Nantahala River

As you may have read in Jane's Blog, I am by myself down here in South Carolina. I have therefor planned a few man weekends of paddling, camping, and general man stuff that I don't get to do as much now that I am being a family man. Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't change anything, it's just that I think my boats miss me.

My day of whitewater paddling on Saturday started out well enough, until I realized I had left my sandwich on the counter at home. Thankfully the rest of my lunch made it so I wasn't up the creek without a paddle (Ha-ha). The plan was to drive up to Bryson City, NC and paddle part of the Nantahala River with a guide form the Nantahala Outdoor Center (a.k.a. NOC).

Before heading into the mountains I stopped at the Greenville Market downtown. I must say that it has gotten a whole lot better than it was last year. There are now two blocks worth of vendor, and there is more than just one of them selling produce. There were also a few bakeries with booths. In the end I bought a few things to have when I get home.

Of course a trip into the mountains wouldn't be complete without stopping at a few outfitters along the way. Unfortunately I was too early for most of them. I did stumble upon the Traveler's Rest farm market and bought a few things there too. It turns out it is on Saturdays just behind Sunrift Adventures, another of my favorite stores.

The next stop was Diamond Outfitters in Hendersonville but they were also closed. I pushed on to REI in Asheville and waited ten minutes for them to open. I read the paper in the car while a few die-hards (like me) waited outside. It made me feel better to know I wasn't the only one. In there I got a few little things for Isabelle's kayak. I think I have a new plan for making it stable enough for her. Stay tuned for an update when she, and the rest of the family, gets back to Greenville.

Next stop was a quick break somewhere near Whittier, NC to hit a flea market. The place was cool. There were lots of tools and other pretty things but nothing I couldn't live without. I needed to waste a little time since I was pretty early for my trip.

When I got to the Nantahala Outdoor Center it was like I was in whitewater heaven. Everyone had been, was going to, or was paddling. There were rafts, duckies, kayaks, play boats, canoes and all sorts of things. The campus was also abuzz with activity. Thankfully I had my own boat and gear and just needed to sit put, eat my lunch, and wait for the rest of the group to show up. Below is what some of it looked like.

The restaurant is on the left, a nice little park in front, and changing facilities on the right.

View to a beach from one of several bridges built over the river.

View of the main canteen from the outfitting store.

One of the public take-outs the other rafting companies use. The back of the store is on the right.

View of the store from the bridge.

The whitewater was just what I wanted. I had taken a course a few years back and it all came back to me. Eddy turns, peel outs, surfing, and even a little rodeo. I had a good four hours on the water with Knox the guide from NOC.

When we got down to the last set of falls we got out to have a look around. There was a huge crowd and lots of activity. After a few rafts went by a little inflatable ducky went over and flipped. the guy in the back was thrown clear and drifted downstream with the boat but the girl in the front got caught in what is called a recirculating current. She bobbed around for what seemed like minutes (but was actually only about twenty seconds) until she finally got thrown clear. Seeing that pretty much decided it for the rest of the team-they all pulled their boats around. The guide explained the lines through the rapids and he and I set out. He ran clean but I missed the last little move and went over. I waited a few seconds and rolled-no problem.

In some ways the best part of the trip was the food on the way home. Just before I arrived at NOC I spotted a little burger and fry joint perched on the side of the river. It looked questionable but I thought it may be the spot for me. I stopped on the way back since there were lots of other cars there and this is what I got.

It was the biggest burger I've had in a long while. The fries were the little shoestrings that I like. The burger was also just the way you want it. It was almost better than Five Guys, but not as messy.

At home after a quick clean-up of the car I sat out for a drink with the the neighbors and then off to bed.

Here are few more pictures of Isabelle's boat.

Nice shark stencil.

A saw fish Isabelle liked.

This weekend I'm off to Savannah for a surf kayak class. It looks like I'll be the only one so it should be pretty instructional. I'm bringing a camera so I should get a few good pictures. The instructor said there would be video as well. I'll report when I get back. I also have a surf kayak to build, and two paddles to finish-so many projects and so little time...