- [Ken] This week on "Facing Waves," I'm discovering the clear water and perfect waterfalls of Tennessee before making my way back home to explore some of the hidden wilderness gems that Ontario's Highlands is known for.

(upbeat groove music) ♪ Hey (upbeat groove music) (singer vocalizing) ♪ Hey (singer vocalizing) (upbeat groove music) ♪ Hey (upbeat groove music) - My name's Ken Whiting.

And for over 30 years, my life has been guided by the paddle in my hand.

Woo-wee.

This is my search for the world's most spectacular paddling destinations.

This is "Facing Waves."

(upbeat groove music) (singer vocalizing) Funding for facing waves is provided by Discover the World.

Collette offers small group explorations, tours, destinations and local experiences designed especially for small groups.

Explorations by Collette Guided travel since 1918 Postum Instant warm beverage made with wheat, grain and molasses.

It's non-GMO and caffeine free.

Since 1895, all three flavors are available online at Postum.com and by these additional sponsors.

♪♪♪ (upbeat groove music) (singer vocalizing) (soothing synth music) Couldn't come down to the Knoxville area without paddling the Tellico and that's where I am.

And I'm happy to be hooking up with Pete and P5 again for it.

(Pete laughing) - It's been a while for (laughing).

He put it on backwards.

- Unfortunately, I forgot something.

I forgot my voice.

My voice just seemed to disappear this morning.

But that's okay, you don't need a voice to paddle.

And so here we go.

(soothing synth music) Woo.

(water gushing) (mellow ethereal music) Ah.

- [Pete] It's good to be on the water with you again, man.

- Yes, sir.

(mellow ethereal music) - All right, so we'll pop through here and we'll pop into the river right eddy above the first ledge.

♪ Oh, oh, oh, oh, yeah, oh, oh, oh, oh ♪ ♪ Oh, oh, oh, oh, yeah, oh - The Tellico River winds its way through the Cherokee National Forest before dropping into the Tennessee River.

And it's a classic Southeast creek in a pristine valley, lush forest around the side.

Beautiful crystal clear water pouring over a stunning riverbed to create world class whitewater.

- So the Upper Tellico or the Ledges section is a pretty action-packed little stretch of river.

And it starts off with a bang.

Right under the first bridge, you have some boogie and then you get the top ledge right away.

About a five or six foot drop, and it's a perfect warmup ledge for what's coming next.

(water gushing) And on this one right at the apex there is where you boof off with a little right angle, usually.

(water gushing) (mellow synth music) ♪ Oh, oh, oh, oh, yeah, oh, oh, oh, oh ♪ ♪ Oh, oh, oh, yeah, oh, oh, oh, oh ♪ - [Ken] Yeah!

Woo.

Love it.

- So with my son, we always did a lot of boating on calmer waters, on kind of entry level whitewater where he had his own boat or maybe sat in my lap.

But I never really pushed it because in Whitewater, if you don't want to be there, if that doesn't come from within you, it's probably better that you're not there.

At 12 years old, he came to me and told me, "Dad, I want to be a whitewater boater."

And he was serious about it.

And we did a lot of training that first summer and it's just an absolute joy now to paddle with him.

Yeah, good one.

- Pete and P5 are probably two of the most different people, father and son combinations, except for the fact that they both love whitewater paddling.

Pete is just so excited all the time on the water.

- Yeah.

- [Ken] P5 is the chillest guy you'll ever meet on the water.

(Pete laughing) ♪ Oh, yeah, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh (water gushing) (mellow synth music) ♪ Oh (water gushing) (mellow synth music) ♪ Woo ♪ Oh (water gushing) (mellow synth music) ♪ Oh (water gushing) (mellow synth music) ♪ Oh ♪ Woo ♪ Oh (water gushing) (mellow synth music) ♪ Oh, yeah, yeah, oh, oh, yeah, yeah ♪ ♪ Oh, yeah, yeah, oh, oh, yeah, yeah ♪ ♪ Oh, yeah, yeah, oh, oh, yeah, yeah ♪ ♪ Oh, yeah, yeah, oh, oh, yeah, yeah ♪ ♪ Woo, oh, yeah, yeah, oh, oh, yeah, yeah ♪ ♪ Oh, yeah, yeah, oh, oh, yeah, yeah ♪ (water gushing) (mellow synth music) - [Pete] You drilled that one, Pete.

- Yeah, that was a boof.

- [Pete] You knocked the bottom out of it.

Yeah.

- Baby Falls is the main event of the Ledges section, and it's one of the most beautiful spots you'll find anywhere.

(mellow piano music) - [Pete] There is probably no better place in the Southeast United States to learn how to boof, how to run waterfalls to get your first free fall experience.

- For more experienced waterfall runners, it's a perfect, what we call a park and huck spot.

A place where you can just go, paddle over the waterfall, hike back up, and do it again and again and again.

- It's a very special playground, if you will, for kayakers looking to go to the next level.

(water gushing) - [Ken] Right on.

- Let's do it.

Yeah, baby.

(upbeat groove music) - [Ken] Yeah, baby.

- Woo.

- Crushed it (upbeat groove music) - Woo.

(upbeat groove music) (water gushing) (indistinct) - Woo, yeah.

Oh, so good.

Well, I'm done, but Pete's not done.

He's gonna hit Baby Falls one more time.

That's the joy of a place like this.

You can just go until you're done.

I am done.

And it's been an amazing day on the Tellico.

Big thanks to Pete and P5.

Every time I hook up with them, it's awesome.

If you ever get to this area, the Knoxville area, check the water level, hit the Tellico up.

(upbeat groove music) (mellow piano music) So we're on the banks of the Ottawa River.

This is a river that draws paddlers from around the world because it's got world-class whitewater paddling, but it's got much more than that too.

It's got some phenomenal flat water adventures.

And that's what we're gonna do.

My wife and I are playing a little hooky from work and we're gonna explore a little back channel on the other side of the river.

(mellow guitar music) Your chariot awaits.

- Nice.

(mellow guitar music) (water gurgles) - Paddling has always played a huge role in the relationship between Nicole and I.

You know, we met on the river.

We made home along the river, and we both worked on the river.

The river has been a huge part of our lives.

And so it's always been really important for us to go on paddling adventures, river adventures.

- Ken has a tendency to hook me into an adventure.

And of course, it's always a surprise.

So I don't really know if it's going to be, let's paddle for 50K, or if it's gonna be nice and chill and relaxing.

So I was excited and just to spend time with him too on the Ottawa River, which is so meaningful for both of us.

(mellow guitar music) - The Ottawa River, it's a big river, and in fact, in many cases it looks more like a lake than a river, it's so big.

The adventure we're on today is taking us about 10 minutes away from home.

But surprisingly, it's a place I haven't visited for about 14 years.

- The last time we paddled this section was, I think, yeah, 14 or so years ago.

And I forgot how sheltered this section was.

So even just crossing the main flow of the Ottawa River, which is so wide, so you're a little bit more exposed, and as soon as you enter into the mouth of this section, it just completely calms down.

So all you hear is just your own paddle strokes through the water, the birds chirping, dragon flies buzzing around you.

So it just immediately just sets the tone for the experience.

(birds chirping) (water gurgles) - The adventure we're on today is a little different than most of the adventures than Nicole and I go on 'cause we're doing it in a tandem kayak and not in our own kayaks.

Now tandem kayaks have been called (chuckles) divorce boats, (record scratches) for good reason, because they can cause some serious conflict between people.

But that only happens when people go into a paddle without respecting the fact that you can both be out there for different reasons.

And as long as you respect the fact that you get different things from the paddling experience and you're not just going out there for your experience, you're going there for a shared experience, then tandem paddling can be such an incredible way to have an adventure together or just have a moment together.

When Nicole and I paddle, we go out for a lot of the same reasons, but we also have some different reasons.

I tend to be, I like the adventure, I like challenging myself.

And Nicole does too, but she also likes to make sure she takes time to chill out.

(mellow guitar music) - Now that I've rested- - Yes.

- I feel rejuvenated.

- Yes.

- And energized.

- You look rejuvenated.

- I know, right, so we can get going.

Off we go.

- Onward.

(mellow guitar music) (water gurgles) Every once in a while, Nicole and I will just break free, break free of life, and break free of all the responsibilities that we each have and go on an adventure.

And the great thing about where we live, adventures are so easy to come by.

They're all around you.

You just have to really choose the right one.

(mellow guitar music) - Well, it's why we live here.

Sometimes we feel like we're taking it for granted.

But at the same time, that's what also makes it our home, because we know it's here whenever we need it.

The river can always fill our desire, whether it's, I want to go have a exhilarating experience or I just need time to take a time out and just relax and just, it's just about being together and about enjoying my surroundings and the water.

(mellow guitar music) - Well, the sun is starting to go down and the wind has picked up a little, and so it's getting a bit chilly.

It's time to move on.

But it's been a great day, it's been, we haven't gotten out paddling enough.

Well, homeward bound, all right.

(water sloshes) Less talk and more paddling, right.

- [Nicole] Whoa.

(Ken laughing) - You've been slimed.

Oh, I just got slimed.

(mellow guitar music) Well, we're going on a different type of adventure now.

We are right alongside the Trans-Canada Highway on a beautiful fall day.

This is a body of water I've never tried before, but I've driven over many times.

And I've said to myself, I have to try paddling it and fishing it.

That's what I'm gonna do.

And so there we go.

(mellow guitar music) James and I have a very, very different approach to fishing.

I'm happy tossing this little Senko, catch a bass any size.

I'll just catch a fish right now and be happy.

Now James on the other hand, he likes hucking big lures with the hopes of catching a big fish.

I'll give it to him, sometimes he catches the big fish.

But the truth is, it gives him an excuse for not catching any fish.

(soothing twangy music) - Ken and I have different styles of fishing.

He insists on fishing and not catching.

I insist on fishing and catching, just saying.

(soothing twangy music) (water gurgles) - Well, we're only about half a mile up the river and we've encountered our first obstacle.

A beaver dam.

Now, I mean, that's not a surprising thing here in Canada.

The question is, how many more beaver dams are we gonna have to drag up before we can get to the lake?

The other question is, how am I gonna convince James to drag my kayak up?

(soothing twangy music) - Think it's pretty easy here.

- [Ken] Okay, why don't you, while you're there, you might as well go first and maybe once you're up there, you could help me drag my kayak up.

(Ken laughing) - I'm not pulling your kayak.

(Ken laughing) I had to use a little bit of a judgment.

I chose poorly.

I decided to do the right approach, which I thought was gonna be a nice fluffy little walkthrough high grass.

Ended up going right up to my waist in water.

So there's that.

Ken took the obvious route, which I chose not to, and he ended up dry, whereas I got wet.

- So how many more beaver dams you figure we have?

- Oh, that's the small one.

I think I saw 30 on Google Earth.

We should be good.

- (laughing) Well, you keep taking the hard way.

I'll keep taking the easy way.

- [James] That really was the hard way.

I got a soaker.

(soothing twangy music) - Look, dam number two.

(water gurgles) No bigger than number one.

- Nope.

- That's good.

- [James] Probably the same beaver.

- You know what I learned from dam number one?

Not to follow you.

(James laughing) So I'm gonna take this route.

- [James] This time, I'll follow you that way You could pull my boat over.

- Yeah, I promise.

- Second beaver dam, I did not make the same mistake.

I followed Ken, so that worked out to my favor.

Although I believe Ken was standing on the shoreline hoping that as I crossed the beaver dam, I would fall head over tea kettle into the water, 'cause that's what friends are for.

How'd the camera guy get through first?

(Ken and James laughing) - Please, please.

- This is deep.

(James laughing) Ken's like praying that I fall in.

It's not gonna happen.

- [Ken] Not praying, just really wishing hard.

- [James] Ken's like disappointed.

- Okay, praying.

- Disappointed.

(water gurgles) - Well done.

- Well done.

- Well done.

(Ken applauding) (water gurgles) - It's not how well you do, it's how good you look.

(Ken laughing) That's why I need to do well.

(soothing twangy music) (upbeat groove music) (singer vocalizing) (mellow guitar music) - So we are in Ontario's Highlands and this is a place that's really well-known for having a lot of open space, a lot of wilderness, which means there's a lot of great waterways to explore.

Rivers, creeks, lakes.

We're at the beginning of the fall and you can tell the colors are just starting to pop.

This is definitely my favorite time of year.

I just wish it would last longer.

Looks like we got the lake right ahead.

Maybe there's some fish in the lake that we won't catch.

(mellow guitar music) (light guitar music) You got a fish?

- I got a fish.

- [Ken] What'd you get?

- I told you the lake had fish in it.

- [Ken] Well, I just still don't believe it.

I haven't seen it yet.

What is it?

- A pike, little guy.

- Oh.

A good one?

- Eh.

- [Ken] I use the gauge of bad, okay, good, great.

- [James] I use the gauge of got a fish, not got a fish.

- [Ken] Oh, ooh, ooh (laughing).

- Lemme take care of this guy.

(James grunts) There we go.

He's pretty, not too stressed at all.

(mellow guitar music) Oh.

What's that smell in your hands, Ken?

Oh, right, you don't have smell on your hands.

So where Ken says there's two types of anglers and he assumes the two types of anglers are, one, those who don't mind not catching fish 'cause they're having a beautiful day on the water, and two, those who are so obsessed with catching a fish, it's gotta be a big fish and it's gotta be, that's the only reason their day is successful.

I think the two types of anglers are those who kind of get focused.

My wife calls it fish brain.

And I just try really hard to catch a fish and it's just a fun part of my experience on the lake.

I like breaking a lake down, trying to figure out where each species is.

Try to find the right gear for it, the depth for it, speed for it, and all that kind of fun stuff.

So this is all part of my fun.

It's a way busier fun than Ken's fun.

Ken is really happy just sitting there enjoying the paddle.

So he's using the boat to go out boating.

I'm using the boat to go out fishing.

And if he catches a fish, he's happy, that's great.

If he doesn't, he's, well, a bad fisherman.

(mellow guitar music) - Hey, fish on.

(water sloshes) Woo, not a big pike, but I got a fish, James.

- [Ken] 'Bout time.

- That is such an important thing that I get a fish on this trip because if I didn't, I would never hear the end of it from James.

I am enjoying a beautiful fall day on the water.

And you know what- - Stupid fish.

(record scratches) (James laughing) - [Ken] No.

- Where are you?

- And that right there is a perfect example of someone who's just happy to be on the water and someone who needs to catch a big fish.

I almost feel sorry for him.

He's gonna be so disappointed by the end of the day, whereas, I will feel fulfilled.

Poor guy.

(mellow guitar music) Well, the sun is dropping quick and the temperature is quickly gonna follow.

We still have two miles to get back to the truck and a couple of beaver dams, so it's time to move on.

But what a great day.

What a great day.

All right, a few more casts.

(mellow soothing music) (mellow guitar music) Funding for facing waves is provided by Discover the World.

Collette offers small group explorations, tours, destinations and local experiences designed especially for small groups.

Explorations by Collette Guided travel since 1918 Postum Instant warm beverage made with wheat, grain and molasses.

It's non-GMO and caffeine free.

Since 1895, all three flavors are available online at Postum.com and by these additional sponsors.

♪♪♪