Saturday, June 7 -- We drove down to the Pigeon. We were early for the release so we drove to Big Creek Campground (CG). There were open sites. I left Angie at the put-in at Waterville and drove to Hartford where I met three guys; Johnathan, Justin, and Andrew. Andrew offered to let us tag along. Johnathan knew the river well. We ran the right side of Lost Guide and Accelerator. It was nice knowing where to go, not like the first time in 2003. We drove on to Nantahala Outdoor Center (NOC) and Lost Mine CG. This a quiet CG, no radios.
Sunday, June 8 -- NOC took us on their 9 am shuttle to the put-in. There was a layer of mist on the river. It burned
off by the time we reached Lesser Wesser and the take-out. Since it was so early, we saw very few boaters. Then it was off
to the Ocoee. Since it was Sunday, we got to see the last of the release on the Olympic Section. Then we went to Thunder Rock
CG. We were in the middle of a heat wave. A couple at the CG were floating the power plant discharge channel, over and over.
Monday, June 9 -- I left Angie and the boats at the put-in, drove to the take-out and hitch-hiked back. A girl picked me
up in no time. We met John, his two sons (Delaney and ?), Preston, and Jeremy. John offered to let us tag along. It was
only my second time on the river and Angie's first so we really appreciated this. Angie had a great time at Hell Hole. John's
one son loaned her his Jackson Allstar for a while. We hiked from the CG up to the Olympic Section and spent another night at
Thunder Rock. There was a powerful thunderstorm this night. We each had a small tent.
Below is our route. I won't give detailed routes to the highpoints like I used to. There are good directions on
Summitpost.org. Mapquest was invaluable, especially in getting us from New Orleans to
Mount Driskill, Mt. Driskill to Mt. Magazine, and Woodall Mt. to Nashville. It picks some not always obvious, but quick routes.
