As the old tune goes, sometimes you don't know what you've got 'till it's gone.

OK, so that guy belting out that old glam metal ballad probably wasn't singing about a river, but that's kind of how we feel here at Wet Planet as our time to run the Klickitat draws to a close.

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For the last two months, the Wet Planet base has been swarming with groups upon groups of some amazing American heroes who are ready to get their feet wet in the Pacific Northwest-literally.

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Our kayak instructors are some pretty talented people. From teaching the basics to a brand new aspiring boater who's getting out on the water for the first time to someone who is keen on honing their skills and wants to take it to the next level - these guys and gals are pros who love what they do.

But where do the pros get some of that awesomeness from? It's not like the boof fairy shows up overnight, casts a "kayak teacher of the year" spell and flies back to the magical land of river professionals. These folks work hard for the pleasure of teaching people to kayak. They consider it a calling and approach it as a professional job.

That's where our ACA Kayak Instructor Course comes in. Wet Planet is proud to announce hosting its first ACA Kayak Instructor Course, and additionally, that the Wet Planet Kayak School is now recognized as an ACA Pro Kayak School.

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That special time of year is rolling around when Wet Planet switches gears and invites some amazing guests to discover the waterways of the Columbia River Gorge.
This will be the fifth year that Wet Planet has partnered with First Descents, a non-profit organization on a mission to exhilarate and embolden cancer fighters and survivors via the challenge of conquering the great outdoors.

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Stephanie Ludlow rafted down the Wind River last Sunday, April 28. Here is her reaction to her epic adventure:

The Wind River is not for the faint of heart. As I set off on this adventure into the unknown, co-workers and friends offered me advice: "Call when you get off the river so we know you're alive!" I'll tell you now: running the river brought me to life! With miles of exciting rapids, amazing canyon scenery and expert guiding by my Wet Planet guide, Drew Parker, I was in a whole new world. I've rafted before on the White Salmon and other rivers, and this took the thrill to a new level!

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This is just a heads up about a new piece of wood in the warm up rapids on the Wind River. Our trip today encountered a log in the last class II-III rapid immediately above the confuence with Trout Creek. This is the short ledgy rapid just above the long shallow, bending rapid that leads to Initiation. This log was not there three days ago.

The log is broached on the two rocks that create the center line of the rapid, and extends three quarters of the way across the river. The far left channel is open. You could slide over the log on the right side into the right channel. The middle channel is ugly. The log is hiding behind the first ledge, just high enough above the water for a kayak to slide under it. The pin would be bad. It's not easy to see, especially if you aren't paying attention.

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We've been receiving a number of phone calls recently from people looking for beta on the Klickitat River: is the road clear, is there snow, what's the wood like, water levels, etc? We were on the Klickitat River yesterday, so we can give a good report on how things are looking after the recent high water.

We checked out the Klickitat at 1900 cfs. Keep reading for more beta on the Klickitat River.

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Oh Man! It looks like we might be in for a repeat of last year's Boulder Garden Log Jam. There is a new log in Boulder Garden, on the Middle White Salmon River.

For a description of the log and more photos, keep reading.

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One of the best ways to experience the incredible Northwest Scenery found in the Columbia River Gorge is by taking a whitewater rafting trip through one of the area's spectacular river canyons. These trips offer the absolute best of whitewater rafting in Oregon and Washignton. One of the best times of the year to do this is in the Spring, when snow melt and rain water provide great water levels in all of the area rivers. Many of the Oregon and Washington river rafting trips only run in the Spring during the seasonal snow melt, and are unrunnable later in the summer.

With numerous creeks and rivers flowing off of Mt. Adams toward the Columbia River each Spring, it can often be hard to determine which river you want to run. Each river section has its own personality. To help with your decision, we'll break down the most popular Oregon and Washington whitewater rafting rivers and give you some great insider's hints for choosing the perfect trip for you.

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Thank you to everyone who shared your river love story!

We've chosen the finalists. Now you get to vote for the winner of a whitewater weekend for two!

We have chosen the top five river love stories out of the various stories you submitted. Now, it's time to vote. Of the following five inspirational stories, the story receiving the most "likes" by 5:00 pm Sunday, March 3rd will win the whitewater weekend: includes a Rafting Trip on the White Salmon River OR Wind River, 1 night lodging, and the worlds best pizza with a local brew at Solstice Wood Fired Cafe.

Follow the links below to read the stories. To vote, just click the Facebook "Like" button at the bottom of the story.

River Love Story Finalist 1: By Brandon Bloomquist

River Love Story Finalist 2: By Caitlin Head

River Love Story Finalist 3: By Twila Zard

River Love Story Finalist 4: By Pat Cuffel

River Love Story Finalist 5: By Jordan Apele

A FEW NOTES ABOUT VOTING:

• We are counting "likes" on the actual story that we have posted.
• If you share the link to your story on Facebook, and someone "likes" your Facebook post, we can't count that vote. They need to follow the link to the actual story we have posted and vote for it there.
• Feel free to share your favority story anyway you want (Facebook, Twitter, your blog, the latest social media we haven't even heard of yet, etc.) and encourage your friends to vote, as long as they actually vote for the story on the original post.
• You can always see how many votes a story has by looking at the "like" count at the bottom of the story.

If you missed hearing about the competition when it began, or want to review the rules, here it is: The Valentine's Day River Love Competition

Again, thank you to everyone who took the time to share a special part of their lives. Happy voting!

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