Stay Local: A RiverGone Wild

ChattanoogaHasFun.com is proud to present "The Adventurist" by Denise Godfrey, a new weekly column about the fantastic outdoor recreational adventures you can enjoy right here in Chattanooga. Denise Godfrey is Co-Owner of River Canyon Adventures, Ltd. - Ed.

I chose this particular outdoor adventure for nostalgic reasons. I can honestly say that if it wasn’t for the magnetic lure that I experienced after my first trip down the Ocoee River, I probably wouldn’t have left the charm and culture of my New England roots. About 12 years ago, after helping a Harvard friend drive her car back to her family’s home in Knoxville because ironically, she couldn’t “park her car in Harvard Yard” during the winter months (true story), I met an Ocoee rafting guide named Sandy Pippin, of Quest Expeditions. After listening to her stories about whitewater rafting from a guide perspective, I became relentlessly intrigued about the exciting sport and lifestyle of whitewater rafting and kayaking.

The next Spring, I returned for a visit and embarked on my first trip down the Ocoee’s middle section and that was all she wrote. I knew then that I had to put down my shovel, retire my snow skis and park myself within minutes of this amazing outdoor wonderland. Sandy introduced me to the river guide culture and I met several diehards which were locally referred to as “river rats.” Some guides slept in small studio cabins at the outpost, working week-to-week on their modest pay which was largely dependent on gratuities. But even as a guest, I immediately felt the honor and camaraderie that went along with being a river guide. With contagious passion for the river, undoubtedly fueled by the exhilaration of conquering the Ocoee’s continuous Class III-IV rapids day after day, they seemed content in making a modest living doing what they love. After rafting all day, we would play volleyball while Creedence Clearwater filled the airwaves until the sun set over Big Frog Mountain. Then we would jump into the back of an old pick-up truck, singing Garth Brooks’ “Friends in Low Places” while winding up the road to go listen to some live local music at the old Grumpy’s. I truly miss those days on the Ocoee and all the nights gazing up at the stars from the top of the shuttle bus as fire flies danced through the foothills of the Cherokee National Forest.

I had lost track of my guide friend over the years. Sandy had been whisked away on more corporate adventures, but recently came back home to Cleveland to raise her son near family. And of course, as any veteran river rat would do, she has returned back to the river as a weekend warrior. Having just been recently “checked out” as a returning guide with Quest Expeditions, I thought it would be a good time for Sandy to introduce me to the more technical upper section of the Ocoee River, which was specifically constructed for the 1996 Olympic whitewater competitions.

The Upper Ocoee is fed from natural springs flowing through mountain creeks beginning in northern Georgia, winding through southeastern Tennessee until it begins its decent through the Ocoee Gorge. When Olympic whitewater organizers were looking for the best competitive course for the 1996 Olympics nearest Atlanta, the Upper Ocoee was chosen due to the larger width of the Ocoee Gorge. In previous Olympic whitewater competitions, race courses would be constructed as designed by race course engineers in order to accommodate a large amount of spectators. Fortunately, the Ocoee Gorge’s width in this section provided ample space for 15,000 spectators to watch athletes from around the world compete on the first natural Olympic whitewater river venue, with minimal intrusive modifications. In order to ensure competitive intensity as an Olympic course, designers actually had to rechannel the riverbed and essentially build a river … within a river. Indigenous boulders were added to the riverbed, molding the course for Olympic competitive specifications and technicalities, essentially creating a maelstrom of world-class rapids. Now imagine rafting down a whitewater course designed to follow in the carbon footprint of the last Olympic course in Barcelona, Spain … right there in Ducktown, Tennessee.

Of course, as any veteran rafter of the middle section would want to know, I asked Sandy, “so what’s the deal on the Upper?” Sandy replied back in her commercial guide mode, explaining that the upper section is both exciting and challenging from a guide perspective. “While the rapids are more spread out, the water is bigger and the drops are larger in some parts. The actual Olympic section of the course requires that you have your paddling synched and your people ready. There are technical entrances to each of the five rapids that must be executed immediately after running the previous and they are lined up back-to-back within a third of a mile. The hydraulics on the Olympic section are larger and less forgiving making it more of a challenge on guides.” I have to admit that I was a little intimidated at first. Before entering the actual Olympic course, we basically paddled through an obstacle course dodging around bushes and trees since this area is typically dry due to shorter TVA release days which allows vegetation to grow. As the anticipation builds with the faint sound of banjos playing in my head, we hit the first major rapids which included “Dee Dee’s Secret,” a nice little play spot for surfing the waves. This is when you hope that your “old guide friend” doesn’t have any leftover bones to pick! Sandy explains next that we’re about to enter the largest rapid above the actual Olympic course, called “Mickey”. She maneuvered the raft towards a straight right-side line (through what they refer to as a “chute”) projecting us down a 5 foot ledge into a deep whole, to which we all raise our paddles, clacking them together like true river geeks!

Once we approached the suspension bridge signifying the entrance of the Olympic section, it felt like we were on a roller coaster ride where the tracks had fallen down into a canyon full of raging waters. All I could do was paddle hard, and giggle, enjoying the waves of anticipation and excitement through the next succession of rapids including Slam Dunk, the biggest single drop on the course, leading up to the wave train Conveyor Belt and onto Humongous, the largest rapid on the Upper … all very appropriate names, I must say! After succeeding through the main Olympic course, feeling like someone owes us an Olympic medal, we drop into three very large holes hidden by impressive waves, rapids known as the Roach Motel (still waiting for the local story on that one)! Once we passed under the Thunder Rock Bridge where the river drops about four feet into a very large hydraulic. Now I know why they named this rapid, the Edge-of-the-World.

Now if you want to enjoy a full day of whitewater adventure, Quest Expeditions will serve you a nice catered lunch at the Thunder Rock campsite before resuming your raft trip towards the middle Ocoee after a brief portage around the dam. Talk about a whitewater adventure trip … you’ll feel like a real river rat accomplishing both sections. And to think, over 250,000 visitors travel from all over the world to the Ocoee, and it’s right here in our own backyard! You don’t have to drive down to Atlanta to splash around in a crowded, man-made water park for a day of cool adventure. Experience the real deal on the world renown Ocoee River, located along the Ocoee Scenic Bypass (US 64) between Cleveland and Ducktown, Tennessee. Rates generally start at $35/per person (12 years of age and older). For more information about whitewater rafting, flatwater kayaking and other outdoor adventures, call Denise at (423) 290-8628 or visit www.rivercanyonadventures.com.<.a>