All you river rascals out there, it’s time to come together and head to the water! This will be a week of canoeing, kayaking, and swimming through currents, around bends, and into eddies. Skill building begins at our very own pond at Kroka base camp, after which we will embark on a four-day river expedition. Kroka’s unique paddling progression is rooted in developing skill and comfort in swimming the moving water as well as paddling both canoes and kayaks. In addition, we will simply soak in the joys of river life. Our afternoons will include camp set-up in the woods or on sandbars, roasting tasty bannocks over the fire, and time for play and discovery. Days end with craftwork, stories, and songs.
This is an unforgettable week of becoming one with the river! The journey will take us down the beautiful winding stretch of the Connecticut River flowing swiftly through Piedmont – the foot hills of the Green and White Mountains. Skill building begins at Kroka’s pond, after which we will embark on a 4-day expedition to camp at the base of a great rapid. Our unique paddling progression is rooted in understanding the power of moving water and developing skills in raft, canoe, kayak, and stand up paddle board, as well as comfort swimming in fast moving water. In addition, we will simply soak in the joys of river life in the summer. Our afternoons will include camp set-up in the woods and on sandbars, fishing, roasting bread-on-a-stick, and time for rope swings and river play. Days end with spoon carving and stories around the campfire.
A sequel to Intro to White Water I, this program can also be a point of entry for those with previous white water paddling experience as well as students seeking to start at a higher level of challenge.Become part of the infamous Kroka white water paddling crew! Upon arrival you will jump right in with your first kayaking lesson on Kroka’s pond. Traveling to our wilderness home on the Deerfield River in Berkshires, we will camp in a magical forest by the side of a clear mountain stream. Each day we will hike down to the river to practice rafting, kayaking, canoeing, stand up paddle boarding, and white water swimming. Working in small groups allows us to focus on the individual needs and learning styles of each student, making sure everyone experiences success. Students will learn skills enabling them to have a blast in Class II white water. In addition to paddling students develop appreciation for the vital role of water in the web of life and develop sound judgment and common sense inherent to adventure sports. The week will culminate with a run down the famous class III Zoar Gap! This program will prepare students for the next white water challenge: Paddlers Journey Up North.
Our intermediate/advanced level training program is for everyone who loves the sport of white water canoeing and kayaking. Students without prior paddling experience will be asked to complete prerequisite training prior to attending.This year we will return to Paddler’s Journey’s original stomping ground on the Rapid, Magalloway, and Androscoggin Rivers in Western Maine. We will outfit our boats and practice our rolls in the Kroka pond before departing on expedition. Once in Maine we will begin with a learning progression on a stretch of class II training rapids along the Androscoggin. From here we will take a day trip to an exciting class III rapid on the Magalloway before departing to the South Arm of Lake Richardson: the starting point of our four-day Rapid River expedition. Here, in a beautiful wilderness setting we will work our way down challenging class III and IV rapids. At the completion of the Rapid run we will cross beautiful Lake Umbagog, circling back to the Androscoggin: these class I and II rapids will look so small all of a sudden! Our journey will conclude at Mahoosuc Guide Service, Kroka’s partner organization, in Newry, Maine. We will base here at the foot of the spectacular Mahoosuc Notch, providing community service and helping take care of 36 sled dogs! We will end our journey climbing one of the high peaks and butt-sliding down some of the best waterfalls anywhere!
Kroka’s annual Canadian Expedition is a capstone experience for students ready for the adventure of a lifetime. Each year we take a team of dedicated paddlers to one of the great rivers of the North: the Ashuapmushuan, Coulonge, Moisie, Broadback, and others. Pristine and breathtakingly beautiful, these rivers drain the vast northern forests of Quebec and Ontario, accessible only by remote logging routes seldom driven. Traveling self-sufficiently downriver, we experience the awe-inspiring beauty of the north country and some of the best whitewater paddling in the East. In the afternoons we make camp along the gravel bars and rocky beaches, gather mushrooms, fish and berries to eat, and sleep under an endless starry sky. Canadian Expedition takes us deep into remote wilderness where the joys and challenges of expedition life bring out our best selves. As we travel to and from the river we experience the cultural lifeways of northern people, visiting with local indigenous communities, post-industrial villages, and the old cities of Quebec and Montreal. Students are expected to dehydrate expedition food and take on advance preparation tasks before the start of the expedition.