East Coast USA
Article by Graham Clarke

The Appalachian mountain range sweeps through the Eastern States of the Great U.S.of A, jam-packed with top quality creeking.Graham Clarke explains how to have a successful paddling (and cultural) tour, Eastside...

Even if you haven’t seen the film, I’m sure you’ve all heard the line….”squeal like a pig boy”...
The film is of course the Burt Reyonlds classic, Deliverance. The line in question comes from one of the more, eh, intimate moments in the film. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, grab some paddling buddies, rent out the film and set faces to stun.

So why’s that important to boating in North America? Two reasons.
Firstly the film really helped mainstream canoeing in the states during the mid 70’s. And secondly, the open boating shots are filmed on the ‘five falls’ section of the pristine Chattooga River which forms the border between South Carolina and Georgia. The Chattooga was also the first river in the Southeast to be designated "Wild & Scenic" by Congress. But more importantly than all that, the Chattooga represents what east coast boating is like stateside…..CLASS!

T he destination.
The largest concentration of creeks on the east coast are primarily situated down south, around North and South Carolina, Georgia, West Virginia, Alabama and Tennessee. I think that most creekers would agree though that the true home of east coast creeking is in the western section of North Carolina. With most of the ranges above 3000ft and coupled with the extensive drainage basin of the Appalachian Mountains, North Carolina has some of the steepest and most technical runs the states has to offer.

What sort of paddling can be found there?
Essentially, every kind of paddling and paddler can be found in the south. It’s not unusual to find creekers, playboaters, open-boaters, C-1er’s, hand-paddlers, rafts, hotdogers and more all floating in the same eddy. The paddling scene over there is HUGH! Each year for example, approximately 250,000 people descend the Nantahala River in western North Carolina. To put that in perspective, Croagh Park has a seating capacity of 79,500.

There is lot’s of playboating to be had down south, especially in some of the other states. The put in waves of the New River Dries are only 8 hours from Ashville, N.C.. However what the south is really famous for is its creeks. In particular North Carolina. My recommendation is that if you’re going to head out to the east coast, head to North Carolina. Bring a creeker, some elbow pads and an open mind to what constitutes good food and dental care.

What time of year is best?
Generally, springtime is the best time. The winter can get pretty cold there, with temperatures below -20C not uncommon. Many of the southern states are located at the tail end of the hurricane alley which stretches from Florida all the way up to West Virginia. They therefore also get a whole heap of water in the autumn months. While I was there, four hurricanes rolled through in the space of two months, causing evacuations, widespread flooding and epic big water boating. Also many of the rivers in N.C. are dam released. This kills some of the biodiversity of the area but does provide reliable boating on some rivers. I was there between the months of August and May and got out boating approximately, on average, five days a week. Some paddlers that I met out there had relocated from the west coast to N.C. because of its longer paddling session. But if your short on time, springtime is generally the best.

How do I get there?
There are a number of options available to people travelling over. There are international airports in Washington DC and Atlanta (Georgia). There is also a smaller airport in Ashville, which caters for internal domestic lights. Due to the size of the planes here they will not cater for creekers. Only tiny playboats. We found this out the hard way.

Your best bet is to fly into Atlanta, where you can hire a rental car and drive 4 hours to Ashville.

How do get around once I'm there - car rental, bus??
The public transport system in the states is about as organised as the Irish health service payroll system. Basically it’s muck! So if you’re heading over there you need to either buy a car or rent one. Having a 4x4 is handy but not essential. We bought a Ford Ranger pick up for about $1,500 (1,236 euro). You can get much cheaper deals than that though if you pre-plan your buy. I would recommend buying a vehicle if you’re over there any longer the 3 to 4 weeks. It’ll work out about the same as rental car.

Insurance (just fire and theft) will cost about $180 to cover two people for six months. See www.geico.com for insurance details. They can insure you immediately. The only problem that exists there is that you need a PO Box but that’s easily sorted at any post office.

Where should I head to get started?
That’s the easiest bit. Just head to Ashville, N.C. and hook up with local boaters. There are a plethora of rivers in the immediate area. Plus the world famous Green Narrows are only about 40 minutes away, and runs regularly due to damming. Ashville was voted the number one adventure capital in the US by National Geographic magazine and ranked in the top ten by Outsider magazine.

Ashville has been compared to San Francisco in the west and is renowned for its laid back attitude, vibrant city culture and idyllic setting. It’s also where the likes of Pat Kelleher, Tommy Hilleke, Andrew Holcombe, Marlong Long, Spencer Cooke, and the late, great Daniel DeLa Vergne hang out. In fact, getting on any river in N.C. your bound to hook up with any number of pro-boaters who will be more than willing to show you the local runs. If you’re not into the steep stuff or require longer to get into the groove just head down to the Diamond Brand sports shop in downtown Asheville and ask the guys behind the desk for the low down on boating in the area.

Where is good to stay?
I was living in a college dorm and in an apartment off campus during my stay there. So I’m probably not the most qualified person to answer that question. There are lots of motels and camping grounds all over the south and the place is a hugh tourist trap so you’ll have no problems sorting some kind of accommodation. If there’s a big posse of ye heading over, perhaps think about renting out an apartment for a month or so. It’s cheap if there’s a gang of you. It’ll cost about $500 a month for a two bedroom apartment depending where you are. If you don’t mind doing rotation on the couch and floor it works out a lot cheaper than staying in a motel. And you have a base while your there.

Is eating out affordable or should I expect to self cater?
62% of Americans are overweight and obese. And there’s good reason for that. Well actually there’s a couple, but one of the reasons is because of the likes of all you can eat buffet’s for $10 (8.24E). And they do mean all you can eat. The only thing those places are missing are troughs that you can eat out off. Basically, eating out is a very affordable option. If however you are fussy about what you eat, then the whole apartment idea might work to your advantage. Plus it works out cheaper on food.

How much money can I expect to spend per day there?
How much you spend per day really depends on how much or how far you travel each day. If you’re based around western N.C. then there’s almost always water within a two hour drive. Gas (petrol) over there is about a $2.40-ish for a gallon (approx. 3.7litres). So getting around is pretty cheap and fast on account of their expansive highway system. If you opt for the camping or motel scenario your costs would be about the following:

Campground prices - $6 to $15 (Motels $30 up; but you can sleep lots on the sly!)
Food per day - $15
Gas money - $10
Random costs - $10

That work’s out at about $50 a day which is about 41euro. Personally, being a student for 6 years and having travelled to a number of paddling destinations I’m pretty sure that you could get away with a budget of about $30 per day, which is 24euro a day. Sure you’d spend that on M50 tolls in two hours!

Is it possible to hook up with people if I head out alone, or should I go out with a team?
If at all possible head out with a team. It’s not like Uganda or Nepal where everybody is there for a good time and to hit the rivers. People paddle around Ashville very much the way we paddle here. 9 to 5 and whenever they get free time. If you go over on your own you are limiting yourself to those time constraints.

Most Americans have a pretty strong work ethic and even worse holidays. So while many of them are dedicated water rats it can limit you in the times that you may wish to go boating. If on the other hand you’re a dedicated creeker and are comfortable on grade V/V+ water hooking up with people won’t be a problem. Plus the whole Irish accent thing is a god send. A typical conversation might go like this;

American: “Oh, my god…your Irish?!”
Irish: “Indeed I am”
American: “Ohhhh myyy god. I’m Irish too!”
Irish: “Really?” (looking doubtfully at obese Hispanic version of Roy Keane)
American: “Sure my great-great grandfather was from Ireland”
Irish: “Eh….ok then. I’m going to go stand over here where you’re not blocking out the sun”

Ok, so maybe that’s a bit harsh. But basically, you’re Irish, and by god do they want to know about it. North Carolina’s first settled westerners were actually Scot’s/Irish. So everybody wants them some Irish. We had a total of 12 parking tickets and 4 speeding fines while we were there and got away with most of them. Go figure.

Where should I go for good river information? Is there a guide-book?

Simple, go here. http://brushymountainpublishing.com/nccreeks/. You can buy the guide book online before you go. It was only released in late 2005 so it’s very up to date. As for water levels this site is the ‘bomb’…. http://www.boatingbeta.com/cgi-bin/myflows.pl?view

Just how good a boater do you need to be to enjoy a trip there?
As good as you are now, if that makes sense. There is a river to cater for everybody’s ability out there. Just scope out BoatingBeta.com to get a run down of rivers and grades. While over there I paddled a combination of mellow runs with my lecturers to some more full on runs with the locals. So take your pick. To get the most out of the area though it helps to be a fairly confident. There is a hugh selection of grade IV,V,V+ runs in the area. And we’re not talking about short sections of these either. Some of these runs can continue at that grade for miles and miles. Simply put, North Carolina is like a Mecca for creeking. Most of the runs are low-ish volume. They’re quite similar in nature to Irish rivers, only steeper and more technical.

Some conclusions?
You don’t hear a huge amount about boating in the east coast of the U.S. of A. and I don’t know why. It’s an unbelievable place to travel to. It’s cheaper to get to than Uganda (return flights 500-600 euro). They love the accent. And if you have your wits about you, you can buy a car and a boat over there and then sell them at the end of the trip. So you actually don’t wind up spending that much in the end.

The only downer can be the Americans themselves. America has over 2,000 different sects of Christianity. And North Carolina is slap bang in the middle of the Bible belt. Sometimes the atmosphere there can be very oppressive in nature. Check out the whole intelligent design vs. Darwinism debate if you don’t know what I’m on about. Plus I was there during the last presidential elections which didn’t help matters.

Having said that, if you’re willing to shed that protective blanket of fear and cast the stereotypes aside, North Carolina and America in general is a pretty wonderful place. I met some of my closest friends over there and had a savage time. Hell I even went to mass once…..

So my advice, if you want some pre-creek training before you hit the big volume creeks of Norway, or just fancy a holiday down south, consider a trip to North Carolina. You won’t regret it.

Article by Graham Clarke.
Graham is a 4th year student completing a Degree (hons.) in Outdoor Education at GMIT Castlebar and is one of the producers and editors of Huck’d. For more information on Huck’d visit www.huckd.com and www.huckdnews.blogspot.com .

I’d also like to thank the Great Outdoors, Irish Canoe Outfitters, Munster Dive Centre and Club Mantra for their support with Huck’d.

Some useful websites.
http://www.northcarolinagasprices.com/ - petrol prices in NC
http://www.metric-conversions.org/volume/gallons-to-liters.htm - metric conversions
http://www.x-rates.com/ - currency exchange rates. Pretty accurate
http://www.boatingbeta.com/ - Ashville based boater
www.boatertalk.com – boater forum
http://www.noc.com/ - Nantahala Outdoor Centre
http://diamondbrand.com/paddling/index.html - Diamond Brand retailers homepage