July 2004 Newsletter

Transcription

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 aer the first big drop of
Ocoee’s Tablesaw rapid. Aer 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 ras 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, --
roscoepwavetrain@yahoo.com
Vice President
Kirk Eddleman, --
bankfull@yahoo.com
Secretary
Renee Harwell, --
reneeharwell@bellsouth.net
Treasurer
Andrew Schneider
--
tennschneider@aol.com
Newsletter Editor
Todd Duren, --
tduren@fireflygraphics.com
Conservation Officer
Jomo MacDermott
--
MacDermott@mindspring.com
Safety Officer
Laura Raymer, --
riverrunner@bellsouth.net
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
rain@yahoo.com. 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:
rfmorrow@voridian.com. Details
online at www.paddletsra.org.
July : Nantahala River. Class II
(III). Doug Klaras: --.
footermph@msn.com. Please call to
verify meeting location.
July : Hiwassee River. Class
II. Jason Purcell: --,
jason.purcell@CTIMI.com
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 aer—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:
ybberman@earthlink.net, phone
() -.
AUGUST
August : Hiwassee River, Class
II Laura Raymer: --.
kayakinkashka@yahoo.com. 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
er@bellsouth.net
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: --.
carl@hwimail.com. Please call to verify
meeting location.
August ,  TSRA Canoe & Kayak
School. www.paddletsra.org
Trip Chairperson
Carl Keaney, --
carl@hwimail.com
Canoe & Kayak School
Doug Klaras, --
footermph@msn.com
Canoe & Kayak School Elect
Jason Purcell, -
Member at Large
Michael Kline, --
mkline@teamhealth.com
Webmaster
Russell deCastongrene
--
RusselldeC@CharterTN.net
Past President
Doug Johnstone, --
canoeone@chartertn.net
August – TSRA Swiwater
Rescue Course. Camping on Gee
Creek at Hiwasse. Instruction
on a Class II section of Ocoee.
Fee; . Contact: () -
wepenley@bellsouth.net.
August : Pigeon River Trip
Class II/III, Lead by Robin Ballard
rdballard@charter.net --.
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=cb
aaf feaca. Doug
Klaras: --.
August : Ocoee River Trip Class III+
Lead by Phil Serrano (home phone
 ) SerranoPhil@aol.com 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, aer 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.
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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 fieen
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 aer a long day on
the water.
6
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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 dras.
8
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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 oen 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
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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 aer 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
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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: tduren@fieflygraphics.com. Include subject line “Chota Newsletter.”