The Final Trip on the Ocoeee River

Frank Hitchcock

Unit 1 Individual Project

Engl106 -1303b – 08

August 31, 2013

THE FINAL TRIP ON THE OCOEE RIVER

My final trip on the Ocoee River in East Tennessee was by far the most dangerous and also the most enjoyable of the nine trips I had made in the preceding years. My club and I had prepared for this trip for almost a year. We had no idea that the weather would be against us from the very beginning. The trip itself would include a week of camping by the River, cooking out and all of the enjoyable things that a rafting trip would entail. The trip started off badly on the first day. Not only did it rain all day or tent leaked and the waters were so high and rough the Rangers closed off the river.

The weather stayed pretty miserable for the first two days with intermittent sunshine the more rain and lightning. On the third day the weather let up and we were finally able to launch the boats and make our first run. The level three rapids were not too bad so the team decided to make three runs. The level five rapids still looked a little high and rough so we called it a day. During our downtime we cooked and patched tents, drank coffee and started preparing ourselves for the level five rapids the following day. The Rapids we knew were still going to be rough and high but the Rangers turned off the Warning Beacons and gave us the go ahead. On the first run one boat and the crew of seven all took a long swim but were all safe with no injuries. The next run was completely fantastic. All boats and crews made the run with no glitches. Then the rain started again but we were finished for the week and were satisfied with the trip. This trip was to be my last because I was preparing to move to Oklahoma. I was determined to make that trip rain or shine knowing it would be my last.