Ocoee Circa 2003

Sometimes as a child my dad would let me sit in his lap with no sprayskirt and paddle me through some of the easier stuff. One time when I was about 4 I fell out and got a bunch of water up my nose, then swore I'd never get in a kayak again. That didn't hold up.

Chattooga, August 2018

This was my first time down Section 4 in my Vengeance, which at the time was still a fairly new boat to me (thank you Ben Odom for selling me that boat and absolutely changing the game of kayaking). Despite the discouraging start (as shown), it ended up being a beautiful lap with Logan Kendricks and was a day that really got me into slicey boating. I have a lot of love for section IV and all the memorable times down that stretch of the oh-so-special Chattooga.

Nantahala Cascades September 2018

The Cascades have come to be one of my favorite runs, and this was my personal first descent. Simon showed Coty and I down, and I'm glad I had Coty to be terrified with me. The Horns of God horizon line is pretty damn intimidating, especially that first time. I swam on the second drop of Chinese Feet and got a little spooked and started running the left line for months. After the lap, Simon asked if he could hop in my Mamba and run Whiteoak Falls (the massive drop above the Cascades) which he proceeded to style before flipping on a log at the bottom (before rolling up off of it seamlessly). Such a cool day.

Little River, September 2018

Fall 2018 was an awesome time to be a paddler in the gorge, especially on this day. The perfect amount of rain brought the Cascades up to a perfect level so Ben, Simon and I grabbed 3 laps before heading over to the Little in the Smokies which was at a healthy 3.5 feet or so. Had a solid creek boat lap the first go around while Joseph and Tate rafted behind us. Then, we met up with Ben and Sam, the latter of which persuaded me to take the slice for the second lap. I looked at him and I said Sam, if I die on this lap, it's your fault. 5 minutes later, 50 yards downstream from the put in I got the hell pinned out of me on mouse trap in the Screaming Meanies. Fortunately Simon was able to hop out and pull my ass into the eddy before things really got bad. That was definitely the closest call I've had on the river and I can legitimately say Simon might've saved my life that day. I'm glad I get to paddle w people who not only have sick boating skills, but sick safety skills as well. Safety is cool.

I was pretty wide eyed at this point and Simon said I could hop out or I could grab my creek boat if I wanted to and that they'd wait. I was so close, but I decided I just needed to catch my breath and get my wits about me and that I'd be good. I peeled out, got tossed in the next hole, rolled up, and from that point on I had one of the most fun, exciting laps on the Little that I've had on any river anywhere. Thank you for that Sam. Next time I'll boof into the eddy and miss the seam altogether.

Goforth Creek, December 2018

All I was looking for on this day was some high water Ocoee action, but on the way Drew called and told me to meet them at Goforth. I knew it was about to go down. I remember scrambling up Goforth as a kid and thinking woah, there's no way people kayak this. Well, I grabbed a camera and a rope and my friends kayaked it. Drew, Albie and Joey (pictured, he broke his paddle and had to single blade the last drop which was really fun to watch) made it look so good that I wanted to try it for myself. Blaine and Drew fired up the super slide on the second lap, and I met them at the 15 footer and we ran the rest down to the bridge. Goforth is such a sick creek with surprisingly clean lines. Afterwards I got some RPM love on the Ocoee to de-stress a bit. A good day.

Little River Canyon, January 2019

My first time out to LRC. LRC Falls is another drop I never thought I'd run, but the water was there and the line looked good. I followed, Simon and the Spicy Bois down and was more psyched than I've ever been kayaking at the bottom. I was ready to give suicide section hell--I felt on top of the world. Then suicide section at 1,700 kicked my shit. I didn't quite swim, but carped way too many rolls for comfort and got the daylight scared out of me pretty early in the run. I got in my own head pretty bad and felt like I didn't need to be down in there. It was fun watching the guys fire up Pinball which was massive at that level, but other than that I was too scared to have any fun. Since that day I've toned it down a little bit and tried to push myself a little bit more conservatively (or just enjoy not pushing myself at all). Definitely a lesson learned down in Little River Canyon that day.

Blue Hole Falls, March 2019

I was sitting in the science library watching the radar on a Wednesday night last Spring, and I saw that North Georgia was going to get some rain. I went to Snelling around 11:30 to get some food and coffee, packed up, and hit a rainy cruise to the Blue Hole Falls trailhead, getting there around 2 AM. I slept in my car, woke up, and hiked in about a mile (I think?) to the waterfall, scouted it out, and hopped in. A neat drop, with an awesome 80 or so foot waterfall to look at below. Did 4 laps on Blue Hole, did a little cliff jumping into the pool below, and hiked down to see the big mf below. Felt good to get out there and do something different, and doing it solo was a really cool experience. Still made it back for my 12:30, too.

Section 00 of the Chattooga, February 2019

I was super lucky for my friend Swanny to have invited me along with he and a couple other guys to paddle the headwaters of the Chattooga last winter. The gorges on Section 00 (pictured) were unlike anything I've ever experienced, and it's places like this that you really can't see without a kayak. It was a cloudy, foggy day which really added to the isolated feel. Never had I felt quite this off the grid on a river before (the Conasauga comes close, though—that was another awesome day). The hike in was a mile and a half or so, and at the put in I participated in my first ever real safety meeting. Like, we actually talked about safety. If you know, you know. It was a different kind of safety meeting than I was used to for sure, but it was certainly necessary on a run like that. The whitewater was awesome and it was kind of a portage fest, but well worth it for the adventure factor. A very memorable day with a good Athens crew.

Green River Narrows, June 2019

My very first Green lap. Curtis broke his paddle at Go Left and had to hand paddle out which was pretty sweet to watch. I had a pretty gnarly swim at scream machine, but my crew helped me pick up the pieces (I owe all of you one) and a clif bar and water at sunshine perked me right back up to grease the runout and redeem myself. Afterwards we hit up Boon Choo, a Thai restaurant in one of those small towns near the Green, where I learned that Thailand's 3 on a heat scale from 1-5 is far hotter than America's 3. It was delicious, nonetheless. All in all, a beautiful but exhausting day.

Green River Narrows, November 2019

A couple months ago, the stars aligned and I finally got to paddle with Logan, Hank, Will, and Oskar all at the same time! That never happens, so I was especially excited to hit the river that day. I've never really had one solid and consistent paddling crew but I think I finally found that in these guys. After the Texas A&M game we drove up to Fishtop and got there around 11, where we watched the stars and smoked and drank Dale's and Shocktop until 3 AM crept up on us. Woke up the next morning tired, cold, and a bit hungover all around, but kicked it into high gear with some Mickey D's and coffee. Got to watch Hank absolutely roost Gorilla, which is always a sight. Will and I got worked a time or two in the slicey boats, but no swims were had. Looking forward to getting to paddle more with this crew and really step our game up this winter.