Author: James Ratchford
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My Last Swim
It’s been one week since my last swim. One of my favorite podcasts is In Between Swims. If you read this blog, you should subscribe to that podcast. The host, Jeff McIntyre, interviews boaters and asks them to tell about their last swim. If he ever asks me, this is the story I want…
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River log: Mill Creek and Holly Creek
20160224 river log We drove through the night to meet Justin Pagano somewhere near the Georgia-Tennessee border so that I could pick up a lightly used Jackson Karma that he had for sale. The plan started out as Tellico, then shifted to Chattooga Section 4, then back to Tellico when I saw the water start…
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Not exactly my best weekend
Some days I just don’t feel like a very good kayaker. This weekend was two of those days. Anthony rang my phone at 7:26 AM. We both knew the local creek would still be iced over, but the next creek west, Chautauqua, was expected to break free and flow, according to the local paddlers in…
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Personal First Descent log: Beaver Meadow Creek, Java, NY
February 3, 2016 I saw that the gages were all going mad overnight between the thaw and the rain, so before I got out of bed I texted Scott to see what was up. Hey, it’s James, do we know if Beaver Meadow is in? I’m sure it’s running but I couldn’t…
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2015 and 2016
In 2015 I had 20 personal first descents including a dozen new class 4 rivers or discrete sections and eight or nine proper waterfalls, depending on what you count. It’s been a phenomenal year for my whitewater life. It’s also the first year in which I had a solid and consistent roll. My paddling has…
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LWC prototype trip, day 2
Okay, so it looks like I’m going to need an alarm clock after all. The car sleeping setup is a success in that it’s super comfy, but a fail in that it made it a little too easy to sleep in. Today hasn’t exemplified productivity; finding good work environments remains a work in progress. Really,…
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Life without Compromise: Day 1
20151116 Today has been Day 1 of my “life without compromise prototype trip.” Let me go back a step. I’ve been reshaping my life in accordance with a principle called “Life Without Compromise,” which I’ve been learning from Eric Jackson. I could go on about LWC for a while, but suffice for now to say…