Info for New LCCC Members
WELCOME
Thanks for joining! We know it's a bit of an uphill climb to get connected. Fear not, we've all done this. Here’s a little intro and some steps you can take to get started.
WHAT KINDS OF TRIPS WE DO
Mostly we do whitewater day trips of class 2 and 3 difficulty, mostly in whitewater kayaks but with a few folks in canoes, packrafts, and IK's. Sometimes we camp out for a long weekend. Some of our trips push the upper edge of class 3. These missions are not good for most beginners; running whitewater is harder than it looks. Experienced paddlers move to our area all the time, and our niche is in running the "harder" club whitewater trips, with a strong emphasis on personal responsibility, skills, and safety. The OKCC does a better job of getting beginners on the water, and many locals are members of both clubs. Occasionally the LCCC will do a flatwater paddle, or have a picnic or party that doesn't require getting on the water at all.
HOW YOU FIND OUT ABOUT TRIPS
Traditional LCCC trips are posted on the LCCC calendar. These are things that we do every year, plus a smattering of day runs that our members are willing to commit to in advance. A lot more trips happen impromptu, and are announced by email on the google group. We have a facebook page and group, but we don't coordinate our trips there.
GET ON THE GOOGLE GROUP
We coordinate our trips by email. To start getting club emails, go to the group and request access. Set the emails how you want them--to arrive when sent or as a daily or weekly summary. Watch for trip posts on Tuesday-Wednesday-Thursday for the weekend following. Sometimes the post won't come in til Friday or even Saturday for a Sunday trip. If you are eager to get on the water, it pays to have your paddling kit already sorted. If you're already added to the google group, you can email us all.
SIGN THE WAIVER EVERY YEAR
If you can't remember if you signed the waiver or not, it doesn't hurt to do it twice!
MEMBERS-ONLY AREA OF WEBSITE
On this LCCC website members have access to the club roster, old newsletters, info on discounts and a whole lot more. You'll need the password you created when you joined.
WHITEWATER: GETTING STARTED FROM SCRATCH
Learning to paddle whitewater takes time. We encourage new paddlers to join all the clubs, take classes, go to roll sessions in winter, and work on skills. Just getting the right gear takes a while. There's a lot to learn and developing the skills requires dedicated practice. Perhaps the best way to get started is to find a stretch of river that's not too intimidating, a few friends at the same level or more advanced, and team up to go as often as you can. The river will teach you a lot.
Make sure you have the right gear and have been on moving water a few times before getting on whitewater. A couple of the best summer learning stretches (for whitewater) in our area are Mill City to Mehama on the North Santiam River and the Lower White Salmon from below Husum to Northwestern Park. When the rains come in folks with drysuits train on the Washougal (down to Hathaway), East Fork Lewis (below Stewart's Landing), and the Sandy below Oxbow. There's no shortage of things to learn--it keeps us amused for a lifetime.
If you just need to get your boat wet and see how it feels, flatwater is a good place to start. Go with friends so you can help each other! And always wear your life jacket. We have big slow rivers like the Willamette, and some lakes too. You can even put your boat in the water at Lake Oswego.
