[Paddlewise] Who We Are, so far

My bio comes a little late but two days on this list feels like
forever.  I have really enjoyed reading all the entries (truth be told
does anybody read them all?)and feel obligated to join in.

I love wilderness in every shape and size: dry, wet, hot, cold, high
or low.  Anyway I can be self propelled in nature makes me happy.  I
have been paddling seriously and happily for about 10 years now and
began soon after escaping the poisoned air of Los Angeles the day
after graduating High School(being from L.A. is enough to make anybody
love anyplace wild and natural).  The Bay Area offered much greener
pastures and life was grand. My passion for paddling started when I
worked at REI while in college and took a sea kayak class.  

I explored San Francisco Bay and surrounding areas extensively and
began working for a sea kayak school about five years ago.  Mainly I
paddle because I love to explore wild places.  I enjoy speed but never
paddle races or sacrifice exploring for a "workout".  Because I worked
for a large sea kayak school I was able to paddle many many many
different boats and learned from experience which I liked and which I
didn't.  

Now I live in Corvallis, Oregon where my wife is a grad student and I
teach High School science.  I am exploring the Northwest quite a bit,
the coast of Oregon and Puget Sound.  I own a plastic Looksha IV which
I love, and too much gear.  

I am also gearing up for a solo trip from the San Juans up to Prince
Rupert this summer.  The trip is an unbelievable amount of fun to plan
and anticipate and the source of some of my email questions about
gear.  I still teach sea kayaking for a local shop and love
introducing people to the water. I became ACA certified by John Lull
about three years ago.

Enough for now, nice to meet everybody and what a great group to learn
with.

Brian W. 


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