Coming back to Colorado is always great. Arriving to the big expansive mountains and plains give you a feeling of freedom and possibility, and returning to paddle in Buena Vista is just like that too. The competition hole is one of the best holes I have played in and because its controlled and slow, there is plenty of opportunity to practice and learn things in digestible bits. It feels possible to learn any trick! Paddling all week with Emily and getting coaching from Emily, Nick, and Stephen was terrific and really fun. The only person I missed paddling with was Clay! Though the river level fluctuated a bit, it was great training all week – even arriving in snow and cold weather (gotta love Colorado Spring weather!). As the week warmed up, the levels rose to perfect for the competition! As I had not been back to Buena Vista in 4 years, it was another great opportunity to see friends I hadn’t seen since before the pandemic and reconnect with the paddling community out there. Being on the water every day, I got to meet a whole new crop of paddlers – juniors and seniors – who were all really excited to be out enjoying BV’s awesomeness.

After being away for that long, I forgot how much there is to do right near the river too, and most of it is in walking distance of the river. Right next to the river are great hiking and biking trails of all kinds, and just outside of BV, upstream are great river runs like the numbers and the fractions. Even the run down through the multiple play features is fun! The water related community in BV is huge and it felt like a welcome relief to be back amongst people who share the same great enjoyment and love of the river. A couple of the waves upstream are great SUP surfing waves and river board waves where there are regular paddle/surf gatherings.

It was inspiring to see so many people turn up for the competition both to participate and to spectate and enjoy the show. 71 year old Joe took an impressive 4th place in the Open with two big loops and spins in both directions. Incidentally, Joe paddles 100 days per year! Go Joe! Erin moved to Denver all the way from Ireland to paddle in BV and environs. Erin had paddled on the Nile, and we had fun talking about kayaking there. Matteo from Idaho and the Smith brothers from Pennsylvania, all juniors and great up and coming paddlers, brought good competition to the Junior men’s class. They also seemed to be super excited to meet each other and paddle together.

US Freestyle Kayak Teammates of mine from 2019, Riley and Katie, who were juniors back then, are all grown up now and paddling really well. Riley is working with his dad as a welder and Katie is attending Fort Lewis College in Durgano and running for the college! It was fun to catch up with them on and off the water. Paul Palmer, who I have been on two US Teams with and paddled in Uganda with, also showed up for the Paddlefest weekend. It was great to catch up with him! Hard to believe he is 26, I think I met him when he was 14!

All in all is was a great weekend reconnecting with the paddling tribe that I felt pretty separated from during the pandemic and I missed! The hole paddling was really fun and great practice for the upcoming World Championships in Nottingham, England. It was like going to the best kayak camp ever this week! Can’t wait to come back next year!