By Felix Dowsley, Boys Program Director
I’m writing on behalf of Will Yeiser, Tricia Chan, and our staff to celebrate our triumphant return to paddling this week. I want to especially thank Nora Randolph and David Clarke for their tireless planning and strategizing to get us back out there safely. We are also grateful to Dr. Gordon Grant, our former Board Chair and a legendary outdoor educator, for joining us on the river for our two scouting days.
Staff Return to the River First…
Yesterday our staff split into four groups and scouted a collective twenty five and a half miles of the French Broad River, including Section 8 (Redmond Dam to Barnard), Section 9 (Barnard to Stackhouse), Section 9.5 (Stackhouse to Hot Springs), and the French Broad through town from Hominy Creek to the North Campus. Our scouting included exploring the various rapid lines, wading and probing rapids in search of lodged debris, and a whole lot of swimming. Your Program Directors swam all of the Class III rapids on Section 9 and had entirely too much fun doing it.
We found all of these sections to be safe for paddling with students. The section between Silverline Plastics and the North Campus has a markedly heavier trash impact than the other sections but the current is very mild, so we will focus our river cleanups on this section. All together, these river sections comprise the full range of difficulty levels we need to challenge and teach our students. We are able to carry forward our classic paddling progression from sixth to eighth grade, teaching character and integrity through the timeless art of tandem whitewater canoeing.
Managing risk while paddling is always a dynamic enterprise. The river is always changing, including the hazards in the river. Scouting these river sections today and yesterday is our way of recouping the intimate knowledge we have of our teaching areas as a baseline. We will continue to scout new sections of river in a similar fashion as they become available. At the same time, what gives us the confidence to return to the river with students are the same elements we’ve always relied on to run a safe paddling program: staff with good judgment who train continuously to manage risk on the river, students who understand their responsibility towards themselves and their group as part of the FBRA risk management team, and a “head on a swivel” attitude towards risk: avoiding complacency by staying mindful of the ever-shifting nature of nature.
Returning to the river has been an emotional experience for me and our staff. During our 8th grade cleanup of Silverline to Campus a few weeks ago, I teared up first at the wreckage that remains largely untouched in the riparian zones and riverbeds. Then I teared up to see the sheer joy that students brought to that day, laughing and hooting as they piled high their “trash barge” canoes and competed for finding the strangest river treasure. I was reminded of words from Ralph Ellison’s conclusion to Invisible Man:
“Life is to be lived, not controlled; and humanity is won by continuing to play in face of certain defeat.”
Once again, young people can be our inspiration for healing the watershed, even when the task seems insurmountable.
As we headed to Section 9 yesterday, I was unsure how I would feel. Though many of our staff have paddled that and other local rivers continuously since the hurricane, it was my first time back (toddler; great weather for rock climbing). My apprehension quickly turned to joy and hope. Hope, because we saw flotillas from Blue Heron Rafting working hard to haul the remaining debris off the riverbanks. Hope, because there is a highly organized and fully funded local task force headed by Matt and Jemima of the Laurel River Store working five days a week to clean up the French Broad River in Madison County. Hope, because most stretches had less debris in the riverbed than before the storm. And joy from sharing adventures with amazing human beings. My highlights included swimming Big Pillow Rapid with Tricia Chan and Sam Iatarola, surprising a rafting group at Ledges Rapid by leaping out of our boats into the river and self-rescuing below the drop, swimming and lunching on the sunny rocks at Swimmer’s Rapid, and startling an osprey, causing it to soar across the river.
Our River
The French Broad River is not only our namesake. It is the lifeblood of our school, our city, and our mountains. It is our greatest teacher. I can’t wait to see our students dressed river-ready on Wednesday and Thursday mornings, ready to take to the water once again and learn lessons that last a lifetime.