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.
No dogs were rescued in the course of this Ocoee trip.
I haven’t spent much time on the water this year. Kayaking the Haw last week I was wondering whether I could even still roll. Then I screwed up at the bottom of Moose Jaw and at least answered that question. I know the Ocoee well (and can still play back all the rapids in my head), but it’d been almost a year. Wonder how that will go? Adding to that the weather reports showed close to freezing temps in Ducktown for the weekend.
Lee Martin and Lara met me at the put in for the first lap. There might have been six boaters in front of us when Lee and I put on Saturday morning. It was a fun lap. I think Lee had a quick flip and roll but otherwise a dry hair run with no sneaks. The afternoon lap was spent helping POC recover swimmers and gear. Sunday temps dropped and reduced the number of boaters. The morning lap was quite chilly for spring.
Trip Coordinator: Jeff Hatcher
Paddlers- Rick Steeves, Steve Lott, Kevin Tuttle, Joe Mount, Jeff Hatcher
Temp 50, Level 5.8', 2300 cfs, 1' on the 64 bridge.
Really great day on the Haw with new friends (Kevin), old friends (Rick and Joe) and really old friends (Steve was in Triad River Runners and helped me learn how to paddle back in 2002!).
Chapel Hill Roll Session January 27th
In the spirit of Trip Reports gone by.
There were around 15 boats. 2 really long kayaks. One 2 man kayak with a woman. 4 playboat kayaks. 1 ruined kayak. 2 creek boat kayaks. 4 river runner kayaks. Some of them were blue. Some of them were red. Some of them were green. One of them had blue, green, yellow, red, fade, orange, black and white. One of them was orange. Several had several colors.
There were a lot of kayaks upside down at one time or another.
The end.
JMB
On a frosty, chilly January morning, a small but dedicated crew set forth to paddle Section Nine of the French Broad, and had a pretty danged good time doing so. This was actually the very first CCC trip I had officially coordinated, even though I’ve been a member since 1992. Luckily, this crew was totally up to the task. Mostly kayaks, with Benji and Sarah in a shredder-type raft.
Trip Report – Eno River, New Year’s Day 2016. 2 PM. Water level around 4 feet. 15 paddlers.
Trip Coordinator – Wayne Jones, with heavy logistical support (otherwise recognized as “good sense” from Allen Freeman and Rick Steeves.)
Paddlers – Cameron Jones, Allen Freeman, Rick Steeves, Martin and Jordan Doyle, Richard Hopley, Russ Scheve, Pamela Maynard, Dale Briggs, Camille Warren, Greg Runyon, Jenny Wiley, Nathan Jamps, Terry Jones, Wayne Jones.
Well, my first time back on the Ocoee since knee surgery…
