Paddling Heaven
Finally getting round to putting up some updates from my US trip and yes, the paddling in N Carolina was soooo good! I really want to go back! To have to do a roll just to cool off, now that’s a radical concept for an Irish paddler!

The kayak school I went to was the Nantahala Outdoor Centre recommended to me by one of the guys at the club I’m in here in NI. It is a fantastic place, I was really impressed with the package they offered. I enrolled in the Intermediate Level 1 kayak clinic which included accommodation in a cute wee log cabin from Sunday night to Friday morning. I was in Cabin E, affectionately known as ‘Everest’ – yep, it’s higher up the hill than all the other NOC buildings, calve muscle development is a free bonus when you stay there. Breakfast & evening meals were served at Relia’s Restaurant onsite. Man the food was sooo good. I think my favourite salad dressing was the blackberry and walnut. I even had quail one evening. The beauty of the area is outstanding, the NOC is situated in Western N Carolina 2 hours west of Asheville. The mountains form part of the Appalachians and the famous Applachian Trail actually runs through the NOC site so I made it onto the trail for the second time on my trip (I’ve yet to document the first occasion, but all in good time). I don’t know if it was just the kayaking but to be honest I fell in love with the area.

There were only two other people in my clinic – Todd from Nashville and Bruce from Indiana, both good guys. So it felt like we were getting private instruction particularly as we had 2 instructors, one an instructor-in training, Chan – he’s got to be one of the most mature 18 year olds I’ve ever met and Windy (the name comes from Winford) who has Scottish roots so we bonded immediately. Both these guys have done some pretty cool stuff in kayaks/canoes so it was really great to get instruction from them.

Day 1 – Monday 21st May
We headed for Fontana Lake to work on basic strokes and our rolls. I began to get to grips with the sweep roll which I hadn’t been taught before so that was good. Americans seem to be really good at gradually building up your skill base like with building blocks. Then in the afternoon we headed to the Tuckaseegee River to put our strokes and some basic manoeuvres into practice.

In the evening Windy took us out to Fontana Dam for a look. The sun had just set so it was beautiful. The dam is huge though apparently not a patch on Hoover Dam in Arizona (my friend Cate has a photo of it here). Looking at the turbines kind of freaked me out, they were just so huge. The dam is on the edge of the Great Smoky Mountain National Park, so yeah, panoramic views all round.

Day 2 – Tuesday 22nd May
On the Tuesday, we spent a full day on the Lower Gorge section of the Tuckaseegee River. As we were on a slightly higher section the water was a little pushier than the day before so we worked on more manoeuvres. Though at the start it was a bit scrapy as they're having a bit of a drought in N Carolina at the moment and water levels are generally low. I missed two rolls in flatwater but then tried a couple in current and got both of them. Seems like I’m better in moving water than flatwater! on our way down the river we also passed the train wreck used for the Harrison Ford film, “The Fugitive”.

In the evening we watched a slideshow and got to hear more about the NOC’s adventure travel and kayaking trips in Chile…yet another destination to add to the wishlist!

Day 3 – Wednesday 23rd May
Day 3 was spent on the French Broad about 2 hours drive away. It’s the oldest river in the USA and probably the widest river I’ve been on to date. Hero of the day was Chan as he did the shuttle from the put-in to the take-out and tried to thumb a lift back to the put-in but no-one stopped so he ended up running the whole 5 miles and the temperature was in the mid-high 80s – respect!

For some reason I was a little tense at the start, I knew the water would be a bit pushier than the day before, so I was a little tentative with some of the wee waves we were playing on at the start, but eventually I got into the groove. There were some fun rapids the further we went down the river with plenty of bounce. I capsized whilst trying to play in one particular hole and lost grip on my paddle so I just pulled my deck. And then we practised rolling in the current – I missed the first time but then got it together and pulled off about 4-5 rolls which was cool. The scenery was just fantastic and it seemed like bliss to stop for lunch on the rocks and soak it all in. There was one particular spot where a big boulder provided a good jumping off point into the water and that gave us a bit of craic. I jumped twice, the first time I landed on the water on my side and the second I landed on my shins – neither jump was ideal exactly! The problem is my fear of heights so it takes me a minute to psych myself up to jump and then I’m unable to create any momentum to lift myself up into the air so I just plummet! But like I said it was a bit of craic! On the way home Windy drove us the back road which was really scenic and then we pretty much hit the hay after dinner, because it had been a long day with the extra driving and we were bushed!

Day 4 – Thursday 24th May
Straight after breakfast we watched some video footage Windy had taken of us on Wednesday. It was really useful to be able to see how you’re moving in the water and pick up on any bad habits. Seems like my body rotation is pretty good but sometimes I’m leaving my shoulders a bit exposed. After that we headed back to Fontana Lake to fine-tune our rolls and video-tape them. Then at lunch we watched our rolls and again the critique was really useful.

In the afternoon we headed to the Nantahala which flows through the NOC site, so we just drove up the road a few miles to the put-in. It’s a fun river - loads of wave trains, bouncy and some good waves to surf. I was getting the hang of playing a bit better though I still find it hard to get onto the wave and stay there. I managed 2 combat rolls which made me feel really good! The last drop at the bottom is the Nantahala Falls and I had no problems getting through, it was really good fun!

I was really sad to get off the river, I’d had such a ball and the craic was good with the guys. I managed to teach them a few Irish phrases – important things like ‘what’s the craic?’ and ‘Sucking diesel’. Americans are very affirming in their instruction, I really appreciated the gradual development of your skill-set. And even though I didn't paddle anything bigger than I'd paddled here in NI or in Scotland, I have to say it was the most confident I’ve been in a kayak for 4 days straight, it really was a fantastic boost for my confidence in my skills. It was probably the first time I was able to be a bit more aggressive with wave and hole-surfing. I’m dying to do the Level 2 course now! It’s kind of a shame because there’s no water in the rivers here at the moment so I’ll probably not get onto a river until September. Yesterday I was out with a few of the guys in my canoe club here. We took out a few sea-boats and headed along the Blackwater from the M1 at the Coalisland exit to the river mouth at Lough Neagh. It was a nice paddle, a good work-out, but to be honest I’m an adrenalin junkie and I need my whitewater! Kayaking in N America is really civilised – for a start the water is warm, that was absolute bliss in itself! Also good gear is more accessible in the States, on the Friday morning I had plenty of time before driving to the airport for my flight to DC so browsed the NOC shop. It has an excellent range of quality paddling gear and so much cheaper than here. I treated myself to a paddle which miraculously made it home to NI in the baggage hold of 3 different airplanes. I think I saved probably £70-80 buying it there. The gear that the NOC use for folks on the clinics needing to borrow stuff is also top-notch, and I enjoyed paddling a Dagger Mamba for the first time, nice boat.

Ahhh, it was just such a good trip! I’ve been pining all week and trying to figure out how and when I can get back to paddle more in NC!