C-Forum

So what are your goals for the new year. I have some reachable and some lofty objectives.

Among the top are get back to ALF and not swim my butt off.
Get some more of Alex's taco's.
Man up and run the sinks no matter how cold I am this year.
Learn to take good river video on the Canon 7D.
buy a chainsaw and fix a few stituations
Buy a Plastic welder and Practice before my canoe needs it.
Master the mysterious ways of the Cross J.

one of my tougher goals of rapids to run in a canoe this time:

Here are some of mine:

-Get a reliable roll for flipping to the offside.
-Run my first Class V rapid
-Run my first Class IV-V stretch
-Buy at least one more paddle...just to enhance the paddle collection.
-Run more metro-Atlanta creeks
-Run a true waterfall
-60+ days on the water this year

2012 Paddling Goals;

Paddle like Creeker
Paddle with the big boys at ALF
Run some gnar in my own backyard, solo descents if it has to be that way.
Teach 50 people to paddle

Stay safe and have fun
Be comfortable on the UY, and hit the UG during Gauley Fest
Develop a marketing plan for canoes which makes them the number two means of transportation, behind wingsuits

Get a reliable roll in the option.

blackwater.

successful 12pack UY descent.

and no upside down waterfalls this year.

Run "The Fairy Glen" before the 2011/2012 academic year is out.
Improve my playboating - Finally enter the BritChamps in OC1 with a serious hope of winning.
Get back into Slalom at at least a Div2 standard.
Bring my time on my local WWR down to sub 9.30 (over 2.1mi)

I've been fixing to do the glen for about as long as I can remember, I didn't feel confident about it until recently, and I've been too absorbed in my research so far this year to do anything about it; but it's gotta be done.

The rest could be considered training of sorts... but also, I raced competitively for the first time in my life last year, and suprisingly ranked just below the national team athletes, and all with about 2 months training and doubtful fitness; I don't hold any pretentions of becoming a proper athlete, but competive paddling is addictive for sure!

Take my daughter paddling. A lot.

My big goal for 2012 is boating more than I did in 2011. Shouldn't be that hard.

Boat more class 4
Swim less class 4
Develop a bomber roll In the new Prelude
re-outfit the deathtrap c-1 im running
get out to some gatherings this year (ohiopyle, ALF, gauley, deerfield whatever gas money and time alllows)

oh yeah get a pump

Let my collar bone heal ... .
Get back into a canoe
Get back up to my old paddling level
get myself a more forgiving canoe instead of the prelude.

work on my paddling skills:
- keeping momentum
- improving my forward stroke
- develop a decent roll
- improve my cross forward

Oh, and most importantly: don't break any bones or other serious injuries!

Stay Safe.

Paddle more (51 days this last year.... How about 75 in 2012?)

Run Gorge/Crib (and stop disliking high volume rivers...)

Don't run the Dead again.

Teach two of my friends to paddled (even though they want to kayak... I'll convert 'em later.)

Run more class IV/V creeks.

Run some waterfalls.

EDIT: Don't hate my C1 playboat as much.


And most importantly, don't get stuck in any big holes and swim. Or headboof anything. Or piton as much.....

what a nice thread, I haven't thought about making a list of goals so far

well, it could be:

- learn to feel, making that boat fly and glide smoothly, bringing on the speed
- learn to read (the water)
- travel far
- rock it hard

and an assortment of alpine rivers
- mittlere Ötz (a river in the alps)
- another river section I only will announce in public when I've made it
- Taugl
- Rißbachklamm
- and many more....

Let's see...

-convince the wife that dropping tons of loot on a new Option will actually make our marriage stronger
-help make Westfest an annual reality
-help make the SoFo Armada a reality
-basically help unite the scattered west coast OC/C1 community
-not get thrashed as much

I'm sure there's more, but right now I'm a bit preoccupied with the extreme lack of snow (and therefore water!) in my area. Hope you all are enjoying a bit of a soggier winter than we are here in Tahoe.

when I started boating I promised myself I would never run class 5.
a year later I promised myself I would run the Narrows by the end of the season.

My plans were always interrupted. Every promise broken, I ran things I said I never would (which made me excessively scared) and ran things when I was not ready to meet goals. I racked up 40,000 dollars of medical bills (thank god for insurance) in three years.

Then my mentor sate me down and said this- "Check the levels, then check your gut, make a decision every day if you are going boating or not."

Since this my goal has always been this: "Go boating, if it is not fulfilling get of the river."
I have much more fun and feel better about it ever since I stopped trying to prove something to myself.

John

P.S. Wayne you might like this, just put it together: http://vimeo.com/34176092" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;