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July 2004 Newsletter
eddy out July 2004 better be tt e r late lat e than t han second s e c ond rate rat e Second Ocoee Entrapment Reported Reprinted from Chattanooga Times Fress Press 6\16 NC Canoeist Curtis Ensley, age , who was paddling last Friday with friends on the river knew he was going to flip aer the first big drop of Ocoee’s Tablesaw rapid. Aer swimming he became foot entrapped at the bottom of rapid. “But then the first miracle happened” he said. “My boat was circulating in the hydraulic above me, and I got a death grip on it. e boat usually pops out of the rapids.” He held on for several minutes while his friends tried to help. “I expected to die a hundred times,” Mr Ensley said. “But then the second mircle happened.” Rolling under’s lead guide Bryan Busch saw Mr Ensley and yelled to trip leader Andrews to eddy out the ras at the top of Tablesaw. ey tied ropes to a ra and reached Ensley holding his head above the water. Soon, however, the ra filled with water and washed out. A second ra was rushed in and satbilized in the rapid. Outland Expeditions guide Daniel Flemming swam out and holding onto the ropes went underwater to free his leg. “It took seven tries!” reported Ocoee Ranger Lance Crawford. He was trapped around minutes. Ensley’s leg has massive damage and may be lost. “But I’m alive!” Mr Ensley said. “And its all because of those ra guides risking their lives!” Ocoee Entrapment 1 Editor’s Eddy 2 Calendar 3 Trip Report: A Good Grumpy’s Swim 4 Chota How-to: Rain Guage Info 6 Big Water Photo Scrapbook 9 Safety First: Ten Points on Individual Paddling 11 "Aintry? is river don’t go to Aintry.” —James Dickey, Deliverance 2004 Officers President Trey Coleman, -- [email protected] Vice President Kirk Eddleman, -- bankfull@yahoo.com Secretary Renee Harwell, -- [email protected] Treasurer Andrew Schneider -- [email protected] Newsletter Editor Todd Duren, -- [email protected] Conservation Officer Jomo MacDermott -- [email protected] Safety Officer Laura Raymer, -- [email protected] Cover photo: A Chota Canoe and Kayak School class crosses paddles before heading downriver. Below: Boaters preare to launch from Towee Creek on the Hiwassee. 2 Editor’s Eddy Todd Duren Canoe and Kayak School is over now, and I can barely see my kayak under the stacks of paint cans, light fixtures, toilets, and other stuff in my garage. I’m restoring a century-old house this summer and it’s sucking up all my time. Today we got a huge thunderstorm in Oakwood, but was I thinking about which watersheds were catching rain? Was I thinking about how much the guages were jumping and how long the levels would hold? No, I’m embarassed to write—I was just trying to keep things dry. I drove by the job site and discovered the contractors had le the tarps off the bathroom addition-to-be. Muddy water was filling the footers and threatening to sink the house in the muck where we had jacked it up to rebuild the foundation. e point is that I’ve lost my obsession with kayaking to the point that I don’t even call the sexy southern robot lady on the TVA Lake Information Hotline when it rains. I've become a standard citizen dashing for cover whenever things get a little damp. Our annual canoe and kayak school went well this year. I helped Kirk teach and really enjoyed meeting new people and seeing them get excited about running the river. We were back at Hiwassee Outfitters' campground on the river where we could paddle up a small creek into the campground and just drag our boats to our tents. It seems we had more younger people and more women boaters than in previous years—a testament to the sport’s universal appeal. e bonfire and auction were high points on Saturday night, with Doug playing guitar and James putting his “gi of gab” to work auctioning everything from PFDs to an antique Fol-Bot complete with sail, ourlocks, and a folding canvas hull. Sorry the July issue is so late—I’m afraid the house rehab project is distract me a bit. If you have news , photos, or articles you’d like to share, just drop me a line. I encourage all the newbies from this year’s classes to get out on the river and practice their roll at every opportunity. We all remember what it was like when we got started paddling, when every trip was a chance to build skills and every sucessful roll was a small victory. Enjoy your summer and let us hear from you! Todd Duren Eddy Out Editor Get the latest Chota info online: www.paddlechota.org Calendar JULY July : Hiwassee River. Class II. Trey Coleman: --, roscoepwavet [email protected]. Please call to verify meeting location. July , TSRA Wilderness First Aid Course at Eastman Lodge in Kingsport, TN. Fee: .. Contact Rebekah Morrow ()- (before : pm, please) or e-mail: [email protected]. Details online at www.paddletsra.org. July : Nantahala River. Class II (III). Doug Klaras: --. footer[email protected]. Please call to verify meeting location. July : Hiwassee River. Class II. Jason Purcell: --, [email protected] Please call to verify meeting location. July Watauga Lake Touring Trip. e most scenic touring paddle in the Tennessee River watershed. Meet at the Strawberry Plains Pike (I- exit ) Cracker Barrel for breakfast at : am or aer—no later than : am. If you’re Contact: Doug Johnstone at -- canoeone@chartertn .net July –August Alpine Whitewater Francaise Advanced II Trip. Paddle in France! Contact: Bruce Berman: [email protected], phone () -. AUGUST August : Hiwassee River, Class II Laura Raymer: --. [email protected]. Please call to verify meeting location. August , Chota Advanced Safety Clinic at under Rock Campground on the Ocoee River. . + sign up to lead club trips. Contact / sign up: Laura Raymer ()- riverrunn [email protected] August Cookout at General & Board Meeting. Farragut Hills Pool. Directions on page . Bring Side dish. : pm Board, : pm General August : Hiwassee River. Class II. Carl Keaney: --. [email protected]. Please call to verify meeting location. August , TSRA Canoe & Kayak School. www.paddletsra.org Trip Chairperson Carl Keaney, -- [email protected] Canoe & Kayak School Doug Klaras, -- footer[email protected] Canoe & Kayak School Elect Jason Purcell, - Member at Large Michael Kline, -- [email protected] Webmaster Russell deCastongrene -- [email protected] Past President Doug Johnstone, -- [email protected] August – TSRA Swiwater Rescue Course. Camping on Gee Creek at Hiwasse. Instruction on a Class II section of Ocoee. Fee; . Contact: () - [email protected]. August : Pigeon River Trip Class II/III, Lead by Robin Ballard [email protected] --. August : Upper Ocoee Class IV. Warm-up for the Gauley. Plan to work on big water ferries and eddy hopping in the Olympic section. River info: http://www.americanwhitewater.org/ rivers/id//?PHPSESSID=cb aaf feaca. Doug Klaras: --. August : Ocoee River Trip Class III+ Lead by Phil Serrano (home phone ) [email protected] River Info: http://www.americanwhitewater. org/rivers/id/ Get the latest Chota info online: www.paddlechota.org 3 August Club Meeting e August meeting will be a cookout at Andrew Schneider’s neighborhood pool. Board meeting at :, general meeting at :. Bring your boat for roll practice. Chota will provide dogs, buns, and charcoal. You bring a side dish and/or a grillable food object. Farragut Hills Community Center is off of Kingston Pike and Concord Rd. in Farragut. Head south on Concord and take the th le into Farragut Hills subdivision (Farragut Hills Blvd). Take the rd right (this is still Farragut Hills Blvd). At this point, the dark nemesis of Panic, masquerading as his less fearful cousin Alarmed Concern began to tinker with my head as I envisioned a Grumpy ass whoopin’. 4 Trip Report A Good Grumpy’s Swim Story tinker with my head as I envisioned a Grumpy ass whoopin’. A couple more Some Guy Named Mark head shots, then Panic ripped off the All in all I had a great Memorial mask of Alarmed Concern revealing Day weekend at the Ocoee enjoyhis sinister face resulting in the call of ing friends I haven’t seen in a long the Titanic, “All hands on deck! abanwhile. Surprisingly the O was not don ship! Abandon ship!” very crowded, but that was probably Now I’ve practiced a few Power because we never got to the river any Paws wet exits, but since I started sooner than p.m. But you didn’t open messing with them I’ve never had a this page to read this babble—you’re true emergency exit and wondered looking for the goods. how it would go. Well, lemme tell you, Well, aer blazing a middle O run when it’s time to go, those damn things training for a race in a couple of weeks, aren’t a problem. My partner said he I went back to the putin to enjoy a nice was starting to worry as I’d been uprelaxing play run down to Goforth. I side down for a good bit of time, when haven’t ever handpaddled the O so he said he saw a Power Paw come I figgured today was as good as any. literally flying a foot or two out of the Note to self: when you’re already tired water! He said that image will always and dehydrated, not really a good time stay in his mind. to start changing things up. Well, now that the spectre of Panic Anyway, I peel out from the putin has really screwed me and got me out and adjust into the ‘go-with-the-flow’ of my protective pod, here I am floatattitude needed for the Paws. I usuing along in some nasty shallowness. ally drive le of the biggish rock that Luckily I was able to perch up on a splits the current shortly downstream, rock that just had a few inches of water however, I opted this time to go with running over it about feet upstream the flow and go to the right of it, then of Grumpy’s. I was out of the swim, get le to avoid the Grumpmeister. but really didn’t have anywhere to go. I’ve done it before no problem, but this My boat took a good surf in Grumpy’s day was not to be quite the same. I along with my Power Paws. Eventually got hung up and “tripped” over some the boat came out and my partner damn handpaddlesnake. Since I had began the long journey of corralling just been using a paddle, I tried for the it over to the side where he found one leverage of a stick to brace myself up, Paw & my stripped out bulkhead. but it twern’t there. Instead, I just sort Back to our less than intrepid of flop on over upside down and com- swimmer... mense to doing impact testing on helWell, I’ve got plenty of time to figmet, shoulders, etc. I crank out a cou- ure out my next move from this rock. ple haphazard handrolls to no avail. I can stand on it no problem and in At this point, the dark nemesis of looking around, my options didn’t Panic, masquerading as his less fearlook promising. ey all seemed to ful cousin Alarmed Concern began to involve lots of fast moving, shallow Get the latest Chota info online: www.paddlechota.org water that led into Grumpy’s ledge. As I was standing, that’s when I realized I took a nice beater to the knee, good for a few stitches. I sat back down on the rock, applying some direct pressure to the gusher on my knee and just have to laugh at the predicament I’m in. As I can see it, my options are as such: ) wait for them to turn the water off— probably another hour. ) Jump in a ra—alas, only one ra came by whole time I was out there and the crew was a bunch of flailing teenage girls—useless. ) Jump like Carl Lewis as far le as possible, take another beating, swim le & still end up having to get back across to river right. ) Wait for someone with a rope to vector me across from a large boulder on river right into the eddy behind the boulder. So I opt for . e private boaters that came by (not that many given the late hour— maybe or total) were of no help or concern; they seemed to take it as normal to see a guy sitting on a rock in the middle of long stretch of class boogey water with no boat or paddle or any sign of them around. Typical Ocoee bystander apathy. Eventually my buddy comes trottin’ up the road and clambers down to the RR bank, he wades out to the big boulder directly across from me about ' away. He chucks me the rope and gets into a solid sitting three point belay position from the top of the rock cause we both know that ) we’ve got one shot—otherwise I’m in the Grump and ) this water is swi and is going to pack a load when I get on the rope. Holding the rope in my teeth, I manage to edge a few feet closer to the boulder and the eddy we are shooting for. Every bit closer I can get is that much less downstream I’ll be swept before being vectored into the eddy. I ease out as far as I can get safely, grab the rope, flop into the current, hang on, as soon as things pull taut, I flipped onto my stomach and swam like Mark Spitz into the eddy. Success!! I’ve always heard Ocoee swims are painfully memorable, and with good reason. It was a hard lesson learned on slacking off when you’re really tired and on the necessity of keeping the paper tiger of fear & panic at bay. Now if I can just find my other Power Paw. I’m now absolved of my evil ways & resolve not to swim ever again...or at least not until the next time! ...we both know that 1) we’ve got one shot— otherwise I’m in the Grump and 2) this water is swift and is going to pack a load when I get on the rope. Kirk Edelmon creates a minature rapid at Towee Creek to show his students how to read water. Get the latest Chota info online: www.paddlechota.org 5 Chota How-to: Rain Gauge Info 1+ inches of rain will get most decently sized creeks going for a short bubble. 2+ inches will get creeks with small watersheds going quite well. Kirk Eddelmon Previously we talked about the interpretation of streamflow gauge information and we found out that we need more. Rainfall information is the most important information a paddler can have. Usually the really good levels in steep mountainous regions with small watersheds occur before the downstream streamflow indicator gauges can go off and can be too low by the time the streamflow gauges indicate any activity. e only way to know is rain gauge data. For East and Middle Tennessee there are three Internet resources that provide this information: www.afws.net provides rainfall data for most of the southeast whitewater regions and is updated every fieen minutes. Different amounts affect different regions differently, but here are some general rules: + inches of rain will get most decently sized creeks going for a short bubble. + inches will get creeks with small watersheds going quite well. Click on the state you are interested in and then the county or select Data For All Counties, which gives a broader scope of what the system has done. From here you can click on specific counties and a map will be displayed showing the location of the rain gauge in relation to the watershed. To figure out where your favorite stream is in relation to the gauge, just correspond the wavy blue lines (streams) to a gazetteer. Rain can be very patchy though, so keep that in mind. Also keep in mind whether Boaters at the Chota Canoe and Kayak School enjoy the bonfire Saturday night aer a long day on the water. 6 Get the latest Chota info online: www.paddlechota.org things were primed, in other words, has there been good water lately, is the water table up, have these runs run lately and are they holding well lately. ese variables will multiply or decrease the effect of the rainfall amounts. Chota’s website has a good link to TVA’s gauges which add to www.afws.net’s information, however they are only updated every morning at :am which I find useless. ere is a series of links that can lead one to data updated every hour for these gauges. Here is the direct resultant URL for that, which shows a map of North America: http: //www.nws.noaa.gov/oh/hads/. You simply click on your state and then scroll through the different sites. Click on one and it will show you a series of data points that represent the running count of rainfall for the month. To see how much it has rained, simply locate the time when the rain fell by scrolling down, and then figure out the difference in rainfall count. ere are also graphs of this data that can be accessed. It is quite easy. ere is a key for the data column titles if there is more than one. Sometimes there are. PC means precipitation gauge, and HG means stream flow gauge. Since updates are hourly, if other streamflow gauges are down you may be able to access the information you need here. Chota’s website also has a good link to the day precipitation forecast, which can be of minor assistance. Finally, everyone wonders which website for weather information is the best. I am willing to bet that it is the one where all the other websites get their information: www.weather.gov. www.weather.gov Other websites have fluff and give you pop ups, so unless your interested Bob Seeger meets Rage Against the Machine. Doug Klaras and unidentified music lovers play guitar and sing at the bonfire. Get the latest Chota info online: www.paddlechota.org 7 Chota by e-mail Can’t wait till the next newsletter to find out what’s going on with Chota? Want more email? Join the Chota listserve and get updates about happenings with the club (trips, classes and meeting info) as well as information about conservation issues impacting the paddling community. Joining is easy and free, check out the following to get on the list: http://www.korrnet.org/ mailman/listinfo/chotalist in the golf interest index for Myrtle Beach, SC. Go to www.weather.gov. www.weather.gov eir forecasts are constantly revised. I have a link on my desktop for the Knoxville, local forecast. is page has the most pertinent tool on the website, the radar screen. Click on the screen and it will show what is going on around Knoxville. Play around with it and you will find that loops can be made. e default setting is base level reflectivity which gives you an idea as to what is going on low to the ground, ie what is hitting the ground right now. is has two modes: short and long range. You can click on composite reflectivity to get an idea of what is brewing high in the atmosphere. It has both short and long range as well. Compare Base and Composite graphics to see if most of the rain has fallen or if most of it has not fallen yet. You may have to move around with the on screen cursor to different regional radar views to get the whole picture. Keep in mind that the center of the radar beacon for Knoxville is in Morristown. For the most accurate data, get the radar beacon closest to the watershed of interest. For example I use the Huntsville radar beacon for Southern Walden’s Ridge watersheds because it is closer than Morristown. Finally, you can get a map view of storm total rainfall amounts and hourly rainfall amounts. is information is priceless. You can see on a map of the region where all the rain fell and when it did. Memorize stream locations or reference them with a gazetteer to see how much water they got. You can loop it too. If I had to pick one resource for paddling info, this is it. at is about it for rain gauge and radar screen resources SYOTR Kirk Eddlemon A woman fishes below Towee Creek on the Hiwassee at low water. e water will rise to cover these rocks when the generators are running, giving the river over to the boats. Intrepid fly fishermen still wet a line from MacKenzie Dri Boats: large dories with shallow dras. 8 Get the latest Chota info online: www.paddlechota.org Kirk Eddelmon's recent trip to California produced these amazing pix, as well as some blistering whitewater runs. Sorry we didn’t catch which rivers these are, but Kirk can no doubt tell you all about it. Get the latest Chota info online: www.paddlechota.org 9 Pull-out Quote AWA Asheville Needs Volunteers American Whitewater’s Asheville office is in need of volunteer office assistants to help with major projects. Volunteers are needed to help with a variety of projects including event planning, writing projects, computer work, and organizational projects. Folks will be helping with major projects such as the Deerfield and Gauley River Festivals, the AW Journal, improving the features of the AW website (basic computer skills only needed), and the AW product program. Each volunteer will make a significant impact into the effectiveness and success of American Whitewater along with providing a service to each of AW’s members. Volunteer can help out as little or as oen as their schedule allows. Folks in the Asheville area that want to help American Whitewater make a difference please contact Ben VanCamp at () -! Ben VanCamp Outreach Coordinator American Whitewater () - at’s our esteemed Veep running “the nar” on some brain-busting big water out west. Western rivers tend to be biggie-sized, with volume, features and gradient amped up way beyond what Appalachian range whitewater provides. One paddler desribed the effect as being flushed down a huge toilet. 10 Get the latest Chota info online: www.paddlechota.org Safety First Ten Points on Individual Paddling Kirk Eddlemon . Don’t run a drop blind, ever. e one time you do may be the last. . Rivers and creeks change. Never assume something is good because it was last time. Rivers are forever dynamic places. . Practice walking rapids. Never run a drop just for bragging rights. Walking is healthy for the soul and makes you feel smarter and wiser. . Class V is relative. Many class V big water boaters would get eaten on a class IV creek, whereas many class IV creek boaters might have a bad day on the Gauley. Don’t let a number tell you too much about something you have never seen. . ere are old boaters and there are bold boaters, but there are no old bold boaters. ere’s a reason. . Be Alert. Don’t let a hangover, fatigue, or a break-up with your girlfriend impede your judgment and paddling. . Isolated runs require higher skills. If you get into any trouble on an isolated run, you could be in for a serious situation. Know the hike-out routes and possibly carry a map and Chota Meetings compass. Minimize risks. Walk rapids to save time. . Avoid unfamiliar high water runs. at eddy above that class VI mandatory portage way be washed out, leaving you no way out. . Expect the unexpected. Be ready to deal with it. . Gauge your intensity. On a roadside run with safe and fun playful rapids, I will play till I puke. On a mile inaccessible run in January with a foot of snow on the ground, I try to take every move seriously. Be efficient and conserve energy. is sport can be ultimately safe, we just need to watch each other and realize the dangers and not be afraid to confront them in the safest way possible. It just takes a little bit of work to boat safely. ese guidelines will ultimately improve the quality of experience you have on the river every trip. . Answer to yourself. Don’t base your decisions on other people’s judgement. Make your own choices. Kirk’s thoughts on safety came a couple of weeks aer a challenging trip on the Piney where he did three boat extractions and had a hike out— mine—all with no injuries. As usual his thoughts are solid and thorough. —TD Chota meets on the second ursday of each month in locations announced on the website and in Eddy Out. Officers at :, General members at :. Visitors are always welcome. Practice walking rapids. Never run a drop just for bragging rights. Walking is healthy for the soul and makes you feel smarter and wiser. Some members of a beginner's class practice hip snaps and Eskimo rescues at Mac Point Beach on Lake Ocoee. ese guys really built their skills and had good first runs of the Hiwassee the next day. Get the latest Chota info online: www.paddlechota.org 11 PRST STD U.S. Postage PAID Chota Canoe Club P.O. Box University Station Knoxville, TN Knoxville, TN Permit no. Deadline for August issue is Saturday July . Email photos, articles, announcements, and trip reports to Todd Duren: [email protected]. Include subject line “Chota Newsletter.”
