Kayaking, the Religion

So many times kayakers sell themselves short,
The sport is grueling, isolated and scary as fuck.
There are few sponsors, few girls and few pictures that do justice,
But those that go, are the few on earth who know what it is like,
What it is like to sit at the top of a big falls with your heart going 90 mph and your calling on any gods you may have prayed to in the past to deliver you safe,
or what its like to sit at the bottom of some crazy big water stoked you made it out in your boat,
The people around you are more important,
than any friend, parent or girl/boy friend ever was,
the feeling of sheer joy is simple and undescribable.
Surfers have their movies, babes and stardom,
Mountain climbers can have their climbing societies and banquets,
but kayakers have a deeper gift from exploration.
A gift only intense fear and non-control, going with the water, can produce.
A feeling that nature is always stronger, but as a kayaker you can work around the edges and get it done.
No sport is more committing, dangerous or scary.
No activity brings you more in tune with natures power.
That is why Kayakers are the most focused, in-tune, intense and committed explorers in the world today.
While I love to surf and I ski all year. Kayaking and the kayaking lifestyle is on a whole differnet level. You don't get to the bottom of a wave or ski run, hug your bro and say "Fuck Yeah", but in kayaking, that is strandard. Keep getting it done, keep going to those places that so few have gone before. While thousands have been to Waimeai, Jackson, Alta, Jaws or Mavericks, only a handful have been to the deep, spiritual canyons that hold the goods that kayakers find so fulfilling.
So just like the surfers of the 1950's, fell free to rebel against what is accepted, and "run the shit".
Go to the places no one goes and find the adrenaline no one knows about. Because that is what it has always meant to be a kayaker, and that is what it will mean many years from now.
There is no better feeling than at the bottom of a big drop, and there are no better people than the ones you are with on the river. Craporadon-2010

poland creek from baker scott on Vimeo.

L-DUB Rafting

It was a cold day in Underwood, WA. home of the famous Little White Salmon. These pristin waters were flow'n quite low and with the wind blowing and the air around 20 F. Dan and I showed up thinking no one else was dumb enough to go kayaking today. At the put-in we found two more Dan's that thought today was a good day to go rafting... These guys are part of ORT (Oregon Rafting Team) have been chalking up First D's via the rubber boat riding all around the Pac. NW. I wasn't sure who was more despite that day...

The rafters tiring to stay busy in gettin' busy

A lot of times Plan A turned to B, C,

Dan's wearing matching outfits, charging over Boulder Sluice..

The guide book cover: S-Turn... Looks like these guys forgot the #1 rule in rafting Tame Your T... hahaha

Scenic view point I guess..

Big boat- little gap was the theme of this winter day

Wishbone falls is the entry to squeezes though a series of drops that ends at Horseshoe.. Here one of the Dan's forgets to grab his favorite line and is about get some downtime.

Tiring to feel at home in the gorge

The grand daddy of L-Dub Spirit Falls.. To see the footage of this R2 decent see Ryan Scott's Scrapbook #9.


Note: They only portaged mandatory logs, Island, and Stovepipe.

All Photos by Scott Baker