The bible of Tennessee canoeing and kayaking, this book provides the paddling enthusiast with descriptions of canoeing streams across the varied terrain of the Volunteer State. A thoroughly revised and updated edition of A Canoeing and Kayaking Guide to the Streams of Tennessee by Bob Lantz and Robert W. Sehlinger, it includes new information and a new primer for beginning canoeists. The improved maps—eighty in all—provide essential information about bridge crossings and feeder streams. To help river runners know firsthand the benefits of watershed conservation, Tennessee Rivers incorporates selected river-protection tales (as told by the paddlers involved) alongside the normal paddling descriptions to encourage riverside users to remain alert and vocal. Lantz simplifies river-running lore to allow quick and safe participation for anyone who wants to get out and enjoy Tennessee’s remarkable rivers.
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About the Author
Bob Lantz is associate professor of technology at Cleveland State Community College in Tennessee. He founded and operated the Blue Hole Canoe Company for many years and served on state- and nationwide river organizations. Lantz published canoeing and river-conservation articles in paddling magazines including Canoe, American Whitewater, DownRiver, and the old classic, Wilderness Camping. His conservation efforts included testifying before Congress to gain protection for Tennessee’s Obed as a National Wild and Scenic River and filing as a local petitioner in the successful effort to protect the Frozen Head State National Area watershed by designating it as one of the "Lands Unsuitable for Mining."
Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
Prepare to Paddle
The Paddler We’re in a river canyon and twilight is upon us. The day’s light fades. A dull rosy color tones the features of the river. But it’s getting harder to discern any telltale details within the water’s flow. We’ve completed our river paddling for the day. We’re tired. We cannot even see very well. But we can still hear the river, every bit as loud as before. We’re moving slower. The river isn’t. The schedule of the river knows no twilight. The river runs on through the night, and through the next day, and the day after that. The river even runs on through the following work-a-day week while we’re all elsewhere plying our respective trades.
The Paddler We’re in a river canyon and twilight is upon us. The day’s light fades. A dull rosy color tones the features of the river. But it’s getting harder to discern any telltale details within the water’s flow. We’ve completed our river paddling for the day. We’re tired. We cannot even see very well. But we can still hear the river, every bit as loud as before. We’re moving slower. The river isn’t. The schedule of the river knows no twilight. The river runs on through the night, and through the next day, and the day after that. The river even runs on through the following work-a-day week while we’re all elsewhere plying our respective trades.
And I have often marveled at that idea. As best I can figure, water continues to flow over that midriver ledge, even in the dark of night when no one is there to thrill to its presence or fear its pounding power. We sometimes get a little crazy when we spend too much time mulling the obvious. Is there any lessening to the magic of that drop when the flow pounds on in its own world of riverine isolation? Surely not. I suspect the magic is continuously there, always available to those who might pass within its radius of influence. For how would the river know when it is 2 P.M. on a Saturday and paddlers will shortly float on by? So I decided to test this definition of river wildness. I paddled the Obed on a Tuesday morning and found that same weekend afternoon boat-swamping wave at Widow Maker rapid. At another time I introduced my Yankee bride to the Hiwassee as we floated it by full moon at midnight. We found those same midrapid thrills in the middle of the night (and more fear than I thought would be there).
The good news is that the river keeps on moving on. It seems that only the paddler is needed to make the river scene a complete experience.
So let’s get you out there . . . and safely back! What will you need to experience the river?
Personal flotation devices (PFDs).
A Canoe.
Canoe outfitting.
Two (or more) paddles.
Suitable wearing apparel.
Training in the use of a canoe.
Information on the stream section.
Provisions for an automobile shuttle.
Most importantly, other canoes in the party!
Chapters and even books have been written about each of the above topics. And, indeed, it is worthwhile to study, learn, and obtain the necessary information. You will enjoy your outdoors ventures much more when you do them right. And your chances of comfortable survival increase dramatically with each increment of knowledge added to your general canoeing expertise.
This chapter will not make you a seasoned river rat. For that, you need to paddle, talk with others, help others, ask others for help, paddle, join canoe clubs, lobby for free-flowing rivers, paddle, read newsletters, read magazines, read maps, read water, paddle, make mistakes, take advanced training, provide training for others, paddle, install canoeing hardware, make roof racks, sight down the keel line of your canoe, buy a different canoe, paddle, buy synthetic underwear, buy wool, buy fleece, paddle, teach, preach, beseech, paddle, paddle, paddle. Paddle carefully during the short, cold days of winter; paddle in control during the cold-water flush of springtime; paddle and endure during the tepid droughts of fall. You learn by doing. That’s a major lesson from life. And it’s not unique to canoeing. So get out and paddle. And wear your PFD.
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13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
An excellent starting point,
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This review is from: Tennessee Rivers: A Paddler'S Guidebook (Outdoor Tennessee Series) (Paperback)
I am not a very experienced paddler, but I've been to a lot of the places listed in this good new book while fishing or hiking, etc. The author has included most every piece of water big enough to put a boat on, with good summaries of the rivers. But they're just summaries. The maps are excellent, but they aren't very detailed. Put in and take out information is brief and often lacking in the detail needed to actually find them. (For instance, this is the sort of thing you get: "Most put-ins are on private property, so you'll have to be careful.")What this book does very well is give you a good overview of all the paddling to be found in the state, with good maps and a few paragraphs about each river. From there, you'll need to break out the Tennessee Atlas and Gazetteer and the USGS Topos and really start to work. But it tells you that the rivers are there, where they are, their class ratings, etc. so you'll know where to head next. For a beginner, that's good, in my opinion. We don't need to be going alone, and this book makes it so that you'll have to look further for more information on most of the rivers, ideally a canoeing or paddling club. One of the best is the TVCC, or Tenn. Valley Canoeing Club, which you can find easily on the 'net if you're heading this way.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Tennessee Rivers: A Paddler's Guidebook (Outdoor Tennessee Series),
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Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Tennessee Rivers: A Paddler'S Guidebook (Outdoor Tennessee Series) (Paperback)
No detailed maps. Only has descriptions of the rivers, but no details about the put-ins or take-outs or how to locate them.
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