Truckee River Foundation News

STAY AFLOAT SAFETY FAIR

lynne — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 21:50:24 +0000

Join TRF on Saturday July 18, 2009 at Wingfield Park for the Fourth Annual Stay Afloat Safety Fair. We will be giving away free life jackets and helmets and providing free river safety clinics. Learn about river features and safe river recreation. 50-minute clinics are first come, first serve starting at 10 a.m., 11 a.m., 12:30 p.m. and 1:30 p.m. Also, back by popular demand, we will be offering joint parent/child classes for younger children, ages 5-7 as well as advanced classes using boogie boards. Make sure that you and your kids learn what you need to know about playing safely in the water and be a part of this great event! Wear a bathing suit and water shoes (sneakers are fine—no flip flops!) and bring a towel and dry clothes. See you on the river!

TRF JUNIOR ATHLETE SAGE DONNELLY RIPS IT UP DURING SPRING COMPETITION

lynne — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 21:52:31 +0000

Check out Sage’s update and pictures of her incredible last few months competing in Colorado and elsewhere. Sage continues to make TRF proud!

Sage’s Update:
This month has been very busy for me. It started out with the Truckee River Races in Reno, Nevada where I ran the Downriver Race on Saturday and the Slalom Races on Sunday. I placed first in both of the races and qualified to compete in the Junior Olympics as a Cub Cadet this summer in Canada! It was also the first time I paddled my new fiberglass slalom boat. It is super fast and fun to race in- and it’s orange!

After the races we packed our van and drove to Colorado for several weeks of kayaking on rivers and competing in rodeos, clinics and races all over the state. We started out at Glenwood Springs where the river was running about 15,0000 cfs, way bigger than I’m used to seeing rivers flow, and surfers on surfboards were riding it like they do in the ocean. It took a lot of tries but I finally caught the wave! Team Trials were held here and I was the only female cadet who competed. I was able to catch the wave and front surf it but it was super flushy and I had a hard time staying on it After team trials , we drove to Buena Vista on the Arkansas River where I helped teach a kids clinic with Dane Jackson and Lauren Buress. It was a lot of fun and the kids had a great time playing Red Rover and chase around the pond. After the clinic My family and I ran Browns Canyon and the Fractions on the Arkansas River. It was a blast! We then hit the Golden Community Rodeo where, as usual, I was the only girl in the cadets and I placed 4th over all.

After Golden we hit the Buena Vista whitewater park and ran the Numbers section of the Arkansas River. It is a solid class 4 section and I ran it with my Mom and Dad, fellow Team Jackson members Devon Barker and Alec Vorhees and Devon’s friends Kat and her husband David. The Numbers was super fun and it was the first class 4 I ran in my Shooting Star. To top it off, I only had 2 braces the whole run!

Our next stop was the Lyons Outdoor Games where they have a large cadet competition on the South St. Vrain creek. It attracted a lot of participants, including fellow Reno paddler Trevor LeMay! There were 14 kids total in the cadet rodeo and, as usual, I was the only girl and there was only one other 8 year old, my friend Henry Hyde from Texas. It was a tough competition and I was second, with fellow Jackson team mate Alec Voorhees taking first. After the rodeo, I ran the slalom race and placed second in Jr. girls behind fellow Jackson paddler Lauren Buress. I had a blast!

After Lyons it was off to Fibark for another rodeo with a large junior class. There were 4 of us under 10 so they broke the results down and made a cadet class where I placed second second to my friend Lauren Buress.

Our final destination was the Gunnison River Festival in Gunnison, Colorado. The wave there was huge and I managed a few practice runs, but was super happy to find out the cadet rodeo was on a much smaller wave. I met Evan and Anna Schehrer and we had a great time competing. I was able to stay on the wave the entire 45 seconds and did spins and shuvits on each side-I had a ball! I managed to get my 1st first and also competed against my first girl ever! Hopefully other girls decide to compete and we can get our own cadet girls class!

Back in Carson City now where the only rivers running are American Whitewater scheduled releases. Lots of fun still to be had and lots of rivers/races/rodeos still to be run!

Peace,
Sage

Jason Craig: A Chilean Adventure

lynne — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 03:30:22 +0000

Hola gringo amigos! I have been in Chile for the last eight weeks, traveling with New River Academy, an accredited adventure high school for kayakers. This quarter I, along with twelve other students, seven teachers, and coaches paddled, schooled, and experienced all that Chile had to offer.

It all started in the town of Pucon. Pucon is incredibly beautiful. Surrounded by massive volcanos, beautiful blue rivers, and steep creeks. This place had it all, even bonita chicas en the dusty streets! I would wake up in the warm morning, do morning workout, six periods of classes then go paddling. In Pucon we got to paddle on three rivers; Trancura, Licura, and the middle Palguin. Right outside of our base was the Trancura river and an awesome playhole that we would wake up early and do morning sessions on. Then after school we had the option of training in the Licura hole, or paddling the upper Palguin’s waterfalls. Then on weekends we would walk around town and find in search of the very best burgers!

After Pucon, our next stop was the little town of Chosuenco, and the Rio Fuy. My first impression of this place was that it was just a little town, but I slowly fell in love with the place. We stayed in La Posada, a family owned hostel. Here we lived right with a Chilaen family in rooms above the their restaurant. In between classes I would run over to the supermercado across the street and buy a Super Ocho (candy) and a Pepsi in a glass bottle. That kept me going throughout the school day. When we hit the river, we had lots of options. The upper Fuy had a great waterfall section. The middle Fuy, which was full of awesome boulder gardens and endless boofs, was another option. Or the lower Fuy, which was a great beginner run, where we could paddle right down to the lake and walk back to La Posada. Then at night after study hall I would go on walks on the beach and try to speak spanish with the local girls. When the week was done I was sad to leave that place.

After Chosuenco, New River Academy returned to Pucon for a few more weeks before we were to leave to go to the Futaleufu River. I had watched the Kayak Session guide about the Futa and was pretty ecstatic to go visit the famous river. Well, right in the middle of us packing for the Futa, we got news that Volcano Chaiten, near the Futa had erupted. Right away the school came up with an awesome new plan: Pichilemu. Muy grande ocean waves!!

We loaded into the big sliver van and headed to the coast. New RIver Academy arrived in the surfing town of Pichilemu. This is the location of the Quicksilver Tow In Surfing World Championship, so I knew I would not be disappointed by the waves. I had met a few surfer gringos from Santa Cruz that were telling me about this break called “Punta de Lobos” or “Point of the Wolfs,” which consisted of huge 20′ foot sets constantly rolling in. The very afternoon we arrived, we met the wolfs.

You could hear the roar of the wolfs standing on the cliff. Huge azul faces would break into massive foam walls, and die out just before the rocks. We suited up and paddled out. We were like rabbits to wolfs: Some of us making it past the fangs, and some of us getting “ragdolled” in their jaws. But, in the end once, we got on that first wave…it is indescribable. Just perfection.

After dos semanas of insanity at Punta de Lobos, we headed to the Maipo river to finish off our last few days of our Chilean trip. Instead of green forests, and blue water, which was what New River Academy has encountered to far during our time in Chile, The Maipo introduced us to the beautiful desert cactus and chocolate water. This river was amazing, truly a desert gem. Big water, sweet playspots, and big rapids like the French Curve made our days there extremely memorable. On my last day in Chile, I visited a Chilean high school to meet Chilean students my age, aced my Bio, Algebra, and Creative Writing Mid Terms, went paddling down the side of a mountain on a crazy river called the Upper Yesough, then had an asada dinner with the awesome people who lived there. That was a good way to end a great adventure in Chile with New River Academy.

Big thanks to Huge Experiences for putting together such an amazing trip! Also to all my friends, teachers, and other who were there along the way.

Singing out from a new adventure in West Virginia on 4th quarter,

Jason Craig

Photos By: Tracy D’ Arbeloff, and David Hughes
Here is the video I made from Punta De Lobos! Enjoy!

Kayak Clinics at the Reno River Festival

lynne — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 20:36:32 +0000

Come to the Reno River Festival on May 9 and 10, 2009 and see what kayaking in the Truckee River is all about! Clinics will be offered for all ability levels. So, whether you have never been in a boat or have some paddling experience behind you, take advantage of this opportunity to get some quality instruction courtesy of the Truckee River Foundation. Watch for more information at http://www.renoriverfestival.com/.

TRF Sponsors Two Junior Athletes for 2009

lynne — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 22:05:56 +0000

Superstar junior athletes Jason Craig and Sage Donnelly are the recipients of TRF’s athlete sponsorships for 2009. Both Jason and Sage have had an incredible year and continue to excel at whatever they do! Jason went to Europe last year to represent the United States in the World Cup of Freestyle Kayaking. With competition stops in Prague, Czech Republic, Augsburg, Germany and Thun, Switzerland, 15-year-old Jason finished second in his first overseas event. Keep tabs on Jason’s amazing progress at www.JasonCraig360.com. Eight-year-old Sage is taking the kayaking world by storm! She recently kayaked 144 miles of the Grand Canyon of the Colorado River and will be competing all over the country this year, including Junior Olympic Trials in North Carolina. Here’s a picture of Sage relaxing between rapids.

Jason and Sage make Northern Nevada and the USA proud!