November 25, 2014 at 5:08 p.m.
Life on the river: Rhinelander native makes name for himself in whitewater rafting
Life on the river: Rhinelander native makes name for himself in whitewater rafting
"I started kayaking when I was 17 in the Tomahawk area with one of my buddies from around there," Erdrich said. "When I turned 19 I moved out to California to work as a ski instructor. I ended up meeting up with some raft guys there. I went down to the Kern River after the snowboarding season and I was out there kayaking. Someone told me I should think about sticking around there for the summer to be a raft guide."
Fast forward six years, and the 25-year-old Erdrich has transformed a summer job into a way of life. He spent four years as a guide in California, another in Colorado, and was most recently back in Wisconsin.
Erdrich's rafting obsession has taken him all over the country. He's always on the move, looking for great rivers to run.
"The element of danger in it is fun," he said. "There are a lot of things I love about it. It's a good way to see a lot of incredible scenery and a lot of the country. I've been to almost every state for boating, with the exception of states like Kansas, Nevada and Nebraska, places where there really isn't boating."
All of that traveling has resulted in connections for Erdrich all over the country. He said the boating community is tight-knit and he's fully entrenched among them.
"It's a good way to meet people," he said. "I've met people from all over the world. When I did the Achilles Race, it was myself, being from Wisconsin, a girl from Canada, a kid from Washington and a girl from Tennessee. It's really cool how rafting brings you all together. It's a group activity, so your friends are with you in the same boat. Other times, it's an individual sport where you can push your own limits. It's such a great way to see beautiful scenery and canyons, and just be out in nature."
It's not just mild whitewater rapids that Erdrich and his friends tackle. They take it to the extreme, and in the six years since he first stepped into a raft, he's ascended to the upper echelon of the sport.
"I have a team sponsorship," he said. "There are only a few rafters in the world that are sponsored. Being one of them is a huge accomplishment for me. I ran a world record waterfall last fall. It was a 65-foot waterfall. I've won a bunch of paddling races and the United States championship."
"We're going to the nationals this year to qualify for the world finals, which would be a first for me." he added. I just kind of got into the racing thing and made a name for myself running these big waterfalls all over the country. I got into raft racing because that's where the boaters are."
Running waterfalls isn't for the faint of heart. Erdrich admitted it can be intimidating and isn't for everyone, but the rush is incredible. When you've done as many as he has, you become an expert at reading the river.
"Once you start doing running waterfalls all the time, you start looking at how the water is running and where the rocks are that make it react differently and how to make your raft or kayak go off at the right side," he said. "It's part balls and part skill."
Now, Erdrich and his team are looking at ways to expand their brand. Today, that means social media, and so far, it's working.
"Me and a few people from Wisconsin started a Facebook page called Dirt Bag Paddlers," he said. "We have close to 6,000 likes on it already so we've been traveling around to the festivals promoting the group and racing the events that go along with it. I started participating in those races and I've won the last six I've been in, so it's kind of cool."
Before long, his group was getting attention from paddlers all over the country.
"It's funny because the Dirt Bag Paddler page and some of the other social media things we're doing got us recognized at Gauley Fest, the biggest boating festival in the country," Erdrich said. "People were coming up to us and saying we were the guys from the U.P. running all the crazy waterfalls. It's really cool."
The next step for Erdrich's group features some pretty significant projects. They're hoping to releasee a full length movie and are designing a magazine for their website.
First and foremost, it's still about the boating though, and their goals in that department are just as ambitious.
"I'd like to go to the world championships in the next couple years here and do well," Erdrich said. "We're going to nationals this year to race in the four man category to try to qualify. If we don't, We'll go back next year. That's a big goal for us. Winning at the world championships would be pretty tough, but it's something I at least want to experience. Representing my country over there would be a huge honor."
Ultimately though, Erdrich just wants to continue doing what he loves and he doesn't have to stray far from home to do it. Northern Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula offer some seriously good rapids and it's a pride factor for him.
"I just want to continue running good rivers," he said. "I started rafting up in the U.P. a couple years ago and I did all the commercially run rivers, and I started to get into the more advanced runs people haven't rafted up there. It's really cool to take skilled boaters from states like California and Washington, and take them up to the Northwoods to show them all the cool drops, especially if you swim a waterfall. They run it and then they tell their friends. It's cool to promote the Wisconsin boating scene and the Upper Peninsula. It's some of the best boating in the country."
There's no way to tell what state Erdrich will be in from week to week. He's constantly on the move, searching for the next great river to run. He's always ready, paddle in hand, for an adventure.
More about Erdrich's group, Dirt Bag Paddlers can be found on their Facebook page.
Andy Hildebrand may be reached at [email protected].
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