Whitewater Canoeing Clinic

Each year the Sierra Club River Touring Section hosts a whitewater canoeing clinic on the Wolf River in northeastern Wisconsin. You don't need to be a Sierra Club member to attend.

The registration fee for the clinic is $40/person, which is a bargain for a two-day class. 

Here is more information from the Sierra Club's website:

June 1-2:  Wolf R.  Class II;  Car Camp 

Clinic Fee:  $40 per person plus camping fees. Basic whitewater paddling skills taught to paddlers who have already mastered basic moving water paddling skills. Emphasis on river reading, safety skills & equipment, review of paddling strokes, and practice eddying, ferrying and surfing. Participants must provide a suitable helmet, paddle, PFD, and properly equipped boat, including flotation, suitable for whitewater. Group campsite B at Bear Paw Outdoor Adventure Resort (near White Lake/ Langlade) is reserved for Friday and Saturday nights, or you can make your own lodging arrangements. Bring a dish to pass for the Saturday night potluck. Solo Leader/Registration Contact: Rich Krieg: 920-660-3557, richkrieg@new.rr.com. Tandem Leader/Registration Contact: Phillip Johnsrud: 715-572-9884, johnsrudp@tds.net.

Our purpose in offering whitewater clinics is to introduce relatively competent flatwater paddlers to whitewater, not to make you an expert in Class V rapids, and not to teach beginners how to get into a boat without tipping it or how to hold a paddle. If you are fairly competent with basic paddling strokes, can make your canoe or kayak go reasonably straight across a lake in a modest wind, and can handle paddling in a current--you are likely ready to step up to whitewater paddling.  The instructors for our clinics are volunteers with many years of paddling experience. Some are ACA certified whitewater instructors.  Usually, there is a ratio of one instructor boat to two student boats, so you will get plenty of individual attention.

 What we typically do at Wolf River Whitewater Clinics: On Saturday morning, we cover safety, water-reading, partner communication (for tandem boats), boat outfitting, and basic paddle strokes. You'll get to practice these strokes on a lake with instructors coaching you. In the afternoon we run a short, relatively easy section of a whitewater river (usually the Wolf River near Langlade) to practice on moving water. You'll be introduced to ferrying, eddy turns, and going slower (not faster) than the river to maintain control. Everyone is invited to a potluck at the group campground on Saturday evening. On Sunday, we spend the whole day on the Wolf River, practicing all the skills you learned on Saturday.

To register for the clinic itself, you need to contact Rich Krieg (solo clinic) or Phil Johnsrud (tandem clinic). I would recommend registering early as the clinics may fill.

I (Gregg Riemer) will be one of the instructors at the clinic and I'm also a Hoofer Outing Club trip leader, so I can lead a group of Hoofers to the clinic. In order to use Hoofer equipment, you will need to have at least an R-1 rating in your craft of choice (solo or tandem canoe). If you need to use Hoofer equipment and/or you simply want a ride up there, please sign up on this page. Estimated cost is about $40 for transportation, camping, Saturday and Sunday breakfast and lunch. This is in addition to the $40 you will need to pay to the Sierra Club when you register for the clinic. Note, signing up on this website does not register you for the clinic itself. For that, you'll have to contact Rich or Phil as mentioned above.