Summer hours are normally spent in the sun relaxing and catching rays but in the waters of the Nolichucky River “fun in the sun” takes on a whole new meaning.
White-water rafting has been nestled in the mountains of Unicoi County almost as long as the Nolichucky itself.
Nolichucky comes from the Native American term meaning “River of Death.”
As dangerous as rafting this river may sound, it is really quite simple to make a trip down. All a rafter needs is a little bit of cash and an adventurous spirit.
“This river has given me a lot of gray hairs but I love my job,” said Sue Carney of Cherokee Adventures, the white water rafting company located on the bank of the Nolichucky.
Cherokee Adventures is one of two places that allows people to take trips down the river daily. All equipment, such as life jackets and paddles, is supplied by the company and each trip even comes complete with a personal rafting guide.
Cherokee Adventures offers a wide variety of trips rafters can make down the river, ranging from beginner to expert levels.
A rafter can choose to ride with a group in a raft or go at it alone in a funyak. Group rates are available. Students also receive discounts.
A rafter can choose from three starting points.
The first point is right off the banks of the rafting company. It is a four and a half mile ride down the lower Nolichucky River. Rafts and/or funyaks are loaded into the water at the bank. Cherokee provides transportation from the ending point and provides each rafter with lunch. This trip costs about $30. The beginner course is less challenging than the other two courses, which run from the upper streams of the river.
The second place a rafter can enter the water is at the gorge. This ride is three to five hours long and frolicking in the water is encouraged at the various swimming spots you pass along the way.
The gorge is a more complicated ride down the river as you are whisped down Class IV rapids. This trip costs about $50 per person.
The final ride, called the Nolichucky Express, begins in Poplar N.C., for the fastest and most challenging ride Cherokee Adventures has to offer. It costs about $65 per person.
This is definitely not a ride for the weak-hearted, as the trip takes six to eight hours to complete with no stopping points.
“This is my favorite course,” said Carney. “It is beautiful and exciting.”
Scenery is also another alluring aspect of the ride as rafters get to enjoy Cherokee National Forests and maybe even some wildlife along the way.
All trips are dependant on the level of the water at any given day. Safety is a main goal of the company. Water levels designate what type and weight of raft a rider will take down the river.