It is snowing outside and the temp is hovering around 30f. Sitting here at work my thoughts have been about why I have not done anything with this blog in four years. I am working on an update to let everyone know how I went from Key West to eastern Tennessee, but that will come a little later. For now lets just pretend you know the whole back story.
Friday night, Kat and I were in the garage playing darts when I got a message from Ketlin. She wanted to paddle something on Saturday and was looking for people to boat with. I thought about it for a bit and then asked if she wanted to try the Upper Green. She was pretty excited about the idea. So we made plans to meet up at 9am and head down to Saluda.
Saturday morning was rainy and 45f. We made it safely down to Saluda and met Rick at the put-in by 11am. We did not have to worry about setting shuttle since Kat was gracious enough to come along and shuttle bunny for us. We got on the river at 11:15 and started slowly. Ketlin was nervous but her paddling looked solid. We got through the first couple of rapids and Rick and I spent some time catching up. We paddled up to Bayless Boof and all jumped out of the boats to scout it. Ketlin's eyes got huge when we started to walk up to it. After she picked her line through, we slid back into the river and I lead the way. I got down to the bottom and set safety. The look on her face was priceless when she came down and was still upright at the bottom. I am 98% certain that is the largest thing she has ever run. She immediately started celebrating! Such a great thing to get to witness!
Well, we made it on down through the mountain fog and chilly January water. The paddle was amazing. Great times were had by all. Ketlin aced the run and was so happy. She kept talking about buying a key and going there more often. I am sure you all will see her on the narrows before too long! She is progressing by leaps and bounds with every month. As always I feel blessed to have been in the gorge and it is always great to paddle with my friend Rick.
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