The Nantahala Falls chewed me up, and spit me back out

When was the last time you were so excited for something that you could barely sleep. I'm talking Christmas Eve night as a kid. The night before your first big date with someone new. That first time before getting a new/"new" car. That kind of excitement.

But at the same time, I'm talking about something semi terrifying. The night before your first day of school at a new school (hello freshmen heading to college or high school). The night before an interview for that first or next big job. The night before you sign your name for that first house.

It's been a few months since I experienced that, and even longer since I experienced that in regards to kayaking. But last week, ALL of last week, was like that for me because this past Saturday, I tackled the lower end of the Nantahala River. I feel like I should have put a drum roll in there somewhere.

I have been kayaking now for close to 10 years. In that time I have tackled a lot of different types of waterways, especially rivers, in a variety of boats. I have been on the Edisto, Savannah and Augusta Canal more times than I can count. I have been on the Broad outside of Athens, GA and both the Hiawassee and the Ocoee (if I'm remembering that retreat correctly). I have also been on lakes and ponds galore. And while I may have gotten a little excited from time-to-time for some of those (particularly when I was learning to whitewater kayak on the Hiawasee and Ocoee about 4 years ago), I have only once felt the level of excitement and trepidation as I felt last week leading up to my trip this past Saturday (April 25, 2015).

Now, I absolutely LOVE whitewater and that mostly comes from the times I was able to go whitewater rafting in middle and high school with various groups. There is just something about the roar of the rapids and getting splashed by that cold, bone-chilling-cold water. It just gets my heart pumping and has me ready to dig in with my paddle.

Since I bought my first whitewater boat (y'all remember my white Liquid Logic Remix 69, right?) I have been itching to do more whitewater. The last two years, I have continually said, "This year I am going to do more whitewater. I am going to tackle more rivers and get better, especially at my roll while in the rapids." Well, up to this point, I have failed that as if it were a New Year's Resolution. But not this year. I have already made sure of that.

To try and make sure that I did not fail at tackling more whitewater this year, I joined a few groups on Facebook. Kayaking clubs and groups that have a lot of whitewater enthusiasts. And when the first big trip for novices/intermediates was announced, I jumped at it.

Before I go any further, let me just say thanks to Foothills Paddling Club (FPC! as I heard several times on the trip. And let me say, they were well-represented on that river). Special thanks go out to Michael Pea and Judy Putnam for setting the trip up and to Mark Miller, Kenny, Ken and the rest of the group for making it such a fun trip. Once I got to know everyone a little bit, y'all made me feel really comfortable and I can't wait for the next trip.

Now then, back to the trip itself. A couple weeks ago I purchased a new boat. I have been looking at the Stomper series by Liquid Logic since they were announced, but because I haven't been doing a lot of whitewater, I wasn't sure if I should go ahead and jump at it, yet. Well, Jesse at River Runner in Columbia had one Stomper 90 left and gave me a very good deal so he could have room for a new shipment and I jumped at this opportunity as well because I thought, "Maybe if I bite the bullet and get a new boat, I will want/have/need to do more whitewater." And so far, it's worked. The maiden voyage of my lime green jelly bean was an easy trek down the Broad River (my second excursion on that river) a few weeks ago. It gave me just enough opportunity to try out the new boat and get comfortable in it as I was already committed to the Nantahala trip.

Now fast forward to last week on Friday, because that is really when I started to get some nervous feeling. It was probably more excitement, but I could barely sit still all day, especially as the afternoon drug on, and on, and on. That night, I could barely sleep. I needed to, because I was in for a long day that included 8 total hours of driving and then 4 hours on the river, but I was just too excited. And that carried over into Saturday as I took off a little earlier than I had planned. You see, I didn't want to get left behind on my first trip with the group and I had never been to where we were putting in. So I wanted to make sure I had plenty of time in case I got turned around. How early was I? Well, Dunkin Donuts opens at around 6 AM. I got there and they weren't open, yet. That's how early I left my house.

So, I finally got my coffee and donuts and I hit the road. I won't bore you with that trip (or the return trip, really) but I will say this: it rained and it looked like my first big whitewater excursion was going to be a soggy one long before I hit the first rapid.

Fast forward again, this time to getting to the NOC (Nantahala Outdoor Center). If you are wanting to go whitewater rafting, I am pretty sure I would recommend this place. It really looked awesome and reminded me a lot of the Whitewater Center outside of Charlotte. I'm betting the USWC modeled itself after the NOC. It's just outside of Bryson City, NC, so now you have a general idea of location.

(The orange dot is the put in. The take-out was at the NOC)

I bought my day pass (looking back I wish I had gotten the season pass because that would have made me definitely go back again. Guess I just have to go back to buy a season pass and use it, now) and then I went up to the put-in where I started meeting the group. And this was where you can cue the nerves. The NOC was going to be our take out spot, so I had to drive up along the river to the put in. You know how they say if you're scared of heights then don't look down on a bridge. Well, I looked down at the river as I was driving along it and I started to get butterflies in my stomach. The water was REALLY churning and I was starting to wonder if I could do this and if I would make a fool of myself.

Oh boy.

The put-in for us, was also the take-out for the upper section of the Nantahala and there were all sorts of kayakers. I mean, it wasn't even 11 AM, yet, and there were people who had already run the upper section and were going back for seconds. It was craziness to see how many different people and kayaks there were already, but they all seemed to know each other and were really having a great time.

It took a little while from when I arrived to when we put in but that was mostly because we had a bit of organizing to do in regards to who was leaving vehicles where. It's pretty tough to get 18 people organized, especially when there is so much going on around you and you don't have cell service, but we managed and got on the river.

And thus the fun began.

It's really hard to describe the entire trip because there were stretches where nothing really exciting happened, we just floated along the waves, and then there were sections where we were doing a lot and really battling. I will say this, the river really didn't give much of a break except for a couple of times. It was really cold water. And I had a blast. I'm pretty sure I didn't really stop smiling unless I was concentrating on the rapids. The water was very choppy and it was a lot of fun to hit several of the rapids and then catch an eddy after before the next set of rapids.

The two rapids that I remember distinctly were the last two. Bump and the Falls. Bump has an old road sign hanging over the river that says "Bump" and it is just that. It's a bump in the water and you can either go easy to the right or go for it on the left. I decided to go about middle, but favoring that left side. So. Much. Fun!

And then there are the Falls. If I were to describe it, I would say it's a two-level rapid. You hit the first level or hole and you have to be ready for the second. There is luckily an eddy just before, but I sadly didn't take it and feel like I should have. There are three lines you can take. One is straight through. Mark and Judy both demonstrated and made it look easy. They both just barely caught the lip of the first hole and used it to propel themselves through the drop and into the second. From there, they took different lines. Mark curled a bit to the right and then punched through while Judy went straight on and punched right through the middle of the second rapid. I also watched a few other paddlers take different routes. One to the far right that seemed tricky because of the way the flow was going along with some sizeable rocks and then one to the far left that seemed the easiest way through.

Well, I like a good challenge so I opted to try my best at following Mark and Judy's lead... and didn't quite make it. Something I remember from horseback riding is that the horse will tell on you. If you have too soft or too hard of hands on the reins, it shows in the way the horse responds. If you don't have a strong leg on the proper side, that will show in how they transition and move as well. In kayaking, sure you need to be able to paddle, but if you don't use your hips and thighs properly, the boat tells on you. And boy did mine have a story to tell.

I hit the first part fine, I think. I made it through and used it to propel me forward, but when I hit the wave of the second, I lost it and flipped over to my left. Dangit. I was semi prepared for this and was glad I went to that side because it's my strong side for rolling. However, I've never rolled in all that gear (helmet and dry top) or while still moving. AND I've only once rolled in water as cold as that river was. It took my breath away with a quickness. I had one really good chance at rolling back over and thought I had it, but again, my hips and thighs didn't lie. I didn't use them enough either in the rapid nor when trying to roll back over. So I had to swim.

There's really no shame in swimming (I watched plenty of people swim throughout the course of the trip and there at the end in particular). But I really wanted to roll back over. I WILL roll back over next time.

The best part of that swim, was how prepared people were to help out. There were lots of people on the sides throwing lines to the swimmers and a couple other boaters (like Mark) ready to help push boats to shore and coach swimmers (like myself) through the freezing swim. And at the end, Mark took a moment to talk to me and one of the other swimmers, Kenny, about what he noticed and that was the hips and how it affects your balance in the boat. I have to say, my favorite part about joining these types of trips with "older" kayakers is their willingness to talk to you and share their experience and coach you up. It really helps you get better.

I cannot say enough about this trip, but then again, I don't know what else to share because it was just a lot of fun. So, instead I will let the video do the talking. It's not quite ready yet, but when it is, I will edit this post and share some screen shots as well as the clip of it.

The short version of the trip: HERE