Buena Vista Pro Rodeo

The first competition of 2013 in Colorado was in Buena Vista, during the CKS Paddlefest.

This was my first time entering multiple divisions (Junior Womens, and C1), and I have to say that it turned out pretty well.

In Junior Womens, I scored 420 points, two rides in a row, but it wasn't quite enough to put me on top, so I placed second.

Podium shot - borrowed from Sage Donnelly's FB

C1 was definitely the largest division I've competed in. Not. There were two of us - Dane and I - so I took another second place.

And swam.

(This is where I don't roll up and Dane saves me)

I've learned that I can flat spin and loop my C1, but my roll is still pretty questionable when I'm not in the feature.

After BV, we went down to Salida and spent some time having fun in the features down there.

Right now, we're in Frisco, CO, spending some time with family friends. I'm catching up on showers, and Dad and Iv are on their way to Arapaho Basin for some snowboarding today. 

Photos from IV Stuart and Philip Robert

Driving from NC to CO is AMAZING, really.

Woooo! 

Right now, we are sitting in a hotel room in Limon, CO, and it's nice and comfortable - good to be out of the car finally. It's been a nice long drive, as this sequence of photos shows...

Wednesday - 1 pm EST -  NC

Wednesday - 2 pm EST - TN

   

Wednesday - 3 pm EST - TN

Wednesday - 3 pm CST - TN

Wednesday - 4 pm CST - TN

Wednesday - 5 pm CST - TN

Wednesday - 6 pm CST - KY

                                       

                                                 Wednesday - 7 pm CST - KY

Wednesday - 8 pm CST - IL

Thursday - 6 am CST - MO

Thursday - 7 am CST - MO

Thursday - 8 am CST - MO

Thursday - 9 am CST - MO

Thursday - 10 am CST - KS

Thursday - 11 am CST - KS

Thursday - 12 pm CST - KS

Thursday - 1 pm CST - KS

Thursday - 2:30 CST - KS

Thursday - 3:30 pm CST - KS

Thursday - 4 pm CST - KS

Thursday - 4 pm MST - CO 

Thursday - 5 pm MST - CO

This was took up quite a few hours of my life:

The beginning of an adventure?

Alright! The car is loaded, and all we have to wait on is for the little bro to get done with EOG's (North Carolina's standardized testing).

We (my brother, father and I) are getting packed to leave for a 4-5 week long adventure in Colorado. The plan is to do what kayakers call the "event circuit," or the Colorado tour. The goal is to be in Buena Vista, CO, for CKS Paddlefest this weekend.

We're all stoked to drive 22 hours. Can't ya tell?

From BV, we'll be headed to Lyons, Vail, and Salida, then possibly out to Cascade, Idaho. 

I'm going to try my best to keep the blog updated whenever possible, especially after event weekends. 

Team Trials

Team trials weekend was cold and rainy, but that didn’t take away much from the level of tension and excitement in the Nantahala Gorge this weekend!

Definitely feeling the tension before finals (Photo by Tracy Smith)

The pressure wasn’t really on for those of us in the Junior Women’s division, since there were only three of us, and all three of us would make the US Freestyle Team no matter what. It was good competitive bonding with the other two girls though - Lauren Burress, and Kady Kellogg.

Kady and I watching the feature before our rides. (Photo by the Kellogg Show)

Friday was a super chill day for me, and I got to just hang out and watch.

Saturday’s competition was fantastic! It hadn’t rained too much by that time, so the river flow was only slightly above normal. I came away from prelims with a combined score of 473, putting me into first place.

The rain continued all night on Saturday, into Sunday, so by the time that Junior Women competed, the flows were much higher than any of us were used to. Finals weren’t as amazing as they could have been, but I came away with a second place anyway, sticking a sick loop right after my ride ended.

Junior Ladies, representing!

Huge thanks to Astral for a new YTV jacket, I’m loving it!

Thanks also goes out to Pyranha Kayaks, Immersion Research, Watershed Drybags, Rapid Straps, and everyone who has supported me in the past couple of years!