My First Experience With Boater X By Kyle Cahn

Most of the time when I’m kayaking I’m on the river with less than 5 people. But today I was pushed down the Lorne rapid with 10 other people. This is how it went. We all lined up facing the shore, Clay tried to throw us off by counting farther than 3.  “1  2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9, go!”  There was a wave of commotion and I was out of there. I was racing down the river, Patrick got caught on a rock and all of the sudden I was in the lead. We had to go and touch Tyler’s boat which was on the Moby Dick rock then ferry across the river and touch the far side. I was coming towards the boof rock I lined up my stroke and executed. I landed and looked to my right to see everyone else getting sucked to the wrong side of Moby Dick rock. I turned around to see Owen right on my tale. I turned on the jets to get to Tyler’s boat. I was dogging people left and right who were trying to get back to Tyler’s boat. I stuck my bow into the current and started to ferry across. I give it everything I have left to not flip in the waves I took one last big stroke that sends me straight to the wall. I slam the wall with my paddle to see Owen pulling up right behind me. I won my first boater X ever. Here are the 3 things I learned from that race.  First avoid the big crowds at all costs. Second keep your head up at all times to avoid other kayakers. And third clean lines are fast lines. 

How to be Nutella Happy- Keeping cabins chipmunk free: Julia Frangenberg

During Keeners, one of the issues of living in a cabin that’s practically in the woods is that one way or another little chipmunks and squirrels seem to find their way to any source of peanut butter or Nutella. Someone will walk into Yakistan ready for those delicious Nutella covered strawberries, only to find the whole tub on the floor with the lid chewed up and a Nutella covered critter looking up at them curiously from its feast. I’m sure we can all agree that we’d much rather eat the whole bucket of Nutella ourselves than not be able to eat it at all, so here are five tips to keep your food safe and sound!

1. Make sure all your cabinets are shut tight! Even though most of the food squirrels and chipmunks would be aiming for is on shelves, keeping all the cabinets closed is key so that they don’t have a place to hide.

2. Don’t leave Nutella covered plates, spoons, or other dishes out in the open without washing them. If chipmunks see anything that looks remotely yummy, you may never see it again; so when there isn’t anything out in the open for them, they’ll leave!

3. Keep the lids of whatever you’re eating closed! Even though critters scratch holes in the lids, it makes it harder for them to get in when the lids are still on. 

4. Don’t leave your doors open!! This is usually the whole reason chipmunks get to the food in the first place, so only open doors if your cabin feels like a sauna!

5. Don’t leave your food on the deck, on the ground, in your room, etc. 

By testing out some options, hopefully soon you will be full and Nutella happy!

How to Blunt by Maddie Kimmel

The blunt is an 180 degree turn where your bow leaves the foam and the stern is higher than 45 degrees. It is worth 50pts in a comp and is a great building block to other tricks. The blunt is also commonly linked to other tricks such as the blunt-mcnasty. It is easiest to learn on a steep bouncy wave. 

Step 1: Set Up

Cycle to the top of the feature, and cut to ideal place of wave. Your ideal place depends on the feature. Typically you get more air on the rails of the feature. When you throw on the rails to want to throw the blunt towards the center of the feature.  If the feature doesn’t have rails it is key to point your boat slightly in the opposite direction you are throwing. For example if you are doing a right blunt then at the top of the wave you should point your bow slightly to the left as you come down. 

Step 2: Coming down and Bouncing

As you come down the feature you need to be on an aggressive counter edge. As you come down you bounce on your counter edge. The more counter edge you put down typically the bigger you go. You don’t want too much edge that you flip in the process. 

Step 3: Planting Your Paddle and Throwing

You will probable be able to get 2 bounces off one pass However, you get my air off the first bounce. As you are Ariel you must plant your paddle next to you and switch edges to snap it around.  Once you land do a back stroke to help keep you in the wave and remain balanced. 

Common Mistakes: 

• Not enough counter edge- The blunt is an edge to edge transition and the more edge you have to start the more Ariel you will be. 
• Tucking Forward flattens out your edge and makes your blunt more of a roundhouse. 
• Incorrect stroke Placement- Placing your paddle too far away from where you are throwing also fastens your edge. Place your paddle closer to your boat and make the stroke more vertical. 
• Throwing in the wrong place/wrong time- Going off the second bounce makes your blunts less Ariel than the first bounce. Throwing from the troops of the feature makes it more of a roundhouse or spin because you have less momentum to for your boat to leave the foam pile. 

Tip: Practice in flatwater before your ride. Do the motions as we picture yourself riding down the wave on the perfect pass. It helps you remember what to do while surfing really fast waves.

3 things you should know as a fist time keener max Ryan

When you come to keeners you get your list of thing like a swim spot and all the clothes you need. Their are instructions on what to expect and what you need to know but it doesn’t tell the every day thing you will when to know. This should help fist time keeners have a more fun and easer first few day at camp. 

Be ready to cook you are expected to make your own breakfast and you will want to have some prior experience when making eggs and other easy fast food breakfasts. Also come prepared with some ideas a god few are yogurt or hash browns.

The Hot chocolate

At the lunch sit you can make hot chocolate their is just the right mix to get the best flavored cup. The bet ratio is 3 spoons of the hot chocolate powder with just a small poor of creamer 

  

JUST SEND IT!!

When it’s you first week at keeners you might want to take it slow right? Don’t you want to just run everything. This is the best way to get comfortable with all the house and all the waves and rapids this will get one just help you with the river and your skills

Other helpful tips 

Bring stick sunscreen 

Bring spare paper

Bring head phones 

Bring all of your GoPro gear / back up cameras 

Get SENDY

How Experiences Become Life Changing: by West Burge

 Have you ever wondered what makes an experience life changing? Well, so have I. Some people say that it is just the experience its self, some people say it is the people your with, and some don't know. I am writing this to try to figure this out what makes these moments so special. My second night at Keeners, we were in the meeting room at the top of wilderness tours giving our icebreaker speech to everyone. Once everyone had suffered through the nervousness that the first speech night brings, it was the turn of the instructors. Anna went first and gave a perfect icebreaker speech, when it was Stevens turn he took a different approach. Steven started talking about one of his biggest regrets in his life. When he was driving out of the take-out, down a dusty dirt road. He was coming up a big hill, when he saw a family standing on the road looking at something in the middle of the road. As he got closer, he saw the fear and sadness in the family's eyes. He also got a good look at what they were staring at. The family's dog was dead in the middle of the road. Right away, Steven knew what he had to do. he was going to get the dog out of the road and tell the family he was really sorry. But he didn't. He could have so easily stopped the car, and done something that would make the family's day a lot better. But they were in the rear view mirror, going, going , going, gone. It was already a missed opportunity, gone to the past. This really made me think about what I am doing, when it comes to help other people out. I really need to take the opportunity to help anytime I can. Thanks for reading.

What Sets Keeners Apart by Owen Koppe

Lets open on a scene: Its getting dark the sun is setting and the clouds are turning pink. There are five keeners party surfing in babey face. There are a lot of kayak camps, but where else can you go kayak with your friend in evenings?
     One thing that sets Keeners apart from other camps is the instruction. Most camps have instructers but none have the amount of experience that Keenere coaches have. Some of the coaches have been kayaking 40+ years and know the Ottawa like the back of there hand.
    Next, the Ottawa River is the best place for development. Not only are there world class play features but the entire river is safe with very few sives or other hazards. Also, every rapid has all kinds of line options. For example there are at least 4 completely diffrent lines at garb.
    Also, because Keeners is three weeks long you have the opportunity to get comfortable on the Ottawa then you still have lots of time to experiment with new lines. For example, there is a sketchy fairy at Butchers Knife that involves going across several holes and big waves. While I never successfully completed the fairy I would have never had the opportunity to try multiple times.
   If you are unsure if you want to go to Keeners  or another kayak camp I would highly sugest heading going to Keeners
     

Whitehouse Versus Robertson’s by Sam Fleming

As a returning Keener, I have been faced with the biggest dilemma ever in Keener history: which cabin is better? Last year I was in the Whitehouse cabin which is over by the bus loop, and this year I am in the Robertson’s cabin which is attached to the Thunder Dome, which is the main common space. Both cabins have many benefits and drawbacks.

Waking up 

Robertson’s wins this one because it has a darker setting, which I find is easier to wake up to compared to Whitehouse’s brighter living room. It also has the Thunder Dome which is the main common space, and in the mornings a great place to chill if you wake up early.

Morning Activities

Whitehouse wins this one because of how close it is to the field that we stretch and play games in the morning. This is beneficial because if you have trouble getting out of bed you can leave at the last second and not be too late for whatever the morning activity is.

Getting on the Water

Robertson’s wins this one by a long shot. It is about 15 feet from the slide-in to the water, and right next to the boat rack. Whitehouse is on the opposite side of Keenerville making it slightly less convenient.

Coming back from Paddling

This one is a tie. Since Robertson’s is right next to the boat rack, you can unload all your gear from the bus, drop your boat off, and go straight to the cabin. Whitehouse inhabitants have to go drop their boat off and then walk all the way back to the cabin. On the other hand, Whitehouse has the hose which is good for washing things off. I also preferred the Whitehouse porch for hanging gear up.

Bathrooms

This one is also pretty close but I am going to give it to Robertson’s. The main reason for this is that Istanbul, the smaller cabin that eats breakfast at Robertson’s, has its own bathroom. Bus Eater, the smaller cabin attached to Whitehouse, uses the Whitehouse bathroom, which can make it extremely hard to shower when you want to. While Whitehouse has a bigger bathroom, the Robertson’s bathroom is nicer. 

These are the biggest non-living factors that differentiate the two cabins from each other. As for which cabin I like more just based on looks and how it feels, my heart is still in Whitehouse. What it really comes down to though, is the people. I didn’t use people as a factor for my comparison because that can be the sole reason I am happy I am in the cabin I am in. Last year, if I was with my Whitehouse buddies in Robertson’s, I would have liked Robertson’s more, and the same goes for this year, just switched.

In conclusion, both of these cabins are absolutely amazing, because they are both part of Keeners. Thank you for reading.