I had booked a whitewater rafting trip in North Carolina once before, only to cancel upon learning of my first child’s pending arrival status.  That child is now 14, so it took me awhile to reschedule, but now the trip would include her and her 9-year-old brother.

As a first-time rafter, I waded online through river choices, rafting jargon and companies (‘outfitters’).  Being a bit of a thrill-seeker, I wanted the most action an amateur could handle – with assistance and a reasonable assurance of safety for the kids. Not looking to replicate Deliverance. 

River choice was the Nantahala, known as ‘the Nanny,’ which flows from high in the Smoky Mountains in western North Carolina and is controlled by Duke Power’s dam on Lake Nantahala, ensuring consistent water levels and rapids. Commercial rafting companies are permitted to run trips by the U.S. Forest Service (which mandates that children must be at least 7 years and 60 lbs) and individuals who wish to raft or kayak must pay a user fee. The Nantahala features ‘Class I, II and III rapids’ which meant nothing to me until I read the International Scale of River Difficulty.  Sounded like all the action we could handle.

I made advance reservations with the Paddle Inn Rafting Company, a choice based somewhat, I’ll admit, on price. Fully guided raft trips on the Nantahala range from $25 – $46 or so per person and I couldn’t see a significant difference – it’s the same river.  The guide certainly influences the experience (more on that shortly), but that’s hard to predict from a website. Prices are lower, of course, if you just want to rent equipment. Other whitewater rafting companies listed in the North Carolina TourBook guide are the Nantahala Outdoor Center, Wildwater Ltd and USA Raft.

From our cabin in Bryson City, it was an easy 15-minute drive to the ‘outpost.’ All the Nantahala River outfitters are located on a stretch of Highway 19/74 that runs along the river in the Nantahala Gorge, a beautiful setting of forest and mountains known for its outdoor recreation. Things were a little chaotic upon arrival – they were trying to get a large group on the river and I had a moment of trepidation, thinking the whole experience was going to be like that. Wrong.

There was a brief safety and rafting orientation. (Main points: the most dangerous thing on the river can be your fellow rafters' paddles and, if you fall out, don’t try to stand up. Float to avoid getting a foot stuck in a rock crevice.) We were supplied life jackets and paddles, then boarded an old school bus with the raft on a trailer for the trip up to the ‘put-in’ spot. A Paddle Inn tradition is a short prayer before departure by 'Mom,' one of the owners and quite a character.

Our guide, Zack, assigned us our positions perched on the edge of the raft. For some reason, I thought I’d be sitting in the middle, but that wouldn’t be helpful for paddling. Foot placement helps maintain balance. A little bit of water sloshed over the edge onto my feet, giving me the first thrill of the day.

Holy ____, that water is cold. As I mentioned, the flow of the river is controlled by the release of water from the dam at Lake Nantahala every day from 9-5 or so. But the water is released from the bottom of the lake and it’s consistently around 50 degrees. It was a beautiful summer afternoon with an air temp of around 80 and we were wearing shorts and t-shirts. I silently vowed none of us were going into that water.

Turned out there was very little to worry about. Zack guided the raft expertly through the whitewater, and around the rocks, calling on us to do some occasional paddling but in reality he did all the work.  We bumped and spun some, shrieked a little, but he seemed in complete control. Yes, a few times the rough water made me instinctively lunge for the back of my son’s life jacket, but we didn’t get more than splashed. A few kayakers impressed us with ‘eskimo rolls,’ spinning sideways so their heads went under and back up again. No thanks.

The high point of the experience for me turned out to be the peacefulness and serenity of it, gliding along the smooth parts, surrounded by mountain vistas and fragrant nature.  Other rafters weren’t seen or heard much on this weekday, though I believe weekends are much busier.  Zack helpfully pointed out some natural highlights –rock formations and eddies- and talked informatively about the river and his summer job, which would be followed by a tour of duty in Iraq as part of the National Guard. But for the most part he was quiet and so were the kids. Now that’s vacation.

The eight-mile trip took around two hours and finished with a fun ride over a small waterfall. Photographers on the banks snapped photos at that point and we took the bus back to the outpost, where I bought the photo CD, of course. We were ready for a hot meal, after battling the mighty Nantahala.