Kari Anderson

Lead Guide
Instructor

"Just about any time I am outside is A-OK by me, but kayaking is such an amazing way to explore the intimate details of my home… southern Puget Sound. I majored in Recreation at Western Washington University, focusing on sustainable tourism. As we liked to say in our program, recreation is truly "Re-Creation" of the mind, body and spirit, and although I don't know much about meditation, kayaking is a very Zen experience for me."

Working with Washington State Search and Rescue, Kari learned everything from teamwork skills to leadership-under-stress to emergency backcountry medicine. She truly loves being able to share the outdoors with others, and finds herself simultaneously passing along the knowledge and skills she has accumulated over the years, as well as constantly adding to them.

Favorite Kayaking Destination: Very, very difficult to narrow down. I love the classics, like Ketron Island and Nisqually Delta, but paddling in amongst humpbacks and icebergs in Southeast Alaska was pretty amazing too. One particular day in Alaska, we started the day completely socked in with thick fog, but could hear humpback whale blows just off the shoreline. As we ventured out hopefully and the fog began to lift, we realized that we were witnessing 80-100 humpback whales going absolutely crazy: two or three breaching every 30 seconds, pec slaps, flukes, young calves rising and blowing near us...the whole group sat there on the water in complete silence for about three hours.

Dream Kayak trip: Greece, New Zealand, Costa Rica, all of the Washington coast, Thailand… anywhere there's water, really. I recently had the chance to paddle in Vietnam, which was an incredible experience. If you've got a free hour or three, I'll tell you about it.

Favorite Kayak: I've been paddling the Northwest Kayaks Discover quite a bit lately and love the roomy cockpit and ample storage capability for my makeup bag and blow dryer. Then I paddled the Wilderness Systems Tempest 165...perhaps a perfect boat has been designed. I love the snug fit and the combination of tracking and responsiveness.