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What a great trip.  Thursday we drove down to WV in the snow, and didn't get to boat but did do a little boozin.  Friday was way too cold in WV to boat, so we waited till Matty got out of class and then headed to Knoxville.  After a pretty interesting night, we got up in the morning and headed to the Little.  Its a pretty quick run in the Great Smokeys, but starts off with a really fun drop and stays pretty good all the way down the run.  The best part is the water quality.  Crystal clear.  You could see to the bottom of these deep pools.  Really cool.

From there we headed over to the Cheoah, in NC.  This is the part where I have to take time to thank American Whitewater.  Without knowing all the facts (which I now plan to research), I was told that the river was de-watered for like 50 years before AW got scheduled releases for us on the river.  It is a really fun section of continuous class IV, about 9 miles long, with the last two being by far the best.  It is a pretty pushy/creeky run, with some pretty nice holes and a few really fun boofs.  We also were able to get a lower water run on it the following day, on the lower 2 miles, which was really fun.  We then headed over to Natalahla (SP?) Outdoor Center, so I could pick up another boat (new Magnum of course), up to Ashville Pizza & Brewing which I would highly recommend if you love micro-brews and good pie.

Monday we headed back up to WV and got on the Middle Fork, into the Tygart.  It was a good run because it was short enough and easy enough to deal with the 20 degree weather, and winds.  As soon as I get the pictures of all the ice on us, I will post them up.

It was a great trip, as always is with friends like mine.  I can't wait to get back in my boat.

LaFlair