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Portland, Oregon, is another prime paddling location. Oregon's largest metropolitan area is within easy driving distance of some of the best whitewater in the world. In terms of sheer diversity Portland is hard to beat. Whether you're after world-class creeking in the basalt riverbeds of the Columbia Gorge or a class III paddle on one the rivers coming off Mount Hood (Clackamas, Sandy, Hood, White) you'll always find something running.

Of course not everything revolves around Portland and Seattle. Leavenworth, Washington, just across the mountains from the Skykomish drainage, is a faux Bavarian village within easy range of some of the best whitewater in the state along the Wenatchee River and Icicle Creek. Corvallis and Eugene, Oregon also host thriving paddling communities. Corvallis crews kayaked many of the runs chronicled at the Oregon Kayaking site.

And what is the first thing most people associate with this part of the world? You guessed it, rain. The same wet weather that has ruined many a 4^th of July holiday gives us an endless kayaking season.

Here’s how our year goes. The winter rains kick off in late October or November when the prevailing winds bringing warm, moist air to the Northwest. This keeps us busy planning our weekends (and sick days) around incoming storms until things dry out a bit in January.

            “Dry out” is, of course, a relative term. I don’t mean that it’s dry like Arizona, just that it doesn’t usually piss rain every day (although our record is 55 straight days of precipitation in November 1996 through February 1997). Of course at any point we could be hit with a famous “Pineapple Express” storm, a warm weather system from the tropics that are prone to hitting us with a one/two punch of heavy rain and subsequent melted snow. The resulting floods can be hard on our roads and bridges, but it makes for fantastic boating.

            Just when the thought of another cloudy day with the odd “sun break” (yes, sun breaks are a staple of our local weather forecasts) fills you with dread, spring arrives. Once the weather warms up in April or May, all that precipitation -- which has fallen as snow in the Cascade Mountains -- kicks off our second kayaking season.

With the rivers running high and the mountain roads finally clear of snow, springtime is prime creek boating season. If creeking isn’t your thing, play runs abound. As a bonus, our northern latitude gives us long afternoons and plenty of opportunities for after work paddling. The sun sets after 8p.m. in the late spring and early summer so it’s easy to fit something in after work.

            Summers can dry out a bit -- at least by Northwest standards -- but plenty of opportunities for kayaking exist. Between residual snowmelt, the occasional storm system, ocean surfing and British Columbia’s late snow melt season, you can always find whitewater within driving distance. This brings us back to October when we can start the cycle again.

Precipitation without gradient is just a swamp. Fortunately, we have both the Cascade mountain range (plus a couple others like the Olympics in Washington and the Coast Range in Oregon) to flow the water downhill. The United States Geological Survey separates Washington alone into 35 separate drainages, each of which has multiple runs for all skill levels.

This barely scratches the surface of the Pacific Northwest. That in and of itself tells you how awesome it is. But for a different perspective, I’ll turn you over to Antz Longman of New Zealand. Antz is editor of Cumec NZ and Australia's White Water Magazine. The Kiwis are justifiably proud of their country, and New Zealand is world famous for its paddling. In an upcoming issue Antz will give us the lowdown on New Zealand whitewater.

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