I’ve mentioned Jon Bowermaster before, and had the
recent privilege of talking to him at the Adventure Travel Expo here in New York. I’ve also mentioned his epic
Ocean’s 8 project, which, let’s face it, is amazingly cool. But I
came across today this series of dispatches
from Bowermaster’s trip on the altiplano that I’d not seen or heard before and wanted to post about it. There are both
text and audio dispatches here, the latter of which really put you in the moment. The thing that I lived in Chile
for a year several years ago, spent a fair amount of time on the
altiplano, and so Bowermaster’s experience there brought
back some great memories of a place of unusual beauty. Speaking of beauty, you should also check out
Peter McBride’s photos from another one of
Bowermaster’s trips to French Polynesia. This is just mind-blowing stuff.
Kayak Blog
For a quick morning rush of great kayaking images, go to this site
which calls itself “A Journal of Appalachian River Running” and has got some great pictures, as well as some sweet
video of river kayaking in the East.
There a sequence here on running several rough rapids during a flood, and a couple of crashes that will chill your
spine.
Kayak Video – Short, but Sweet
Check out this video from Canoe and Kayak.com by former world
champion kayaker Ken Whiting and expert sea kayaker, Alex Matthews. It is beautifully shot, has some great music and
delivers a steady flow of sweet kayaking images that are sure to brighten your Monday morning. How great to see folks
like this doing more video. I love it.
Paddling Palau
The waters are crystal clear, impossibly colorful fish are
abundant, and the setting is tropical paradise. Palau is one of those places that you fantacize about, and
paddling there would just be, well, out of this world.
Up the Whitewater With the Right Paddle
It’s always a good idea to have the correct whitewater paddle in hand before challenging the rapids.
Ken Whiting and
Paddling.net have a nice little primer on the
subject. What is the most important thing to consider? How big of a guy, or gal, you are. The paddle you most want
is the one which will match your dimensions – Big person, big paddle, little person, little paddle. I think you get the
general idea.