Why You Are Better Than Most - By Carver

 The reason you are better than most is you keep trying, you are willing to try new things,

Willing to fight for the ones and things that are important to you.

Most of the world does not keep trying to be better. Most people stop once it gets hard they take the easy path witch will leave you in even harder times.

Plus you are willing to try new things. even if they scare you even if no one else you know will try it.

You will also always fight for the ones things are important to you. even if it puts you at risk you will push for them.

These are the reasons that you are better than most. Why you should be the one to get to your goal. 

Jackson Gnarvana: By Xavier

Now, the Gnarvana was the first boat I had ever paddled besides the rockstar, a playboat. So I found that very different and hard to get used to. It was hard to steer and maneuver in the rapids. It was also super hard to catch waves and maintain surfs. BUT it was extremely fast in rapids and white water which made it easy to catch Eddies and move around. It was also very hard to tip, I think I flipped like once on the whole river. In the end I thought it was interesting to paddle a very different boat but I typically have much more fun in a playboat. That is just my opinion and I would still recommend trying the Gnarvana out for yourself.

Yakistan Music - By Maia

I’ve been the Yakistan (now dubbed Swiftistan) music person for a while now. I play music in the mornings and sometimes afternoons when we’re all in our cabins making food. It’s a tough job being the music person. You have to be able to play music for people of all ages and music types. You also have to be able to play music that is keener appropriate. This means that there cannot be any bad language or references. You also have to be able to play music that the boys in White House will hate. Examples of this include Taylor Swift, Katy Perry, Lady Gaga, Demi Lovato etc. it’s a hard job but a necessary one to be able to produce the most hype cabin of Swiftistan. Thank you.

Week 3 Blog - Anna

In my family’s sprinter van we have enough seats and beds for 5 people. We also have enough boat storage for up to 10 boats. We can also store all of our tools and extra things we need including bags with clothes and stuff like that. We go on adventures with the whole family or with just some of us. I love going on adventures with my family but there are some downsides. One big downside is that every morning when you wake up you hit your head on a metal bar. Another downside is that there is not that much space.

Week 2 Blog - Andrew

I got into kayaking not that long ago compared to some other Keeners that are in this program. My family bought a raft about eight years ago when my dad turned forty which we did day trips for a couple months and did some overnight trips but nothing major. As the years went on we did cooler and cooler trips that were bigger whitewater and more fun. Eventually me and my brother got tired of just sitting in the raft, just casual observers, and wanted to really be in control of what we hit and didn’t hit, what lines we took, and overall what happened. We asked our parents for something to do and they thought of the plan to get us two duckies also known as inflatable kayaks in 2020. These duckies were amazing I got that control that I wanted and my parents no longer had to deal with a bored me and my brother. As we continued going on trips me and my brother were simultaneously making the realization that cool people didn’t ducky they hard shell kayaked. 

This observation led my brother to start going to kayaking lessons and pool sessions while my parents thought I was too young and I sat at home jealously. My brother bought a boat and began running things while I still sat in my ducky sad that I wasn’t cool enough. The next winter my parents yielded and let me start to learn to roll in a pool although my parents still made me ducky our longer trips. I was pretty slow to take to rolling but by winter of last year I had it confidently in the flat water but in actual current I would usually swim or just miss it and need a rescue. 

I didn’t let that make me stop kayaking though and I kept going to pool sessions and to the play park and that was working to make me better at my roll and give me surfing experience.

Anna - Week 2 Blog

 I love kayaking with my family. I also love kayaking with friends. I love kayaking at the Whitewater centre because it has the conveyer belt. I can do lots of tricks like a loop and spins both ways and shove it both ways. I will always choose to kayak because I love it so much. I also love spending time with friends. I love to ride my bike or scooter. I can twist to go kayaking today.

How To Loop In Pushbutton: By Wade

 Hi my name is wade and I will tell you how to loop in push button. 

Step 1: first you are going catch the wave hole up high on the foam pile.

Step 2: then you are going to set a Ritter on the right Step 3: next you will bow stomp in the trough Step 4: after you bow stomp you will look forward and leap out and up into the air Step 5: finally when you feel your stern hit you will throw your weight and paddle back forming a loop stroke Step 6: enjoy a front surf Step 7: once you fish off the wave you will claim your trick with a fist pump Step 8: finally you will get back in the eddy and try to go bigger

How To Get Past A Log On The River: By Toby

If you are swimming on a river and you see a log there are ways to get over it. In order to stay safe going past the log you must try and get over the log. This is because if you go under the log you can get stuck in unseen branches or get snagged by something. Once you get your chest on the log try to lean up and bring you ankles up in order to get over the log. Getting your legs up is essential to getting over the log. If you do not get your legs up the water will push you under neath the log meaning you could get snagged. Another way to avoid the logs is to scout the river ahead for any logs beforehand. You should only try to swim or kayak a log if you have no other choice.

Food At Keeners: By Alex Mueller

At Keenerville we have to cook our own food, while this sounds good and all it causes some problems. Some of the problems are catching the stove on fire and burning popcorn in the microwave. But the most Annoying problem is how many people are in the kitchen at once.

Another problem is the amount of food, we will have hundreds of eggs but only 1 box of eggos which is all some people will eat. I think that we need to have a balance. I also wish we would get something other than chicken everyday for dinner.

How To Make A Breakfast Sandwich: By Bertie McCrea

Breakfast sandwiches are yummy and an essential to any morning breakfast as they are easy and quick to make

Ingredients: Cheese Bacon Two eggos

Step 1 : defrost your eggos by placing them in the toaster

Step 2 : heat up a pan on the stove while eggos in the toaster

Step 3 : place eggos on the pan

Step 4 : put cheese on eggos and place a cover on the pan to ensure the cheese melts correctly

Step 5 : balance bacon on top of cheese on the eggos and place the cover back on the pan and wait

Step 6 : when you can see that the cheese has melted place other eggo on top of the cheese and bacon covered eggo

Step 7 : remove eggo from the pan and plate it

Step 8 : eat eggo sandwich and enjoy

Step 9 : do your dishes cause savannah makes you

Drying Things By: Orin Gartner

When you are drying things you want them to be dry. The problem with that is that the air, the wind and the sun doesn’t dry your stuff in time for the next day of kayaking. I like to do it a little bit different. I put everything but my rashy on the hooks. I like to spread the things out to make it easier to dry. I put the rashy by a fan to make it dry. In the morning the rashy/base layer will be dry. This should be more comfortable to put on than when cold and wet.

Blog Week 2: By Brayson

I believe candy is essential for keeners. I can not physically survive on other food types. I am extremely glad about going to Walmart. At Walmart I bought a ton of candy about 20 dollars worth of it. Personally my favorite was sour patch kids. The other food groups are not necessary in a keener diet. I also think peach gummies are really yummy. The candy gets me ready to start my day.

How To Know If There's A Chipmunk In Your Cabin: By Chloe

To find a chipmunk in your cabin, you don’t have to look too hard. When you leave, the chipmunk comes out and explores through the kitchen. When you come back, it scurries to the underside of the refrigerator.

To know if there’s a chipmunk in your cabin you have to look/hear two things. You must first look for the bushy tail somewhere and must listen for the claws walking across the floor in the morning. (Yakistan has now accepted that there will be a chipmunk living in here with us for these three weeks!) Good luck finding this new roommate In your cabin and make sure to close all your food at night and during the day, especially your Nutella. Thank you and remember chipmunks may be cute but when you have to chase them around your cabin they might not be so cute anymore…

The Panic of Forgetting to Write Your Blog: By Pascal Fels

Monday: You see your name on the list for Friday. You have so much time to write it. No need to start right now.

Tuesday: Friday is forever away. You will for sure remember to start before Friday morning hits. At least thursday. You will start Thursday. Wednesday: You glance at the schedule for the blogs and shrug it off. You’ll start tomorrow. Thursday: You totally forget. You’re off doing all sorts of different things. The day is wild. Evening comes around, everyone’s in the thunderdome when Savanna yells “Remember blogs are due tomorrow!!!” You panic. You pull out your phone as fast as you can to start as fast as you can. Remembering as all the days of the week flew by while you were procrastinating. It’s too late. You manage do fumble something onto your phone. You promise yourself to not let it happen again next week. But little did you know, the power of procrastination is against you.

Pushups: By Miles

Although pushups are a great way to exercise everyday.

There is a better way. 

Pushups bring pain. 

Without enough gain. 

After I finish my first. 

They just get worse. 

After every time I’ve sworn.

I just get more worn. 

Every time I’m late. 

Pushups seal my fate.

I’m just so scared. 

And not really prepared.

I’m sure this will never stop.

But at least I fought

Risk vs Reward: By Ian Cieslak

Risk vs reward is a way to decide whether to do something based on the risk and how rewarding that thing is. For example, in kayaking we have easier rapids that have a lower reward. With this, we also have harder and typically scarier rapids that have a higher reward. By reward I mean how much stoke you will have by doing whatever it could be.

So how do we decide? I feel with low reward easy rapids there are just simple and nothing to be worried about but you should still be humble when you’re done and you don’t have the most stoke ever. With a higher reward harder rapid you have to make a real decision. For this you should scout and find the dangers of the rapids and where not to be. Decide if you are confident to miss the hazards that could be deadly. Then this, if I run this successfully will I have stoke? Will I be proud? Will I improve? These are all difficult yet good questions you should have answered but in reality the decision is up to you and only people can encourage you to not or to do something. You make the final decision by walking away or doing whatever it is.

Emery Slothower - How To Have A Successful Footage Review Session

1. To start you Keener Footy review session, you first have to connect your computer to the TV. This should be a 15 minute process at least. To make it better, try to solicit opinions from everyone in the room, preferably all at once.

2. Start at the top of the SD card, to build hype. The first couple shots from the GoPro should be the inside of a dry bag, or maybe a confused shot of your face as you try to turn it on. Then, comes the sweet sweet clips.

3. When you start getting to the really nice clips, you should do one of two things: first, you could accidentally disconnect the hard drive, and panic as a alert blinks in the top right corner of your screen, urging you to eject the disk next time. Second, you could sit back and watch as the audience starts to scream in excitement.

4. Continue watching clips, till hype hits an all time high. By the end of the session, everyone should be more stoked on kayaking than they ever had been before. Sit back and watch the airdrop line build, and the stoke build as people get hyped for tomorrow.

How To Befriend The Yakistan Mouse: By Maia

First things first, to befriend the Yakistan mouse, it is imperative that you understand the basic mannerisms of mice; they only respond to the highest of cordial behavior. The first encounter between you and our furry little friend is likely to be a little awkward, as is any first encounter, but exchange pleasantries to the best of your ability. Next, you must arrange a follow up; send a formal invitation to have the mouse over for tea. Now this part is key: do not scream if the mouse decides to pop in by way of falling through the ceiling—that would be most rude. Falling is his most common mode of transportation, and if this occurs you’ll know you’re doing the process right. Likely by this point you are receiving impromptu visits from your mousy friend and can enact the final stage: friendly extermination. Buy the mouse a plane ticket to a Hawaii vacation, a present from a new friend, and forgetfully decline to inform the mouse it is a one way ticket. And the last step, enjoy a mouse free cabin, and stay in touch with your new beachy mousy friend.

DO'S and DONT'S of the Ottawa River: By Wade Peek

 Hi my name is Wade Peek, and here are some DO’S and DONT’S of the Ottawa river.

Absolutely don’t drop in to surf a wave/hole from the top of a rapid, when there are other paddlers waiting in a below eddy. 

Absolutely do support and cheer on all other paddlers. 

Absolutely don’t throw a snit when you miss or flush out of a wave. A snit is were you get so angry that you sometimes slam your paddle on your cockpit, and occasionally say push-up words. 

Absolutely do claim your surf, for example a fist pump in the air showing your stoke. This may be hard to do especially during competition day with oks Keeners, when you are not super stoked on your surf. 

Absolutely do wait your turn in the eddy before a surf. 

Absolutely don’t snake people in line for a surf wave. 

Always try to have good ediquette on the water and look out for others.

Why I Don't Like Chicken: By Mathew

 Even though chicken is a popular cuisine that many people appreciate, I don't care for it at all. I feel this way for a number of reasons.

First off, I don't particularly enjoy the taste of chicken. I've tried eating it, but I find the flavor to be bland and not as delicious as other things I prefer, like pizza or macaroni and cheese. It seems as though chicken doesn't agree with my palate! Second, there are times when chicken can be rough and dry. It becomes difficult to chew when it's not cooked just properly, which reduces how much I enjoy eating it. Tender and luscious dishes are my favorites! And finally, I dislike handling chicken bones. They may be a mess and a pain.

Putting Yourself Out There: By Ian Cieslak

In kayaking one of the most important things is just putting yourself out there. Lots of people definitely struggle with this simple thing.

Putting yourself out there requires lots of confidence and effort so something to make it a bit easier is peer pressure. An experience like Keeners involves coaches supplying you good peer pressure to do this. While peer pressure may make you nervous and feel vulnerable it’s good because typically the impact it has is positive. Now that you know an example of peer pressure and how it could affect you, you just need to do it. If you feel confident you can do something even in the slightest just try it. Obviously look at the risk involved for whatever that may be but if it’s low risk and high reward why not go do it. Putting yourself out there might make you improve as a kayaker but also as a person. It builds confidence which is great for your mindset when it comes to kayaking or pretty much anything.

Why I shouldn't Do Pushups: By Miles Van Der Linden

I think that the push-up punishment system should be abolished. I don’t like doing the push ups and they are not fun. However on top of that I think that push-ups will encourage me to do bad things so I can get more of a workout. So you are basically helping me profit off of being bad. I therefore think that we should enforce the law in a different way. For instance saying “nuh uh” or no. This way of punishment is way more humane and acceptable to our modern day society. Maybe even the entirety of keeners will be a better safer place. This new way of enforcement shall be implemented tomorrow please.

The Phils Experience: By Emery Slothower

It’s a full blind drop in from above, as I watch new friends disappear down the foreign horizon line. When they all pop back into view at the bottom of the rapid, they’re all smiling ear to ear encouragingly at the outlooks who sat on the island. Still, the knot in the stomach works in direct conflict with the rational thought processes churning in my head. Slowly, the eddy empties, one by one, till I sit on the decision point, between the eddy and the current. Pushing past the knot, I plant my paddle in the faster current moving downstream, and I’m on my way.

The waves go under my hull one by one, until there are no waves left, just the horizon line. Then, the churning mass of pale water suddenly reveals itself over the glassy roller above. Square on, I half paddle, half fall into the pit of right side Phil’s. The water slams the back of my jacket, and washes up over my head. Pure chaos, but in the midst of it, a sense of calm. The side surf, then the front surf, it all more or less linked itself without my input at all, and suddenly all is OK. At least until the upstream side catches the green water. What started as a tip has now sunken half of the playboat deep into the green water, and I could feel myself accelerating into the flip, till I smash into the trough. The violent water is almost soft as it surrounds my body, and carries me off the backside. After I roll up, I spot the safety eddy, and start my ferry, already excited by the thought of the next ride.

10 Ways To Not Run A Rapid: By Andrew Slothower

Running a rapid can be a very fun way to get a good adrenaline rush it is however important to do this in a safe manner to manage risk. Here are a few major do nots while running rapids.

1. Backwards is a bad idea cause you often can’t see where you are going and that can be dangerous. 

2. One hand on the paddle is often a bad idea due to the control list by not having a hand on the paddle.

3. Upside down is yet another bad idea for the same reason as the backwards due to the lack of vision. 

4. Running a rapid without a skirt is a bad idea given the amount of water that could get in your boat without any form of protection. 

5. Running the rapid without a boat is also a bad idea given that without a boat it is harder to control the boat. 

6. Running a rapid fully in the nude would not be a good idea given the consequences a run in with a rock would have on your skin. 

7. Running a rapid with no prior experience as a human (such as being an infant) is also a bad idea given your very small body would get messed with in waves and holes. 

8. Running rapids with a pack of bears and wolves would be a bad idea given how scared you would be it might distract you and you may end up swimming. 

9. Running a rapid during a military attack on your area may not be a good idea given that the government may need your assistance in the fight. 

10. Running a rapid during all out nuclear warfare is a terrible idea given the toxic chemicals released by the bombs and their effects on the water and if you contract a virus you may have to miss day’s paddling. 

I hope that this guide can help you with the start of your whitewater journey and assist you with becoming a better kayaker.

Keeners: By Anna

Hi my name is Anna and I love kayaking especially when it is with other kids. One of my favorite rivers is the Ottawa because of how big and fun it is to kayak and do tricks. I am working on a consistent loop right now which is pretty hard. Keeners is a kayaking camp for teens that want to level up their kayaking skill. I also love hanging out with the other people at Keeners because the community is so great. I also love kayaking in Charlotte because it has the Whitewater Center which has a conveyer belt to get you back up to the top of the channel. The conveyer belt makes it super easy do up to around ten laps a day. I also love to hang out with my family when I am not kayaking.

How To Catch A Wasp: By Bertie McCrea

 Wasps can be annoying when you eat your dinner so it is essential that you know how to catch them

Step 1: locate the wasp

Step 2: find a suitable cup and piece of paper to catch the wasp in 

Step three: wait until wasp is lying still

Step 4: quickly place the cup over the wasp

Step 5: open cup slightly and place paper underneath the cup

Step 6: now pick up the paper and cup and take it far away from where you are eating breakfast 

Step 7: now release the wasp 

Well done you have now caught and released a wasp away from your breakfast or dinner

How To Cook Scrambled Eggs: By Orin Gartner

Step 1

Heat up the pan to 3/4. While the pan is heating up put in the butter. It is better to put more butter in than less in.

Step 2 Crack and mix eggs in a separate bowl.

Step 3 Put the eggs in the heated pan and stir.

Step 4 Add some pepper, cheese and other things, keep stirring.

Step 5 When the eggs are solid scrape all into a plate. Done! The cooks only clean the pan.

My Week 1 Experience: By Pascal Fels

When I first heard about keeners I was very excited. Then, when it started to get closer I started to get more and more nervous in actually realizing what was ahead of me. I had watched some videos of beat down thursday and was even more nervous for that.

A few days in, I learned what my living situation was and started to get used to it. Once I got used to it I started to get more comfortable and acknowledged that it actually wasn’t that bad, and I was worried for nothing. And I also learned that my coaches/counselors are awesome. I was especially nervous for beatdown thursday. But, after swimming it I realized I was ready to send the gnar. I went down left side phil’s and had so much fun. Another awesome thing about keeners is everything that they teach you off water. Like ropes and knots, first aid, and just how to be a better person in general. That was my awesome and incredible experience (so far) of keeners week 1. I’m so excited for the next two weeks!

Faith in The River: By Noah Arbuckle

 Keeners aren’t all the same. Everyone of us comes to camp with our own histories, experiences, and beliefs, but one thing we all have to share is our faith to commit and to always know that the biggest line is obviously the best line. Whether we’re jumping off cliffs or choosing our path through Mccoys, the people I’ve met here aren’t the type to go small and always push to live every moment to the fullest. As beat down Thursday comes to a close I remember how every one of us knew we wanted to go as big as we could and stretch our limits. The way that we acted today wasn’t the way most people would respond in the situations we were in, as we headed straight for the meanest feature in the rapid, but if we didn’t want to push ourselves then what would really make us keen on whitewater. The people who aim for the whirlpools and not the eddy when they plunge as deep as they can into the river are the people who show up at keeners. Because that's what being a keener truly is. Being keen and enthusiastic about whitewater isn’t just limited to the easy parts. It's about passionately pursuing everything all these beautiful rivers have to offer and not shying away from the parts that scare you. 

Last Day of Keeners: By Jonas Tiedje

At keeners you get to spend your last day on the river doing a freestyle competition with all of your friends. At first it’ll feel like a normal keener day but as the day goes by and you get off the water you slowly start to understand that this will maybe be your last time on the mighty Ottawa. If you haven’t done it yet I suggest trying to swim the flat water to the takeout since you’ll probably have enough time to swim it on the last day.  Then you go back to keenerville and you get to eat pizza while watching the competition videos and learn from them. When reality will really hit is when the coaches will do the wrap up speech and then you start to realize that you only have a few hours left with your new friends before they all leave. It is pretty sad saying goodbye to everyone but it makes it easier if you keep the hope that maybe one day you’ll get to see them again.