Right Online!

Your Paddler Online is just what I've been waiting for. Down here in Aus'land we dont get much in the way of paddle mags, so to find Paddler on the web as an online magazine is a real plus. Thanks for your efforts and I hope the online section continues. Keep dipping the paddle.

--John Canaway, Sydney, Australia

Whadda' Website!

Thanks for finally coming up with a decent online magazine for boaters. Looks like things may finally be looking up for the publication and this may actually get me to subscribe (finally). I'll ask just one more thing...please include MORE!! whitewater articles. There never will be enough.

--whitewaterboater@hotmail.com

More Canoes, Please

I'm sending in a subscription renewal, but with some question in mind. What happened to all the canoes? I know I must share space to support a paddling magazine, but the key word is share. It's a great magazine and I am sure you are trying. I'm just testing the squeaking wheel theory.

--Bob Mikkelson, Watseka, Illinois

--As a magazine for paddlers of all persuasions, it's hard to keep everyone happy. Hopefully the last few issues have helped oil that squeaky wheel.

--Eds.

Kern Yearn

I want to introduce myself as the mother of Chuck Kern, one of the paddlers lost last summer. My sons, Johnnie and Willie, were quick to call me from California about the February issue of Paddler. I want to let you know that we Kerns felt that it was a very well done article and one that I read when I am feeling particularly down and out. Our friends who have read it feel the same. I think you did an excellent job covering a tragic and difficult subject with the facts and the outlook from other paddlers. You wrote it with dignity and feeling and it continues to make me feel proud of my son, Chuck, who lived and died doing what he loved so passionately. This past fall Johnnie, Willie and I drove from the Atlantic to the Black Canyon. It was a bitter sweet journey, but for me, it was important to see the Black Canyon where Chuck died. It is so dramatic and the river so loud. Again, thank you for your article.

--Julie Kern, Woodstock, Connecticut

Tragic Rememberance

I'm writing in response to "The Tragic Summer of '97" (Feb. '98). I was deeply moved by its truth and message. The story echoes the names of people who have changed my life through kayaking, people I have looked up to with respect while trying to follow in their footsteps. A lot of these mentors have lost someone while paddling the upper limits of kayaking, and I can't help but question my own actions and mortality, wondering when my number will be up, or a friend's? I look at my younger friends and wonder how it would affect me if I saw the river take one of them. I also ask myself why I continue to paddle like I do, always coming to the same conclusion--the one stated throughout your article. When paddling a challenging river, a kayaker feels a sense of "aliveness" that can't be obtained anywhere else. Life is a river; there are a million different streams to choose from and one of them is kayaking. Hence, just as a stream can die, so can a friend.

It would seem that a Class V kayaker acknowledges this inherent price and accepts it. We bring the edge nearer by risking ourselves, which can lead to dire consequences and lets us know how sweet and rewarding life is. We should seriously look at who we are--people who pit judgment against the odds, judgment that we have earned in hundreds of river days. We have swum, broached, pinned and swamped our way to the upper limits, learning to heed the signs of the river. We have gained a precious skill, yet we mustn't forget that we are all "just learning." Our sport is on the verge of something new, and the summer of '97 yielded an important message: be careful. It can be heeded by all of us who search for challenge, notoriety and solace in the voice of a river.

--Scott Doherty, Bend, Oregon

Salt Semblance

Thank you for the excellent article about the Salt River case. I thought it was a fine piece of journalism and an issue that needed to be aired out.

Unfortunately, we are going through the same process, in reverse, here on the Chattooga with regard to Section IV's Crack-in-the-Rock rapid (which killed paddler Ken Phinney in December 1996). A classic case of the Forest Service's left hand (Sumter National Forest) not knowing what the right hand (Tonto National Forest) is doing. The most disturbing part of the controversy is that the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act specifically prohibits "alteration of the riverbed." The District Ranger, Ms. Elizabeth Merz, has consulted with the Office of General Counsel and said they told her the Act was "subject to interpretation," which, as we all know, are classic wiggle words coming from a bunch of lawyers. Maybe some publicity would help dispel the myth that government employees have the ability to improve the Chattooga River.

--Bruce Hare, Chattooga Whitewater Shop, Long Creek, South Carolina

Wanted: Women

I am one of your biggest fans and I truly enjoy the content of your magazine. So please excuse me for saying that reading your magazine is somewhat like being at a sausage party. Where are all the women? You continually quote the "experts" and "top-notch rodeo paddlers" but seemingly overlook the entire female population! You guys should give a little credit where it's due. Women boaters rip these days! Women are paddling the same rivers, entering the same rodeos, and performing the same moves as men. I don't know about you, but I know a few girls who can kick my butt on any wave or hole. So, next time you're quoting the experts and top-notch rodeo paddlers try asking a woman what she thinks--you might be impressed by what you find.

--John Lovett, Steamboat Springs, Colorado

Gender Bender

I applaud Paddler's renewed efforts in addressing the whitewater paddling scene, but I do have few qualms about the lack of female coverage and the often loose representation of the National Organization of Whitewater Rodeos (NOWR). First the women. Where are they? I can't believe you would write an entire feature article on top playholes and not consult a single woman. There are lots of top-notch women out there who have plenty to say. To make matters worse, a photo of Susan Wilson is shown in your 1998 calendar for December tearing it up at Ocoee's Hell Hole where she is referred to as a "he." Shame, shame.

Next, NOWR is a circuit run by American Whitewater (AW) and is not a stand-alone organization. Without AW's support, the circuit would not be what it is today. You write an entire article on playholes and leave out any real mention of the only national circuit of rodeos in the country? I think you really missed the boat. Finally, in your article on extreme kayaking (Feb. '98), Erik Jackson states "NOWR doesn't want the top paddlers there." Absolutely NOT TRUE! It is true that some events do find the experts/pros to be a handful, but a lot of the past problems have stemmed from no real guidelines. NOWR is the only national circuit implementing standardized judging, a travel-friendly schedule and a point series championship--all for the expert/pro paddlers. I'd say we are very much addressing the needs of this group of paddlers and hope to see the sport grow to the point where pro rodeo paddlers can thrive and flourish.

--Jayne H. Abbot, Events Manager, American Whitewater/NOWR, Weaverville, North Carolina

Setting the Record Straight

I've been outfitting river trips on Chiapas, Mexico's Rio Usumacinta for 18 years and have orchestrated film projects for such groups as National Geographic and PBS. The following information is current, unbiased and important for those wishing to travel in this area.

The Rio Usumacinta forms the border between southern Mexico and Guatemala. It is unsafe to run the Usu downstream of Yaxchilan. However, there are discrepancies in the August '97 article and the letter to the editor in February '98. The Guatemalan guerrillas have never caused problems for river travelers. Since the mid-'70s when outfitters began running commercial river trips on the Usu and prior to 1995, there were sporadic incidents of robberies. Most occurred around a stretch of river on the lower Usu near a town called Francisco Madero. There are over 450 inhabitants in this village who have always been friendly to rafters. Jan. 1, 1994, brought the Zapatista (EZLN) movement into the public eye. By 1995, the atmosphere along the Usu changed dramatically. More than 12 trips were launched during the '95 season with at least 10 of them commercial. That April, a private group of boaters was assaulted. I was on that ill-fated trip. We were fired upon while floating in mid-stream. Three people were shot, and one woman was seriously injured. We were robbed as well. In the course of the robbery, after what seemed an eternity, probably about 30 minutes, a military (PGR) chopper dropped in by circumstance.

In his letter to the editor, Mike Niman states, "either the Mexican military was in the right place at the right time, or it was working with supposed bandits staging a media event." Well, yes, an interesting miracle did happen that day. After several interviews with the pilot, military officials and locals, this is what we believe happened. There is a band of "Malos" living in this remote region who hunt, fish, cultivate, run contraband and rob at will. Their stronghold is a vast wilderness on the Guatemalan side and steep river canyons on the Mexican side. A slow-moving, predictable raft trip falls easy prey to them. With the problems Mexico and Guatemala have been experiencing over the last decade, a band of banditos on the lower Usu is a small detail. Both governments are well aware of them, but until it becomes a priority to rectify the problem, floating this ancient Mayan waterway is not recommended. There are, however, many other safe and beautiful places in Chiapas where it is safe to travel. People interested in traveling here, with the proper research and correct information, can continue to do so and have safe and wonderful travel experiences. Thank you for a great publication and be sure to let us know if we can be of assistance.

--Scott Davis, CEIBA Adventures, Flagstaff, Arizona