Ah, the sweet smell of river gear.

Let's just say that the day started off abnormal in a good way. The Black was up to 3700 cfs and the forcast called for temps in the 80's and sunshine all day. As soon as we put on the river the skies darkened and it began to rain - hard. Oh well, the water's still up and we were planning on getting wet anyway, right? So we headed down the river and enjoyed the unusually high top three and ran smoothly through Knife's Edge. When we got to the bottom the rain storm had increased to a full blown t… Continue

After Ben's class was finished we decided to run the Upper Ocoee again. Not that we were all that excited about being on the Ocoee again, but it was only thing running. We had some fun at Alien boof, but as we prepared to head down the river, something struck me. I'm not sure what it was, but it felt like a stomach bug. I felt shaky and weak, not to mention the fact that I thought I might throw up at any minute. So after completing all of the harder rapids of the upper section I eddied out while… Continue

Who has the energy to type anymore? Day Three of my Southern whitewater excursion started with some much needed down time. Ben and I hiked down to High Shoals Creek to look at some sick slides. Now all we need is a couple inches of rain! After some rest we met up with Talia, Kevin, and Renee to get a few laps on Edge Of The World on Amicalola Creek. Like everything else in the South East, it was low. It was so low that there weren't many options open. Luckily the main part of the drop was still… Continue

We awoke today late (thank the heavens) and after a big breakfast we headed up to the Ocoee to run the section below the dam. I think they call this the Middle section now that the Olympic section and the rapids above it have begun to release regularly. Anywho, after Ben had run the shuttle we were joined by Caroline, who paddled with us to get a ride. We set off down the river and it was a lot of fun. We boat scouted everything, so it worked my read and run skills. All was going well until Slic… Continue

Today began in Watertown, NY when I awoke at 3 am and drove to Rochester, NY (2.5 hours away) to catch a flight to Atlanta, GA. I arrive at the ticket counter with my paddle in hand, literally one minute after they close the flight. So I transfer my ticket to the next flight which is luckily only and hour later. So with my paddle still in hand I make my way over to the TSA secruity line where they informed me that Delta would not allow me to gate check a paddle. Let me back the story up. I asked… Continue