Little White Salmon Race: Gnarvana or Nirvana?

by Cashion Porter Shirley | Apr 22, 2024 | 2014 Karma Unlimited, Creeking, Featured Post, Whitewater Feature, WW Disciplines

This year, I had the grand opportunity to spend a month in White Salmon, WA, to paddle new whitewater and compete in the 2024 Little White Salmon Race. In prepping for this trip, I had to choose between bringing my medium Gnarvana or Nirvana. Knowing the season in the...

French Broad River Academy: Schooling the Future of Kayaking

by Cashion Porter Shirley | Jan 25, 2023 | River Running, WW Disciplines

When most people think of afterschool, extracurricular activities, they picture such things as theater, chess, football, etc., but a middle school out of Asheville, North Carolina, decided to switch it up a bit. While the French Broad River Academy (FBRA) offers the...

The Feelings of Losing

by Cashion Porter Shirley | Jan 19, 2023 | Featured Post, jacksonkayak.com, JAdventures Main Banner, Playboating, Rockstar, Whitewater, Whitewater Feature, WW Disciplines

I came into the 2022 Freestyle World Cups in Columbus, GA, with complete confidence in my ability to quickly adapt to the new features and create rides that could take me to the top. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen. I felt strong in prelims of WC 1 (Ambush), but my...

USA Freestyle Team Trials: My First Competition in over Two Years

by Cashion Porter Shirley | Mar 31, 2022 | Event Coverage, Events, Featured Post, jacksonkayak.com, JAdventures Main Banner, Playboating, Whitewater, Whitewater Feature, WW Disciplines

On March 19, the best freestyle kayaking athletes in the United States went head to head for a coveted spot on the US team for the 2022 ICF Freestyle World Championships in Nottingham, England. While the competition is stressful enough on its own, I had an added level...

Reviewing the Year and Prepping for the Next

by Cashion Porter Shirley | Jan 9, 2022 | Featured Post, jacksonkayak.com, JAdventures Main Banner, Nirvana, River Running, Whitewater

2021 is coming to a close. Plans are being made, tickets are being bought, and excitement is stirring for the coming year. But before 2022, it’s important to look back in everything that has happened the past 365 days whether it be progression, competitions, or...

Don’t Let The Jangle Jangle You

by Cashion Porter Shirley | Nov 24, 2021 | Creeking, Featured Post, jacksonkayak.com, JAdventures Main Banner, Nirvana, River Running, Whitewater, Whitewater Feature, WW Disciplines

Sometimes things don’t go to plan. We try to avoid it, but it inevitably happens, so it’s important to be ready for it. I’m going to share an experience awhile back that really tested my nerves, and I hope you can learn something from it. Back in early September, I...

Colorado Creeking 2021

by Cashion Porter Shirley | Aug 23, 2021 | Antix, Creeking, Featured Post, jacksonkayak.com, JAdventures Main Banner, Nirvana, Whitewater, Whitewater Feature, WW Disciplines

For many years, I dreamt about paddling the spring runoff in Colorado. I watched videos of Oh Be Joyful and Vallecito in aw of their beauty. Lucky for me, this year, I got to go, and it was awesome! On June 3rd, Brian and Landon Miller, Matteo Williams, and I set out...

“Well that was big” | Paddling a creek 4 times the standard flow

by Cashion Porter Shirley | May 26, 2021 | Creeking, Featured Post, jacksonkayak.com, JAdventures Main Banner, Nirvana, Whitewater, Whitewater Feature, WW Disciplines

The Green River in Saluda, North Carolina is one of the most famous rivers in the world, particularly the Narrows section. Standard, 1 unit releases are about 8 inches or roughly 180 cfs which is a great run for people running class 5 runs for their first time all the...

Keeping Calm within Chaos

by Cashion Porter Shirley | Apr 6, 2021 | Creeking, Featured Post, JAdventures Main Banner, Nirvana, Whitewater, Whitewater Feature, WW Disciplines

It is no secret that whitewater can be nerve wracking, even scary, at times, and anyone who says it’s not is lying. In the quest for glory and progression, one must learn to combat the nerves building up telling them to take the safe way. Over many many years of...