Thanks to Army Corps, kayakers take wild ride on the Wakarusa

By Mike Belt, Journal-World (republished with permission)

Sunday, March 14, 2004

Saturday was show time for Lawrence area kayakers who didn't mind getting a good dunking in cold water.

"You can work your boat skills and have a blast," said David Irvin, a Johnson County architect who is a member of the Kansas Whitewater Assn.

By early afternoon, nearly a dozen kayakers gathered about a quarter of a mile down the Wakarusa River from the Clinton Dam, rolling and flipping their kayaks and doing water cartwheels -- or trying to.

Such performances generally aren't possible in that area. But that changes when the Army Corps of Engineers releases water through the dam at the rate of 800 cubic feet per second, Irvin said.

That creates roiling waves at a ledge or dropoff known as a "whitewater hydraulic," Irvin said. Although kayak tricks and even a kayak rodeo have been possible there in the past, the ideal conditions are at the current rate of water release, Irvin said.

"I used to fly and it's a little like flying," Irvin said of kayaking. "You're controlling the boat and using the water to do things."

It takes a lot of practice, said Cyndi Schnorenberd, who stayed on the bank and watched her friend, James Smith, of Overland Park, show off his kayaking skills. Smith has been traveling every weekend since November to get his kayak in the water somewhere, usually Arkansas, Schnorenberd said.

Schnorenberd is learning to kayak. "I don't do the running water yet," she said. "I practice in the still water so I don't get hurt."

Thad Allender/Journal-World Photo   Kayaker David Irvin, Fort Scott, navigates the rough and frigid water of the Wakarua River. Irvin, who doesn't kayak much in Kansas, visited Lawrence on Saturday to take advantage of the fast-moving water about a quarter of a mile from the Clinton Dam. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers released water from Clinton Lake to create the "whitewater hydraulic."

Nick Leet, 17, a Lawrence High School student, was trying his skills at kayaking in roiling water for the first time. He has been practicing in a pool for the past three months.

"It's fun," Leet said. "It takes a lot of concentration and knowing how to get your boat right."

Leet also said it was hard to get used to the cold water, estimated to be about 40 degrees.

Kansas Whitewater Association

"It will take your breath away, even with everything we have on," he said. "I spent a lot of time in the water."

The kayakers expected to be back out on the river again this afternoon.

Thad Allender/Journal-World Photo   Kayaker T.J. Hittle, Manhattan, fights rough rapids in the Wakarusa River, a mile east of the Clinton Lake spillway. Kayakers from across the state enjoyed a day on the rapids on Saturday in Lawrence, after the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers opened the gates at the Clinton Dam. A story about the day appears on page 1B.