6 brave adventurers set out on a Jason Jones posted trip today on the Upper Haw River. The water levels were so ferocious (550 cfs on the Bynum gauge) that our fearless leader left his crew under the direction of Stan Cole. This would prove to be an excellent decision (by Stan’s judgement only). He showed mostly good lines, and when he didn’t, he was kind enough to slide right on top of hidden boulders protecting the crew from making the same mistake.
In all seriousness, the crew missed Jason’s presence, but still had a successful trip. Alton Chewning, Caroline Weisner, Laura Cox, Michael Mckeel, Stan Cole, and Tyler Lee met at the 15-501 Bynum Dam river access at 9 am. We geared up, loaded up, and drove up to the Chicken Bridge Road access and were on the water shortly thereafter. The water level was on the lower side, but only
Group just below one of the last rapidsGroup on the way to the takeoutLooking up at Sawtooth Rapid
in a handful of spots. The crew enjoyed lots of wildlife including turtles, hawks, an osprey , a bald eagle, cormorants, and geese. The highlight on the wildlife side was an otter. The otter was spotted in the flow of the water downstream playfully splashing around until we were noticed. It then disappeared to the depths of water, never to be seen by us again. Really amazing.
Alton shared his knowledge of the stretch of river and previous members’ trip memories. Caroline shared her knowledge of biology. Laura maneuvered the rapids with grace and preciseness. Michael continuously splatted rocks, and was asked by Caroline “Are you trying to run into those?” :-). Tyler shared his talent for bird identification. As he shared more than once, “Yep, that’s a bird.”
The paddling was good, the company was great. There was a little something for everyone. There was small wave surfing, ender attempts, rolls, and one short swim in the Little Nantahala rapid. We stopped for a quick break somewhere around Lunch Stop rapid. Yes, there is one on the Upper also. We spotted the remains of the foundations of an old bridge, and magnificently colored boulders that had been shaped over time by the water. We even spotted a golf ball wedged between boulders 8 feet above the water line. Alton asked for a drop and a 1 stroke penalty, but we made him play it where it lied. We finished the day with a 1.5 mile paddle on the fairly still backwater of the Odell pond formed by the Bynum Dam. We reshuffled cars and boats after having an enjoyable day, and then departed as friends that know each other a little better now.
