There will be five different instructional clinics offered by the River Touring Section of the John Muir Chapter. Tandem Whitewater, Solo Whitewater, River Rescue, and Beginning Tandem Flatwater clinics will all be offered on four separate weekends during the summer. The clinics are open to Sierra club members and non-members and registration is on a first come basis. Space is limited in all clinics so register early.

MOVING WATER CLINIC
June 7 Kickapoo River
Class I. Clinic Fee: $25 per person. Confident and
competent on lakes, but not ready for rivers? Then this
canoe clinic is for you. We’ll review the basic strokes—
draws, prys, sweeps, forward, back and J. We’ll discuss
safety, reading water, and maneuvers—ferries, side slips,
and eddy turns. Then we’ll practice these skills as we
canoe the Kickapoo. To register or get more details,
contact: Meg Nelson, 608-242-8633, prairiesmoke2@
gmail.com.

SOLO WHITEWATER CANOE CLINIC
June 14-15 Wolf River
Class II; Car Camp. Clinic Fee: $30 per person, plus camping
fees. For reasonably experienced tandem whitewater paddlers
or novice solo paddlers who want to begin whitewater. This is
for open canoes, not kayaks. Paddlers must provide their own
properly equipped canoes. Limited enrollment so reserve a spot
early. To register or get more details, contact: Doug Robinson,
608-334-8026, dougknu@charter.net.

TANDEM WHITEWATER CLINIC
June 14-15 Wolf River
Class II; Car Camp. Clinic Fee: $20 per person, plus camping fees. Want to add whitewater to your canoeing skills? Tandem paddling experience on rivers (moving water) is a prerequisite for this clinic. Clinic includes: classroom and shore session, and practice on the water. Bring a dish to share for the potluck dinner on Saturday night. For details, contact: Phil Johnsrud, 715-572-9884 OR Mary Blandino, 414-546-0375, madino@execpc.com, 2416 S. 80th St, West Allis, WI, 53219. To register, contact Mary Blandino.

QUIET WATER CANOE CLINIC
June 21 Lake Wingra Canoe and Sailing Center in Madison, 9 am – 4 pm
Class I/Quiet Water. Clinic Fee: $16 per person; includes clinic, box lunch and handouts. This clinic is designed to prepare
paddlers for safer and more enjoyable quiet water paddling. Minimum age: 12. Clinic topics: safety issues, paddling dynamics,
basic paddling strokes, extensive practice of important strokes, canoe rescue and paddling TOGETHER. Solo and tandem
paddlers welcome. Your own equipment preferred but some tandem canoes are available for clinic use. Clinic will be held rain
or shine. For details, contact Dan Wallace, 608-835-5144, DanWallace@src.wisc.edu. Space is limited. Pre-register by June
10—contact Meg Nelson, 608-242-8633, prairiesmoke2@gmail.com.

RIVER SAFETY AND RESCUE CLINIC
July 26-27 Red River
Class I-II; Car Camp. Fee: $20/person, plus camping fees. Limited to 12 people. Through active, hands-on instruction,
you will learn many river rescue techniques, including how to throw and receive a rope, swim a rapid, release pinned boats,
and manage rescue scenarios. Note that you will be required to swim in the river as part of the workshop. On both days, we
will also paddle the Red River, continuing our rescue instruction and offering informal paddling instruction to those who are
interested. To register or get more details, contact: Judd Lefeber and Jen Kiecker, 920-261-6413, jenkiecker@hotmail.com. You can also get information from Chuck Patrick, 262-895-3667, cpatrick@Bioformmedical.com.

Whitewater Clinics Information

Our purpose in offering whitewater clinics is to introduce relatively competent flatwater paddlers to whitewater, not to make you an expert in Class V rapids, and not to teach complete novices how to get into a canoe without tipping it or how to hold a paddle. If you and your partner understand why you should paddle on opposite sides of the boat, and if you can make your canoe go reasonably straight across a lake in a modest wind without yelling at each other, you're ready to step up to whitewater, in our opinion. The instructors for our clinics are volunteers with many years paddling experience. However, they are not certified instructors. Usually there is a ratio of one instructor boat to two student boats, so you'll get plenty of individual attention.

What we do: On Saturday morning, we cover safety, water-reading, inter-partner communication, boat outfitting and basic paddle strokes. You'll get to practice these strokes on a lake with instructors coaching you. In the afternoon we run a short, easy section of a river to practice on moving water. You'll be introduced to ferrying, eddy turns, and going slower (not faster) than the river to maintain control. On Sunday, we spend the whole day on a river, practicing all the skills you learned on Saturday. You'll be tired when you head for home late Sunday afternoon.

When: The Tandem Whitewater Clinic is usually held the first weekend in June each year, while the Solo Whitewater Clinic is held the second or third weekend of June. We usually hold a Clinic Follow-up trip later in June so you can practice the skills you recently learned, under the coaching of some of the instructors.

Where: Clinics are usually held near Langlade WI, beginning on White Lake and then on the Wolf River.

Clinic registration begins on March 1st of each year. Information on how to register appears in the March-April issue of the Muir View. You can also check the trip list for registration information. The tandem clinic costs $20 per person plus nominal group camping fees. The cost for the Solo Clinic is $30 person plus camping fees.

RTS cannot provide any equipment for the whitewater clinics. Providing an appropriate boat, paddles & life-preservers is your own responsibility. Participants should recognize the potential for damage to that equipment and for personal injury. We do not provide camping equipment, although we do arrange for a group campsite within a few miles of Langlade. Transportation to the clinics is also your responsibility.