Ocoee River 7/28/02 with Todd Duren
Today I met my paddling buddy Todd Duren from Knoxville at the putin of the Ocoee River. We were expecting one other person who never showed up. This would be my first trip on this river and I was anxious. Last week on the Nanthala I thought my skills were similar to Todds but today he was much better than me. I missed my first eddy at Grumpy and down the river I went! I was totally unprepared for the sheer speed of the water. I didn't surf much today as I was pacing myself and conserving my strength. I have never taken so many drops or powered through so many holes. I have a pretty good brace and only seem to flip over vertically backwards lately but today I even braced well enough to put my nose back down a couple times or spin but I shouldn't have to stay vertical so much. I'll practice.
The water was warm and much more pleasant than the Nanthala. I got to see where the boulder went through the water chute just past Tablesaw and Diamond Splitter. This happened last Saturday and they say it was dramatic with water taking down trees and boulders. Because the chute is broken the river is running continuously for a while. This makes for happy paddlers.
/hugh
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