The Whitewater Blog
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Kerra Pressley–a guide in the Arkansas River community–describes, “Some people doubt if you are capable of doing your job. Many of the customers assume that because you are a female, that automatically makes you a lesser guide than your male counterparts. Even if they don’t say anything, you can feel it.” This “feeling”, although not always there, is similar to an obstacle in the river. It constricts us into a narrower spot and can be in our heads while navigating a rapid.
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Finding your Whitewater Footing
When deciding what type of footwear to sport on the river, it may seem overwhelming. Everybody on the river is wearing something different. You have your sandal people, your close- toed shoe people, your tattered sneaker people, and even your barefoot people. Not to mention that you just saw multiple shoes floating down the river, which begs the question of how much you REALLY want to spend on shoes.
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5 Lessons the River has Taught Me (So far)
A lot of activities, it can be really easy to say, “No! I can’t keep going. I’m too scared.” For example, if you’re skiing down your first black, you may be able to find a chance to sit down and allow those nervous feelings to take over. Whereas, unlike many other sports, whitewater doesn’t really allow you to do that. If you’re in the middle of the rapid, that is where you are. It demands that you be present and run that rapid. You can be absolutely scared, but you’re running it scared at that point.
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Whitewater Rentals in Canon City
Canon City, CO offers world class whitewater! And we offer rentals! If you are new, our class 1-2 town run is a great place to start. Lots of people around, easy to navigate features that can easily be scouted or portaged if you don’t feel comfortable. A good place to start for that is Centenial (Duck) Park located off of S. 4th street just off of HWY 50. There are a few boat ramps and play waves. Lots of people float from the top of the park to the bottom and then walk back up for more action! If you want a longer run, park a second vehicle down at Reynolds bridge on the east side of town and float all the way down. This will give you a few miles to practice. Once you’ve mastered this and want more of a challenge, head west. Bighorn Sheep Canyon is located 15 miles west of Canon City and offers class 3 whitewater and beautiful scenery. This will require a guide book or an experienced guide to show you the way. Need a thrill? The end of BSC is the beginning of the Royal Gorge section. This is class 4-5 whitewater and for very experienced boaters only. If you are unsure of your abilities it is a good idea to avoid this area unless you go on a professionally guided trip. There are 10+ outfitters in the area who would love to take you. Okay now on to the rentals!
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Top 5 Tips and Hacks for River Station Gear.
If you made it this far we are going to give you a bonus hack! Buying gear from hard working small companies is a really cool thing to do. You are not only supporting your fellow boating friends, but getting sweet gear that was designed by boaters and made with love right here in Colorado. We offer good customer service and want to make you the best river gear we can. We work super hard day in and day out to keep that dream alive. Okay, maybe that wasn’t a gear hack but it kinda was! Maybe it was a shameless plug, but either way, we just want to make rad gear for people who want to stand out and look colorful and unique on the river. Thanks so much for checking us out and reading this post. Stay safe out there and SYOTR friends!
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New Outdoor Gear Store Coming to Cañon City, Colorado
Cañon City is getting a new outdoor gear store. Located in central Colorado, Cañon City is home to miles of commercially rafted and fished river, innumerable hiking and mountain biking trails, and world-class rock climbing. With so many opportunities for outdoor adventure, it’s high time an outdoor gear shop opened in the area.
River Station Paddling Shop will fill a much-needed role for Cañon City’s growing outdoor enthusiast population. Located less than a mile from Centennial Park and the Cañon City Play Wave and less than one minute from the popular River Station Take-out, River Station Paddling Shop will serve the whitewater and river communities.
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Our motto since day one was “Stand Out”. We built our whole company off of the idea to not copy others and stick to our own designs. We think that it is super important to be unique and not just recreate the same products that already exist. Really anything that you can dream up in your head you can make into a reality. Not all ideas are winners, but having bad ideas usually leads to good ones. We are all about doing RnD and making concept pieces that don’t exist in the world yet, or updating and improving on old systems. If you know about River Station Gear please share us with your friends and help our little business grow!
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Essential Gear for Raft Guides
There is a time and a place for everything. Rowing down your favorite rapid, on a remote section of river in your birthday suit can be fun. But generally speaking, you are going to want to at least keep your body protected from the harsh summer sun. Depending on the time of the season, there are lots of options for clothing.
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Beginners Guide to the Multi-Day Trip
Think about how much fun boating down a river is, now just add in backpacking, and you have the multi-day or overnight rafting trip. The upside is that instead of carrying all your gear on your back, you just strap it into your raft and push it down the river. This gives the option to either pack light and have a mobile boat, or get a little glamping in and bring ALL the necessities, plus extra fun and comfortable gear.