Shut Up and Paddle

I have been slow at work, so the Friday before last, I decided I would take the whole week off of July 4th. I started my adventure Saturday morning, heading up the Nanty after loading up my boat, gear, food, cooler, and dog/baby girl/partner in crime. Zoe and I hit the road, not sure where the week would take us or when exactly we would be back. We had a loose itinerary for a few of the days, but much of the week was an open road opening up before us.

Day 1: We hit the Nanty and met up with some good friends in the afternoon and put on at Ferrebee. One friend brought his Japanese friend, who paddled down with us in a duckie. We also met up with another padding buddy, his daughter (who had just started kayaking 3 weeks before) and his wife and other daughter who were in a duckie. It was a great day on the river and we had a great time chasing the duckies down the river and showing them how to swing their long boats into eddies. Good times! At the falls I met up with another friend and his wife and we all camped at a primitive camping spot. Zoe loved the camping–it was in national forest land, so we let her run free. She ran in circles around the camp site, enjoying her new-found freedom, and explored the areas around the camp site, including the creek nearby.

Day 2: We got up, grabbed breakfast at NOC, and headed over the the Ocoee. We met up with our group at the Middle Put-in, including another hand paddler (3 total in our group) for my Second First Ocoee Attempt. I was scared to death, hands shaking, as I scarfed down a PB&J, realizing I hadn’t eaten for a few hours and would be hungry. The extra cup of joe probably didn’t help. I opted (and was advised) to skip Grumpie’s, the scene of my ill-fated First Ocoee Attempt, and carried my boat down below to put on. [Note to self, drop boat off at the alternative put-in. It's quite a haul carrying Lil Joe.]

Milton (also a hand paddler) stayed on my like white on rice. I followed his lines most of the time and he gave great direction, telling me what was coming up and where we were going to. I opted not to play much since I was so nervous, and there always seemed to be some nasty whole or drop just below where we were playing.  We cheated Broken Nose and Double Suck. I flipped just below Tablesaw, on the river left crazy eddy lines. And I had a little out of boat experience just below Surprise Ledge - what a surprise it was!! There was one near-out-of-boat experience when I plopped right down into the hole below Cat’s Pajamas and the recirculating currents wouldn’t let me stay up or get out. Milton was on it and gave me a quick bow assist seconds before I was about to pull my skirt. Phew! I was pretty tired at this point, so I skirted Hell Hole and took out there, ready to drink some cold beer and celebrate my victory over the river that kicked my butt a year ago. Wahoo!!

Plans for camping that night and hitting the O again the next day fell through, so I headed back toward the Nanty to camp. It was a sleepless night, thanks to some local kids and a dirtbike.

Day 3: It was a rainy morning, so Zoe and I relaxed and slept late. My phone rang and my buddy Jamie was headed that way. We met up and hit the Nanty, just the two of us. We haven’t paddled together in a year so it was a lot of fun (a lot has changed in a year!!). It was cold, windy, overcast, and the river was covered in a blanket of fog. This made the whole run read and run since we could only see about 10 feet in front of us. We had a blast! It was great to paddle with an old friend and since it was just the two of us, we didn’t have to wait on a big group to finish playing. If we wanted to play or catch eddies, we did and then we went on. Afterwards, some of his friends met us for camping that night.

Day 4: We took three newbies down the Nanty in duckies (with three kayakers). The guys really enjoyed it! We had them catching eddies before too long, which was pretty fun in the duckie. It was a fairly short run since one of the duckies kept paddling down river when everyone else had caught in eddie. We kept hearing, “There he goes again! Let’s go.” Sigh. Still, a good time for all and a good day for the newbies–all of whom ran Nanty Falls perfectly! We all relaxed around camp and Zoe I went for a little excursion to the river to let her run around free for a little while, and I got some down time to read a book and relax.

I was not sure what I would do the next day. This group was not sure they would paddle any more this week and we tossed around ideas like hiking near the Tellico. My friend called and invited me to the Charlotte WW park the next day. I decided I would get some sleep and see if I was up for anything–after FOUR days straight of paddling I was pretty tired. The most I’d ever done before was three days and Day 3 was always a little rough.

Day 5: Woke up at the camp excited about the day and ready to paddle! Since I had no options to run any rivers that day, I called my friend and said, “I’ll be there!” I loaded up camp and Zoe and I hit the road, arriving in Charlotte three hours later. I found the ww park with no problems and was ready to paddle, even though I was pretty sore and tired. My first trip down the wilderness channel I flipped and couldn’t roll up, so I bailed, then proceeded to swim, swim, swim, through the gates, through M-wave, finally catching an eddy near the end of the channel. I got some pep-talk and lecture in the pond and had to practice tucking and staying tucked for 15-30 seconds. Much to my surprise, I was able to hang out upside for nearly 30 seconds!! This little tid-bit made quite a difference in my subsequent trips. Hit the channel again and flipped yet again. The water was so turbulent there, I was getting churned and my head/neck getting thrown around. I tucked tight and waited until I felt the water around me calm down. Then I rolled right up! It was great!! After a few good runs on this side, my friends talked me into the Competition Channel. I really didn’t look at it so I had no idea what I was in for. I made it part-way down, flipped in a hole, rolled up and dropped into another hole. After a few attempts, I bailed and swam big drop, finally getting pulled out (literally!) by a raft guide on the side with a rope. I still have bruises from this swim and it was pretty crazy - getting pulled under water, hitting my boat, gasping for air. I was later told by an observer (and one of my rescuers) that he did not think for a second that I didn’t belong there and that I looked good, holding on and really trying to get up. What a compliment! I’ll beat that Competition Channel. One day.

Zoe and I got a hotel room north of Charlotte. I cleaned all my gear, did a load of laundry, soaked in epsom salt and lathered myself if IcyHot. I was determined to hit the ww park again the next day! The night’s sleep in a real bed was magical.

Day 6: Zoe and I slept late, then ran around and did some errands. I toured around Charlotte a bit, visiting my grad school, UNC Charlotte. Zoe and I explored some garden trails on campus and I visited with my professor for a bit. Then we headed back to the ww park for more abuse. It was hot and there is essentially no shade here, so Zoe and I were pretty hot. We walked on some trails and walked around the park. I marvelled at the Competition Channel and retraced my swim and failed roll attempts. Milton and the crew arrived and I suited up to do a few laps on the Wilderness Channel. I was hesitant and a bit nervous at first, but I warmed up and my confidence went up. I got surfed below M-wave, but held on and pulled myself out, without flipping. After about 5 runs and countless combat rolls, we headed in close to 9 PM. After some greasy burgers and a milkshake, we crashed at a friend’s house.

Day 7: Zoe and I got up and hit the road, headed back to the Nanty to meet friends who were camping and running the Cheoah the next day. We napped in the NOC parking lot while we waited. They arrived and talked me into paddling. As we were about to push off into the water, my buddy looked at me and asked where my PFD was. Doh! I was able to get the shuttle bunny to come back to get me and I didn’t paddle. I figured if I was too tired to remember my gear, I was probably too tired to paddle. 6 out of 7 days ain’t bad, after all. After watching everyone else run (including a newbie who sailed through the falls!) we reconvened below NOC to watch some guys run Big Wesser, the “Un-runnable Rapid.” [See subsequent post with video footage.] It was quite entertaining!

Day 8: Had a big group camping last night. Most of them went to the Cheoah. Two friends and I headed over to the Pigeon. We had a great run! It was so much fun and I had none of the paralyzing fear that I had the first time I was up there. I led for much of the trip and picked all my own lines, and just laughed and laughed going up those big wave trains! We did two runs then got some BBQ at the gas station at the take out (yummie!). Zoe hung out with friends at the Cheoah and had a big time!

Day 9: We packed up camp and everyone headed out for the Cheoah. I was trying to round up Zoe, who was running around in the woods. We found her only to have her run back into the woods. She barked for a minute, and the bark turned into a wimper so we thought she was hurt. Nightmare visions of bears and snakes filled my mind and we ran up the steep hill after her frantically. As soon as we got up there, she emerged, smiling at me as she ran away. We met up at the bottom and got her loaded up. After breakfast (and a quick shower to wash off all the poison ivy I had probably just run through) we headed over to look at the Cheoah and film our friends going over Bear Creek Falls.

What a beautiful river! It looked like a lot of fun and I can’t wait to run it. The Cheoah next year is my new goal!

Well, it was getting late so time to head back. We stopped at a friend’s cook out for a bit, then Zoe and I pulled in our driveway about 10 PM. I unloaded quickly and went right to bed so I would not be too worthless the next day at work. I was not home long before I was missing the mountains and the brief week Zoe and I had being totally free, without an agenda and wherever the rivers took us. I felt energized by all of the paddling and was surprised that I was not more sore. Ironically, two days later I was in pain. Guess it pays to paddle more.

Now I have fantasies of moving to the mountains, paddling during the week, and having some land for Zoe to run. I’ll have to settle for the suburbs right now and I don’t know where we’ll end up later. But I know that was an amazing week that changed me - and my dog. She came home acting differently, more obedient actually. I also came home with some friends and letting go of some old ones. Paddling six days straight was not easy. My body was exhausted and the last few days I really had to push myself through it. It took stamina and a lot of perseverence, the extent of which I did not realize I had before this week. Now padding two days in a row does not seem like so much. My skills also had a big jump, as did my confidence. I don’t think you can paddle that much consecutively without experiencing a big jump!

What a week. Back to the real world and counting the days until Saturday’s paddling trip, once again.