R I V E R a l C h e M Y
One part rock, one part water.
Photo Philth Quinn
readinG between the lines
and riverbed below is being overlooked for su-
perficial, immediately self-gratifying, two-dimen-
sional thrills.
The last couple seasons have, for the good I be-
A TRIBUTE TO WilliaM NealY, RIVER RUNNING AND
lieve, seen a resurgence and renewed interest in
river running. With river running comes exposure
THE LOST ART OF HYDROTOPOGRAPHICAL AWARENESS
to different rivers and different rapids; with that
comes the need to scout and develop a sense for
WHITEWATER RIVERS are one part water and one run and a bad run… Being able to look at a
what the current is doing. This, as Nealy believed,
part rock, tilted downhill. No one understood this rapid and know what’s happening both on
is best done with an understanding of what is go-
better, and explained it more clearly, than William and below the surface…is the mark of the
ing on beneath the surface. This three dimensional
Nealy. His book, Kayak, The Animated Manual advanced kayaker.
view is integral to the whole river experience.
of Intermediate and Advanced Whitewater Tech- Kayak is one of the earliest kayak manuals, and
Guiding on Idaho’s Middle Fork of the Salmon,
nique (1986, Menasha Ridge Press) is a classic. certainly the most read and longest lived. Nealy’s
I remember one rock in particular. It was pyramid
If you are unfamiliar with Nealy’s book, note the revealing illustrations informed generations of
shaped and reaching to within arm’s length be-
words classic and animated: classic as in still rel- paddlers’ understanding of whitewater. This three
neath the surface of the fast moving, crystal clear
evant and highly recommended, and animated – dimensional understanding and appreciation of
water. Tumbling in the submerged eddy current
hand drawn and hand printed, unlike anything you rivers is being lost.
was the material of a living river: bits of bark, dirt
would find today. While kayaking has changed im- New paddlers now access whitewater via DVD
and bugs. In that instant, for me, the river became
mensely since these early days, rivers have not. instruction and YouTube. Lost is the self-paced,
a three-dimensional being much greater than just
It is Nealy’s understanding of “hydrotopogra- engaging, imaginative, cerebral and committing
the surface features with which I formerly had
phy,” as he aptly calls it, which illustrates his bril- study of written manuals such as Nealy’s.
been preoccupied.
liance and the staying power of his work. With his Over the last five years or more, paddling has
Nealy wrote that to understand and appreciate
keen perceptions and black pen, he removes the centred on a few familiar and well-travelled des-
what goes on “both on and below the surface” is
water from the river and illustrates rapids as con- tination rivers. Boat designs have been feeding
the sign of a good kayaker. I believe that when
veyer belts, geometric shapes and arrows. He ex- this narrowly focused park and play trend. Even
someone understands (or at least tries to under-
plains better than anyone: institutional kayaking’s push to get newbies surfing
stand) the whole river, that person becomes not
How well a boater can read the topogra- amounts to minimizing a river to only its play spots.
just a good kayaker but a true river person.
phy of this complex terrain and extrapolate In this new paddling world, scouting is optional
JeFF JACkSON is a professor of Outdoor Adventure at Algonquin Col-
what’s going on underneath the surface and therefore becoming a lost skill. The ability
lege in Pembroke, Ontario. WilliAM NeAlY died July 19, 2001. Kayak
can make the difference between a good to analyze the current and understand the rocks has sold over 250,000 copies and been translated into five languages.
1 Rapid summer/fall 2009
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