Riverboarding on My 15th Wedding Anniversary

Photo by Iceman Riverboarder
Jana and Mike Bitton enjoy what little calm water they encountered while riverboarding on the Upper Clackamas River.

Was it a date? Was it adventure race training? Was it both? Jana and I went riverboarding today, which also happens to be our 15th wedding anniversary. With Josh "Ice Man" Lamka of Face Level Riverboarding (www.facelevel.com) as our tutor, we took a short run on the Upper Clackamas River near Portland, Ore. If you know the river, we put in at Fish Creek, and took out below Carter Falls. Ice ran me through this stretch of river my first time on a riverboard, and I agree with him when he says it's a beginner's run with a thrilling ending. Jana disagreed, and just before the second set of rapids, stood up in the river and decided she was done. She hiked back to the car in her borrowed wetsuit, PFD, helmet and booties, carrying her fins in hands covered with funky webbed gloves. "I got a lot of weird stares from people driving by," Jana said when we met back up at the Jeep. While Jana was hiking, I was riverboarding for the second time in my life. I was far more confident this time around. Along for the adventure were my brother David and his wife Tomie, visiting from Colorado Springs, Colo. They had a blast!

Two Days of Paddling at Trillium Lake, Ore.

Photo by Jana Bitton
Mike Bitton recently spent a couple of days practicing his kayak mooves on Trillium Lake.

Over the weekend my family camped at Trillium Lake, which sits at the south end of Mt. Hood near Portland, Ore. I put my strip-built wooden kayak on the roof of the Jeep, then stopped by Next Adventure (Portland's Alternative Sporting Goods Store) to borrow a second kayak from Bryan Knudsen, co-owner of the shop. We got to the campsite, set up, and went straight to the lake.

My brother, David Bitton, and his wife, Tomie, are visiting from Colorado Springs. Dave was eager to get in the boats. We paddled around a bit, then I taught him how to climb back into the boat if you fall out in deep water. He got the hang of it real quick.

The next day, we shared the boats with members of my wife Jana's family. They all had a great time. By late afternoon, most of the family went back to camp, so Dave, Tomie and I hung out at the lake. Trillium Lake is so gorgeous, you should do a Google image search to see what I'm talking about. I'll definately be back!