64 to 801- Five Stars*****

WOW!!!! This was not only one of our more scenic runs, but in terms of fun it was out of sight.

We met at 64 access area just below "Tarheel Q". The launch areas is not the most paddle friendly ones that you will find, but it wasn't what I would call terrible either. The portage to the water is a rather long one, because it starts from the parking lot. It's probably 700 to 800 feet to the water. The portage path was excellent so if you had a kayak cart it would be a breeze. The launch area itself was fairly steep, with very little room at the bottom. The water was also down considerably, but this actually made our paddling experience a lot better.

Once we left the bridge area it wasn't long before we encountered the "Fish Weir", which produced the first class 2 rapid. Dana led the way through and several of the inexperienced paddlers sat back and watched as her boat took a sudden drop. This was going to be fun! Others followed and then it happened, "Our first 2008 inductee to the fall of shame" "Bobby Taylor", the veteran took a spill in his canoe. Bobby lost his hat and soaked Terry's non waterproof walkie talkie.

John and Cindy who were on their first outing with the group followed up with their own spectacular spill, just before the end of the run. They lost their towels, which we never recovered. Two more inductees to our 2008"Fall of Shame". I'm sure if Bev, Lewis and Clark had been there, that they would have joined the growing legion. Anyone on a sit on top was doomed to swim and I'm sure if Harry and Sheila had been along, they would be famers too.

This was just the start of 7 more rapids we would encounter, 4 being at least class two's. Once the inductees recovered their dignities, the group continued on, having one of our most exhilarating paddles of the year.

Below is a short clip of some video the fish weir rapid. I began a little more nervous about my camera, cell phone and walkie talkies getting soaked or lost after seeing the veteran Bobby take a spill. We will post our photos of the outing over the next few days.