Seeing Rock City
| River: | Ocoee |
| Skill: | Intermediate |
| Trip Date: | 09/29/2023 |
Seeing Rock City
a Trip Report on the Middle Ocoee River
by Alton Chewning
-I was thinking about a vacation, doing a little tour of eastern Tennessee. As a youth, I recall going with my parents on rare mountain trips and noticing barns with roofs painted “See Rock City”. Of course, parents were nagged about what Rock City was and could we go there. The answers were always “Don’t know” and “No.”
I learned later that Rock City is a tourist destination (surprise!) near Lookout Mountain, Georgia. Its claim to fame is a view from which seven states can be seen. The attraction is still there although air pollution from cars and modern life have obscured the views. The ubiquitous painted barns have declined too. The sign painter hired to paint the barn roofs, Clark Byers, decorated over 900 in his rambles. Now only 70 of these barns remain, mostly in Tennessee. I was hoping to see “See Rock City” and I did. Closely.
Paddlers are always trying to work a river into their trips. Sometimes the trip becomes more about the rivers than the other attractions. Particularly if non-paddlers aren’t on board to distract the itinerary. So, this became a paddling trip. First, I would stop in Nantahala, for a warm-up run in its cool waters and then onto Ocoee, a river I had not experienced.
At this point I should give a little personal background. My whitewater career started later in life and many factors and occurrences have stalled it along the way. A cracked rib threw me out of running one season, a detached retina another. Covid took a summer from most of us. And so on. A determined person could have soldiered through much of this. It’s been the last couple of years before I finally bore down on getting better at whitewater paddling.
Ocoee Drawdown. These words are confusing and ultimately misleading. Sounds a little like a shootout in the old West. The river, known as the Toccoa in Georgia and Ocoee in Tennessee, eventually flows into the Hiwassee. The Ocoee River was dewatered for decades until a rockslide shut down the bypass system and the river ran freely. Rafters and paddlers soon discovered it and a recreational industry boomed while repairs took place. Paddlers and environmentalists pursued a regular schedule of keeping water in the river and eventually won concessions for recreational water releases.
‘Ocoee Drawdown” refers to a period in the fall when the water was lowered to accommodate power company maintenance. This maintenance is no longer needed but the term remains, indicating a bucolic time when Labor Day is past, schools are in session, people are back to work and raft traffic is at a minimum. For some paddlers, like Rick Steeves, the words, Ocoee Drawdown, have more meaning than Christmas Holidays. It’s a time to be on the water when the summer hordes have left, and the river can be enjoyed without undue concern for crunched parking, full campsites, long waits and marauding rafts.
For Ocoee novices, the Drawdown is the best time to get on Ocoee with good guides and less worry. The river is a III/III+ run with 15-20 significant rapids in a five-mile course. Rapids come frequently, sometimes with a following pool, but often just a brief respite before another drop or hole or wave appears. For advanced paddlers it can be a read and run approach but for most of us a thorough knowledge of the lines will make for a better day.
Enter Rick Steeves. Rick has been coordinating a CCC Ocoee Drawdown event for many years. He’s run the river almost 600 times in a kayak, usually doing two or more laps in a day. On one monumental day, he and a companion ran it nine times. Ask Rick about this and he’ll say, “Yeah, and if my buddy hadn’t tried to blow through the Double Suck holes in a Nano kayak, we’d have done it ten times.” I’m sure counseling and therapy could help Rick overcome this trauma, but his tombstone will surely read, “Should have been ten runs.”
So, if you need a guide for your first descent of the Middle Ocoee, Rick is a good place to start. And the Drawdown is the right time. I had an opportunity to run the Middle Ocoee with friends on the last Saturday of Week of Rivers this year. They were people I felt comfortable with but being on the Ocoee on a Saturday during the height of the rafting season didn’t sound appealing. So, the Pigeon was the run of the day.
The Pigeon is a good lead-up to the Ocoee. It has mostly continuous Class III rapids, fast water, a couple of tricky places and a steady traffic of rafts, making it a suitable raft evasion training course. During the early fall, I and friends spent a couple of days on the Lower Yough in Pennsylvania. Another good lead up river with more numerous rapids and some better-make -it moves. Rick encourages getting comfortable on rivers like the Pigeon before tackling the Middle Ocoee. Having done the Ocoee now, I completely agree. The Ocoee is a definite step-up in difficulty and consequences from the Pigeon and Yough.
On my first day, I followed behind Rick and he stuck to easier lines when there was a choice. It wasn’t a trouble-free run but I felt pretty good about it at the end of the day. A cut and bruise on my face but not too bad. Trouble came on Double Trouble (hitting the waves dead center instead of river left) and not hitting Hell Hole square on. Other rapids, including Table Saw, went well and were exhilarating.
The next day my young friend, Jack Pitts, was set to go with us. Jack has only been paddling three months and has made great strides. He’s young, enthusiastic, has good balance, listens, is grateful and he’s young. Jack followed Rick on this day and I trailed behind. Rick took the beginner lines, when applicable, and Jack styled it. He motored through Double Trouble, Table Saw, Hell Hole and all the rest. A dry-hair day. His grin after bouncing through Table Saw was as wide as the river. I had one flip at the very end, at Powerhouse, not getting far enough right to negotiate the drop and hydraulics below.
The third day (for me, ninth day for Rick) was another treat. A little smaller group, all people I knew and appreciated, more beautiful weather, little traffic and just a few more bruises and bumps to serve as reminders. Jack followed Rick again, this time asking for harder lines. Whoa, Jack. Slow down. I’m behind you. Jack is young and gung-ho, so he wanted more. I wanted about the same, needing to solidify the experiences so far. We compromised and the runs went well. A spill early when a tight turn was needed, and I couldn’t quite accomplish it. Another spill when I followed a paddler from a different group into the lead up to Double Trouble. Turns out he was headed to a big boof/pillow rock with a strong curl beside it. Not where I wanted to be. Jack also had a smackdown on the curling second wave of Double Trouble. The Ocoee is always obliging to remind you of your inexperience and limitations. Otherwise, good runs on Tablesaw again and the rest of the mess. Jack surfed briefly at Hell Hole and I was still not far enough right at Powerhouse but managed the two drops and hydraulics cleanly.
Some things learned.
-Rick pointed out the value of catching a bit of a hole to use it to intentionally turn your boat quickly. I’d learned this in a Falls clinic at Nantahala where catching some of the upper hole slows you and sets your angle for the hole below.
-During a swim, be sure to keep in mind the eddyline as you finally reach a quiet place to swim into an eddy. Anna Ploghoft (an excellent boater) yelled for me to “Roll, roll” as I approached an eddy. Proper technique at an eddyline (if you can discern it) is to reach across with one arm stroking strongly and spin or rotate your body to break some of the surface tension as you pass through the line.
-When going through a big wave keep your paddle up so it doesn’t catch on the wave and you’re prepared to throw a stroke.
-There is no substitute for being young, fit, smart, enthusiastic, and gifted. Not all of us have these attributes but we can still paddle well and safely by regularly working on our skills and using our experience to evaluate situations and make good choices. Listening and watching others is useful to both groups. We learn by watching, we learn by doing, we get better at the things we practice.
Seeing Rock City was a good tour. There were moments when the view was striking and the rocks made an immediate impression on me. I’m not sure if I saw seven states or some were imagined. I came away with reminders of rocks I had seen and met. The mountains above the waters of the Ocoee make wonderful views too. I hope to appreciate them even more the next time I go “seeing Rock City.”
Sources:
“Is This Your Last Chance to See Rock City?” Atlas Obscura
“Toccoa/Ocoee River” Wikipedia