USNWC trip
| River: | USNWC |
| Skill: | All |
| Trip Date: | 06/15/2013 |
I had a couple of inquiries about the trip, but ultimately I think that the other natural flow rivers, and the Falls Dam running, my inability to car-pool (due to later plans) ended up making this a solo (or as we say in the UK – "Billy No Mates") trip.
The USNWC was a very busy place to be this Saturday as they were hosting a beer festival and 6K run. The line to get in stretched up the entrance hill a good way, and the car parking areas had been extended to many grassy lots. The attendants were helpful and allowed me to drop my boat off close to the top of the boating area before parking it in a remote lot.
While I was there I ran into Abi Riak, who was taking a weekend long set of kayak lessons at the center.
I decided to do two laps of each channel, starting on the Instruction, and then the Wilderness followed by the Competition channel. I did some eddy hoping / ferrying in the instruction channel and some surfing.
On the second run of the Competition channel I was too far left on "Big Drop" and flipped at the base. After rolling up I found a throw-line/bag draped over my paddle shaft. I took the bag/line off of the paddle and dropped it back in the water. Thanks, but I'm good this time!
With 6 runs under my belt, I decided that 10 runs seemed like a nice round number to shoot for.
A few years ago, I found that aiming just left of M-Wave made for a good clean run through M Wave, and call me complacent, but I have run that line ever since. On one of the remaining runs however, there was a raft sitting in my normal line. I opted to try going just right of M Wave. This seemed to work out quite well.
After I'd finished 2 more runs through the Wilderness and Instruction channel, I decided to check out the beer festival.
Charlotte appears to have the start of a thriving beer culture. I was introduced to Triple C brewery (some fune yummy IPA), NoDa (nice Belgian), and Birdsong (try their Jalapeno beer).
Pablo was teaching a private lesson on the competition channel, and demonstrating effortless ferry's across a wave.
The wait for a table at the restaurant at the center was estimated at 2 hours. Abi and I elected to drive up to a food-area near the REI approximately 8 miles away to eat at Break for the Border where there was no line.