Category Archives: Whitewater

Introducing the Tahoe Triplets

One of the reasons I have not been regularly blogging is because I found out in early September that I was pregnant with triplets and it has been a bit overwhelming. We went through many of the stages of grief I guess – not because we were sad, just because it was quite shocking news to receive. While we were trying to have a baby, we weren’t trying to have 3 at once! After the news was broken to us at the 10 week ultrasound, I mourned the loss of skiing through my 7th month of pregnancy and really, just being a normal pregnant person! We’ve totally accepted the triplets now and are even excited (terrified, but excited!). It is quite a unique and special thing to have “spontaneous triplets.” Look that up if you feel the need to ask “are they natural?” It’s like being part of a special club? I think! Anyway, because I miss the old days of adventuring, I thought I’d make a list of all the cool things the triplets have done in utero:

1st Trimester

  • Rode Mr. Toads Wild Ride, Van Sickle, and the Bench
  • Downhill mountain biking at Northstar

I opted not to hit this jump at Northstar, but this girl styled it! I started practicing turning down unnecessary risk pretty early since that has never been easy for me!

  • 3rd Place at the 4th Annual Angora Lakes Triathlon

The start of this years Angora Lakes Triathlon

  • A lot of sailing on Lake Tahoe
  • Learned to be a pretty good waterskier!

I got to waterski about 8 times this summer/fall and really started to improve!

  • Wakesurfed

Surfing Lake Tahoe is always fun!

  • Whitewater kayaked a few Class 3 runs

This is my pal Amanda hitting up Hospital Bar on the South Fork American… I had hit the same line 30 seconds earlier.

  • Rode the Downieville Downhill

Riding the technical section of the Downieville Downhill the day before I found out about the triplets.

  • 3 day backpacking trip in the Hoover Wilderness

2nd Trimester

  • Ran 4 miles in the Chicago Marathon

I’m all smiles here, but a few hours later I realized I wouldn’t be running a lot during this pregnancy!

  • Surfed in Santa Cruz

Surfing at the hook on a mellow wave day. Best part was the sea otters swimming nearby!

  • Sailed in the SF Bay

Rachael Burks and I sailing in the San Francisco Bay. Photo by my buddy Greg Marsden!

  • Road bike ride in the Oakland Hills
  • Skied at Mammoth, Heavenly, and Kirkwood (7 resort days)

We hit Mammoth on opening day so I could ski as early in the pregnancy as possible! My jacket still fits in this photo!

  • Backcountry skis at Carson Pass and Echo Lakes
  • Swam a lot of yards – still doing this!
  • Mountain biked Corral loop, Tahoe Mountain, and Powerlines

Evening ride with preggo partner in crime Nira on Tahoe Mountain.

I still have a few weeks till my 3rd trimester as technically I’m 25 weeks pregnant, but things happen a lot faster with triplets. They say add anywhere from 10-14 weeks so if that is true, I look and feel like someone due in about a week! The goal is to make it as close to 36 weeks as possible. Most pregnancies are 40 weeks. I’m slowing down quite a bit and walking and swimming seem to feel the best at this point. But at this point, the triplets have been exposed to quite the variety of outdoor sports and should be pretty well rounded athletes! I’ve been debating whether or not to start a triplet specific blog or just momentarily cover this journey here. I think the most interesting thing will be the comeback so I’m leaning towards business as usual on meghankellyteles.com. If you have an opinion, let me know!

This is me just 10 days ago and just under 24 weeks along. Yep, super pregnant!

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Filed under Backcountry Skiing, Biking, Random rambling, Sailing, Skiing, Tahoe, Whitewater

SheJumps California Whitewater Weekend!

I’ve barely been in my kayak this summer so I’m really looking forward to this event put on this weekend (August 8-10) by the California Chapter of SheJumps!

Join other females for a weekend of whitewater instruction and progression on the South Fork of the American River! We will camp along the river at the Coloma Resort Lotus for two nights and do runs varying from Class 2 to Class 3. Open to women of all experience levels.

Gear is available to borrow from California Canoe & Kayak. Bring a kayak, skirt, helmet, pfd, and paddle if you have it.

Sign up for all scheduled activities HERE including :

Women’s Whitewater 101 Clinic ($229), Saturday & Sunday. This class is for total beginners to the sport of whitewater kayaking. Students will learn how to exit the kayak safely, how to maneuver the kayak, and how to engage currents correctly in a Class 2 section of the South Fork American river. Sign up here! Sign up here.

Women’s Whitewater 201 Clinic ($229), Saturday & Sunday. This class is for women that have taken a introductory whitewater class before and are ready to get back on the river and work on skills. The class will run a section of the South Fork American River from Marshall Gold State Park to Camp Lotus. Sign up here.

Step Up Your Kayaking with Playboating Concepts  with pro Jessica Yurtinus ($75+Eventbrite fee; open to Class III paddlers with a reliable roll), Saturday, Chile Bar play run! Sign up here!

Get it on the Gorge, a guided paddle on the Gorge with professional kayaker Sara James (donation to SheJumps, open to Class III paddlers with a reliable roll), Sunday, Gorge. Sign up here.

Other Scheduled Events:
Friday Social Hour at Marco’s, Friday at 7pm: to get aquainted and talk about the weekend.

Group paddle on Chili Bar, Saturday, 9 AM @Coloma Resort, 9:30 at CCK (free; open to Class III paddlers with a reliable roll)

Saturday Dinner: eat well, drink heartily and make some new paddling friends! Slideshow by Sara James. Bring a dish to share or cook at camp!

Group paddle on  the Gorge, Sunday, 10:15 AM at Coloma Resort or 10:30 at CCK (free; open to Class III paddlers with a reliable roll)

Camping at a SheJumps group camp at Coloma Resort both Friday and Saturday nights. $15/night.

Here is the complete schedule for the weekend:

Friday

Any time after 1pm on Friday: show up at Coloma Resort and check in under Meghan Kelly (Reservation # G102271). Coloma Resort is located at 6921 Mt. Murphy Road in Coloma. Please pay Meghan $15 for each night you plan to stay if you didn’t pre-pay.

6:00 PM: Meghan will be at camp to greet people.

7:00 – 9:00 PM: Informal social dinner at Marcos  in Coloma.

Saturday

9:00 AM: Meet at CCK for 101, 201, and Step up your Kayaking with Playboating Concepts clinics if you’re signed up.

9:30 AM: Meet at Coloma Resort to Shuttle up to Chili Bar for open Chili Bar Run. Self shuttle and take out at Coloma Resort or join some less advanced paddlers for a trip from Coloma Resort to Lotus or Greenwood.

12:30 PM: C to G run for Class 2 boaters! meet at Coloma Resort. Scout Sorcic will be the point person for this and some paddlers from the Chili Bar run will likely join to help too.

4:00 PM: Roll Session by Scout Sorcic and co. Meet at Coloma Resort and we’ll find a spot near there!

7:00 PM: Potluck at Coloma Resort. Bring your favorite camping dish to make or share. SheJumps will have a few main vegetarian courses available.

8:00 PM: Slide show by Sara James and others!

Sunday

9:00 AM: Meet at CCK for 101 and 201 clinics if you’re signed up.

10:00 AM: Meet at Sierra Rising Bakery for Sara James’ “Get it on the Gorge” run and the open Gorge Run. We’ll set shuttle from there. (we’ll need to break down camp prior to this!)

2 or 3pm, let’s all meet for a beer at CCK!

What to Bring

Boat, paddle, pfd, skirt, and helmet – all of these things are available for rent from CCK but call ahead!

A dish to share on Saturday night

Camping gear

We are excited to recognize California Canoe & Kayak as a partner for this event!

image-CaliforniaCanoeKayak

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SheJumps Whitewater Weekend Recap!

Twenty-five women came out to kayak, learn, camp, share stories, and laugh at the first annual SheJumps Women’s Whitewater Weekend on the South Fork of the American River in Coloma, California.

We arrived at Camp Lotus on Friday night and set up camp as women rolled in. We shared a few beers from Lagunitas, one of the sponsors, and set up a slackline, prepped our gear for the next day, and tried to make a fire with very little wood.

The scene at Camp Lotus

The next morning we were up early to get ready to hit the river!

Coffee was essential (Photo by Rose McMackin)


Clinics included a First Leap which was for never-evers or very new boaters, the Next Leap, for aspiring Class 3 boaters, and a Creeking Clinic with inspirational pros Shannon Carroll and Katie Scott.

The first leapers at the put in! I think they’re ready!


Next leapers out on the water


The creekers at the put in for Chile Bar! READY TO BOOF!


Some women opted out of clinics and did a group run on the Gorge!

Hospital Bar rapid!


High paddles after a successful gorge run!


That night we enjoyed a potluck dinner, a few more beverages, and an inspirational slide show by Shannon Carroll. Shannon shares the women’s waterfall record and has completed some cutting edge expedition boating. Her slideshow covered her descents of the Royal Gorge and a recent women’s trip to Iceland.

Shannon showing us the insanely beautiful and challenging Royal Gorge photos.


Thanks to Shannon’s slide show, most of us woke up fired up to hit the river! First we were treated to yoga by Antoinette McLean.

Yoga for paddlers prepared us for day 2 of kayaking

With new female boating partners, we set off to hit varying levels of runs and help each other shuttle!

Shuttles are better with more boats!


All in all it was a fantastic weekend and we can’t wait to do it again next year!

Thanks CCK, Lagunitas, Patagonia, and OARS!

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Sign Up For the SheJumps Whitewater Weekend!

SheJumps has an awesome event coming up September 6-8th in Coloma, California! Make sure you register for clinics, especially if you’re new to whitewater kayaking!!!

Join us for a weekend of whitewater instruction and progression on the South Fork of the American River! We will camp along the river at Camp Lotus for two nights and do runs varying from Class 2 to Class 3. Open to women of all experience levels.

Kayaking with the girls is FUN!

Kayaking with the girls is FUN!

Gear is available to borrow from California Canoe & Kayak. Bring a kayak, skirt, helmet, pfd, and paddle if you have it.

Scheduled activities include:

First Leap Clinic ($85/day), Saturday & Sunday. This class is for total beginners to the sport of whitewater kayaking. Students will learn how to exit the kayak safely, how to maneuver the kayak, and how to engage currents correctly in a Class 2 section of the South Fork American river.

Next Leap Clinic ($85/day), Saturday & Sunday. This class is for women that have taken a introductory whitewater class before and are ready to get back on the river and work on skills. The class will run a section of the South Fork American River from Marshall Gold State Park to Camp Lotus.

Creekboating Skills with pros Shannon Carroll and Katie Scott, Saturday ($75; open to Class III paddlers with a reliable roll). Learn the skills to step it up to the next level and get out on a California Creek next spring!

Playboating with pro Jessica Yurtinus ($75; open to Class III paddlers with a reliable roll), Saturday and Sunday. Saturday is a park and play clinic and Sunday as a Chile Bar play run!

Sign up for clincs here and make sure to choose the ones with SheJumps in front!!! They will fill up!

Other Scheduled Events:
Friday Social Hour: beer, wine and BYOdinner at Camp Lotus at 7pm to get aquainted and talk about the weekend.

Saturday Dinner: eat well, drink heartily and make some new paddling friends! Slideshow of kayak adventures by Shannon Carrol (Saturday evening, $10 recommended donation)

Yoga for Paddlers with Antoinette McLean, Sunday morning, 8 AM (free; open to all)

Group paddle on Chili Bar, Sunday, 9 AM Camp Lotus (free; open to Class III paddlers with a reliable roll)

After-Party at Marco’s, Sunday at 4pm: come eat, drink and be merry! And don’t miss out on some great raffle prizes! Sunday evening, open to all.

Camping at a SheJumps group camp at Camp Lotus both Friday and Saturday nights. $10/night.

To register for clinics, do so at CCK by going here. To register for the weekend, please email meghan@shejumps.com just so she can get a count! Otherwise, show up to hang out and paddle for the weekend!

We are excited to recognize California Canoe & Kayak, O.A.R.S. – Whitewater Rafting, Marco’s, and GoPro as partners for this event!

image-CaliforniaCanoeKayakSplotch-BS-White-Backlogo

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Five Highlights of our Ridiculously Awesome Grand Canyon Trip

I just got back from 16 amazing days on the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon with 15 awesome people… 16 days of no computers or phones, being outside constantly, spending 90% of the day in a bikini, sleeping under the stars, theme nights, challenging rapids, beautiful hikes, triple digit weather, funny accents, stunning vistas, and daily swims in both the Colorado and its side creeks. I also tripled my kayaking ability – even if my roll is still suspect.

Whitewater kayaking has been a frustrating sport for me. Unlike skiing, one can’t really practice on their own… so 16 days of kayaking was just what I needed catch the bug again. Plus, the big water of the Canyon was exhilarating and tricky, but low consequence, so a perfect practice venue. In addition to the rapids, there were so many highlights, so I’m choosing just five for now…

Floating down the Little C with my peeps!

Clean run down Hermit Rapid at nearly 20,000 cfs after seeing group before us flip a raft!

This loop hike to Bass Camp and the fabulous lighting

The loop hike to Thunder River and Deer Creek, including the THRONE ROOM!

Hanging out under Beaver Falls on Havasu Creek

So, sign up for the lottery next February and if you have an extra spot, consider me! I am so grateful for the last three weeks and cannot wait to get back there!!!

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We bought a house!

We finally bought our very own house.  We are pretty pumped!  But we are super busy moving and so I haven’t been posting.  Here are some photos.

In other news, it is fall in Tahoe and it is awesome!  Why, because there is way less people around, although the construction is not making driving any easier.  Yesterday my work obligations ended a bit early, I went for a nice long paddleboard on the calmest water and then did a few backflips off the dock.  It is nice to get a few more swims in before the snow flies.

Otherwise this fall, I’ve been kayaking on the South Fork of the American:

Mountain biking, attending trail work days, and drinking beer in my bike helmet.

And working on my backflips on the trampoline and into the water in preparation for ski season.

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Filed under Biking, Random rambling, Whitewater

Labor Day Weekend on the Rogue River

I tell you what, the Rogue River sure is purty.  Yeah, we pretty much talked like rednecks the entire weekend while rafting/kayaking the Rogue River in Oregon.  It all started with the phrase, “I tell you what!” and just exploded like a whale on the Oregon coast from there.  I’ve actually had a hard time transitioning back to normal speech since and have almost had to counteract this vernacular by speaking like a California Valley Girl.  Anyway, here is what went down:

5 people, 4 boats, group gear for 14 in Walt the truck

Kayak crew!

contemplating options through Rainey Falls

Brad, Nelly, Craig navigating Tater the boat through raft chute

Greg gittin' sum!

Night 1 at camp

Girls cooking night!

jumping off sports illustrated rock

giant dead chinook

cartwheels and roundoffs

Coffee pot (by Greg)

Heath in Blossom Bar near pinned dory (by Greg)

One of the 4 bears we saw.

costume night!

attempting to do the running man while singing and hula hooping!

backflips off rocks the next morning!

pulling out all the stops for the last day

the sentiment at takeout

This video by Greg pretty much sums up the weekend.

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Alligators are Scarier Than any V+ Rapid

Read this story if you have time.  I can’t even imagine the danger involved in the expeditions this guy did.  15′ long alligators! Cannibals!  Africa is such a wild place.  I had a high school teacher who once told me that if you ever leave the continent twice, go to Africa both times.  Here are some sweet photos from my one and only trip there.

Kissing a captive giraffe

high school girls pretending to be on a dangerous expedition

hippos ready to pounce on this sweet outfit

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Filed under Random rambling, Travel, Whitewater

California Multi-Sport Summer Fun

A few years ago, I got a bunch of friends together for a monumental birthday and skied the Hotlum Wintun Route on Mt. Shasta for the first time.  I fell in love with the perfectly pitched silky smooth corn on a route that has been called possibly the best ski descent in N. America.  After skiing, we went swimming in the McCloud River, and with its crystal clear water and numerous waterfalls, it is Shasta’s equally pretty sibling.  When I started kayaking last year, I hoped that I’d be good enough one day to plan a trip where we’d ski Shasta and then kayak the McCloud.  Technically the McCloud doesn’t start at Shasta, it is a spring fed river, but it seems pretty close to a source to sink trip – I mean snow from Shasta must feed those springs somehow… right?

I assembled a crew, picked a date, and as it neared, the weather was looking great and the road to the Brewer Creek Trailhead was nearly melted out.  I just had to get there, which proved to be somewhat more difficult than expected since I was flying back from a visit to the Midwest the Friday before.  After numerous delayed flights, missed connections, some standby and luggage success, picking up my dog and gear from Tahoe, I was on my way to Shasta at 11:30 pm Friday night.  Needless to say, I didn’t make our planned 3 AM start and we started as the sun was rising at 5:30 AM.

Although I was hallucinating from the lack of sleep, at least we were on snow relatively quickly.

Nature’s stairmaster (photo by Greg Mardsen)

We hiked to just under 13,000 feet and thought the snow was softening quickly in the hot sun.  With the late start, we decided to cash in on the corn are we were rewarded with 6,000 feet of skiing (photo by Greg).

Splitboarder Stu (photo by Greg)

Greg

Me (photos by Greg)

Done skiing by 1:30, we met up with our friend Tom who was joining us for the McCloud portion of the trip on Sunday, grabbed a camp site, went for a swim, and then set up camp for the night.  I was grateful to get some rest before our next adventure.

The McCloud is a class 3/4 run that starts out at low flows and then nearly doubles in flow a mile after the put in due to some springs aptly named “Big Springs.”  It is known for crystal clear and cold water, some fun and continuous whitewater sections, and enormous river side castles owned by the Hearst family.  It is really unique and did not dissappoint.  All of the following photos are by Greg since I lost my Go Pro in the river.

Thanks to all my friends for a great weekend – living the Northern California dream and STILL skiing good snow on July 23rd!

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Filed under Backcountry Skiing, Whitewater

RIP GoPro

My GoPro was laid to rest in the McCloud River yesterday somewhere near here:

 

I should’ve had these accessories.

It lived a short, but action-packed life.  It will be missed.  If anyone wants to go back this fall to look for it, let me know!

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Filed under Gear, Whitewater