How Keeners Has Helped Me Build A Better Sleep Schedule - Luis

Sleep is a very important thing as we need it to live. Doctors recommend kids my age to get 8-10 hours of sleep.

Due to the rules at keeners we are told to go to sleep around 10. With a savanna “GOOD MORNING CASINO” wake up time around 745 we get almost 10 hours of sleep. Now it’s is a little hard to fall asleep so we can adjust for 11. Even then we are still getting more than enough sleep. Waking up in the morning can feel like a bit of a task because of the calming sound of the river. 

Once you’re up for the day compounded with a good breakfast this is a perfect start to the day.

Is Wilderness First Aid Fun? By James Van Geilswyk

 Well is it? It can be but it’s only fun if your patient enough to sit through the talking. If your able to, you’ll be able to splint and mess around with friends. However you need to be able to be serious at the same time because you will fail if you do not listen.

The first day is extremely boring, it’s a lot of talking about sad things like death and fatal injuries. This is also the day that you will do CPR and I recommend you take notes. The second day is better. As I said, you can splint and do emergency situations. Personally I didn’t really have that much fun, but will you?

Why You Shouldn't Be Scared for Competition Day If You Can't Surf - By Saige Shulda

This is my first year at keeners and I have little to no surfing experience. I was scared for the competition day, convinced I would get zero points and very not excited for everyone to watch my video at the end of the day. But in the end, I had a lot of fun.

Firstly, the coaches give keener points. All you have to do to get a point is catch the wave, and celebrate even if you fail. Additionally, you will definitely have gotten better and more comfortable with surfing by the time Friday rolls around because of the amazing coaches. And finally, all the keeners are super nice. So when they watch the video of you surfing at the end of the day they are quick to give points for even the most questionable tricks. Friday was a lot of fun and I’m even looking forward to the next one!

Food is Currency At Keeners: By Megan Box

      At Keenerville real money does not matter. The real currency is food, and it doesn't matter which type. If a person wants to make the most of this they should first figure out the main food that everyone is eating. In my session, eggos are the main food that are in high demand so they can be used to trade for types of foods that your cabin wants. Your first trade can create a long lasting system that makes trust between you and other cabins. Make them trust you. 

Then, you need to request these items that are in high demand on your grocery list so that you can make more profit. More eggos equals more bacon. This is really what happens at the resort of Keenerville.

Week 2 Blog: By Sawyer Battles

 My blog is about why I am against writing blogs. My first reason is that blogs are a thing of the past. When is the last time you read a blog? Maybe 2015? My second reason why I don’t like blogs is because I am not a big fan of writing. I have never been a fan of writing mostly because of how it was taught in school. In school, they teach you that there is a correct and wrong way to write your piece. The whole point of writing is to be creative and I feel that takes away from it. Another reason I am against blogs, especially at keeners, is because we all came here to kayak, not write. That is why we have the school. While at keeners, the whole point is to spend time meeting new people and having fun, instead of staying in your cabin writing away to post on a website that hasn’t been looked at in years.

Poison Ivy: By Sol

 This is a guide on how to identify and avoid poison ivy. 

First of all, identifying it. Poison ivy is a short, shiny plant with three smooth wavy leaves. It usually can be found growing in open spaces in woods like around trees and along the edges of trails. Where there is one plant, there is most likely more so be careful if you think you see some.

 If you know these things and still end up getting poison ivy you should try to scrub off as much of the oil as you can with soap and water. After you do this, you should apply calamine lotion to the area where there was poison ivy.

 I hope this helped!

Week One Blog: By Leah Gard

 Mental health is something that people don’t talk about as much as it should be. Today I am going to talk about how Keeners has helped me cope with the loss of a friend. 

         Me and my family got in to rafting and kayaking in 2017, we fell in love with it. My mom loved to stay high and dry so she got to go on the big boat and my brother got me and my dad into the little kayaks. We would go out every now and then as a family. My brother wanted to go out every day, he loved it and he was good at it. He was self taught with everything and by the second year he had his loop. He got better and better but wen Covid hit in 2020 it was really hard on him because our mom would not let him do anything. Later in the year he passed away due to suicide. It was heartbreaking. After his death all I wanted to do was be on the water. The days that we were on the water it was hard because I lost my roll and swam a lot but the water is the only place I wanted to be. As the years went on I got my roll back and just improved over the year and getting up to being able to run class 4 to 5 rivers.

            This year I got the opportunity to go to Canada and join the Keeners program. On my way here I got a call from one of my friends telling me that one of my best friends was shot and killed. It was so hard to know I was going thousands of miles away from friends, family, and all the people I care about. I ended up going to the camp. I was up front with the coaches and counselors. I found a lot of support in the people that knew what had happened. It was a safe environment for me even though I wanted to go home.Talking to my family it was not possible to get home with flights. I pushed through the first couple days but I was off and was not doing my best. I did not want to do much but going out on the water with other kids at the camp made me feel a lot better. Later on on in the week all the other kids asked if I was doing ok because I seemed kinda sad so I told them what happened and I got a lot of support with in the other kids. They really helped me get back to where I know my skill level is at. I even landed my loop which was a big breakthrough for me. 

          Keeners was what I needed when I was going through a hard time because I know that the river is a good way to get away from all of it. Keeners was a friendly environment to get through the hard times. This is just a reminder that you should check on your friends to make sure they are ok because nobody should have to go through a loss like that.