Wickliffe Wade Walker, also called Wick Walker, (born June 29, 1946 in Washington, D.C.) is an American slalom canoeist, whitewater explorer, soldier, and author. He represented the US in the World Championships of 1965, 1967, and 1971, and he was US National Champion in Men's C-1 Slalom in 1968. [1] He finished 11th in the C-1 event at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich.
In the 1960s and early 1970s he and paddling partner Tom McEwan made early pioneering runs of Appalachian whitewater rivers, including the Upper Blackwater (WVA), Lower Meadow (WVA) and the Linville Gorge (NC). In 1975 he, Tom McEwan, and Dan Schnurrenberger made the first known successful descent of the Great Falls of the Potomac, near Washington DC. He and Tom McEwan conducted whitewater expeditions to Bhutan (1981), [2] Newfoundland (1984), Mexico (1985), [3] Quebec (1989) and the Yarlung Tsangpo Grand Canyon in Tibet (1997-1998), [4] frequently accompanied by Tom McEwan's brother Jamie McEwan and by Douglas C. Gordon.
After graduation from Dartmouth College in 1968 with a degree in geology, he served twenty-one years in the United States Army as a Combat Engineer, Military Intelligence, and Special Forces officer. He retired in 1990 in the rank of lieutenant colonel after overseas service in Vietnam, Thailand, and Germany. He holds the Legion of Merit, the Bronze Star, the Meritorious Service Medal, and the Joint Service Commendation Medal.
He is the author of:
Paddling the Frontier: Guide to Pakistan's Whitewater [5]
Courting the Diamond Sow: A Whitewater Expedition on Tibet's Forbidden River [6]
Goat Game: Thirteen Tales from the Afghan Frontier [7]
He is a National Geographic Society Explorer and a Fellow of The Explorers Club.
A canoe is a lightweight narrow water vessel, typically pointed at both ends and open on top, propelled by one or more seated or kneeling paddlers facing the direction of travel and using paddles.
The Great Game was a rivalry between the 19th-century British and Russian empires over influence in Central Asia, primarily in Afghanistan, Persia, and Tibet. The two colonial empires used military interventions and diplomatic negotiations to acquire and redefine territories in Central and South Asia. Russia conquered Turkestan, and Britain expanded and set the borders of British colonial India. By the early 20th century, a line of independent states, tribes, and monarchies from the shore of the Caspian Sea to the Eastern Himalayas were made into protectorates and territories of the two empires.
Lieutenant Colonel Sir Francis Edward Younghusband, was a British Army officer, explorer and spiritual writer. He is remembered for his travels in the Far East and Central Asia; especially the 1904 British expedition to Tibet, led by himself, and for his writings on Asia and foreign policy. Younghusband held positions including British commissioner to Tibet and president of the Royal Geographical Society.
The Pamir Mountains are a range of mountains between Central Asia and South Asia. They are located at a junction with other notable mountains, namely the Tian Shan, Karakoram, Kunlun, Hindu Kush and the Himalaya mountain ranges. They are among the world's highest mountains.
The Toccoa River and Ocoee River are the names in use for a single 93-mile-long (150 km) river that flows northwestward through the southern Appalachian Mountains of the southeastern United States. It is a tributary of the Hiwassee River, which it joins in Polk County, Tennessee, near the town of Benton. Three power generating dams are operated along it.
The markhor is a large wild Capra (goat) species native to South Asia and Central Asia, mainly within Pakistan, the Karakoram range, parts of Afghanistan, and the Himalayas. It is listed on the IUCN Red List as Near Threatened since 2015.
The Yarlung Tsangpo Grand Canyon, also known as the Yarlung Zangbo Grand Canyon, the Tsangpo Canyon, the Brahmaputra Canyon or the Tsangpo Gorge, is a canyon along the Yarlung Tsangpo River in Tibet Autonomous Region, China. It is the deepest canyon in the world, and at 504.6 kilometres (313.5 mi) is slightly longer than the Grand Canyon in the United States, making it one of the world's largest. The Yarlung Tsangpo originates near Mount Kailash and runs east for about 1,700 kilometres (1,100 mi), draining a northern section of the Himalayas before it enters the gorge just downstream of Pei, Tibet, near the settlement of Zhibe. The canyon has a length of about 240 kilometres (150 mi) as the gorge bends around Mount Namcha Barwa and cuts its way through the eastern Himalayas. Its waters drop from about 2,900 metres (9,500 ft) near Pei to about 1,500 metres (4,900 ft) at the end of the Upper Gorge where the Po Tsangpo River enters. The river continues through the Lower Gorge to the Indian border at an elevation of 660 metres (2,170 ft). The river then enters Arunachal Pradesh and eventually becomes the Brahmaputra.
Sandra Keith Boynton is an American humorist, songwriter, director, music producer, children's author, and illustrator. Boynton has written and illustrated over eighty-five books for children and seven general audience books, as well as over four thousand greeting cards, and seven music albums. She has also designed calendars, wallpaper, bedding, stationery, paper goods, clothing, jewelry, and plush toys for various companies.
Jon Phillip Lugbill is a whitewater canoe slalom racer. During the 1980s, he participated in international racing in Men's Individual C1. He is the only slalom racer to ever appear on the Wheaties box.
Mike Jones QGM was a 20th-century canoeist, best known for his expeditions on the Blue Nile and Dudh Kosi.
Creeking is a branch of canoeing and kayaking that involves descending very steep low-volume whitewater. It is usually performed in specialized canoes and kayaks specifically designed to withstand the extreme whitewater environment in which the activity occurs. In addition, the canoes and kayaks give the paddler improved performance and maneuverability needed to avoid river obstacles.
The Yarlung Tsangpo, also called Yarlung Zangbo and Yalu Zangbu River is located in the Tibet Autonomous Region, China. It is the longest river of Tibet and the fifth longest in China. The upper section is also called Dangque Zangbu meaning "Horse River."
Joseph Bennet Jacobi is an American former slalom canoeist who competed from the mid-1980s to the mid-2000s. Competing in two Summer Olympics, he won a gold medal in the C2 event at Barcelona in 1992.
The Dickerson Whitewater Course, on the Potomac River near Dickerson, Maryland, was built for use by canoe and kayak paddlers training for the 1992 Olympic Games in Spain. It was the first pump-powered artificial whitewater course built in North America, and is still the only one anywhere with heated water. It remains an active training center for whitewater slalom racing, swiftwater rescue training, and other whitewater activities.
Douglas Cameron Gordon, commonly known as Doug Gordon, was an American whitewater kayaker, who was a member of the U.S. Slalom Team from 1981 to 1987, and a chemist. Gordon died in Eastern Tibet when he and three other paddlers attempted the first descent of the Tsangpo River.
James Patrick McEwan was an American slalom canoeist who competed in the 1970s and then again in the 1980s and early 1990s. He teamed up with his son Devin to compete in the 2000s. Competing in two Summer Olympics, he won a bronze medal in the C1 event at Munich in 1972.
Rush Sturges is an American professional whitewater kayaker, film maker, and musician.
Jacob Alexander "Lecky" Haller is an American slalom canoeist who competed from the early 1980s to the early 2000s. He won four medals at the ICF Canoe Slalom World Championships with a gold, two silvers and a bronze.
Canoeing – recreational boating activity or paddle sport in which you kneel or sit facing forward in an open or closed-decked canoe, and propel yourself with a single-bladed paddle, under your own power.
Thomas Edmund McEwan, known as Tom McEwan, is an American whitewater kayaker. He competed internationally on the US National Wildwater Team.