O f f T H E t O N G u e
terrible twos?
Photo SCott MaCGReGoR
BaBies save RiveRs
“THE MOST DANGEROUS THING that can hap- This special Love Issue is here to show those a result of this new gear that more kids are on
pen to us guys is not a waterfall, nor a boulder- paddlers running scared from commitment that rivers.
choked, class V creek. It’s chicks and babies who love doesn’t have to be as restrictive as a river- No doubt the availability of smaller gear and
kill paddlers!” wrote Re-actionary columnist Ben wide strainer and that there can be whitewater at boats is making parents realize that they can
Aylsworth in the spring 2001 issue of Rapid. the end of the wedding aisle and birthing canal. start their kids younger. But I believe there is a
Eight years later, now married with two little kids In this issue you’ll meet river kids and whitewater second element at work. The RPM dads (and
of my own, I have a completely different perspec- couples who are making it work. moms) of the late ‘90s have grown sick of soccer
tive. Aylsworth’s opinion at the time was too short- My own family’s secret has been establishing and are coming back to the rivers, bringing with
sighted (not to mention bitter and sexist) to see Rapid and our lives in the Ottawa Valley. It was a them the offspring of the first whitewater boom.
the lives of his paddling buddies come full circle. conscious decision. We decided we’d rather live Even if only half of the whitewater boomers get
Whitewater boat sales and participation peaked and work at the rivers than spend our weekends back in their boats and bring their families to the
around 2001, not because of the Super Ego, but driving to them. rivers, river paddling will be 50 per cent bigger
because the last of the largest group of the popu- My son Dougie and daughter Kate, now four than ever before.
lation—the baby boomers—were still enjoying and two years old, have been swimming and Why should you care? Because today’s river
the golden whitewater years of their mid-thirties. paddling in class II rapids since they were born. rats will be tomorrow’s river advocates and envi-
Soon after, Ben would write, they were sucked Dougie has 35 river days scribbled in his log from ronmental policy makers. When you look at it that
from their boats, resurfacing in Lamaze classes last year alone. The kids have their own kayaks, way, babies don’t kill paddlers; paddlers’ babies
and in minivans en route to soccer practice. paddles, canoe tripping barrels (one specifically save rivers. —Scott MacGregor
To be fair, these years are also the busiest time in for stuffed animals), fishing rods, sleeping bags
FootNote: Past writers of scathing letters to the editor will be
most careers and a time when many paddlers are and Therm-a-Rests. We have two tandem white-
happy (or at least amused) to know that Ben has both a chick and
purchasing and trying to pay for their first houses. water tripping boats and we split on a 14-foot raft
an eight-week-old baby. He has a Jackson Dynamic Duo shipping to
Paddles are traded for rakes, paintbrushes and (think giant playpen) with Rapid’s River Alchemy his house because he says, “I refuse to let what has happened to so
drywall trowels. If you want to catch up with your columnist Jeff Jackson and his family.
many happen to me.”
thirty-something paddling buddies, try the tool There have never been more kids’ courses,
rental desk at Home Depot. I have an account. boats and gear. Some people argue that it is
Rapid early summer 2009
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