My WOR run down

River:French Broad , Nantahala , Tuckaseegee
Skill:All
Trip Date:07/02/2021
Written by: , Posted: July 12, 2021

My WOR run down:
First off if you didn’t make it to WOR then you missed out.
Friday, Town Tuck trip led by Thomas Womble and Elliot. Around 16 paddlers.
This was a great group and a beautiful section of river. It was at 2600 and a great level. The paddle was gorgeous and everyone had time to skill build and play in in surfs. We got to enjoy a great first day on the river for the week.
Saturday, Tuck Gorge
11 paddlers
We had great groups all week so this will be a theme. Beautiful day, some of the group in WW boats and some in long boats. Practiced surfs and ferries and some roll practice also. Got to meet some of our other Facebook friends on this trip. Also had a few that stopped at the jump rock for fun. Lots of stories told and new friends made. Part of our group went and did a Ferebee to Nantahala quick trip after the Tuck Gorge and had a great run.
Sunday, Nantahala
14 paddlers
Amazing group. Picked up 3 extra at the put in that wanted a smaller group. Some first time paddlers in duckies and some that hadn’t paddled in awhile. Lots of working the river and skill building. All but one of the group that wanted to run the falls had a good clean line and we were set up for safety for the one that swam. Monday, French Broad section 9 paddle.
28 paddlers
We had a beautiful day for the “Fun lines FB9 paddle”
Beautiful weather and all class 2+ paddler per their own report.
Per the rules for WOR everyone was to research the rivers and compare to their current skill level, and all paddlers stated they were good and capable of paddling this section of river at this level.
We were broken into 4 groups at the start each with their own leader that continually checked in and made sure we were good throughout the day..
We had 2 paddlers that were anxious from the start. One of whom decided to walk out of the paddle after hours of slowing the rest of the group down. All were asked to volunteer to walk with her and she was very rude and no one would walk with her. She was arriving at the put in when we got back and we assured she was safely with the group at this point.
The other anxious paddler wanted to continue and did well and was thankful she was able to continue the trip.
There were a few people that had short swims. There was a good crew of safety boaters and all swimmers and boats were rescued quickly.
It was a beautiful day, although longer than expected, we all had a good time and have stories to tell.
Tuesday, Island Park RSR class
Class taught by Chris Brewer
I assisted with downstream safety and took pictures when I wasn’t doing safety.
Class was focused on swimming (offensive and defensive), wading, examples of mechanical advantage, practiced rope toss, and examples of boat based self rescue.
After the class, a few people were there and wanted to work on surfing, hip snaps and rolls at Devil’s Dip. I got to practice T-rescues since I didn’t quite get my roll yet.
Wednesday, zero day Tubing at Deep Creek
Glad I wore my helmet and PFD. I definitely bumped my head more here than I did kayaking all week. It was my first time in a tube.
Thursday, Tuck Gorge again
It seriously is a pretty run. A few wanted to run the dam this time. I portaged the dam due to the known risks. Again worked on edging, surfing, ferrying, eddy catching and lots of other skills. Also practiced rolled and came upright the first time.
Friday, planned to run the Nantahala then head home. The thunderstorms scared the kids so we decided just to pack it up and plan to come back soon.
Thanks again to the CCC and the friends old and new for an amazing week. I hope everyone had a week to remember.—-Jen