Open to all hoping to increase their river kayaking skills.
If you’d like to learn to better negotiate Michigan’s twisty rivers, learn to camp out of your kayak and see one of our favorite stretches of river, then you’ve come to the right place.
Our Great Lakes are fed by dozens of blue ribbons of arteries that provide paddlers with a chance to paddle close to home. Over 80 percent of kayaking in Michigan is along these arteries and often spawn the greatest share of mishaps. Unscheduled swims, trees straining people out of their boats (why they’re called strainers) and the simple stress of not feeling in control of your movement are all part of moving water misfortune. Rivers require a different set of skills than maneuvering on waters without current. Reading water, anticipating your move, knowing when to make that move and executing it need a bit of practice. River current invites us to test our skills at ferries, eddy turns and avoiding those boat eating trees! We’ve chosen a terrific stretch of river that can provide a great classroom to practice those skills in addition some moving water rescue practice and learning some tips and tricks for camping out of smaller, maneuverable river kayaks. We use sport solo kayaks designed for ease of turning in the 12-15 ft range for this course and can provide them for you.
Venue: The Red Bridge section of the Manistee flows through National Forest, has beautiful high banks, waterfalls along its banks, trout in its pools and has absolutely no houses along this stretch that is bordered by the North Country Pathway. It has just the right gradient, amazing camping, big forgiving eddies and the perfect number of Eagles to make you look up.
Itinerary
Day 1
7:30 pm meet up at Tippy Dam Campground on the Manistee River (North side of Tippy Dam, not the Wellston side) for first night camp meet n greet. Eat dinner on the way, there isn’t much nearby. Campsite provided here.
Days 2
After good coffee and a hearty hot breakfast, we’ll have a morning kayak packing orientation, break camp and drop shuttle cars enroute to put-in below Hodenpyle Dam. We’ll pack our boats here and push off for a riverbend camp a couple of hours downstream where we’ll pitch camp and have a little time to play in empty boats in the eddies near camp before a fantastic riverside cookout.
Day 3
After breakfast, we’ll work on ferry skills, throw rope practice and swimmer rescues in from the sandy beach swimming hole right in front of camp. After a lunch break, we’ll pack up and head for the take-out and should have you back on the road by 6 pm. Yep, we’re packing it all in in this high value program!
Dates for 2023
June 21 – June 23
Trip fee includes:
Expert instructor guides, all group gear (tents, kitchen gear, safety and camp gear), camping fees, dry bags and backcountry supplies to support your class.
Registration
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