Participants: Elyse Lee, Pablo Destefanis, Joe Mount, Martha Mount, Eric Mount, Rich Ruhlen, Sara Ruhlen, Chuck ?, Liz Phelps.
My goals for the trip were minimal planning and maximum chillaxation time on the river and Turkey Creek campground. I'd only ever been down the Tuck gorge once and Nantahala at least a dozen times, but never seem to be able to remember any of the rapids, so luckily we had several seasoned boaters to lead the way.
Dan River, section 1
Level: 9,000 kilowatts
Participants: (K-1) Lorraine Burnham, Evan Pattishall, Paul Scrutton, Ian Pond, Rob Connelly, Kyle Connelly, Deborah Bird, Bob Brueckner
On the second weekend in June, 19 youth and teen paddlers descended on Bryson City for a paddling clinic held by the Foothills Paddling Club and Carolina Canoe Club. The students ranged in age from 7 to 18, with almost every age in-between. Skill levels ranged from, “what’s an eddy?” to “why aren’t we on the Ocoee?” The students were divided into three groups – beginner, novice, and intermediate, with 2 instructors for each group.
The trip was posted with a minimum preferred water level of 1' or above. The gauges held all week before the trip at around 2.5', so I figured we would have at least 2' by the weekend. We met at the visitor's center on Saturday morning and the folks there were reporting a level of -1.35'! To say the least. we were surprised, but a quick smartphone check indicated that the gorge was steady at 0.87' – a good, fun level with only minimum intimidation potential.
I got word “at the last minute” that Kibler was doing an unscheduled release at 9000 KW. I quickly posted a trip on CCC for this release. Since it was a last minute trip, I did not know if anyone …
I recently rejoined the the CCC and participated in the youth paddling clinics with my 11 year old nephew. My previous CCC experience spanned the late ’80s and 90’s during which I had the privilege to participate in various clinics, great trips and many memorable WORs. My compliements to Greg Runion and Jeff Deny for their professional and patient work with the eight students in the novice clinic. Their teaching style and one on one demonstrations of technique for each student created an enthusiasm for kayaking that was clearly evident in the smiles on each student.
