Sometimes it takes a little bit of effort to make it on the river. Sometimes its more than driving to the takeout and hoping for shuttle after sending a text to every person you know. Sometimes you and your boys have work or other obligations that cant be missed. This was one of those occasions. I got a phone call from Mark Taylor and he was determined to get on Linville the following day, however I had work and he had school. The only option was to motivate super early and bust out a “quick” lap. Linville gorge has a nearly 2 mile hike in which drops 1200ft, 7 miles of class IV- V, then a climb out of 1100 ft in a mile and a half. So needless to say, a quick lap is relative, and usually takes 3.5 – 6 hrs. After we agreed to make it happen, I called Fusilli and Peerson, both of which were down to meet at the trailhead at 6am. When it was all said and done we had a group of 8 at the put-in trail on time at 6am. There are few things that will make kayakers get up at 4:30 in the morning, drive an hour, and hike in the pre-dawn darkness, however Linville is one of those places. It rewards extra effort with an amazing feeling of accomplishment. After a clean run and grueling hike out we had all forgotten about how hard it was to wake up early that morning. And on the way home we passed other boaters on their way to get the goods, but in our minds we had won, not that it’s a competition, but we did see the river from a unique perspective and sometimes that’s what it’s all about.

This is Astral Team member Chris Morelli checking in with a quick video from the Green River Narrows and Jerry’s Baddle . I recently moved back to the east coast from skiing in Utah for the winter. I stopped off in Asheville to get a few magical days on my favorite river. Getting on the green is always a great time, there is such a great community around the river. The Greenjacket is the perfect tool to arm yourself with when hitting the steep creeks. The Greenjacket is packed with safety features that could help save you, and your buddies. For the best performance and comfort, the Astral Greenjacket is the way to go!

Check out the new R3 series shot by Mike McKay of Five 2 Nine Productions and featuring Jim Coffey. This first installment covers your essentials including a solid rescue vest and the experts’ choice is the ASTRAL Greenjacket:

People don’t really think of New England as having a “snowpack” or a snowmelt season for kayaking, but the truth is, most years we have at least a month of reliable creeking. Last year, we had more than two months during which the best rivers we have were running every day on a diurnal cycle. This year…well, the grim snowpack — not surprisingly — gave way to a grim snowmelt season.

Dave from WV on his way to Chicoutimi…with a pit stop at the Big Branch in VT.

Greg Sokol on a great new boof at the top of the last rapid on the Big Branch.

After I got back from the Grand Canyon (and skiing in Jackson) in February, I settled in for a bit more skiing before the kayaking season really started. But, we had a little bit of rain, and towards the beginning of March (March 4th), a couple of us decided it was kayaking season, no matter what the weather thought. So we ran the Mettawee at low water in the cold…then I took a day off to reflect, because it was about 35 degrees out. The next day, I decided I didn’t care how cold it was — it was kayaking season and the rivers were going to be kayaked whether they liked it or not. So I paddled the next 46 days straight. There were some highs and lows — the first day, it was 20 degrees out and I had to sit in my car for 10 minutes before my gear thawed enough to take off. A week later, I was running the Middlebury Gorge and it was 80 and sunny. After the water ran out, I had to get a bit more creative, but the truth is, if you really want to go kayaking, you pretty much always can. Sometimes I attained a local class II run. I ran the Quechee Gorge (II-III with one IV+) more times than ever before. The lack of water forced me to paddle a handful of new rivers that turned out to be phenomenal, if only class II-III — the Black, the Mad, the Otter Creek Gorge.

Christian Woodard, somewhere in the woods of Northern NH (I doubt I could find it on a map if you asked me to) — Chickwolnepy Creek.

I spent two days (overnight) circumnavigating Manhattan in a kayak by full moon, which turned out to be one of the coolest trips I’ve done in a kayak. Thanks to Kenny Unser, who is “the guy” if you’re a whitewater paddler and want to circumnavigate, we had a great tide pattern and the trip turned out better than I could have imagined. Be wary of giant cruise ships — they’re even bigger when you’re in a tiny kayak in a shipping channel with them. The sunrise as we came around the battery was absolutely incredible. If you ever get the chance, do this trip — obviously it’s not a long trip, but in my opinion, it’s right up there with the Grand Canyon, the Middle Fork of the Salmon, etc. etc. I can’t wait to do it again.

The Manhattan Crew: Kenny Unser, Mark Trahan, Me, Greg Sokol, Christian Woodard (left to right). Taking a break on someone’s dock.

The boats, the Bronx.

Next time you find yourself sitting around complaining about the lack of water, go paddle class II-III. Most rivers have really interesting and hard lines on them, no matter how easy they are. And, if you really can’t find anything fun going down a river, well, get a long boat and go up it. Attaining can be as fun as any good creek day, and a far better workout.

Alan Panebaker, paddling hard from the open boater chasing him on VT’s newest dam release class IV/V, the Green. At 100%.

And…here’s a short video from a lap down the Middlebury in March.

We are about ­­­to tell you a love story that begins in 1969, when Linda and Ronny met here in the beautiful green hills of North Carolina. They were introduced by Ronny’s cousin, a classmate of Linda’s, in April of the same year. They fell in love and were married two months later in June when Linda was 16 years old.

Like many young men during this era, Ronny was drafted into the US Army in July of 1970 and left his home to serve our country during the Vietnam War. It was a scary time for the newlywed couple with Ronny being overseas. Linda worked and kept herself busy at home, looking forward to Ronny’s ‘R&R’ when they were able to reunite. The Army gave them the choice of taking a vacation in Hawaii for 5 days, or they could stay home in North Carolina for 14 days. They made the choice to spend the time at home so they could be together for a longer period of time. Ronny came home from the war in 1972.

Linda has always known how to have a darn good time!

Linda’s first job as a sewing machine operator was with Stone Manufacturing, where they required new employees to complete a two week training program. Linda was a true natural, and they let her pass the training after only a couple of days, proving that she could handle just about any sewing job with ease. After that she moved on to ‘Ruth’s Originals’ making apparel, then finally landed her first job in the outdoor industry at a local manufacturer, Diamond Brand. Here she ran a single needle machine making backpacks for the Army, camping gear for the Boy Scouts, various tote bags for the US government, and umbrellas for a local power company. After Diamond Brand, Linda took a job with John Stahl and his family’s business, Carolina Canvas Inc. She worked there until opening her own sewing shop in Hendersonville in 1992. Linda and Ronny worked hard during these years and would take vacations together to relax and enjoy life together. Ronny even took some time to help Linda at her sewing shop ‘Carolina Connection’ where he worked on the cutting table, getting fabric ready to be sewn. It was a true family business.

Linda’s sewing shop in the 90′s ‘Carolina Connection’

About this time, Philip Curry, a young farm student from Warren Wilson College was making his own lifejackets, and looking to start a business. Linda and Philip were introduced through John Stahl, and one day he rolled by her sewing shop in his old pickup truck and showed Linda his prototypes. From this day, Linda and Philip began making the original patterns and sales samples of Lotus Designs lifejackets. She continued to do contract work for Philip, building classic designs like the Lola and Sherman. Linda also revolutionized PFD construction with her use of binding on the closing seam, which became the industry standard after Lotus Designs started using the technique.

Philip Curry during the Lotus years

Linda continued to do work for Lotus over the years while running her own shop. She and Ronny had also started a family during this time with two children, Andrea and George. After Philip sold Lotus Designs, Linda took a break from lifejackets and continued to build her business at Carolina Connection. Sure enough, one day Philip got back in touch with Linda announcing that he was entering the industry again with a new company – Astral Buoyancy.

Linda circa 2007 at the Astral Motehrship

Linda agreed to help Philip build some Astral samples for a short 6 week job back in 2003. The company continued to grow and 9 years later Linda was making samples for a new line of recreational lifejackets.

As a tribute to this amazing couple we are proud to announce two new designs for 2012 – The Linda and Ronny.

Linda and Ronny Features: