Checking in with River Guide Jules: Yoga in Costa Rica

I still feel like I am in the nascent stages of my yoga practice (and perhaps will be for a long time), but I have known from early on that the pull towards my yoga mat began at the river. This is a story that I've told many times now, but bringing it out in this venue seems incredibly appropriate.

I love the river because of the presence and connection it brings into my life. Rapids are
fun, complex, intricate opportunities to learn something about your self and what it means to be truly alive. During the Summer of 2011 I discovered this. The following Winter, I (unconsciously, at the time) longed for some forum to explore this feeling of connectedness and aliveness off the river. Enter: Hatha Yoga. Here is where I found a way to continue the journey into the self during the months when most rivers are frozen or too far away.

After a couple of years of dedicated practice, the pull to delve more deeply into the yoga tradition was overwhelming. I'll shorten the story (you can read the long version on my personal blog, River Yogi) to save time, but in short I decided that I wanted to do a 200-hr Teacher Training and I wanted to go on an adventure to do it. It was also important to find something during the off-season from Wildwater, since guiding and kayaking are such important parts of my life. I left a mind-blowing season with the WW crew for the Nosara Yoga Institute, an amazing center on the Pacific coast of Costa Rica.

Nosara is a small town, especially in early November. The rainy season, which is the off-season for tourism, ends near the middle to end of the month, meaning the town was mostly locals during the month that I spent there. As time wore on, more and more foreign faces began to pop up, but for the first two weeks at least, my sub-par spanish had to get me through a lot of the time. The institute is about half a mile removed from town, set on an incredibly landscaped hill top filled with jungle vines, guanacaste trees and howler monkeys. It truly feels like a sanctuary, another winding path or and iron Sri Yantra at every turn.

For one month, the 48 yoga teachers in training and I rose at 5 am to make the hike up to the institute for morning practice. I think we were up earlier than the monkeys. Arriving on the mat in the morning was often the easiest part of the day, it was what you found there that could be truly intense. Each day was packed with 8 hours of class, with multiple long breaks for beach time and siestas. Incidentally, however, when you're living just up the path from a beautiful beach that is also a Leatherback Sea Turtle sanctuary with 80 degree ocean waves, you don't feel the need to "siesta" very often. Breaks were usually spent swimming, trying to re-up calories with Tico food (rice, beans, plantains, avocados), or maybe napping on the beach if you were absolutely exhausted.

And absolute exhaustion is exactly where we found ourselves during the final weeks of training. Diving into yoga philosophy and posture technique for 8 hours a day is unmeasurably rewarding, but it can be quite draining both physically and mentally. While I was there, I never wanted the experience to end. But when I got home, I slept for about a week. Something so life changing can require a "reset" period.

Getting back to the States and normal life was  a strange adjustment, but yoga teacher training and Costa Rica ignited the flame of desire to share Yoga and live Yoga in all dimensions of my life. It set me on a clear path. To return to what I wrote earlier, the river showed me the very beginnings of that path. Moving forward, it is my hope to share the benefits and the inquiry of yoga with the river community. Presence and peace is there to be found, both on the mat and on the water.

Hope to see you all on the water this Summer with Wildwater!

To keep up with all my river and yoga adventures:

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Checking in with Full Face Andy

Andy supporting the 12th man

If a picture is worth a thousand words that's already more than I would like to write down. So ill do even better, 30 pictures a second with a few spoken words to boot! Here is a video blog post coming to you from the far side of the continent in Montreal, QC where I talk about the best things in the world and how my off season is going. Enjoy.

So if you do take the time to check out some of my videos they can be found here:
http://vimeo.com/fullfaceandy

http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcRxVBUBimaxEn7JNxvG7Fg

http://fullfaceandy.prosite.com
And if you watch Full Face Chronicles and particularly enjoy April and on wards then you have a taste for river lifestyle and I strongly encourage you to experience it! So come on a trip with Wildwater River Guides and if want more than that look into guide training, it was seriously some of the most fun throughout the season.

~Andy

2013 Year in Review

WILDWATER RIVER GUIDES:

2013 was an exciting year for Wildwater. With a change of ownership, re-branding of the company, and additions of kayaking and SUP (stand up paddling) Wildwater River Guides was born. We have relocated the Wildwater Office from Federal Way to the sunny east side near Washington's most popular river, the Wenatchee. Now more than just a rafting company, we are your one stop destination for river adventures in Washington State. Now offering American Canoe Association certified kayak instruction, Washington's first guided downriver SUP trips, and don't worry we are still offering our famous whitewater rafting trips. Come join the experience!

The new logo. 

RAFTING:

The year kicked off with a couple great weekends on the beautiful Skagit River for our Bald Eagle Float trips. Eagles were out in full force, and we enjoyed the beauty of Skagit County in late December of 2012 into January 2013.

Skagit River Bald Eagle counters 

January brought sunshine and 100’s of bald eagle sightings for our adventurous guests on the magical river just outside North Cascades National Park.

In late January we offered an educational experience on the Nisqually River to students from Evergreen Community College testing the Nisqually Rivers watershed.

April and May were spent on the whitewater section of the Skagit River, the Green River Gorge, and the Wenatchee River for our Guide Training course while commercial whitewater rafting trips were offered on the Green River Gorge and Wenatchee River.

Jaime rowing on the Skagit River whitewater section in North Cascades National Park

Neils falling in love with stand up paddling on the Skagit River whitewater section 

Seattle's best kept whitewater secret - The Green River Gorge

We had a great turnout for our Guide Training course; that started the first weekend in April and continued every weekend through the first weekend in May. The 2013 Guide Training crew had the luxury of spending weekends on three of the beautiful rivers we offer; learning and refining guiding skills, rowing skills, and even a play trip on our new stand up paddle boards.

Guide Training came to a close with an amazing Graduation Float on the Wenatchee River at 15,000 cfs!

Trainees having fun through "Drunkard's Drop" on the Wenatchee River 

Trainees going BIG through "Granny's" rapid on the Wenatchee River 

Guide Training attendees after their first day on the water - Wenatchee River

May also introduced our week long Private Rowing instruction course. This was a group of Grand Canyon permit holders that wanted to refine their rowing skills, were taught how to properly rig a raft, and gained knowledge of the rapids of the Grand Canyon. The Private Rowing instruction was held on the beautiful Wenatchee River during Spring high river levels.

June provided great flows and levels for the Wenatchee River - the bread and butter of Washington State whitewater rafting, and we re-discovered why it’s been named the most popular river rafting trip in Washington State.

This year a handful of our guides participated in the Wenatchee River Festival & Wenatchee Raft Games hosted by American Whitewater and Riverbooty Photography. Two of our guides Neils and Josh took first place in the R-2 surf competition. We are looking forward to organizing and planning the kayak component for the 2014 Games and participating in as many competitions as possible.   

Neils H. & Josh H. R-2 competition winners at the Wenatchee Raft Games 2013  

Wildwater is proud to have the highest certified guides in the state of Washington. A weekend in May was spent training our guides in swift water rescue. The course was taught by members of Rescue 3 International. This was a great experience for our guides to refresh and learn helpful skills for on water safety as well as grow as a company through teamwork scenarios and on water rescue scenarios. All full time and most of our part time river guides are certified in swiftwater rescue as well as the Washington State standard of first aid & CPR.

Abe & Scotty from Rescue 3 International teaching our guides different mechanical advantage options for on river rescue scenarios  

Wildwater staff practicing their knot skills during the swift water rescue course

June and July also gave us the opportunity to spend some quality time out on the incredible Skykomish River. Known best for “Boulder Drop” rapid this river can easily be called the most challenging river stretch in Washington State. With views comparable to Patagonia you will not believe your eyes when you gaze upon the beauty of the Sky!

Beautiful scenery and Class V whitewater on the Skykomish River

Late July and August had us traveling south to the magical White Salmon River, located in the beautiful Columbia River Gorge. With the removal of Condit Dam in October of 2011 this now free flowing river is a favorite among our guides. Location, scenery, and warm weather all aid to the popularity of the White Salmon. With a lot of river enthusiasts wanting to take the plunge and check Husum Falls off their bucket list we spent the majority of our late Summer on the Wild & Scenic stretch.

Hold on tight! Husum Falls, White Salmon River 

In August we also traveled North to the whitewater section of the beautiful Skagit River in North Cascades National Park. With crystal clear water and sunshine for days each trip was able to take in the beauty of the North Cascades. 

At the put in for the Skagit River whitewater stretch Lance gives a trip talk to a group of guests. 

"S-bends" rapid on the beautiful whitewater section of the Skagit River

The whole month of September was spent on the mighty Tieton River that roars with excitement for 14 river miles. This beautiful river has a very short window in September when Rimrock lake is drained for the season. Wildwater spent our weekends on this stretch best known for its roller coaster like wave trains and warm water that is naturally heated by the sun and Summer months. Wrapping up our whitewater season while camping along the banks of the Tieton and spending the days on the river. This is definitely a bittersweet month for whitewater adventures and our guides as it marks the end of the whitewater rafting season in Washington State.

The mighty Tieton River  with Fall colors

New rafting equipment:

14’ AIRE rafts  

STAND UP PADDLING:

Northwest Rafting Supply (NRS) SUP boards and paddles arrived just in time for us to kick off our first SUP season.

Starting in June and ending in late August we offered guided downriver SUP trips on two stretches - Lower Icicle Creek and Cashmere to Wenatchee on the Wenatchee River.

This has given our guests a chance to try something new with experienced certified guides that can show you the fun lines on the river while you soak up the sun and hot weather in Chelan County.

If you've been stand up paddling before on a lake or ocean the river is the next step for you, we have a hard time thinking you won’t enjoy yourselves.

SUP trip on Icicle Creek  just outside of Leavenworth Washington

SUP trip on the Wenatchee River 

New SUP equipment:

NRS SUP Boards:

Inflatable: Tyrants, Czars, Barons

NRS SUP Paddles

Shred Ready Helmets

NRS ninja PFD’s

KAYAK INSTRUCTION:

Starting in June 2013 we offered 2-day beginner courses and private kayak instruction. Guided kayaking trips were available year-round (on certain rivers - depending on flow).

2014 will bring ACA - levels 1-3 beginner instruction as well as private kayak instructions (year - round) and guided kayaking (year - round).

Beginner kayak instruction on the Wenatchee River in June

Beginner kayak course on the White Salmon River taught by owner and ACA instructor Lance Reif

New Kayak Instruction equipment:

Shred Ready Helmets

Dagger Kayaks & Wavesport Kayaks

  Small, Medium, Large - Mambas

Werner paddles

Kokatat Semi-dry tops

Snapdragon skirts

NRS ninja PFD’s

CHAMBER MEMBERS:

Wildwater is proud to announce that we are now chamber members to both the City of Leavenworth, and the City of Cashmere, two amazing cities with so much to offer. 

The City of Leavenworth is a beautiful Bavarian themed village along the Wenatchee River only a few hours east of Seattle, Washington. Enchantment Park in downtown Leavenworth is where our rafting trips on the Wenatchee river launch from.

City of Leavenworth 

The City of Cashmere hosts our Wenatchee River take-out and we are happy to announce that Wildwater has been a part of the remodel of Riverside Park.This great city has a long list of restaurants, wineries, attractions, and lodging that offer discounts to our river rafting, kayaking and SUP guests through the Come Ashore & Explore program.  

City of Cashmere

THANKS FOR YOUR SUPPORT:

A huge thank you goes out to all the wonderful guests that joined us on the river for the 2013 season. We are so thankful for your continued support and hope to see you out on the river again for the 2014 river season. We offered a frequent paddler program to our guest this season where many joined in and received a FREE Wildwater t-shirt with their third trip of the season and their fourth trip they received 50% off!

This great program will extend into the 2014 season - so start planning your rafting adventures!

Happy rafters on the Wenatchee River 

Eastsidaz Girls & Boys Basketball teams joined us on the White Salmon River all the way from Hawaii!

THANK YOU WILDWATER STAFF:

None of this would have been possible without the help and hard work of our amazing staff. This group of river enthusiasts came to work every day excited to show our guests why they love being on the river so much. Spreading joy and cheer to every guest they encountered. We are thankful to hear that our guides have all been making plans and arranging their Spring and Summer schedules to head back to Wildwater. We can’t wait to have you all back!

After work SUP session - Wildwater Staff