Coming up on Saturday, May 16 in Rochester, Minnesota is the Christopher Schmidt Wilderness Adventure Scholarship. The scholarship fund was established to assist with expenses, for youth and the disadvantaged, who wish to participate in outdoor activities such as wilderness trips, camping trips, naturalist, or environmental programs that are offered by qualified organizations who specialize in providing those types of experiences.

This scholarship was created in memory of Christopher Brian Schmidt. Although Christopher never made it to the boundary waters, he loved the outdoors – camping, hiking, fishing, canoeing, wildlife, nature and weather observation, as well as outdoor winter activities.

He also enjoyed writing stories about outdoor adventures that he imagined. It is in the hopes of sending as many youth as possible on the adventures they dream of, and fostering a passion in them for the outdoors that this scholarship was established.

Paddling enthusiasts to participate in a float up the beautiful Zumbro River in exchange for a donation to the scholarship. Suggested registration/donation $25 per boat.

Schedule of Events:

• 9 a.m. – meet and do a car shuttle,
• 10 a.m. – boat launch
• After the paddle: Food provided for the paddlers at Chester Woods County Park on Hwy 14, just a few miles east of Rochester. Bring your own beverages.
• Also: Gear Swap – bring any camping or paddling gear you would like to trade, donate, or give away.
• And: Prizes – a drawing for prizes including the door prize, a $500 gift certificate, generously donated by Wilderness Inquiry.

More About the Zumbro River Paddle:

Participants will be paddling a 10 mile stretch of the Zumbro River starting at the canoe launch on County Road 7 just north of Zumbro Lake, to the canoe launch in Zumbro Falls. This is some very scenic bluffland, not the Boundary Waters, but some of the most beautiful country Minnesota has to offer.

For More Information and to Register, click here.

Do you have a kayak, canoe and paddling event you’d like us to feature on BornToPaddle.com? If so, Click here to send us the info using our handy contact form.

Click here to visit our kayak, canoe races and events page to find the link to this website and to find many other races and events that are going on all year all over the U.S.

Well, it rained. But not as much as they said it would, so the 6th Annual Lost Loon Triathlon got off right on time at 2pm last Sunday afternoon. The race, a family-oriented event, happens every year in May at Long Hunter State Park just east of Nashville, TN.

Teams compete in three disciplines…a 9 mile bike ride, a 2 mile canoe paddle, and a 4 mile run. This year, because of the rain we’ve had in the area, the course was slick and often flooded. Only one bike wipe-out happened – and that was Race Director Willy Stern – who quickly got back on the bike and completed the race in a respectable time.

This triathlon is the only one of its type in Tennessee. For competitive athletes, it can be quite a challenge. But it’s the only triathlon around that encourages participation by kids and allows entrants to cover shorter distances, if they prefer. The Lost Loon truly has something for everybody!

Team BornToPaddle.com also made a great showing this year. Although I can’t tell you exactly what our time was – I forgot to set my watch and since this is a for-fun-only event there is no official race clock – I can say that we had a great time and came in to squeeze the loon well under 2 hours. And we absolutely kicked-butt in the canoe leg, passing several boats and plowing our way to the beach in record (for us) time.

Seventy-five teams competed (up from 60 last year). And tons of money was raised for a great cause: The Harpeth River Watershed Association. The HRWA in middle Tennessee is dedicated to preserving and restoring the ecological health of the Harpeth River and its Watershed. The HRWA is committed to re-building and maintaining the ecological balance of our watershed diversity amidst the various human uses of the landscape. You can learn more about the HRWA by visiting their web site at: http://www.harpethriver.org

The Harpeth is one of our local favorite places to paddle. We kayak the Harpeth several times a year. The great thing about the Harpeth River is that it covers so much territory, that we have a variety of put-ins and trip lengths to choose from. The sheer beauty of the Harpeth makes it an awesome paddle everytime. So we are very happy to compete in the Lost Loon Triathlon every year and help to raise money to protect our local river and ecosystem.

Team BornToPaddle would like to thank Race Director Willy Stern and his team for their hard work in putting on this event every year. We love the event, our fellow competitors are a ton of fun, the race t-shirt is awesome and the nearly unlimited amount of pizza after the race is spectacular.

If you’re looking for a great family event, that everyone can participate in and “win”, we heartily recommmend you sign up early for next year’s Lost Loon Triathlon!

Do you have a kayak, canoe and paddling event you’d like us to feature on BornToPaddle.com? If so, Click here to send us the info using our handy contact form.

Click here to visit our kayak, canoe races and events page to find the link to this website and to find many other races and events that are going on all year all over the U.S.