“We don’t have to pattern toward fear,” says Robin Pace early in this 20th episode of Kinward podcast, recalling an incident where she flipped an oar boat in the middle of a class IV rapid—on her very first trip as the new owner of Winding Waters, a whitewater expedition outfit based in Joseph, Oregon.
I know Robin as a thoughtful craftswoman of containers for connection between people, and between people and land and water. She’s a skillful steward of conversations among humans and currents and canyon wrens. I wanted to hear more about her vision and process for creating architectures of experience that enable us to be bigger together. Sturdier. Wilder.
And Robin wanted to talk to me about play.
Robin Pace grew up among the many headwaters of the Snake River. She’s been guiding with Winding Waters River Expeditions since 2013 and has owned the business for one year this spring. She told me during this conversation that she’s nearing her 100th lap through Hells Canyon. Her passion for sharing rivers with others continues to grow with every year. She loves cultivating conversation on riverbanks next to a plate of really good food.
Robin shares some of the skills and practices she has cultivated to shape experiences on and with water that help us reap the rewards of re-creation: integrate the fun and the games, call back our sturdiness, shed what we’ve grown out of—and also grow our capacity to respond well in the midst of great disturbances and redistributions.
We laugh. I’m so excited to share this new moon episode of Kinward Podcast with you.
Book a trip with Winding Waters River Expeditions.
Sink into this decadent evocation of the Year of the Snake.
Listen to our Immersion episode with Robin, Scrying a Water Way.
I'll be doing a reading (via zoom) with Pendleton Center for the Arts' First Draft Writers' Series on June 19th at 7PM. It would be great to see your virtual faces!
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Play well and rest well, friends.
