Trip Report: Grand Canyon Self Support Kayak in 7 Days

February 19, 2024 by John Nestler in Kayaking, Trip Report, Whitewater Kayak

My last two trips down the Canyon were 20+ day self support solo kayak trips and I was ready to share the experience with someone else. The only catch was I only had 8 days off of work, so it'd have to be a quick trip. And in the spirit of adventure it made sense to go all the way to Pearce. It wasn't an easy sell - paddle 40 miles per day, for 7 days, in the middle of winter, but a good friend from college agreed to come along and I was stoked for the adventure.

Grand Canyon Solo Kayak Trip Report & Photographs

July 23, 2022 by John Nestler in Videos, Trip Report, Kayaking, Camping, Photography

I'm fortunate enough to have been down the Grand 1.5 times previously. Once on a commercial trip from Phantom to Diamond and another full trip as a solo kayaker back in 2014. Both those experiences were magical and I've been scheming a way to return for years now. The schedule in graduate school isn't conducive to taking a month off on a whim, but I caught a lucky break during my 4th year of medical school.

All year I'd set aside January as a planned vacation month. I didn't get a permit in the main lottery and was also denied in the follow up lottery. I was crushed as I knew this would likely be my only totally free month until after 5-6 years of residency. The day after receiving the lottery info I got a call from an unknown Flagstaff number. Thankfully I answered as it was a river ranger saying I was next on the list for a late January launch - I was ecstatic!

Results: Bent Shaft vs. Straight Shaft Paddle Shoulder Injury Survey

July 28, 2018 by John Nestler in Survey, Kayaking, Health

In January 2016 I released an online survey with the intent of determining whether shoulder injury rates differed among whitewater kayakers who used bent shaft or straight shaft paddles. Shoulder injuries are incredibly prevalent with whitewater paddlers, and I was personally interested in the data since I sustained multiple subluxations while kayaking ultimately resulting in surgery in 2012.

Many kayakers must have had a similar level of interest in the survey since there were over 2,700 responses. I fully expected less than 100 responses, but the survey truly went viral. Thanks for providing that data and rallying to spread the survey around! Unfortunately there are many confounding factors present, and I never had the time or technical skill to do justice to the sheer amount of data collected in the survey. I'd like to say I could put aside time for a project like this, but I'll be starting medical school next week and I don't think it's going to happen. Thus I'm making the raw data public so that people can sift through it if they're interested.

The Illinois River: A Classic Oregon Multi-Day River Trip

May 09, 2018 by John Nestler in Camping, Kayaking, Photography, Trip Report

I first arrived in Southern Oregon as a raft guide back in the summer of 2016, and I kept hearing about this river called the Illinois. It seemed that everyone agreed that it was their favorite multi-day river trip in the area, but I was never in the area early enough to catch the spring flows. This year I had a chance to spend three days on the Illinois from Miami Bar to Oak Flat, and I finally understand why this section of river is so special.