March-April 2004  
         
  Welcome to the first issue of the Kudzu Kayakers Bi-Monthly e-Newsletter. Here you will find information about the Kudzu Kayakers Whitewater Adventure Group, planned group river runs and activities, membership information, equipment reviews and more. Right now the e-newsletter is planned for bi-monthly distribution although monthly mailings during the summer months may take form. If you would like to submit content for the letter contact the Kudzu Kayakers.  
 

What's New? With frigid winter temperatures keeping the members of the group indoors we have found one activity that keeps us active in the sport. Winter Roll Practice with our friends The Peachtree City Paddlers has kept us from going completely stir crazy.
The practice sessions are held every other Sunday from 5PM to 7PM at the Kedron Aquatic Center in Peachtree City GA. This has been a great opportunity for members to fine tune their roll technique and for future members to learn a flat water roll. Developing a solid and reliable roll is key to gaining the confidence needed to advance in the sport of whitewater kayaking. If you are interested in roll practice with the Peachtree City Paddlers contact the group at their website at http://www.ptcpaddlers.org

    In this Issue:  
   

 

  • Winter Roll Practice

  • Spring Membership Drive

  • Spring Splash

  • March and April Planned
    Activities

  • David's Corner
  
       
 

We Want You! Our Spring Membership Drive starts with our first run of the season (March 20th). If you are looking for a great group of paddling enthusiast to paddle with look no further. Membership in the group is free and the requirements are simple.
The 3 requirements are:
 1. A desire to be an active member of the Kudzu Kayakers.
 2. Join the group on at least three runs down any of the rivers we paddle. (We paddle everything from the class II Cartecay to the Ocoee and beyond.)
 3. Share a campfire with us. In other words, join us on an overnight paddling trip. Fun trips, river stories, good food and comradery are the results. We have several overnighters during the season and include all of the rivers we paddle on.
What are the benefits of joining the Kudzu Kayakers? You will be a member of a paddling group geared towards the average paddler. We invite individuals, couples and families to join us. Our goal is to share experiences and resources and to improve our paddling skills. We have several group trips planned for the upcoming season and we are very open to suggestions for trips to new rivers. This is the group you have been looking for.

    
       
     New at kudzukayakers.com:  
   
  • Slideshows have been replaced with photo galleries on the Photos and Movies page
  • Movie of the week feature will begin with our first river trip in March
  • Upconing trips have been added to the Discussion Board
  • River descriptions and info as well as Ocoee River recreational release schedule for 2004 has been added to the Trips and Rivers page
  
 

Upcoming Events: Our calendar for March and April offers several trips for paddlers of all levels. Two pool rolling sessions with the Peachtree City Paddlers remain during the month of March, our plans are to be at the March 7th session. Our first river trip planned is a two day outing on the Cartecay river in North Georgia on March 20th and 21st.
Our next group trip will be our first overnighter of the year when we travel to the Nantahala for the NOC's "Spring Splash". Our plans are to drive up Friday evening April 2nd and stay through the 4th. We will run the river on both Saturday and Sunday. When on trips to the Nantahala we camp at the Nantahala Wesser Campground. A printable map to the campground is available on the Kudzu Kayakers website here.
On April 24th and 25th we have another overnighter planned to the beautiful Tellico River. We will drive up to the area to camp on the evening of the 23rd. The Tellico is a small step above the Nantahala in terms of skills needed to navigate it successfully. We will be running the "middle section" which starts out in class III rapids but quickly turns into a mostly class II run. If you have run the Nantahala several times and can consistently run it without swimming you are ready for the Middle Tellico. A printable map to the Tellico River is available here.
To join us on any of these or upcoming trips either contact us through the website or join the discussion for each trip on the Discussion Board.
May Trips: The month of May has 5 weekends. We have trips planned for three of the weekends. Details of the May trips will be included in the next newsletter.

  • Beginner's Run on the Cartecay, May 15th and 16th
  • Nantahala overnighter, May 21st-23rd
  • Three Rivers in Three Days (with the PTC Paddlers), Memorial Day weekend May 28th-31st

  David's Corner:13 year old Kudzu Kayaker David Knapp provides tips, tricks and equipment reviews for younger and smaller paddlers.

Hey guys,
Some small equipment is Lotus Lolita for a life jacket, I use this myself, it works very well and its SMALL!! Another cool thing I wear that's small is the Rapidstyle Potomac Paddling Jacket/Mysterioso PolarTech shirt combo.

NEXT ROLL PRACTICE IS March 7th. See you there!!
David		  
Coming up in the May-June Newsletter:
 
   
  • March - April trip reports
  • Tons of trip Photos
  • New member profiles
  • May - July planned events
  • Nolichucky and Ocoee here we come!