Safety on the River by Bryce Aaron

This past weekend we learned first aid and Swiftwater Rescue. What I am going to talk about today is river signs and why they are important.

To start off, there are a few basic river sings that we should all know:

X- Crossing your arms in an "X" means don't come down.

l- With your arms or paddle straight up in the air mean all clear come down.

_-A horizontal line with your paddle mean don't come down too.

When a paddler mean a circle in the air then point in a direction means eddie out on left or right. If it's followed by a number, most likely "1" or "2" means it is a 1 or 2 person eddie.

Whistle blows are also important but vary between groups. 1 is normally look upstream, 2 is someone is getting worked or swam but is ok, and 3 is HELP, eddie out and go help. These calls do vary so it is good to review them before any run.

I hope that these river signals will help you on your next river. As a reminder it is always good to review these signals with your crew before you do your river.

Why is That Guy Pouring Ketchup in his Ear?

At Keeners we are on the river every day. It is very easy to get ear infections when you are in the warm water all the time. Because of this, it is very common to see people pouring liquid from a ketchup bottle into their ear. It is a strange sight, but it has good reason. Ear infections are a quick easy way to be off of the river for a day or more. To prevent these nasty little infections, just follow these simple steps:

1.     Find the red ketchup bottle with EAR MIX written on it.

- Don't worry. It doesn't actually have Ketchup in it. Inside is a magic mix of White Vinegar, Rubbing Alcohol, and Hydrogen Peroxide. The vinegar neutralizes, the alcohol dries out the water, and the hydrogen peroxide adds some fizz.... 

2.     Tilt your head sideways.

3.     Pour the ear mix into your ear.

4.     Let it fizz in your ear for a while.

5.     Repeat with the other side.

At first it may seem silly and uncomfortable to use the ear mix, and many first time Keeners “forget,” but they soon learn that an ear infection is way worse than a couple seconds with the ketchup bottle every day.

Brook Leigh

Keener Animal Trackers by Ryan Jenkins

The wildlife spotting's for this session have started out strong. On my trip up to Keener vile I spotted a fox crossing the road, a first for me. Monday's trip back from dinner was worthy of note, we saw two black bears in a field. Tuesday was a big day for spotting, there was a report of a snake spotting along the rocks at the WAI KI KI waves.

After dinner we saw a lone deer in the same field that we saw the bears in, when we finally reached the Keener vile road after a mini bus music party we found a snapping turtle in the road. After a short face off and a few gentle pokes the turtle was returned to the woods he seemed to have come from. That's all the we Keeners have found so far, but here to more wildlife spotting's in the future.

Habitat 67- Emma Crane

Hey its Emma again. This is my last week of keeners and i am so sad to be saying that because i have had the time of my life. So, our roadtrip today was a long haul, but habitat 67 was so cool. The drive was four hours long, but for me it didnt really feel like it because i was so new the place and i slept most of the ride there. I was so excited when i was there. The water was bright blue and warmer than colorado which is always a plus in my book. We walked to the eddy where we put in and the line to wait for this was so long that it took about 30 minutes to even get on the wave. Our keener plan was to surf two people at the same time. I was for sure i was gonna go out of control in the wave and knock my buddy off that i was surfing with, but in reality the wave was so big that i barely even noticed that they were there. The line was so long that we got 4 awesomne and amazing surfs for 3 whole hours... but it was only 4. The first time i got on the wave i was so ready for the huge push forward and it was amazing. My adrenaline was pumping like none other. My first surf was probably my best surf because i was really just enjoying the wave and that was the only time i got to surf on the left side which was bigger and a lot more fun. The wave was so easy to do tricks in. I was doing shuvits and spins like it was nothing. The wave was super fast and just easy to stay in a front surf and enjoy the ride. We had to hurry up and our gear on the bus so we dint catch the traffic. I slept pretty much the whole way back. It was so nice to go back to WT and have putin for dinner. YUMMY!! This whole three weeks has definatley been a life changing experiance for me. I want it to be my new lifestyle and i don't want to go back home. This is my little paradise where all my problems have just melted away and all i have to worry about is kayaking....which is an awesome thing to worry about.

here we go again- Emma Crane

Hey guys, its Emma Crane. This is my first time ever at Keeners and in Ottawa and i am 17. I am originally from Colorado, which is an awesome place by the way. Before i left to this trip i was very nervous and very unsure about this camp. I had no idea what to expect and if I could handle kayaking everyday. I did not kayak a lot before i came here, so i was very very nervous. I got here after a 27 hour drive and everyone was talking about all the tricks you can do on waves like blunts, loops, and air screws. Anyways you get it, i was nervous and unsure about everything. Once i got on the water again i was fine, thanks to my coach Claire. The first day we went down the Middle of the ottawa. I was thinking it was going to be everything i saw in pictures, but turns out it was pretty easy for me and i gained my confidence back. We surfed in Blacks hole, which was so much fun. I got a little bit of a beating and my skirt imploaded, but i still put my fist in the air and was so hapopy i was here. Now even just after a couple days on the river and getiing back in my boat i am comfortable and confident. I am so glad i didn't back out of coming here befcause this is probably the best decision i have made in awhile. :)