Ocoee

Normal release level.

Jay, Zack, Jim Fahling and I went down to the Ocoee for our maiden voyage this past Saturday. We left Lexington at about 7pm on Friday and it took a little over 4 hours to get to Chilhowee campground. The next day we broke camp and got ready for our one day pass at running the Ocoee. We scouted Grumpy’s and Broken Nose, warmed up in the pool above the run, then decided to just go for it. David Ackerman led us down and it was a perfect run. Everyone did great and we had no problems at all. Jay had a couple of swims at some opportune moments. Now he swears he is going to get his roll down and stop procrastinating about it.

The Ocoee is where my love of rivers started. We used to come here back in high school and every summer after with the Mathews’ raft. Seeing all the kayakers here made me want to become a kayaker because it just looked so damn fun. Well now after running it I can say that it is even more fun than it looks like. I loved it. Can’t wait to do it again!

Pictures from our trip.

The rapids:

Grumpy’s Ledge: Stared at this for too long. Make the ferry and it’s all good.
Staging Eddy: Easy
Gonzo Shoals:Easy
Broken Nose: Ran the sneak, it was not hard to make. Should have ran it.
Moonshoot: Surf Wave
Double Suck: Almost ran the sneak, did not. Glad I didn’t.
Double Trouble: Big waves, they take pictures here. Got some air.
Flipper: Surf spot? Don’t really remember.
Doledrums: Shallow stuff
Surprise Ledge: The end of the Doldrums.
Tablesaw: Biggest rapid. Don’t flip. Ran with no problems.
Diamond Splitter: Fun, ran the far right side.
Witches Hole
Accelerator: Fast water, just like the name suggests.
Cat’s Pajamas
Hell Hole: Got hella air. So I here, all I saw was the sky.
Powerhouse: Good thing I made my roll from Hell Hole, this one comes quick. Run the right side.