Trip Reports It's May and already the group has been out on 3 river trips all of them overnighters!
Our first outing of spring was an overnighter with two runs down the Cartecay River. This outing was March 20th and 21st.The group was joined by three potential new members including this months New Member Spotlight" feature subject Phyllis Price. The water was cold but the group's spirit was never frozen. We got some good footage for the groups upcoming DVD as well.
(Pictures from the March 20th and 21st trip are available here)

Our next outing was the NOC's Spring Splash, marking the true beginning of the Spring paddling season. Tim Knapp has prepared a detailed trip report on the outing here... The NOC kicks-off the season with the Spring Slash. This year was my first year and I must say it was worth going. The highlight of the event was seeing the first Jackson Kayak Fun 1s. I saw Dane and Emily Jackson paddled their Funs, but I missed EJ. There were other new boats on display, but there's is nothing like a boat that includes a whole new market of boaters. Well, I'm waiting to see the "Fun" families on the river.

Our group consisted of Doug, David, Temptie, and myself (Tim). I think we were all itching so bad to go boating that the cold weather and threats of rain wasn't going to stop us. We showed up on Friday to get the weekend started out right and make Saturday a little more enjoyable. We had time to look around at the NOC before and after the run. Instead of rushing to unload the camping gear before the run and rushing back to setup camp after the run.

Another event that I missed was the running of Wesser Falls, not the Lesser, but the Wesser. I guess two boaters ran it far right and the witnesses said they made it look easy. The story was they ran it clean with a few braces along the way. Then climbed out to run what I think is the end of Wesser Creek. Like I said, I missed it, but it is one of those rapids that you wouldn't run, but would like to see it run.

Now for the paddling details... On Saturday, the Nanty was running at 3'3" the weather was breazy, mostly cloudy and cold. The high temp was around 60 when the sun was shining and the wind had stopped. The later in the day the more the wind blew. The 3'3" water level is the lowest I have ever ran the Nanty. At this level Quarry rapid is just a 4' wide non-breaking wave, surfers is easier to surf, the bump and the hole on the top of Lesser Wesser are sticky. The one thing there was no shortage of was fisherman. Maybe they didn't get the memo that boating season started and the train of rubber rocks were coming.

And last of all the camping... As usual we stayed at Wesser Creek Campground AKA Pauline's. There were a fair number of boaters that stayed there Friday and Saturday. One thing that maybe a sign of the times was the sirens. Both nights the normally peaceful valley was filled with emergency vehical sirens and on Saturday night even a medivac helicopter.

All in all it was a great trip and I look forward to the summer runs.
Let's pray for rain.
Tim
(Pictures from the Spring Splash are available here)

Our most recent trip was another overnighter on the Nantahala. This was originally slated as a Tellico River trip but the weather did not cooperate and the Tellico was too low. We were joined by two members of the Peachtree City Paddlers and two new friends from South Carolina. This would be one of our biggest groups ever with nine of us heading down the river on day one. The weather was cool but nice and the river was for the most part uncrowded. Both days we stopped to take the punishment of the river at Quarry Rapid.. Doug was in his new boat; a Dagger G-Ride while Temptie paddled the Wobbly Gobblin and on day two David demoed a Liquid Logic Scooter. We got some excellent vidoeo which has been compiled into the "Masters of the River" video on the Photos and Movies page of the website. Don't miss this video it is well worth the large download.

• Spring Splash and other trip Reports
  
  
• New Member Spotlight
  
• We want you!
  
• Record Website Traffic
  
• David's Corner
  
• Upcoming Events

• The Movie of the Week feature has been a huge success! Our most recent movie "Carnage at Bull Sluice" was downloaded more that 450 times in one day!
  
• Photos movies and more. The Photos and movies page is our most popular page receiving the most traffic with the Discussion Board running a close second. Check in frequently to get the latest pictures and information on the group and it's outings.
  
• River descriptions are being added to the Trips and Rivers page as well as our first full trip report of the Spring Splash trip thanks to Tim Knapp.

We Want You! If you are looking for a great group of paddling enthusiast to paddle with look no further. Membership in the group is free and the requirements are simple.
The 3 requirements are:
 1. A desire to be an active member of the Kudzu Kayakers.
 2. Join the group on at least three runs down any of the rivers we paddle. (We paddle everything from the class II Cartecay to the Ocoee and beyond.)
 3. Share a campfire with us. In other words, join us on an overnight paddling trip. Fun trips, river stories, good food and comradery are the results. We have several overnighters during the season and include all of the rivers we paddle on.
What are the benefits of joining the Kudzu Kayakers? You will be a member of a paddling group geared towards the average paddler. We invite individuals, couples and families to join us. Our goal is to share experiences and resources and to improve our paddling skills. We have several group trips planned for the upcoming season and we are very open to suggestions for trips to new rivers. This is the group you have been looking for.

Upcoming Events:

• Three Rivers in Three Days, Memorial Day weekend May 28th-31st
• Cartecay Day Run, June 6th
• Ocoee/Tellico Run June 12th and 13th
• Nolichucky River June 19th and 20th