High Country Rapids: Riverkeepers Host Gorge Race

Racers battled the rapids of the gorge. Photo by Dot Griffith

Forty-one of the best kayakers from North Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia came out to race for bragging rights at Appalachian Voices’ Watauga Riverkeeper and Penstock Productions’ first annual Watauga River Gorge Race in March.

“This race is not for the faint of heart, it is for expert kayakers only,” said Assistant Watauga Riverkeeper and race organizer Eric Chance. “If you just put on in an inner tube and tried to float down, you probably wouldn’t make it to end in one piece.”

There are high hopes for an even bigger turnout at next year’s event. For more details and to view videos from the race visit Riverkeeper.AppVoices.org.