blackwater canyon

2025 was a banner year to be a kayaker and I had a ton of outstanding days on the river! The various Calleva programs kept me busy and the lessons I taught throughout the year brought me joy beyond measure. New this year for me was being added to Team Calleva to represent the shop and have a bigger role promoting the sense of community. It was a year spent spreading the love of being on the water!

Winter

My normal winter does not include much paddling until the weather and water warm up. However, in an effort to try out my new toys, I headed out in some very harsh conditions to get after it! I took the Waka OG for a run down the Blackwater Canyon in 20 degree weather with snow falling, did some cold water playboating on the Shenandoah in the Pyranha Helectron, and some splatting and squirting in the Liquidlogic Powerslide and the Pyranha Firecracker 242. 

Cheat Elite

2025 marked my 6th year teaching Cheat Elite and we had a very motivated group, wanting to challenge themselves. Our Potomac workouts were grueling and the group was building strength and stamina preparing for race season. We had three Cheat Elite paddlers come out for the Top Yough race and most of the group participated in the Cheat Race. I ended up taking 7th in the Top Yough Race, 7th in the Cheat Race, and got the win in Calleva’s own Seneca Showdown!

Our Shavers Fork trip was the highlight of the program for me this year. Heavy rains brought the Cheat beyond a reasonable level so we headed higher up in the watershed. Starting at Cheat Bridge, near the headwaters of the Shavers Fork, we paddled 36 miles to the town of Bowden! The gorgeous scenery, challenging rapids that included a waterfall, and the sheer length of the paddle made this a day to remember! After 8 hours in our boats paddling hard, we were tired and hungry but also grinning ear to ear!

Yough Training

We had great water levels for working the gates, Z Channel, and Little Falls during the in town sessions. High water postponed our Upper Yough Moves on the Lower Yough clinic but the group got to have a fantastic day on the Savage as a consolation. The highlight of the program for me was catching Difficult Run on a rainy Saturday morning and guiding the group down a real creek where they got to apply and practice the skills we had taught them. The Upper Yough trips were also great, as it is always wonderful to show this magical run to people for the first time.

Southeast Stouts Training

We put together ambitious training sessions to prepare the group for a trip to North Carolina to tackle the Nantahala Cascades and the Cheoah. We hit up an Advanced Moves on the Upper Yough clinic to start, with an evening Top Yough run immediately after. We also did laps on the 5th slide of the Fishladder to practice setting up on a high speed slide and driving to miss or punch the hole. The highlight of the training sessions was definitely the day we ran Red Creek. This run flows off a high mountaintop plateau in Dolly Sods, West Virginia and descends furiously to the valley below.

If you have never been to Dolly Sods, it is an absolutely gorgeous place with a variety of incredible hiking trails. We hiked in just over a mile across a soggy trail to the put-in, where the creek is no more than 10 feet wide. The first couple miles are scenic as the run snakes through a marsh. Once the bottom changes to rock and you enter the forest, the creek slowly steepens before reaching a 3 mile section at 200+ feet per mile. Innumerable slides and several waterfalls carry one through what has to be one of the most amazing sections of whitewater on the planet. The group paddled well and had a wonderful time on this stellar day.

North Carolina Trip

The Southeast Stouts group headed to NC for a 3 day weekend of adventure. The first day had us going to an evening release on the Nantahala Cascades. We decided to do a low water park and huck on the Cullsaja before heading to the uber intense Cascades section. The Cascades certainly didn’t disappoint with its steep drops in close succession. As a bonus, there was a gnarly cascade on a side creek at the put in called White Oak that I fired up. Day 2 brought us laps on the Cheoah, which is one of the most enjoyable runs ever, kind of like a cross between the Savage and the Upper Yough.

The third day was the most challenging with a grueling 8 hour expedition down the new Green Narrows. With a changed river bed, new and challenging rapids, difficult portages and scouts, and a shallow run out section, this day pushed us to our limits of strength, stamina, and mental toughness. We had a successful day with good lines all around and a tremendous feeling of accomplishment!

MD ChuteOuts and Surf Academy

I gave instruction on playboating before the June and August MD ChuteOut competitions. These are fun low key rodeo competitions on the Potomac. I ended up winning the August ChuteOut with a flurry of cartwheels. My return to freestyle competition also had me taking 4th place in the Upper Yough Rodeo.

During the summer, I taught two different Surf Academy sessions, mostly on the Potomac but we did take a very fun field trip to the Lower Yough in July. It is so rewarding to help people build their playboating skills and develop another way to have fun on the water.

Advanced Canada

What can I say about this trip? With 7 days of world class kayaking in the beautiful Quebec wilderness with a fantastic crew, what could be better? We truly had a trip to remember and each day was special. We kicked off with a huge dam and a phenomenal super slide on the Saranac River.

The Des Isles and Malbaie on days 2 and 3 are incredible wilderness runs with superb whitewater. The Mistassibi on day 4 was such a fun big water run and we got to hit the massive rapid, Chutes du Pere, as a bonus. Days 5 and 6 were exploratory missions down big drops and waterfalls on the Riviere aux Rats into the Mistissini and the Du Loup. We had a final chill day on the Black River before making our way back home. Best week ever!

Great Falls Race

The falls race took place on the Virginia side on Saturday and the Maryland side on Sunday. I shook off some Saturday rustiness to post a run that I was happy with on Sunday. I finished in 9th place in a very competitive field, only 4.6 seconds behind 1st place! 

Fall Training

Fall Training is always a joy for my soul. We spent our time surfing, squirting and working on tough ferries, all things I love to do. The Gauley trips are among the best days on the river that you will ever experience and guiding several first timers down the Upper Gauley this year was particularly rewarding. Everyone had a fantastic time on the trips and I was able to reach 1000 vertical moves per day while testing out the amazing Waka Skuxx. 

October Surf Academy

I closed out my year of kayak instruction with a bang, doing one final Surf Academy. Access to Great Falls Park was closed off in VA, but the MD side was still open. The levels were good for Horseshoe so we scaled the steep cliff down to the observation deck to get to this spot during the three sessions. It changed the sessions from mere surfing lessons to rugged battles against nature to access the surf spots and then get back out in the fading light from the shorter days.

For the capstone trip for the class, we traveled to Holtwood Whitewater Park. There are two incredible manmade features here in close proximity to the cars made for a fantastic day. I was able to keep both the Nova and the Helectron by the water and had a ton of fun going back and forth between the two boats. The powerful and well built playspots opened the eyes of everyone there and gave us smiles a mile wide! It was an outstanding day and was a great way to close out my paddling season. 

Canada Trip Presentation

The Canada Trip was such a monumental experience that I decided to make up a full trip slide show and video, delivered in the Calleva River Store!

What a year! I am working with Ashley and Steve O to bring some new and exciting programs to you for 2026 and, of course, I will be involved in the core Calleva programs that everyone knows and loves! Can’t wait to see all of you on the river!