The Smith Family; Jason, Mary, Mason, Daniel, Michael
Date of Birth: Jason(2/1971), Mary(5/1975), Mason(10/2006), Daniel(3/2008), Michael(2/2012)
Hometown:Nazareth, Pa
Discipline: whitewater kayaking, fishing, biking, skiing/snowboarding, outdoors
Favorite Rivers: Upper Yough, Lower Yough, Cheat, Big Sandy, Stonycreek, Brodhead, Deerfield, it’s hard to pick just one
Favorite boats:Jason-Nirvana, Mary-Zen, Mason-Shooting Star, Daniel-Shooting Star, Michael-Dynamic Duo
Favorite Quote:“Dad, can we go kayaking?”
Favorite Festivals:Cheatfest, Stonycreek Fest
Goals:
Michael (7 yrs old) said his goal is to wet exit with a neoprene skirt. :-) Love that kid
Daniel (11 yrs old) said he would like to learn how to surf better and get out of bigger sticky holes.
Mason (12 yrs old) said his personal goal is to run the Little White Salmon(apparently he’s been watching Dane’s videos. Dane said it was one of his favs growing up). He also wants to get better at hole surfing tricks.
Mary said she would like to paddle the lower yough without crying LOL. The lower yough has always been her pinnacle goal. So she views it as the peak of her paddling and gets very nervous with the idea of paddling something she was always afraid to do. Crying after cucumber falls, smiling and laughing by the time we get to railroad.
As for me, I feel very fortunate to be able to paddle with my family so often. There’s not much I’d rather do. I love that we can all participate, even if that means using a raft or IK. Our experience with organized sports is that one family member participates while everyone else is a spectator. Paddling, rafting, biking, hiking, fishing, etc. allows us all to be participants.
My family goal is to do things as a family where we all participate and I would like to extend that goal by welcoming other families, kids, and individuals to the awesome world of paddling????. I am passionate about the outdoors and I believe we need more advocates for the environment. If people get out and enjoy it, they will naturally become advocates and want to protect our natural resources.
As for my personal paddling goals, I want to paddle till I can’t anymore, so paddling within my wheelhouse of skills is important, but with some push to excel. The older boys are getting really good, so they push me a bit. Their learning curve this past year has been awesome.
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCTiNIvQeQck9UZU3lw-OPyw?view_as=subscriber
Instagram-@jsmith6541, @masonsmith949, @kayak_kid1
Facebook: Jason Smith
