April 21 WNC Trip: Pigeon + Ocoee
| River: | Other |
| Skill: | Intermediate |
| Trip Date: | 04/21/2017 |
April 21 WNC Trip: Pigeon + Ocoee
On and off for the last seven years, my friend Kevin Cox and I have travelled to WNC in April with a small group of local Triangle boaters for a 3 day/3 river weekend. The group has evolved over the years as parenting, business or other responsibilities took precedence. I guess it was three years ago that Kevin bought a raft and started bringing some of his other close friends. It has always been a fun and relaxing time full of rivers, fun and camaraderie. This year some of our core crew were not available (David Burke stuck working and kayaking in Colorado, Mason Weems with his 6 month old son, Kevin Tuttle recovering from a Grand Canyon raft trip, Lu Cu otherwise committed) so Kevin suggested I post on the CCC Facebook group to see if anyone else wanted to go. Thus my first official Trip Coordination and following Trip Report:
Friday, April 21
We set off from Raleigh with nine in the crew consisting of Wayne Jones, Shred Head (Frank Mueller), Jordan Adem, and myself with our kayaks and Kevin Cox, his friends Jason, Charles, Matt and Joe with the raft. We watched the release schedule all week with the hope to catch the Pigeon with French Broad 9 and the Nantahala as backup. Pigeon released at 2:00 pm so we were good to go. Setting off at Powerhouse Rapid, we noticed it seemed a lot bigger than usual. The wave train was bumping. Found out from a raft guide later that the release was at 2100 CFS versus the normal ~1300 CFS. Biggest difference from my perspective other than Powerhouse being bigger was the water moved a little faster and waves were a little bigger. All the major rapids like Lost Guide, Double Reactionary and Accelerator seemed about the same as the normal release. Storms threatened the whole run, there was some rain but not much, but near Double Reactionary there started to be a lot more thunder and lightning cracks that seemed too close. That said, both the raft and kayak crews had a great run. We opted to skip a second lap based on the weather and time and headed to Smoky Mountain Meadows campground in Bryson City. Most of us were in tents but Kevin brought his camping trailer so we all had a nice awning to sit under while it rained. After a quick beer, we headed over to Bryson City to eat. It was the first time for me at the Nantahala Brewing Company. If you like IPA, the Noon Day is really good.
Saturday, April 22
Up early and off to the Ocoee for Day 2. Since the rain was headed east, we lucked out and had perfect weather. Our friend Chris Singer from Atlanta met us with a few of his friends and we set off with nine kayakers and the raft with five aboard. The raft traffic was light but there were a lot of other kayakers. As always, the Ocoee provides an amazing Class III/III+ environment where you can push yourself as hard as you like or run the available sneaks. We ran the traditional lines with a few of the crew doing more advanced moves like the Watauga Move below Flipper. Wayne Jones has a fine description of his line at Double Suck on a Facebook post. Check it out. If you ever paddle with Chris Singer, get ready to boof. He is a serial boofer and must have hit every one on the river (felt like it anyway). There was one particular boof at Cat’s Pajamas (Crunchy?) that was really fun. The kayak crew ran one run and the raft crew ran two laps. Overall, it was an awesome day and we all got off the river tired and satisfied. Lots of surfing, flips and rolls but no swims or raft carnage. The raft crew reported two fun runs with only one gnarly incident getting stuck on a rock. All survived to tell the tale.
We headed back to Bryson City but stopped off at Nantahala Outdoor Center (NOC) for a few beers and food. There is something really special about NOC, sitting outside, having some beers with your friends and just soaking in a really special environment. Kayaking nirvana. The deluge started again and we head back to camp. We all ended up cramping into Kevin’s trailer. He broke out his guitar and the group drank heartily and did some really sketchy renditions of Hank Williams and other songs. Kevin, Jason and Wayne are all fine guitar players!
Sunday, April 23
The raft crew planned to head back Sunday but the rest of us debated whether to stay and get in one more run. It was rainy and cold and getting home later at night led Wayne, Jordan and I to a warm breakfast in Bryson City and getting back to Raleigh by mid-afternoon. Shred Head/Frank was not to be denied and connected with Corey Thomas for two more laps on the Pigeon and a scout of Big Creek.
Well, that’s it. My first Trip Report. Under 1000 words so I hope I did not drone on too long. Special shout out to Jordan Adem, one of CCC’s newest members. He tore up the Pigeon and the Ocoee on his PFD on both. On top of that, he got a lot of attention working to surf everything in his 12 ft. Stinger, including Hell Hole!
4/25 Addendum
Forgot to mention somebody: Alex Singer. I think he is about 12. Running the Ocoee in a Jitzu making us all look old. Awesome run Alex! Love your enthusiasm and love of kayaking!