Goin to Cali

Jeff Shapiro and Tyler Bradt take a road trip to NorCal for some multi-sport action... with a dash of humble pie

By KAVU

January 23^rd, 2018

california, here we come!

Words: Jeff Shapiro

Photos: Hannah Threadgill - Evan Garcia - T Bradt

Tyler and I... pretty much always... thirst for adventure and KAVU days.

It had been a bad season for forest fires surrounding our home town of Missoula, and we were both ready to escape the smokey skies and find new water to paddle, and the ability to share some flying and airtime with friends.

California happens to offer epic whitewater and.....the Owens Valley. The Owens is arguably one of the best places to paraglide that time of the year (September/October), anywhere. It also just so happened that our friends, Evan Garcia and Issac Levinson were heading that way and were psyched!

Like Tyler... Evan and Issac are two of the best kayakers on the planet and had spent the last couple of seasons focused on learning how to fly paragliders. All three of these guys were "killing it" and wanted to test their skills in the big air in the Owens which, is generally less intense in the Autumn months.

The plan was hatched. Tyler and I would head down to meet up with Evan and Issac. Being that I was spending time in my kayak after a fairly LONG break, and would greatly appreciate their guidance, my Homies would help me with the kayak portion of our mission, followed up with a visit to the Owens, where I would do my best to give a few tips about flying there. As the plan developed, we found out that KAVU O.G. and paragliding Jedi master, Nick Greece and the ever-entertaining Cedar Wright were both psyched to fly as well! This party was getting better by the minute!!

Sage Brush

We met up with the boys near Placerville and headed up to a "locals launch" called Sage Brush. We thought it might be too windy based on the forecast but, upon further inspection, it turned out to be absolutely perfect for an "evening glass-off"!!

We arrived at launch to find a small crew hanging out, laughing, taking photos and enjoying the last warm rays of the day. Turned out, it was a crew of pilots I'd wanted to meet for a long time and our world suddenly showed how small it can be! So cool to meet Hannah Threadgill, Audray Luck, Joe Bedinghaus and CJ Giordano from the Tennessee TreeTopper crew!! After some laughs and super good vibes, we were airborne and laughing our guts out! It was a good way to start the mission!

Cali Class 3

The next day, we lined up into Slab Creek. Described to me as "classic California class 3 creek'n"..... I was a touch nervous knowing the sly description was basically bullshit;-))

But..... it was hard to loose too much confidence as I would be paddling with 3 kayak ninjas;-) I figured there might be a little "pointing and laughing", but knew they'd steer me through the sticky spots and as long as I stayed focused.....

happy days!

twists and turns

Turns out, Cali class 3 means a lot of steady class IV with a few class V-ish drops....some with possible consequence. I had fun, and my skill was pushed while the other 3 laughed their way down each drop with aplomb. I was able to paddle most of the run clean but on one of the more technical entries, I misaligned on a seam and ended up being quickly flipped. With big rocks and the power of the water - as I tucked up against the boat to roll up and to help protect my noggin, I took a heavy shot to the head which actually cracked my helmet!

I remember thinking, as I waited patiently for a good opportunity to roll up..."well, that sucked"... and then, as I felt air on my paddle, I rolled up to see Tyler, with the bow of his boat pushing on mine (just in case), wide eyed and smiling.

"You OK dude? Looked like you took a shot?" We laughed at the chunk of helmet that was missing and agreed that it's a good thing my head is hard and that I stayed in my boat;-) At the end of the day, that was the only incident which, was actually pretty minor. We were all psyched and most importantly, I felt like I'd learned a lot which, is what it's all about!!

Classic KAVU day!!

OWENS!!

Next, we met up with these two hooligans.

Nick Greece is not only "KAVU to the core" but one of the more inspirational humans I know. He's a master paraglider pilot, is well versed in competition and adventure flying, but also, a passionate philanthropist and a willing mentor for any new pilots with a thirst for knowledge about paragliding. He's the editor of the USHPA magazine and has devoted much of his time to sharing information about safety and technique and generally showing his clear passion for flying with anyone interested.

Well known for his climbing exploits as a prolific new-router, NorthFace athlete and all around badass, Cedar Wright got into paragliding and has been chasing it hard ever since. Besides sharing some really cool flying with Cedar, whenever I'm around him, my face generally hurts from laughing so much!

Having taken a few flying trips with these boys, meeting up with them for the second leg of our trip and, knowing we'd get to huck some turns together, had Tyler and I super stoked, to say the least!!

busy livin'

In the end, we had 3 more days of super fun and challenging Cross Country flying and good times sharing beers under the stars after full value days in the sky! Evan, Issac and Tyler all crushed it!

As T Bradt and I drove North, back to Montana, we agreed that much fun was had....

Find the vehicles that allow you to see the world from rare perspectives, find people to learn and laugh with as much as possible and get out there and chase your passions!