Getting Ready for Travel
Most whitewater kayakers look at December as the end of the season with a long lull until the snow melts in the spring. For me, I have always looked at December as the start of the new season. Over the past six years, I have been very lucky to take advantage of my situation and do some extended travel to Mexico and Ecuador over this time.
Why? As a filmmaker I can take advantage of my skill set and equipment to be able to help finance extended travel through taking on small projects. This year is no different.
For me this is something to look forward to as December and January are typically slow times of the year. As well, by going to countries where my dollar goes further I can actually save money over that time at home.
I am really excited to be travelling with my friends Billy Thibault, Charles Arseneault and Emrick Blanchette as well as their Quebec Connection crew. Over the years this has become my go to group of guys for having some serious fun on the river and having them push me. I work hard to keep on the heels of what these guys can do on the river.
In prep for the trip I always think of packing first. On this particular trip I will be going to two countries and taking a total of 4 flights. That means airport time. Therefore, I have to consider the video equipment I will take. To do big projects almost means you need to bring solely video equipment and since I will be flying with kayak gear as well this means I will go low scale.
One important thing I like to do after every trip is to make notes of what I did not use. Therefore, I am referring back to those to make sure I do not overpack. The projects I have secured are fairly low scale and do not require a huge amount of production. That being said, I do want to have some high quality to deliver to my partners to ensure I can always be on the list for content.
I will be in Tlapacoyan, Mexico for the weeks leading up to the Alseseca Race but I will not attend the race. Therefore, I will do a piece on this history of the event and the major successes it has had.Following that I will be in Ecuador for Jondachi-fest and will do a short piece on this event in a really fun way much like I did for Moosefestthis past fall.
All the while I will be beefing up my series on traveling to kayak that is being released by NRS.Here is a series where Jim Coffey and I share our tips and tricks that we have picked up over the years through our travels.
Now comes the hard part.With video and kayak equipment it is always easy to think you need something extra at the last minute but the truth is, you likely don’t. Helmet, sprayskirt, pfd - Camera, lens, extra batteries. You can always make do and be creative with less in a pinch.