5/16/2013: Pigeon R., Iron Duff Rd Br to Fines Creek Rd Br
| With: Lee Belknap, David Bernard, Kim Buttleman, Karen Egbert, Jon Hitchings, Keith Merkel, Jenny Thomas | ||
| This was a Personal First Descent for everyone but Lee. This stretch had a number of nice Class III rapids, a Class III+ near the beginning, and one solid Class IV near the end. I had my single closest brush with drowning, ever, when I was stuck in a very retentive frowning hole at the very bottom of that biggest, longest rapid. I lived because I held on to my boat and kept it upstream of me, in the meat of the hole, so I was not recirculated while I worked my boat first toward midriver, then toward the river-right bank, until it finally caught enough current to pull me out. Yet it was five or six minutes before I recovered enough breath to thank Lee for giving me a tow once I had got out. From the put-in, after running shuttle, it was an absolutely beautiful drive across the divide to Hot Springs, via Fines Creek Road and NC-209. |
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| 1. Keith, Jenny, and Kim | ||
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| 2. Jon, Karen, and Keith (l. to r.) | ||
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| 3. David Bernard | ||
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| 4. Keith, I think | ||
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| 5. The Upper Pigeon River | ||
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| 6. Jon Hitchings and Karen Egbert | ||
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| 7. Jon, Karen, and Jenny (l. to r.) | ||
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| 8. Jon, Karen, and Jenny (f. to b.) | ||
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| 9. Karen and Jenny | ||
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| 10. Kim and Jenny | ||
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| 11. Kim and Jenny | ||
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| 12. Kim and Jenny | ||
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| 13. The Upper Pigeon River | ||
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| 14. Keith pointing the way at the first big rapid | ||
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| 15. David Bernard in the first big rapid | ||
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| 16. Karen Egbert in the first big rapid | ||
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| 17. Jenny Thomas in the first big rapid | ||
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| 18. Kim Buttleman in the first big rapid | ||
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| 19. Lee Belknap in the first big rapid | ||
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| 20. Jon Hitchings and Karen Egbert | ||
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| 21. David Bernard | ||
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| 22. Karen Egbert | ||
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| 23. Keith Merkel in the first drop of "the big one" (extending all the way to the green pool in the distance) | ||
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| 24. Jon Hitchings entering the big one | ||
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| 25. Karen Egbert entering the big one | ||
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| 26. The big one from below, where I am still recovering my breath | ||
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| 27. Kim, sideways as I was, but just 5' or 6' left of where I fell into the hole | ||
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| 28. Beautiful NC-209 between the Upper Pigeon and Hot Springs | ||
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| 29. Beautiful NC-209 between the Upper Pigeon and Hot Springs | ||
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| 30. Beautiful NC-209 between the Upper Pigeon and Hot Springs | ||
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| 31. Beautiful NC-209 between the Upper Pigeon and Hot Springs | ||
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