: Training people to foresee danger is difficult without someone more experienced to work with,
: (one of the main values of any club etc is to provide that link).

: David Humphries

There is the answer! Sometimes you can't see the nose on your face.

Local clubs are the answer to this problem.

Now if we could just get retailers and outfitters to recommend their clients join a local
club, novices would get the guidance they need.

Probably many people may not see the value in joining a paddling club or just want to paddle on their own.

I never felt like I wanted to join a club, but a woman I when out with in the early eighties paddled white water
and through her, I got into the Appalachian Mountain Club here in the northeast USA.

The club not only provided training, but very low cost boat rentals, for people without their own boats, and
they knew all the best places to paddle. I've made great friends and met my wife through the club.

I've been involved with the AMC for twenty years now, and paddle, ski, and hike with my friends from the club
so often, that I don't even think of us as a club, but just good friends with a common interest.

I urge novices to join a local club or even start a club if you don't have one nearby to pool your experience and make new friends.

All the best,
Rob Macks
Laughing Loon CC&K
www.laughingloon.com