Daron's Blog

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http://www.firsttracksonline.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=4739

Early Monday morning I and a crew of skiers, snowboarders and surfers took to the water on stand up paddle boards with the goal to paddle from Camp Richardson to Kings Beach. 21.6 miles, 4hr50min and 23,000 strokes later I made it to the other side. It was all to raise awarness for the Bob Woodruff Family Foundation that supports war vets from Iraq and Afganistan with Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI). Dave Kalama big wave surfer lead the group with his experience on the water. Other athletes involved were Ken "Skindog" Collins big wave surfer, Jeremy Jones big mtn snowboarder, Nate Holland Snowboard Cross, Arne Backstrom, Juliann Carr and Tyson Buldoc skiers, Chuck Patterson and many more took the challenge to cross Tahoe. It was a beautiful day with no winds to battle, but a lot of distance to cover. I got a good rythm and just kept paddling till I touched the sand at Kings Beach. It was my second time on a SUP board, the first experience being Thursday going around Donner Lake. I enjoyed the time on the water and the solitude I felt on my own out there on top of the dark blue water. Every stroke was symbolic in a way that it will take many little efforts for our war vets to make a good recovery from their life changing experiences they must deal with. I'm not an endurance athlete nor do I seek out these sort of challenges, but I took it stroke by stroke and made it to the other side along with every one who started our journey that day. Thanks to Naish SUP boards for supplying the equipment to get us safely to the other side with not much struggle. IT took a long time to get there and a persistent attitude. Well that attitude lasted for 4hrs then it sort of went into the tank. Think I prefer to ride waves on boards instead of almost 5 hrs of standing and paddling over and over. Next time I get on that SUP it will be for a short mission close to shore! check out this link for more: http://www.tahoebonanza.com/article/20080813/NEWS/902047957/1051 D