Atlantic Beach, NC. Monday afternoon July 19 2004.
The short of it: I was able to give four swimmers a kayak ride after they got caught in a very large and powerful Rip Tide. I made several mistakes during the rescue but got away with it. I was lucky.
The long of it:
After an apprehensive 2 months I finally decided to see why only the "chosen few" coordinated river trips. So let me start this with a few tips on coordinating.
Paddlers: Knut Radloff and Craig McKinnon
37 ft/mile gradient, steep slopes, rocky cliffs, mature hardwood growth, rhododendron. Sounds like a Nantahalaesque mountain stream? This Raleigh whitewater jewel feels like it with lots of class II ledges, pretty scenery and few signs of urban development.
For me, running the Yough was a major benchmark. My son Thomas and I started kayaking in Baltimore with the Greater Baltimore Canoe Club. We had gone on a club trip down the Yough in rafts. Already bitten by the whitewater bug, I was certainly not good enough to attempt to kayak the Yough at that time, but I had already set my goal to get to a level where I could run the Yough. The Yough was my ultimate goal and the height of my kayaking aspirations. With my skills improving over the summer, the ultimate benchmark seemed within reach for SIO-6.
The spirits of the old Indians sat in silence, overlooking their river. They were a little grumpy on this morning, or perhaps feeling a little mischievous. They watched intently as the group of white eyes dressed in strange cloths descended on their river, in colorful boats. One of the ancients nodded his head in the direction of the activity below said, “They want to jump like Rainbows, but today they will be nothing more than carp.” The group chuckled then sat back in stillness. The curse of the Tuckaseegee had been cast.
There’s something about Lisa, the Upper Gauley and rain.
Last year when Lisa Birskovich agreed to run the Upper Gauley trip, there was so much water that the Corp of Engineers was releasing water 24 hours at huge levels. The levels were too high for first timers, so the trip was moved to the Meadow on Saturday and the Top Gauley and Cherry on Sunday.
Date: Saturday, December 11, 2004
Where: Eno River, from Lawrence Rd. put-in (bridge) to Fews Ford Access, Eno River State Park
Water Level: 377 cfs/4.22 USGS (Hillsborough gauge); 590 cfs (Durham gauge)
Trip Coordinator: Paul Joffrion
Paddlers: Jan Bolen, OC-1; Roger Gaby, OC-1; Pat Heron, K-1; Jack and Kathy Imbriani, K-1; Paul Joffrion, OC-1; Lynna Woods, K-1
Standing on the shores of the huge McCoy rapid and looking at the thundering swells of this gigantic Ottawa River from my little Kingpin Icon, I felt so ready. Ready to conquer, ready to continue where I left off last year.
The rivers of southern Chile have now replaced those of Costa Rica and a few closer to home, like the Chattooga and New River Gorge, in my affections. I splurged and spent a major portion of my carefully saved dollars on an NOC trip to Patagonia in February, and had the best paddling vacation yet. I'll try not to gush too much, but here are some of the details and highlights.
