice: Jackson Kayak Rockstar.

#51-#60: So much variety of paddling! The 6th 10 paddling days I was in a different paddle craft nearly every trip. I paddled my half-slice, sit-on-top river kayak, sea kayak, whitewater canoe, three different play boats, and a Bellyak. While I wasn’t sure what would come out of this 100 day pursuit, one major takeaway was me embracing the versatility of my skills and paddle craft fleet. It was fun to paddle at the same place and change the variable of which craft I was in. This was busy season for teaching sea and whitewater kayaking for me and I really appreciated the opportunity to keep growing this sport and helping people to connect with a transformative hobby. I also learned to roll a sit-on-top river kayak! Most frequent craft of choice: everything including Jackson Kayak Antix 2.0, Journey, Mixmaster, Rockstar and more!

#61-#70: Embracing the weird! Continuing on from the previous 10, the 7th 10 paddling days continued to embrace versatility in skills and paddle crafts. I really leaned into prone paddling during this segment of days. I’ve been fascinated by this variation of paddling, with some crafts utilizing hand paddles/gloves to drive the craft versus others utilizing leg drive with flippers. I really connected with prone paddling in previous years by seeing paddling becoming more inclusive through great organizations like Team Riverrunner. I also enjoyed getting to compete in a local, unique whitewater attainment race in my Jackson Kayak Karma RG, expanding my mind to think in an upstream direction vs. going downstream. This attainment course transformed a class 2-2+ stretch of whitewater into a lot of brain activity and strategy, breathing hard, and eating hot dogs (the unique element to the race). Most frequent craft of choice: prone paddling and Jackson Kayak Karma RG.

#71-#80: Soaking up the warm weather and spreading the stoke! PNW summers after often so beautiful with great weather, clear skies, and plentiful adventures. I continued to paddle all sorts of different crafts, often on the Powerhouse section of the Snoqualmie River a short distance from my house. I would often load up my car with 3 different paddle crafts to enjoy the same stretch of whitewater in three different ways. One lap may be a whitewater kayak, the next prone paddling, the next a whitewater canoe, the next hand paddling. Each offered a different perspective, a different level of confidence in my skills, and a ton of smiles. The Powerhouse section usually has a lot of spectators, of whom I could often hear saying to me, “I’ve never seen someone do that before.” I had a similar moment when bringing all these different crafts to the Greater Seattle Area Diversify Whitewater Paddling Weekend, seeing people connect with the water in ways previously never thought before. These moments are special to me because they may lead someone to discover their connection with the water and a healthier lifestyle. Paddling isn’t one-size-fits-all, hence why we have such a large variety of paddle crafts available. Most frequent craft of choice: everything and a special focus on the Jackson Kayak Rockstar.

#81-#90: This goal is tough but I’ve found a new goal too! Having so many days on the water at this point, I started to feel new confidence growing. I felt more confident on some harder rapids that often gave me anxiety and I found a confidence growing that I could add another slalom division to my competitor profile. I’ve prided myself in competing in as many different divisions as possible at whitewater slalom races. I’ve competed in composite K-1, plastic K-1, K-2, and hand paddles. One division made me really nervous, OC-1. I can most often be found in a kayak while on the water but I have been canoeing for nearly as long. These additional days on the water grew my versatility and made a new goal seem possible, competing in the OC-1 division at the fall Cedar River Slalom Race. Most frequent craft of choice: Jackson Kayak Antix 2.0 and whitewater canoe.

#91-#100: Goal set, goal achieved! This goal was within reach but I started to feel the sacrifice of this goal as well as the neglect on other areas of my life. I was going where I had never gone before and I could feel the difference good and bad. I felt confident enough to sign up for Senior Men’s K-1 and OC-1 at the fall Cedar Slalom Race. I won Senior Men’s K-1 for the first time and finished 3rd in Senior Men’s OC-1 in the largest division participation in recent memory. Another highlight of these final 10 days was paddling Pilchuck Creek and having the confidence to paddle this section with confidence and run a waterfall without scouting, relying entirely on verbal beta. This was highly unusual for me but I major sign of growth achieved throughout the year. I finished the year and paddling day #100 (on December 31st) the most confident I’ve felt on the water in many years. It took me every day of 2024 to achieve this goal but I’m so thankful to have pushed beyond what I thought was possible at this stage in my life. Most frequent craft of choice: Jackson Kayak Antix 2.0, Jackson Kayak Gnarvana, and whitewater canoe.

In conclusion, I’m thankful for taking on a bold goal of 100 days on the water during a trying year. I did it and I also got a new job this past year! Paddling has helped me through some of the toughest moments in my life and provided me with some of my most cherished memories. I had so many happy moments this year in a wide variety of Jackson Kayaks. There’s certainly no paddle crafts in my house/garage with dust on them. I feel more connected with myself, my community, and embracing my versatile paddling skills. I encourage you all to reach for the stars and find an ambitious goal that can transform your life or improve your confidence and enjoyment on the water. I find it equally important to reflect on this past year through writing this blog post. In this fast-paced world, it’s hard to stop, take a breath, and soak it all in. It’s incredible what we can do when we set our mind on something ambitious!