Those familiar with the Ocoee River in eastern Tennessee (which includes pretty much every whitewater paddler in the Southeast US as well as many others) might find this 20 minute film on the very early history of whitewater paddling on the Ocoee back in the 1970s. Gary Harper filmed and edited this video and posted a link to it on his FB page so he intends it to be shared.
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Ocoee River whitewater paddling and rafting in the very early days (film)
- Thread starter pblanc
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Those familiar with the Ocoee River in eastern Tennessee (which includes pretty much every whitewater paddler in the Southeast US as well as many others) might find this 20 minute film on the very early history of whitewater paddling on the Ocoee back in the 1970s. Gary Harper filmed and edited this video and posted a link to it on his FB page so he intends it to be shared.
Great video, thank you! Wife and I paddled the Ocoee in 1994. She paddled a Dagger Impulse while I was in Gyromax C-1.
The rapid names sound familiar too. We were fortunate to stick around and watch the heck Hole Festival the next day. Darn good boaters down there!!
The rapid names sound familiar too. We were fortunate to stick around and watch the heck Hole Festival the next day. Darn good boaters down there!!
Some of the rapids have different or alternate names.
Broken Nose was sometimes called Vegematic at one time, and Second Helping is now usually called Slice and Dice. Torpedo is now usually known as Cat's Pajamas and since heck's Hole is now a little tamer (and the bridge has been relocated and the dangerous center support removed) some now refer to it as Heck Wave. Some good rapids were not shown or mentioned including Flipper and Accelerator (AKA Slingshot).
The upper Ocoee, which we only got to run during periods of very heavy natural rainfall which overwhelmed the water diversion tunnel, has had the Olympic course installed. Most of the rapids on that stretch are engineered and nothing like what used to be there, except for Slam Dunk which actually looks pretty much the same and used to be the premier ender spot in the Southeast.
Broken Nose was sometimes called Vegematic at one time, and Second Helping is now usually called Slice and Dice. Torpedo is now usually known as Cat's Pajamas and since heck's Hole is now a little tamer (and the bridge has been relocated and the dangerous center support removed) some now refer to it as Heck Wave. Some good rapids were not shown or mentioned including Flipper and Accelerator (AKA Slingshot).
The upper Ocoee, which we only got to run during periods of very heavy natural rainfall which overwhelmed the water diversion tunnel, has had the Olympic course installed. Most of the rapids on that stretch are engineered and nothing like what used to be there, except for Slam Dunk which actually looks pretty much the same and used to be the premier ender spot in the Southeast.
The few times I went by the Ocoee in the late 80's it was dry. It was seen going from I-75 across to Murphy NC during a trip to the Great Smoky Mountain Trek, 4 wheeling in the Smokies.
The only rafting I have done was on the Ottawa in the mid 80's.
The only rafting I have done was on the Ottawa in the mid 80's.
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Scheduled releases on the middle Ocoee are typically five days a week (Thursday through Monday) June through August, and weekend days in May, September, and October. Releases on the upper Ocoee are limited to weekends May through August and the first weekend in September.
Most other times the streambed is dry, or nearly so, except during times of sustained and/or heavy rainfall which overwhelms the capacity of the flume that diverts the water to the powerhouse. Normal release volumes are usually 1100-1200 cfs although sometimes on non-release days after heavy rain the river can be paddled at lower volume which is sometimes called the "halfcoee". That is kind of interesting. The river is much less pushy of course, but the drops are bigger and the rapids more channelized requiring more precise lines.
Most other times the streambed is dry, or nearly so, except during times of sustained and/or heavy rainfall which overwhelms the capacity of the flume that diverts the water to the powerhouse. Normal release volumes are usually 1100-1200 cfs although sometimes on non-release days after heavy rain the river can be paddled at lower volume which is sometimes called the "halfcoee". That is kind of interesting. The river is much less pushy of course, but the drops are bigger and the rapids more channelized requiring more precise lines.
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