THE LOST VELLEY OF THE MERCED

STEVE FISHER, PAT KELLER, AMERICAN WHITEWATER, AND THE OPENING OF YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK TO WHITEWATER KAYAKERS. THE STORY OF THREE MOST LIKELY OF CHARACTERS TO MAKE WHITEWATER HISTORY.

Words: Capo Rettig Photography: Scott Martin

The most desirable things are often what we can’t have. Our want gives them great value, even beyond the things we currently possess. Our desire to posses is the ultimate motivator. It pushes us to reach new heights. The reaction to “no” is always looking for a way to find “yes.” Yosemite has been the kayaking community’s "no," giving the waterways of this national park a special place in the psyche of exploratory kayakers. The desire for that granite, that water that is so clear it looks invisible, the dramatic landscape, access to the rivers via the network of maintained trails, the potential of whitewater, all these attributes have been fueled and grown to new proportions because Yosemite has been denied to us. So what does it feel like to have the…

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Kayak Session (Digital) - 1 Issue, KS#55 (fall 2015)

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