My niece paddling

[Moonstruck]

 

[Sortie]

Wow. Impressive.

John

 

[angus99]

She's serious! Would that be the Ocoee or Tellico, Don?

 

[FlyWright]

Ouch! She's tough!

 

[Moonstruck]

That's Oceana Rapid on the Tallula River, GA. A class 5. She has paddled all over the world. You may have seen the picture I posted of her going over a waterfall in New Zealand. She paddles competitively and for fun now. She is a high school science teacher.

 

[GFC]

Amazing. I've never done any kayaking but it sure looks like fun. Ummm, paddling around on calm waters looks like fun....not what she did!

 

[FlyWright]

I've read this title as "My Nice Padding" three times now! I must be getting old!

 

[Wxx3]

Sorry, I thought this was about you paddling your niece

 

[Moonstruck]

Sorry, I thought this was about you paddling your niece

Richard, If I tried that she would probably kick my ass.

 

[kolive]

I first thought it was at Skookumchuck Rapids, but wow, class 5 in Georgia. Pretty amazing.

 

[Nomad Willy]

I'm amazed she went broadside down that ramp. Didn't make like a submarine when she hit the mountain of froth at the bottom though. Must know from her or someone else's experience.

 

[Bluto]

She's fearless and brave. I would have wet meself.

 

[snakeriveridaho]

My brother has run that rapid. There is a rock called "the thing" at the bottom near that giant wave. If you run into it you may break your ankle/leg. There have been cases where paddlers have broken both ankles.

 

[Moonstruck]

The upper Chattahoochee in Georgia also has some class 5 rapids. Remember "Deliverance". That's where it was filmed.

My niece has paddled competitively for years. Her summer jobs in college were guiding rafting trips on the Nantahala in NC and the Ocoee in Tennessee. Her best friend and roommate was the girl that lost her life on the Potomac last year.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local...6dbffc-ebee-11e2-8023-b7f07811d98e_story.html

It has taken awhile for my niece to get back to where she wanted to paddle again.

Here's the picture of her going over the falls.

 

[Nomad Willy]

In all the sports people are doing what we as young people would have thought of as crazy. For decades running a rapid in an old canvas covered canoe was the same. And the body of knowledge about it was the same. Motorcyclists do wheelies w the rear wheel in the air .. not just the front. I've seen them do it on freeways. What for?

I'm just an old man but some of this stuff makes me feel like my generation has just been mop'in around w dull minds that could'nt even dream up such stuff. However it could be a sign of desperation like a coming doom. You know, the theory about plants, animals and humans faced w terrible threats tend to reproduce at a much faster rate like the baby boomers parents. My most profound feeling is "what's wrong w them"?

Now we have retro this and retro that. In the 50s we didn't think what people did in the teens and twenties was cool. It was old dumb stuff not to be emulated or reproduced in any way. 32 Ford roadster? Now-a-days the roadster would bug eyes and drop jaws much more than a new Corvette.

What's the doom just over the horizon? Must be a great catastrophe that will reduce our population to reasonable levels .... or much less. That said I haven't seen my doomsday friend lately.

 

[markpierce]

I'm awed by the bravery of kayakers. One of those kayakers is nearly invisible. There should be a law.

 

[Moonstruck]

In all the sports people are doing what we as young people would have thought of as crazy. For decades running a rapid in an old canvas covered canoe was the same. And the body of knowledge about it was the same. Motorcyclists do wheelies w the rear wheel in the air .. not just the front. I've seen them do it on freeways. What for?

I'm just an old man but some of this stuff makes me feel like my generation has just been mop'in around w dull minds that could'nt even dream up such stuff. However it could be a sign of desperation like a coming doom. You know, the theory about plants, animals and humans faced w terrible threats tend to reproduce at a much faster rate like the baby boomers parents. My most profound feeling is "what's wrong w them"?

Now we have retro this and retro that. In the 50s we didn't think what people did in the teens and twenties was cool. It was old dumb stuff not to be emulated or reproduced in any way. 32 Ford roadster? Now-a-days the roadster would bug eyes and drop jaws much more than a new Corvette.

What's the doom just over the horizon? Must be a great catastrophe that will reduce our population to reasonable levels .... or much less. That said I haven't seen my doomsday friend lately.

Eric,

There is a tendency to discount the feats of those that have gone before. As you so aptly pointed out their feats were equally as daring and took as much skill as today. Those that have gone before paved the way for even greater achievements.

This holds true in many disciplines of life. Have you ever heard of a political administration that once in power discounted all that had gone on before. The same can be true of corporate administrations. Some times change just for change sake is not a good thing.

It takes maturity to appreciate what others have done to pave the way. It is easy to get caught up in the moment, and lose perspective.

 

[Northern Spy]

I'm awed by the bravery of kayakers. One of those kayakers is nearly invisible. There should be a law.

There is. Could you read the line just above the red line for me Mr. Pierce?

Hmmm...

How about the green one?

 

[markpierce]

You kidding? My father is an optometrist!

 

[FlyWright]

What red line?

 

[Northern Spy]

You kidding? My father is an optometrist!

What red line?

 

[Nomad Willy]

Don wrote;

" Have you ever heard of a political administration that once in power discounted all that had gone on before."

Thanks Don you've made my world OK again.