Week of Rivers 2006 – Terri Phoenix
| River: | Other |
| Skill: | All |
| Trip Date: | 07/01/2006 |
I’ve just finished washing my very stinky gear and have hung it outside to dry. I have only two loads of laundry yet to wash. And while it is nice to have a hot shower, air conditioning, and no bugs…I am already missing my WOR tent city and looking forward to next year. Many thanks to Larry, Tiffany, Maurice, Kurt, and all those others who helped make WOR come together so well. Thanks also to all those who led trips of all skill levels. I led several during the week and promised Ron I’d send in trip reports in exchange for him not printing any incriminating or embarrassing pictures he may have caught during the week. ?
My week began on Saturday with a wonderful trip down the Nolichucky River at 968 cfs. Now some of you may be thinking there’s no fun to be had at that level…but we managed to find enough fun to keep us on the river until dusk. With me were five open boaters (Kevin, Kathy, Ed, Doug, John) and five kayakers (Bret, Janet, Chuck, Cat, Michelle), and a lone C-1 (Cliff). I fulfilled my sacred duty of sharing all the wonderful play spots I could find and managed to give them reasonably good ideas about the lines at the major rapids. Jaws was a delight and we stayed there a pretty long while- surfing, spinning, and rolling. Chuck got some great pictures of the carnage. We stopped to scout Quarter Mile Rapid and some rafters were kind enough to demonstrate both good lines and not so good lines. We had a couple of people roll as they ran it but only one swim. Cliff caught an edge and flipped at the top. He rolled up just above Hungry Jack but hit his head on the big boulder far river left and went back over. He came out of his boat and swam to the river left bank about 10 yards up river of Copper Rock. I chased his boat through the slot between Copper Rock and the other boulder on river left of it but was unable to get it to the side until just below Murphy’s Ledge. Everyone else ran Quarter Mile cleanly and we re-gathered down below Murphy’s Ledge. The rest of the day was spent surfing and enjoying the beauty of the Nolichucky Gorge. Janet got her first ender/pop-up although I think she was a little dubious when I first told her to ease the nose of her boat into the pour-over hole. We had to hustle toward the end to make it to the take-out before dark. It was a terrific trip and we were already making plans for the Upper Pigeon for the following Tuesday.
On Monday I had the pleasure of taking a group of guys from Texas down the Nantahala. They were graduates of Susan and Pat’s beginner/novice classes and were stoked about the opportunity to try their skills on the Nanty. With me on this trip were: Scott, John, Dave, Tim, Jared, JJ, Joshua, James, and Jeff- in an assortment of kayaks and Torrents. For a group of guys who have had very limited experience on pushy whitewater, they did fantastic! The trip started off with a bit of less than desirable excitement as JJ swam the latter part of Patton’s Run, followed shortly by Joshua getting flipped and run over by a raft. We managed to collect our people, their boats, and most of the gear; with the exception of Joshua’s paddle. Fortunately someone (Dave, John, or Scott) had a breakdown paddle with them and loaned it to Joshua for the remainder of the trip. Almost everyone caught both eddies at Pyramid Rock rapid and the guys had a blast practicing catching eddies and surfing. We stopped for lunch at Ferebee’s and warmed up in the sunshine. Several of the group re-entered the river via the seal launch…much to the amazement of some tourists who were lunching at the nearby picnic table. We stopped and played frequently as we made our way down the river. Several folks got out and launched themselves off the large boulder rock on river right shortly after The Ledges. Folks were getting cold so we boogied on down through the Bump and got out to scout the Falls. After watching the carnage…I mean the line…six of our group decided to run it. I led John, Joshua, Jared, Jeff, and James, down through Billboard and into Truckstop. Everyone made it through, though not without some theatrical flair. Joshua flipped as he drew even with Top Hole then rolled up and finished the route. He was stern squirted at the bottom but rolled up again without incident. The crowd of onlookers went wild. Not to be outdone, Jared flipped as he peeled out of Truckstop, rolled up just in time to go through Top Hole, flipped and rolled again halfway down, then flipped and rolled again at the bottom. Again the crowd went wild. It was a terrific day with lots of fun and a great group of folks.
On Tuesday, several of those from the Nolichucky run on Monday, entrusted me again to be their fearless leader. And one of the guys from the Texas crew decided he’d give me another shot as well. Joining me on the Upper Pigeon were Kevin, Kathy, Bret, Michelle, Janet, Chuck, Robert, Rob, and James. Given my love of playing and the knowledge that parking would be at a premium, we got an early start. We put on the river shortly after 12 noon. We played our way slowly through Powerhouse and Big Rock rapids. About 1pm the sky darkened and then the bottom fell out. Cheers erupted up and down the river as everyone celebrated the buckets and buckets of rain that fell. Just before reaching Lost Guide, the sun came back out. I borrowed a trick from when Joe Greiner led me down the first time (thanks Joe!) and went part way down the rapid to the small eddy on river right. I called folks down one by one and showed them the “left turn” rock. Everyone had a good run through. We stopped to eat lunch and play awhile before heading on down. We collected in the river right eddy just above what I learned was Hawaii 5-0 but is now called Double Reactionary. Yes, I know that Double Reactionary is a better descriptor for the rapid but Hawaii 5-0 has so much more pizzazz. Two folks who decided to run the sneak route ended up taking a swim. Chuck went too wide and flipped trying to cut back right…however, his boat led him down a great line through the meat of the rapid. Kathy made it to the bottom of the sneak route but caught the edge of the hole and flipped. Everyone’s boat and gear were safely recovered and then we spent a good bit of time surfing the hole at the bottom. We reluctantly left the hole and went downstream playing on everything we could find between there and the take-out. It was about 6:15pm by the time the last of us got out. Chuck and Janet had to leave to go back home, so we took group pictures and said goodbyes in the parking lot.
On Wednesday night it rained and so Thursday I was off to Big Laurel Creek. There was a large group of us and when we arrived at the put-in, we split into two groups. In my group was: James, Rob, Christian, Craig, Becky, Bobbie, Paul, and Dwayne. Big Laurel was at 9 inches when we put on and it was a sunny, beautiful day. Perfect for a trip down the Laurel. We played our way down to a wonderful spin spot and took turns surfing and whipping off 360s. We stopped and scouted Stairstep Rapid, set safety, and then everyone came through like they’d been running that rapid for years. Sutty’s hole was similarly (thankfully) uneventful. We ran conservatively river left and then took the boof line. Then it was time for the Narrows. Again we got out to scout and plot our lines. We ran through it in groups of twos and threes. Everyone had a wonderful run through, though the large wave at the bottom caught several folks by surprise, and gave them an opportunity for some roll practice. We played our way on down to the French Broad where Christian, Becky, and Bobbie took-out and hiked back up to Stackhouse. The rest of us refueled and headed down through Windy Flats towards Hot Springs. We stopped above Kayaker’s Ledge to play in the hole there before running the rapid. And here’s where the story gets good. There are two versions of how it happened; that James broke his paddle. One version, is that he was surfing in the hole and a paddle-shark viciously attacked his blade while he was surfing the hole. He flipped, and after a couple of tries rolled back up. The second version of the story is that James decided to attempt a cartwheel as he went over Kayaker’s Ledge. He planted his blade in the water where it found a crack in the rock, lodged and broke as he executed a beautiful cartwheel (in an RPM nonetheless). He landed, flipped, and after a couple of tries rolled back up. I’ll let you decide which story you choose to believe. Either way he ended up with a broken paddle ,and, despite being offered a replacement, decided to run Frank Bells Rapid with one and ¼ blades. We stopped at the top of Frank Bell’s and I did my best to explain the line. I think I need to practice a little more on my explaining because only two of us managed to run the rapid upright and without a detour through the hole at the bottom. Final score…Frank Bell’s 4…kayakers 2. Just wait ‘til next year! ?
Oh yeah…I forgot one small detail about our run on Big Laurel. I received the great and prestigious honor of the “Hole Glasses” on Friday morning for my misadventure in a rather innocent (but very possessive) hole. I had jumped into the hole to play while waiting for the rest of the crew to catch up. I played a short bit and then went to get out and allow someone else the opportunity. However, the hole really, really liked my Mutant and wasn’t through playing with me yet. After a couple unsuccessful attempts to paddle out and going deep with my paddle to find the outflow I began requesting assistance. At first people just continued to cheer me on for a great ride, but finally Christian came over (I think to harass me about being a ‘hole-hog’) and gave me the nose of his boat. Somehow I thought, ‘no one would ever know’…oh well.
It was a wonderful week and though my body is exhausted, my soul is fulfilled. I look forward every year to WOR for the reunion with friends from all over the country, for the companionship and story-telling that goes on in camp in the evenings, for the joy of paddling new and known rivers, and for the beauty of the mountains through which those rivers and creeks flow. Paddling is truly one of the great loves of my life. It was great to see everyone and I look forward to seeing you again next year! Peace and blessings, Terri Phoenix.