Clackfest, the Upper Clackamas Whitewater Festival, is held the third weekend of May, and it's where I race every year. Here's every Clackfest video from 2023 to 2026: rowing the Super Puma, the IK mass start in my SOTAR SL, a snapped blade in the team slalom, and the 40th festival racing SOTAR's Rondel.
Disclosure: SOLWYRX Paddle Gear sells Sawyer, Oar Snubber, SOTAR and Go North Rafts gear, and I earn money when you buy it here. SOTAR also sponsors me as an athlete. Go North Rafts is a sponsor and partner of SOLWYRX.
Clackamas Whitewater Festival 2023
Racing my Super Puma at the 2023 Upper Clackamas Whitewater Festival. I finished fifth of five boats, so no podium, but it was a great day on the water.
Video: Clackamas Whitewater festival 2023 on the SOLWYRX Paddlesports YouTube channel.
Filmed: 2023
What Clackfest is
Clackfest is the Upper Clackamas Whitewater Festival, held every May. It's a weekend of races for just about every craft: inflatable and hardshell kayaks, mass-start packraft races, oar boat slalom, canoe and cataraft slaloms, SUP and downriver races (American Canoe Association). More than the racing, it's the Northwest paddling community in one place.
Not placing is fine
Racing exposes every bad habit you have, which is exactly why it's worth doing. You learn to hit lines on purpose and under pressure. I came back the next year and hit the Carter Falls hole a lot better (watch ClackFest 2024).
Source: American Canoe Association, Clack Fest
ClackFest 2024: Surfing the Carter Falls Hole in a Super Puma
At Clackfest 2024 I rowed my Super Puma, hit the Carter Falls hole really well (surfing it and rodeoing it), and placed 5th.
Video: ClackFest 2024 By Jacob Linkhart on the SOLWYRX Paddlesports YouTube channel.
Filmed: 2024
The Carter Falls hole
The Carter Falls hole is in the rapid at Carter's Bridge on the Upper Clackamas, which drops over a small ledge into a series of holes, and there's a surf wave just above it (Oregon Kayaking). It's the centerpiece of a lot of Clackfest events. Hitting the hole on purpose in a rowing rig and riding it out, instead of getting stuck or flipping, takes commitment and solid strokes. This was one of my best hits of it.
The rig
Super Puma with a frame and Sawyer DyneLite XD MXS oars. When you're getting worked in a hole, stiff, strong oars and an Oar Snubber keeping them in the locks make a real difference. See my MXS oar guide. For frames, I like DRL River Gypsies.
Music: "Rebellion" by Aylex (freetouse.com). Source: Oregon Kayaking, The Upper Clackamas
Clackfest 2025 IK Mass Start: Third Place in a SOTAR SL
I took 3rd in the inflatable kayak mass start at Clackfest 2025 in my SOTAR SL, passing a lot of paddlers on the way down.
Video: Clackamas whitewater festival 2025. IK mass start Jacob Linkhart on the SOLWYRX Paddlesports YouTube channel.
Filmed: 2025
How a mass start works
Everybody launches at once and races downriver. It's chaotic: boats bumping, paddles clashing, everyone fighting for the fastest line. Clackfest runs races for just about every craft, including IKs, hardshells and mass-start packraft races (American Canoe Association).
What made the difference
What made the difference for me was line choice and staying on the power through the rapids. The SOTAR SL tracks well, so every stroke turns into speed.
Carnage at Clackfest 2025: A Snapped Blade, the Carter Falls Hole and a DQ
In the team raft slalom at Clackfest 2025, my paddle blade snapped on the very first stroke. We went for the gates anyway, surfed the Carter Falls hole, lost a swimmer, and got disqualified.
Video: Carnage at the Clackamas whitewater festival 2025 by Jacob Linkhart on the SOLWYRX Paddlesports YouTube channel.
Filmed: 2025
What happened
I was racing in the team raft. The blade snapped on stroke one, so I swapped paddles with the smallest paddler in the boat and we kept going for the gates. At the Carter Falls hole we got surfed and one paddler swam. I climbed forward to dig us out. We were DQ'd because the swimmer crossed the finish separately from the raft. (A swim by itself doesn't get you DQ'd; crossing apart does.)
Afterward the Redwood Rafters returned my broken blade. I still have it.
What it taught me
- Don't flinch. When gear fails, adapt fast and keep paddling. More on that in My Flips on the Upper Clackamas.
- Know the rules. Racing rules can turn a good recovery into a DQ.
- Paddles take a beating. A tough raft paddle like the Sawyer Guide Styk is worth it; see Guide Styk vs. Guide Styk PRO.
That wasn't my only broken paddle that year: Project Streamline includes one snapped at Armstrong Rapid. For the better day at the same festival, watch the IK mass start.
Clackfest 2026: The 40th Upper Clackamas Whitewater Festival
Clackfest 2026 was the 40th annual Upper Clackamas Whitewater Festival. I took fifth in both Rondel races, and the weekend was full of demo boats, raft flips, backflips and shenanigans.
Video: The Upper Clackamas whitewater festival 2026, 40th annual, Clackfest 2026, By Jacob Linkhart on the SOLWYRX Paddlesports YouTube channel.
Filmed: 2026
This video is sponsored by SOTAR and Go North Rafts.
The racing
I raced my SOTAR Rondel and finished fifth in both races. The Rondel is short and playful, which makes it a fun (and honest) race boat: you have to keep it straight and keep the power on.
The festival
Clackfest brings the Northwest paddling community together every May, with races for kayaks, IKs, packrafts, oar boats, cats and SUPs (American Canoe Association). This year SOLWYRX had a booth in a prime spot, and despite a storm collapsing our canopy, both demo kayaks found a new home. There were also plenty of demo boats on the water, including Go North packrafts.
Go back through the years: 2023, 2024 and 2025. My plans for next year are in 2027 Festival Plans: Clackfest and Beyond.
Personal trip report: flows, wood and hazards change, and what worked for me that day isn't a rule for your boat or group. Check current conditions, scout, and boat within your training.
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Updated October 31, 2026 · By Jacob Linkhart, owner of SOLWYRX Paddle Gear · Spot a mistake? Email me and I'll fix it.
