We met Kevin in the Nanty gorge on our way to the Ocoee River Saturday morning. The weather was damp and cool. I look forward to the warmer weather coming soon. It was a dry hair day other than a practice roll.
https://youtu.be/8A6Y3JNV0oQ
I saw less carnage this weekend than the previous opening weekend.
Fred
Jason contacted me Wednesday regarding this trip. As luck would have it I had not commercial trips to work. Jed also joined us at the put-in. Jed showed Jason several cool new lines as we ran the river. It took nearly two hours or more to reach Goforth as we worked the river. The second half was run more directly. It was a fun day for all.
Today the level was similar to a low summer release. Tom and Florrie joined me for a lap down the lower green. It was fun but scrappy. Play hole is really playful at this level and worth some park and play.
The river level is slowly dropping. Unless the power house is repaired or there is more ran next week might be iffy.
We had abigger group of five today with some novice boaters. The weather was almost hot and the river was refreshing. There were only a few swims and alsmost everyone tried something new.
Tuesday, May 9th was a great day to be on the water. The level was just over a typical 100%. No novices showed up but David, Merriddee, and I had fun catchin eddies, surfing waves and making attainments. Looking forward to the next two days as well.
Saturday was wet cool and cloudy but Joe Marincel showed up for some more Ocoee fun. We ran two laps before we were cold and hungry but river traffic was fun and we worked several of the fun challenge moves along the way. Sunday was much more sunny but a little cool. River traffic picked up a bit and the Kellogg Show infested all the play sopts etc as they paddled down the river; they cause many of us to laugh and smile. Those kids surfed everything on the rive including Double Suck.
Raft and kayak traffic were even lower than expected. Joe Marincel met me early at the take-out Saturday morning. We ran two laps together. Joe got soe great combat rolls in Table Saw. I ran a third lap solo in the afternoon and tested the depth of Hell's Half Mile; it is still very shallow but my helmet still works quite well. Saturday night at my outpost the kids got a little noisy but I still got up early Sunday to eat and go kayak. The kids wrecked their raft at Grumpy's with a hit so hard the trainer nearly got ejected.
Participation was low during this trip. I suspect many folks have to work M-F and there were lots of options for intermediate+ boaters over the weekend. On the other hand it is hard to beat five days of warm whitewater boat riding. I somehow avoided working Saturday and Sunday and spent my windfall of time shooting carnage video as well as paddling.
This trip was better attended despite the Nanty Open just up the road. It must have been the great weather! I heard several positive remarks regarding my new Ocoee River Guidebook for Raft Guide Trainees from random boaters and guides. The guidebook is my latest attempt to panhandle a few beers; if you like it consider bribing me with a craft beer or two to create more online guidebooks.
Lee Martin met me at the put in early at 10:00 AM to run a couple of laps. We worked on walking the plank and eddy hopping broken nose among other moves. Raft guide trainees provided entertainment getting stuck far off line during the weekend. Watch a short video of some of the fun.
