Topic: Trip Report - Southeast USA 31 Mar-8 Apr

[LouisD]

Merkin Princess,
Likely a bit of both...

They are nuts and you ARE getting old.
Only Walt Disney, a few nuts like him plus there a mammoth here and there who could claim they are not getting older...

Hold on.
Either they both are nuts or they just reached their middle age crisis...
Yes that's it.

Comfortable in his own MAC,
But wishing the sharing of their madness,
LD

[Sandra K]

Either you are both insane or I am getting old
Nice shots!

[robert monti]

Imagine doing a set of 600 "calf raises" in the gym.  That's what carrying our boats down the 600 steps (about 400 feet down into the gorge) was like.  We weren't thinking about it at the time.  But boy did our calves painfully remind us about it for days after!

The other thing I would add to Adrian's post is the helpfulness of the local boaters made that day on the river the awesome day that it was. Basically we put on only having a vague idea about maybe three of the 18 rapids - you know the ones where we thought we could get seriously hurt or die in if we messed up (plus remembering more than three things gets harder as you age)!  You can't put on this river without signing a waiver that includes a notification for next of kin.

Some local boaters from the Atlanta club that we chatted with at Oceana basically took the two clueless Canadians under wing and waited for us in eddies and explained the upcoming rapids to us.  To top it off, we had no vehicle at the take-out and had no idea where the take out was in relation to the put-in (if we survived the run, poaching a ride would be a small detail by comparison).  So we make it to the take-out and we have no idea where we are in relation to the put-in. Now what? Not only do we get a ride, a local boater adjust his boat rack, re-arranges his stuff, pulls out extra straps, takes us, our boats and gear back to the put-in. How sweet is that?

Not only that. This was the second random act of kindness from which we benefitted in one week.   The day we showed up to run the Sinks-Elbow of the Little in the Smoky Mountains, we didn't have shuttle. We figured one of us would have to drive to the take out and hitchike back.  So we are scouting the drop at the Sinks and this Mazda sport ute  pulls into the lot with a family of four in it and a bunch of kayaks on the roof.  They are a boating family from North Carolina.  Dylan, the father is totally interested in the drop.  The family is on a vacation and driving to Bryson City.  We ask him if he wants to run it with us but he takes a pass. Even so, he insists that he will be shutlle bunny and he will shoot video of our run for us.  So we end up with a shuttle ride and someone taking video of us running the drop.  On top of that he emails us a gallery of pics that his wife took with her IPhone.  Totally Awesome!

It was the kind of week, where the stuff you didn't control was entirely dependent on luck - and lady luck was a little sweet on us. What more can you ask from a river trip?

Adrian's motto, "It all works out in the end" pretty much sums up the trip. 

Let's see if this hyperlink to the Little pics works:

http://gallery.me.com/dylanmulkey#100293

[Jeremy Poulin]

OH Snap!

[Late Ray]

We both agreed that we learned more in two days with Leland than in the last two years paddling. 

Well, since the two of you only paddle about 2 days a year nowadays, this makes it right on par with your normal learning curve. 

[Adrian]

Rob Monti and I decided to up the ante on our third spring trip to the Southeast and paddle the most challenging rivers we could.  The week was aimed at preparing us for our ultimate goal of paddling the Tallulah Gorge on the April release.

The week started with a  4:45 am Saturday departure from Ottawa for a 14-hour drive to Boone NC.  To work off the winter rust and tune up our paddling, we signed up for an advance creeking course with Leland and Andria Davis, the River Gypsies.  What an incredible experience.  First was the location, the Watauga River. A class IV-V technical playground with boofs galore, holes, and a continuous maze of boulders. The instruction was fabulous.  We both agreed that we learned more in two days with Leland than in the last two years paddling. 

It was definitely an advanced course that challenged us to our max.  There were difficult lines with serious consequences of error, but an excellent learning experience.  I was very skeptical when Leland explained one line. Boof a drop, pivot 90 degrees in mid air and run out on the reactionary. But it worked like a charm.

Two days obviously wasn?t enough to master any skills, but we each left with a better understanding of creeking techniques and a long list of skills to practice. 
 
In the middle of the week we paddled some beautiful Class III-IV rivers: the Doe, Little, Tellico and Big Creek. We lucked out in catching the Doe just as water level surged to 400 CFS.  Joe, a paddler from Philadelphia posted this GoPro video of us on the Watauga and Doe. http://vimeo.com/39968043

Saturday was without question the highlight of the trip. The ?pucker factor? was high with the anticipation of the Tallulah Gorge.  The American Whitewater description of the river was enough to scare me.  18 named rapids including the class V ?Put-In? just 20 meters after a seal launch.  The river more than lived up to its reputation.

It starts with descending a 600-step staircase into the gorge and once in, you?re pretty much committed.  Coming out of the first eddy the rapid crashes into a wall and does a hard left turn. After that it?s one horizon line after another.  It was hard to appreciate the beauty of the gorge?s shear walls when you?re fully focused on the next upcoming drop.  Luckily we linked up with a group of local boaters that showed us the lines.

The Tallulah definitely got us out of our comfort zone.