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Kayaking the Ottawa River : Local River Beta | RallyCrew Paddling Passport — Transcript

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0:00So, again, if you're just joining us,
0:02hello. My name is Deborah Cain. I'm with
0:04Rally Crew.
0:05And
0:07uh Rally Crew is the host of today's
0:08discussion, which is a a virtual tour
0:12of the Ottawa River. Our tour guide
0:14today is Casey Bryant Jones with OKS or
0:18the Ottawa Kayak School.
0:20And uh
0:21today's discussion is being recorded.
0:24So, if for some reason you have to, you
0:25know, pop off early,
0:27la we will be sending a link to the
0:29recording to all participants. We will
0:32also be sending
0:34um
0:34a link to past paddling passport talks.
0:37I see a few of you that have been with
0:39us for the other sessions. But just so
0:41you know, these these uh virtual trips
0:44to whitewater destinations around the
0:46world are something that we do on a
0:48fairly regular basis.
0:50This is our third paddling passport
0:52talk. Our first one uh we traveled to
0:54New Zealand. And our second one, we were
0:56in British Columbia. Today again, we're
0:58going to be talking about the Ottawa
1:00River.
1:01And the next two paddling passports have
1:04already been scheduled. They'll be in uh
1:06Ecuador and Chile. So, keep your eye on
1:10I know, right?
1:11>> Yeah.
1:12>> And you thought we'd
1:13>> Yeah, good locations. Um
1:15>> Yeah.
1:15>> So, with that, we'll get started. Again,
1:17I'm Deborah Cain. I'm with Rally Crew. I
1:19am unfortunately the only Rally Crew
1:21staff person online today. My other two
1:23colleagues are in Europe and it's much
1:25too late at night or early in the
1:27morning for them to be with us.
1:29And what that means is I'm going to need
1:30to rely on all of you to kind of
1:33self-manage your being muted. And also
1:36just bear with me if I don't see your
1:38question, you know, you can put
1:39questions into the chat, but if I don't
1:41see it quickly, know that I'll get to
1:43it. Uh I just managing all the the
1:45different parts and pieces.
1:47And I'm going to get Casey introduced in
1:49just a second here.
1:50But before I do, I just want to note for
1:54everyone on the line that again, today's
1:56discussion is being hosted by Rally
1:57Crew. Uh one thing that you could do for
1:59me if you don't mind is hop into the
2:01chat and let me know if you are
2:03currently a Rally Crew member. And if
2:06you are, please just leave a little note
2:08about your favorite feature so far.
2:12For those of you who may not be on Rally
2:14Crew, uh
2:15it is a website that wants to grow up
2:18and be an app. Um I think Matt Senn
2:21call, one of our colleagues in Canada,
2:22is like, "Where's the app, Deborah?" And
2:25I feel bad every time I show Rally Crew
2:27in phone form because people are like,
2:30"But it's just a website."
2:32It's a website
2:33>> Absolutely. Can't wait.
2:36>> Absolutely can't wait. There he is.
2:39>> Hi everyone.
2:40>> Just for the record, it is a website
2:42that I access on my phone, but I 100% of
2:46course know that we need to get the app
2:48uh version out and we're working
2:50diligently on that. But if you're not
2:53already on Rally Crew, long story short,
2:56it's a great place to meet other
2:57boaters. It's a great place to record
2:59the trips that you've taken. It's a
3:01great place to find uh paddlesports
3:04service providers like the Ottawa Kayak
3:06School. Great place to direct message
3:09your friends.
3:10Uh get river beta, find events, plan
3:14trips, and a lot more. And I'm going to
3:16uh give folks a little tour of of Rally
3:18Crew if you're not already familiar with
3:19it at the end of the presentation.
3:21Uh but today, we're here to talk about
3:24the Ottawa, which is uh I'm I suspect a
3:27lot of you know this if you're here, an
3:29absolute world-class playground for
3:31playboating.
3:32Uh Casey and I were talking uh
3:34before we brought you all in and and he
3:37noted, you know, people can come to do
3:39river running, but really it's about
3:40playboating. And I do want to note that
3:42I went to the Ottawa for the first time
3:442 years ago and I somehow did not know
3:46that I was in a playboating course until
3:48I got there.
3:49Um
3:50what a hoot, but it's an absolute iconic
3:53whitewater destination, super high
3:55volume. Also, somehow I failed to
3:57understand that until I got there. Um, a
4:00beautiful, passionate, wonderful river
4:02community, and just some of the best
4:04whitewater features you'll find. Um,
4:07without further ado, I want to introduce
4:10Casey. Casey, you have led the kayak
4:14well, all the instruction program,
4:15haven't you, at Ottawa for how many
4:18years?
4:18>> Yeah, so I
4:19Uh, so I I actually moved here via
4:22California.
4:23>> Okay.
4:23>> Uh, and before that, North Carolina, but
4:25I moved here in 2020, and I've been
4:27involved with the kayak school since
4:29then. Yeah.
4:30>> All right.
4:30Well, I I I feel like, um, rather than
4:34talking about how wonderful you are
4:36on a on a slide that has a photo of you,
4:38I I think we can just let people
4:40experience how wonderful you are by
4:43having me, uh, pass off the presentation
4:45to you at this point. Um, and help us
4:48get oriented to where the Ottawa even
4:50is.
4:52>> Yeah, so the Ottawa is a very long
4:55river, and the section that we're
4:57operating on is called the Split Rock
4:59section.
5:00And it's about an hour and a half west
5:03of the city of Ottawa, which is the
5:04capital city of Canada, and is located
5:07in Ontario.
5:09And what makes the location of this
5:12river so interesting is all of the area
5:15around the river is very flat, and it's
5:18not a place that you would look to find
5:21incredible whitewater.
5:22And the geology that we have on the
5:24river is really unique as well. It's,
5:26uh, referred to as Canadian Shield. It's
5:28this really hard granite. And you have
5:31these layers of granite that go down the
5:33river. And so, the river has this, uh,
5:37kind of look or feel to it where you
5:40have a big lake that is followed up by a
5:42rapid, and then another big lake, and
5:45another rapid. And what that allows for
5:48is these really beautiful standing waves
5:51on the river because you have this water
5:53that's back flowing and helping stand
5:56those last waves in the rapids up really
5:58tall. The other thing that happens with
6:00that is it allows for a very friendly
6:04environment to push yourself as well.
6:07Uh the river is massive and when I refer
6:10to the Split Rock Channel, it's actually
6:12splitting into multiple channels. And at
6:15this current water level,
6:17uh my home river is in the Nantahala
6:19River. I grew up right outside of the
6:21Nantahala Outdoor Center area. Uh
6:24my home river ran at about
6:27um
6:28600 somewhere around 600 to 500 CFS. Uh
6:32one of the channels right now is just
6:36one of the four channels in this section
6:38is running at roughly 27,000 CFS or
6:4230,000 CFS at these at this moment. So,
6:45the water level and the amount of water
6:48here is very different. Um the exception
6:52to the rule
6:53uh is where it's so shallow that you
6:55might find the bottom. Uh the rule is
6:57the river is very deep, which means it's
6:59a great learning environment. Both for
7:01like beginners and then also for people
7:05that are wanting to push themselves
7:06really hard. Um
7:07the reason why there's so much water
7:09that's kind of funneling its way down
7:11into the Ottawa is the Ottawa River
7:14drainage actually drains roughly 60,000
7:17square kilometers. So, it's a massive
7:19massive drainage. So, like your local
7:22rain events very seldomly will actually
7:24bump the river level. It has to be a
7:26basin sweeping event like a huge
7:28rainstorm to actually move the water
7:30levels here. So, what we traditionally
7:33will see is kind of a two
7:36uh curve bell curve to our water level
7:39uh with the first bump happening during
7:41what's called the freshet here when
7:44basically the snow is melting
7:47from the winter time and the snow all
7:50snow is not the same some snow has more
7:52water content than others and so we have
7:54some years where the water is really
7:55high and then we have other years where
7:57it's not and then it also is determined
8:00how high the river goes in the spring
8:01time also is determined by how quickly
8:04everything melts so was there there lots
8:07of hot weather all at once was there a
8:09rainstorm during warm that caused all
8:12the snow to melt very quickly those are
8:14all factors that basically have direct
8:17effects as to how high the water goes
8:19and then how long the high water season
8:21lasts if that makes sense
8:24so
8:25>> Thank you. Amazing.
8:27Thank you you touched on some of this
8:28but some big picture
8:33>> Big picture the Ottawa River is super
8:36super friendly
8:38there are times when you're on the water
8:40where it feels more like an ocean than a
8:41river though so you can be sitting in
8:43eddies and be bobbing up and down and up
8:46and down and sometimes the eddy is
8:48sitting lower than the current that's
8:49flowing by and that can be visually
8:51intimidating for folks especially if
8:53they're coming from where I'm from and
8:55there's not as much water in the rivers
8:59when it comes to prime time paddling
9:02we're entering prime time right now
9:04going into June the water has started to
9:07shake some of its winter cold away
9:10and paddling in a short sleeve top which
9:12is phenomenal
9:13very happy to be paddling in short
9:15sleeves again but
9:17the vast majority of people that are
9:18paddling here when you see them on the
9:20water the vast majority are in freestyle
9:22kayaks or half slices those are the two
9:25boats that you see the most of on the
9:27river and it really comes down to
9:30wanting that aggressive planing hull
9:33on this style of water it helps you sit
9:35really high on top of the water Those
9:36edges help you as you're carving and
9:39moving across the surface of the water
9:41and also when you're trying to ferry as
9:43well. So, all of those things are super
9:45helpful. You do see canoes, you do see
9:47C1s, you do see all kinds of other boats
9:50on the river, but the vast majority are
9:52freestyle and half slices. Um
9:56again, because of the nature of the
9:58river and the variety of waves, there
10:01are great waves to surf here from late
10:05April all the way into September,
10:08October, November, how however late you
10:11actually want to paddle, like there are
10:12great waves to surf on the river. And
10:15for that reason, the river became a
10:18pillar of the freestyle community
10:21because it has so many great waves to
10:24train on, there is consistent water, and
10:28no matter where you're going on the
10:30river, there's always something to surf.
10:33Uh there are definitely more premium
10:35water levels for certain features, but
10:38again, you're not limited necessarily to
10:42the waves are only good in June or the
10:43waves are only good in August. Uh
10:46people have their favorite waves and
10:48those do correlate with water levels at
10:49different times of year, but um
10:52you know, I I find that uh you know, it
10:55is always such an incredible place to
10:58train and practice because there is such
11:00a variety of different features on the
11:02river.
11:03>> Nice.
11:04>> And then it also has one of the very
11:06unique claims to fame of hosting
11:09multiple world championships as well.
11:11And the unique thing about the world
11:13championships that have been hosted here
11:15is they've been hosted in three
11:17different features, right? So, it's not
11:19the same feature three times. It's three
11:22different features on the river, which
11:25that's unheard of anywhere else. Like,
11:28there's just not as many places that
11:30could offer that.
11:31>> Yeah.
11:32>> So, that's a really neat thing.
11:34Wilderness Tours
11:36you know, started in 1975 by my
11:39father-in-law Joe Kowalski
11:41and you know, he
11:44had a very, very good friend. His name
11:46is Jerry Markee and Jerry started the
11:49kayak school and the Keener program in
11:52the early '80s. And that was kind of the
11:56trajectory of how things started and
11:58there have been so many incredible kayak
12:01school managers before me.
12:03Matt McGuire, Ryan Weetung, Seth
12:06Ashworth, Joe Kowalski. Like there's
12:09been so many people involved with the
12:11kayaking program over the years that
12:13have really focused on creating a fun
12:16environment but also an environment
12:18where people can really progress
12:19quickly. And that's made for a very
12:22strong culture around the river. And
12:24there are also very good companies along
12:27the river as well outside of Wilderness
12:29Tours and kayak school as well. And the
12:32environment that's created with all of
12:35those dynamic whitewater people makes
12:36for an incredible environment around the
12:38river. So.
12:40>> Perfect. Thank you, Casey.
12:42Um
12:42>> Yeah.
12:44>> We want to just like go through a few
12:46>> Yeah.
12:47>> slides that kind of ground people and
12:49then we're going to
12:50>> Yep.
12:51>> the presentation will take us more into
12:52what it looks like at high water, medium
12:54water, low water.
12:55>> For sure.
12:56>> And we'll get to look at some of those,
12:57you know, waves and features that you
12:58talked about. But just the auto mode in
13:00three words you said
13:02>> big, friendly and warm.
13:04>> Nice.
13:04>> Uh warm
13:06comes with an asterisk.
13:08Right now it is cool.
13:11Uh the asterisk comes in and about mid
13:14mid-to-late June the water really
13:17changes in temperature.
13:19We're pretty far north here and our days
13:21get quite long around the summer
13:23solstice. We're dealing with sunlight
13:26till almost 9:00 at night, which is
13:28amazing. Love it.
13:30>> Yeah.
13:30>> Missed it all winter long.
13:32>> Welcome back.
13:33>> But exactly.
13:35But the river has lots of tannins in it
13:37as well and has a darker color. And the
13:40section upstream of the section that we
13:42operate on here is very flat and so the
13:44water becomes super warm in the
13:46summertime. And it's like the perfect
13:49t-shirt paddling conditions. So
13:52>> All right. How about smells like?
13:56>> Ooh, I I think I like the cedar and
13:59evergreen approach to this.
14:02The Ottawa has so many evergreens and so
14:05many cedar trees.
14:07Lots of moss and things like that.
14:10There's a lot of beautiful
14:12terrain around the river.
14:15Perfect for mushroom foraging as well.
14:17So like, you know, it's it's a really
14:19beautiful area.
14:20>> All right. Well, the mushroom reference
14:21is a perfect segue cuz the next one
14:24tastes like.
14:25>> Tastes like. Oh, I've got to throw some
14:27shout-outs here. So um
14:29former Wilderness Tours
14:32um
14:32uh
14:33guides and lead guides started
14:36Whitewater Brewing Company and one of
14:38our good friends and also trip leader
14:41and former guide I guess he's still a
14:43current guide is also starting a energy
14:46drink company called Send Blends. His
14:47name is Blake Mahoney and then we have
14:49the Chris Thompsons that started uh
14:52Whitewater Brewing Company. Um and then
14:54the river itself because we're operating
14:58on granite, the river has like mineral
15:02that mineral taste. The water's pretty
15:04hard and when you go to people's
15:06cottages in the area, especially after
15:08the wintertime and the the water hasn't
15:09been running,
15:11very eggy smelling. There's lots of
15:13sulfur and things of that that nature in
15:16the wells. But um the river itself does
15:18not smell that way.
15:19>> All right. And it sounds like
15:23>> Sounds like an ocean more than a river
15:26and
15:28especially when you're around the
15:30especially when you're around the raft
15:31trips, you'll also hear lots of screams
15:34of joy as well cuz the the rafts are
15:37quite large and carry lots of people.
15:38So.
15:39>> All right. And then the last one is just
15:41feels like
15:43>> Oh, I think you have to approach in the
15:46experience here like you're mixing a
15:48beach day with a river day.
15:51Um
15:52it's all rolled into one.
15:54>> That's awesome. All right. Thank you,
15:55Casey. So, we're going to jump into a
15:58little bit more discussion about
16:00the channels and I will say that we're
16:03already behind schedule. So, we might
16:07you know, let the slide speak for
16:09itself.
16:10Uh let's move on and talk a little bit
16:12more about seasons and flows. Though you
16:15this too you covered this a bit of this
16:17already.
16:18Anything else to say about the seasons
16:20or the flows?
16:22>> Uh you know, I always am getting asked
16:24when's the best time to come.
16:26Honestly, May through September is a
16:29great period of time to come. I think a
16:30lot of it really comes down to whether
16:32or not you want the big water big volume
16:36of the spring and you're okay with
16:37wearing a drysuit or if you're looking
16:39for a little bit warmer water, a little
16:42bit tamer experience,
16:44um then you'll want to come a little bit
16:45later in the season if that makes sense.
16:47>> Okay.
16:48>> But again, there are routes down the
16:50river at these higher flows as well that
16:52can provide a more relaxed experience as
16:55well.
16:55>> Okay. Perfect.
16:57Um I think we wanted to also give people
16:59just a sense of what they should bring.
17:01What
17:02>> Yeah.
17:02>> to throw in their gear bag.
17:04>> Yeah, in the early season, essential is
17:08a drysuit. Uh in the later season,
17:11essential is multiple layers of like the
17:15sun variety. The river's really wide and
17:19it's hard to get out of the sun. So,
17:21having good sun shirts,
17:23things of that nature, and having a few
17:25of them because we do live in a more
17:29um
17:30a more uh what would be the word I'm
17:32looking for? Uh humid environment. And
17:35so, things don't actually dry out as
17:37quickly here as maybe they would out
17:40west. And so, having a few extra layers,
17:43maybe an extra pair of shoes, you'll be
17:45very happy that you did those things.
17:47>> Okay. So, perfect.
17:48Um and then now we can go a little
17:51deeper into the fact that um there's one
17:54river, but two channels.
17:56>> Well, technically there's more than two
17:58channels, but
17:59>> Two of them.
18:00>> Yeah, one of them is a
18:01>> there are two there are two channels
18:03that the whitewater operators operate
18:05on. And the rapid on the left down here
18:08is called Garvin's chute. And the reason
18:11why the middle channel allows us to take
18:13beginners down it is Garvin's chute is
18:15where most of the gradient of the river
18:18is lost is in that one rapid. And so,
18:20that means the rest of the rapids on
18:22that section don't have as dramatic and
18:25consistent a gradient profile as with
18:28the main channel. So, the middle channel
18:31we with those beginner programs will end
18:33up walking around Garvin's chute. Um but
18:36it ends up being much more friendly. The
18:38pools become a lot bigger in between the
18:41rapids.
18:42Um and you know, until you get to a a
18:45specific section. Um but then after
18:48that, you know, the the middle is known
18:51for being super accessible for
18:53progression and is super playful and
18:56approachable surf waves as well. A lot
18:57of the waves are very uh you know, much
19:00smaller in size than some of the bigger
19:03features like you see on the right over
19:04there. Uh they you were talking like hip
19:07high to kind of like shoulder high waves
19:10as opposed to overhead or double
19:12overhead waves.
19:13Um and then the main channel
19:15there's more flow that goes through the
19:17the main channel uh and then it has more
19:19continuous gradient. So, with more flow
19:21and more continuous gradient, you get
19:23larger rapids. And um the two channels
19:27actually share one
19:30uh rapid together and it starts at the
19:32put-in. So, there's two options for
19:33putting in. If you're with OKS or in uh
19:36Wilderness Tours, you can put in at the
19:38Wilderness Tours put-in. Or if you're a
19:40public paddler, you can use the Owl
19:42Paddling uh put-in. And as you put in,
19:45you're paddling across the first lake
19:47towards McCoy's chute. And McCoy's chute
19:50is the first rapid of the day regardless
19:52of which of the channels that you go on.
19:54And there's a variety of different ways
19:56you can go through McCoy's or even
19:57around McCoy's because there's multiple
19:59channels around it as well. Um
20:02the main channel though is uh a much
20:08How do I want to put this? A much more
20:10uh a
20:11I wouldn't say aggressive, but much more
20:13um aerobic experience if that makes
20:15sense over the middle channel.
20:17>> Definitely. That's a great way to put
20:18it. One of the questions we should have
20:20asked folks um
20:22So, if you don't mind hopping into the
20:23chat with this one, it says, "Have you
20:24been to the Ottawa? You know, who's gone
20:27through the McCoy's door and who has yet
20:30to experience that aerobic experience
20:32that Casey is
20:34Um we're going to uh
20:37move on and and and look at various
20:39features at different water levels and
20:42talk about what high, medium, and low
20:44water looks and feels like on the
20:46Ottawa.
20:47So, high water.
20:50>> As so, high water
20:52you know, we say here on the slide that
20:53it could go up to 26 ft. It went over 26
20:56ft this spring. Um you know, so we do
20:59have years where it goes above that as
21:00well.
21:01It creates super powerful big water. Um
21:04and there there even levels where
21:06certain rapids completely wash out as
21:09well. Like they're completely
21:10underwater. Um
21:12this is again due to snow melt and so
21:15the characteristics of the river is that
21:17it's cold. You have big currents. You
21:20start seeing really big river waves.
21:23Um there are hydraulics, but they're not
21:25like a pour over hydraulic. It's more
21:27like a crashing wave.
21:29Um and then you've got whirlpools and
21:31seams.
21:32And high water
21:35is where a lot of the reputation of the
21:40Ottawa comes from in terms of past
21:43events like the Whitewater Grand Prix
21:45and Unleashed. Um those events were held
21:48during high water and those are high
21:50water events.
21:52Um
21:53It is
21:55an event uh
21:56that that event is kind of referred to
21:58as stakeout and the
22:02idea of stakeout is to literally sit at
22:05the wave until it comes in, to stake it
22:07out, and see when it comes in and
22:08becomes perfect. Um and people travel
22:11from all over the world for stakeout to
22:13experience these big waves.
22:15Um
22:17>> Let's let's see which features we've
22:18we've selected for you to talk about at
22:20high water.
22:21>> Okay. So at high water the most commonly
22:26surfed feature on the main channel is
22:29mini bus.
22:31That is the one that most people will
22:33see because I'll In reality, a lot of
22:35people are not super keen to get out
22:37here
22:38uh much before June. Um
22:41you know, you can come in May and we did
22:43have a number of people that came in in
22:45May. However,
22:47it becomes a much more limited group
22:48because you are paddling in a dry suit
22:51every day. Um this is about the time of
22:53year where the water level and the air
22:55temperature changes in such a way that
22:57you might want to start paddling with
22:58just a dry top. Um
23:01It is a really interesting wave. It's at
23:03a rapid called the Lauren.
23:06I should give a quick shout out to our
23:08friend Patrick Camblin. He refers to it
23:10as Wave Park. So, and there's a reason
23:12for that cuz two of the best waves on
23:14the river, three of the best waves on
23:16the river are actually right there at
23:18that feature, but they're at different
23:20water levels.
23:21Um
23:22it is a big, powerful, fast feature.
23:26And at times, especially when you catch
23:29the wave as it's forming, it can feel
23:31like you're running a waterfall as
23:32you're dropping down the face of the
23:33wave, which is pretty exciting. Um
23:37this is not a beginner-friendly feature.
23:40This is one of those features that you
23:42definitely want to have a solid roll,
23:44you want to have a solid spray skirt, um
23:46but you'll it's not uncommon to paddle
23:49over there and see the world's best uh
23:52that paddling at that feature.
23:54Um so, not a beginner-friendly, but once
23:56you've got a really good roll, once
23:57you've got a good skirt, that is a great
23:59feature to go test yourself on.
24:01>> Nice.
24:02>> The
24:03Colly West is the far river right-hand
24:06side of Coliseum.
24:09And at these water levels that we're
24:11currently at right now, we're about 14
24:14and 3/4 on the gauge right now.
24:17And at this water level, it's actually
24:19one of the better rapids on the main
24:22channel. And the reason for that is you
24:26get a long stretch
24:28of waves and and holes, essentially.
24:32Um and the waves are not the type of
24:34crashing waves like you would see at Bus
24:37Eater. Let me just move out of the way
24:38where you can see right here. Like at
24:40Bus Eater, it's not those big forming
24:43crashing waves. They're actually just
24:44really tall, steep waves. And so, as you
24:47navigate your way through and around the
24:49pour-over holes, these waves are really
24:51fun, and they just take you up really
24:53high and let you go right over top of
24:54them. Uh and Colly West is a line that
24:58you can run at these higher water
24:59levels. As the water drops, it
25:01starts to become shallow and less
25:04enticing to run.
25:05>> Okay.
25:06Um and we have high water
25:09features on the middle channel.
25:11>> Oof, this one I love the middle channel
25:14at high water. Um Big Smoothie is in a
25:18rapid called Lower No Name.
25:21And it's one of the top wave features in
25:25the the run through, but uh right now
25:28all the rapids are just so fun. Um
25:31There are a variety of ways that you can
25:33go down the middle channel. Um but the
25:36overall experience of running the middle
25:38channel right now is just it's super
25:41cruisy, super fun. There is one rapid on
25:44the middle called Little Trickle uh that
25:47folks have uh a variety of experiences
25:50with, but uh with Little Trickle it is
25:53one of those exceptions to the rule
25:54where you could find the bottom of the
25:57river where you you go from being in a
25:58deep pool above, it is a sweeping
26:02right-hand turn
26:03and the river goes abruptly over a
26:06shallow um kind of ledge area. So, if if
26:09you found yourself upside down, you
26:11could find the bottom of the river
26:12there. Um but aside from that,
26:14everything else is super cruisy, super
26:16deep, super fun. And again with Garvin's
26:19chute, the you know, there are a variety
26:21of different ways that you could run
26:23Garvin's at this level, but the vast
26:25majority of people typically will
26:27portage on river left.
26:30>> That sounds like a a sticker in the
26:32making. I found the bottom of the
26:33Ottawa.
26:36>> Uh
26:37maybe. Maybe.
26:38>> You're welcome. You're welcome.
26:40Okay.
26:40Uh medium water, looks like, feels like?
26:44>> Uh medium water is really, really fun as
26:48well. Um
26:50what again, one of the really unique
26:51things about the river here is because
26:53you have such a variety of water levels
26:55over the season, you get a variety of
26:57different features as well. And for me,
27:00when I'm teaching on the middle channel,
27:03I really like the medium water level
27:06over there. There's a ton of places to
27:08practice the features
27:11um and areas around the river are pretty
27:16pretty forgiving for the most part. Um
27:19and one of my favorite surf waves on the
27:22middle channel is at butterfly at these
27:25medium water levels. I really really
27:26like the butterfly surf. If you can
27:28imagine, there's this beautiful flat
27:31pool above and there's this really nice
27:33sloping kind of gradient that happens
27:36and so the water's super smooth and if
27:38you drop into the surf wave at
27:41butterfly, it's this perfect bowl that's
27:43perfect for your kayak to sit in and the
27:45water's so smooth coming into it and you
27:48can just surf for for hours. It's so
27:50fun.
27:51>> Nice.
27:52Um I think you were going to kick us off
27:54uh at McCoy's on medium water at medium
27:57water.
27:57>> Ooh, yeah.
27:58Medium water at McCoy's. So, as you're
28:02kind of in the McCoy's section there,
28:06um
28:07at medium water levels, you have two
28:10basic lines that most people will run
28:13and then there's also a a kind of a side
28:16channel that you can go around it as
28:17well. So, with beginner programs, we'll
28:19go around to a side channel called
28:21little flatty and then come down in
28:23below where the island is that you can
28:25see on the right hand side of the photo.
28:27So, we'll actually miss McCoy's all
28:29together with beginner groups. Um for
28:32intermediate paddlers and people that
28:34are wanting to challenge themselves, the
28:36two main lines are called Saddlers and
28:39Phils
28:40and this water level and kind of that
28:42period of time is really interesting um
28:46even though like I'll go ahead and uh
28:48preface that Baby Face isn't a feature
28:51at at medium water levels, but um, that
28:54is more a lower water level. But, at
28:56medium water levels, it can be a very
28:59good time to try these lines because the
29:02lower half of the rapid is still
29:03underwater. And so, if you want to try
29:07the main line of Phills or Phills'
29:10Tongue, or if you want to try the tongue
29:12at Sattlers, or if you try a feature uh
29:14or a move called Thread the Needle, this
29:16can be the perfect time to try all these
29:18because you don't have the remainder of
29:22the rapid to run through. You actually
29:24have just moving flatwater below you.
29:27So, this is the perfect time to
29:28challenge yourself, which is awesome.
29:30>> Okay, I had no idea. Thank you.
29:32>> Yeah.
29:33>> Um, now I have to come back, medium
29:34water.
29:36Middle channel.
29:38>> Ooh, butterfly. I I love butterfly. I
29:42like taking our kids camps to butterfly.
29:46Uh, again, because the river's so deep,
29:48we actually encourage the kids to swim
29:50through butterfly.
29:52Um,
29:52you know, if we get out to the center of
29:54the river, it's super deep. So, we go
29:57out together, we all work on swimming
29:59out to the middle of the river, and we
30:00find our way down in our, you know, uh
30:03defensive swimming position. Uh, and
30:05again, like, the surf there is just it's
30:07exceptional. Uh, it's you know, it's not
30:11a super difficult wave to surf once
30:15you've got good edge control. Um, the
30:17getting out to it can be intimidating
30:20looking, but once you understand how to
30:22do it, it actually is a a fairly easy
30:24wave to get out out to. But, visually,
30:26it can be somewhat intimidating.
30:29Um, Angel's Kiss is a fan favorite here.
30:33Uh,
30:33I have spent
30:35nearly an entire instruction day more
30:37than once at Angel's Kiss. It is one of
30:40the perfect places to learn how to spin
30:42and surf. And as you notice the picture
30:44of the paddler who's paddling there,
30:45they're in an Antix. And so you're
30:47spinning, you can spin half slices in
30:49this feature. It is
30:51the perfect place to learn how to work
30:53with the water. Uh and again, behind it,
30:55long flat stretch behind it as well. Um
30:59as the water starts to get to the low
31:00end of the surf range, um you start to
31:05find the bottom of the river in some
31:07places and that kind of typical range
31:10starts about now and then goes all like
31:13kind of like 14-ish and starts to go
31:15down all the way to below seven.
31:18As you get below seven, there's a a
31:20small feature down below,
31:22uh which you could in theory hit your
31:24head on.
31:25Um but again, a lot of that is
31:28predicated off of where you're surfing
31:29the wave as well. So.
31:31>> Okay.
31:32And medium water on the main channel, we
31:35can look
31:36>> Medium water on the main channel. All
31:38right. I am a huge fan of Waikiki. I
31:41don't think it gets its flowers. Um
31:44it is a difficult wave to surf.
31:47Uh and and as my brother-in-law Joel has
31:50said, "Casey, this is where you become a
31:52ninja." Because the wave is crashing and
31:56folding and you're getting water in your
31:57face and you can't see, but you're just
31:59having to feel what's happening below
32:02you and make the edge transitions
32:04happen.
32:04>> Mhm.
32:04>> And he's not wrong. It's a great place
32:07to work on that. Uh so many of these
32:09other waves, they have such a long lead
32:12in to them that you're never getting
32:14water splashed in your face while you're
32:15surfing. Here, it does happen and um but
32:20I I love love this feature. So.
32:23>> Nice.
32:24>> Yeah.
32:25>> All right, low water.
32:28>> Ooh, summer, late kind of mid to late
32:30summer and fall.
32:33Um the range on the gauge, I would say
32:35starts, and this is up for debate, uh
32:38around five and goes down below that. We
32:41had a historically low water year last
32:43year in the fall, even though we had a
32:45very high water spring.
32:47So, we went to minus four on the gauge,
32:49which was the lowest I'd ever seen it
32:51since I've been here.
32:53There are great places to work on
32:57surfing and technical abilities of all
33:01levels
33:02on the river anywhere on the river.
33:05The most common place that you'll see
33:07people is at the Lauren rapid when you
33:09we drop below a foot on the gauge.
33:14Some of the best waves on the river in
33:16terms of freestyle progression, and then
33:18just also places to spend time and hang
33:20out are at the Lauren rapid. So, there's
33:23the mustache wave, there's push button,
33:25there's Garburator. All of those are
33:27great features. Garburator being a world
33:29championship feature, and then push
33:32button being kind of that great step
33:35into the intermediate realm of skill
33:39sets, and it's a great place for
33:40beginners who are feeling confident with
33:42their rolls to go test themselves at as
33:44well because it's a super deep behind
33:46it.
33:47And then the mustache wave is this cute
33:50little wave on river right that we love
33:52taking kids camp to. It's a little
33:55shallow on the lead inside of it, but
33:57it's a perfect place to learn how to
34:00paddle out with purpose onto a wave and
34:02feel your boat reach
34:04kind of its potential when it's on
34:05plane. So, we love we love the Lauren
34:08rapid. Um and the interesting thing
34:11about that time of year is that's when
34:15we will see the biggest influx of
34:17kayakers as well.
34:19Garburator draws a lot of really high
34:22quality freestyle athletes, and it's
34:25very unique because
34:27they'll start it at Garburator and then
34:29come down to push button, and it can be
34:32one of the very few places in the world
34:34where you're a true blue beginner and be
34:37sitting in the eddy with world champions
34:40that are also paddling at the same
34:42feature as they finish their sessions.
34:44So, it's it's pretty neat.
34:46>> Um and I feel like context is important
34:48because
34:50am I right? Would you say that
34:52for people
34:54who have don't have a lot of big water
34:56experience used to you know, to running
34:58their normal rivers at home. Even low
35:01water on the Ottawa that's a misnomer,
35:04right? Like
35:05>> It is, yeah. It is.
35:07>> really big.
35:09>> Yeah, um I I can't tell you the number
35:11of times that I've had guests from my
35:14time at NOC come up and say
35:19this feels huge and it's like it is what
35:21we consider low water.
35:23>> Yeah.
35:23>> Um again, you know, we are always
35:26products of the environment that we're
35:28from.
35:28>> Right.
35:29>> And you'll become more confident and
35:31more comfortable the longer that you
35:32paddle in these environments and things
35:35that
35:36you might shy away from in your home
35:38rivers
35:40you know, you might have features here
35:42that were telling you are class three
35:44and you're like, well, I've never seen
35:46that on my class three run. Um the main
35:49difference is the fact that the geology
35:51of the river
35:53is fairly safe all things considered.
35:56And again, safe is a a relative term as
35:58well, right? But we're not talking about
36:00having
36:01uh
36:02you know, every rapid has tons of
36:04undercuts. Like there are some places
36:06that are hazard zones and when we're on
36:09the water and our competitors are on the
36:11water, we're always making note of those
36:13things as well, you know, saying, "Okay,
36:16hey, team, let's take a moment. You need
36:18to know that this is where you could
36:20find the bottom. You need to know that
36:21this is where we know there is an
36:23undercut.
36:24>> Yeah.
36:24>> Um you you of that nature. Uh but again,
36:26those are those are the exception, not
36:28the rule.
36:29So.
36:30>> Perfect.
36:31McCoy's at low water?
36:34>> McCoy's at low water. I
36:36love McCoy's at high water at high
36:39water, low water, and medium water. I
36:41love I love it all the time.
36:43I
36:45I think that
36:47McCoy's is one of the best training
36:49grounds at low water. And it's a very
36:51interesting rapid because the rapid that
36:53you see on river right doesn't look very
36:57big at this photo like from this photo,
36:59but this is at low water.
37:01And
37:03what's really unique about it is you
37:06have multiple features that are over
37:08your head high
37:10that you have the opportunity to paddle
37:11through, which is awesome.
37:13And the rapid as you go from medium
37:17water where we talked about the last
37:19half of the rapid being underwater,
37:21which is if you're looking down at the
37:23tip of the island on river right in this
37:25this slide and where that second series
37:27of waves come in, that's only halfway
37:29through the rapid. There's still another
37:31portion of the rapid that's obscured by
37:33the island. And so all of that's
37:35underwater at medium water. At low
37:37water, you've got a very long rapid and
37:40in a lot of cases, McCoy's ends up
37:42becoming one of the hardest rapids on
37:43the river as you get down to zero and
37:46below zero.
37:48And it is an incredible training ground.
37:52You can train for freestyle here with
37:55features like quarter wave or with baby
37:58face. Those are great features to surf.
38:00But there's also a lot of really good
38:02river running opportunities here as
38:04well. You can learn how to big water
38:06booth. You can learn how to do ferries
38:09that are very intimidating cuz it looks
38:11like you're about to ferry into a hole.
38:14You can learn how to ferry from one
38:16tongue to another on the features.
38:19And again, like it's it's a it's just a
38:21wonderful, wonderful training ground for
38:24pushing yourself in in an environment
38:26that is intimidating visually. So.
38:29>> Nice.
38:30Um I think we had a slide on the main
38:31channel at low water.
38:33>> Oh, yeah.
38:34>> We were just
38:34>> So, we'll kind of work from left to
38:37right here. So,
38:39uh on the left side down here, we have
38:41Garburator.
38:43Um and that is the World Championship
38:45feature.
38:46It has a variety of different levels. Um
38:50on the high side, it becomes uh kind of
38:52a wedge-shaped green wave. And as the
38:54water drops, it becomes a foamier
38:56feature. And then as it gets really low,
38:59it becomes a green wedge-shaped wave
39:01again.
39:02Um
39:03in that middle range, it can feel like a
39:06very violent surf. Um so, it's one of
39:09those places where you want to feel
39:10really confident with uh your roll and
39:13things of that nature. Um it's super
39:15fast, uh but it does flush eventually.
39:18It's not something that will just hold
39:20on to you continually.
39:21Um the feature on the top in the middle
39:24is called Pushbutton. This is where so
39:28many people fall in love with freestyle
39:30kayaking is at this feature. It's very
39:32friendly. It has one of the widest
39:35ranges of water levels for a wave on the
39:38river, which is also super helpful. Um
39:41and again, it is super accessible from a
39:43standpoint of eddy service and and being
39:47huge huge run of flat water behind it.
39:50Um and then if we go all the way to
39:52river right, that's the kind of the eddy
39:55down below uh Pushbutton. So, you can
39:57see kind of the area down below uh the
40:01feature and how long of an area and
40:03stretch that you have to work with down
40:05there. So, it's it ends up being a
40:06really great place for people to push
40:08themselves. So.
40:10>> Nice.
40:11Um
40:13Casey, you have mentioned you know,
40:15world-class kayaking events that take
40:17place on the Ottawa, and we've listed a
40:20few whitewater events here.
40:23>> Yep.
40:23>> I am going to unfortunately have to say
40:25that in the interest of time, I'm going
40:27to encourage our listeners
40:29our viewers to check out these events
40:31because they're all posted on Rally
40:33Crew, and one of Rally Crew's signature
40:35features is you can find events, uh, and
40:37we'll pop into Rally Crew in a little
40:39bit and take a look at that. So, I'm
40:41I'm going to move us past
40:42>> Sounds good.
40:43>> I'm going to move us past the events
40:44line, um,
40:47because I want to make sure we have time
40:49to give a shout to the
40:51Jim who's coming up. I know Matt's on
40:53the line, so there are other rivers one
40:56could run if they were in the area.
40:58>> Yes.
40:59And should run if they make the trip up
41:01here. So, the Rouge River is fairly
41:03close by. They also got the Petawawa,
41:06the Madawaska, um, lots of great rivers
41:09in the area. Uh, I got to make one of my
41:12first journeys up to the Rouge River not
41:14too long ago for sisters, and I really
41:17enjoyed my experience up there. It was
41:18beautiful.
41:20>> Just only 1 hour drive from Ottawa, so
41:24people don't have any excuses to come
41:26visit us.
41:28>> Exactly. Yeah.
41:29>> And Matt knows I'm on my way. I'm coming
41:31out.
41:32>> Yeah, working. I'm actually working
41:34while you guys talking. I'm working on
41:35the the schedule of the weekend, so a
41:38lot of stuff is going
41:39I don't have any
41:41not much room, not enough hour in a day
41:44for a festival, so
41:46working hard on that.
41:49>> Looking forward to it. And then we had
41:51one more river we wanted to give a shout
41:52out to,
41:53>> And
41:53>> also nearby.
41:55>> Yeah, the Gatineau, which is another
41:56incredible section of whitewater.
41:58>> Okay, perfect. And then, uh, Casey, I
42:01should have mentioned this at the top of
42:03the hour, but
42:04>> Yeah.
42:04>> you very generously, uh,
42:09announced a few days ago that everyone
42:12who joined today's discussion about the
42:15Ottawa could receive from you a 15% off
42:19coupon code to take a class with the
42:22Ottawa Kayak School excluding
42:24the Keeners program or one of the
42:26signature weeks and I just want to say
42:29to folks who maybe have not had the
42:30experience of taking a course with OKS,
42:32I you know, I've I mentioned several
42:34times now I was up there 2 years ago. I
42:36was up there 2 years ago to take a
42:37course. It was among the best kayaking
42:40courses I've ever taken in my life both
42:42because of the quality of the
42:44instruction but also because of oh my
42:46gosh, the features on that river many of
42:48which Casey just talked about.
42:51You know,
42:52on one hand I got to feel like a hero on
42:54push button cuz it was really friendly
42:56and I was surfing and I felt great and
42:59and then I also got to get up close and
43:01personal with my flaws because there was
43:03nowhere to hide. That river just kept
43:05going, you know, I needed to to be a
43:07little more precise sometimes. So I just
43:10I can't recommend OKS enough. And again
43:13there's another
43:14reason for you to to hop on the
43:16RallyCrew because all of the OKS courses
43:18are listed on RallyCrew.
43:21Did I miss anything you want to say
43:22about your your instructional
43:23programming?
43:25>> I mean I think the biggest thing is is
43:27that you know, we we do spend a
43:31tremendous amount of time trying to work
43:33through these programs and deliver
43:35high-end programs and we have
43:39the luxury of having now the best
43:41location on the river in terms of
43:43logistics because we're right at the end
43:45of the traditional stretch of the
43:46whitewater river. So it really means
43:48that we get to elongate our days on the
43:50water as well.
43:52I mean we're on water at around 9:00 and
43:54we're typically off water at 5:00. So
43:56it's a it's a very long day on water
43:58which is is a very fun way to spend the
44:01day.
44:01>> Yeah, amazing.
44:04Uh the other thing we I to talk about
44:05and this I think we should also do
44:07relatively quickly is just, you know,
44:09off-the-water adventures. When I you
44:11know, showed up on site, I I was like,
44:13"What? There's mountain biking trails?
44:15What?" Um and you know, you just said
44:17spend a long day on the river. We spent
44:20a long day on the river because at noon
44:21we could pull over and you were cooking
44:23hamburgers and you know, you have
44:24>> Yeah.
44:25>> lots of, you know, uh
44:26>> Yeah. Yeah.
44:27>> you know, food facilities,
44:30>> Yeah.
44:30>> microbreweries, all the rest of it.
44:31There's, you know, no end I mean, I
44:34think most of us want to be on the water
44:35most of the time, but you know, if you
44:36need a off day, there's plenty to do in
44:38the area.
44:40Um and then the last slide that we
44:42wanted to cover just had to do with
44:44getting there, you know, which airport
44:45to fly into, campgrounds, that kind of
44:48thing.
44:49>> Yeah, so the the most common place that
44:52we have for our guests to fly into is
44:54the Ottawa airport. Um and they will
44:58either A, rent a car there or B, they'll
45:01actually charter a shuttle through us.
45:04Um we offer airport shuttles as well and
45:08when it comes to, you know, the guests
45:10that we're working with, the majority
45:11actually stay on site with us. So we
45:14have over 60 accommodations on site. We
45:17have
45:18uh made a huge infrastructure investment
45:20into our camping area and one of the
45:23things that we've changed uh for this
45:25year is we're offering camping uh
45:28without meals on site as well.
45:29Previously, Wilderness Tours had acted
45:31as more like a resort where everything
45:34was bundled together. Now we have
45:36full-service RV sites and tent sites
45:38without meals and so people can come in
45:41and, you know, camp and go kayaking and
45:43be at the end of the river, which is
45:45really deep. So.
45:47>> Awesome.
45:48All right. I uh I promised folks a
45:52That takes us to the end of our formal
45:54discussion about the Ottawa. We uh we
45:56have plenty of time for questions and
45:58answers. So we're going to get to that
45:59in just one sec, but I did want to um
46:03do what I promised, which was give you a
46:06super quick tour of Rally Crew for those
46:09of you who are
46:10not already Rally Crew members
46:12and or I saw several of you say, you
46:15know, I I joined I joined a while back.
46:17I haven't used it, you know, I need to
46:19get back in and and kind of play around
46:20and understand what's going on in Rally
46:22Crew. Super fair. Everyone again is
46:24waiting for the app to be released.
46:27As soon as it's released you'll have all
46:28sorts of reason to come back in. But one
46:30of the features that we released
46:32recently was this new map functionality
46:36where you can basically post a trip that
46:40you're hoping to get people to join you
46:42on kind of thing.
46:44And we think it'll be really great for
46:46clubs just as one example, you know,
46:48posting a upcoming event happening on
46:50Saturday kind of thing. But I was really
46:52tickled and I wanted to show it to you.
46:54It literally just launched last week so
46:56trips are just starting to get posted.
46:58You can tour around the world and see,
47:00you know, who wants to paddle where and
47:03someone posted this trip down
47:06in in Chile basically on the Futaleufu.
47:08And it was just kind of an open call
47:09like I want to head to the Futaleufu,
47:11you know,
47:12in during Futaleufu season, who's
47:14interested? Leave a comment. Let me know
47:17who you are. You know, you can click the
47:18join this trip button. And that made me,
47:22you know, want to come up. There's a
47:24trip happening in Norway apparently.
47:27Oh, my map.
47:30Made me want to come up and do something
47:31similar on the Ottawa or you know, or
47:33say to you all, if you're inspired now,
47:36one could, you know, put a pin on the
47:38Ottawa and say, "Hey, just saw a great
47:40presentation on Rally Crew, you know,
47:42who knows the Ottawa? Who wants to reach
47:44out?" You know, that kind of thing. So,
47:46if you're not already familiar with it,
47:48play around with the map. It's really
47:50cool. And we also mentioned that
47:54a lot of the events that we've been
47:55talking about
47:57are on Rally Crew. So, just to give you
48:00a sense, I can search for
48:02um courses. That's just one example on
48:05the Ottawa
48:06just by using the Ottawa as my keyword,
48:08and you see all the different courses
48:10that are hosted by the Ottawa Kayak
48:12School. So, you could check out any of
48:14these courses on Rally Crew. You can, of
48:15course, also check them out on the OKS
48:17website.
48:18Um
48:20Casey, you also You host a group, don't
48:23you?
48:24>> Uh yes, I do have a group here.
48:27Um and what I try to do is for the
48:30Ottawa Kayak School
48:32uh participants, people that come in and
48:34take the the courses. This is hopefully
48:37a place where they can come together and
48:39get to know each other because, again,
48:41making um
48:43you know, making making courses the only
48:45way that you get out on the water is
48:47prohibitively expensive. I understand
48:48that. I'm never going to argue against
48:50that. And so, the hope is that people
48:53that take these courses have an
48:54opportunity to start to connect with one
48:56another and start to have the ability to
48:59create a group or a, you know, a
49:02paddling environment that is more
49:04conducive to them getting on the water.
49:06So, that's the hope for this is
49:08>> Yeah.
49:08>> for it to become that is a place where
49:11participants can meet each other and
49:12start paddling together.
49:14>> And I loved it cuz you also you did a
49:15little promotion. I don't think it was
49:17last fall, and you really encouraged
49:18people to come in and ask questions
49:20about paddling on the Ottawa, and you
49:21just had so many people coming in and,
49:23you know, and asking questions. It was
49:25great. So, you can join groups on Rally
49:27Crew. You can search for events. You can
49:30play around on the map, post trips. Um
49:32you know, the feature that everyone
49:33really loves is the fact that, you know,
49:363,986
49:38paddlers and growing uh you know, the
49:41the key functionality on Rally Crew is
49:42you come in, you create a profile, you
49:44talk about who you are, and then you
49:45start connecting with other boaters.
49:47And um
49:49I don't know who Skylink is. Skylink
49:51just joined. just so you know, uh if and
49:54when you join Rally Crew, I will
49:56probably be your first friend because I
49:59get friend requests to every paddler
50:01that comes into Rally Crew, and I think
50:03a lot of people think it's like an
50:04automated thing, but you just saw it.
50:06It's not automated. It's just that I
50:08probably log in 20 times a day, and I
50:10see every new member, and I want to
50:12welcome them immediately. So, hopefully
50:14Skylink will accept my friend requests,
50:16and we can be friends. Um the last thing
50:18I wanted to show you is just uh in
50:20addition to posting trips, once a trip
50:23has happened, once you've gone on the
50:25river, you can turn your
50:28trip plan into a trip log. You can
50:31basically log all your river days. And
50:34um
50:34actually I'll I'll go to Casey's
50:36profile. His is a good example to show
50:38you.
50:39Casey Bryant Jones, there's two of you,
50:42by the way, Casey.
50:43Um
50:44>> Interesting.
50:44>> Yeah, you got to we got to I don't think
50:46that's the one you want. So, I I always
50:48go to the Casey
50:48>> Probably not.
50:49>> I don't have a kayak school. And so, I
50:51can go straight to Casey's profile, and
50:54I can read about who he is. He's Casey
50:56Bryant Jones. He's cool. He just gave a
50:57great presentation on Rally Crew, but I
50:59can also just peruse through his trips,
51:02because all of the trips that Casey has
51:03logged are going to live in his profile.
51:05And so, he just did a trip log. When
51:07were you on the river? May 16th. So,
51:09relatively recently. So, if I were going
51:11to the Ottawa, I could just hop on that
51:13you know, Casey's profile, and see if
51:15he'd logged any trips. But, I can also
51:18uh new feature, I can head to the trip
51:21feed, which shows me literally every
51:23trip every Rally Crew paddler has taken
51:26since Rally Crew launched. So, there's
51:28about I don't know, close to a thousand
51:30trips in here right now. And when we
51:33release the app, and when more paddlers
51:34come in, this trip feed is just going to
51:36you know, keep growing and growing and
51:38growing. And so, rather than going
51:39directly to Casey, I would actually come
51:42to the community trip feed, and look to
51:44see if anybody had posted a trip on the
51:48Ottawa
51:49and I'm going to see that Casey did, but
51:51then I'm going to scroll down and you
51:53know, member Bree Popper was on the
51:54Ottawa on May 3rd. So, I can read their
51:56trip logs and get a sense for, you know,
52:00Oh my god, 28.5 ft.
52:05That is That is crazy. That is
52:08That is way too high. And then,
52:10apparently, he or she was eaten by a
52:12boil and
52:14I believe it. So,
52:15I just wanted to point out a few a few
52:17of Rally Cruise key features and I
52:18wanted to relate them to our talk on the
52:20Ottawa.
52:21And then I want to go back to you,
52:24Casey, um
52:27for any last comments or questions.
52:32And And I'm still actually also
52:34admitting people in from the wait room.
52:37And I'm going to check the chat real
52:39quick here.
52:41Uh the other thing we should talk about
52:43is
52:44the method for distributing the coupon
52:47code.
52:48Uh we of course have everyone's email
52:52address uh
52:53because you've been with us uh here on
52:56the presentation. So, I think the
52:58easiest thing to do, if you'd like,
52:59Casey, is we can just
53:00>> Yeah.
53:01>> distribute that on your behalf. Okay.
53:02I think that's what we'll
53:04>> I think that's what we'll do. And then
53:05um just to help me so I actually don't
53:07have to read your questions uh if you
53:10have a question or even a comment about
53:12today's presentation, feel free to
53:14unmute yourselves
53:16and hop in.
53:19Fernando, you got your hand raised, for
53:21sure.
53:23Hello.
53:24>> Hello. Hello, everybody.
53:26>> Oh, hi, Fredcho.
53:28How you doing, Matt?
53:29>> good.
53:30>> So good to see you. So good to see you.
53:32Matt is a friend of mine. We got to
53:34paddle here in Costa Rica. I'm from
53:35Costa Rica and I've been to the Ottawa
53:37River.
53:38And it's such a great river for anybody
53:41that is uh here on this meeting. If you
53:43haven't been to the Ottawa, you have to
53:45be there. Casey, your face is so
53:47familiar to me. Last time I was there,
53:49it was like 2015 or so, like 11 years
53:52ago. First time I went, it was 2007.
53:56But, I really love the paddling, you
53:58know, community of Canada in general,
54:01and I got to experience a lot working on
54:03the Ottawa River as a raft guide, you
54:05know, pushing rubber down down the
54:07Ottawa.
54:08With our rafting,
54:10got to teach a little bit at MKC. That's
54:13how I started my career as an
54:15instructor.
54:17And now I have my school in Costa Rica,
54:19and I love I wanted to share how good my
54:22experience was in Canada and how how
54:24good it was for my personal and
54:26professional growth.
54:27Um also, I have a question for for the
54:31Rally Crew, actually. Cuz I haven't used
54:35the the the site a lot, to be honest.
54:39And I did register myself as a paddler,
54:42you know, as a person, as me, and and I
54:44also register my company, which is
54:46Piratas del Rio, but I don't know how to
54:48interact, right? Like, what are the
54:50choices for companies to interact with
54:53the Rally Crew? I I think I understand
54:55pretty well how individuals
54:58can use the platform, but how is it
55:02good for a companies? That would be
55:04awesome to know.
55:05>> You are in luck on that question,
55:07because as it happens,
55:10every first Wednesday of the month, we
55:13host a business orientation, or an
55:15orientation for people who have
55:17businesses and want to understand how to
55:19use Rally Crew to promote their paddle
55:22sport service.
55:23And by chance, unfortunately, you just
55:26missed today's, cuz it was 2 hours ago.
55:28But,
55:29>> Yes.
55:29>> Fernando, let me make sure I reach out
55:32to you, and and we'll make sure that
55:33you're on the next one, because it's a
55:35great way a lots of businesses, you
55:37know, we probably have six or seven or
55:38eight businesses every time. You learn
55:40from the other people. We share, you
55:42know, all the tools and tricks. Uh it'll
55:45make a lot of sense.
55:47Great question.
55:47>> That that's awesome. It's good to know
55:49that that you have that space and and
55:51yes, if you can like hand me a link or
55:53something I I
55:54I need to get on the site, right?
55:56>> Yes. Yes. And
55:57>> because I'm pretty sure they have
55:58improved a lot.
55:59>> Yeah. And for any other business owners
56:01that are listening, uh
56:03all those business orientations are also
56:05recorded. So, let me start by sending
56:06you the recording from one of the recent
56:08ones. You can watch that and then why
56:10don't you follow up directly with me uh
56:12if you have any have any questions.
56:14And also we have a paddling passport on
56:17Costa Rica, so we can talk about that.
56:19>> Yeah. Oh, that'd be awesome.
56:21>> Yeah, by the way, Deb, you should
56:23totally make one of these boat podcasts
56:25about the Pacuare and the work that
56:28Fercho is doing that back there is uh is
56:31pretty awesome. You should totally look
56:32that up.
56:33>> Nice. Okay.
56:34>> That would be great. Thank you, man.
56:36>> I'm on it.
56:37>> I'll be that, man.
56:38>> Any any questions for Casey about the
56:41Ottawa?
56:43Other than
56:45how quickly can I get that discount
56:47code?
56:52>> I see that David asked how long we or
56:55how late in the season we're offering
56:56three and five-day intermediate and
56:58beginner classes. We're offering our
57:01traditional program all the way up till
57:03an arrival date of the 27th of
57:05September. So, our three and five-day
57:07programs have a Sunday arrival date and
57:09we paddle either Monday through
57:11Wednesday or Monday through Friday
57:13with three and five-day participants
57:14paddling together.
57:18>> Um I have one question for you, Casey.
57:20Uh
57:21>> Yes.
57:21>> Uh
57:22and that is I'm really curious to hear I
57:24can't I can't remember if it's already
57:26happened or it's happening. Uh the adult
57:28keeners program. Your your year
57:31>> it actually it actually started
57:33>> is so popular
57:34>> starts this coming it starts this coming
57:36week.
57:37Our first week had eight participants
57:40and with that first week we have some
57:42that are actually going all the way
57:44through and doing 12 days and so they'll
57:46do two days in Montreal and then they'll
57:49come back and with that Montreal program
57:51we have a sister company that runs
57:53jet boat tours on
57:56the St. Lawrence River as well. So, we
57:58actually take the guests out in the jet
58:00boats. We actually do a surf session out
58:01of the jet boat as well which is super
58:03sick. We eat out, hang out in Montreal
58:06and then we come back here to the Ottawa
58:08for the second week and so participants
58:10can either choose to do a five-day
58:12program, a seven-day program or a 12-day
58:14program. So.
58:16>> So, I just and it's just the first year
58:18that it's been available to adults?
58:20>> No, it's it's been available for longer
58:23than I've been involved with the
58:24company.
58:24>> Oh, no way. Okay.
58:25>> Yeah, yeah. So, it's it's it goes in
58:28waves of popularity but this was one of
58:30the first years that we did some pretty
58:32hard promotion behind it and
58:35you know, it's it's led to a firmer
58:38booking with as well. So.
58:39>> All right. So, it felt like the first
58:41year.
58:42Um, you know, I'm assuming we have
58:44mainly adults on the line right now.
58:45Some of you may have you know, kids. The
58:48the Keeners program I I was just so
58:51lucky to be there two years ago along
58:53you know, a parallel universe with the
58:55Keeners. And what ages are they? They
58:57like
58:5812 to 16? What are they?
59:00>> So, Keener
59:01Keeners basically ranges from 12 to 17.
59:05It's the majority kind of being in that
59:0713 to 16 range.
59:09Um,
59:10and what Keeners is is nothing more than
59:14just a a program that really focuses on
59:17becoming a master of the fundamentals.
59:20Every day starts with 45 minutes of flat
59:23water progression before they even start
59:25on white water. So, it's like, learning
59:27how to be more patient upside down. It's
59:29like, so there's they literally practice
59:32hanging out as long as they physically
59:34can upside down before they start, you
59:36know, to roll back up. Um,
59:38you know, things of that nature. So,
59:40Rob, does the program include beat down
59:43stay?
59:45>> I mean, it should.
59:46>> refer to Thursdays we we refer to
59:48Thursdays as big water desensitization.
59:52Uh, so, what that means is Thursday you
59:57have the opportunity to challenge
59:58yourself at your relative max, right?
1:00:01So, that might mean
1:00:03you know, going and trying a roll in a
1:00:05really swirly bit of current, or that
1:00:07might mean going and dropping into the
1:00:09biggest feature that you've ever seen
1:00:10and trying to surf out of it, right? Um,
1:00:13it's a relative scale. So, it's all
1:00:15challenge by choice, right?
1:00:17>> I just I
1:00:18I can't I can't shut up about it.
1:00:21It was so great to be alongside these
1:00:24uh, young adults as they were learning
1:00:25kayaking. And for someone my size, you
1:00:27know, I'm in my late 50s, I started
1:00:29kayaking in my late 40s,
1:00:31and like many people who who started
1:00:33later in life, you know, I I always say,
1:00:34I wish I'd started when I was younger.
1:00:36So, to see these kids, you know, I was
1:00:39so jealous of them. I was so impressed
1:00:41by them.
1:00:42But, I wasn't impressed Yes, I was
1:00:44impressed by them, but I was also just
1:00:46impressed with the teaching philosophy.
1:00:49And you just touched on it, um, the
1:00:51desensitization days.
1:00:54It really felt like
1:00:56you were you were teach teaching them,
1:00:58you were desensitizing them to
1:01:01things that adults are traditionally
1:01:02scared of.
1:01:04>> And that's
1:01:05>> think most people think of of some of
1:01:07these experiences failures. Like, oh, I
1:01:10flipped over, failure.
1:01:12No, it's not a failure. It's an
1:01:14opportunity to ace the next skill, which
1:01:16is your roll, right? Oh, I got stuck in
1:01:18this feature. Yeah, but you surfed out,
1:01:21you know, like, it's the yeah, but like
1:01:24it it's having that mentality that I can
1:01:26overcome this next thing and I think
1:01:28that's
1:01:29what makes paddling and outdoor sports
1:01:31so unique is the fact that you can be so
1:01:34uncomfortable in some of these scenarios
1:01:36and then you overcome them and it makes
1:01:39you a stronger person and you can take
1:01:40that through to the rest of your life.
1:01:43It doesn't just stay in the kayaking
1:01:44world. You learn how to be
1:01:46able to overcome and be resilient in
1:01:48those moments. Um and that's something
1:01:50that I think you can only get from those
1:01:53moments where you're pushing yourself to
1:01:55your limit.
1:01:56And again, that that's a relative scale.
1:01:58It doesn't mean that you have to go and
1:02:00run giant white water. It just means
1:02:02that you go and push yourself a little
1:02:04bit and then don't focus on the failure.
1:02:06And I think the reason why adults are so
1:02:09stuck in that mindset is when you work a
1:02:12traditional career, which I've worked a
1:02:14traditional career, when you fail, it's
1:02:16a question of your competency.
1:02:19And when we're on the river and when
1:02:21somebody provides you advice or
1:02:23feedback, they're providing it from a
1:02:25standpoint of I want you to learn. I
1:02:27want you to overcome this thing. And
1:02:30that's what makes the sport so unique
1:02:33and that's what makes the environment
1:02:34around Keeners and around that program
1:02:37so unique.
1:02:39>> Yeah. Well, kudos to you for both the
1:02:41adult and the teen program. Um Matt, I
1:02:44see
1:02:44>> take I can't take a ton of credit for
1:02:46the the teen program. It's uh it's it is
1:02:49run by some incredible uh coached by
1:02:51some incredible individuals. I just get
1:02:52to
1:02:53kind of say, "You're working this case."
1:02:58>> Matt, I see your hand raised. Uh
1:03:00so I call on you.
1:03:02>> Uh you know, uh there's so much water
1:03:06levels and you know, we could we could
1:03:09have a logbook just for running the the
1:03:12the Ottawa River, but what is in terms
1:03:16of for
1:03:17uh intermediate and and advanced
1:03:20paddlers, what's the the best time for
1:03:24taking a class of
1:03:26play boating and freestyle on the Ottawa
1:03:28River?
1:03:30>> Honestly, it
1:03:31>> be a little couple ones.
1:03:33>> Yeah, there's there's a couple. I think
1:03:35a lot of it really comes down to what
1:03:37feature you're most drawn to surfing.
1:03:40That's the thing I think that makes the
1:03:42decision for you. And if you like cold
1:03:45water or not, those are like the two
1:03:47deciding factors. If you like it when
1:03:49it's warm outside and you want to paddle
1:03:51in a shorty all day and you want to
1:03:53paddle and work on a feature, Garburator
1:03:56is one of the best paddling features to
1:03:59work on. And the eddy access is easy.
1:04:02When it gets busy, you can just dip
1:04:04downstream and go to Pushbutton for a
1:04:06little bit and then go back upstream.
1:04:08You can also just take out and watch. I
1:04:10mean, that's one of the really unique
1:04:11things about being there is it's so easy
1:04:14to view such a dynamic feature. That
1:04:17doesn't happen very often and there's so
1:04:19many places for people to sit and watch
1:04:21and you can watch people paddle and and
1:04:23learn just as much from that as you do
1:04:26from the actual instruction as well as
1:04:28see what people are doing. So, Garb is a
1:04:30really good time of year. That's kind of
1:04:33starting at minus a half and going down
1:04:36to like minus one and one half.
1:04:39You know, you can surf it above that and
1:04:41you can surf it below it, but like the
1:04:43the window where people really see
1:04:46the best surf surfing times and then
1:04:49also the most retentive feature. That's
1:04:51when it's the most retentive. Um right
1:04:54now is also very Yeah, go ahead.
1:04:57>> The thing is
1:04:58it happened so many times for me that
1:05:01I live in Montreal and I take my car, I
1:05:04drive to to the to Ottawa River seeing
1:05:08level at minus and a half.
1:05:12I arrived there and it's at five.
1:05:14>> Plus two. Yeah, or plus five, yeah.
1:05:17>> The the section is independent of the
1:05:19dams and what are
1:05:21what what what are the the the tools
1:05:24that the people the locals use for
1:05:26>> Yeah.
1:05:26>> making sure
1:05:28they can predict a bit what's going to
1:05:30happen.
1:05:31>> Yeah. So, the the one that gives you an
1:05:34idea for the day of is the Shaggy
1:05:36Designs gauge. So, Gwyn has made this
1:05:39incredible resource for people to check
1:05:41the day of river levels.
1:05:43Um the the the level that you're looking
1:05:47to look for
1:05:49is the outflow from the Madawaska Dam.
1:05:52That's that's what the one that is going
1:05:54to give you kind of a three-day
1:05:57heads-up window. And so, Joel is cur-
1:05:59currently and constantly looking at that
1:06:02because we deploy for the rafting, we
1:06:04have a zodiac and so does Owl. Owl also
1:06:06uses a zodiac for their coverage. And we
1:06:10make our decisions on what channel, what
1:06:12you know, what rapids we're running and
1:06:14what safety coverage we have based off
1:06:16of those water levels. So, he's using
1:06:18the outflow from that dam to kind of get
1:06:21a three-day gauge on on what's happening
1:06:24there.
1:06:25Um and typically, if you see a big storm
1:06:28front come through and it hits the
1:06:30Madawaska area, like a really big one
1:06:32that dumps a lot of rain, you're going
1:06:33to see the water level go up. Um it
1:06:36might be two to three days. Yeah.
1:06:38>> Okay, now I got the magic from the
1:06:40Ottawa Valley.
1:06:41>> Yeah, yeah.
1:06:43>> Thanks. Also, maybe maybe I have a
1:06:46little
1:06:48question about
1:06:49since when the keeners
1:06:52were were taught to
1:06:55to go in field without paddle.
1:06:57What is this all about? Where where it
1:07:00comes from?
1:07:01What's the the tradition?
1:07:04>> So, the the tradition is uh
1:07:07long-standing. We spend a tremendous
1:07:10amount of time working on people's roles
1:07:12and making feel sure that they feel
1:07:13confident with rolling, back deck
1:07:16rolling, hand rolling, and just trying
1:07:17to work through all the different
1:07:18variations of rolling.
1:07:20And with the big water days,
1:07:24the kids actually come up with the idea
1:07:27themselves. It's not something that we
1:07:28promote necessarily. It's just as they
1:07:31gain more and more confidence during the
1:07:333-week program,
1:07:35things become less and less scary to
1:07:37them.
1:07:39And so, we we do encourage them to try
1:07:42paddling with their hands. And we'll
1:07:44even do this in our beginner courses as
1:07:45well to teach people the importance of
1:07:48edging because you can peel out across
1:07:50an eddy line with little to no speed as
1:07:53long as you're using proper edging
1:07:54technique. And so, we'll take people's
1:07:56paddles away from them and have them
1:07:57hand paddle across easy eddy lines to
1:07:59understand how to edge. And so, we are
1:08:03often times encouraging people to to
1:08:06learn how to hand paddle a little bit,
1:08:08you know,
1:08:09from that beginner progression. And then
1:08:11as there are opportunities with
1:08:12intermediate progressions, we'll ask
1:08:14people, you know, "Hey, have you wanted
1:08:16to work on your back deck roll? Well,
1:08:18have you tried a back deck hand roll now
1:08:20that you have your back deck roll? Or
1:08:21have you tried a hand roll recently?
1:08:23Like, do you feel confident with your
1:08:24hand roll?" Cuz again, when you're
1:08:26surfing some of these bigger features,
1:08:28there is the possibility that you lose
1:08:30your paddle. And so, it's like, what's
1:08:32the next step, right?
1:08:34So, we do spend a lot of time on those
1:08:36those skill sets for those that want to
1:08:38work on them. Cuz again, you might have
1:08:40someone say, "You know what? I really
1:08:41don't want to work on that." And guess
1:08:42what? They're spending their hard-earned
1:08:45time and money with us, and so we're not
1:08:46going to promote it and push them to do
1:08:48something that they don't want to do,
1:08:49either.
1:08:50>> Okay.
1:08:51>> I thought I thought it was some sadistic
1:08:53idea from
1:08:55a guide or something.
1:08:55>> No, no, it's actually the kids. I mean,
1:08:57my first summer up here,
1:09:00Uh, I I
1:09:01a
1:09:02super cute 12-year-old girl come up to
1:09:04me and she said, "Well, Casey, I just
1:09:06went into Phil's without a paddle. Now
1:09:07you have to." I was like, "Oh, no."
1:09:11And so I did, and I was I made it out,
1:09:14but I was just like, "Oh, no, this is
1:09:15not good."
1:09:19>> Thank you. Thank you, Casey.
1:09:21>> Going into Phil's without a hand paddle
1:09:23may not have been good, but this
1:09:24presentation by you, Casey Bryant Jones,
1:09:28on the Ottawa was very, very good. So,
1:09:30thank you so much for making yourself
1:09:34available in what I know is, you know,
1:09:36very much your busy season.
1:09:38Uh, to the guests that were with us on
1:09:40the line, we will um be following up
1:09:42with the recording. We'll be following
1:09:44up with the discount code. And I feel
1:09:47confident in saying that if you have
1:09:49additional questions for Casey, you
1:09:51should feel free to reach out to him. We
1:09:54looked at his profile on Rally Crew. If
1:09:56you're not already friends with Casey on
1:09:59Rally Crew, you should send him a friend
1:10:00request.
1:10:01If you're not already on Rally Crew, you
1:10:03should join, and then send him a friend
1:10:05request. And I'm sure your information's
1:10:08all over the internet, on the OKS
1:10:10website.
1:10:11>> Yes.
1:10:11>> Lots of different ways to ask questions.
1:10:14You can join the group on Rally Crew. So
1:10:15many different ways. But for now, I just
1:10:17want to say thank you so much, Casey. Um
1:10:21I really want to come back and uh
1:10:24it's going to be hard for me not to pop
1:10:26over when I'm at Matt's event, so I
1:10:27think I just might.
1:10:29>> Well, please come over anytime. We'd
1:10:31love to see you there.
1:10:32>> All right. Thank you.
1:10:33>> All right. Cheers. Thanks to everybody.
1:10:36Yeah.
1:10:37>> Have a good eve- evening, if it's
1:10:39evening for you.
1:10:41Good night.
1:10:42>> Good night.
1:10:45>> Stop the share.
1:10:49Thank you, everyone.
1:10:51>> Hello, hello, river runner. I I didn't
1:10:54catch your name. I'm sorry.
1:10:55>> But I left a message, a private message
1:10:57with my contact.
1:10:59>> Oh, perfect.
1:11:00Well, I I'll find you on Rally Crew.
1:11:02>> Uh yeah, perfect.
1:11:04>> Okay.
1:11:05>> Right on.
1:11:05>> Take care.
1:11:06>> Yeah. Bye-bye.
1:11:07>> Thank you.
1:11:10>> All right.
1:11:11>> Thank you so much, Casey.
1:11:13>> Yeah, cheers.
1:11:14>> All right.
1:11:15>> Looking forward to seeing you up here
1:11:16again when it happens.
1:11:17>> Yeah. Have a And in the meantime on
1:11:19Rally Crew, but also delete that second
1:11:21account.
1:11:22>> Okay, I can.
1:11:23>> Well, actually, that's right, you can't.
1:11:24Do you mind if I delete it for you?
1:11:26>> Not at all.
1:11:27>> Okay, I'm going to delete it for you.
1:11:28Okay.
1:11:29>> Perfect.
1:11:30>> Bye, everyone.
1:11:31>> Cheers. Bye-bye.
1:11:34>> All right.

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