Where is the WOR TR

Paddleboy · Post by **Paddleboy** » Tue Jul 10, 2007 12:35 pm

With all you people going down to week of rivers and no one can write a trip report?? Very weak.

Bob Dole · Post by **Bob Dole** » Tue Jul 10, 2007 12:49 pm

/points at the swimmers

Wallace · Post by **Wallace** » Tue Jul 10, 2007 1:16 pm

I went to week of rivers hoping to finally pull off a personal first descent without swimming. No such luck. I swam on both the rivers that were new to me -- The Ocoee, and the Pigeon. The French Broad was nice to me, though. Je parle la hubba hubba! Since they are as dry down there as we are here, that was all we got the chance to paddle. Two trips each on the Pigeon and Ocoee, and one on the French Broad. I would have liked to get back on Chatooga 3 or 3.5. The early birds had a good day on Chatooga 4 while Gromit and I drove down. Ken and Alicia enjoyed the Nolichucky the same day Gromit, Julie and I paddled the French Broad, and most of the others including the newest pro boater Miss Melanie Stine ran the Upper Ocoee. Wade, Sejal and Stephanie(?) paddled the Cheoah at about 90 cfs and they liked that. The crew that hung around after we came home evidently found the Cheoah a little more exciting at release flows. I've heard rumors of a significant swim, but I have no confirmation. I think they paddled it both Saturday and Sunday. I think the dam release rivers make the trip worthwhile, nevermind the rain -- or lack of it. I'll keep going back as long as our friends from Coastals do. The trip is a vacation mainly because of the time spent among good friends with a common interest and a (mostly) healthy sense of fun.

Did I mention the newest pro boater!? Melanie was the only one in our group to get on the wave at Lost Guide on the Pigeon. I thought Guy and Juggy were going to stay there until they shut the dam down. The Juggernaut even emptied the contents of his boat trying to gain enough speed to reach the hole.

Gromit continues to improve. It's really getting embarassing for me. I've begged her privately to flip every now and then, and maybe even take the odd swim, but NOOOOO -- she just bobs on through the gnar like a cork with a little lead ballast. Honestly, I couldn't be prouder of her.

I should thank all the folks who stepped up to lead the way on the river. Raymond, Kessmann, Justin, Guy, Julie, Wade and JR thanks for pointing me in the right direction. Thanks also to the many innocent bystanders who collected my stuff, and were ready with a rope at broken nose. I was sure happy to see you there!!!

Herb · Post by **Herb** » Tue Jul 10, 2007 1:48 pm

Wallace- I did not get to save you this year from writing trip reports. Maybe next year.

Herb

gromit · Post by **gromit** » Tue Jul 10, 2007 4:32 pm

I had a great week! I think Wallace covered the rivers - the Ocoee was a challenge, but thanks to Raymond, JR and Guy as well as everyone else I survived! I did have one little upset. I shall take Monsters lead and say I didn't swim but merely got out of my boat and stood up! I flipped on a nothing of a rapid on the Ocoee and was initially stuck on a rock. I reached and pushed off the rock and then was unable to get my paddle set up as it was kinda wedged in a rock (d*#$ rocks!). So, no roll I got out and stood up on a rock right in an eddy. Conveniently Guy was helping another paddler estranged from her boat, so he emptied hers and then, in his gentlemanly way dragged my boat up on the rock, emptied it and assisted me getting back aboard!

Thanks to all for driving, cooking (I gained 3lb's - not happy about that!), telling stories, leading on the rivers and being a great bunch of folks!

I'm still tired and need a week off to recover!
Now, all we need is some rain....
By the way, better watch out for Melanie as she rocked the Ocoee and Pigeon. Just wait till she gets to z dam! She was awesome!

jules · Post by **jules** » Tue Jul 10, 2007 5:01 pm

Thanks to JR for his rope trick at Broken Nose, Raymond for involuntarily stepping up to guide newbies down the Ocoee, Marshall for his tall tales around the campfire (great ab workout), Guy for bringing 1800 tons of pork, Marshall and Thomas for cooking it and other great food and also Juggy, W&G, Kessmann and the others who cooked, Shaggy for keeping me laughing, Matt for the ride home, Wade who made gallons of coffee each morning and co-led a trip for 30 down the Pigeon, Sejal who made sure my exercises were done correctly and my splints fit, and Greg for bringing excellent reading material to keep us entertained.

gromit · Post by **gromit** » Tue Jul 10, 2007 5:59 pm

Now you've made me feel guilty for forgetting to mention everyone who contributed to my personal fun! I do have to mention Julie who entertained me during the car rides as we concocted a romance novel

and for leading me through lost guide on the pigeon thinking it was another wave train!! Kessmann and Jules, who listened to my 80's collection of music - Melanie thought it was the oldies and Wallace who just thinks it is crap! I still have a mental image of Marshall telling his story and thanks to Monster I still have a certain song stuck in my head!! It was great to see Wade and Sejal, along with their storage tent and loved having Max around for his first WOR. Greg and Juggy were great helping with herding us down the Ocoee and Greg provided a special musical feature around the campfire, most evenings!

Looking forward to next year!

mattd · Post by **mattd** » Tue Jul 10, 2007 6:38 pm

WOR was simultaneously dope, phresh and stoopid. The highlight for me frankly was the copious amount of time spent at NOC. It finally dawned on me earlier today why I love the NOC so - it's because "it's just like, it's just like, a mini....mall!" Kinda like the Flea Market down in Montgomery -->

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FJ3oHpup-pk

Thanks to Guy for introducing me to this musical masterpiece which merely confirms my suspicion that Deep South Retail Hip Hop is da sh** y'all....You feel me?

Wallace · Post by **Wallace** » Tue Jul 10, 2007 7:32 pm

Sorry to have forgotten to thank SwmmrGreg for alternately running probe and sweep for me on the Ocoee. Maybe one day I can return the favor.

guy66 · Post by **guy66** » Tue Jul 10, 2007 9:22 pm

mattd wrote:Thanks to Guy for introducing me to this musical masterpiece which merely confirms my suspicion that Deep South Retail Hip Hop is da sh** y'all....You feel me?

I'm glad I can help

For those of you that don't know, that song is like an eraser of anything you have stuck in your head. Really just sing (to your self) "it's just like, it's just like a mini mall" and whatever you had stuck in your brain will melt right out and be replaced with it!!

guy66 · Post by **guy66** » Tue Jul 10, 2007 9:24 pm

Paddleboy wrote:With all you people going down to week of rivers and no one can write a trip report?? Very weak.

Look at the love fest you started

I had a great time as well. Thanks to all that helped out and your welcome to all that said thanks!!

guy66 · Post by **guy66** » Tue Jul 10, 2007 9:30 pm

"The Youth Corn Alliance were great at taking us in also!!!"

by Yakmom

for the whole story go here: http://www.monocacycanoe.org/mccboard/m ... 24332.html

bambam · Post by **bambam** » Tue Jul 10, 2007 9:39 pm

In spite of the big dry it was a good week. While dams are always a mixed blessing if you gotta have them then it's cool to have them do whitewater releases.

A few notes if I may?

Nolichucky at 650 cfs is still fun, particularly if you are driving right past it on the way to WOR. Not so much play but it all still runs, even that big shoal thingamabob.

Ocoee Monday was OC-2 for me plus we were a large semi-discombuberated group so I regretted our first timers and second timer didn't get as much support as they might have wanted. ... Or not, dunno, I didn't hear any complaints. Outfitting sidenote: Guy got a kick out of the twin Attwood bilge pumps cranking streamers out both sides of the OC-2 stern. Pretty cool, in an eddy they hit a yakker about neck-high, looking forward to that one when the water gets cold. (Kidding!)

Two days on the Pigeon was enough, big thanks to Wallace for the yak loan / demo on Wednesday. 'twas a bit like paddling a brick-shaped beach ball with a planing hull. Apparently I have much to learn about the most current designs. Good fun though.

Ocoee again then Bottom Cheoah at a whomping 79 cfs. Slow motion creeking over moss-padded rocks. Low-impact fun. Add a couple hundred cfs and I'm betting it would make a great intro to creeking class. Carnage note on the Ocoee, at Double Trouble, Guy was surfing the top wave, slid off and accelerated down the second and third only to have his ear slam into the bow of a C-1 trying to surf. Joltin' Joe Frasier would have been proud of the shot he took. After making sure the blood wasn't from his brains leaking out of his ear-hole I suggested he "take five".

We followed the low water Cheoah run with a hike through the Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest. This pocket of wilderness houses some old-growth forest which is rare on the east coast. The signature trees are the giant poplars. Alicia, John, and I joined hands and barely reached around half of one trunk.

Saturday was a Cheoah-pet release of around 1100 cfs per USGS. Plenty-o-carnage there, some of it on the edge of scary. For me, I ended a flip-less week within 300 yards of the reservoir by flipping in the rapid called "Yardsale". Apparently I put on a good show whilst inverted as the crowd said "ouch!" when I went over a small ledge. I saw it go by but didn't take a big hit. Gotta love it when that roll kicks in. Others weren't so lucky. I saw folks taking out during the first third. In our small group one fellow swam twice with the second swim ending up with his boat pinned. That one chewed up some time plus I learned that my skin doesn't like kudzu. We saw a number of swims in the rapid above the falls. Most ended up, thankfully, with relatively harmless crawls through the kudzu with or without boat and paddle. One close call found the swimmer barely catching the edge of the last-chance eddy on river left just above the falls. Over there the river drops maybe ten feet or so onto a slab of bedrock, yikes.

......................................

Sixteen hundred miles later it's home sweet home and looking forward to the next adventure.

Ken

jules · Post by **jules** » Tue Jul 10, 2007 10:10 pm

OMG I almost forgot two more thanks - Ken's bestest hugs in the whole world and Alicia's great-grape-nuts n grapes n apples n blueberry yogurt breakfast bites. Alicia tried to get John's "pig boat" on Double Trouble and COULD NOT ROLL IT - in her words, it IS unrollable.

Alicia · Post by **Alicia** » Wed Jul 11, 2007 9:46 pm

It was a great week. Enjoyed paddling w/ many Coastals already named, & relaxing by the Corn fire in the evenings. Highlight for me was the Cheoah @ release (tho seeing it @ low low water was pretty neat). At 1100 cfs, it's pretty poofy for an open boat (of which I only saw 3 others). I walked the falls. On the Ocoee, I learned not to dog someone else's boat, as Julie so kindly pointed out. Ken & John Sills were wonderful travel buddies.

I recommend the restaurant, Lulu's, in Sylva, for chic but casual dining, if you're not eating pork @ camp.

Coastals

Where is the WOR TR

Where is the WOR TR

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