Joining a NH AMC Paddling Trip

By Bill Lowman
From the April 1999 WrapAround

[Ed. Note: This was originally written for a Spring School Handout]

Please bear in mind that the reason we run the spring whitewater school is to "fill the pipeline" with new paddlers who will join our trips. Please don't be shy about calling to sign up for a NH trip…we actually want you! We know you aren't a very good paddler yet. We know you will make mistakes. And we expect that sooner or later you will go for more than one "swim"; we've all been there, and we all learned and were supported by members who knew everything before we knew everything!

Here's how to do it. Look in AMC Outdoors or the Wraparound for a class 2 trip as soon as possible after the school -- even the next weekend is good. Any class 2 trip will be fine. Don't wait too long, or you will develop the mistaken impression that you no longer remember everything you learned at the school…wrong! As soon as you get in a boat on the river, it will start to come back. Others on the trip will be happy to coach you if you request it.

When you find a trip that you want, call the trip leader at the number listed. Tell the leader that you would like to join the trip and that you are a graduate of the spring school. The leader will ask you some questions about whether you have a boat, whether it has flotation, if tandem do you have a partner, do you have appropriate [read warm] clothing, etc. Then they will tell you what time to meet and, if you ask, where the put-in is located. In the rare instance that the trip doesn't have enough experienced paddlers to cover the new paddlers, they may defer accepting you until they can recruit more experienced paddlers. If you want to paddle tandem and don't have a partner, they may offer to match you with another student in the same situation, or with an experienced paddler. You have every right to request help finding a partner…the leader may find you one, or give you a list of names for you to call. Yes, we know you don't want to make those calls, but you may have to if you want to paddle…besides the person you call may be glad that you did, because they were procrastinating!

Now, here's the secret protocol:

1. Show up at the meeting place on time
2. Cooperate with the requests of the trip leader.
3. Bring your lunch and a water bottle.
4. Change clothes when the leader says to, and be ready to shuttle.
5. Offer to drive your car back to the put in.
6. If your car stays at the take out, offer to drive the other driver back to the put in as soon as the trip ends…NOT AFTER YOU PUT ON DRY CLOTHES! Remember that the other driver has no dry clothes, and they may be wet and cold.
7. If you swim on the trip, it's normal to feel embarrassed, but it's not necessary. Everyone in the chapter has tipped over more than once…it's just part of learning to paddle.
8. When you leave, thank the leader for running the trip.
9. Go home, look up the next trip and return to the top of the page.

Copyright 1999, Bill Lowman. All rights reserved.

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