I'll be leading a Sac trip introductory kayaking whitewater trip tomorrow evening. "Sac" is a dam on the Wisconsin River about half an hour from campus. It's depth and moving current make it a great place to safely learn basic whitewater skills.

All you'll need to participate is to have taken your lake lesson (there's one today at 4:45). This trip will allow you to earn your R1 rating, which allows you to paddle some of the rivers farther up north.

We'll leave from the Park St. circle at 5:00pm, so plan to arrive by 4:45 to load boats and gear. My car can accommodate 4-5 people with boats, but we'll need more drivers if more people want to come. Bring a swimsuit, $5 for gas, and money for dinner at Culver's afterwards. We'll probably be back to campus around 10-11.

Get in touch if you have any questions. A couple safety boaters would be very welcomed.

Too bad about the weather on Tuesday evening, but let's reschedule the kayak lesson for Thursday

This is an introduction to kayaking lesson that needs to be completed before embarking on awesome hoofer kayaking trips. On thursday (9/2) we'll meet outside the hoofer boathouse by Lake Mendota, take a tour of the boathouse, and get in the water to cover basic strokes, a useful rescue, and the wet exit (wet - insinuating, you will be just that after the lesson, so bring a towel and dry clothes for after). The lesson may take as long as 2 hours because I'm assuming many people will be interested.

I will also offer a swim test immediately after the lake lesson - for this you will need long pants and a long sleeved shirt as well as shoes to swim in. No need to sign up for the swim test, just show up at around 6.45 if you want to do it.

P.S. the club is missing a white Cannondale Six13. It's a small bike and wants to come back to its home in Hoofers. Any info on its whereabouts? e-mail me!

I will lead a canoe lake lesson and administer the swim test this Thursday September 2nd. Meet at the boating cage (by the Outdoor Rentals office down at the lakeside) at 5:00 p.m. Please sign up online.

This lesson can give you your lake rating in a canoe, which will allow you to paddle on parts of Lake Mendota with Outing Club boats, and participate in quitewater trips and introductory moving water and whitewater trips with the club. Please let me know if you're willing to help lead this lesson, it would be greatly appreciated. Email me with any questions.

This whitewater boating trip is for R4ps and up. We'll head south to TN to paddle the Ocoee and hang with Laura K. during her weekend-long bachelorette party. (Boys are most welcome but, according to Laura, may be subject to participation in shenanigans - along with other attendees). We will leave bright and early Friday morning September 3rd and return late in the evening 9/6 (may be early morning of the 7th, but in time for class/work on Tuesday.)

To participate in this trip, you need to have a kayak or canoe lake rating and have passed the swim test.

This trip is great for all skill levels, and provides kayakers with a lake rating the ability to earn their R1 after learning & demonstrating peel outs and ferries.

Bring a swimsuit, warm when wet shirt, water, snack, dry chance of clothes, plastic bag for your wet gear, $5 for gas and additional money for dinner at Culvers afterward.

If you wish to participate, please sign up on this web site if possible or else email me.

Currently, I can only guarantee space to 3 boaters with gear. So drivers with racks are especially encouraged to participate.

If anyone can safety boat or enjoys shooting video, we could also use your help!

Door County is a great annual tradition that combines sea kayaking, hiking and biking. We drive up to the point of "the thumb" of Wisconsin to camp at Newport state park for Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights of Labour Day weekend.

Food, camping and travel expenses are included in the deposit of $100 (in the past you get a little back).

Signups will be only at the Outing Club meetings, starting August 3rd. I'm going to start a rumor that if you volunteer to drive and carry boats or bikes, take responsibility for a couple meals, or lead boating trips, you can contact me and maybe you can sign up early. After you sign up, I'll be contacting you to get information about whether you can drive, bring a tent, volunteer to lead something, etc.

Sea kayakers must be SK1's, but there's no restriction on hiking or biking. Deposit for each participant is due by August 24th, preferably by check. If I don't have it by then, and there's a waiting list, you may get bumped down.

I will ge going as a private trip, call me if interested (608-345-8147) and you've got the gear and experience to do this on your own.

Time for some end-of-summer playboating on Wisconsin's own whitewater playground at Wausau. This trip is for paddlers with an R3p rating or higher---having a combat roll is nice since swims can be long (rapids are fairly continuous).

Meet at the Park Street Circle--boathouse at 7 am (yeah, it's early--no whiners or late sleepers allowed). The water turns on at 10 and shuts off at 4 pm. Cost is $10 if you've got a valid ACA card; $15 without. Bring your own lunch for the day (may be possible to buy a brat or burger on-site); we'll probably stop some place after the session for some food, although driving straight home could get us back in Madison in time for other things that night (~ 3 hour drive).

There also will be cost-sharing for gas costs. We can park cars we don't need somewhere on the East side of Madison (maybe near my house on Fair Oaks Ave.).

For questions about the Wausau course, see "wausauwhitewater dot org"---or else call or send me an email. If you haven't paddled Wausau before, now's the chance. It's a wonderful paddling resource---and makes for a great little day trip of paddling.

Southwest of Baraboo is a small creek that has carved its way through a sandstone cliff and created a very cool gorge with about 5 small waterfalls and pools. The gorge is only about 200 yards long, but its a very cool/breathtaking experience.

My plan is to wade and swim through the creek. I've done it a number of times and its a lot fun. The total trip will be about 4-5 hours.

This announcement is just a placeholder for a possible trip to Wausau where the Whitewater course has a release open to the public. This class III course is about a 2h30 drive from Madison, thus closer than most rivers, and a excellent place to beef up your skills when Sac has lost it's challenge.

Requierd paddler rating will probably be R3p. The cost to paddle on the course is $10 plus an ACA membership or another $5. If you want to lead this trip (leader rating WW2.5), send me an email so I can get rid of this placeholder in favor of your announcement.

Notice that there is almost always Hoofers going to these releases. So even if there is not an official trip you can still try emailing the boaters list to get a ride.

I'll be leading a beginner whitewater paddling trip with Doug Stone this Monday, Labor Day. We'll most likely head to the Red River in northeastern Wisconsin, but there's a very small chance we could paddle Morrison Creek or the Black River in western Wisconsin. All three rivers are very scenic with some excitement but nothing too crazy.

You'll need an R1 for this trip. For those still seeking an R1, Brint is leading a lake lesson and swim test tomorrow, and there are a couple Sac trips earlier this weekend.

Plan to meet at the boathouse around 7:15 or 7:30am Monday morning to grab gear. We should be back by 10pm or earlier. Plan on about $10-15 for gas and a bit more for dinner. Also bring your lunch, sunscreen, water, etc.

The current plan is to only take kayaks, but anyone interested in canoeing should contact me because that may also be a possibility.

On Monday, Mark N. and I will lead an introductory whitewater trip to Prairie du Sac dam (SAC) for people who have a kayak Lake Rating and who have passed the Swim Test. Paddlers with higher ratings are "invited" to help by being safety boaters.

This trip/lesson will earn you your R1 in a kayak, which is the minimum rating required going on most beginner whitewater rivers in a kayak. The trip will also be open to R1-OCs who want to canoe.

Please sign up below and arrive at the Park St. Circle at 3 PM.We will help you select and outfit a kayak and get your other gear for the river. For the trip, bring a swimsuit, towel, change of dry clothes, and $5 for gas and any extra $ you want to spend at Culvers afterward.

As drivers who can haul boats and safety boaters sign up to participate, I will open up the trip to more paddlers.

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NOTE: THE TRIP IS NOT FULL EVEN THOUGH IT SAYS SO ABOVE. PLEASE EMAIL ME TO SIGN UP.

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We have strong west winds today which means big waves on Mendota! I'll lead a sea kayaking trip to go surfing and get some bigger water practice in. Meet at 5 pm (or earlier), on the water by 5:15.

You must have at least an SK1 to participate. Also, you need to be able to maintain a 3 mph pace with no waves/wind (i.e. able to paddle to picnic point in 20 minutes). 4 mph is better. Please don't sign up if you can't since you'll hold the group back.

If the conditions are right (I'll be surprised if they're not) we'll also practice rescues in the waves and try and get people their SK2p ratings.

This is the introductory sea kayaking lesson needed to take out any of the club's sea kayaks, whether on Lake Mendota or any club trip. You'll need:

• your kayak lake lesson
• your swim test
• clothes and shoes/sandals you're comfortable swimming in
• a towel and a dry change of clothes for afterward.

Barring horrible weather, I'll see you on the water!

This is the introductory sea kayaking lesson needed to take out any of the club's sea kayaks, whether on Lake Mendota or any club trip. You'll need:

• completed your Kayak Lake Lesson
• completed your Swim Test
• clothes and shoes/sandals you're comfortable swimming in
• a towel and a dry change of clothes for afterward.

Barring horrible weather, I'll see you on the water!

Jeffrey L. Affeldt

The 46th Annual Hodag Hunt is a caving event run by the Wisconsin Speleological Society.

Our plan is to get a group of Hoofers to join them. We'll leave Friday afternoon, and return Sunday. The Hoofers has helmets and lights. You will need to bring minimal gear (knee pads, extra clothes), plus camping gear.

If we get more people that can drive then I can open the trip up to more people, so drivers are encouraged to sign up. This is beginer friendly caving trip, but there also will be challenges.

More info on the Hodag hunt can be found here: http://www.caves.org/grotto/wss/hodag2010.html

I'll open up the cage and conduct a paddling lake practice from 4:45 pm to about 6:15 pm.

Paddlers with a minimum of a lake rating in a WW kayak and a swim test are welcome to come down and practice strokes, rescues, wet exits, rolls, whatever you want to work on.

If you have a lake rating, but have not yet been to the dam at Sac for your introduction to whitewater, I can show you some drills to get you ready for your first trip. Just tell me that is what you want to do. Otherwise, I will review the fundamentals you learned in the lake lesson and teach bracing.

I would bring something to wear that is warm when wet (wool, fleece, long johns) as the temperature will only be in the low 70's.

NOTE: Lake practice is "drop-in", which means you can come whenever you can and stay as long as you want. I'll be there to open the cage between 4:30 and 4:45. There is no need to sign up...just show up. I put sign ups below to prevent the website from listing the activity as full.

The Lower Wisconsin River is a 93 mile strech between Prairie du Sac and the Mississippi river. There are no dams or rapids, and little development, making it a perfect river for anyone who enjoys paddling or the outdoors.

I will be leading a trip on the Lower Wisconsin Saturday, September 11. For this trip, we will paddle about tem miles, from Arena to Spring Green. We will meet at Park Street Circle at 8am to load boats, and should be back by late afternoon or early evening.

This trip will be open to both canoeists and sea kayakers. Canoeists need to have taken the canoe lake lesson, and are encouraged (but not required) to have passed the swim test. Sea Kayakers must have taken the sea kayak skills (SK0) lesson.

Participants should bring something to drink (no glass) and a lunch to eat while on the river. Sunscreen would also be recommended.

We will be very dependant on drivers who can carry boats for this trip, so please let me know if you can carry canoes or sea kayaks, and how many.

The Wolfman Triathlon is an annual event held on and in the vicinity of the Wolf River. It incorporates whitewater kayaking, mountain biking and trail running for a technical and invigorating challenge for competitors. This year several Hoofers are participating in the event. Sign ups are in early February, so watch the Hoofer email distribution lists if you are interested in participating in future years, or watch their website for details (http://www.wolfriverterritory.com/wolfman.htm)

What: Come have fun and help construct part of a National Scenic Trail this Saturday! The Ice Age Trail Alliance invites all hoofers (and friends) to come help build 1/3 mile of trail at the Hoofer-adopted Table Bluff segment of the IAT in Cross Plains, WI.

Where: Table Bluff segment of Ice Age Trail, Cross Plains, WI. 25 minute drive from Memorial Union.

When: Saturday September 11. We'll meet at 8:15 at Park Street Circle (the turnaround between Memorial Union and College Library), drive to Cross Plains and work from 9:00-2:30/3:00 with a lunch break in between. We should be back at the Memorial Union by around 4:00.

Why: Trail building is tons of fun and very rewarding for anyone who uses trails for hiking, skiing, biking, or snowshoeing. Additionally, Hoofers have adopted and built many parts of this Table Bluff segment of the Ice Age Trail. Hoofers has a strong connection to this particular segment because we use it for hiking, skiing, snowshoeing, and occasional camping. Table Bluff segment offers beautiful views of the glaciated Cross Plains landscape.

What to bring: Bring a water bottle and leather work gloves if you have them (Hoofers has some to lend). Wear boots or sturdy footwear; pants are better than shorts. You will get dirty, so don't bring anything you want to keep clean. All are welcome. New members are encouraged to come!

For those who don't already know, the Ice Age National Scenic Trail (IAT) is an 1200 mile footpath that is found entirely within the state of Wisconsin. The trail more or less follows the extent of the glaciers. However, the trail is not done yet which is why we are building trail and need your help! The Ice Age Trail Alliance (IATA) was recently given an award for being the best volunteer organization as voted by the National Park Service, and the number of volunteer hours proves it! Food and fun is guaranteed. People of all ages, abilities, sizes, you name it, attend these events. Seriously, there are 4 year-olds and there are 80+ year-olds. No ratings or trail-building experience required.

I encourage EVERYONE to participate in this. And by everyone I mean other friends, family, significant others, etc. (even outside of Hoofers) By all means, bring them along! A volunteer is a volunteer.

FYI only (I may be able to lead these, but also may not…I mainly wanted people to know about them.)

Whitewater Flow Releases on the Black River

Where: On the original river channel about 2.5 miles upstream from Hatfield Hydroelectric Project on the Black River.

When: Whitewater flow releases for 2010, will occur between 11:00a.m. and 2:00p.m. June 19, July 25, August 15, and September 11.

Description: The planned releases will create Class II and Class III pool-drop rapids, requiring an intermediate to advanced skill level. Boaters should be aware that there are inherent risks associated with whitewater boating and are encouraged to use common sense at all times. Boating is at your own risk.

Targeted flow releases for 2010:

1.    June 19 - Targeted flow of 850cfs, with option to augment up to 1300cfs.

2.    July 25 - Targeted flow up to 500cfs.

3.    August 15 – Targeted flow up to 500cfs.

4.    September 11 - Targeted flow of 850cfs., with the option to augment up to 1300cfs.

FYI only (I may be able to lead these, but also may not…I mainly wanted people to know about them.)

Have you ever wanted to lead a trip of wide-eyed first time climbers up a bluff while enjoying the crisp early morning fall air? Would you like to know how to lead outdoor climbing trips in the HOC and get your own trip up and running? Well folks, here is your chance! There are only 4 rating for climbing in the HOC: B1, Gym Leader, B2, B3 (aka Outdoor Climbing leader). If you hold a B1 in good standing and would like to get into leading outdoor trips of your own in the HOC, sign up for the B2 classroom August 23 and 24. During this time we will go over things such as route selection, rappelling ascending, gear maintenance, and of course the most important piece: anchor setting.

Please note that this is only the classroom portion the lesson and that there wil be a significant amount of time needed practicing outdoors (whether it is a practice weekend or, more likely, working with a B3 during a trip). A B2 rating has no set schedule of completion; due to the dangerous nature of the sport a through knowledge of climbing skills is needed. The goal of the B2 is to prepare you for obtaining your Outdoor Leader and we want all of our leaders to be as prepared as possible. It is a set of skills that require patience to obtain so please keep that in mind.

3)Have a strong interest in leading outdoor AND indoor climbing trips through the HOC

In preparation for the lesson I strongly suggest reading the book "Mountaineering:Freedom of the Hills" by Steven M. Cox; you can focus on chapters 9-11 and 13. It will also be beneficial to future leaders to review chapters 21-23 on safety and first aid. Also, to review the knots that need to be learned I suggest looking over the website WWW.ANIMATEDKNOTS.COM as I've found this to be a great site for learning knots for climbing in addition to other things (boaters, this is a great site for you too!).

If you have any questions feel free to contact me. The class size at this time is being limited to 6 people due to availability of instructors.

Update 8/26/2010: after discussion with the members of the lesson there will now be a day where we go out and get some hands on knowledge. It will be 9/12/2010, leaving from PSC at 8:00am. Rock on!

3)Have a strong interest in leading outdoor AND indoor climbing trips through the HOC

If you have any questions feel free to contact me. The class size at this time is being limited to 6 people due to availability of instructors.

Update 8/26/2010: after discussion with the members of the lesson there will now be a day where we go out and get some hands on knowledge. It will be 9/12/2010, leaving from PSC at 8:00am. Rock on!

On Sunday (9/12) I am offering a kayak lake lesson and swim test. Taken in a whitewter kayak, this lesson is necessary to earn your R0/lake rating in a kayak; the lake rating is a prerequisite for introductory whitewater trips to Prairie du Sac dam as well as for taking the sea kayak skills (SK0) lesson. To go on any moving water trips, you will also need to have passed the swim test (For the swim test, you must swim 50 yards in 3 min and tread water for a total of 5 min, demonstrating side stroke at some point all while wearing shoes, long sleeves and long pants.). I am limiting the group size to 4 persons unless someone offers to assist me (anyone with an R1 or higher rating in a kayak and who is comfortable in a kayak is welcome to assist with the lesson). Signup online only.

If you are in Hoofer Outing, let’s face it…you like to play in remote areas! Most of the time this takes you to areas that are off-the-beaten-path and more importantly where medical care isn’t easily accessible. Traditional first aid is designed for the common medical problems where telephones, ambulances, and hospitals are accessible whereas wilderness medicine involves more improv, more challenges, and is WAY cooler (don’t get me wrong, urban medicine is cool too, just not as much). As an outing club leader or potential leader, having the skill set to respond to medical emergencies will make you more confident, better able to respond if a medical issue arises, and yet again WAY cooler.

Wilderness First Aid (WFA) is the first level in wilderness medicine and involves a 16 hour class of hands-on first training where you simulate responding to challenging medical scenarios with limited gear (think of getting taught how to build a traction splint out of a ski pole!). Other levels of wilderness medicine includes becoming a certified WAFA (wilderness advanced first aid), a WFR (wilderness first responder), and the ultimate...WEMT (wilderness EMT).

Next week Tuesday (9/14) after the meeting in the lounge come and join in a brainstorming session on the best way to offer wilderness medicine classes for hoofers. If you have any background in traditional first aid, wilderness medicine, or are interested in becoming involved come join so we can offer WFA classes this fall!

This upcoming Tuesday, we will be hosting a Bonfire after the Kickoff on the Hoofer Dock and roasting marshmallows!!! It will be a great time to get to know people and talk about some of the upcoming trips (Devil's Lake, Day of Instruction, Fall Colors) that the club is going on.

If you have questions, contact me at celine.dammond at gmail.com or bohlmanjohn at yahoo.com

Hoofer Outing Club! Some more trail-building is soon to arrive! Yessssss... From September 16th through 19th another Mobile Skills Crew event will be held in Marathon County near Wausau at the Plover River segment of the Ice Age Trail. I will be leaving late afternoon on Friday the 17th. BUT, this is only if I can find a driver...please let me know if you can drive (I will bake something delicious for you, no joke). Camping will be at Dells of the Eau Claire State Park (which is a very nice spot to stay). There will be three excellent complimentary meals per day provided for all volunteers. In other words, all the money you're going to spend for the weekend will be for gas. What more could you ask for? Sounds pretty perfect to me!

For those who don't already know, the Ice Age National Scenic Trail (IAT) is an 1200 mile footpath that is found entirely within the state of Wisconsin. The trail more or less follows the extent of the glaciers. However, the trail is not done yet which is why we are building trail and need your help! The Ice Age Trail Alliance (IATA) was recently given an award for being the best volunteer organization as voted by the National Park Service, and the number of volunteer hours proves it! Food and fun is guaranteed. People of all ages, abilities, sizes, you name it, attend these events. Seriously, there are 4 year-olds and there are 80+ year-olds. No ratings or trail-building experience required.

This is how a Mobile Skills Crew event works. Volunteers from across the state gather for a long weekend and accomplish a huge amount of work. The work is dirty (sometimes), physical (most of the time), and very rewarding (all of the time... in retrospect). There is volunteer work for all! Work includes building trail, making meals, washing dishes, meeting and greeting, etc. We will be camping on site. Shower facilities are available nearby. A typical day goes something like this... Breakfast served at 6:45am. Leave camp around 7:45 and get to the work site at 8ish. Work until noon and break for lunch in the field. Resume work for the afternoon and quit before 5. Get back to camp, clean up, lounge, and then eat supper at 6:30. Hang out around the Hoofer sized campfire for however long you deem appropriate and then go to bed.

What you need for this trip includes: a tent (Hoofer Outing Club has these), sleeping pad (HOC has some), your own sleeping bag, leather work gloves, clothes to do work, clean clothes to be comfortable, and 2 liters of water carrying capabilities. Sturdy footwear like hiking boots are a necessity for trail-building and are required in order to handle all the tools of the trade. Dress for the weather and also physical, dirty work. At the very least, you should bring yourself and a toothbrush.

Here is the plan...Work occurs all day Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday morning (quit at noon). We will only be there Saturday and Sunday to work and we should be back in Madison by Sunday late afternoon/evening. Please sign up by getting in touch with me via email/phone/HOC meeting/BOOD. I need to know what day and time you are able to leave, whether you are able to drive, and what Outing Club gear you will need.

I encourage EVERYONE to participate in this. And by everyone I mean other friends, family, significant others, etc. (even outside of Hoofers) By all means, bring them along! A volunteer is a volunteer.

Hope to see you on the trail!

Ceci W.
708-285-1861

I've reserved a group camp site at Devil's Lake for Friday night. It holds up to 40 people, and has a fire ring. We can do moonlight canoeing on Devils Lake that night, and be on site for morning climbing, hiking, biking, kayak rolling on the lake, and beginner whitewater kayaking at Sac or canoeing on the Baraboo. To canoe or kayak, you would need our lake rating and passed the swim test. We can carpool up there, or dedicated wheelheads can bike there.

[note: there is also a release Saturday, Sept 18---but there's the Devil's Lake trip happening Friday and Saturday---and I've got a personal conflict for Saturday anyway]

Last chance of the year for some playboating on Wisconsin's own whitewater playground at Wausau. This trip is for paddlers with an R3p rating or higher---having a combat roll is nice since swims can be long (rapids are fairly continuous).

Meet at the Park Street Circle--boathouse at 7 am The water turns on at 10 and shuts off at 4 pm. Cost is $10 if you've got a valid ACA card; $15 without. Bring your own lunch for the day (may be possible to buy a brat or burger on-site); Since it's Sunday I plan to just drive straight home after we're done paddling (no stop for dinner---maybe one quick stop for a Culver's treat, though!)

Dress for "cool" paddling conditions---water is likely to be colder and air temps also are likely to be cooler (dry-top with a layer underneath is probably about right).

There also will be cost-sharing for gas costs. We can park cars we don't need somewhere on the East side of Madison (maybe near my house on Fair Oaks Ave.).

UPDATE: Because of public showing/copyright issues, we will not be able to show the film, "The Call of the River," as originally announced. Doing so will require authorization from the film's distributor along with coordination of publicity and availability of copies on-site for sale. We hope to make such arrangements to allow a public showing later this year. Stay tuned. It's worth the wait.

Instead of an entire evening of whitewater videos, I'm changing things a bit. We'll still show the film (~30 minutes), "Salt River Xstacy"---since it's a home-grown video with no complications on public showing and distribution. I might also show some shorter non-commercial videos in my collection---and/or maybe show a few slides from other recent major paddling trips. But not a lot---at most an hour of A/V presentations.

The other half of the evening will be a chalk talk, "So you wanna be a boater?"--a well timed topic given all the interest of many new members of Hoofers. This talk will feature lots of time for questions and answers---our way of trying to demystify both our sport and our Club's policies and procedures for paddling.

Again, the film we will show is one created by one of our own, Hoofer alumnus Mark Mastalski, about a spectacular multi-day whitewater adventure on the Salt River of Arizona last spring that included other Hoofer paddlers.

No sign-up for this event. Just hang around after the regular HOC meeting on Tuesday, Sept 21.

Last Ditch is a beginner friendly whitewater slalom race at Gilmore's mistake rapid on the Wolf river. You can have 6 runs, upto 2 runs in each class. classes are short or long kayak, solo or tandem open canoe, decked canoe etc.

Required rating is R1, but you want to have enough experience to control your boat in the rapids, so more likely you'll have done a couple of rivers or have been at Sac a lot.

We'll drive up on Friday, because the race starts at 10am on Saturday. Exact meeting location and time TBA.

Cost is $24 for the race (Lunch included), $5 for ACA. add money for gas, camping and a dinner (prossibly at bearpaw).

We are very lucky to have some great leaders in our program at this point. We wouldn't be where we are right now without them. Sea Kayaking is as healthy as I've ever seen it in the 10 plus years I've been a Hoofer.

With that, Kris says there is money in the Water Safety budget we are going to use to take this to the next level. We're going to bring in a professional ACA certified instructor trainer to work with existing and hopefully future leaders. John Browning will be known to some. He teaches at several kayak symposiums around the area along with Rutabaga. Along with his ACA credentials, he's also a mentor to several of us in the club, including me.

What we are going to do is go to Milwaukee on Oct 2nd to the South Shore Mariana and spend a day with John coaching us in action as well as leading discussions on land. South Shore has a break wall, so it gives us the ability to learn in protected as well as open water. We will hope for big weather so we can actually play/learn in big conditions. (Gordo wants 5'!)

We will be keying in on topics like safety and rescues. Group management. Big water skills. And will have time for general discussion too.

This class will be open to sea kayakers with ratings of SK2p or higher, and you must be an active sea kayak leader as well or a future leader. We will also give credit for ACA and BCU training if you have it.

This will be a weekend trip to ride horses in Clark County Forest - public land that has a multitude of horse trails with varied terrain, featuring uphill and downhill climbs through the woods, stream crossings, and old powerline trails that are perfect for cantering. We will pack lunch and drinking water in saddlebags and ride trails all day long on Saturday. Which trails we do and how fast we ride will depend upon the wishes and skill level of the people in the group. (Last year, at one point the group split up for a section of the ride into beginner and advanced subgroups; the advanced riders rode substantial lengths of the trail at a canter).

Saturday night there will be a campfire on the property of Wilderness Pursuit (www.wildernesspursuit.com) - the ranch that's providing the horses and trail guides. We will have delicious dinner (provided by Wilderness Pursuit) and stay overnight in cabins on their property. On Sunday morning we will have breakfast at Wilderness Pursuit, then drive back home.

COST: $162.47 per person + tips for trail guides + money for gas and road snacks. A deposit of $48.74 to Wilderness Pursuit is required in order to reserve your spot on the trip.

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COST: $162.47 per person + tips for trail guides + money for gas and road snacks. A deposit of $48.74 to Wilderness Pursuit is required in order to reserve your spot on the trip.

If you're interested in volunteering to be a trip coordinator, a boater safety assistant leader, or designing the trip t-shirt, make sure to get to the end of this message.

How's the trip work?

We will all meet at Park Street Circle (PSC) at 5pm on Friday, Oct. 15th. We will load up, and head out to Wyalusing State Park in southwest Wisconsin. We will camp there Friday night. Saturday we will wake up and check out a couple of scenic views, and then try to cram as many Hoofers into Treasure Cave as possible! (I believe the record is somewhere around 26 w/o Big John, or Big John counts as 3) After this we will head to the put-in at Woodman on the Wisconsin River.

From here we will paddle to our favorite camping spot on a sand bar downriver. This is where we will have a gigantic Porkies style fire (which may or certainly may include 40 people dragging full size trees out of the woods) and have a spectacular dinner that will include salad, garlic bread, and cheese tortellini (vegetarian friendly and sand free*). The following day we will get back on the river and paddle towards the Mississippi River.

After a brief stint of epic (okay, less than spectacular but still worthy of bragging rights) paddling down the Mississippi, we head for the take-out at Wyalusing. We should be back to PSC by 10pm on Sunday, Oct. 17th.

Here's what you need to know:

1. Leave PSC Oct. 15th at 5pm, come back on Sunday Oct. 17th at 10pm

2. Cost of trip yet to be determined but expect $50 (drivers can expect to ultimately break even)

3. Cost will cover gas, camping fees, boat-user fees, t-shirt, and breakfast/lunch on Saturday and Sunday, and dinner on Saturday night (bring money to stop at Culver's on Friday night on the way there and Sunday night on the way back for team Scoopie coupons)

4. Paddling gear will be provided (i.e. paddle, PFD, sprayskirt, etc.) I will send out a more detailed gear-list later for personal gear (i.e. Sleeping bag/tent/clothes/etc.) or you can check it online. At a minimum, you will need a sleeping bag and clothes, most other things can be provided.

5. If you want to canoe, you will need a canoe lake rating and have completed the swim test. For sea kayaking, you will have to have a lake rating, an SK0 rating, have done the swim test, and will be required to wear a wetsuit on the trip.

You can complete all of these requirements at Day of Instruction (keep an eye on the calendar and email announcements).

6. TRIP FEE IS DUE IN FULL to secure your spot on the trip. You'll be emailed about this after the signup. If you haven't paid within one week of signing up, you will be put on the wait-list. Note: Last year's wait list was around 40 people (the trip filled up in 30 minutes)

7. Everyone (including drivers) will sign up online on Sep. 15th starting at 6pm - no earlier! All drivers have trip priority over non-drivers and are guaranteed a spot whether or not we use your car. More details for drivers are here.

8. Everything regarding this trip has been put on the Fall Colors website (fallcolors.thebestcanocompanyever.com), including the question/answer section. If you email me directly with any questions that have either been answered in this message and on the website or would benefit anyone else with the same question, two things are going to happen. 1. I'll ignore your email. 2. You will very probably make it to the end of the waitlist. Harsh, but then you've never been swamped with 30 emails asking different variations of the same thing that was specifically addressed in the original message you're replying to. DON'T DO IT. Not that you shouldn't ask questions. If you have a question, ask it here.

9. New this year - TEAMS of a sort. Everyone will be grouped into teams of 8 people in the week leading up to the trip. You and your team will be created based on teammate requests and will be assigned to cars together, arrange tent spaces together, rotate through kitchen duties together, and canoe together. Teams can earn bonus points by creating a Team Name and/or theme (and extra bonus points for attempted costumes inline with your theme), group performances at the Porkies style forest fire, and any of a million other things (creativity counts).

Teams with the most points will get such perks as avoiding kitchen duties and getting called to eat first. Look for teams to be posted here.

Want to help?

We need a design for this year's t-shirt. Submissions can be made by anyone in any form and should be emailed directly to me (customink.com has a pretty awesome t-shirt creator). The final design is selected by whoever happens to be around when I go through them. Winner gets eternal glory, name somewhere on the shirt if you want it, and your trip is paid for (or split if a joint effort). Deadline is Sunday, September 19th, 11:59pm.

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We've got plenty of room for water safety people (i.e. canoe and kayak river leaders and as many assistant river leaders as possible) and a few spaces for overall coordinators. Read through the descriptions of what's available and if you still want to help out, please sign up online at any time.
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River Leader (does not pay trip fee) - Responsible for On the Water portion of trip. This person leads and directs the assistant river leaders and are in complete control of the trip while paddles are in the water. This includes weather safety and judgement calls.
Assistant River Leader - Responsible for specific sections of the group as directed by the river leaders. Includes keeping an eye on stragglers, holding back lead boats, addressing localized safety concerns.
Driver Coordinator (does not pay trip fee) - Responsible for organizing drivers at Park St. Circle, issuing driver payments and keeping track of departures/passengers. Also in charge of Saturday morning and Sunday afternoon vehicle shuttle between put in/take out points.
Kitchen Supervisor (does not pay trip fee) - Responsible for purchasing food (list provided), making sure kitchen supplies, utensils, tables, etc. are loaded into vehicles Thursday night, supervising teams assigned to kitchen duties during meals.
Timekeeper (does not pay trip fee) - Responsible for keeping group moving on time and with the schedule. Timekeeper will make the wakeup call and supervise gear loading periods in order to keep them as quick and efficient as possible.
Other - Think someone should coordinate the inevitable singing? Maybe we need a good sand castle expert? Make your case and I'll take it into consideration.

Thanks everyone!

Schmud