Register Now for QAS
Click above to register now for the 2021 Quiet Adventures Symposium. PayPal is standing by to accept your $10.00. Evening presentations start at 7:00 PM. Event dates are:

Tuesday, February 16 
Thursday, February 18 
Tuesday, February 23 
Thursday, February 25 
Saturday, February 27

For full details on our event activities, go to our website at Quiet Adventures Symposium.

We are again lucky to be joined by Michael Gray for QAS 2021. Michael founded Uncommon Adventures in 1984, a couple of years after getting a degree in Environmental Interpretation at MSU. With nearly 30 years in the business, he is one of the most experienced instructors and guides in the country.











Michael has led trips all over the world including Alaska, New Zealand, Greenland, Iceland and Central America. He is an ACA Level 3 Coastal Kayak Instructor Trainer and a Level 4 instructor. He also holds certifications in Canoe and SUP instruction.
 
Of particular note is Michael’s reputation as a phenomenal backcountry cook. Guests often say they don’t eat as well at home as they do on Uncommon Adventures trips. Michael’s cooking presentations are among the most popular sessions at the country’s leading kayak symposiums, and his articles appear in major kayak publications, websites, and his cookbook, "Hey, I'd Eat This at Home!". Having taught outdoor skills and environmental workshops all of his adult life, Michael interprets wild places with warmth and respect.

Find Michael on the QAS event schedule on our website.

The Flint River Watershed Coalition was created with a vision of a healthier Flint River Watershed. FRWC envisions a day when the future of our drinking water is secure, and the integrity of the Flint River is protected. These goals are based on a belief that all people should have access to the river for recreation, swimming, and fishing as well as the economic value it provides to our communities.

The Flint River Watershed Coalition is supporting the 2021 QAS as a Session Sponsor. A big thank you to our friends at FRWC for their support and their decades of stewardship of one of Michigan's beautiful rivers. See for yourself at Rediscovering the Flint River.

The Lansing Oar and Paddle Club (LOAPC) was founded as a canoe, kayak, and rowing club in 1988. LOAPC was also the original sponsor for the Quiet Adventures Symposium in 1996.This year, LOAPC is also a QAS day sponsor. A big THANK YOU to the club for their generous support!

Over the years, the club has played a leadership role in promoting human-powered watersports in mid-Michigan. LOAPC’s committees (recreation, open water, whitewater, and power paddlers) function as “clubs-within-clubs” with their own leadership and programming. LOAPC’s activities include arranging paddling trips to destinations as close as Lansing and as far away as Arkansas, North Carolina, and Canada; river cleanup activities; and winter seminar programs with travelogues and safety information.

Visit the LOAPC blog online to see their 2021 calendar of events and the Zoom meeting schedule for the winter and spring seasons. New members are welcomed with open arms, virtually.

Join our backpacking experts, Darlene Patterson along with Blair Dietrick of DNK Presents, as they share tips on what goes in and what stays home.

"I would rather have it and not need it than need it and not have it" may work when you pack your car for a drive up North but backpacking takes an entirely different mindset.

Check the QAS schedule for Thursday, February 25 if you do not want to miss this one.

Bill & Paul's Sporthaus is an outdoor adventure sports specialty retailer that has been selling adventure in the Grand Rapids area since 1961.  They carry skis, snowboards, backpacking and camping equipment, kayaks, and apparel. This year, they again join in supporting QAS and are a Track Sponsor.

A further shout out goes to Jon Holmes, a Bill & Paul's employee since 1993 and currently Director of Marketing/E-commerce. In 2009, Jon joined the Ultimate Hugh Heward Challenge, a paddling trip from Detroit, MI to Chicago, IL. The route followed one used by trapper/adventurer Hugh Heward in 1790. Jim Woodruff, winner of the 2004 Verlen Kruger Award, was the creator of the Challenge and had done the historical research to locate this classic, 465 mile route.

Jon was one of only five paddlers who participated in the Ultimate Hugh Heward Challenge. He continues as a leader in the paddlesport community by following a lifelong rule of thumb called the 7 P's or “Prior Proper Planning Prevents Piss Poor Performance.” Thanks, Jon, for that good advice.