Oliver's First Ocoee Trip

This was Robby's son Oliver's first trip to the Ocoee. Oliver is the type of kid that has to be protected from himself because of his fearlessness as he demonstrated this day. Even with no roll he insisted on running all of the rapids (that we would let him) and shows a lot of promise to be a good kayaker in the future. Needless to say, Robby and I watched him closely and he had a fun safe trip down the lower section of the Ocoee.

Watauga Gorge

These are some random Watauga pictures from a couple of trips in the past. The Watuaga is one of the staple runs in our region and has runnable levels many days throughout the year. It continues to be one of my favorite class IV runs due to the scenery and the multitude of fun rapids from start to finish. Some of the pictures are taken with my old Cannon A20 and are lower quality.

Cheoah/Tallulah Gorge Trip

These pictures are from the aforementioned creeks which are both dam released on the same weekend in the fall. That makes it convenient for kayakers who actually have responsibilities (job, children, spouse, etc.) in that the water can usually be counted on. Both are in picturesque settings and particularly the Tallulah has excellent whitewater. We found a great campsite which is where the landscape shots are from. The dog is Thorn, my best friend whom I lost after 11 years together earlier this year. She protected the vehicle and gear of Rob and I on many trips and is missed every day.

Catching Up

Sporting the "Dr. Strange"

Family time

This blog was created as a way for a few friends to trade pictures from various outdoor trips. Because there is a backlog of these pictures, the first few posts will most likely be from the past. This particular trip was a low water run of Big Creek in the Smokies. Rob's brothers came along and it was basically a day trip in a beautiful micro rainforest with clear water, evergreens and moss.