After the long day on Monday, we weren’t in a big hurry to be up and going so we called the whitewater rafting place and postponed until the afternoon. It is about an hour away, and we needed to stop at a store and pick up a few things so we left pretty early. My friend John told us about a restaurant at the Nantahala Outdoor Center that has great burgers, so we planned to have lunch there before rafting. We took a nice (translated – not direct) ride up to Bryson City and got there in plenty of time. Lunch was good, and everyone that had finished the rafting trip was smiling – a good sign.
We signed away any responsibility for our deaths, and watched a video about NOT standing up in white water. We got our flotation vests and paddles and boarded a bus to take us upriver. I haven’t been on a school bus in a long time – until today. The water is pumped from a lake by the power company and used to generate electricity and the water is COLD. Not Deadliest Catch COLD, but still COLD. After losing all feeling in the foot that is wedged under the thwart in the raft, you soon forget about it. Your foot, that is. Some people decided to jump into the river; why someone would do that from a boat that is not burning, sinking, or being destroyed by icebergs I have no idea. My bride was one of them, some things just defy explanation.
Our guide Raymond was great. Had some stories about the river and some of the well-named rocks in it: Jaws, Pyramid, and a few others that escape me now. When we got to several of the rapids, the right side of the boat (my side) paddled forward, the other side paddled backwards so we could spin through the rapids. Apparently the goal of this maneuver was to ensure that all occupants were equally soaked by the end of the trip. The Nantahala Falls are class 3 rapids and pretty exciting, but you’re through it very quickly.
They have photos for sale of each boat going over the falls, and of course we had to have not one shot but two. A lot of fun and something we will definitely do again.
The ride back was fun too (translated – lots of curves) and dinner was a pizza at our cabin.