THE SLOUGH SLOG

MEET: 10 a.m., Saturday

Wilmot Gateway Park, Woodinville

Class I down- and upriver race

Stagger: Long boats: +6.3 minutes

Sea kayaks +9.5 minutes

Weather forecast: Partly sunny, 50 degrees

No registration fee

Email: mailto:Christian@paddlermagazine.com - Christian@paddlermagazine.com

Based on response so far, roughly 15 to 20 paddlers will be showing up to the first Slough Slog. And those paddlers represent the spectrum of boating in the Northwest. Sea kayakers, whitewater kayakers and downriver racers.

The Woodinville Weekly will also be there to shoot a photograph, or, perhaps to develop a story. When I e-mailed the photographer, I told him this event was going on, in part, to raise the community’s awareness—the first step toward an urban whitewater/slalom playpark. If the reporter is enterprising, he could turn this event story into a more comprehensive look at playparks. And the more people who show up, the more persuasive our argument will be.

I also told him that the race could include some national stars, such as Paul Gamache, who, reportedly just broke the world record for the highest waterfall ever run, Tao Berman and Rob McKibbin, who, aside from being a local legend, survived an intentional descent of Sunset Falls 82 years after Al Faussett first probed the 275-foot slide near Index.

The value in the course is not its whitewater. Indeed, it has none. The value in this little stretch of water is that it’s urban and can bring so many different kind of kayakers together for a few hours on a Saturday morning.

My final pitch is this:

Whitewater kayakers: Robe is under five feet; the Sky is below 3,000. You might not get whitewater with the Slough Race, but you’ll get one heck of a workout, with some of your buddies, and within a short drive.

Sea kayakers: You have one week before the Deception Pass Dash (I’ve entered it as well). And I guarantee you, this will be the best preparation you’ll have before December 7.

Slalom and downriver kayakers: How long has it been since you’ve competed in a paddling race? And seriously, when was the last time you competed against whitewater kayakers and sea kayakers in the same race at the same time?