New Record Set on Bull Sluice

Chattooga River history was made this Wednesday, as one NOC guide, Chris guided all seven rafts in his trip through Bull Sluice rapid on Section III. As you can see, Chris even had an audience cheering him on from the South Carolina side of the river.


NOC's own Chris is better known by his nickname Gerbic. He undertook this fearsome rapid seven times, all by himself. The crowd of rafters, including his fellow guides cheered him from Georgia Rock as he raced up and down the shore, sprinting towards another raft of spirited crews, desperately trying to beat the Forest Service clock—seven rafts in an allotted 30 minutes. Raft after raft of gung-ho guests reveled with gusto in this epic sprint for glory.


With grit and fierce determination, Gerbic entered Bull Sluice Rapid knowing full well the challenge before him. The mighty Bull did not take kindly to this challenge. At one point, it reached out and with a shrug of it's broad shoulders, sent Gerbic and his raft into the maelstrom. As Burt Reynolds character said in the movie Deliverance, “You don't beat this river”. Undaunted by his setback, Gerbic swam to shore and resumed his all-out assault. Gerbic's cheering guests and fellow guides exalted in his accomplishment.


Ecstatic after his record-setting day, Gerbic topped it off by a victorious leap into the river.

Summertime on the Pigeon River

Yesterday was quite possibly the most gorgeous summer day we've had all year. As such, I headed to the Pigeon River, for some Class III-IV whitewater rafting.

The Pigeon River flows through a deep gorge that comprises the eastern border of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. I can't imagine a more perfect backdrop to match the mild summer weather and the exciting river run! We had big, puffy clouds all day and big splashy rapids to match.

The Pigeon River is a great day activity for anyone visiting Gatlinburg TN, or Asheville, NC. The river is easy to access via I-40 and the entire trip last under four hours, meaning you can still add other vacation activities. Most of all, it's a FUN river, with wavy whitewater from beginning to end.