A Trip Down South

Bryan, being on top of it as always, emailed me a month or two back about heading down south for the spring Tallulah release. In my usual fashion, I expressed interest and didn't follow up until a week or two beforehand. I couldn't get anyone that I usually paddle with to commit to taking 3 days off of work for a paddling trip, (ya'll are lame) so I just went solo. It was weird packing up the truck and planning for one person, but I guess I better get used to it. From the get-go I was thinking this trip would be a good shakedown trip for moving to Colorado for the summer.

I left town Friday morning and stopped in Roanoke, to drop off a load of clothes a dresser and some other things I wont be needing for a while. Then got back on it and headed to Asheville. I met up with a guy named Phil to drop off a C-boat he had just bought and posted a message asking if anyone could bring it to him. He was visibly pumped to get his new boat and he hooked me up with a tasty six-pack and a few bucks for gas.

I then met up with Bryan and John, who had spent the afternoon at the Charlotte Whitewater park. We hung out at a Books-A-Million parking lot discussing plans for the weekend and speculating what the rain might do. Exhausted from a day of driving we ponied up and stayed in a Super 8 for the night.

Friday morning I was bound and determined for another run on the Green so I headed straight to the takeout. I was able to bum a shuttle and tag along with a very good local boater. I climbed in his truck with his buddy Ben who smelled like he slept at the bar the night before. The two guys exchanged put-downs on the ride to the put in while I was trying to remember all the lines. Jeb was very nice in the top sections refreshing my memory of the hazards and preferred lines while sprinting between rapids.

I walked the big ones, not having time to scout them as Jeb was in a big hurry trying to make it to work on time. There was no resting or eddy catching besides the portages. Zwicks and Grove Tube were awesome as usual. By the time we got to Hammer Factor Jeb was way out in front and Ben and I were behind, Ben turned to me above the toliet bowl and said ok, we are just gonna run the rest direct. Good times. We took the right boof line into Hammer Factor and the sprinted for the takeout.

I was literally out of breath. Then before I knew it I was loading my boat up not in my truck but up on someones Land Rover for a second lap. Why not? It was a beautiful day out and it was only 12 noon.

The second lap went about as fast as the first. By the time I got to Hammer Factor this time I was pretty smoked, blew the boof move and got Hammered.

No pictures exist from this trip because there was no time for that.

After the second run, I gave a guy named Wilson a ride up. He was tryin to get me to do a third the the entire time. He was a hoot. I was spent. Man the Green is an awesome river. Its cool paddling with the locals and listen to them talk about it. I heard on more than one occasion some combination of "Man, the Green is the Best" or "I would paddle the Green everyday and be happy."

The scenery in Western NC

I dropped off Wilson and headed for the Tallulah Gorge. It was a beautiful ride over there. Rainy and foggy, but beautiful. I Went past Toxaway Falls, the Horsepasture River, and Whitesides Mountain. This area comprises some of the hardest, most remote kayaking and climbing in the State of North Carolina, if not the east coast.

Too bad they were closed...I love boiled peanuts

Toxaway Falls

Whitesides

I arrived at Tallulah Falls, GA around 7pm, found a picnic area that overlooked the gorge and had some shelter from the rain, I made dinner and took a few pictures here. Bryan and crew were crashing in a hotel after a day of getting skunked on the Cheoah. We met up in the morning and had a great run on the Tallulah. Oceana is definitely an intimidating rapid, but its not really that hard, just lots of fun and very fast! We moved pretty slow with the large group, but the scenery was so good I couldnt complain. Most of the run is walled in on one or both sides with 300 foot granite walls.

Bryan at the lip

Curt below Oceana

the Ampitheater

We went to check out the Cullasaja after taking off the Tallulah. It looked a bit low for me to want to put back on all my wet gear and get in my boat. John and I scouted the gnar on the upper Cullasaja which was pretty full-on. Props to Mark for firing up T-Bone on the middle section.

Hand Paddler facing "the Thing"

I headed back to the takeout campsite and hung out with a few Alabama guys. I woke up early and headed to the putin so I could get in a couple of runs at the higher release level. I was one of the first on the water Sunday morning and really liking the extra flow. More padding and bigger features. I out to check Oceana with more flow, but the line was the same. So i fired it up, took a few pictures at the bottom, and then didn't stop paddling until the takeout, including the 2 miles of flatwater. I bummed a shuttle ride with some guys who turned out to be Ian's friends. I put in with them, but with a 6 hour drive ahead of me I didn't feel like taking my time getting down stream. So I ran solo once again from Oceana down. It was really fun running solo on the Tallulah. It is a very scenic run, not very difficult, and very continuous, especially at 700 cfs.

In all it was an excellent trip. I drove 1,400 miles, paddled about 10: two laps on the Green, 3 runs on the Tallulah. I got to hang out with Ian and Bryan, took a random dude a boat...overall I would say the mission was quite successful.

Carnage at Oceana

See all the pictures here: SE Trip Photos