Wild & Scenic Stand-Up Paddle Boarding:
The Rogue River, situated in wilderness of southeastern Oregon, has been capturing the hearts of first-time river runners and long-time river rats for generations.
Whitewater raft trips and kayak instruction courses on the Rogue have held strong at the top of nearly everyone’s dream river trip. Perfectly spaced rapids, unique camp sites, and deep wilderness saturated with the history of western exploration.
Now, another genre of paddlers can add the Rogue River to the list of dream vacations.
Stand-Up Paddle Boarding takes the same balance, coordination, and finesse required of whitewater kayakers, but in a bizarro kind of way.
Ferrying across the current, peeling out of an eddy, or even riding a boil all feel similar in a kayak, but are applied using different parts of the body. You must edge with a transfer of weight in the feet not butt, stay straight with bow draws not forward strokes, or rotate for a stroke with the full body not just torso.
By carrying an inflatable SUP board on our multi-day kayak instruction courses with Sundance Kayak School, students have the opportunity to experience the same concepts taught in the kayaks from a fresh perspective. Many hop back into their kayaks with a better sense of the current’s path and the most efficient way to navigate it.
Lucky for me, instructors get that same opportunity.
Carrying the board also allows us to rediscover the river by becoming a beginner again.
I stood on the board and immediately began to explore ways to move it down the river. I imagined how I would navigate bigger rapids and ate up every eddy line I could. I even found myself applying principles of body alignment and breath from yoga to the SUP board.
With that came plots to acquire my own board, and the potential lead more SUP clinics. Another toy, added to the list.
IR Team Member: Susan Hollingsworth- live from Southern Oregon!
