Oh-Be-Joyful, Colorado
 

well, i'm leland and am also a youngster at 27, although i'm sure my body feels older than that. boofing drops has cost me 2" in height in the last 5 years.

first whitewater experience was in '82 in a tandem canoe. didn't start paddling regularly until '86 - still tandem canoeing, mostly flatwater but some white up to about class III+. i was getting out a good bit, though... 40+ days/year. in 1990 i got my first solo canoe - a perception hd1 which i paddled about 10 - 15 days/year for a few, until 1994. i also tried kayaking (about 15 days worth) during this time, but was discouraged by my first shoulder dislocation in '89. these years were the ones when i was BIG into climbing (100+ days/year) and still backpacking an awful lot too. on april 29th, 1994 my life was forever transformed by the purchase of my first dagger cascade. by that fall i was boldly (and stupidly) flinging myself off some pretty burly stuff. in '95 i got a creek280 as well - my first kayak. unable to figure out the funny two ended paddle, i began to hand paddle the thing down all kinds of stuff. i think i took it down the green my fourth day in it. it was a couple more years before i would start using a paddle. i was still mostly c"-1"ing, and actually getting kinda good at it. got my squirt boat at gauley fest in '96. didn't really have the skills to paddle it, and after a harrowing day on the lower g it was mostly shelved for a year. when i got back in it in spring of '98 i found that it was big fun. took it to the gauley last fall for runs on the upper and loved it. i have used the boat into an unusable state over the last month.

mostly i kayak these days (about 125 days/year). i still love getting out on steep creeks, but i'm starting to catch the playboating bug as well. i still have three cascades (anyone wanna buy a hull cheap?) that i use every now and then, but i do most of my creeking in my 240. i use it as a c"-1" sometimes as well. i have a blade which is a great river running boat (i have an extra for sale) and am loving my new inazone220. unfortunately, my old creek280 is now nothing more than a yard ornament.

as for personal details, i'm single (accepting applications), mostly unemployed, and have more fun than any other person i know. i do some graphic design work for myself, work some odd table waiting jobs, and live in a camper in my little sister's back yard with a view of a mountain in asheville, NC. i spend over half the days of the year playing outside, have been on two road trips over 20 days in the last 10 months, and i leave for colorado in two days.
 

-- Leland
lelandd@home.com
http://members.home.com/lelandd 828-275-8383
Leland