With a week to go before the 2012 Short’s to Short’s Paddle, we are especially excited for this year’s event. As indicated in our previous post, we’re making a lot of upgrades this year. For example, ISLAND will be selling breakfast burritos and coffee at the launch site and we’ll have lots of porta-poddies located throughout the course. Plus, now that Moosejaw is sponsoring the event, the first 300 paddlers to attend our post-paddle party are going to get free one-of-a-kind Moosejaw/Short’s to Short’s t-shirts. Paddlers will also receive a complimentary beer glass from Land and Sea Packaging. The post-paddle party at our Elk Rapids production brewery will run from 4-9 on Friday night and will be a great lead-in to the Anniversary Party and Aww Jeah release the next day. Even non-paddlers are welcome at the party, and we’ll be premiering MMMkay, the lagered final runnings of Aww Jeah, on tap for the first time.
Every year, about a week before the Short’s to Short’s Paddle, a small group of SBC employees embark on an “unofficial” version of the event that we call the Pre-Paddle. We do this to check the conditions, test our gear, and gather insight for the year’s “official” event. This year, we created a complete video recap of the Pre-Paddle to help paddlers prepare for the Short’s to Short’s. The day we selected was cold and windy to start, but turned pleasant and sunny by the end of the day. It just goes to show, you always need to pack a lot of clothing and gear for whatever the weather presents.
Transportation is being provided separately for this event by Green Planet Extreme Adventure Tours. They are offering a wide range of transportation options, including rides from Elk Rapids to Bellaire before the event, rides from Elk Rapids to Bellaire after the event, and pick-ups at drop out points during the event. Please contact Green Planet for information and to pre-book your transportation.
Finally, if you have any last minute questions about the Short’s to Short’s Paddle, please email [email protected]. And remember, if you are coming to the Paddle, you are going to want to stick around for the Anniversary Party on Saturday.
See you next weekend!
– Short’s Event Staff
