White water rafting

[Matt Foley]

Went for the first time in my life this weekend in Cherokee (western North Carolina). Water was 49 degrees, but it was awesome. There have only been a handful of places I have been in my life where I just looked ahead of me and thought "that can't be real." One was Hawaii. Two was Colorado Springs. Three was driving home through West Virginia early on a Sunday morning and seeing green mountains poke through white clouds with a orange sun and a purplish sky. And this was the fourth. The hot air and cold water created a blanket of mist on the river in several places. It was incredible.

[pstall]

I haven't done Cherokee but ww rafting is one of my fav things to do.

Upper Gauley in WV. Dude. THAT is awesome insanity.

[Matt Foley]

My left groin is killing me. I sat on the left side in the back. Dug my left foot in and there were several times I had to squeeze tight for a long time. I'm feeling it today.

[Skew]

Why did I open this thread and expect pictures?

[Matt Foley]

One day I'm going to freak you out and post pictures of you, Skew.

[Johnny Rockets]

Went for the first time in my life this weekend in Cherokee (western North Carolina). Water was 49 degrees, but it was awesome. There have only been a handful of places I have been in my life where I just looked ahead of me and thought "that can't be real." One was Hawaii. Two was Colorado Springs. Three was driving home through West Virginia early on a Sunday morning and seeing green mountains poke through white clouds with a orange sun and a purplish sky. And this was the fourth. The hot air and cold water created a blanket of mist on the river in several places. It was incredible.

What about Colorado Springs was it...was it the Garden of the Gods or something else? I was there last year for a week and loved it. My 6 year old daughter still asks on a weekly basis when we are going back there and says she is going to live there when she gets older. Not sure what specifically she liked so much about it though.

[Davidson Deac II]

What river did you hit? We are thinking about doing Nantahala again in a couple of weeks. I am getting to old to do any of the rougher rivers, but we are taking my son and a friend and thought it might be nice to take a trip down the nantahala.

BTW, there are a few places you might want to add to that list if you ever get a chance. The fjords of Norway, the amalfi coastal road in Italy, and the mountains and dead sea area in southern Israel.

[Matt Foley]

What about Colorado Springs was it...was it the Garden of the Gods or something else? I was there last year for a week and loved it. My 6 year old daughter still asks on a weekly basis when we are going back there and says she is going to live there when she gets older. Not sure what specifically she liked so much about it though.

Just remember going into a Walmart to buy a phone (needed one for my job), walking out and those mountains just hit you right in the face. I guess you'd get past it living there, but I never could get over how beautiful they are in Colo Springs. It's a clean town, too. Denver's kind of dirty compared to Colo Springs. When I got off the plane in Hawaii, a rainbow was off in the distance and everything was vibrant. Colo Springs it was just majestic.

[SorthNarolina]

I remember going there when my dad had a buisness conference and my brother was looking at the AF academy. I like how the mountains just start instantly with no foothills.

[TheSaint]

If the water was 49, it was the Nantahala. No doubt.

Nanty would be a bit boring in a raft, but if your looking to just get out, why not.

The Pigeon would be a little more fun than the Nanty, but nothing terrifying. You can get there quicker too. Just dont drink the water....and be sure and shower when done.

If you really want a gorgeous river to raft, do the Nolichucky, next time there is water. Its too low right now. The others are dam release, the Noli is natural flow. Very beautiful remote gorge. There is a train track the whole way though.

the Nolichucky

[Hawk]

bunch of us went in Northern Montana a number of years ago on the Flathead River.....fuggen amazing!!!

[thefuzz]

I have not been in a few years...maybe a good fall getaway.

[TheSaint]

Fall is the best time to get on the rivers...beautiful. I took this in October...peak was a week later.