We can hardly believe that our first installment of Creek Week 2016 is in the books. Seven ladies trekked from all corners of the country—from DC to Michigan to Colorado—to join us for a week of instruction, growth, and fun times. We started off the week with some warm-up on the Upper Green, focusing on using those core muscles to achieve maximum efficiency in fundamental strokes such as the stern draw. Everyone reveled in the warm sunshine that spilled over the river. Happy spring!
The rain we ordered was taking its sweet time to come in, so in the true spirit of unstoppable girls at play, we set off for some ELFing (extra-low flow paddling) on Tuesday and Wednesday. Wilson’s Creek and the North Fork of the French Broad provided us with the opportunity to focus on skills such as reading technical water, maintaining boat angle, and boofing. The sheer beauty of springtime Southeastern creeks was awe-inspiring and helped us all to relish in the present moment.
On Thursday, we headed for the Green River Narrows to continue refining skills and to take a shot at the bottom five rapids. We took some time to explore the nuances of ferries and S-turns before venturing up to Blackwater Falls for boof practice, then finished the day with rampant success at Baby Sunshine and Hammer Factor. Thursday was so much fun that we returned to the Narrows on Friday for a continued boofing extravaganza at Blackwater, where everyone saw tremendous improvement by the end of the session. Many added stylish runs of Toilet Bowl into Hammer Factor to their Green River Narrows repertoire.
We cannot thank the ladies of Creek Week Round 1 enough for the energy, friendship, and team spirit that they brought to the table. Special thanks go to Adriene Levknecht for instructing all week and to Erin Savage for assisting on the Narrows. This was a great first clinic of 2016 and we are fired up for the rest of the season! Here are a few photos – some captured by Anna and others by the talented Sarah Ruhlen.
