Walliebloggin': Connecting with the "Nany"

Western North Carolina is a Mecca of sorts for whitewater paddlers. When we became interested in tandem whitewater canoeing around the late 90's, the Nantahala River (Nany for short) became the destination, thanks to the recommendation of friends. The largest city was Asheville, about an hour farther east. We attended a week long clinic, 4 years in a row. The 3 other couples that joined us for these tandem lessons, came back year after year to what we described to our friends as summer camp for adults. We ~~honed~~ practiced our new skills on rivers like the Tuckasegee, Chatooga, Pigeon, and the Nantahala. The movie, "The Fugitive," had a number of scenes filmed on the "Tuck." All of our instructors over the years were top notch athletes (and individuals) including one that was an advisor in the movie "Deliverance" (filmed on the Chatooga), an olympic competitor, and The Wildwater World Championship winner in C2 (tandem canoes) along with her male partner in 1981. The latter is Bunny Johns, who was President of The Nantahala Outdoor Center (NOC) at the time we began our whitewater adventures. NOC was started in the early 70's by a couple of whitewater enthusiasts starting a rafting company that has evolved into a leader in the outdoor recreation industry, with trips being lead in 40+ countries around the world.

Not to be a name dropper, but one of our first nights here, we attended a picnic dinner on a pontoon boat with 5 other couples, one of which is the co-founder of NOC, Payson Kennedy. This is part of what draws us to this area. The people we have met, like Bunny and Janet (the instructors that have worked the most with us), have this circle of friends that we have been able to peer into and who are just good people.

We spent today hanging out at the river. They were celebrating Wayne Dickert, one of their own, who after 30 years involved with NOC in some fashion, is leaving to be a minister with his own congregation in Bryson City (near NOC). He was the olympic athlete mentioned above that was one of our instructors. He could make a canoe do things most people think only a kayak could do.

Here are a few photos from today...

This is the "end' of the river where the rafts take out where NOC began.
The store is the large building on the left where anything river related
can be bought. The restaurant, "The River's End," is upper center.
There is a bridge crossing the river and on the other side (right)
is where the rafting stuff occurs. This is also where races take place.