Truckee River in the Spring

After a whirlwind winter and spring of kayaking in amazing places - from the man made river in Oklahoma to the natural beauty of the Grand Canyon - happy to be in the water here at home. Love the Truckee River in the spring with friends.

Kayaking the Grand Canyon was awesome!

My parents got a permit for the Grand Canyon! Last time my parents went they didn't take us, they thought we were too young. But this time, they decided 11 years old and 8 years old was old enough. My teenage cousin, Athan, came with us too. I got the impression that people thought my parents were a bit nuts to take us, but we loved every minute. I kayaked, paddle boarded, rafted, and occasionally swam. My brother had some big swims too - each time he managed to hold onto his lollipop though (my brother loves lollipops). We had some hard days with crazy winds and sandstorms, some illnesses and injuries, but it all worked out. For people who wonder whether they should take their kids, I would say, absolutely! My parents have the experience to lead these types of trips, but if you don't you can go on a commercial trip. Kids (and their parents) learn team work, perseverance, adaptability, and how to get along. As well as learning about nature and history and developing real skills like river reading, knot tying, cooking, setting up camp, anticipating weather, map skills and other logistics. You also get really good at card games, board games, and sing-a-longs.

My favorite part of the trip was running Lava . . . 

Chloe in Lava Falls April 2018

Scouting Lava Falls April 2018

I'm lucky that I go to an independent study school, so I can go on adventures like this anytime as long as I do projects while I'm there. Here's the presentation I created about geology.  Chloe's Grand Canyon Presentation on Geology

Oklahoma Kayak Center!

I just spent 3 weeks at OKC. OKC is the land of lego block rivers, conveyor belt shuttles, and fiberglass boats. It's very different then what I am used to. I went there to train Slalom with Brendan Curson and Chilliwack Centre of Excellence. Mike Holroyd from Alberta Slalom Canoe Kayak brought his team too. They came to train their athletes for Canadian Team Trials. And, wow, are they good. Like, really good. I'm sure several of them will make the team.

It was my first time on a man-made river and I thought it was hard. I swam a lot. But, my kayaking definitely improved. For me, the goal of the trip was to improve my kayaking skills to be ready for kayaking the Grand Canyon in a few weeks. And I feel ready.

Here's the link to OKC - it's a really cool facility - and a video about it. OKC video. The designers are also building the Paris 2024 Olympic facility.

 
 

A River's Last Chance and Truckee StS

Last night, Laurel and I gave a presentation about the Truckee River Source to Sea expedition as the opening to a documentary movie premier. The movie, A River's Last Chance, talks about the challenges that have faced the Eel River watershed over the past 100 years. Some similar issues face all of our rivers in California. Below is our power point presentation and our presentation script. I had fun preparing for this with Laurel and appreciated that several of my teachers, friends, and fellow student ambassadors came out to support us.

Me and Laurel before our presentation

Sold out crowd!

Me and Laurel finishing up our presentation

Truckee StS Powerpoint Presentation

Did you know that the Truckee river watershed is 145 miles long, or that Lake Tahoe is the 2nd deepest lake in North America? Last summer, Laurel and I joined the Rivers For Change Truckee River Source to Sea expedition. We learned how the Truckee River evolves from its start to its finish and its importance to the communities along the way.

The paddling team consisted of 10 Student Ambassadors from 7 schools in the Truckee River watershed, led by Team Leader Sue Norman, and Jay Wild of Lake Tahoe Waterman's Association.

The trip started at in the upper watershed above South Lake Tahoe, and the student team explored six different sections of the river and watershed to its terminus in Pyramid Lake.

We started at the Upper Truckee River in Meyers, CA above Lake Tahoe. There, we experienced the river bank restoration work that the Forest Service had completed. As you can see in the photos, the river banks are now marshes and meadowland which provides habitat for wildlife and has brought many new plants. We learned that the long toed Salamander returned to this area thanks to the restoration project.

Next, we traveled across Lake Tahoe in an outrigger canoe. We paddled 12 miles from Camp Richardson to Meeks Bay, including paddling around Fannet Island in Emerald Bay. At one point our team was paddling the canoe at a speed of 7 miles an hour, faster than the motor on the  support sailboat. We learned about the efforts of multiple agencies to restore lake clarity, through preventing erosion of sediments. Because of urbanization, lake clarity has decreased from 90 feet to 60 feet in depth.  But restoration efforts appear to  be slowing the rate of continued loss of lake clarity.

Rivers for Change then hosted a field trip at the regional park in Truckee for local students. We led a hands on lesson on water supply and demand. We used buckets to simulate water allocation for fish, recreation, agriculture, and industrial use based on actual Truckee River scenarios. Students quickly realized that in drought years there is not enough water to meet all the demand. Future predicted climate change is likely to make this situation worse for our generation. The worst drought ever recorded over the past 100 years occured in our life time, from 2012 through 2015. There was also a river safety and rescue demonstration by the Truckee Fire District Swiftwater Rescue Team.

We then rafted with I.R.I.E, a local rafting company, from Gooseneck meadows to Glennshire. We were joined by parents, guest paddlers, and members of the Truckee River Watershed Council. It was so fun to paddle Class III whitewater through the town of Truckee. The last time the river was that high in June was 34 year ago, in 1983. We may not see flows that high in the summer again until we are grown with children of our own. We learned about geomorphology. Geomorphology is the science of how rivers are impacted by topography, geology, and hydrology. We noted how drastically the landscape and river had changed during our journey so far.

Next, Tahoe Whitewater Tours, another local rafting company, guided us from Verdi to the Reno Whitewater Park. This was the coldest day of our journey, and we had to paddle over a couple of dams (including one that was 10 feet high), and portaged another.  These dams are dangerous for people who are not experienced and also do not allow fish migration. Many organizations are working to try to get these dams removed or rebuilt to address these problems.

We then camped east of Reno at McCarran Preserve, managed by the Nature Conservancy of Nevada.  At the preserve the restoration work by the Conservancy was  noticeable, with willows lining the banks and like the Upper Truckee, much of the land around us was marshes. The next morning we kayaked from Lockwood to USA parkway. At the top of this section, the hills were eroded and there were train tracks and power plants on the side of the river. As we got closer to the Preserve, we began to see more  results of completed  Conservancy restoration, as we paddled next to  thick restored Cottonwood forests. We met and paddled with multiple stewardship partners on this day including, The Nature Conservancy, One Truckee River, the Nevada Division of Wildlife, and the Truckee Meadows Water Authority. We learned about the resource values these groups are concerned about -- fish and wildlife habitat, drinking water supply, and recreation along the river -- and their efforts to protect and restore those values in the Truckee River.

We were unable to finish the rest of our journey by water, as the river runs through Paiute Indian tribal land, and they felt the river was to dangerous to paddle. So, we biked to Pyramid Lake instead on the last section of the Tahoe Pyramid Bikeway.

We stopped at Marble Bluff Dam and Fish Passage facility, where we saw a very unique fish ladder. In order to migrate upstream to where the fish in Pyramid lake need to go to lay their eggs, they need to be transported up 40 feet in a fish elevator. The Truckee river eroded down this far at this location below the dam. This is the most dramatic example we saw of a change in geomorphology of the river because of a large change in river hydrology.  The Derby Dam located 40 miles upstream of this location diverted all the water out of the Truckee River for many years. As a result, Pyramid Lake dropped 40 feet in surface water elevation, causing the river channel to erode down to the new surface height of the lake. The Marble Bluff Dam and fish passage facility was built to stop the erosion from continuing upstream, and to transport the fish up river during spawning season. We got to help the Fish and Wildlife Service catch and measure a sampling of Cui-ui sucker fish. Cui-ui fish are an endangered prehistoric fish species, only found in Pyramid Lake. Their number and size has steadily increased over the past 40 years since the Marble Bluff Fish Passage Facility was built. The Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe depends on this fishery, as the majority of the tribes income is generated from selling fishing permits. Between March and June in 2017 over 500,000 fish were transported in the fish elevator up river to their spawning grounds. 

We hope you have enjoyed this presentation of our experience and learnings during the first year of the Truckee River Source to Sea Paddling and Environmental Learning Project. Thank you!

A Jackson Rockstar XS for Christmas!

I'm so excited, Santa brought a Jackson Rockstar XS. I know I already have a lot of boats, but it was time. I've long outgrown my Fun and even my Shooting Star.

My Jackson Rockstar XS - Christmas 2017

Our Family - Christmas 2017

Santa True

I've been generally obsessed with kayaking the past few months, so that's likely how Santa (aka my parents) knew what to get me. For Friday Enrichment glass blowing this fall, I made a kayak and a paddle while all my friends made cute animals! If you want to blow glass in Truckee, here's the place to go Glass Blowing in Truckee

The idea came to me right after I kayaked Chili bar for my first time. Chili bar is a class 3 stretch on the American River. I went with my dad and his friend Jeff - there aren't really any other kids my age to go with unfortunately. See how my glass blown kayak matches my real one :)

Chile Bar Put in November 2017

Thanksgiving at Trouble Maker!

For Thanksgiving this year, a group of my parents' friends decided to go kayaking. Now that I started kayaking Chili Bar, I can join them! Here's a video of my line in Trouble Maker - not perfect, but super fun!

6th Grade Yosemite Trip

Yay, we just got back from Yosemite! My 6th Grade class went on a field trip to Yosemite with Nature Bridge. It was really fun. We hiked a lot. And the food was really good. I had a field guide book that I drew in. I drew Half Dome and Yosemite Falls. During the day we played a lot of team building games. We also had night activities where we would play tag in the dark. My dad was a chaperone for the trip, but he was not in my cabin nor in my trail group. The nature guides did a great job leading us. This was one of the best field trips I've been on with school.

Yosemite

Kayaking in Canada

I just got back from Chilliwack, Canada! I was in Canada to learn how to slalom kayak. Slalom kayaking is when you have a long, fast, and narrow boat and you are trying to make it through all the gates without touching or hitting them. Here's some basic information on Running a Slalom Race. It's actually an Olympic Sport.

The second day in Canada there was the Mamquam Race. I loved competing and got first place! I also did the boater-cross race, which was fun.

The rest of the week I trained at a camp with Chilliwack Centre of Excellence. My coach was Brendan Curson. He was one of the best coaches I've ever had. The kids that train there are really good kayakers and super nice. My parents said that it's run by a non-profit, so it is very affordable.

This trip made me a much better kayaker and was very fun. And I came home with my very own slalom kayak!

Mamquam Race

1st Place!

Training with Brendan and Chilliwack Centre of Excellence

My very own slalom kayak!

Kids Spartan Race

Every year, my dad works on the Spartan World Championships in Squaw. This year, my brother and I got to do the kids race again. We did it twice. Maybe that was a bit too much because the second time we did it we had to carry a really heavy weight while doing the course. I was glad when it was over!

Me and Alex at Spartan

New Kayaking Skills . . .

Since we didn't go on our usual rafting trip to the Lower Slalom in Idaho, my parents took us to Coloma instead. We kayaked, saw friends, met new kids who kayak, and played board games. I even took kayak lessons with Dan Crandall at Current Adventures. He's the best roll teacher ever. Anyone can learn from him. The best part of the trip for me is when I got my combat roll at Old Scary!

Dan teaching Alex to roll

I also recently tried Slalom Kayaking for the first time. It combines two things I love: slalom racing and kayaking! I never knew this sport existed.

I went to the Moke Races and the Feather Fest with Sue Norman. My mom came too, but she had a hard time making the gates in her inflatable kayak. I just hope that more kids join this fun sport with me.

Moke Races 2017: My First Slalom Race

The Rogue River was Awesome

For our family rafting trip this year, we went to the Wild and Scenic Rogue River. It was awesome. It is a multi-day wilderness trip. No idea how my parents got permits at the last minute -- we were supposed to go to the Lower Klamath but fires closed that river.

We were a really big group, with lots of kids. And some fun adults without kids, like Canella, Kurt, and Cliff! And a dog. There was a natural water slide, a wilderness lodge with ice cream, wild blackberries, and we had a talent show. And best of all, I kayaked as much of the trip as my parents let me. I even kayaked my first Class IV rapid, Blossom Bar (and swam at the bottom). Since we were having so much fun and didn't want it to end, the kayaking kids stayed after the trip was over and we kayaked Hellgate Canyon.

Blackberries in camp

Canella!

Kayak kids: me, Athan, Quinn, Jayce 

Post-trip ice cream at Galice Resort

Summer Camps

So, this year, I got to join my Ecole Bilingue friends for a week at Camp Ravencliff. I was tired and jet-lagged since I had just gotten home from France, but I loved it! Camp Ravencliff was on the banks of the Eel River. My cabin had no electricity, lots of spiders, and 7 fun girls! The swimming hole at the river was very refreshing and fun. There was a lot of activities to choose from. I played canoe dodge ball, went creeking, and swam. There is a camp fire every night where we put on skits and tell jokes.

Sophie, Cahyani, Clarissa, Mia, Sebastien, Kael, and me

I also went ro Kennedy Meadows Horse Camp! We rode and took care of horses and went on a wilderness packing trip. It is just down the road from my cousins' cabin on Sonora Pass, so I got to hang out with them too. My dad also took us to Bodie.

Anabelle, Lylah, me, and Mia

France!

My brother and I spent the summer again this year in France visiting our great-grandmother, Grannilou, with our grandparents. In France, we mostly spend time at the beach and go to sailing camps. Here are some photos from our trip.

Carnon

Carnon beach kids

Manon in Pont Saint Esprit 

Our front deck in Carnon

Alex in Pont-Saint-Espirt

Stalagmite and Stalactite caves

At Grannilou's house

Back at SFO saying bye to Nana and Grandpa

Father's Day at the East Carson River

Well, the river was really high. And we had never been to the East Fork of the Carson River before. So, my parents didn't let me kayak. Instead, I got to ducky (inflatable kayak) with my friend Luke. We camped out at wilderness hot springs and went fly fishing. I didn't catch anything, but we had a blast and wished it had been more than just a weekend trip. I hope we go for father's day again next year.

Truckee Source To Sea!

Thank you Sue Norman, Jay Wild, Danielle Katz, and Jane Weeks for taking me and the other Student Ambassadors on the Truckee River Source to Sea Environmental Learning Adventure. Thank you also to everyone who made a donation to make it possible.

Here's the link to my profile on the Team page, along with the other Student Ambassadors. Chloe Tippett Student Ambassador

Before going on the trip, we had to fundraise. I participated in an Earth Day booth at Squaw, contributed to a newspaper article for Moonshine ink, and started a go-fund-me campaign (I raised over $800!).

Here's my interview in the May issue of Moonshine Ink (online or on page 34 in print). They interviewed me and Annsley. www.moonshineink.com/sports/truckee-river-source-sea-paddle

Here are some pictures from our expedition.

Me and Annsley on Donner Lake for Moonshine Ink

Fundraising at Earth Day before the trip

Off we go!

Upper Truckee in South Shore

Kayaking the Upper Truckee in South Shore

Outrigger Canoe on Lake Tahoe

Outrigger Canoe on Lake Tahoe

Outrigger Canoe on Lake Tahoe 

Truckee town run 

Camping at Nature Conservancy in Nevada

Put in for Reno town run

Reno town run

Channel 2 News in Reno

And boating is a wrap!

Biking to Pyramid Lake

We're done!

Pyramid Lake

The Truckee River is huge this year. I was very lucky to go on it when it is this high. The two core team adults (Sue and Jay) paddled the entire 150 miles. The student ambassadors did about 80 miles with them.

We started off a week and a half ago kayaking the Upper Truckee. We kayaked 6 miles of the Upper Truckee River. It was very fun to kayak with other kids. It was also very beautiful. Some parts though were a bit sketch because of all the debris in the river caused by the huge snow pack. About half way down the river, we stopped and a naturalist talked about the Upper Truckee Restoration Project. The restoration project helps the vegetation grow back. This is important because once it grows back it creates new habitats for wildlife to return.

Then, we outrigger canoed across Lake Tahoe. We used a Hawaiian outrigger canoe. We went through Emerald Bay and the water was a beautiful greenish blue. We paddled 14 miles.

We then rafted through downtown Truckee. And through Reno. We then kayaked in the Nature Conservancy in Nevada. Our permit was revoked to kayak the last stretch, so we finished off the last stretch to Pyramid Lake on bikes. It was a beautiful Plan B - we saw thousands of pelicans with 8 foot wing spans.

Along the way, we learned about the watershed, local fish and birds, and the vegetation. We spoke to people who are working hard to restore and preserve our river. And we gave news interviews.

On our way home we stopped and did a tour of Marble Bluff Dam Fish Hatchery. There, we saw Cui-ui fish. They are such cute sucker fish and we even got to hold and measure them. These fish are native to the Lower Truckee River and Pyramid Lake. They are endangered.

The best part, though, was hanging out with kids that share these same interests.

The hardest part was asking for money. Thank you to the following donors:

Me and Mikaela

Mikaela Shiffrin (I know, right!)

Michael Rosen

Jo Abbott

Sid Crockett

Mark Mirviss

Annette Mirviss

Brit Crezee

Jeff Rouse

Dick Banfield

Scott Flint

Sarah Powell

Joel Martinez

Sean Whelan

Chiara Gajar

Katrina Smolen

Uncle Loulou

Nana and Grandpa

Grannilou

Alicia Doherty
Maureen Garvey
Christine & Cathy
Aga Nowak
Sue Campbell

Dawn Preisendorf

Tom Brand

Brian Maher

Brooks Alldredge

Darby Stienmetz

Todd Wees

Rachel Rohler

Kim

Murray Sandford

Creekside bake sale (thank you Jack for baking)