Welcome to Knik Canoe and Kayakers (KCK) and the greater Alaskan rafting, canoeing, and sea kayaking community! After nearly 25 years of incredible paddling experiences in the Pacific Northwest I found myself in Anchorage seeking new Alaskan paddlesport activities. On a tip from a friend I attended KCK’s annual April Safety Meeting which also serves as the first opportunity to sign up for rafting, canoeing, and kayaking classes held each season. Within two months I found myself on a club excursion floating 100 miles of the Copper River from Chitina to Cordova – yet another “trip of a lifetime”! Since then I have embraced KCK as a great resource for more excursions, information, and lasting friendships. As I look over my 2006 itinerary including excursions in Prince William Sound, Kachemak and Resurrection Bays, Nunivak Island, the Broken Islands off the West Coast of Vancouver Island, the Salmon River in Northern California, and a 21-day run down the Colorado at season’s end, I realize that it is all coming to pass based on my connections with my fellow KCK’ers. And those are just the trips on the calendar! Toss in evenings after work on the Eagle River, club floats on the Kenai, practicing for the Grand Canyon on the Nenana, sharing the experience of the 40-Mile River with members of our fellow Fairbanks Paddling Club, catching the surf on the Homer Spit and off Bear Glacier, and I assure you my personal fun meter will be pegged in 2006!
Won’t you join us? We have a lot to offer!
Kelly Tjaden has been paddling since 1980, was recently elected President of KCK, and looks forward to reaching out with “Message from the President” as a monthly feature on this web site. He can be reached at kellytja@msn.com.
