Thanks Jim. We have some great photos including the Lola of most if
not all the WW rivers in No ga and nearby states. When I get some time
and we catalog our pixs we're gonna put up a site with slide shows for
all the rivers. I'm hoping I get enough time soon to put together a
slide show of another 4 day trip we did on the Big South Fork this
spring.

Have you ever done Talking Rock creek? It's a great overnight trip and
an absolutly beautifull river. I am the StreamKeeper on the AWA site
for Talking Rock and maintain a page there with links to pixs from an
overnighter a coupla year back. Check out the page at:

http://www.americanwhitewater.org/rivers/id/503/

Man that's gotta be a sight to see that big Appy going over Edge of
the World!!
Do you have any outfitting or flotation in that Appy? I have small
float bags fore and aft and have a kneeling thwart in the middle for
soloing. I still keep the seats in it for the occasional tandem with
newbie friends. I've yet to paddle below hwy 53 mostly because I
thought it would be crazy to try that in my big boats but now you've
inpired me or maybe its some kinda form of contagious
insanity.......;+D It don't look like a fun place to swim if you dump
after the first drop. I'm trying to get up to Sec III of the Toog in
the next coupla weeks.

I tell ya I'm hankering for a small boat too but I sure do love
paddling my big boats. Lately I've been working on mastering paddling
more standing up and I'm looking to get me a 6 ft paddle soon.








(Jim) wrote in message om...
Very cool photos, Pepe. Nice presentation of them, too. Really cool
to hear from a fellow Lola paddler. Yes, the old "Appy" has fallen
off the Edge of the World many times. I've only owned a boat for a
year, but have been paddling with my friend and his
16'-i-don't-know-what for several years, although I've paddled much
more frequently in the past year. I wouldn't call myself a "better
man," though, because it's quite the contrary. We started young and
were too dumb to know better. So I've pretty much mastered the Edge
in a large boat just out of foolishness. You should have seen that
big ole thing on Bull Sluice and Jarrod's Knee...must have been quite
a sight judging from people's reactions. But it is a very very stable
boat.
I too considered the OutrageX. It looks ideal. But after I thought
more about it, I decided that I would probably still take the old Appy
on overnighters and maybe get a Probe 12 II and use it on my day
trips. The probe seems like it would still be a pretty good ride
after the rapids are over and I settle into the Etowah portion of the
lower Lola. I know I should paddle a few different types of boats at
the Nanny, and maybe I will, but I don't get up that far north very
often and I'm getting a little anxious for a smaller boat.
Thanks for the input.

Have you ever done Talking Rock creek? It's a great overnight trip and
an absolutly beautifull river.
Do you have any outfitting or flotation in that Appy?


Pepe, I saw the pics at aw.org, and you are quite the photographer. I
have wondered about Talking rock before and wanted to try it. Are
there good stretches of class II/III or only a few rapids spread out?
And are there multiple put-ins and take-outs, or does it have to be a
long trip?

About my outfitting, I've taken out the rear seat (which is in the
front since I paddle the boat backwards) and put in a large float bag
with an aprin over it to avoid scooping water when I drop into pools.
I have a kneeling pad just behind center and get up into my seat and
paddle when I'm not in rough water.

Pepe, I saw the pics at aw.org, and you are quite the photographer.

Thanks Jim I have a background in Fine Art photography and have worked
as
a pro in advertizing and architectural photography but it's been quite
a few
years since I've done any photography for a living with any
regularity. All the
photography you've seen is all done with a point and shoot Pentax WR90
and of course I tweaked the images in Photoshop. Recently I bought a
waterproof enclosure so I can take my Nikon but it's still quite bulky
and cumbersome to take on the river. It's pretty hard to beat the WR90
for convenience, rugedness, waterproofness in a small package to hang
from my PFD.


I have wondered about Talking rock before and wanted to try it. Are
there good stretches of class II/III or only a few rapids spread out?
And are there multiple put-ins and take-outs, or does it have to be a
long trip?

About my outfitting, I've taken out the rear seat (which is in the
front since I paddle the boat backwards) and put in a large float bag
with an aprin over it to avoid scooping water when I drop into pools.
I have a kneeling pad just behind center and get up into my seat and
paddle when I'm not in rough water.


Most of the decent rapids are after about the half way point which is
where
the cliffs and Talking Rock Rapids are located and from what I
understand
those cliffs are "Talking Rock". The highest I've ever done it is like
2.6 and
the rapids are very tame and I don't know if I would classify any of
them
above II+ at that level. On the other hand down at the bottom of my
AWA page
some other fellow posted some images of TRock rapids at 4+ feet and it
looks
quite fun. There are 2 put ins listed in one of the No. Ga canoeing
guides
by Sehlinger and Otey. I've only used the one listed on the map link I
have
on the AWA site. From what I understand to put in at the higher one it
has
to be running near the 3 ft range and it's not very scenic and it's
fairly
populated. As far as take outs there are none listed in the books I've
looked at or have heard of other than going all the way to the HWY 136
take
out at the lake. I've traced the distance in my Topo and total trip to
the
lake take out is 14 miles. It's generally a 6 hour trip at an easy
pace with
lunch and pee/stretch stops.

Some one once told me that they took out before the flat last coupla
miles.
ther's generally pretty good head winds on those flats. They took out
on private land. Someone they were with knew the folks that owned the
land. So short of knowing someone with some land up there it's a 14
mile, 6hr +/- paddle The trip is definetly worth it but I much prefer
it as an overnighter.

I never use the seats in the Appy even with the boat backwards when
soloing.
The boat gets very bow light and doesn't track very well and if theres
a
little wind then it's extra dificult to paddle straight because of the
weather cocking. I have found that the most efficient way to paddle
the Appy
in flat water is Canadian style which is where you kneel just aft of
center
and shift the weight and your knees to your "on side" this in effect
tilts
the boat to your on side and the boat chine becomes sort of a keel
line.
This helps to track better plus puts you closer to the gunwales where
you
don't hafta reach out as far to keep your paddle perpendicular to the
water and keeps your corrective strokes to a minimum.I'm not sure
about this but I believe it also minimizes the boat to watercontact
area offering less resistance. I'm my New river pix page there are a
coupla shots that my bud took of me in my red Cascade from behind
where you see my boat heavily listing to the left. I you haven't yet
tried this give it a go and you'll be surprised at the difference of
how the Appy will paddle in flat water. Having a kneeling thwart near
mid boat is great for this type of paddling.