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Shawn Malone heads down the Ocoee River across the state line in Tennessee on a test run of the slalom course for the second annual Ocoee River Championships on Friday morning.
* Commentary
Copperhill, Tenn. – I’m from south central Pennsylvania, where the rough water you’ll experience on the river is a ripple of rapids that doesn’t even splash you.
So when I was invited to participate in the media run at the Ocoee River Championships on Sept. 13 – yes, that’s right, Friday the 13th – I knew I had to accept the invitation and get my first taste of some real whitewater action.
I’m not going to lie, I was pretty terrified prior to getting out onto the water. When the raft finally pushed off into the rapids, I was completely terrified and questioning my life choices.
However, once the flow of the water began sweeping us down the Ocoee, the anxiety washed away. Oddly enough, being splashed in the face by the chilling white foam of the rapids and bounced around in the raft to the point when I thought I was going to eject from my seat was one of the most adrenaline-pumping and exciting activities I’ve ever done.
The ride felt like ages – it actually was less than 10 minutes – as we paddled down the upper portion of the Ocoee, the manmade portion that was part of the U.S. Olympics kayaking competition at the 1996 Summer Games in Atlanta.
The rapids reminded me of Splash Mountain at Disney World, except it was only the part of the ride where you slam into the water at the bottom of the drop – and it happened seven or eight times.
Rafting down the Ocoee was like nothing I’ve ever done before. Nevertheless, it’s safe to say that I may be hooked.