Paddling North Carolina

 9:07pm     Today, the paddling school and I traveled to the Chattooga River. It lies in northern Georgia and is a hidden gem. No roads or houses are allowed within a third of a mile of the river. The good news is that we didn't see a single other person or one bit of infrastructure, but the bad news was that we had to hike out with our kayaks and gear. As soon as I made it down to the river I was shocked. There was a large beach with lots of skipping rocks, smooth-flowing water, and flowers blooming in every direction. This run included mostly class 11 drops into pools, but near the end was one class IV section and some 111. The instructors further taught what they had already been teaching. I taught a brace. I told the new paddlers that when they start to tip over they shouldn't be afraid to stick their paddle out and use it as a way to right themselves. Near the end of the day, one of the paddlers used it and thanked me. Seeing someone apply the knowledge that I taught...

 5:37pm May 16     Today, I shadowed the second day of the Learn to Kayak program. There were two instructors and three people learning. After packing lunches and gear we drove off to the Tuckasegee River. It was mainly a Class 11 river. It was a great place for the new paddlers to learn on. It had little waves to catch, eddy moves, and drops. First, the instructors and I taught edging. When entering or leaving the current you need to make sure you have the proper edge that allows water to flow under the kayak. We then did some roll drills. We didn't have anyone flip all the way over and try a roll, we just let them practice hip snaps. We ended the run with a rapid called Devil's Den. The whole rest of the river was quite small, so I wasn't expecting the large hole that it was. I powered through it and then went back in it again and again until I tired myself out. Overall, I had a good time seeing people gain a love for whitewater kayaking like I do.  Hours: 9:00am t...

 5:27pm May 15 Today, my original plan was to start shadowing the 4-day lean to kayak program, but plans changed when I decided I would work at NOC in the summer as a raft guide. Today was the new hire orientation. I was expecting a PowerPoint presentation and paperwork. That is exactly what I got. The best part was the 10-minute coffee break. The part of the presentation that got me engaged was the perks and benefits slide. We basically got the golden ticket to all of the local attractions as well as discounts on everything NOC. Once finishing the slide show, we moved on to getting staff ID cards where we sat in line for an hour and a half. Although the afternoon was quite miserable, it was exciting to know I was going to work at such an incredible place.  Hours: 8:00am to 2:00pm Day: 6 hours Total: 55 hours

7:00pm My first week in North Carlina consisted of a five-day raft guide school and two days to explore the area around Nantahala Outdoor Center. I walked into the campus with no idea of what to expect. I was greeted by the sun, blooming flowers, and the nicest people you could imagine.  My living situation included a bunkhouse shared with three other people. One was a fireman and the other two were part of an outdoor ministry group. At the center of all the bunkhouses, was the bathhouse and the kitchen.  My raft school had twenty-five members in the class. Our first day of raft school was a full run on the Nantahala River. It’s approximately 8 miles long and takes two-three hours. We were all put in rafts with three others The crew and I all took turns guiding the raft. My previous knowledge of kayaking and navigating rivers definitely made guiding way easier. I couldn’t imagine what it was like for the people who had only been on a river once or twice in their life. The sect...

 8:38pm     Today was the final day of raft guide school. The leader of the school called it fantasy island after the show from the 70s. Our fantasy would be to run the biggest rapid on a river all day long which we ended up doing. We rafted Nantahala Falls over and over again. Once we guided our way through the best line on the rapid, we were challenged to catch eddies or do rock spins and still run the best line. I did a good job of this. In the end, we got to do fun runs. For the first run, we packed a bunch of people onto an upside-down raft. It went surprisingly well as no one swam. For the last fun run, we stacked two rafts together. This also went very well as it didn't end in disaster. After turning in gear and putting away rafts, we received our graduation certificate.  Hours: 9:00am to 5:00pm Day: 8 hours Total: 49 hours

 8:46pm Today, the raft school and I traveled to the French Broad River which was a few hours away from the main campus. It is one of the oldest rivers in the world. The section we ran consisted of a few class 111 rapids and two class 1V's. That may sound fun, but the river is rain dependent and was fairly low. Whenever I moved away from the flowiest part of the rapid I was immediately stuck on a rock. This happened several times as the river is very wide and it is hard to find the best line. I got to do the last class IV section. Prior to entering the rapid, there were many rocks to get stuck on which was a good thing in this case so I could scout. I managed to not get stuck on the only part it would've been good too. I did the rapid reactive rather than proactive since it was so fast. I didn't lose any crew or flip the raft so I counted it as a successful run. Tomorrow for the last day, we will be running the Nantahala Falls all day long.  Hours: 8:00am to 7:00pm Day: 11 ...

 7:37pm At raft guide school today, we took all the skills we've learned in the past two days and applied them to the Nantahala. We practiced all of the different paddle strokes, eddy moves, and rock spins. One new thing I learned was the guide stroke. It is a stroke where the guide can move the raft forward on his own. I found this stroke very helpful as I like to let people relax on the raft instead of making them paddle. It's also nice if I'm having a conversation with the people on the raft and don't want to interrupt it. Tomorrow, we will all be waking up early to go to the French Broad River. It has many class 111 sections with some 1V as well. It will be a good chance to see how well I'm performing the strokes and maneuvers.  Hours: 8:30 am to 5:30pm Day: 9 hours Total: 30 hours