Brevard College Voice of the Rivers 2010

Day 19 Blog post: Teresa Musick

2010-06-04T23:30:00.001-04:00

Riding in the van back to Brevard

Can't believe we've come so far

From night time rain- waking up in puddles

To night time rain-waking up in puddles?

The circle is complete, but the journey will not cease.

The memories and lessons learned

The laughter and long river days

Will continue to fill our minds,

If only to calm our longing hearts

To return to the simplicity of nature,

To drown in its ever flowing, over coming current,

To live in those moments- not blinking, not missing a second.

We will all eventually long for those days to return;

When our passion for the river was first lit,

When all we had to do was "paddle damn-it."

The last line is a shout out to Monty, your saying got us through many long days on the river!

So our journey is over, we made it through that final long and hot van ride back to Brevard and up that familiar hill to Ross hall. We all worked hard and diligently to clean up the boats and cook-ware and other group gear that desperately needed attention. After setting up tents to dry out for possibly the first time in 20 days, we got hit with a rain storm that didn't decide to let up until the rest of clean-up was complete. Chelsea, Austin, Jenny and I worked on breaking-down and re-setting up the tents back inside. Chelsea and I decided that the true test of setting up a tent was doing it in a closed and small setting, aka in the classrooms of Ross Hall. That was a whole other challenge in itself. We were the last people to finish clean-up, which in total only took us a little over two hours! Our final de-brief was an emotional one, with lots of hugs and teary eyes, it was hard to say good bye to the people we have grown so close to in such a small window of time.

Reflecting back on our journey, I am so impressed with each and everyone on the trip. We all overcame some sort of challenge and did it with a smile; we stayed positive as a group and really supported one another. I am so thankful to have been a part of such an important trip. So this is it, the closing blog entry to our trip, I hope everyone enjoyed following our progress on the Yadkin- Pee Dee river!

Day 18 Blog post: Chelsea Preciado

2010-06-03T07:59:00.001-04:00

Today was such a wonderful day. I woke up ridiculously early, around 4:30, and went for a run on the beach. The sunrise was so beautiful, it was a really vivid pink color with streaks of orange and purple.

When I returned back to the campsite I found breakfast already out on the picnic table, granola is always a favorite of mine. After everyone was awake, with full tummies, we loaded into the van and drove to the Tom Yawkey Heritage Preserve, about an hour away. Even in the early morning that van ride is hot!

The tour lasted about 3 hours and consisted of us being driven around a beautiful island by our awesome guide, Joseph. He came from a gullah background, which is a culture unique to the lowlands of South Carolina. It was really interesting hearing him talk in his native tounge.

We ended the tour around 12:00 and returned to our campsite at Huntington Beach State Park. As soon as we arrived, I ran to the tent and grabbed my bathing suit, the beach was calling to me. We were lucky, the waves were large and breaking perfectly to body surf. I forgot how incredible the ocean is. I laid in the sun for about an hour with the intention of getting rid of my "shorts tan," but I think I may be too far gone...

Around 5:00, we began preparing to go to dinner, we had reservations for a 5 star restaurant! We were treated like royalty at this place; 4 course meal, awesome waitress and an entire room to ourselves. Dinner was incredible. I had salad, shrimp roulade, tilapia with veggies and rice and about a gallon of sweet tea. We took this opportunity to do a really in depth debrief of the entire trip. I loved hearing what everyone had to say about their experience, what their best memories were, what their worst ones were, the funniest quotes... We were at that restaurant from 6:00 till 9:30 (when we were finally kicked out).

When we got back to the campsite at 10, alot of people went to bed immediately because of our looming 5 o'clock wake-up, but Aislinn, Dan, Jana and I headed for the beach. It was a really magical night, I couldn't have asked for a better ending to the trip. There was an awesome lightning storm occurring over to the west and with every crack the sky would just light up, illuminating the beautiful clouds over the ocean. The waves were soft and rhythmic. We walked on the beach for what seemed like hours talking about our trip and what's to come next in our futures.

When we came closer to the path that would lead us back to the tents, we took one last look at the ocean. We had really made it, we really came this far, here we were with the waves as our prize reminding us what we worked so hard to achieve. Feelings were just welling up inside of me, happiness, relief, pride anxiety, sadness it was a little too much to handle. I turned to the awesome people by my side and said, " who wants to scream with me?" We all walked forward to the surf, just far enough for our feet to be submerged, we let our emotions boil up inside of us and when it just got to be too much we screamed out into the giant dark abyss. What a moving experience, without humility, just being as loud as you can and letting your thoughts and feelings pass through your body as noise.

We left that beach feeling refreshed. I slept so well, my mind clear, ready to see what the next day had to bring. This has been the best experience of my life.

Day 19 sunrise

2010-06-03T06:37:00.001-04:00

Farewell Atlantic Ocean. We are off to Brevard, with a container of water from the ocean to store with our container from the source.
Final blog posts coming soon...

VOR 2010 celebration dinner

2010-06-03T06:10:00.001-04:00

Allison was awesome. Thanks to the Mayor's House restaurant staff for excellent food and service!

Day 18, end of expedition celebration dinner

2010-06-02T20:08:00.001-04:00

Our amazing waitress, Allison, took this picture of us at the Mayor's H.ouse restaurant in Pawleys Island.

Day 17 Blog post: Austin Bunn

2010-06-02T13:07:00.001-04:00

I woke up this morning around 7 am to the sound of rain drops hitting the top of our tent. We were allowed to actually sleep-in until 9, but with so many early morning starts my body didn't allow me. As the rain became harder others began to wake up and pack up their personal gear. We decided after sitting in the rain for a while that it made a whole lot more sense to sit on the covered porch of the DNR offices. The rest of the morning's activities took place there because of the thunderstorms that moved in. Imagine that, our last day of paddling started off like our first day ended.
We entertained ourselves with skits about our biggest challenges done by each tent group. After a good lunch of veggie pitas we finally all headed to the boats and began to get in. It was close to 1 by the time we all got in which was definitely the latest start of the whole trip. We did this so that the tide would work with us. The paddle was wonderful; it was cool with a slight drizzle. We got to see lots of neat wildlife including fish jumping and egrets fishing. The marshes were really unique. I have been visiting the Charleston area all my life and never seen marshes like this. Instead of just having marsh grass as far as you can see with no trees, there were cypress trees, lillypads, and other beautiful aquatic plants with neat flowers.
Finally the end of our journey was in site; ahead we could see the highway 17 bridge which marked the Georgetown marina. As we passed under the bridge we all floated in a pod and tapped our paddles on the underside. Once at the docks we all got out and loaded our gear and boats onto the trailer. It wasn't until the last boat was loaded that the realization of being done really sank in.
We then headed to Huntington state park where we enjoyed some much-needed food and showers. We soon all went to the beach where we stuck our feet in in celebration of making it!
It's been a long journey but an awesome one for sure. I have enjoyed overcoming all the challenges and getting to know everyone but for now its time for some well needed rest.

Day 18 at Tom Yawkey

2010-06-02T12:22:00.003-04:00

Here we are with Joseph (aka Tiny) who gave us a wonderful tour of the Tom Yawkey Wildlife Center on Cat and South Islands. Thanks Jamie and Joseph!

Day 17 camp at Hunting State Park

2010-06-02T12:22:00.001-04:00

Jana, Brian, and Mater working hard to recruit future WLEE majors. This is Lucas Johnson, who was enamored with our row of kayaks.

Looks like we made it!

2010-06-01T17:53:00.001-04:00

Pulled into Georgetown Landing around 4. We are officially done paddling - nearly 400 miles!

Day 16 Blog post: Dan Modahl

2010-05-31T21:37:00.001-04:00

Day 16... wow, I can't believe it has been that long already. We have come such a long way as a group, and as paddlers... it's quite amazing. Today we had a very early start, as we had to play the tides right... we had breakfast at 4:30, and were paddling by 6:00. I was very surprised that we would be able to feel tidal effects that far inland... but we sure could, after a couple miles we could feel the current start to push against us. But we only had 28 miles :)
The river changed so drastically today... we started in a slightly swampy, but heavily wooded area and we are now in a marsh... and just after lunch we could smell the brackish water. Speaking of lunch, we stopped on the bank of a piece of private property, and got permission to eat on the rocks on shore. It was the craziest lunch, people falling off rocks into the river, boats floating away, wakes from motor boats wreaking havoc... very interesting lunch to say the least.
As we started paddling into the marshy maze the water got surprisingly choppy, and the wind picked up like crazy... so those last 8 miles took a while. When we finally got to the campsite, it was picturesque. There was Spanish Moss hanging from the oaks that were shading a beautiful lawn... it is a wonderful place to sleep.
Max came back today! This is the first time we've seen him in 6 days... and he will be paddling with us, it feels great to have the whole team together. The weather was so beautiful today... never hot or humid, but perfectly sunny... it has been a treat to have such wonderful weather. I cannot believe this trip is almost over, it feels as though we left just yesterday. But there are still many more crazy experiences to come even with only 3 days left, and I can't wait.

Day 16

2010-05-31T18:31:00.004-04:00

This picture is from the porch of the Samworth plantation home. It is part of the park in which we are camping. The Pee Dee is in the background - the beginning of the stretch we will take to Georgetown tomorrow!

Day 16 campsite

2010-05-31T18:31:00.001-04:00

We just did another early morning and long day of paddling - 6 a.m. start and 27 miles with high wind and tidal influence. Everyone feels great, and the campsite is beautiful.

Day 15 Blog post: Jana Eilermann

2010-05-30T19:25:00.003-04:00

Everyone woke up this morning feeling well fed and were again lucky to have fresh watermelon, apples and bananas left from the feast the night before. The river was sparkling in the sun when we put in this morning around 8:54 after a quick debrief from the days prior. I love the Pee Dee river. There is virtually no visible development from the river aside from the occasional boat ramp. The banks are completely covered with trees. I noticed that the banks on the insides of the turns are all covered in willow trees while the banks on the outside of the turns are covered with other various trees. I think it is because the water pushes the sediment to the inside banks creating sandy flat beaches for willow trees while eroding the outside banks which forms steep banks. The trees are eerie in the wind as the Spanish moss they fashion blows gently above the murky water where we know the gators are lurking. We have seen a lot less critter activity since entering the Pee Dee, but we are reminded frequently that we are not alone by the wild hog tracks left in the sand and the soft barking of baby gators from the shaded banks. We saw lots of turtles today baking in the warm sun and saw our first gator friend. I think the group had a total of six gator sightings today and I am eager to see more. We stopped for lunch on a shady, muddy beach and had a fun time trying to get out of the boats and safely to the dry sand. After enjoying a meal of peanut butter and jelly with even more delicious apples we were back on the river. After lunch, we literally paddled through a rain storm. We saw it raining all around us, yet we remained dry. We paddled in the gentle rain for about four minutes and were quickly dried out by the hot sun. It was so hot today and I kept my long sleeve shirt on all day in an attempt to shield my poison ivy from the sun. As I enter my third consecutive week of having poison ivy, I am finding myself increasingly frustrated and generally in an unpleasant mood. I am thankful for the truly incredible group we have. Everyone is very supportive and help me by offering advice to reduce the itching and telling me jokes to keep my mind off the terrible itching. I am especially thankful for Terry, whom we met yesterday at lunch and who brought me anti itch cream that should help me heal soon. Our day today was hard on everyone. The river curved like a ringlet curl and we kept getting caught in the eddies around the banks. Austin was excited as he got out of the tandem and paddled Katherine's boat while she rested her shoulder in the front of the tandem. The 24 miles we did today was harder than our 33 mile day, and as we approached the boat ramp where we are camping, I grew concerned that day 15 would be the first day without our heron friend. Luckily in the last mile of our journey, I spotted my heron flying across the river. It made me happy and I somehow found the energy to make it the last mile. I passed out in my tent immediately after putting it up and remain in my tent to avoid the deer flies. From what I can tell, most everybody is tired and eagerly awaiting our pita pizza dinner. It is 7:16 and I am ready for bed. I am excited tomorrow as we are beginning to feel the current of the ocean. The 27 miles we have ahead of us is a little intimidating, but with a good night sleep I am sure I will be ready for it.

Day 15 camp

2010-05-30T19:25:00.001-04:00

Wonderful spot just upstream from the confluence with the black water of the Little Pee Dee.

Day 14 Blog post: Rick Campana

2010-05-30T07:49:00.001-04:00

In the middle of the night it began to rain. For some reaon, my tent group and I did not think to secure the rain fly for set up the tarp property. Throughout the night I awoke being dripped on or rolling into a damp spot. Tucker and I were up before five to make pancakes. Too much water was added to the mix and it was difficult to create our fried batter masterpieces. Once we developed the Antarctic Slow Pour we were back in business. After normal pancakes got boring we started taking shape requests, it was lots of fun. Too bad pancakes are not on the breakfast menu again. The mud around our put-in was the consistency of pudding and it stuck to everything. Moths around the water would dive into or skip out of the water. I found it strange that they all were doing it. Our first break was at a boat dock where we were offered food. (that happened a lot today) I forgot that it is labor day weekend, so there was a lot of boat traffic especially with the poker run. I wanted to buy my dad a shirt, but I lacked cash. Most of the people we have run into in SC have been very friendly. The guys at the dock told us that they saw a fourteen foot alligator just up river from the dock. So it was looming in the water below us at some point. We have yet to see a gator and everyone hopes we get to. The thirteen days of prior paddling have finally caught up with me. It's interesting to see what keeps me going through the fatigue and heat. I'm learning a lot about myself on this expedition, which is one of my goals. Approaching our lunch dock we were greeted by the barking of a bear of a dog named Tinkerbell. Big Mike and Terry from the Pee Dee River Watchers, who "protect the great Pee Dee from current and proposed environmental mischief", had cooked up some wonderful eats. Big mike shared us stories about the river and its wildlife. Frank and Peggy Brown rolled into the party fashionablely late with bbq and brownies. Brian left us at this time to go have a doctor check out his ankles. They haven't been looking so hot. Frank and Peggy were ready to join us in paddling. Big Mikes john-boat made me jealous with his motor. Reaching the next dock they left us and we learned that Brian would be joining us at our camp tonight with some anti poison ivy cream for Jana. A-town and I cooked up some crazy conspiracy theories and hilarity ensued. Once we had reached our boats at our camp a man with a musket bellowed "Wig orTorry!" They taught us about the revolutionary war and had an awesome spread of food including homemade icecream. They let A-town fire the musket and showed us how the weapon worked. It is sad to think it is day fourteen, two weeks on the river, and it is four days away from being over. I'm going to make the most out these last days because I have loved every second of this trip.

Day 14

2010-05-30T07:11:00.001-04:00

Earl speaking to us about revolutionary light horsemen on the bank of the river.

Day 14 dinner

2010-05-30T06:41:00.001-04:00

Another amazing dinner was prepared for us at Dunham's Bluff. Special thanks to our primary hosts Tres and Tricia Hyman. Tres is a forestry consultant and SC Registered Forested as well as a revolutionary period history buff. Thanks also to Denley Caughman, and Earl Spibey and his family: Mary, Loretta, Christine, and Elliott. Some of the pictures posted show Tres speaking to our group about an earthen fort from the revolution that was recently discovered; and you will also see Earl and Denley in period dress.

Day 13 Blog post: Marcus Roberson

2010-05-29T22:38:00.001-04:00

Last night I thought I finally heard the real voice of the rivers in my sleep. As I steadily gained coherence, I realized that it was not the elusive presence we had been seeking these past two weeks. It was the sound of a large pick-up truck full of some of the friendly locals screaming, "_____ kayakers!" and "welcome to South Carolina!" and "whooooo!!!" If you read yesterday's post about the place we camped, you can imagine how freaked out we were when we realized that we must have been sleeping in the graffitier's party spot. Woops?

We made some really awesome changes in our schedule today. During our briefing the previous night we all decided to wake up early to paddle out and get good mileage in before the heat of the day. 4:30 - 5:30 breakfast 5:30-6:30 packing and 6 departure. Well... we made it out by 6:30! And wow did it make a difference! We paddled 16 miles from 6:30 to 10:30. Had awesome PB&Js and took a nap under a busy bridge, then set off to find our campsite at 12:30.

6 hours later we still had not found a suitable sandbar to camp at! We ended up paddling 36 miles today, finally finding an old closed down boat ramp behind a thick outcrop of willow trees, at the recommendation of a friendly fisherman. Whew what a long day of paddling, our longest yet! We enjoyed some chili, had a short communications class, and fell asleep to some crazy awesome heat lightning (that later turned into a heavy rainstorm.)

I'd like to leave you dear friends with a song that spoke to me today on the river.

"What I love most about rivers is
you can't step in the same river twice;
the water's always changing, always flowing.
But people, I guess, can't live like that
we all must pay a price
To be safe we lose our chance at ever knowing...
What's around the riverbend.
Waiting just around the riverbend."
-Pocahontas (she knew what was up!)

Day 14 campsite

2010-05-29T20:41:00.001-04:00

Many thanks Buck and Frank at Durham's Bluff for the power from their generator to charge our cell phones.

Day 14

2010-05-29T12:45:00.001-04:00

Lunch today was provided for us by Mike and Terry of the Great Pee Dee River Watchers at Joystick Landing, SC.

Day 13: We arrived at our campsite - after looking desperately for a suitable location, and after confirming its existence with some local fishermen. We estimate that we paddled about 33 miles today. Quite an accomplishment. We don't have enough powe

2010-05-29T10:46:00.001-04:00

Day 13, right after lunch

2010-05-28T11:39:00.000-04:00

We had an early start today - paddling by 6:38, which is a major accomplishment for this group of sleepers. The result is a cat-nap at every opportunity.

Day 12 Blog post: Aislinn Dugan

2010-05-27T21:50:00.001-04:00

Today was our longest day of paddling so far; we went 28 miles. It was also the hottest day we have had due largely to the lack of cloud cover. We just arrived at our campsite under a bridge and it is 6:30pm. We are all pretty exhausted and sunburned (pfd tans are coming in nicely). Right now I can see Henny Penny is starting dinner, Rickelodeon is journaling to my right, Mater is socializing with some local fishermen, and Marshalldat is exercising his magical fingers. I can't see anyone else but the V.O.R.acious crew is all around me and still keeping it real.
We started on the water at 8:30am and it was scorching hot already! I noticed a lot of erosion along the banks of the Pee Dee today, which I'm guessing is from the flood that happened a few months ago. There havn't been many signs of development along the river for the past few days, only a few scattered cabins here and there. It feels somewhat secluded without signs of society but hearing the birds chirping and fish jumping I am reminded of the many forms of life that we share this river with.
We stopped for lunch at 11:50 on a nice sandy beach and went for a swim. The green heads were out in full force and there were yelps and cries of pain as these colorful flies enjoyed there own lunch.
After lunch we were moving even slower. Tucker and Rick kept us alive with bilge pump showers. We also made a few rest stops along the way. One beach was completely covered with socializing butterflies. We stopped to admire this rare sight and continued on our way with a few fluttering stow-aways who stayed with us for miles.
We made it to the first bridge of the day and our take out under highway 34 outside of Darlington, S.C. Our plan for tomorrow is to start early in order to get into camp early and avoid some of the heat. It's a great plan in theory but I am not looking forward to waking up at 4:30 in the am.

Moon rise

2010-05-27T21:00:00.001-04:00

Looking downstream from our campsite under a bridge on night 12.

Day 12

2010-05-27T20:55:00.001-04:00

Finally got to camp after a BRUTAL 28 miles. Faced our first real SC heat this afternoon. This pic sums-up how we all feel. Thanks Jana!

Morning of day 12

2010-05-27T06:25:00.001-04:00

Almost up...

Larry Bunn visit

2010-05-26T20:37:00.001-04:00

Larry (Austin's dad) made a surprise visit and spoke to us about his work with SC Department of Health and Environmental Control.

River name contest

2010-05-26T19:12:00.002-04:00

See the list below of the 14 paddlers' river names. Try to match them with the real person in a comment to this posting. We'll post the correct answers after we return and visit the blog ourselves.

Kool Aid
Chips
KittyKat
Scooter
Mater
A Train
Lieutenant
J-nuts
Mamma Duck
Rickelodeon
Henny Penny
Everlasting
Papa Bear
Real Talk

Day 11 Blog post: Brian Henion

2010-05-26T18:43:00.001-04:00

Today we woke up to swarms of mosquitos so fat with our blood they could hardly take off. It's roughly 6 am and the sun has just begun to creep over the trees. We awake to hot oatmeal, leftover burgers, chips, and Max's present of 4 snickers and a handful of jolly ranchers that is to last us the rest of the trip. No one seems too quick this morning and it feels as though everyone would easily and gladly sleep more if just given a decent excuse. After a lengthly pack up we meander down to the boats and begin to climb into the chilly morning water babbling by us. The packing process, as with every time packing boats in the water, is very time consuming. Today though this is made more so by our treat of watching the complete metamorphosis of what I believe is called a water nymph into a dragonfly and its first flight out into the world as something born anew. This seems ironic and almost prophetic as we are about to set off anew. Our next few days we will be utterly alone, cut off from news, our lifeline and supply (Max), and established known camping areas. We are essentially heading into the unknown, harding guesses, and hoping for the best. The morning paddle drags on long and slow. Everyone is silent - even the ones who haven't stopped talking since day one. The exhaustion and solitude are palpable. Everyone seems to have that feeling when you know you have "miles to go before I sleep." After a few water breaks and roughly 12 miles, we pull up to a nice secluded beach on the inside of a long curve in the river. We are blessed with a reprieve from the beating sun and radiant heat. We have a short peaceful lunch. After we restart in the river, we all seem to be refreshed - some as though we have a second wind. The common banter cranks up and you hear the girls singing Disney songs, Tucker singing everything in his head and laughing occasionally in his maniacal way. We continue another 12 miles along a portion of the river that feels the most isolated and undisturbed. The common conversations pop up - from video games to crazy sandwiches, and places people have been or wish to go. In my humble opinion, Tucker's contribution: Monte Cristo takes the cake. We end the paddle shortly after the Highway 15 bridge over the Pee Dee. Everyone is sweating buckets, so we take a quick dip - a pleasure we have foregone until now. Then yet another oddity... we are ahead of schedule. So we are given a quick briefing on the remainder of the day. If all holds to be true, we may be in bed early. A godsend in my opinion. We will end the day as we began: muscles shredded, backs aching, and so stinks, smelly, and filthy it almost pointless to make our little attempts to freshmen ourselves.

Anthill with footprint...

2010-05-26T17:15:00.001-04:00

Video was too large to post, so here's a picture to give you an idea.

Day 11 campsite

2010-05-26T17:05:00.001-04:00

Where not to put your foot...

Day 11 @ noon: preparing lunch by the river.

2010-05-26T17:01:00.000-04:00

Day 10 Blog post, continued

2010-05-26T06:09:00.001-04:00

On the river there was another team member that joined the swim team today, with help from a rock that he saw. There were tons of dragonflies, and we saw an eagle as well. We passed on to SC on the second part of the day. We are camping on Scott's property which is a great piece of land full of corn stalks . Scott cooked for us and the primary consumers had pasta or grass - just kidding on the grass. It was great talking with Scott. The sun went down and the bugs came out and some of the guys had girl-sleep-over-syndrome - a major case of the giggles. Had a great day.
Love you mom and dad, Nicole, Daniel, and Michael .

Day 10 Blog post: Katherine McKittrick

2010-05-25T22:41:00.002-04:00

First off, everyone is well - healing fingers and toes, taped feet and toes - but everyone is well. Tired but loving every day. I can say without a doubt that this group of Brevard College students is truly a great group. On the river we fill from bank to bank with songs, laughter or good conversation or all of the above. This morning I woke up around six or so and I felt like I woke up from a great dream. I realized a bit later that it was real and not a dream. I carried this with me all day down the twenty-five miles of river. Before we got in the river, Jenny chased a frog to a safer place where we were moving around. On the river we saw a huge catfish - Austin touched it. On the way to the lunch spot we went through a cool channel. Before we got out we did a group photo that Chelsea came up with, spelling "VOR" with our boats. With our lunch we had pineapple and I tried my first mango. We then rode in the van for our last portage. Tomorrow we begin our week-long unsupported section of paddling!

Scott Laney

2010-05-25T22:38:00.003-04:00

Scott works with Cheraw Parks and Recreation - which how/why we made contact. He graciously prepared dinner for us after a long day.

Day 10 camp at Scott Laney's family farm

2010-05-25T22:38:00.001-04:00

This is our first night in SC; and Scott was kind enough to host us on his dad's property which borders the PeeDee river.

Day 9 Blog post: Marshal Hartley

2010-05-24T23:40:00.001-04:00

Today was a big day for us as it was our first day on the Pee Dee River! We started on Lake Tillery, on which we did about 10 miles. There was a strong tail wind but it still didn't make up for the lack of current. After the lake we bypassed the dam and put in for the first time on the Pee Dee River. we only did about 4 miles on the Pee Dee but that was more than enough after the brutal time on the lake for the past day and a half. The change in the rivers is very evident in many ways; the Pee Dee is much clearer, faster,warmer, and cleaner than the Yadkin River.
We were all very tired yesterday but today we all seemed to be back to normal. The weather today was absolutely perfect! It was overcast all day but didn't rain except for a little this evening. My favorite part of the day,by far, was the end. As we approached the bridge we were to take out under we saw a banner hanging from it which said "Dr.C loves VOR!" As soon as I saw it I knew that this could be none other than the famous Dr. Chandler who has been my professor for many of my Exercise Science classes at Brevard. Then, as we turned the corner to the take out there she was sitting in a chair with her feet in the water. It was very nice to see another familiar face! Thank you for coming out and showing your support Dr. Chandler! Also Katherine's boyfriend and parents brought us some very good food! Thank you! These sort of things have become rather frequent for us and it is very hard to believe the incredible acts of kindness which we have received from people we have never met but through their support of our goals and journey they have made their land, time, energy, and stories available to us so that now they will always be remembered in our stories of this incredible adventure in our lives. I am totally taken back by everyone's support and hospitality and for you all I, as well as the rest of the group are very thankfull!
I am very proud of all of us for all that we have accomplished so far! We all work together better than any other group of people I have ever been involved with. The bigest thing that I have noticed is that we all genuinely care for each other, it is an awesome feeling to know that you a part of a group like this!
Only 10 days left! I say this with a bitter-sweet tone because of course I want to get back to do my other plans for the summer but I really don't want to leave this. It is simple, and humbling to be involved with such an amazing group of people for such an awesome journey; and I will miss them all dearly! But until then, I will thoroughly enjoy their company for the remainder of the trip.

This just in...

2010-05-24T19:58:00.003-04:00

Katherine's parents, Russ and Lynn, just drove up with brownies and bags of mini candy bars. Awesome! This is roughing it?!

Day 9 dinner from the Eleazers

2010-05-24T19:58:00.001-04:00

We were met at the river take-out this afternoon by Michael Eleazer (Katherine's boyfriend) which was a wonderful surprise. We were also pleasantly treated to a wonderful dinner of burgers with ALL the fixings and extensive sides. We were especially grateful to the Eleazer family for their thoughtful consideration of and preparation for our varied diets.

Day 9 portage

2010-05-24T13:11:00.001-04:00

Lunch, class, trailer loading... all at the same time.

Day 9, portage

2010-05-24T12:49:00.001-04:00

Boat ramp on lake Tillery for take-out and portage during lunch.

Day 8 Blog post continued

2010-05-24T08:04:00.001-04:00

Lunch was fast as well; it seemed like there was a sense of urgency because we all knew what lay ahead in just a few hours - a hot shower! Before we headed off, and after we ate some delicious gluten free brownies, Jenny gave us an ultimatum; we could either paddle Tuckertown lake or take our time site seeing and go to our campsite early at Morrow Mountain State Park. I'm sure you know what option we chose. So we all piled into the van and headed to our first destination High rock dam. On the way I absolutely got what I asked for, we went from seeing water and trees to small towns and stop lights. It was a new perspective of the river basin that I didn't expect to see. We listened to some awesome classic rock and before we knew it we were pulled into parking lot in the town of Badin across the street from the ALCOA factory. We took pictures and made mean faces in front of the factory then Cameron informed us that ice cream was on him! We were stoked. I had delicious vanilla Orange cream on a waffle cone. We sat outside in the hot sun and ate that ice cream fast as we could. I don't remember how it happened but someone brought up the showering later and I freaked because we had no shampoo nor conditioner. By the grace of god I remembered my credit card and we were by a gas station and bought the last set of shampoo and conditioner left. It was an exciting moment for everyone, we would finally smell good! We arrived at camp around five and luckily, since I bought the showering supplies I was the first to use them. That was honestly the best shower I have ever had; and of course after the fact I found out that shaving my legs was a possibility because Aislinn had a razor! After the life changing shower the rest of the day and night were pretty relaxed. Dinner was so so good, we ate potato soup with all the fixings made by Tucker, I think it's everyone's new favorite camping dish. Before class Austin and I made a trip down to the lake, it didn't last long though because for the second time today he was attacked by some vicious ants. It was pretty funny watching him dance around like a crazy man. My favorite part of the night and the last event to occur before I begin this blog was our group discussion on the communication of recreation, conservation and education to the people who inhabit the Yadkin river basin. Everyone expressed some great ideas and opinions on the subject, seriously we are a bunch of smart and creative individuals! Before bed we also reflected on what each of us has learned so far on the river. In all I really enjoy our group dynamics and our ability to communicate effectively, it makes for bunches of interesting conversations. I am looking forward to our upcoming adventures but for now I am hitting the sheets!

Day 8 Blog post: Teresa Musick

2010-05-23T23:26:00.001-04:00

Today was the most interesting and out right different day so far on the trip; it was the the change in scenery I was asking for last night after a long day of paddling the great Yadkin. We woke up in the morning a little later then planned, but after Jenny birthday wishes, packing gear and preparing to pack up the boats once again we ended up being ahead of schedule by a half an hour; since that rarely happens, why disturb the consistency? It was then decided after packing the boats that we would visit some of the sites in Boone cave state park, that were just a short walk from our put in. We hiked to the 3rd largest cotton wood tree in North Carolina, it was so huge standing 160 feet tall and 16 feet in diameter, it took 4 people to to hug the entire thing! After the refreshing attention given to our legs we officialy took off around 9:30 AM. The paddling days short in milage, at only nine miles to our take out, but in effort it was a challenge for us all. I know at onep point I had closed my eyes for just a second and literally dozed off in the middle of taking a stroke! Along the way wildlife were out and about all around us; fisher jumping constantly, we spotted four turtles, one I named squirt because of how small he was and we also had two blue herring gliding along with the group. It was awesome to witness nature in such a wild state and just how it was ment to be seen, uninterrupted. Towards the end of our paddling day the river started to feel more and more like a lake, which ment a harder and harder time moving the boat, our speed dropped and for the moment our spirits did too, we had in the past two days paddled 50 miles, we were tired and cranky. A few words of encouragement from our sweep man, Tucker and we got back in to the grove quick. As we approached the greatly anticipated boat ramp it looked like it was snowing, white bits of fluff covered the river it seriously looked like The clouds were falling out of the sky. This was also the point when we realized we were deffinetly on the first lake, High Rock lake. We finally arrived at the boat ramp at 12:15 and quickly unloaded gear and reloaded it on to the trailer along with the boats. Link was fast too

ALCOA/Badin Works at Badin lake

2010-05-23T16:02:00.001-04:00

Morning of day 8 at Boone's Cave

2010-05-23T09:57:00.001-04:00

Day 7 Blog post: Chelsea Preciado

2010-05-22T23:11:00.001-04:00

I've learned on this trip that to truly open yourself to the experience, you must learn to accept the filth. I smell bad, my hair is dreading, I have cuts and bruises all over my body and I am having the best time of my life.

Happiness was found this morning when I woke up on a beautiful horse ranch listening to the birds outside singing. I'm getting used to being the first one awake in the mornings. I like the quiet and if you wake up right as the sun begins to warm the earth you can see this beautiful mist rising up off the.river.

This morning at Dana's farm I had the pleasure of washing my face in a sink and using a real bathroom. So quickly do we all forget how convenient modern facilities are, a porta potty has become luxury to us.

This morning we had pancakes for breakfast and even the latest of risers were up with their plates ready. We didn't get on the water until around 10:30. This was one of our longer days, 24 miles. I think our longest day is a 27 mile paddle. The river was beautiful, as always. We had a little rain but luckily, later in the afternoon, the sun came to warm us up.

Lunch was interesting today, all 15 of us were crammed on a tiny beach attempting to make veggie pita sandwiches, I opted for some PB&j - it was a peanut butter kind of day.

Our final take out was at the Boones Cave Park. It's a pretty small cave to have such a large park named after it but I must admit the surrounding area is beautiful. The take out was pretty steep so we left the boats in the water, tied to a tree, and hauled all of our gear up a massive wood staircase up to the pavilion where we would be spending the night.

We had fried macaroni and cheese with veggies for dinner. I swear I eat better on this trip than I ever did in the school cafeteria. Compared to yesterday, today was pretty relaxed. Once dinner was over we had a short briefing on what tomorrow would bring and then everyone broke out the sleeping bags and hit the hay. An employee of the park came by earlier to tell us to watch out for coyotes and bobcats. I set up my hammock with hopes of seeing some pretty cool wildlife tonight.

Well, it is late and we have an early morning tomorrow. So far the trip has far exceeded my expectations and I can't wait to see what tomorrow will bring.

- Chelsea

Day 6 Blog post: Austin Bunn

2010-05-21T23:50:00.001-04:00

This morning we woke up around six. It was really cold and the ground was covered with dew. It was the first morning we all were up before the sun! Packing up this morning was really hectic and rushed because of the 26 miles we had ahead of us! In fact most of us ate our oatmeal while packing up all the gear into the boats. Once packed we faced our first challenge of the day which was putting boats in below the dam. Because of how close the steps were below the dam we had to slide the boats in and drag them down river by a rope to a calm eddy to load everyone in safely. We were a little nervous of how this would go but fortunately with good teamwork everything went well. Cameron and I were the last to load and accidentally got our selves wedged on a rock; but with lots of hip trusting and hard paddling we managed to free ourselves. The first couple miles of the day were pretty uneventful except for a few wildlife spottings and Tucker's wonderful singing. The weather turned out to be perfect with enough cloud cover to keep us from frying in the sun all day. Not long after starting we came to our first bridge where we stopped on a really muddy bank for what was suppose to be a quick bathroom break. Everyone who got out had a really hard time trying to keep their balance in the ankle deep mud which became great entertainment for the rest of the group. Once done we continued down river and paddled to interstate 40 where we ate lunch and finally had our first real set of linked lessons during the trip. After finishing our veggie pitas we discussed the different risk and treats affecting the Yadkin river. We also talked some about analysing the different types of information we have received about the river. After paddling all morning the long lunch break was well appreciated by everyone. At this point everyone was feeling the past five days of paddling and were all really sore and hurting - but fortunately we have Marshall with us who loves giving massages and stretching people. We all took advantage of this and once he was done we all felt like a million dollars. Finally we began paddling again and in a rush to get back on the river. Tucker forgot his nalgenes which I found and hid in my boat in hopes for a good practical joke. Sadly he never got thirsty until we actually got to camp so it didn't turn out as funny as I wanted. After lunch we paddled with our work groups and discussed more about the different forms of information we have received. This was lots of fun and gave us a chance to work on group skills as well as focus on our info in more detail. Soon we approached a dam that we were forced to portage but not before passing a dead floating cow! Yuck! As we started getting boats out it began to rain some but quickly quit once we were past the dam and back in our boats. Of course Cameron and I were convinced we could have run the dam but for our safety and Jenny's nerves we didn't. (Just kidding. No one should ever run a dam.) Finally after several more brutal miles we made it to camp which was on old mill farm which is a crazy sweet horse farm. Once again we faced another challenging exit from the water. We ended up setting up an assembly line to get our gear up the steep eroded bank. The owners of the farm were amazing and even grilled out for us! We all thought we couldn't top yesterday's camp experience with the tubers and watermelon. But once again things just got better and better. We ate well, played with horses, dogs, kids, and best all extremely fat pot belly pigs that stole our food. One of the farm clients took us on an atv tour of the whole property. We also got to listen to music for the first time since we left which was a wonderful break from Tucker's singing. Overall it has been one amazing event after another and even though we are super tired and sore none of us have given up or complained. I am also extremely pleased to see that we are still getting along pretty well with very minimal storming. Although it's only been six days, I believe we will continue to get along and develop friendships as we journey to the coast.

Day 6 at Old Mill Farm

2010-05-21T20:46:00.002-04:00

The VOR 2010 Team with Dana Meads and our new extended family by the river in Lexington, NC: Melissa, Marty and Will Going; Scott, Janie, and Will Doby, and Sarah-Beth Fishback. Special thanks for all the wonderful food and hospitality.

Day 5 Blog post: Dan Modahl

2010-05-20T22:58:00.001-04:00

This morning we all woke up to a beautiful sunny day, and Marcus screaming "Real talk: there's a 10 foot black widow on my shirt!!!" After we all settled down, we had great breakfast of granola and fresh fruit, that gave us enough energy to deal with the insane put-in. We had to carry things one by one down the steep embankment to the floating boats. Needless to say, it took a while... but we did better time-wise than we expected... wich seems like it is starting to be a reaccuring theme. Today we had only 12 miles to paddle, and the sun was finally shining, so we had a great time. Paddling could not be more fun than than in was today... we even had our own jukebox (Tucker) it definitely keeps morale up... for some reason every paddle stroke seems easier when you are singing along. At then end of the 12 miles there was another crazy take-out... there was a low head dam that we have to portage around and the take out is only 20 yards in front of it... so to avoid any injuries we had to one by one come up to some hidden stairs and carry the boats up. Where were staying is right at the top of those stairs on a beautiful plot of farmland overlooking corn fields and farmhouses. Before we started preparing dinner, we were met by some crazy drunk kids who were convinced they could jump off the dam... thankfully Marcus and Austin talked them out of that death jump and they stumbled on their merry way. While preparing dinner we realised we needed oil, so we spent 30 minutes looking for it... only to find out that we really needed fuel. :) Anyways we had a delicious dinnerof gado gado nevertheless. After dinner, we needed to go find water... so Tucker, Austin, Marcus, Theresa, Chelsea and I went to go knock on doors... so we walked down the gravel road. Walking past numerous no trespassing signs and with the sound of a barking dogs and a chainsaw ringing in our ears we knocked on the door of a little white farmhouse and received permission to use their well water... we filled up and left as quickly as possible. After cutting off the circulation to our hands carrying 70 liters of water... we got back to a nice treat. Montie had brought a watermelon and cantelope! He had also brought Bill Brewer, the superintendent of all water treatment to Winston-Salem. He talked a little about the dam, how it was built, what it does, and what kind of fish you can catch. All in all it was a pretty eventful day... but no more so than any other day. We are a very run-loving group... not a minute goes by without laughter. It seems like all we do is have fun, and i am loving it... I look forward to every remaining minute (including the classwork).

Kayaker sprawl...

2010-05-20T20:10:00.000-04:00

Looking the other direction.

2010-05-20T20:09:00.001-04:00

Day 5 - camping @ Winston Salem water out-take

2010-05-20T20:07:00.001-04:00

Our tents are pitched about 40 feet from this low-head dam. More pics from this site to follow, as well as the blog post for today!

Day 4 Blog post: Jana Eilermann

2010-05-20T18:55:00.001-04:00

A sigh of relief was felt throughout the group as we awoke to rays of sunshine shining through the tree tops. After a late night of digging out stairs to the put in, I was not expecting to wake as early as I did. The camp site was peaceful at 6:30am. When the rest of the group awoke around 8, we had a hearty breakfast of grits and were again joined by our lovely friends, Henry and Mary Lou. They were kind and brought us gifts of sweet lous, an original recipe of chocolate and butterscotchy goodness created by sweet Mary Lou herself. As we began loading boats, I found a new friend, whom we named Princess Frog. Mary Lou told me how rare it was to find a frog this year as they were having a hard time surviving in the environment. We pulled boats down the freshly unearthed stair case at the Yadkin Shore around 10:13am and began our 17 mile journey for the day. After departing from our friends we paddled down a wide calm river with tree lined shores. Around 11:30 am we were surprised to see a heard of six cows wading in the right side of the river, which demonstrated both pollution from erosion and agriculture. As we continued paddling, we followed a blue heron and witnessed some beavers splashing around on the shores before us. We stopped for lunch on a beautiful forested beach where we met a gator-looking snapping turtle who was around 1.5 feet long and 11 inches wide with a scary, spiny tail. We stayed on the other side of the beach and feasted on peanut butter and jelly bagels and discussed the key differences between Jiff and Peter Pan. We also learned all about river features including eddies, strainers, scholls, tongues, pillow rocks, and more. Ironically enough, shortly after our lesson, we were paddling through some small rapids and a pillow rock jumped out of nowhere at me and flipped my boat. Being that I am a stubborn girl, I refused to give in and tried desperately to roll my boat back up, but after about a minute of pushing with all my strength, my boat was nearly full of water and I was forced to tuck forward and pull my skirt thus becoming the fourth member of the Yadkin swim team. It was a refreshing swim, thankfully, and I dried out quickly in the sun. I found it difficult to paddle fast as I wanted to stay exactly where I was, taking in all that the river had to offer me. As we neared the end of our 17 mile journey for the day, we entered the somewhat notorious scholls where we scouted and searched for the clearest, safest lines to the bottom. We got a little stuck in the middle but were all able to make it safely to the take out at Pilot Mountain State Park. Pilot Mountain is absolutely breath taking from the water. It looks.like someone took a giant ice cream scoop and scooped a chunk out of the left side and placed it just to the right, on top of the peak. However we learned that what it actually is, is an outcrop of erosion resistant metamorphosic rock called quartzite. The take out was interesting to say the least. We unloaded the boats in the water and passed our gear up a steep, muddy, possibly poison ivy-covered hill to our campsite. It was quite a production. This camp site is much more rugged than any we have yet experienced as a group. The amenities include window maker trees, which required many of us to relocate our tents, and an abundance of bugs of all different sorts. For the first time on this expedition, I actually feel like I am in the wilderness. There is no porta-potty and I am surrounded by wildlife. I was nearly just eaten by a centepede and there are spiders and beetles like I have never seen before all around me. I am loving it, but from the screams I hear from across camp as others are getting settled, not everyone feels the same. We were surprised to see Max this evening and excited that he brought us more food including hot chocolate and fresh berries for our granola in the morning. From my Crazy Creek the aroma of tomato, basil and garlic fills my nose as Aislinn and Rick prepare the sauce for our pita pizza dinner. I am relaxed by the sound of crickets and frogs coming alive as the sun sets and hopeful for another beautiful day. I am looking forward to a good nights sleep--that is, after the girls kick butt at Yadkin River Jeopardy tonight.

VOR 2010 Team with Hank and Sweet Mary-Lou

2010-05-20T08:44:00.001-04:00

Hank and Mary-Lou own the property we camped on last night - Yadkin Shore - and were incredibly hospitable.

Day 3 Blog post: Rick Campana

2010-05-18T22:55:00.003-04:00

Today we actually got paddling 15 minutes early. I guess we are getting the groove. I find it hard to think while paddling, if you think to hard you lose your direction. That's fine because it makes the time fly. Around 11 o'clock we stopped for lunch. Just like it happened to Austin yesterday, Marcus fell injured to the knife. Along the rest of the river Montie pointed out all of the land marks and large factories. Soon after, the dynamic duo of Mayter and Phoebe ( aka Austin and Cameron) took a swim in the rapids. Once they setback in the boat they almost flipped a second time. Hilarity ensued. Reaching camp around 4 Montie left us with this quote,
"Put your faith in your paddle, put your padlle in the water, and paddle dammit".
Miracles do happen, and his name is Dean Naujoks, the Yadkin River Keeper. He surprised us with ribs and tacos. We also had cake to celebrate Katherine's birthay, She is 21. He told is about his efforts to help protect and clean up the river. Then Eddie Shores drove up. He is the owner and creator of this river entrance. He is 83 and checks up on his river access everyday. We ask to help him by clearing off the dirt the steps to the river, easier said then done. I must have moved 100 food buckets filled with dirt.

Katherine turned 21 today!

2010-05-18T19:42:00.001-04:00

Even though there was a spontaneous song today on the river, we were also able to surprise Katherine with a cake after dinner.

Setting camp for night 3

2010-05-18T17:34:00.001-04:00

Did 17+ miles today. Camp is soggy, but it's not raining - yet. Dinner cooking. People journaling. Blog 3 coming soon.

Day 2 Blog Post: Marcus Roberson

2010-05-17T21:52:00.001-04:00

It was a short but restful night for most of us that were lulled to sleep by the sound of rain on tent or tin roofs. I was lucky to avoid the damp tent in my hammock that I pitched above a covered picnic table. A breakfast of fresh strawberries and blueberries with granola and powdered milk made it easier to get up and face the rainy and cold morning. We fastidiously packed all of our belongings from the tables under the shelters into our freshly rained upon boats then met Jenny and Cameron to go over the classes we would be taking throughout the trip: Communications and Education, Recreation, and Conservation of Rivers. After finding out how much time, effort, energy and mental stamina paddling a river takes every day, the thought of taking classes was a little bit daunting. But as I was thinking about what I really wanted to learn on this trip, I began seeing how analogous life on the river and life in civilization really were. I want to be able to look past the little things: the tedious chores and tasks like getting everyone's boats out of the water, packing SO many things in and out of the boat, and wet clothes. I want to focus on the bigger picture: what brings me joy and gives my life meaning, like the free feeling of being on the water and the opportunities to help my friends during their own struggles. That is what I will (hopefully) walk away from these 18 days with.

The rest of the day was cloudy and cool. The terrain is gorgeous but rarely changes; we can never see what is above the steep banks or much of the horizon. At least it didn't rain!! Before lunch Katherine swam, but made a graceful recovery and didn't lose anything. Austin cut his thumb during lunch and was quickly bandaged up by Dr. JKaf. Other than those small mishaps, our day was productive and safe, 13 miles from N. Wilkesboro to Ronda, NC!!

Day 1 Blog post: Aislinn Dugan

2010-05-17T19:52:00.001-04:00

Today was an eventful day to say the least! We met up bright and early (7am) at Ross hall to pack up the trailer, and enjoyed some delicious biscuits and honey courtesy of Robbie D. We said farewell to those who came to see us off and hit the road around 9am.
After a few hours of driving/gangsta rap music/dancing/sleeping we arrived at the Green Park Inn, in Blowing Rock North Carolina, and the source of the Yadkin Pee Dee River that we will be paddling to the coast of South Carolina. I was expecting to find a flowing pristine spring head on the property of the Inn but instead we were directed to a metal grate in the middle of the paved parking lot we were parked in. About 10 feet down there were a bunch of pipes. Coming out of a small yellow pipe was a steady stream of clear water which we concluded was the source.
A few Kodak moments were captured and as newly initiated V.O.R. members we were told it is tradition to collect a small container full of source water to carry with us on our journey. we were given the option of getting water at a lower point seeing as the source was a little out of reach, but being the determined group that we are we decided not to settle for less but to honor age old tradition. A few ideas where thrown out involving grate removal and sponge lowering. As we were all standing around the grate contemplating our task i looked down and saw the head and torso of a man coming out of one of the larger pipes. After I screamed I realized it was Brian who decided to shimmie into the pipe to get to the source. Task complete and time for lunch with a view on the Parkway.
After lunch we drove to our put in below the W Scott Kerr reservoir where we packed up, went over river safety and finally got on the river to begin our journey to the coast.
We paddled for 7.6 miles to Smoot Park in North Wilksboro. We were greeted on the river bank by Max, Monty (president of Yadkin River Association), and some serious storm clouds. We pulled our boats up and unpacked. As the last tent was zipped up the wind picked up and lightening started flashing. Next thing I know tents are being ripped out of the ground, rain is pouring down and people are scattering. Some headed for shelter under one of the pavilions, the rest frantically retrieved tents and stakes from the trees.
We met up under the pavilion (completely soaked) to wait out the storm. The local police rolled up a few times to check on us and after about an hour the lightening subsided and our next missions were dinner and tent relocation. After retrieving tents from puddles we dined on the most delicious burritos I've ever tasted. It's been a pretty eventful trip so far and the adventure has only just begun.

Third picture

2010-05-16T20:42:00.001-04:00

This is a photo of the same scene in 1982 - an image that helped motivate us to begin our trip in this way.

Second picture

2010-05-16T20:39:00.001-04:00

A team picture with the grate and inn.

These 3 photos are from the Green Park Inn in Blowing Rock,NC.

2010-05-16T20:37:00.001-04:00

This picture shows students peering through the grate in the parking lot that covers the source.

Farewell!

2010-05-16T09:03:00.001-04:00

2010-05-13T13:37:00.003-04:00

SC Now.com -

CONTINUOUS NEWS DESK STAFF
Published: May 12, 2010
Updated: May 13, 2010

Brevard College river trek will bring students through Pee Dee, Grand Strand

BREVARD, NC - A group of Brevard College students and professors is gearing up for a kayak adventure of a life time.
According to a news release, on Sunday, May 16, the College’s Voice of the Rivers (VOR) team will embark on a nearly 400-mile kayak expedition that will snake through North and South Carolina and end at the southern tip of the Grand Strand.
Two Brevard College faculty members and 11 students will paddle the length of the Yadkin-Pee Dee watershed. The group will begin its journey by scouting the river’s source in the mountains along the Blue Ridge Parkway near Blowing Rock, N.C.

VOR TIME!

2010-05-07T10:23:00.002-04:00

Ocean Bound: Brevard College's Voice of the Rivers Team Embarks on 19-day Voyage Down Yadkin-Pee Dee Rivers

A group of Brevard College students and professors is gearing up for a kayak adventure of a life time.

On Sunday, May 16, the College’s Voice of the Rivers (VOR) team will embark on a nearly 400-mile kayak expedition that will snake through North and South Carolina and end in the Atlantic Ocean.

This year, two Brevard College faculty members and 11 students will paddle the length of the Yadkin-Pee Dee watershed. The group will begin its journey by scouting the river's source in the mountains along the Blue Ridge Parkway near Blowing Rock, N.C. They will then embark on a 19-day paddling trip starting in North Wilkesboro, N.C. and ending near Georgetown, S.C. where Winyah Bay meets the Atlantic Ocean.