TELLICO 1/13/07

Level: 1.39ish
Temp: 60*
Group: Andy, Louie, Tera, Dan and Jeff (Dick and Dopey)

Have I ever told any of you how much I LOVE this river? I swear, if I could only have water in one spot to run consistantly, it would 100% be the Tellico. The 1st run was great, although Louie kept bitching that Andy and I were too slow. So Andy and I play a lot! Humph! The ledges on that upper section are the most fun. I could carry and boof The Beak for hours! I do, however, froget how technical that upper stretch can be made into if in the mood to push comfort limits (which Andy LOVES to do for me and which I need). I caught a big air boof stroke at Baby Falls and got caught in the seam. I needed the combat roll I got in the eddy below and am sure I wore a grin from ear to ear. Andy and I have decided to rename Hamburger/Diaper Wiper to E-choli. It just seems like this mixes the two well and since no one can agree on what to call it, we will be calling it E-choli from this point forward. I caught the eddy above the right side, blew off line for the cool side boof move, kept close watch on keeping my boat angled left and fired up the line. We eddied at Bald River to have a laugh about our last time there together. This time, Andy did not have a hole in his skirt and played the catch the 7 eddies game with Dan and Jeff. I caught a few of them then moved on. I rolled at Big Boof (Louie, the 1st one?)in the Knee then got as far right as I have ever made it on The Knee itself. Man, doing something "right" always feels good.

We scrambled through a RUSHED (LOUIE)shuttle and put on for lap two. Andy stays on me to complete two or more laps of Tellico and Wilson Creek, but I always bow out; I give an excuse here and there, but the main reason is that most of the time, I have made a successful first run and I always like to leave on a solid GOOD note. Second runs can BLOW this safety net. I agreed to a second run, hoping to nix the thought in my brain that I should quit while ahead. Per usual, the legdes were super fun, although I got caught on river right with no water in one spot and had to get out and drag my boat off the rocks. While floating above baby Falls, Andy suggested that I try out the right line again. I had not run this line since my 1st trip over when I penciled in and almost got a beat down in the curtain. He eddied right at the falls and promised to talk me through. He caught the hesitation in my stroke, I was about to revert to the familuar when I heard him yell at me to get my ^%$^%$ a$$ right. I dug deep with a lefty, got the the right hand side of the lip and took a big boofy off! Ker-plunk! Safe in the eddy I laughed. Again, on the verge of not doing to take the most comfortable line. Andy, however, does not have that switch in his brain. Come to think of it, I wonder if boys even have that switch in their brains (now would be the spot where I would, in real life say something uber smart like, "come to think of it, do boys even HAVE brains"). Anyway, he decides to play around in that little eddy he was sitting in and FLIPS on a rock right there at the lip. One back deck roll and he is up, laughing mind you, until he realizes what we see. He is about to drop over sideways. Not a huge deal, but a possible beat down in the curtain nontheless. He takes a BIG lefty, gets purchase with the blade and pulls it off. We laugh and eddy for 5 or so then watch as Louie wades around to find his new line through E-choli. He decides on a route, fires it up, we roll laughing, and get in our boats. Andy opts for the left line and we all go right. Good lines there on out. Louie convinces me to follow his every move through Jerrod's Knee, I almost do, again, results in even farther right and off the pillow rock at the bottom. Good day. I'd relive it over and over if I could.