Two new tid bits

There is still snow in the mountains, but some of it is warming its way into Sierra rivers. I am lucky enough to still be honored for my past work as a recreation leader at UC Santa Cruz with an invite to join in their annual staff raft trip down one of California’s great rivers. Before signing off for the weekend to kayak the Kings river in the southern Sierra foothills I wanted to share a tid bit that was recently published in Adventure Sports Journal.

Most of you are familiar with my recent residence on the Smith River last summer and fall. Well, I can’t seem to get that wonderland out of my head. Every chance I get I’m spraying praise about it and now is no exception. Please visit my link to the pdf of this short article HERE. Or pick up a free copy of Adventure Sports Journal at a local outdoor store near you. There will be a live link to the ASJ website on my wavehaven/writing page soon.

This latest bit is about the scenic route that follows the Smith River through redwood country and up into the Rogue River drainage in Oregon. Most people bypass this route to take the fast way home on I5, but they are seriously missing out. This drive definitely warrants an overnight stop for those interested in camping, or at least a full day to make lots of stops and walks into a treasure chest of historical trees and one of the cleanest clearest rivers you’ll ever see.

For those of you locals who take the Santa Cruz Sentinel, check out today’s sports section. I wrote about our local gal Eva Twardokens who is being inducted into the US Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame. She is an inspiring woman who now coaches at the Crossfit Santa Cruz Central and is still fighting fit. Her clients range from national caliber weightlifters to 80 year old Mary Conover, who started Crossfit about 11 years ago and loves it. As soon as this article goes online I will also post a link on the “Writing” page of this blog.

Stay tuned for photos and updates about my first trip down a class III/IV river in a hard shell kayak!