ON THE BRINK: A Favor for a Friend

Got a call from Pete around 6:00 pm on Friday night: "Hey, man.....the Tellico's running!!!" I had just arrived in Greensboro to stay the night. I did have my paddling gear & the EZG in the car and was planning on boating the next day, yet something local or the whitewater park. Besides the fact that I didn't have my Habitat, I wasn't too sure about making a "day trip" of the Tellico. After listening to Pete's hopeful & desperate requests for me to join him and Pete agreeing to bring along the Gus for me to paddle, we decided to meet early Saturday morning. Following a five to six hour drive, Pete and I finally reached the Tellico and put on around 1:00 pm that day.

Fellow boaters heading west on I-40

We found a nice little section above the ledges to put on and started heading downstream. It didn't take long for us to reach "Baby Falls". A good bit of time was spent there doing laps over the waterfall, taking photos & video, and chatting with the other boaters. Pete got in some roll sessions under Baby's curtain and I went deep a few times with the Gus.

Putting On above the Ledges

The Eddy below Baby Falls

Pete resting after his workout under Baby's Curtain

Kevin running the Baby

Pete heading back for more

Boofing Baby

Once we were finished with our huckfest, Pete and I dropped through "Diaper" and headed on downstream. There were a few good rapids & boulder gardens as we rounded the bend and, before we realized it, we were starting down the entrance to "Jared's Knee". We hadn't intended to boat scout this one; however, once in the meat, we picked our lines and gave 'er a go. There were a few boat bruises here and there, but the lines were fairly smooth on this first run. Knowing there was plenty more to be had on the Middle Tellico, we continued for another couple of miles down the river. The most notable and exciting rapid here was "Bounce off Boulder" due to a rather large log that had wedged itself in the middle of this drop. There was a line but one had to be sure to hit it.

Pete bombing down Diaper Wiper

Kevin threading the needle at Bounce Off Boulder

A Long Way to the Top

Once we decided to take off the middle section, Pete and I had a bit of a wait. There were not many vehicles going up the road and two had passed us already. We shouldered our boats and started walking up the road. Finally, some locals took pity on us and, with boats loaded on their truckbed, gave us a ride back to the top. With a little bit of daylight left, we took advantage of some photo opportunities and ran a few of the rapids again. Of course, Pete had to get another shot of Bald River Falls.