Today I had the experience of white-water rafting for the first time.
This last year of college I lucked out in living with two girls who were raft guides with the Nantahala Outdoor Center (NOC) in Asheville, NC. Since this was one of our last available days before we graduate and head in different directions, one of the girls offered to take my housemate (Lark) and I down the river. It was a bit of a drive from Winston Salem to Hot Springs, but we got up at 5:45am and arrived in Hot Springs by about 9:45am (we took a few bathroom breaks!). We met up with Kayla (our housemate) and her boyfriend Adam (who is also a raft guide) and had a chance to see where they would be staying this summer as they guided. Lark and I changed in to our gear, which consisted of:
The French Broad is a class I-IV river, with quick turns and lots of interesting challenges. Of course there were areas to relax, which would have been nice on a good day (we had rain and clouds all day!), but we tried to paddle through those pretty quickly (Lark and I got cold!).
Since it was only the four of us, we took a mini raft, which was a lot more challenging than the big rafts that groups take since it was so light and squirrelly. There were two times when we almost lost rafters. The first time was when we decided to “surf” a current, and ended up half-flipping our raft and dumping Lark in the river (she was quickly pulled back in by all of us). The second time was at the end of the trip during a class IV rapid. We hit the bottom pretty hard and spun, and I about flew out. Fortunately, I had one foot pretty anchored in the raft and kept myself in, so I didn’t have to take what they call the “deep swim”. The “deep swim” is what the raft guides call the bottom of the last class IV, because there is an 80 foot ledge under the water. When a rafter falls in the rapid, they get sucked down for a minute before resurfacing by their PFDs. We were told it was a pretty traumatic experience for those who didn’t expect it! I was definitely glad to be safe and anchored 🙂
Although the trip was quite chilly from the May-temperature water and the rain, we all had a fantastic time. Our guides also mentioned they were excited to have hit every rapid almost perfect, so we had a great ride.
If you’re interested in white-water rafting, I would definitely recommend this group:
They do trips all over NC, GA, and TN.
They also have duckies (smaller one-person rafts), canoes, and kayaks if you’re looking for something different.
If you decide to do the French Broad trip, ask for Kayla, Adam, Mack, or Kirby. I guarantee they will be great guides. Tell them Brittanie sent you!
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