It was almost standing room only on the water at Vancouver Lake on Saturday.
No problem, though, since stand-up paddleboarding has become the hottest outdoor sporting activity in America lately, according to a 2013 report from the Outdoor Industry Association.
On Saturday, a passerby who didn’t look too carefully would have glimpsed hundreds of people standing on the water at Vancouver Lake. A closer look would reveal that they were all standing on flat boards and paddling their way around the sun-kissed water — on a day that was supposed to be gray and misty.
The 2015 Spring Paddle Festival was put on by Alder Creek Kayak & Canoe, a Portland business that’s been hosting these free annual outings — aimed mostly at newbies who just want to get their feet wet (ouch, sorry) — for 23 years now. Just this year, the company purchased Ridgefield Kayak from retiring owner Gail Alexander.
“The main goal really is to reach people who have never had this experience before,” said Alder Creek program manager Paul Kuthe. “You can try out a lot of things, all day long, and it’s all free.”
Many vendors were also on hand to sell their gear and apparel.
There were entry-level sessions on how to choose the equipment that’s right for you and how to master the basics of canoeing; there were also sessions about kayak fishing, car transportation for your vessel, safety and rescue techniques, dealing with difficult weather while you’re on the water, and even doing yoga while on your board.
What, you didn’t think outdoorsy Pacific Northwest hipsters are satisfied simply to stand on their boards when they can do headstands and downward-facing dogs and meditative lotus poses, did you?
“If you want to take your yoga to the next level, this is such a great workout,” said yoga and yoga-while-paddling instructor Elaine Cohn. “It takes so much balance and so much constant core work” to stay balanced while you’re stretching and bending on the water, she said, you wind up exhausted — but with incredibly fit core muscles.
But don’t sweat it, she added: “You don’t have to be perfect. It’s all about the fun. It’s just another way to experience the water.”
Between our many lakes, rivers and streams and the Pacific coast itself, Kuthe said, the Pacific Northwest has become “a paddling mecca” in recent years.
“It’s a cool event,” said Pat Perry, who’s into kayaking but hadn’t tried stand-up paddlboarding before. He ventured north from Portland to Vancouver Lake for the first time ever on Saturday, he said, and was pleased with what he found.
“It’s a beautiful lake,” he said. “It took me a while to find it.”
Alder Creek’s 23rd annual Spring Paddle Festival at Vancouver Lake Park continues from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. today.
Learn more at http://aldercreek.com/spring-paddle-festival.
