EDDY OUT
December 2014
Christmas Party
Trip Leaders
Ocoee Races
Details on the 2014 Chota Christmas party...you don’t want to miss this!
Meet your new whitewater trip chairs who will keep you paddling through the winter!
See Chota members who raced in the Ocoee Races, ran Safety, and flat just had a fun weekend!
Member Newsletter • Chota Canoe Club, Knoxville, Tennessee • paddlechota.org
EDDY OUT For your Calendar... DEC
DEC
DEC
DEC
The last day to RSVP for the CHOTA Christmas Party which is on Saturday December 13, 6 - 9pm at Calhouns, Bearden Hill, Knoxville, TN Dress festively and bring a $10-$15 gift for the gift exchange.
Roll Practice from 7 - 9pm at The University of Tennessee Pool in Knoxville, TN. Members only pay $5!
The CHOTA Christmas Party 6 - 9pm at Calhouns, Bearden Hill, Knoxville, TN. Dress festively and bring a $10-$15 gift for the gift exchange.
The last day to sign up for the Wilderness First Aid/CPR class to be held February 6-7, 2014 in Knoxville, TN. The cost is $75 and money is due upfront!
FEB Wilderness First Aid/CPR class to be held February 6-7, 2014 in Knoxville, TN.
Member Newsletter • Chota Canoe Club, Knoxville, Tennessee • paddlechota.org
A wee note from your editor... Hey there! I’m Rachel Elise! Nice to meet you! I will be shelling out the newsletter for Chota over the next year, and look forward to your trip reports! As you can tell in this issue there are not many trip reports...sad day. Rest assured, I will appropriately castigate those who continue to lead trips and fall short in this department. It’s nothing fancy! Just send me a text file or a word doc that has a BRIEF, funny, optionally non-fiction story of how your trip went down, who was on it, and major milestones. Most importantly I will need high res photos (cell phone shots will do too) of more than just your boat sitting at the put in and your group standing around. if you have more than five photos then I’ll send you a dropbox link. Have a date that needs to be brought to everyone’s attention? Or a book you just wrote that could help us all find new rivers to paddle? Then let me know. ALL information included in that months newsletter needs to be in to me by the 25th of the month!!! Have a wonderful holiday season, and Merry Christmas! Rachel relise@me.com
CHOTA CHRISTMAS PARTY Saturday December 13, 6 - 9pm Calhouns Bearden Hill, Knoxville, TN This holiday season come join us for the annual Chota Club Christmas party! Dress festively and bring a $10-$15 gift for the gift exchange that is sure to be a great time you won’t want to miss!
RSVP BY DECEMBER 5th! email ajwahl09@gmail.com or go to the Chota Facebook page
Meet Your New Whitewater Trip Chairs! Hi all, Larry Stewart here. My wife, Leslie and I are the new Chota Whitewater Trip Chairs. I just wanted to let you all know we will be working to make the club better and bigger in the coming months and we need your help! OK, don't stop reading yet, hear me out! We all know whitewater paddling is incredibly fun. To some, it's about the adrenaline, some it's the adventure. For most, it's about the friendships we make along the way with the other aspects being a bonus! For many of us, we get a group together, make plans and go paddle, right?
Well, at some point in the past, you probably didn't have those connections. You joined a club trip ... mostly of strangers. They probably showed you some lines, shuttled you back and forth, and maybe even hauled you and/or your boat to shore. Through those interactions you made new friends, became a better boater, and learned new rivers. All from somebody leading a trip YOU got to go on. Now it's your turn to "pay it forward". The new boaters coming in to the club need you to be that trip leader.... to show them the things that were passed down to you back in the day. Not comfortable leading a trip? Coordinate one. Plan the details of the trip. Get a group together and handle all the details of who is going, where to meet, etc. Then ask for some help with running the river. Odds are someone will be willing to take a few folks down a new river. Just keep your expectations realistic. Don't expect one person to lead ten class II boaters on the Upper Gauley run! Keep in mind your trip leader may need a few extra safety boaters too! Don't be afraid to ask questions. The fire we see in the eyes of new boaters is stoked by being on the rivers and creeks we love! Let's ALL help keep that excitement growing by leading/coordinating trips on a regular basis! Even with this colder weather, WITH THE RIGHT GEAR, we can all get out there and have lots of fun!
"pay it forward"
get your roll on... Roll Practice We are currently holding roll practice on Friday evenings from 7-9pm at the University of Tennessee Pool. *Don’t forget your gear!
$5 for Club members $10 for Non-members $20 for Memberships
Play safe and paddle often! Larry
P
py Now! o C r u o Y r re-Orde
Whitewater of the Southern Appalachians by Kirk Eddlemon We are very proud to announce that Chota Canoe Club’s very own Kirk Eddlemon has just published his greatly anticipated books. The history of the Southern Appalachians is inscribed upon the land by the waters of a boundless web of streams, speaking only as rivers can to the profound rewards awaiting those drawn by the sound of flowing water. This comprehensive guide to more than 380 whitewater streams in the Southern Appalachian Mountains is the key to a lifetime of inspiration, exploration and aqueous fulfillment in North America’s oldest range. This ultimate guide to Southeastern Whitewater is divided into two in-depth volumes covering both the plateau-lands on the western portion of the region as well as the mountainous remnants of the core of the range
to the east. Filled to the brim with accurate, highly detailed, entertaining descriptions of most every stream worth paddling as well as of many never-before documented sections, this exhaustive work also contains hundreds of color photos of the highest quality, dozens of beautiful maps, and rich stories told by the most dedicated and prolific of paddlers. Coverage of geologic backdrops, educational content on how to most effectively chase rain, and many more appendix materials push this guide into a league of its own, delivering a compelling invitation to experience the captivating rivers and creeks of the Southern Appalachian Mountains.
Wilderness First Aid + CPR Training February 6-7, 2014 Knoxville, Tennessee This class will be open to up to 15 members on a first come first serve basis. The most the class will cost is $75 and you will be expected to pay up front. Chota will provide a partial credit after you have completed the class. Contact Angela Wood at ajwahl09@gmail.com
Trading punches with the Giant by John C. Wiser a.k.a. “Gunny”
October 12, 2014 • New River Gorge • 3.0 feet/6300 CFS
After a sound night of sleep, I awoke to the nearby sound of Lee scurrying around inside of his van. I poked my head outside of my tent to get a look at the new day and was greeted with the same dreary overcast gray sky as we had experienced the day before while running the Lower Gauley. Well at least it wasn’t raining so it was a good time to break down camp before it started again. I was successful in accomplishing that task, but a light rain had started falling again as Lee and I watched Kim and John finish up much to our amusement.
After our second breakfast at Shoney’s in as many days we headed out to set shuttle and thankfully it wasn’t nearly as long or rough of a drive as the shuttle was the day before. We had originally planned to run the Lower Gauley both days, but it was decided that we would run the New River Gorge from Cunard to Fayetteville Station instead as it was shorter and closer to home since most of the group had to drive home that night so they could get back to their jobs on Monday. Of our group, only Lee had run this river before and when I asked for some beta on the run I received a vague statement from him stating that it was big, but not as technical as the Lower Gauley. That’s sweet I thought to myself as I could use a more relaxed trip as the Gauley had really pushed my abilities. Big water was a new experience for me and I wasn’t exactly comfortable with it yet. We had just gotten on the water and were waiting for a line of rafts to clear out when we heard a loud exclamation from the top of the stairs at the put-in. That “wahoo!” was followed by a kayaker in his boat sliding down the 30 foot tall stairs, across the paving stones at the bottom into the river and then popping
a couple of times along the water’s surface like a skipped rock before coming to rest. About a minute later we watched as his counterpart did the same thing. It looked like a lot of fun if things worked out right, but it also looked like a major injury just waiting to happen. It turned out that they were the video crew for the group of rafts that had just went down ahead of us and we saw them several times throughout the day. Our crew warmed up with a few smaller rapids including Pin Ball before the railroad trestle slid into view which signified that the rapids named for it, Upper and Lower Railroad, were directly ahead. These would be the first class four rapids of the day. Upper Railroad was a bigger, faster version of the Middle Ocoee’s Gonzo Shoals and we navigated it without incident, but as soon as I got a look at Lower Railroad I knew that I had been railroaded. Those waves were as big and powerful as anything I had seen the day before and it didn’t take long for the Giant to deliver the first telling blow of the contest by flipping me early in the rapid. I rolled up and, as usual, it took me a second to gain my bearings. I quickly spotted Lee and Kim below working their way easily through the lower portion of the rapid and I struggled my way to them as they waited at the bottom. It was obvious this was not going to be the “easier” trip I had imagined as round one went to the Giant. The gauntlet had been thrown and the battle was on! I scored minor victories in the next few rapids such as Stripper, Ender Waves, Piece of Cake and Hip Kick so round two went to me. I knew things were about to get serious when the giant’s roaring kept getting increasingly louder and Lee motioned us to an eddy for a “talk”. He informed us that up ahead, the rough and rowdy Keeney Boys (Upper, Middle and Lower) lay in wait, ready to pummel us into submission. Following Lee’s line we trailed him through Upper Keeney without any issues. Great!
Trading punches with the Giant Continued
I am now up two rounds to the Giant’s one! Next up was Middle Keeney and he was definitely bigger and more menacing than anything I had seen to this point in my brief paddling career. I made it through the huge first wave, but it threw my angle off to the right and I knew there was a monster curler coming in from the left soon. I almost got the boat pointed straight again when the next wave hit angling my boat to the right again. I never saw that left hook curler as it hit me from the side but I sure felt it. It swallowed me whole leaving me inverted in the most hellish water I’ve ever been upside down in. I attempted a roll but the giant grabbed my paddle and tried to rip it downwards and out of my hands. I refused to let it go and the force of the water flattened me backwards against the rear deck of the boat. I felt the boat surge up, then accelerate down into the next wave. I attempted another roll, but the giant just laughed at my feeble attempt get up and smacked me back down. It didn’t take me long to decide that this round was over and I ejected. After several long seconds my head finally broke through the surface and I grabbed a lungful of air. I quickly realized the Giant hadn’t decided he was through with me as I still had a quite a bit of the rapid to swim yet. I let the boat go and kept a hold of my paddle as I swam hard for the right bank. Thankfully John was able to corral my boat not too much further downstream so my walk of shame was relatively short. Thank you Kim for your compliment of my self-rescue abilities and for helping me get to shore just as I was running out of gas. It’s amazing how much a little adrenaline affects your swimming skills when you know the biggest and meanest of the three Keeneys is laying just below that horizon line that you are being swept towards! It is also equally astounding just how exhausted I become after a little whitewater swim. As I was left gasping on the shore there was little doubt that the Giant had dominated that round with a three point knockdown. I would have to run the rest of the river flawlessly to score a victory in this battle. The New River Gorge might not be as technical as the Lower Gauley, but it makes up for that with the size and violence of its rapids. Lovers of huge, powerful wave trains…this is your river! Once I got the boat emptied and managed to catch my breath, Kim and I ferried our way over to river left where John and Lee were waiting. We exited our boats and boulder scrambled our way down the shore to scout Lower Keeney.
I swallowed hard because it looked even bigger and meaner that the previous rapid. Lee pointed the line out going down the left side avoiding the nasty hole just to the right about a third of the way down and then pointed to the huge hole at the bottom. “You do not want to get in that” he said and it was quite obvious to understand why! We were to ride the tongue down into the big exploding wave at the end of the “V”, miss the top hole on our right and then ferry hard to the right in Class IV waves to miss that ugly bottom hole. Sure, no problem in waves well over our heads, easy as pie right? We climbed back into our boats and shoved off. That familiar little knot of doubt in my gut returned and I had to push it out of my mind as the bell sounded signifying the start the next round. As he had all weekend, Lee went first. He entered at the point where I expected him to and then the next wave kicked him hard to the left where he disappeared into the white chaos below. After watching that happen to the master that little knot in my stomach started to grow exponentially! Kim’s line was just ever so slightly right of Lee’s and it looked like she was having a better go of it. I couldn’t watch her long though as I was hurtling downwards into that narrowing “V” myself now. I angled my boat to go just slightly right of Kim’s line and initially thought I might have gone too far, but I just barely slid past the left edge of the upper hole which set me up nicely to surf-ferry to the right amid that huge wave train. Success! That round was clearly mine, but I was still well behind on the scorecard! Lee highly suggested that we not paddle lazily through the next rapid, Lolly-gag, and we heeded his words of caution. Dudley’s Dip followed soon after and we bobbed and weaved our way through it without incident.
Trading punches with the Giant Continued
Double Z, a class IV+, was up next and I listened with rapt attention as Lee described the menacing rapid. We would catch an easy eddy on river right. From there we had to peel out into the very fast, yet squirrely current and follow the right bank as it did a series of right angles. That meant that each corner would be blind so you couldn’t see what was coming next as we tried to work our way down the right side. Lee made it clear to not get too far away from the right side and that this was most definitely not a good place for a swim. He peeled out, followed by Kim, then myself while John assumed the sweeper position as he typically does. As I came around the first right angled corner I saw Kim’s boat was upside down and not really moving downstream. It appeared she was caught in large boiling eddy line and was sort of stuck there. I was being carried on by with no way to stop when I saw her head pop up next her upside down boat. I exhaled a sigh of relief that at least she was on the surface. I was swept over a ledge and was fortunate that the hole was punchable. I concentrated on getting back online and into the next eddy on the right bank about halfway down the rapid. I was determined not to add to the chaos that had already ensued. As I watched Kim’s boat slide by my position, I saw Kim with barely enough of her face out of the water that she was able to get some precious air. She said later that she thought that the flotation cell in her PFD might have collapsed because it would hardly float her and she had really struggled to get what little air she could. In addition, the current was doing its best to pull her under and that only by hanging on to the cockpit rim of her upside down boat was she able to periodically get enough of her face out of the water to get a bit of a breath here and there. John was trailering right behind her trying to get close enough to let her grab his boat, but the Giant washed him on past. I peeled out and caught up to Kim as the ferocity of the rapid started to decrease enough that she was able to grab the stern handle of my boat. We then worked our way together to the right shore against the will of the Giant and by the time we reached it we were both very worn out. As we took a much needed break the Giant roared nearby announcing his frustration that I had somehow managed to stay upright against his latest flurry of punches.
Somewhat rested up, we parried our way through Hook 99 and jabbed past Harmon’s Falls before coming to Greyhound Bus Stop. Once you see the size of that colossal hole you will most definitely understand why the rapid is so aptly named. We then danced and pranced our way through the Upper and Lower Kaymoors, Miller’s Folly and we ducked past Thread the Needle without further carnage. Then our river guide, Lee, stated that there was just one more significant section of whitewater left, Fayette Station Rapid. He mentioned that it was optional to run it as there was a takeout just before it and one after it with the walk to the cars being about the same from either take out. The judges’ scorecards were all tied up at this point between the Giant and I. Well, I am not one to leave a contest undecided, so I raised my hand when Lee asked who wanted to run it. I looked around and saw one other hand go up besides mine. Lee had been in pain all day with a sore wrist and Kim was still not well recovered from her earlier ordeal so they begged off of this last challenge. Thankfully, John was of a similar mindset as I and, with some verbal beta from Lee, we set off to run the final major rapid which neither of us had ever seen before. John courageously took the lead and I was 10 feet behind him. As John slid forward and down onto the tongue, the size of the gap stretched instantly between us. I watched helplessly as he collided into the monstrous wall of water that waited for him at the bottom of the entrance “v” to the rapid and then he was gone from my sight, lost somewhere in that heaving white frothy mass. We were each on our own now and I could hear the booming laughter of the Giant saying “Little ones, my victory is now at hand!” I had no time to respond as he swept me forward into that huge fist of water. The force of that wave slammed
Trading punches with the Giant Whew! We made it to the end!
into my chest and I was still recovering another wave hit me hard from the right trying to force me over. I braced hard and was able to keep my boat righted. I struck back with well timed uppercuts keeping the bow of the kayak aimed straight for each huge wave as they came. The boat was like a red spear and every wave it punched through made the Giant grow weaker and weaker until he lay beaten under the hull of my boat. John appeared from my right and admitted that he had ruined his dry hair weekend by getting flipped, but it mattered little as we both wore the satisfied smiles of a victory that was hard won. I am proud to have shared that moment with him and will remember it always. Like warrior braves returning home from a hunt we carried our boats up to the cars amidst the questioning looks from Kim and Lee. They didn’t need to ask the outcome of the final struggle to know that the Giant had been tamed this day. The ear to ear grins we bore on our faces told the story well enough.
the full face revolution... So you may remember hearing about my freak Labor Day accident on a rapid thought to have near zero consequences...Lesser Wesser.
It was a great day with having already sailed through section 9 of the French Broad, getting my first combat roll the day prior, but I had no idea all that new confidence would be radically checked. Like most new boaters, I’m figuring out my gear and taking notes from you pros (well, those of you who lead trips...) while managing to hit the well known beginner rivers. This wasn’t my first trip on the Nantahala, but it was a first to scout and run the falls. Ironically at lunch I told Angela Wood, Sean Coombs, and Bob Eckhardt how I’m careful to pick who I boat with. It’s a good thing too, because we ran the falls and I got a closeup of this seemingly famous rock that not many people knew about...3 second rock. While all of the carnage couldn’t have been avoided with a full face it wasn’t until the next day I realized how much damage the rock did. So, I spent a load of cash on a new sweet full face. But I’d say it freaked the fellas out more to see my new facial. Take a look at the latest models of softball cages to be mounted to whitewater helmets for a “cheap fix” that would save their schnozz’s. (see right) FYI- Ladies...ponytails are friendly with the Sweet full face.
Sean ‘puffy’ Coombs
L.J. Latorre
John ‘gunny’ Wiser
The Ocoee Races