Nantahala Cascades Release

This year was the first scheduled release of the upper Nantahala River. That means the cascades were running. There were a ton of people determined to run this section. It was like the shuttles never stopped. This was the first time I ever saw class IV – V creeking in action and it was awesome. The best part for me was that video never really captures how big something really is, but seeing it in person was jaw dropping. I know people run way bigger stuff than this but this was just too cool for me. I got there right before the release and was able to watch the cascades transform. I even got it on film, I wish I had filmed it landscape oriented though.

Here are the Horns of God before and during release.

What was really cool for me is having a friend run it. I paddled the Ocoee with Steve, Jack, and Kyle last week for my very first trip down it. Steve is an awesome paddler and to see him go from Ocoee to this was really a cool experience. Here is his run, he is in the orange boat.

I was told that the cascades is one of the most fun and intense runs in this area. I hope that I can get to run them in the upcoming year(s).