March 2015

Run the Salmon!

Sign up to run the magical Middle Fork of the Salmon River on this 12 day bucket list trip!

EDDYOUT

Member Newsletter • Chota Canoe Club, Knoxville, Tennessee • paddlechota.org

Big South Fork

A few of the boys got together to run the BSF...yes even one of those “Open Boaters” went

Paddling Film Fest

Wes Breitenbach shares his trek up North to the IPFF,,,yep, the one we all wanted to go to.

EDDYOUT

Member Newsletter • Chota Canoe Club, Knoxville, Tennessee • paddlechota.org

For your Calendar...

MARPolar Bear Weekend, we will be camping at OAR.March 20-21

Chota Canoe & Kayak School will be held June 19-21. We will be camping at OAR

JUN

APROutdoor Knoxfest 2015 in Knoxville, TN.

MAR LAST Pool Roll Practice from 7 - 9pm at The University of Tennessee Pool in Knoxville, TN. Members only pay $5!

APRWomen’s Whitewater WeekendApril 24-25 with TVCC. We will be camping at OAR

A wee note from your editor...

Ladies & Fellas,

Sorry to be publishing this issue a tad late, but nonetheless here it is.

It’s March and I think we may have just been rewarded for braving the unusually chilled winter of 2014/2015...these 70 degree days are lighting a fire in even cruddy boaters like me to nail a roll and prep for spring paddling.

This issue will take a peek at the progress on Jim Martin’s boat building mission, a look in on the folks that ran the Big South Fork and Middle Tellico, and

Be sure to check out the calendar and sign up for upcoming trips...ladies, there is even one planned especially for you!

Rachelrelise@me.com

NEED TO PUBLISH IN OUR NEWSLETTER???

Have a date that needs to be brought to everyone’s attention? Or a book you just wrote that could help us all find new rivers to paddle? Then let me know!

ALL information included in that months newsletter needs to be in to me by the 25th of the month!!!

Email your content to relise@me.com

Big South Forkby David McConnell

February 7, 2015 • BSF of the Cumberland • 1500 CFS

Sitting here with temperature hovering right around 6 degrees it’s hard to believe that two weeks ago it was sunny and in the mid 50’s on the Big South Fork. Myself, John ‘Gunny’ Wiser, Aaron Hiscock, and Doug Johnstone ventured north for a run from the confluence to Leatherwood Ford. The level was around 1500 cfs; 3 of us had paddled this same section a few weeks earlier at about 900 cfs and were interested to see what the different level would be like.

Putting in at the confluence gives you a couple of Class II+ warmup rapids and then you get to the Big 3 about ¾ of a mile into the run. The Big 3 consist of Double Drop, Washing Machine, and the Ell; all Class III+/IV-‘ish rapids. Double Drop is a fairly straight forward double drop; Washing Machine is a slot that drops you into a turbulent hole. The Ell is the longest and most complex of the three. It starts off with a couple of small ledges then a downstream ferry to far river left hopefully avoid-ing the curler on the seam of the hole that tries to keep you from getting there. If you make the ferry all the way over past the curler then you just point the bow downstream and ride the wave train out. If you don’t complete the ferry, well; I hope you’ve been going to roll practice.

After the Big 3 don’t relax too much, next up is Oh Sh*t; a solid Class III chute. From here the rapids start to get a little more spaced out. You have time to take in the beautiful sights of the Big South Fork. Huge boulders are everywhere along the river, the water is a beautiful emerald green, and in the distance you can see the walls of the gorge steepening for the Canyon section of the run. There are still a couple of rapids to go before we get there though. Honey Creek Rapid is a long series of wave trains with some holes and rocks thrown in the middle of everything just to keep it interesting. You pass by the Hand of God rock on your way to A$$ Kicker another Class III+ chute.

When you see the vertical wall on your right you’ll know you are getting to the Canyon section of the river, the Canyon contains 3 or 4 defined Class III’ish rapids separated by some wave trains and swift moving flat water. One rapid in the middle deserves particular respect, starting off with an S move between two holes followed by a wave train. The O & W bridge signals the end of the Canyon with a nice sandy beach on river right just up-stream of it that is too inviting to pass up for most. The O & W can also be used as an alternate takeout although the facilities are much better at Leatherwood Ford.

After your break at the beach there is a rapid under the bridge that has a pretty good sized wave train in it. From here on down are 2 miles of mostly flatwater with a few of small rapids here and there. Takeout at the low water bridge at Leatherwood Ford and reminisce on your day on the Big South Fork. It truly was a great time!

International Paddling Film Festival: A weekend in review

With my work done and my interest peaked I made the last minute decision to saddle up and head north into the wintry unknown to experience the International Paddling Film Festival. Purchasing my ticket online saved me five bucks! So I was already coming in under budget! I filled the “the dirty brown taco” (my truck) with gear and strapped “your girlfriend” (my boat) to the top then set off. Frankfort Kentucky would be the destination for a paddler throw down and some prime urban bootleg camping! After getting gas and food supplies, radar was checked to confirm the incoming storm...and it looked stormy.

The ride up was mostly uneventful with the exception of the Megabus that was sporting a character with an oddly placed back-up camera.

Now, I could go on about how awesome the films were. I could tell you how friendly and pleasant everyone from the attendees to the NPFF staff, the vendors and even the distillery staff were. I could talk about the weather and the frozen rivers. I never got to take “your girlfriend” out!

I might be able to summarize how cool the weekend was by telling you all the inside action that took place in, around and after the main event, but why, you got to earn that ticket!

by F. Wes BreitenbachDirt-BagStyle

February 20-21, 2015 • IPPF • Buffalo Trace Distillery • Frankfort, KY

“I filled the “the dirty brown taco” (my truck) with gear and strapped “your girlfriend” (my boat) to the top and set off.“

I will tell you that if you have been, then you know absolutely how much fun it is! And if you haven’t, just go already!

Instead of the typical report I thought I might try something a bit different. When I found out that paddling was not going to be an option I thought about checking out the town. And, so I did!

The city of Frankfort is a cozy place with little hustle or bustle. It reminds me of my own small hometown. The quaint down-town, with its fascinating mix of architecture, compiles styles from the 17, 18 and 1900’s. It’s rich with historical buildings and stories of prominent residents and guests. One I found particu-larly interesting was the Emily Thomas Tubman house. In 1836 (pre civil war), wanting to free the slaves she inherited from her late husband’s estate, she gave them the choice to be returned to Africa or stay with her. Around half returned to Liberia where their descendents live today.

Wandering the streets of Frankfort it’s hard not to pass a historical marker; some blocks have 4 or 5! From powerful political women, traveling presidents, many paddling sport enthusiasts, multiple visits from explorers Lewis and Clark and dignitaries throughout our nation’s history have walked the little known streets of this great little town on the Kentucky bourbon trail.

So, while some of you may have chosen to stay home to avoid the weather, others braved the dangers of winter driving to share their passion for the water, the friendships, and the love! This doesn’t make one better than the other, it just merely makes us different. Just as my day of exploring the history of this city may not be as exciting to some as the tastings in the distillery, that’s what made the weekend so great, everyone together doing their own thing and living the dream!

See you in the real world Dirt Bags!

International Paddling Film Festival: A weekend in reviewContinued

Dirt-BagStyle

get your roll on...Roll PracticeWe are currently holding roll practice on Friday evenings from 7-9pm at the University of Tennessee Pool.

*Don’t forget your gear!

$5 for Club members$10 for Non-members$20 for Memberships

The Latitude 18 racing hull is progressing nicely. I haven’t had many chances to work in long stretches. I usually spend about an hour a few evenings each week working on it, and often only get a few strips completed each time.

The hull is almost completely stripped out, and a few more strips on each side will close it up. The next step is completing the bow and stern stems made from strips of ash wood.

Monthly updates will continue until I get it in the water.

BoatBuildingUpdateMarch 2, 2015

by Jim Martin

APRIL 24 - 25We are teaming up with TVCC to host this event. Open to beginners and experienced whitewater paddlers. We will be camping at OAR and paddling the Hiwassee and Ocoee Rivers. The event is posted on our facebook page.

Women’s Whitewater Weekend

Paddle the Middle Fork of the Salmon!Sign up now for this July 2016 Class III / IV trip to Idaho!

About the Salmon

With endless play waves, famous rapids, and crystal emerald waters, the Middle Fork of the Salmon River (MFSR) sits in the heart of the nearly 2.5 million acre Frank Church Wilderness, the largest wilderness area in the lower 48! It’s clear why this river was one of the first to be named a national Wild and Scenic River.

• Marsh Creek and Bear Valley Creek come together to form the Middle Fork: small, swift, steep and shallow with creek-like characteristics.

• Over 100 tributaries feed the Middle Fork in its nearly 100-mile journey from the high country to its confluence with the mighty Main Salmon.

• There are more accessible natural hot springs along the banks of the Middle Fork than on any other wilderness river in the United States.

• Granite gorges and sheer cliffs alternate with rolling sage-covered hills.

• Its waters support a blue ribbon fishery of native west slope cutthroat trout. You’ll see wild game and evidence of the few people who once dared to call this untamed area home.

• The last couple of days on the MFSR you will travel through the Impassable Canyon, so named because the rugged terrain meant the only way through was down the rapids. Expect cascading waterfalls, small sandy beaches, huge rock caverns, and big drop-pool rapids, flanked by towering granite walls.

Trip Details

DATES• 13-18 July 2016

• Possible 6 day Main Salmon

add-on from 19-24 July 2016

COST• MFSR July 13-18 2016, $1995 or $1800 with a group of 10 or more (we already have 6 people signed up)

• Combination MFSR and Main Salmon July 13-24 2016, $3300 or $2970 with a group of 10 or more

DISTANCE• MFSR 100 miles, on the Main Salmon 94 miles

• MFSR average gradient: 28 ft/mile (49 ft/mile on the upper 25 mile section), Main Salmon 12 ft/mile

DIFFICULTY• MFSR Technical class III – IV

• Main Salmon big water class III – IV

AVERAGE DAILY FLOW• MFSR July 1, 200 cfs. Main Salmon July, 9600 cfs (both rivers are natural flow)

Contact Information

Great rapids, warm weather, fantastic hiking, gourmet food and hot springs in most camps. Fully outfitted and raft supported. All you have to do is set up and take down your tent and paddle! Non-hardboat participants are welcome and have the option of riding a paddle raft or oar rig.

RESERVATIONS Make reservations as a member of Chota by clicking here to make online reservations, or callContact Canyons, Inc. at 888 634 2600 COORDINATORSContact Tom and Sandy Snyder with any questions at tswhitewater@gmail.com or by clicking here.

Tom has done this trip twice with Canyons in K-1 and Sandy has done it once in K-1 and once in OC-1.

Whitewater of the Southern Appalachiansby Kirk Eddlemon

Wilderness First Aid Classby Richard Redano

Are you prepared for a major first aid emergency on your paddling trips? In the midst of the winter paddling lull, 11 Chota members completed a 1 ½ day wilderness first aid (WFA) class offered by a local Boy Scout troop. Richard Redano completed the course in January and Bob Eckhardt, Mary Margaret Eckhardt, Jusbyn Lockard, Lj Lattore, Kim Abney, Jim Martin, Larry Stewart, Leslie Stewart, James Locke, and Angela Wood completed the course in February. This was a full blown WFA course from the Emergency Care & Safety Institute, including certification in cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and automatic external defibrillation (AED).

For those of you who love details, the course curriculum includ-ed patient assessment, submersion incidents, hypothermia, heat stroke, heat exhaustion, allergies, anaphylaxis, abdominal problems, shock, and the diagnosis and treatment of injuries to the head, spine, bone, and chest. Classroom presentations were interspersed with “hand-on” sessions in CPR, AED, patient assessment, and insulating a hypothermic victim. There were also multiple occasions to examine various kinds of first aid equipment, including the versatile SAM splint. In contrast to more fundamental first aid training that many of you may have undergone, this course not only explained the symptoms and how to treat them, but also explained WHY these symptoms exist and WHY they are treated this way.

If there is such a thing as an instructor’s gene, Larry Rose, the course instructor surely has it. Larry is the Scoutmaster of Boy Scout Troop 50 and the Crew Advisor of Venturing Crew 50 (“Venturing Crews” were known as “Explorer Posts” prior to 1998). In addition to possessing an encyclopedic knowledge of the topics presented, he is a dynamic instructor, capable of maintaining audience interest during both the classroom and hands on sessions.

Over the past three years, I have seen WFA courses of similar duration offered at a cost of $175. The cost of this course was only $75 – but wait there’s more! Chota allocated $500 to sub-sidize the tuition of the course participants. Thus, this course ended up costing each of us less than $30. This $500 tuition subsidy was a savvy investment by Chota in the emergency preparedness of its members. This investment should return many dividends in the future.

I highly recommend this course to anyone interested in becoming better prepared to handle a WFA emergency.

In fact, rumor has it that next year an enhanced WFA course will be offered for whitewater paddlers with hands on training on how to mix river mud and sand to fashion a nose cast. Do we know anyone who would benefit from that?

February WFA course graduates (L-R) Lj Lattore, Larry Stewart, Leslie Stewart, Jim Martin, Mary Margaret Eckhardt, Angela Wood, Jusbyn Lockard, Kim Abney, Bob Eckhardt, and in the hammock James Locke.

Well here I am 12 o’clock midnight, 24 hours before the deadline for this article, and I am fighting off more anxiety now than I had during the adventure I hope to tell you about. I was asked, more like told to tell the story about my day on the river. Please bear with me I’ve never attempted to do anything like this before, if things work out as well as I hope, I won’t be asked to do it again! Even in school I would skip essay days. I was asked to come up with a page to a page and a half. I’m thinking if I set the font size at 72 I might be able to pull it off.

Let me start with the bit about myself for those who don’t know me. As you’ve probably figured out by this point my name is LJ Latorre. I have been flat water kayaking for about the last 10 years. But I have only been Whitewater boating since summer of 2014. I was hoping some of my flat water skills would carry over. Well come to find out the only similarities are that you are sitting in a piece of plastic and both use a paddle. Not much more than that.

This particular venture takes place, Saturday morning of February 28 on the Middle Tellico. As I recall the air temperature was approximately 35° with the water temperature being a little over 40°. Given the temperatures am not sure why we wouldn’t prefer to be in the water than on it. Now that I think about it that is the position I often take [in the water and so much not on it]. Leading this rookie down the river was John Wiser a.k.a. [Gunny] and Tom Snyder. Also accompanying us was a group from Ohio, Scott Puthoff, Tara Scarborough, Mike Marksberry, Jennifer Gruner, Thomas Sterling and Hannah Lubbers.

Gunny has paddled with them in the past I believe they call themselves the FIFO group I have no idea what that means. But I could easily be wrong about the name. They were very willing

to have a tagalong as myself in the water with them. Even after Gunny giving them the heads up in a very [Gunny] gracious way that this guy I brought with me today has very little idea what he’s doing. This would be my first attempt at the Tellico chal-lenging my whitewater skills to date.

Well the adventure started a good bit before ever getting to the water as you probably recall most of East Tennessee was hit with several snowstorms that week. While working out the shuttle we were forced to make several trips up and down River Road which borders the Tellico River. This would not have been a big deal if it were large enough to accommodate more than a car and a half side-by-side. This became very tricky considering the fact the road was covered in snow and ice. On our last trip up the road to the put in we were stopped by a car of boaters that had ventured too close to the edge. Gunny, being true to form, quickly pulled out a set of towing chains, and right to work on his hands and knees connecting the chain to the vehicle which we were easily able to pull them out. As we traveled closer to the put in we stopped several times along the way where Gunny and Tom did an awesome job of pointing out several of the more difficult rapids we would be encountering and how best to run them. This seems to be a good point to talk a bit about who we rookies choose to paddle with.

I have been on several paddling trips were the leaders did a good job of allowing us to play follow the leader, and they did a great job getting us safely down the river, but I have been very fortunate to paddle with people such as Gunny, Tom Snyder, Kim Abney, Mark Bevelhimer, Lee Belknap and this is only to mention a few. But these leaders are not just leaders. To me they have been more like mentors than just trip leaders. What I mean by this is these folks really take the time to help you not

The Middle Tellico RiverBy LJ Latorre

February 28, 2015 • Tellico Plain, TN

The Middle Tellico Rivercontinued

only physically but mentally prepare for the run. I don’t know how many times I have been in the pool and one of these guys will come to me and say here’s a new drill you need to start working on. Conveying to me, that they are truly interested in me and my paddling career. And of course how this all plays out on the river is it gives the inexperienced boater a level of confidence to accomplish rapids that would otherwise have us portage our boats around.

I honestly didn’t think I would be ready for the Middle Tellico until late fall of this year. This trip the plan was to have Tom in front of me, who has been paddling for a ton of years and who has done this particular river over 300 times. And Gunny behind who has lightning speed and the ability to put his kayak through the eye of a needle. Sure you have to pull your own weight, but knowing these guys are there for you takes a load of worry off your shoulders. And allows you to accomplish things you didn’t think you could.

Okay finally were at the river. The first thing I do is begin to put on my dry suit INCORRECTLY! As I attempt yank this thing up around my body I start to hear threads popping. Okay so I gained a few pounds but not so many as this thing won’t go on at all, So I asked Tom what’s going on here do I have it bunched up? What? He then tells me that I’ve got it on all wrong I have to now get out of it again and start over. As I start to pull the suit off again I hear more popping. By the time I get the suit back on correctly this time I realize I have ripped a 7 in seam wide open! Crap! All I could think is, I’m going to get on this river flip over, swim, the suit is going to fill up with water and I’m going straight to the bottom. If I ever had a good reason to be on top of my game and not swim this was it. So trying to keep myself from being completely embarrassed, I fold the material over and pretend like it never happened.

We put in just below Jared’s knee just above the bridge. This was one of the places were Gunny and Tom had prepared me for ahead of time, knowing there would be no warm-up time. I was told to cross the river catch the eddy hit the shoot on the right, turn the boat left, cross the river under the bridge, then straight down the rest of the rapid. So I get in my boat I see Tom sitting in the eddy waiting for me, ready to lead me down. At this point I ferry over to catch the top of the eddy, I miss it by at least 4 feet and get sucked out the back of the eddy, facing the shoot the wrong way. At this moment I’m thinking I want to be back in bed. Luckily I get turned around in the nick of time and made the rest of this particular rapid without incident.

One of our party got pinned just as they were entering the very first shoot. I have to be honest though, I’m always glad when I am not the first one to make a mistake. I know that’s terrible but it’s true. One of the ways I found this river to be very chal-lenging is there was very little chance to rest, I mean it is literally one rapid after another after another. Fortunately I have been blessed to paddle almost once and sometimes twice a week for months now. Knowing what I know now I wouldn’t try to paddle this section without building up some stamina ahead of time, it is so fast pace it’s quite a workout. Fortunately there are a num-ber of pull offs along the road. Allowing you to skip some of the more difficult rapids, cutting down on the workout as well. This section of the river from below Jared’s knee at the bridge to the ranger station is chock-full of class II and III+ rapids. For more detailed information see americanwhitewater.org For those of you who are not winter paddlers you have no idea at all what you’re missing out on. Something that I did not realize until we were on the water is that this is more or less a winter only river. If I were not a winter paddler I would miss the beauty of the snow covered rocks and hills the six-inch thick eight-foot long icicles. The sunbeams as they pass through the tree branches onto the water. My words truly fall short in describing the beauty.

At some point a snowball fight broke out. Now normally I would not only participate in such a ritual but I would be the instigator. But to be honest I enjoyed the short break to catch my breath and to think God that I hadn’t turned my boat into a submarine quite yet. As we began to progress down the river I saw this fascinating formation which looked to be like a huge cave, and my mind began to wander a bit wondering how the original settlers may have used this place. Only revealed to me days after our paddle, this place was not used by settlers at all, but is inhabited by trolls and is known as the troll hole. Boaters who venture too close to the troll hole are forced to pay the a toll. As I mentioned earlier about leaders being mentors, as you can see there are exceptions to the rule. And they will often allow

The Middle Tellico Rivercontinued

you to venture into dark mysterious places. Like lambs led to the slaughter. Now I have experienced trolls on other rivers in the past, when I know I’m going to encounter a troll I will often come bearing gifts. Next time on the middle Tellico, I will be much better prepared. My payment came very near the end of the run on one of the last rapids. I’m sure the trolls picked this place just to remind me who controls the river. This particular rapid had two ledges to it I lost my balance on the first of the two as my head went under the surface of the water I’m sure I could hear faint laughing. Sure enough in about a split second I found the bow of Tom’s boat perfectly positioned for a T rescue. Of course I took advantage of this and popped myself right back up again. Thinking not today trolls, you’ll not get me to swim today! Yet, the pleasure of that thought evaporated into thin air when I realized I was still in the middle the rapid, headed upstream. Being the obedient student that I try to be, during the beginner’s clinic we were always told to let your paddle go during the T rescue. Now what……..??? Just as I realized I no longer have my paddle, I’m in the middle the rapid, and I’m facing the wrong direction. Tom begins to shout HAND PADDLE! HAND PADDLE!

What the heck is hand paddle? They never taught me anything about no hand paddling! Now is not the time to be learning some new skill! Let’s just say I was blessed getting through the rest of the rapid. I had no idea what I was doing. After all that, by this time Gunny was close enough to get some very nice close-ups of my misfortune, he starts hollering GET TO AN EDDY. GET TO AN EDDY. Sure man no problem. You’re the one who got me into this situation by getting too close to the trolls in the first place.

With my debt at least partially paid. As with most things worth doing the end must eventually come. Looking above the bank there sits the shuttle car. Some goodbyes to new friends are said, and the minds begin to wander what new adventures lay ahead.

ANNUAL CANOE + KAYAK SCHOOLJune 19-21, 2015

Mark your calendars for this year’s school! We are looking for auction items and sponsors. Angela Wood if you have auction donations or ideas or if you or your company would like to sponsor our school. Sponsorship levels are $100, $250 and $500+. The donor’s name will be included on all of our advertising materials (flyers, t-shirts, website etc.) and be helping us put on a great school and raise funds for the upcoming year.

Club Shenanigans

If this looks like you’re jam, get a hold of us and we’ll drag you along to our next misadventure.