On my first international kayaking trip, and first trip with a camera, there are only two things I did right when shooting the above image. The composition, and shooting in raw. Not an impressive camera or lens, and exposure that was off by -2 whole stops but it's an image that still works.

   It would be better to be paddling on my 30th birthday, but for the first time in over a year there is nothing class V with water in it. A forced break is good for retrospection. I've heard people say that they'd change nothing in their past, because it has all led them to their current state. I have regrets, there are things I'd change about the past. Every time I've hurt someone, through selfishness or ignorance. I'd change all those moments. Having my father pass away without really knowing him. I'd change that. I wish I'd been able to learn vicariously, but there just seems to be something in human nature that makes us learn better from our own mistakes.
 
   Kayaking is a wonderful thing. I've structured my whole life around it. I take pictures of it and spend my "free" time writing about it. I don't keep track of the amount of days I spend on the river, but last year must have been well over two hundred. That said, this week was a great reminder that kayaking is just kayaking. We're just floating down the river in a boat. We're not changing the world or altering the course of history. Kayaking is what you make of it, like any other sport you can learn and grow from it, but the sport in itself is a simple thing.
 
  The suppression of information. There has recently been some strong opinion about Gareth Tate's Upper Cherry Video. In the past people have exploited Upper Cherry. They did the run, filmed it and took pictures, make themselves look like heroes while suppressing any information about where or what river it was. Information is power. If you share media from something like Upper Cherry, sooner or later people will find out where it is. Logically true responsible use is not the suppression of information, but the manner in which information is presented. Being proactive in highlighting going through the proper channels and getting wilderness permits, endorsing Leave No Trace practices and safe solid teamwork on the river would have gone a lot further to garner respect from the USFS than hiding the rivers location. Unfortunately doing that is a lot more work and harder on the ego than just suppressing information.