- I'm Ken Whiting, and this week on Facing Waves, I'm hopping into my whitewater kayak to explore one of North Carolina's most popular and beautiful Creek runs, before heading west to discover one of Alabama's crown jewels by touring kayak, the bass filled waters of Lake Guntersville.

(upbeat horn music) - [Ken] My name's Ken Whiting.

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

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

This is Facing Waves.

Facing Waves is made possible by the following Vivid-Pix memory station and software allows users to scan personal history items like photos and documents, record voice narrative, and share what has been conserved.

More online at Vivid-pix.com.

Collette offers small group exploration tours, destinations and local experiences.

Explorations by Collette.

Guided travel since 1918.

♪ upbeat music In4adventure.com Inspiring, educating and encouraging outdoor adventure Host- And by these additional sponsors ♪ upbeat music (mellow guitar music) Wilson Creek is a place that I've wanted to visit for a long time.

I heard a lot about it.

It's one of the most popular runs in North Carolina, and for good reason.

It is absolutely beautiful.

- [Pete] Wilson Creek is a phenomenal Creek.

It has so much to offer to a paddler.

It canalizes water so it runs when it's low water in other areas, it runs when it's high.

- [Ken] You have a pristine gorge, super clear water, and you have continuous rapids that just wind their way down this spectacular valley.

- It's probably the safest, funniest class four Creek and maybe the most beautiful in North Carolina.

(thumping music) Today's water level is right around negative six, and that's considered kind of a minimum flow for the hardcore kayakers to come run it.

Everything's in play.

It may be a little more technical, but there's a little less push.

So someone like Pete V can get down through here and not get eaten alive by a big hole or some big flushy rabbit.

- [Pete V] This section it's a little bit difficult in places, like mank above 10 foot.

But most of the time it's fun.

- [Jerry] Wilson Creek has a special place in my heart.

I think I first paddled here about three months into my short paddling career.

And I remember being terrified of everything.

Everything was a huge step up for me.

And now just a year later, a lot of these rapids are quickly becoming my favorite.

And I'm slowly starting to style them instead of just being real shaky through it all.

A lot of my progression has been on this little two mile section.

(thumping music) - [Ken] Nice.

- Oh yeah - This is it.

- This is it.

This is the end of the upper.

The warmup lap is done.

And this is the beginning of the gorge.

It's about two miles of class four creaking fun.

- [Ken] Oh yeah.

It looks good.

Everything's channeling up nicely.

- [Pete] Yep.

- Let's do it - Let's do it.

(euphoric music) - [Ken] It's very clear when the upper ends and the gorge begins.

Not only does the character change, but, you know, heart rate picks up a little bit.

Oh!

- Oh, yeah.

- 10 foot falls - 10 foot falls I would say.

- Oh!

It's a little funky entry.

- So, yeah.

So the trick is up here, this is the entrance to 10 foot.

You wanna be about right over there coming over the lip, right there coming through the bottom.

- [Ken] And hold on for the ride.

- [Pete] Hold on for the ride.

- All right, let's do it.

- Time to do it.

(upbeat music) (water rushing) - [Pete V] My favorite thing today was probably not flipping over at 10 foot because I went in there wonky and I pretty much was all the way gone, but somehow I flipped back over without actually rolling.

- [Pete] Yeah, Pedro.

He had a really good run, but the hole crushed him and he rolled before he was in and out of the hole.

It was beautiful.

- I think my favorite rapid is the entire 10 foot sequence.

- [Pete] 10 foot falls is an amazing rapid.

It's got a lot to it.

There's a mank above 10 foot, kind of a small technical manky rapid.

Then you have entrance to 10 foot, which is a little more straightforward.

And then you just come right out on the terrace and fall off onto 10 foot falls.

- [Ken] 10 foot falls is the first time on Wilson Creek where you see the horizon line.

(cheering excitedly) So, what I mean by that is when you look at a Creek from above, when you're scouting a Creek, you pretty much see everything.

But when you're in your kayak at water level, all you see is a horizon line.

And you don't know exactly where to go.

It's not until you're going over the edge that you realize, I'm online or I'm offline.

(upbeat lively music) - [Pete] Right stroke.

Yeah.

- [Ken] Paddling with a loved one is a tricky thing.

There's a strange dynamic where you're really concerned for the other person, but at the same time you need them to spread their wings to find their own way.

Pete and Pete V, they've really found a great balance.

- [Pete] I think you can do it.

Give it a shot.

- [Pete V] I want to try it.

- [Pete] Get it, buddy!

Get it, get it.

Oh, yeah.

(laughs) So anytime I bring Pete V into a place, it's almost like I have to run the rapids twice and it feels like I'm running a much harder river 'cause that's my boy.

And you want him to have a good experience, but he is.

It's a pretty hard charger and he is very levelheaded.

He just doesn't get rattled.

Yeah.

Woo.

You got it, bud.

- Nice.

- [Pete] Now come over and catch this daddy.

Yes.

Half slicing.

- [Pete V] My dad being there takes a little bit of the pressure off 'cause I feel better about my safety.

And if he takes me there, I can most likely do it.

- [Ken] Pete V is really improving dramatically.

He's gaining a lot of confidence, but he knows when to defer to dad and say, "I'm gonna follow you down this rabbit."

He has that trust that any, you know, that admiration for his dad's paddling skill and his experience.

So he's happy to fall in line behind Pete through some of the bigger rapids and then chart his own path through some of the more mellow rapids.

(Pete cheering) - [Pete] It always feels good to just turn around in the middle of a rapid and watch him just explode through the bottom of a hole or come off a lip.

It's a special feeling to watch your kids paddle like that.

Yeah, Pedro.

Okay.

Get to the left.

- Well, what's gonna be really interesting is next time I paddle with them, who's gonna be following who?

- [Pete] All right.

So Pete, be on the very left at the bottom of this.

Keep going.

Yes, sir.

Remember, be aggressive.

Very nice.

- [Ken] On any river trip, group dynamics can have a huge impact on well, your safety, and your enjoyment of the river trip.

You can have the most spectacular paddling location in the world, but if the group isn't jiving, then it can be a crappy experience.

In this case, you know, Jerry, Pete V, Pete, myself, we were all there with the same idea.

We weren't there to scare ourselves.

We weren't there to push our limits.

We were there to enjoy one of the most beautiful places in the world.

Get the heart going a little bit at the same time.

Have that adventure and do it with good people that value the outdoors Man!

That is exactly why I fell in love with kayaking.

What a day?

- [Ken] Spanning 75 miles and 69,000 acres, Lake Guntersville is Alabama's largest lake, but it's a much more than a big body of water.

Recognizes one of the crown jewels of the Southeast, Guntersville is a world renowned fishing destination which regularly hosts championship tournaments and which Bass Master Magazine ranked number two outta the Best Bass Lakes of the Decade.

But Lake Guntersville is more than just an epic fishing destination.

It's an outdoor lovers paradise.

It's surrounded by great hiking and biking trails and is an integral part of the new Tennessee RiverLine.

A 625 mile long water trail system that follows the Tennessee River from Knoxville, Tennessee to its confluence with the Ohio River in Paducah, Kentucky.

On the southern shore of the lake, on a long peninsula, surrounded by water, you'll find the small and beautiful town of Guntersville.

With its small shops, waterfront restaurants, and the cool new City Harbor development.

That'll bring even more restaurants, micro breweries, and waterfront lodging options to the area.

While I'm definitely looking forward to enjoying everything the area has to offer including some fine Southern comfort meals.

I'm excited to hook up with Matt Ward from Alpha Expeditions to get my first taste of the area from water level.

(guitar music) Well, how cool is that?

A 14 foot kayak goes together from a bag to a boat in three minutes.

Now it's time to get on the water because we are on Lake Guntersville.

This is first experience on the lake.

This is Morgans Cove.

Sun's coming out.

We got a ways to go.

This is gonna be good.

- You do the whole trip like this.

(Ken laughs) - Backwards?

- Practice paddle, yes.

So I can just sit here and talk, you know.

- [Ken] You don't have to worry about a headwind.

- I don't.

Yeah, never have headwind.

If you paddle backwards the whole time.

- We have a double mission today, our mission is, well for me, get a first taste of paddling on Lake Guntersville.

But the second mission is to see what Matt tells me, is one of the best places to watch the sunset in the whole valley.

- [Matt] Where is it?

- We're going, I'm just following you.

You know, I'm just paddling right there.

- Right.

So, Morgans Cove comes out right at the South Swati Bridge.

South Swati Utah Langston Bridge.

And the channel is right there.

- [Ken] Okay.

- [Matt] Just beyond that, the channel starts to open up.

We get a little bit of an expanse and then we will go under that bridge, out to the main channel.

And by the time we get there, our friend the sun, will be setting on us.

And because it runs east to west, you have this long expanse of water that the sun just gets to dance on as it's setting.

And it's absolutely gorgeous.

And then on both sides, you have mountains.

And so you're sitting in this valley with the mountains curving upward, the sun's setting down in the middle of it.

- [Ken] Well, I certainly don't wanna wish away any of these blue sky afternoon, but I am looking forward to seeing a classic Guntersville sunset.

- [Ken] Morgan's Cove is a really great spot to start a paddling trip in the Lake Guntersville area because it's pretty sheltered.

You can go up the Cove, up the Creek, and it gets narrow and you can go a long way up there and stay protected from wind and waves.

Or you can go the other direction.

You can go towards the main channel where if it's not too windy, you can paddle in the guts of the lake itself.

But along the way, there's so much to explore as well.

It might actually be deep right along that shoreline.

Just gotta get there.

Ah!

So close, it's right there.

See, why did I follow you here?

(laughs) - [Matt] I told you, we gonna run a ground.

- [Ken] This is actually pretty deep channel though, right here.

I can't not see how far it goes.

It's just not in my DNA to accept that we can't go there.

As much as I enjoy paddling in lakes, it's finding the little Creeks and rivers and exploring.

See?

Can I get up there?

Ah, you think there's a channel there?

Could be.

And oftentimes, you try to and you don't make it anywhere.

You just hit shallows or it just dead ends.

But sometimes, these little offshoots or these little Creeks, you can wind your way up and attain for quite a ways.

It's bad choice.

I don't know, may might be a channel here.

Yeah.

Looks like there is.

How cool is this?

Haha!

Love it.

(mellow guitar music) Well, Matt.

Matt was definitely right.

Morgans Cove is amazing place to watch the sunset, but that time of night for me, it's more than just the sunset.

The sunsets are beautiful to watch, absolutely.

But it's just, everything just drops down a notch.

Usually the wind lays down, the water just smooths out, boat traffic, all but disappears.

It's just a wonderful, beautiful, calm time of the day.

Well, day one on Lake Guntersville is sadly coming to a beautiful end, but we're far from done exploring this lake.

Tomorrow, we're going somewhere else.

Well, we got a great first taste of Lake Guntersville yesterday from the water level, but there's no better way to see a place than up high.

And so this morning, we're getting the bird's eye view of Lake Guntersville before we hit the water again.

The Lake Guntersville State Park is basically a mountainside that overlooks the lake itself.

And on the top of the lake, you have the Lake Guntersville State Park Lodge, a beautiful lodge.

But you also have the home for Screaming Eagle Zip lining.

- [Erik] So our longest line here is about 2,100 feet.

You get a really good view of the lake as you're going.

You're on there for about a minute and you're roughly 250 feet in the air.

So if you're afraid of heights then this is a good way to kinda get over your fear of heights.

A good safe environment to face those fears and have a good time.

(upbeat lively music) - I got this.

You wanna go for a zip line?

You wanna piggyback?

No?

Okay.

Whoa!

Look at this.

Guntersville from a different perspective, the bird's eye view.

But it's gonna be more awesome when I'm a thousand feet out on the zip line.

Here we go.

Wooh!

Oh, yeah!

(upbeat music) Now it's the grand finale.

The longest to the fastest.

See ya.

(upbeat lively music) Facing Waves is made possible by the following Vivid-Pix memory station and software allows users to scan personal history items like photos and documents, record voice narrative, and share what has been conserved.

More online at Vivid-pix.com.

Collette offers small group exploration tours, destinations and local experiences.

Explorations by Collette.

Guided travel since 1918.

♪ upbeat music In4adventure.com Inspiring, educating and encouraging outdoor adventure Host- And by these additional sponsors ♪ upbeat music