RRainman
09-17-2007, 09:18 PM
(in the car, :banghead ) My nephew, Billy, had off from school last Thursday and Friday. He flew down from NJ Wed night and Thur we headed out through the north GA mountains. We had reservations to stay at the Nantahala Outdoor Center for the Thur=Sun. We stopped along the way at DeSoto Falls State Park and hiked back to the falls, then stopped on the Appalachain Trail (AT) at the top of Blood Mountain.
http://www.rrainman.smugmug.com/photos/196611777-L.jpg
http://www.rrainman.smugmug.com/photos/196613758-L.jpg
We got to the NOC and checked in and then hung out by the river. The river slows to it's natural flow in the early evening. But every morning at about 10 am, water is released from hte Fontana Dam for power generation. This turns the river in to a great kayak/raft river for most of the day. Here is a kayaker on the Class III that we'd be traveling over on Saturday afternoon.
http://www.rrainman.smugmug.com/photos/196620201-L.jpg
http://www.rrainman.smugmug.com/photos/196621846-L.jpg
The water is a constant 46 deg F since it comes off the bottom of the dam!!
http://www.rrainman.smugmug.com/photos/196627040-L.jpg
Friday was rainy, so Billy and I went up to Bryson City and rode the Great Smoky Mountain Railway through the Nanthala Gorge. That was a cool ride in an open air car. The water level of Fontana Lake was scarily low. They are in a severe drought!!
http://www.rrainman.smugmug.com/photos/197031895-L.jpg
http://www.rrainman.smugmug.com/photos/197032283-L.jpg
One Friday night, Russel and his son Alex showed up. The plan was to hike about 3 miles on the AT the next morning and ride the river that afternoon. We hiked from Telico Gap to Wasser Bald, where there is a fire tower. It was very "smoky" in the morning and really didn't burn off until the hike back down. The AT was beautiful.
http://www.rrainman.smugmug.com/photos/196635555-L.jpg
http://www.rrainman.smugmug.com/photos/196638672-L.jpg
http://www.rrainman.smugmug.com/photos/197016705-L.jpg
The rafting was great but we could not take any cameras on the trip as they would definitely have gotten wet. We had a great guide and just had a blast. We were doing 360's through the rapids!! I had a wonderful time, as I know the rest of the guys did.
On Sunday, we just walked along the river in the morning before having to head out. It was a great weekend even though we were in our cars. On the way home to ATL, we rode over the Cherohala for the scenery.
http://www.rrainman.smugmug.com/photos/196654282-L.jpg
http://www.rrainman.smugmug.com/photos/197018275-L.jpg
http://www.rrainman.smugmug.com/photos/196656474-L.jpg
http://www.rrainman.smugmug.com/photos/196611777-L.jpg
http://www.rrainman.smugmug.com/photos/196613758-L.jpg
We got to the NOC and checked in and then hung out by the river. The river slows to it's natural flow in the early evening. But every morning at about 10 am, water is released from hte Fontana Dam for power generation. This turns the river in to a great kayak/raft river for most of the day. Here is a kayaker on the Class III that we'd be traveling over on Saturday afternoon.
http://www.rrainman.smugmug.com/photos/196620201-L.jpg
http://www.rrainman.smugmug.com/photos/196621846-L.jpg
The water is a constant 46 deg F since it comes off the bottom of the dam!!
http://www.rrainman.smugmug.com/photos/196627040-L.jpg
Friday was rainy, so Billy and I went up to Bryson City and rode the Great Smoky Mountain Railway through the Nanthala Gorge. That was a cool ride in an open air car. The water level of Fontana Lake was scarily low. They are in a severe drought!!
http://www.rrainman.smugmug.com/photos/197031895-L.jpg
http://www.rrainman.smugmug.com/photos/197032283-L.jpg
One Friday night, Russel and his son Alex showed up. The plan was to hike about 3 miles on the AT the next morning and ride the river that afternoon. We hiked from Telico Gap to Wasser Bald, where there is a fire tower. It was very "smoky" in the morning and really didn't burn off until the hike back down. The AT was beautiful.
http://www.rrainman.smugmug.com/photos/196635555-L.jpg
http://www.rrainman.smugmug.com/photos/196638672-L.jpg
http://www.rrainman.smugmug.com/photos/197016705-L.jpg
The rafting was great but we could not take any cameras on the trip as they would definitely have gotten wet. We had a great guide and just had a blast. We were doing 360's through the rapids!! I had a wonderful time, as I know the rest of the guys did.
On Sunday, we just walked along the river in the morning before having to head out. It was a great weekend even though we were in our cars. On the way home to ATL, we rode over the Cherohala for the scenery.
http://www.rrainman.smugmug.com/photos/196654282-L.jpg
http://www.rrainman.smugmug.com/photos/197018275-L.jpg
http://www.rrainman.smugmug.com/photos/196656474-L.jpg