On a cold blustery day in early November we bundled up and headed up the Saluda grade to Hendersonville, NC for the annual Green River Narrows kayak race. I had always wanted to attend, having heard tales of the hair-raising event since I started visiting the Green river in college. The official race website which calls the event the “largest extreme kayak race” in the world, has an interesting way of marketing the event to competitor participants- the gist of which is that under no circumstances should any kayaker sign up for the race because of the extreme rapids, extreme risk, and extreme difficulty in reaching and evacuating a participant should something happen. Their message to potential spectators is just as pleading and dire. Naturally we were not deterred and downloaded maps, packed a lunch and the hammock, donned hiking boots and set off.
The race takes place in the Green River Game Lands and the hike in was nothing to sneeze at. The first half of the hike was easy, albeit unusual because of the volume of the crowds hiking in along with us. The last part involved half sliding, half climbing down a steep muddy grade to reach the river. Thankfully there were ropes to help assist with the descent but it was slow going and reminiscent of standing in line at the DMV as hundreds of people carefully picked their way down one step at a time into the gorge.
To spectate the race, observers line up along the stretch of river and stake out a spot on a rock or bluff. 2,000+ spectators were there and it was standing room only and space at the more popular rapids fills first. As soon as we were at the river’s edge Scott started scouting for a spot to hang the hammock. With a little climbing we were able to string the hammock up in a prime spot at a series of rapids near the end of the course below the iconic and intense Gorilla rapid which gave us an ideal view of several rapids. Our vantage point was excellent and it was entertaining to have every person that hiked past (or underneath us) comment on our superb choice of seating, including race participants once they started hiking back up after their runs to watch other competitors.
There were 170+ racers and they were spaced 1-2 minutes apart so it meant non-stop action. The energy level on the river banks was high and I can only imagine the nerves and adrenaline rush that the racers felt as they challenged their skills against one of the most intense and punishing stretches of river in the world. Spectators screamed and cheered as kayakers navigated each rapid, encouraging them on. It was incredible to watch their level of skill.
Watch Dane Jackson’s winning run
Sidenote: At one point while we were watching the race, Scott and I both commented to each other that we smelled funnel cake which was odd since we were in the depths of an extremely remote and hard to access river gorge. On our hike back out of the gorge the smell intensified and we spotted the source- a young guy perched on a boulder in the middle of the Green river with a backpacking stove and a bottle of Wesson oil was frying up funnel cake. We laughed and commented to the guy on how amazing this was and he offered us some… not quite sure how we would have gotten it from across the river, but nonetheless got a laugh. Scott and I have an ongoing joke that funnel cake should be a mainstream dessert so it was especially funny.
