Paddle into the Wild: Packrafting, Community, Mentorship
Join us for Paddle into the Wild!
Creating a culture of safety in whitewater sports
June 3-6 2022
Basecamp Cascadia promotes a culture of packrafting that creates a lifelong love of whitewater and rivers.
It all started over 20 years ago, when Jon Strahl (co-founder of Basecamp Cascadia) was 13 years old, whitewater rafting with his parents.
Photo on the Right: Chris (Front, Right) and Jon (Front, Left) hang onto the raft as Paul Korbulic rows.
Chris Korbulic and Jon Strahl started whitewater kayaking when they were too young to even drive. Their dads were friends and would take them out on river trips near where they lived in southern Oregon. It instilled a love for the water and moving on the river from a young age.
The summer they attended Kayaking Kids Camp with Hayden and Margie Glatte was a turning point in both their lives. Chris and Jon were 12 and 13, and that camp has, in many ways, influenced the trajectory of their lives going forward.
For Chris, Kayaking Kids Camp made him nervous about whitewater. He was terrified to roll and avoided it at all costs.
But after individualized coaching, he created the backbone of safety and security that has propelled him through a 20 year career as a professional whitewater kayaker.
Photo on the Left: Jon avidly practicing his roll after Kayaking Kids Camp.
For a period of time, Jon worried that he would have to find partners that were more confident to go for the more challenging rivers. But after going away for college, he came back to find Chris more confident and capable than ever. “I remember holding on to the stern of your boat while you hucked it off of a 40-foot waterfall in Crapo creek,” says Jon.
Chris found his confidence in what was basically exposure therapy. He had a coach who literally made him roll thousands of times. “I felt so confident and supported by my coach, being able to roll was the backbone of my confidence for so many other things,” says Chris.
In Paddle into the Wild, you will create that backbone for yourself. To be able to go on expeditions, and paddle more challenging rivers, you need to start from a place of skill and confidence.
Chris has paddled first descents around the world, from the Arctic to Patagonia to Myanmar to Pakistan. Some people might say what he does is inherently dangerous, but to him, every trip, every river is just a puzzle and one that he has all the skills and experience to solve.
“Chris is actually very risk-averse”, says Jon. But to be able to do these big expeditions, Chris built up 20 years of a solid base, incrementally building up his skills and confidence. “I still hate to roll,” says Chris.
Chris and Jon were lucky enough to learn paddling “the right way” — by mastering the basics, like rolling, from a young age. Because of this, they’re still active in the sport today, 20 years later. And they are motivated to teach others and create a culture of safety in whitewater sports.
If you are someone who longs to go on expeditions in faraway places, to use rivers as a form of transportation in the wilderness, or explore the waterways of the world by packraft, but you don’t feel confident in your abilities in a boat or on water, Paddle in the Wild is for you.
“A lot of people who we paddled with who skipped formal instruction have since stopped paddling,” says Jon, highlighting the importance of having proper coaching and teaching from the very beginning.
Paddle into the Wild is a 4 day immersive experience.
Your instructors include Chris Korbulic, Jon Strahl, Sarah Glacer and Elecktra Mathews-Novelli. They are professional kayakers, artists, and certified ACA instructors.
You will come away from the experience with new skills and knowledge about what the next steps in your paddling progression should be.The instructors will meet you where you’re at, and offer lots of individual feedback.
“We want this to be focused on coaching and practice, not swiftwater safety skills. We won't be teaching tons of knots, but we will be offering personalized video feedback to each student,” says Jon.
Paddle into the Wild is for you if you have your own boat, but don’t really know what you’re doing. Maybe you’ve been down a few rivers, but feel unsure of your skills, and definitely not confident enough for your goals. Maybe you’ve been doing this for a while, but are not really sure how to take it to the next step.
You will come away with the ability to assess your own skills and ability and find partners that match your own ability level and goals. Maybe you’ll even find the perfect partner during the course! You’ll also learn how to plan trips that you can later execute
Paddle into the Wild is happening June 3-6 at Basecamp Cascadia, located in the North Central Cascades between Leavenworth and Stevens Pass.
You will:
Camp at Basecamp Cascadia (which includes showers, bathroom, outdoor cook area, campfires, and more) with the group,
Learn swiftwater safety fundamentals,
Get coaching with video feedback on paddling,
Learn about how to give back to the rivers,
And more!
Plus, there’s pizza and beer on the last night!
