Luke at the start of the Brush Creek Mountain Bike Ride

We gathered around the picnic table dressed for winter as our breath hung on the morning air.  The morning sun brought with it tempatures in the mid thirties but also ushered in crisp bluebird skies and the promise of an amazing day.  We spent some time drinking coffee and tea, warming ourselves and getting to know one another.  Bikes loaded we made our way to the top of Boyd Gap, slowing down to watch a family of deer enjoy their breakfast just off the side of the road.  At the summit, the sun had crested the mountains revealing mountops blanketed in a snow white frost.  Once unloaded, we gathered for a couple of group photos and a moment to simply take in our surroundings.

Here's the group before the Brush Creek Mountain Bike Ride

Happy guest trying out our Trek Mountain Bike

Brush Creek trail, from the Boyd Gap, side offers some wonderfully fun downhill to begin a ride.  Crisp, cool, with an open view of the forest, we glided downhill for a couple of miles  enjoying the cold air in our lungs and the switchbacks this trail has to offer.  By the time we reached the flatlands, the tempatures had begun to rise and the thought of cold was no longer on anyones mind. Zipping past towering populars and open meadows, the trail lead us up to some outstanding views of Ocoee Lake #3 and a perfect place to stop and enjoy a snack.

Show us the way Luke!

Looking at beautiful Lake Ocoee #3 from the Brush Creek Trail

By now, most of  us are down to shorts and short sleeves.  After some well deserved snacks, some history of the area, and lots of smiles and laughs, we mount up once again to finish the last leg of our journey.  We stop a few more times to chat with others we meet on the trail, to hear their story, and tell them ours.  We discuss and compare “fish stories,”  (heavily exaggerated, yet fun stories from the trail) and pedal the last bit of trail to our destination.  A bike ride with OAC always leaves me feeling like I accomplished something.  Today, I pushed myself a little harder, I made some new friends, shared some of the history of my life, and in return learned more about others.  Today, some of us acomplished something they didnt think they could do.  Today, we all grew as human beings.  Yes….today was a good day.

Blue Skies, happy guests and Brush Creek, who could ask for more?

Everybody tired and happy after riding Brush Creek

We’ve been blessed with some new toys over the winter, giving us the opportunity to share just how much fun we have on the Ocoee River.  Here are a couple of videos from one of our Ocoee River Guides, Evandre.  Also in the boat are one of our long time guides, Katy, Nick who will be back for his second season in 2011 and Whitney, one of our photographers.  It sure is a shame we don’t enjoy our jobs!

We paddled Clear Creek into the Obed, a National Wild and Scenic River.  Nothing super exciting rapid wise, but there were some really fun wave trains and at least one rapid big enough to give me my maiden swim of 2011!  I didn’t get any pictures of the rapids, but here are a few scenic shots, this is a really pretty place, and at the water level we had tons of fun!

Name this Ocoee Rafting Trip

We’ve got one little problem though, what to call this new trip.  We’ve come up with several ideas but the boss has shot them down.  He came up with several ideas, but well, nobody tell him, but they were pretty silly.  So we’re asking you guys!  Leave a comment here or on our facebook page, or just send me an email to Peter@ocoeeadventurecenter.com.  We’ll leave the contest open until Monday January 17th at 5:00pm.  We’ll pick our favorite, and the winner will get a free rafting trip for two people on the trip they helped name.

So far we’ve heard “No Soup for You”, “The Ocoee Double Blast”, “The Ocoee Quickie” and “The Ocoee Marathon” and none of these quite do it. We’re looking for something tongue in cheek, funny and descriptive, so send it on.

Thanks and we look forward to seeing you on one of our many Ocoee Rafting trips!

My twin sister Patty is not quite what you would call a whitewater enthusiast, but she has made the long drive from Louisiana to Ducktown, TN every summer for the past few years.  She has experienced the area in a number of exciting ways like rafting on the Ocoee River, mountain biking, hiking, and campfire watching.  As I prepared for her annual visit this summer, I racked my brain trying to think of new ways to entertain her.  Additionally I was considering how I could scratch that never ending itch to kayak the Ocoee River as the weather continues to grow more beautiful every day.

Dave and Patty before their tandem Ocoee Trip

I had an epiphany that enabled me to kill two birds with one stone!  I’ll go kayaking and take my sister down the river in a kayak.  “but I have never kayaked before!” Patty argued.  I told her she had nothing to fear.  Our benevolent manager, Peter, at OAC had given me permission use of one of the new Jackson Dynamic Duos that the company kayak instructors use to take beginners down river.  These kayaks provide a unique surface level view of the river for folks who don’t want to spend a whole season building up their kayak skills to paddle the Ocoee.  “We are gonna look like Siamese kayakers!”  If you’ve never seen one, a tandem kayak headed down a class IV river catches quite a few looks from kayakers and rafters alike.  Throughout the day I kept hearing things like “Is that boat stable?”  “That looks like fun!” and ”Can you paddle that boat with someone who can’t kayak?”  I could confidently answer all such questions with a resounding YES!  “It’s a super stable boat and she’s never even kayaked before! It’s a blast!”

Dave and Patty entering Double Trouble on the Ocoee River

Where is she?

At first, Patty was a little nervous.  After a styling it though the first class IV rapid, she began to calm down and have a little more fun.  A couple of OAC’s premiere raft guides/saftey boaters, Archie and George, joined us on the water to make sure we were safe.  As Patty started to enjoy the cool splashing rapids, we started to grow a little more adventurous.  We decided to go in for a few surfs at slice and dice, a popular play spot on the Ocoee, and we even got a few cheers and shouts from the spectators and kayakers watching.  When we started to approach Double Trouble I told her to make sure she was looking good in her photo.  As you can tell from the pictures, Patty took this as her cue to open her mouth as wide as possible and scream at the top of her lungs!

Patty looks more than a little excited!

Half way down, Archie and George decided to fill her in on some kayaking lingo so she would look and sound like a real kayaker.  They taught her some key words and phrases like gnarley, sick nasty, and huck your meat, essential to every hardcore boater’s vocabulary.

Emerging from the froth at Double Trouble on the Ocoee

Heading for the second wave of Double Trouble on the Ocoee River

Closeup of the twins. Too bad Ocoee Adventure Center Guides are a dull bunch!

The other brother, Archie keeping an eye on the twins

We safely navigated the last few rapids like Table Saw and Cat’s Pajama’s and finished off the day in front of a cheering crowd of onlookers at Hell Hole.  I was thankful to get to share such an experience with my Siamese twin kayaker sister.  I’m not sure if she will get bit with the kayaking bug that has gripped her brothers, but Patty said her experience in the Dynamic Duo was the most fun she’s ever had on the river.  The Prentice twins look forward to many more high adventure days on the water with my fellow OAC crew, whatever the craft may be.

Archie, Dave and Patty, enjoying another beautiful day on the Ocoee River

Putin Scenery at North Chickamauga

Most of my other runs of North Chick have been done in the winter, with cold weather, short days and no leaves on the trees.  This trip was certainly different though, shorts and a tee-shirt, daylight till 9pm, and the riverside was so green it felt almost like paddling in Costa Rica!

I’d never putin where we did for this trip.  We met a  gentlemen working around the putin who informed us that next week a gate would be put up and we’d have to find another spot to get on the river, but he was fine with us parking there for the day – he wished us a great trip and we started walking.  Team No Roll had told me this new putin was great – just a quick easy stroll to the river, but of course they were messing with the boss.  It started out easy enough, but ended with bushwhacking through rhododendron – still though, it allows you to run the North Chick side of the creek without all the flatwater at the top and was over pretty quick.

The run starts right out with fun class iii boogie water leading up to the first big rapids, Welcome Center followed by Mystery falls.  Mystery falls is the first really big drop on the North Chick.  Everybody but the boss man ran it today.

The camera doesn't zoom out much, but this shows the majority of the drop

Here’s a slideshow of Rob demonstrating a perfect boof, along with the reason for the name “Mystery Falls”

Billy airing it out

Eric heading for the mystery

Daniel mid-flight

From here class iii-iv boogie water continued.  This was the lowest I’ve run the chick, but I was surprised at how well it channelized – it never felt low or scrapey.

Nice scenery

A surprising amount of fun play was to be had, even at the lower level

Billy surfing the day away

Have I mentioned just how pretty this place is?  Crystal clear water, lush riverside scenery, and really fun rapids combined to make it feel like we were paddling in a remote jungle – hard to believe this is 30 minutes from downtown Chattanooga!

Rapids and Scenery

Eric hamming it up - Shudder Rudder?

The other big drop on the North Chick is North Chick Falls.  It looked a little hungry today, with a scrapey lip that made it hard to get to where you wanted to be.  We all took the easy walk around it, and took a break on the rocks basking in the sun and perfect surroundings.

Closeup of the falls

View of North Chick Falls

Great spot for a break

While we were taking our break, Daniel and Rob began discussing the surfing properties of their respective boats.  Rob insisted that Daniel’s Nomad wasn’t any fun in a hole.  Daniel disagreed, and decided to prove his point.  Unfortunately for him, he was right – the Nomad was great in a hole – especially once Daniel got out of the boat and let it do it’s own thing.

Who says a Nomad is no good in a hole?

Daniel swears he was attacked by a paddlesnake while in the hole – lo and behold look what we found basking in the sun and the glory of the swim he just caused.  Out of fairness I should mention that at some unnamed rapid I may have decided to test the waters myself, and found them to be refreshing, so Daniel wasn’t the only swimmer of the day!

Viscious beast - a Paddlesnake making a rare out of water appearance

Waterfalls cascaded into the creek throughout the run

More Scenery

I stood under this waterfall for a few minutes - awesome massage!

Daniel - sneak around V-slot

Showing off for the camera

Special Place

This was a spectacular day, it reminds me of how fortunate I am to be able to work, live and play in such a special area.