Hosted by Mariam, Ken and Michael, even on the coldest of days, the class was well attended and another batch of Wilderness Trekkers learn kayak safety, common sense, and equipment needs to be prepared on any kayak trip.

Ken, Mariam and Michael are advid and rabid kayakers and safety is foremost in the mind. The trio are at various upper levels of certifications.

Gil writes, "We had a GREAT day. One very informative and fun training class with very good patience and sacrificial teachers who made the ultimate sacrifice of freezing to show us what can Hypo-thermia do to you. Thanks to all the teachers. In fact, two out of the three were very kind and patient. However, there was one bully teacher who liked to ram and run over people's kayak. (in jest)"

There is a comprehensive set of Kayak checklist under the Gear Checklist.

Anyone with a desire to be a trip host should consider taking the half day session as there is one scheduled on the Calendar.

In July of 2008, the Wilderness Trekkers sponsored a kayak rescue and recovery event at Lake Mills in Chuluota. It was taught by Mariam Mohsenin, Ken knapton and Michael Shugg that did an excellent job of providing correct, informative and outstanding instruction. It was an entire day event and the class was full to capacity. It actually filled up 10 days prior. There is a need for this type of exposure to "on the water" safety. Ken started by simply walking around the stack of kayaks yet to be launch and spoke frankly about concerns and safety that once pointed out, seemed like basic common sense; yet we simply are not aware of them. We appreciate the effort and time the 3 trainers put into the class.

Additional classes will be provided. Mariam and Ken have already expressed a desire to have another course this fall. Wilderness Trekker members should take advantage of this instructive opportunity. Keep an eye on the Events Calendar for future training sessions and register early because there is a considerable interest and the availability is limited for proper training.

The pictures displayed here are from the July 2008 training event. Lake Mills provided an excellent training spot because of the sandy bottom and shallow shore. Although the training was thorough to the point that the whole class paddled out into deep waters for a "no touch" rescue experience.