Well, imagine this, I'm on yet another amazing adventure here is beautiful Kauai, Hawaii. This adventure is a bit different than the others though. This adventure is a passion, I want to eat, breath and sleep it. I jump at any moment that I am able to do it and I am in love with outrigger canoe paddling — a bit different than Alaska...

For those of you who don't know the story, I came here to Kauai to hike the Kalalau trail in January with a friend of mine from Alaska. I came on a one-way ticket and and planned on leaving to head back to Maine, then back to Alaska for the summer/winter and get back into running dogs/dog sledding. Per what I read about the Kalalau trail, an 11-mile hike to a place much like what you think heaven would be like, it was ranked one of the top 10 most dangerous hikes. It was scary at some points, but it was a great test of not only physical strength, but mental strength.

I learned not only a lot about myself and deal with those internal trials and tribulations, but I feel I grew as a person and found something more that I was hiding deep within me. Before this I was, believe it or not, hesitant to speak up about certain subjects and always used my voice in a joking matter. Now, I speak it and say it with more power and stand tall. I charge the storm head-on and truly have no fear... except ticks, they are my only true fear.

The first time I stayed out there was for 10 days. On the day we left, there was torrential rain fall and the rivers were rising, which means... if you don't leave now... then you don't leave! So Dylan (a friend from Alaska), Anna and I left. The first river crossing, which was an easy jump before, was just a minor taste of what we were about to face for the next serval miles. The river had risen above the easy jump and now we had to think it through and look at where was the safest place to cross. No taking your boots off, because they were just going to get wet from the rain anyway. We made it safely across and Anna lost her trusty water bottle, but we were safe. Items can be replaced... lives can't.

The next test was climbing up part of the red dirt hill on the "hippy highway." Dylan first, then Anna, then me. That way Anna had strength on either side and Dylan had the safety gear... he's a goat anyway. I started to cross and then I started slipping... down! There was nothing to stop me but some friendly rocks in front of the tree line. I dropped to my knees and yelled for Dylan. Before I finished getting his name out, he had his rope ready. He told me to grab it and I said to the hill — pardon the language — "you're not going to f'n get me" and I grunted and found my inner beast/warrior and made it across without the rope. I'm stubborn and knew I had to do it on my own. We learned a woman was washed out to sea, actually, she was trapped under a rock and died trying to cross the river at two miles. It was sad to hear, but one thing above all else, don't try to mess with Mother Nature and think that you are smarter than her. We all made it out OK and at every river crossing our smiles got larger and our confidence within ourselves grew immensely.

After our great camping adventures in Kalalau and on other spots on the island, it was time to think about leaving. Well, Dylan left and then I fell in love with my boyfriend — the outrigger canoe! We've been going "steady at it" for three months now and I have flourished more than I have at anything. I have truly found a sport, a passion, a true love that makes me totally happy and totally blissed out! I moved here and gave up a job that I was totally excited about back in Alaska. All to be here and paddle.

My ultimate goal is to be a professional paddler, but in the meantime I want to race all of the big races and help those around me in any way that I can, those who share the same passion.

So, Na Pali Challenge. It's 38-39 miles. You have six men and six women. The women start the race, paddle 30 minutes, then the men are dropped by the escort boat in order seat 6 to seat 1 and when they are close to the canoe the women bail to the right with their paddle. Then the men jump in and paddle for 30 minutes. We have windows that open when we are able to change and we have a five-minute window to make those changes. We continue changing every 30 minutes until the race is done. The women paddled five-30s and the men paddled four-30s. It was amazing to start the race and then finish, and the men were so great, cheering us on and encouraging us on our changes.

The only time we saw the men was in the water. On the escort boat we have our water, sports drinks, coconut water, energy protein foods, etc.  The race started in Hanalei Bay and ended at Waimea peir, passing Kalalau, which is what brought me to Kauai. We only won a medal, had a meal and didn't even get a beer from the beer tent because they ran out.

There were teams from all over. Even one from Australia. When we were nearing the finish line, I had a smile as big as a my face. We all found our inner beasts and paddled even harder, all together as one, and flew past that line. Even writing this brings that smile back to my face. Before the race and every race, I go in the water and say over and over, “Mama, keep me safe, keep me strong,” then I do my little mermaid swim under the water.  Little things...  All the people that have passed that I love, I know that Mum would be proud of me.

The way I look at this is, it is in a sense like dog sledding. We have some extremely talented women and men in our club, Namolokama O'Hanalei, heck my coach and many others are World Champion paddlers. Races are expensive and I want to make sure that all of us are able to get there to those races when our number gets pulled.

I want to paddle around the world, who knows, maybe literally someday I will. Ok, dog sledding, where does that come in? When mushers are running races, such as the Iditarod or Yukon Quest, they need sponsors. It costs a lot to keep a team up and running, i.e. food, training, mushers’ time, gear for musher and dogs, etc., and it's a long list. Much like dog sledding, long distance paddling isn't really a spectator’s sport, but I tell you what... to know that your strength, your power and your determination is what drives you to get to the finish line... THAT'S AWESOME! I would love for my family to be here to watch me cross that finish line, but I know they're rooting for me. I would like to purchase a one-man canoe and have sponsors who help me buy it. Think of all of the Maine businesses and businesses of all the people that I know that could pepper that beauty with support in gliding me across the line.

Sarah Waterman grew up in South Thomaston. She can be reached at P.O. Box 362, Hanalei, HI 96714, 207-593-6285 and via her blog.