French Broad Section 9 Paddle
The morning started off early, with a bunch of chatter about weather. Is it going to thunderstorm? Should we cancel? Many of us were driving quite a distance and didn’t want to get skunked. We decided to go for it …
Archives: Trip Reports
New Year’s Day Sax Lake Paddle Trip
On New Year’s day 2026 a small handful of club members (myself, Alton Chewning, Roy Siggins, Colin Harrington, and Jim Butler) joined forces with the “Polar Paddle” put on by the Haw River Canoe & Kayak Co. at the backwater …
Ocoee Drawdown 2025
I look forward to Drawdown every year. Last year Hurricane Helene did her best to wash Drawdown out. I hoped for a calm week for Drawdown 2025, only to have not one but TWO hurricanes approaching! However, Humberto and Imelda …
Are you prepared for that river?
Always prepare for the worst and seek out further education so you are not the person who doesn’t know what you don’t know. This weekend put a bunch of truth into that statement and became a huge learning lesson for …
Catawba River – Fort Mill to River Park
So after posting this with only a week notice, during WOR, it is not surprise that this turned into a 1 boat recon paddle. Make sure to check the Duke Energy release time (https://lakes.duke-energy.com). At 9:15am the horn sounded, …
Families Paddle Too – Lucky 13
The 13th edition of Families Paddle Too took place over Memorial Day Weekend at Smoky Mountain Meadows. The biggest news to come out of the event is that Michele Belknp has agreed to coordinate going forward! Despite it being the unofficial …
Exploring Rocky Branch to the Deep River
Rocky Branch is a creek that I’ve had on my mind for a couple of years now mainly due to the gradient, but I’ve only seen it with high enough water one time when I was already planning on running …
Functional Freestyle Canoe Clinic
“Canoe Freestyle is the art and science of precision, quiet water paddling.” Thus began the required evening lecture on the night before North Carolina’s first canoe freestyle clinic, hosted May 3 in Saxapahaw. Our guest of honor was Marc Ornstein, …
Friday *AM* Middle & Lower Haw (intermediate)
On May 16 Larry Ausley, John McDonald, Christopher Mattocks, Diana Haywood, Alton Chewning, and Colin Harrington (and myself: Jason Jones) set out to link the Middle and Lower Haw sections near Pittsboro. Most paddlers were in whitewater kayaks, and Chris …
Another Ocoee (and Nantahala) Weekend
Another Ocoee (and Nantahala) Weekend Trip Report – 5/10, 5/11/2025. Anna Ploghoft and Dave Johnson are very generous with their time and enjoy leading trips. Paddling trips are really what the CCC is all about, along with a short list …