So two weeks ago I found out about a paddling clinic the TSRA was putting on. The President of FPC told me about it at our Oct. meeting and said they were going to be paddling the Hiwassee. I got excited! I have been wanting to get over to TN to run this river for a while. So I contacted Trent with TSRA and got on the list for the clinic.
Friday the 23rd, I left work at 3pm and head for the campground. I knew it would be a long drive, and I was prepared for that! The weather was cloudy and cool. I took mostly back roads through the mountains of GA to get up to Ocoee River Rats Campground. As I was coming up over the mountains the leaves were in full change and the fog had set in really thick. It was beautiful up there! I knew it was going to be a good weekend. I got to the campground just shortly after 7pm. I met 3 guys who came from the area around Crossville, TN and we went to the Dam Deli. Ocoee River Rats is a really great campground! They have to group rooms with lots of bunk beds, cots, futons, and private bathrooms. Upstairs they had a few private hotel style rooms and behind their facility was tent and RV camping. I stayed in the guys bunk house.
Saturday we woke up early and had classes all morning via powerpoint presentations under a shelter in the campground. It was very cool and we were all bundled up pretty good and most of us were still shivering. We learned about how to dress for cold water swimming and how to tell if someone is too cold. We also were told that it is always good to choose a leader so that in case of an emergency you have someone delegating responsibilities. After morning classes we broke off into groups of 3-4 paddlers and an instructor and safety boaters. I got in with a beginner group and went to the Hiwassee. I know I am not really a beginner but I wanted to run this river and I really wanted to run it with people who knew it fairly well.
So we get to the river and I quickly realize this is a VERY beginner river. Lots of flat water and very wide. The level was a little higher than normal @ 3300cfs. I would not have liked it any lower than what it was. I think it would have gotten very scrapey in places. There were only 3 rapids to speak of and they were pretty mild. The first was Thread the Needle, the second was Stair Step. and the third was Devil Shoals. Thread the Needle was a nice left to right with a slot you run near the rocks. Stair Step was a bunch of very small ledges and dumps you out at the lunch spot. Devil Shoals was by far the best and the last thing on the run. It was a big wave train that had one wave that was breaking at the top. You could time it just right so that it was building for a break when you paddled over it. I wanted to run it again but we had 7 paddlers in my group so I chose to stay with the group. If I ever run this river again I will probably just bullet down to this and hang out there all afternoon!
After paddling we all met back up at the campground and Rick was sitting on the picnic table having a drink and holding his arm. Seems his day was not as smooth and boring as mine was. His group went to the Ledges section of the Tellico, which is section 1 on AW. He made it about half way down before smashing his shoulder on a rock coming off of 9ft Falls. He had stopped at a pharmacy and bought some wrapping stuff and a sling and so we wrapped it up and he took lots of ibuprofen. We had dinner cooked for us by TSRA president Trent, and Charlie made us a great Dutch-oven mixed fruit cobbler. The temp dropped really fast that night since the weather was all cleared up, so we made a camp fire and all sat huddled around it. The funny thing about this is, we were all downing cold beer trying to warm up!! By 11pm everyone was in bed! Trent and myself were the last ones to leave the fire.
Sunday morning we woke up and all kinda just packed up and mingled around talking about yesterday and what was to come today. A few of us ran in to town to the Hardee's for coffee and warm biscuits. We had classes start about 9:30 and we got to build fires and over night tents. We also cleaned everything up so that we didn't have to come back after paddling later that day. Then broke up into new groups and figured out who wanted to go where and paddle. I got in with the group of open boaters and went to the middle Tellico.
The middle Tellico was awesome! This is my new favorite river! I will probably only get to run it once or twice a year but wow was it cool! It is down in a gorge, and has the road right next to it! It has the steep creeking feel to it with out the steep creek hazards. We had 5 open boats and 2 kayaks on this run. In all we had five swims and none of them were me! The other kayaker took two, an open boater took two and his friend, also and open boater, took one. Our two safety boaters had their hands full! Charlie and my self had the lead and took turns reading and running the rapids. I walked the first class III of the run which was Crack in the Rock. We had only been in our boats about 5 mins and were already staring down a pretty nice class III. I ferried back and forth several times looking at it and was just not feeling it yet. I walked around it and two of our five swims happened here. It was looking like I had made the smart decision! All of us chose to walk around Reader's Rock. This little class II+ has an undercut rock that if you run right is very easy! If you run it off line it has class V consequences! The undercut rock runs parallel with the river and is large enough to hold a tandem canoe and passengers! It was not my idea of a good time! Our group got off the river about 4:30pm and we said our good-byes to one another on the side of the road.
On the way home I took the Skyway mountain pass highway up and over the mountains and down into the Nantahala gorge. It was beautiful! The leaves were great and it was warm! I had a nice ride home and I have a head full of memories fro the trip! I can not wait for next year! I will be going back to safety boat for them next year. I would highly recommend this clinic for anyone who paddles inn water that is colder than 70 degrees! Hope to see more of my FPC friends next year.
