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August 4-10, 2021 GET OUTSIDE
the outdoors | recreation | events | mountain life
Paddleboarding THE TRUCKEE RIVER S TO RY & P H OTO S BY K AY L A A N D E R S O N
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tandup paddleboarding (SUP) is quickly becoming one of my favorite sports. So recently when I got tipped off that Tahoe Water Sports is offering guided SUP tours on the Truckee River, I jumped at the chance to join one. I’ve seen plenty of people floating the Truckee River on rafts between Tahoe City and River Ranch Lodge, so I knew that SUPing the Truckee was doable, but I never knew how to go about it. How gnarly are those rapids that I see from Highway 89 or the Truckee River Trail? How shallow does the water get? I wondered. Fortunately, Tahoe Water Sports is one of the only SUP outfitters around offering guided tours in both Lake Tahoe and on the Truckee River.
Sam Wesely SUPing the Truckee.
“ A lot of people don’t get to experience a really
Sam Wesely reminds me to duck under bubblegum bridge.
I called Tahoe Water Sports on a Wednesday and longtime tour guide/coordinator Mason Littlejohn answered the phone. He told me that the Truckee River was flowing pretty good and now would be a good time to go. The flows are expected to stay good throughout the summer. He put me down for a tour for the following morning at 10 a.m., with the plan to launch our SUPs from 64 Acres in Tahoe City. An hour later, I received an email with details of where to park, what to bring and whom my guide would be. I followed a link to sign the liability waiver online. The whole process of booking was easy and efficient. The next morning, my guide Sam Wesely called me to confirm our time. When I got to 64 Acres, he already had our inflatable boards ready to go. Even on this midweek morning, the river was bustling with groups of people floating the river and squirting each other with water guns. There was already a good Tahoe vibe. As we adjusted our paddles and practiced our maneuvering by zigzagging back and forth across the river, Wesely mentioned that he has been a guide with Tahoe Water Sports for two years and a ski instructor with SnowSchoolers for four
nice river and it is breathtaking. Whatever you want to see, whatever you are looking for, we’ll find it.”
SUPing the Truckee.
years. Tahoe Water Sports was founded through SnowSchoolers in 2016, therefore the transition into offering SUP tours in the summer was an easy one because owner Brian Bensch already had a crew of guides. They all answer the phone and pick up tours when they want to and will tailor tours to what the customer wants. “A lot of people don’t get to experience a really nice river and it is breathtaking. Whatever you want to see, whatever you are looking for, we’ll find it,” Wesely says. With that, Wesely and I duck under a few bridges, he points out his favorite
swimming holes, and we navigate the rapids. Our inflatable Body Glove boards have three 2-inch fins on the bottom, short enough to not catch on the cobble yet stable enough to allow us to make quick, necessary turns to stay out of any rough patches. “It’s kind of a lazy float but there are times when you’ll have to buckle up and go through some rapids. Especially on a SUP, it challenges you,” says Wesely. Although the water is pretty clean right now, we pluck some trash out of the water when we see it. We paddle another 100 yards down and rescue a pair of goggles out of the water — and lose a pair of sunglasses in the process. This is all part of the river’s give and take, but Wesely is particularly adamant about diving down to get a plastic wrapper so that it doesn’t end up in some fish’s stomach. I think it’s ingrained in many Tahoe paddlers to pick
–Sam Wesely up litter when they see it, so it makes sense when Wesely says that his favorite part of doing these river and lake tours is that it’s always awe-inspiring to be able to see the bottom anywhere you go. Our tour lasted about two hours; we paddled about 3.75 miles and saw ducks, geese and even a 14-inch trout swimming beneath us. We were out there on the most perfect Tahoe summer day and I didn’t want it to end. Wesely says he has taken about 200 trips on this stretch of the river, once even paddling the river three times in one day. “I’m not holding you back from whatever you want to do out here. When you’re going out there with someone who knows what they’re doing, it’s a safe, fun experience. We don’t want you to have to work. Just come for your tour and we have the rest covered,” he says. | tahoecitywatersports.com
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