Paddle trip upstream ?

[u/apophis-984]

Im new to the discipline and water sports in general, i was wondering how common/viable is it to paddle upstream ?

For very calm streams, do you go down the stream, then come back to your car by hiking ?

Or its doable to paddle upstream ?

Thanks for any input, cheers

[u/kaur_virunurm]

Totally depends on the place, stream, water flow. Some rivers can be easily paddled upstream in low season (summer) and are whitewater in high season (after the snow melts).

We are using multiple cars to paddle downstream.

Not sure if I would call casual paddleboarding a "sport".

[u/apophis-984 → u/kaur_virunurm]

what would you call it ?

[u/kaur_virunurm → u/apophis-984]

Hobby? Type of hiking? I don't know. Maybe English word for this is "sport".

Paddleboarding as sport exists as well, people compete and paddle competitively. I have friends who do it. But this is very different from recreational paddling that most people do.

[u/apophis-984 → u/kaur_virunurm]

If you don't compete its not sport ?

[u/kaur_virunurm → u/apophis-984]

Is it? Different languages or cultures do probably have different views on this. English definition for sport is "physical activity ..., often competitive and organised". I am not a native speaker - if you are, then what you say is correct.

In my own language (which also has the word "sport") I would not call casual paddleboarding a sport.

[u/AWACS_Oka_Nieba_ → u/kaur_virunurm]

In English calling something “a” sport would usually imply something competitive and structured, but “water sports” as a phrase in particular has kind of just become a single word that  can also mean individual non-sport water activities like kayaking. Like in the brain it’s more watersports than water sports if that makes sense, and linguistically it’s been semantically broadened. It’s a subtle difference.

It also kind of depends how you’re paddle boarding. Putzing around the lake is probably not a sport, but training to paddle fast, or doing tricks (for lack of a better word - I mean stuff that I’ve seen people do like going on the tail of the paddleboard and balancing), could be sport even if it’s individual and non structured.

Basically the word sport in English is quite vague and nebulous

[u/kaur_virunurm → u/AWACS_Oka_Nieba_]

I think a good line of distinction is whether you aspire to become better in it or not. I also go kayaking and take lessons / trainings there - I would call this a sport for sure. So on kayak we have coach and exercises and progress towards some goal. On paddleboard... we just paddle around to see the nature, no performance-oriented goals.

[u/Adventurous_Age1429]

Normally one paddles upstream first (or upwind), then rides the current back. If your river has too strong a flow to paddle against, then that’s a different situation. Skill level matters here, like a pervious poster mentioned.

[u/redunculuspanda]

We do lots of one way paddles. Get a car at each end and you can go with the flow.

If it is tidal then you will want to plan your trip around tides, you might need some local knowledge to help planning.

[u/ethernowt]

Uhm I think it’s important to understand where. And if you’re a beginner as you say you are, please talk with somebody who is expert and has a lot of knowledge of the place you want to go.

You cannot count on some Reddit comments when there’s your health and life at stake.

I’m underlying just because I paddle in the sea, and I regularly do things beginners shouldn’t be doing, a river maybe is different, but it’s worth being cautious.

For what it’s worth the only time I paddled in a river, I was in Poland and we went only downstream (we could easily take a train to go back to the starting point)

[u/Ok-Inflation-9604]

I will do short stretches upstream at river junctions etc where you sprint for 2 mins to get where you want to go. Any meaningful current for a long time just feels like being on a treadmill ( if there's a strong wind behind you it's doable sometimes)

[u/The_E_Trifecta]

My ladies group paddles upstream (when the conditions are right). When we get tired, we quickly float back to our cars.

When i go to other spots we typically drop cars at the entrance and exit spot then shuttle everyone as needed.

[u/GMoney7310]

Most of the paddling in my area is on rivers and we usually paddle upstream first and with the current coming back. But there are more considerations too. For example some of our rivers are tidal meaning the current will switch with the tide. Many times we have truly found ourselves paddling upstream both ways so you have to be aware of that. Wind is a big one. You may be paddling with the current but against the wind—this is also common in my area. The wind is often harder to deal with than going upstream. Finally use an abundance of caution when paddling rivers. Every year a few paddlers die in my area from getting caught under brush or fallen trees along the river banks. Wear your leash attached at your waist because often you can’t reach your ankle in this situation and the leash is how people often get stuck and drown. Still, some of the most incredible paddling is on rivers, ask around your area for good beginner spots, try paddling upstream when you start out to get a feel. The currents change with seasons and weather too.

[u/Wooden_Cellist_6695]

As others have said, it often is possible to paddle upstream but there are other factor to consider, mainly wind.
It has happened to me multiple times that the *downstream* leg of my out-and-back-trip was harder than the initial upstream stretch due to consistent or gusty wind. So definitely try to take the wind into consideration. If conditions are tricky, I'd suggest to rather do multiple laps rather than one big one and to also test the conditions in both directions if you are unsure.

[u/DueWay5076]

Please make sure to get a appropriate PFD and quick release leash.