2015 New Years Day Icy Paddle

Write it on your heart that every day is the best day in the year. -Ralph Waldo Emerson

2014 was an epic year! It was filled with amazing rivers, friends, boofs, tricks, memories and places! Yet another year has come awaiting so much more! Happy 2015!
For the past 3 years we have been attending the new years day paddle on the Shoshone Rapids of the Colorado River. At these levels it’s a great section of class 3 whitewater! Its the perfect rapid for a New Years Day run since it’s only about 1 mile long!!
It’s a cold paddle and the river is covered in ice and snow. Invariably we have a ton of icicles on us from head to toe at the end of the run! My hair was frozen stiff! According to the thermometer in our truck it was 15 degrees outside!
I am so thankful that I had a Kokatat Drysuit to wear this year along with Grady, Brody and Cardy! It makes a huge difference in staying warm and dry. Poor Kenny, Dally and my dad still don’t have drysuits so they must have been 10x as cold!
We all used our Jackson Kayak creek boats to lessen the chance of flipping and to stay warmer! The first year we did the NYD paddle we were all in Jackson Kayak playboats, I flipped and nearly froze!
Cardy, Kenny and Dally were in the SideKick, I was in my 2013 Zen, and my dad, Grady and Brody were all in Karma’s. We sailed right through all the holes, it was awesome!
Its so great to see so many people come together on this day enjoying kayaking and sharing smiles! Its truly an amazing time on the water and a great way to kick off the new year! Every year we meet new people, forging new friendships … this year we met a guy named Dan who is recruiting paddlers to play Kayak Water Polo in the Spring! That’s something my mom would love since she played waterpolo in college!

I hope everyone has a very epic 2015 filled with lots of adventures!  Check out the video below!!  SYOTR