It rained for days, and the waters were high, t'was the perfect condition to ride the tide!
Last weekend was my first white water rafting adventure, it was incredible! The Nolichucky river spans eastern Tennessee into north eastern North Carolina and drains the Blue Ridge Mountains. A week or so of rain and snow melt created perfect conditions for some wily class 3 and 4 rapids. I was stationed up front on the port side of the boat, 3 other people in tow. I couldn't have imagined how turbulent the water would be!
The Nolichucky gorge is the deepest gorge east of the Mississippi and is populated with rocks and huge boulders. On a typical run, the rocks provide a technical challenge for paddlers, whereas we glided over most of them. Most, if not all, of the river bank was traced by old railroad tracks, still used today to transport coal out of these old mountains. Our guide told us about some of the old towns that started in the woods along side the river, abandoned long ago, where settlers would build some small houses and make a living. Another exciting sight was the Appalachian Trail! On the way to the raft site, we spotted a tral post where hikers were resting, and happily chatting to other trail blazers. The actual town, Erwin, TN, was also pretty influential in the pottery scene until the 50's and still has a street called "pottery row".
The massive rock face above us, next to trees decorated with green buds, were beautiful. I am always humbled when nature teaches us something, as it often does. While navigating the waters, it is so apparent how powerful nature is, and it is really inspiring to be a part of the landscape in such a way. My heart was pounding most of the time, in a fun way, I reeeeally didn't want to fall or be "violently ejected" into the drink...but we had a really great guide and all remained in the boat.
Calm(er) waters on the Nolichucky River.
Class 3 or 4 rapid, here??