As I prepare to go to North Carolina for Nath Thompson's memorial service this Saturday, I figure a shot of me playing around in Nantahala Falls is somehow appropriate, for this Nantahala River rapid (also known as "Lesser Wesser") represents a rite of passage for many a summer camp canoeist in western North Carolina.
1981 was the summer that I really got into canoeing at camp. Campers who performed well on Class II streams like the Tuckasegee and the Green were invited to run the Nantahala, and the Falls, just above the takeout at the end of the run, was the first rapid all summer that we got out of our boats to scout. You could hear a lot of pre-adolescent teeth chattering as the counselors pointed out the best line for a successful run.
My partner and I flipped our canoe in the Falls that first time, and suffered the indignity of being fished out of the river while counselors chased down our boat and gear. The next summer I ran the Nantahala again with a different partner, and flipped in the Falls again. Finally, in 1983, two long years after my first attempt, I "made it" though the Falls. I could walk through camp with a swagger at last.
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