The Dance of the Fireflies

If you're heading over to the Tennessee Smokies and the Pigeon River, be sure and fit in this once-a-season natural event. People travel for miles to see the light show.

A synchronized firefly show-there are only two places on earth you can experience this phenomenon, southeast Asia and the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The peak flashing for synchronous fireflies (Photinus carolinus) that live in Great Smoky Mountains National Park occurs for only two weeks in mid-June. The Male's time is short, they live as adults for only about 21 days. So they turn it on, attract the Females and procreate. The Males fly and flash and the usually stationary Females respond with a flash creating a spectacular and unparalleled natural light show. They are the only species in America that can synchronize their flashing light patterns.

The show takes place at the Elkmont Campground. Getting there can be a challenge but worth it. The campground is closed to private vehicles after 5 p.m. Entrance is allowed if you have a campsite reserved or you may ride the trolley for $1 from the Sugarlands Visitor Center. Trolleys begin a at 6 p.m. and run every 20-25 minutes. Last trolley leaves at 11 p.m.

Come prepared for the evening:

• Bring a blanket or a small lawn chair to sit on, a flashlight or two (cover them with red cellophane to minimize white lights), and a backpack with refreshments. The only amenities at the campground are portable toilets.
  
• Park rangers and volunteers will be available in various locations for questions, guided walks, and assistance.
  
• No pets or alcoholic beverages allowed.
  
• If attempting to take pictures or video, do not use a flash. Not only does it disturb the fireflies, but your picture will turn out horribly. Try turning the flash off, setting your aperture to f11 and taking a long exposure of a few seconds. You’ll get a spooky looking glow…very cool!
  

Scouting for River Clean-up

Wednesday, May 27th, a group from the Georgia Society of Association Executives will be in Asheville for their annual conference. Besides the standard conference agenda, this group is looking to do a little extra for the community by helping with a river clean up on the French Broad. 

The section where they are cleaning up is located along the scenic and beautiful Biltmore Estate.  Jeff Greiner, our VP of Marketing, and his helpful crew went out this weekend to scout the area.

 

They took out a two man kayak (three if two of them are really small!) and a canoe Saturday morning. The cleanup is being spearheaded by Wildwater Ltd. Rafting in conjunction with RiverLink. The GA. Society has partnered with Wildwater for several years, sending their members on rafting trips and team building exercises, and we are happy to lend a hand with equipment and guides for such a worthy cause!

RiverLink is a non-profit organization founded 22 years ago to help as river stewards for the French Broad River and its tributaries. Over the years, the French Broad River Basin has been polluted by farms, manufacturing, and real estate developments along its shores. According to its mission statement, RiverLink's purpose is to " . . . . focus on related issues that directly impact the environmental health of our region's rivers and streams and the growth and sustainability of our economy.” RiverLink will be providing garbage bags and other tools and support for our group to make a difference in the cleanup of our river!

Asheville Happenings

Things have been heating up here in Asheville and I don’t mean the temperatures! While spring is still bringing us chilly weather, that hasn’t stopped people from taking a trip down the river. As you might be able to tell we have just started our venture into Social Networking (If you couldn’t tell- Thanks!). We have a twitter handle (wildwaterltd, follow us!), a Facebook Fan Page and are slowly showing up on many travel websites and blogs. As we are new to the Social Network sphere, we rely heavily on our print advertising. We have mailers that have gone out to our distribution list notifying people of our spring specials, newspaper and magazine advertising as well.

Despite all the work, it hasn’t stopped us from doing what we love, even at work. I never thought any job would come with benefits like having meetings in the middle of the woods, or in the parking lot over a game of hacky sack! Jeff took some time off for a family members wedding, and I’ve been enjoying the great micro-brewery scene here in Asheville. Did you know Asheville was just named Beer City, USA by one of the most renowned spirit gurus on the web? Yeah, we tied for first with Portland Oregon of all places! I’ve also been keeping up to date on my Karate training. Just recently we had a man from China come and teach a seminar on Feeding Crane Kung-Fu. He was talking about the history of the exercises and their roots in Mongolia. Now who has ever used a fact about Mongolia to link their job and their hobbies? I did at that moment.

Did you know that our Yurts at Falling Waters Resort are modeled and named after the original Mongolian structure? While the native Mongols didn’t have such amenities as a queen size bed or CD player in their living structures everything else is basically the same. Their  Yurts are easily collapsible for transportation, have a communal bathroom, and are set up in an area that easily accessible to areas with running water! Ok so maybe that’s a bit of a stretch to be making from one to another, but I did make it and I thought it was kinda cool!

While the east coast is still being hammered by rain, here in the Appalachian Mountains the weather has cleared up and looks to stay that way for the next week at least. The rain we have had the last week or two has brought the rivers up significantly and everyone I’ve talked to says that this is prime time to be taking trips down the river! Hope you can find some time in your busy schedule to get out on the rapids. I know I will!

Phew - and we're done....

A huge round of applause goes out to all of our 2009 Guide School students. Great job guys and gals - the schedule was crammed full, well done making it through. Tonight you can finally catch up on your rest. I know we will!

The last two days of guide school were spent at the Ocoee and Chattooga Rivers. A full combo trip on the Ocoee, including swims at Tablesaw (watch out for the guide getter) and then a "Rope Throw Rodeo" to round out the day. Knots lessons on the bus and Section IV (?) on Sunday (the Chattooga was running at 2.8ft (yes we have water!) so the trip got moved up to Thrifts Ferry - Woodall Shoals).

There was a little carnage here and there - which gave some of our students a healthy respect for the river. Always a nice thing to have in a raft guide. Feedback on the new format for the school was mostly very positive. A few adjustments to the schedule for next year (let us sleep on the bus please!) and we should have it just about right. We look forward to hearing from anyone interested in attending guide school 2010 - just email mcoleman@wildwaterltd.com.

We'll round up some photo's and video footage from this years school to be posted soon.

Guide School on the Nantahala

Guide School-Nantahala

The group arrived at our Nantahala location after an hour+ ride on the bus from the Chattooga. Their time did not go to waste as the trainees practiced their knots and discussed and reviewed river etiquette enroute.

They took a quick tour of the facilities then it was on to land based skills with hands on learning of haul systems and shore- and boat-based rescues.

A break for lunch then they prepared to get out on the Nantahala River. A dismal wet weather forecast was not well received but with the right clothes and layering they were comfortable. Besides they were used to getting wet.

The group practiced raft extraction as well as rope throws but the swim test was saved for another day.

A return to the Group Lodge, dry clothes and dinner was followed by a discussion of Wildwater, its history and a discussion of guest services was lead by Jeff Greiner, VP of Marketing and son of the founder, Jim Greiner.

Off to the Nantahala River we go...

It's day three of Wildwater's new and improved guide school. So far there have been some really good comments coming from the students and instructors about the new format. Day one started with the flat water paddling technique lesson on the pond at Wildwater's Chattooga Rafting Center. Then the students got to "learn the ropes" loading the rafts for the afternoon river trip. They loaded up to head down to Thrifts Ferry for the first river based lesson, which focused on basic whitewater techniques (paddle strokes, river characteristics, basic manouvres such as ferries etc). They even got to see how to flip a raft at Bull Sluice, courtesy of our long time Ocoee Manager Lance Luke! Thanks Lance we know you just did it in the name of education. The day ended (after a fantastic Salmon dinner - thanks Darla) with some classroom time.

Day two was a full day trip on Section III of the Chattooga. Each student got some "stick" time and the day focused on building on the information given the day before as well as learning new techiques - like how to actually get yourself back in the raft if you fall out! The day ended with more classroom time in the evening and an early night (?) in preparation for heading out to the Nantahala River in the morning.

Freddy was down at the Sluice when the students came through - so hopefully she'll have some good pictures to add when I see her on Monday!

Guide School starts today

This year we're trying a new format for our guide school. For those of you that have been to guide school, you'll remember that in the past we held guide school at the Chattooga River over two consecutive weekends. This year we are holding the school over five consecutive days and rafting on three different rivers, the Chattooga River, Nantahala River and Ocoee River.

We've had a great response to the new format and the school has been fully booked for several weeks now. Last night all of our students rolled into the Chattooga Rafting Center, ready for an early start this morning. They started the day with an introduction to whitewater in the classroom and are heading out this afternoon for their first practical river experience. Stay tuned for updates on their progress!

Falling Waters Yurts featured on the Today Show

Wildwater's Yurts at our Falling Waters Resort on the Nantahala were featured this morning on the Today Show on NBC. The travel segment profiled the National Geographic Traveler's annual "Stay List" which came out in their April issue. For those of you who missed it, click play below

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Cheap camping near the river!

The economy is on everyones mind this year and it's affecting the way people plan their vacations. We've been getting a lot of calls from people who still want to raft but are looking at a tighter budget. As a response to that need we've been gathering information about the free and cheap publicly owned campsites that surround our rivers. More and more people are looking at camping as a cheap accommodation option to allow them to still take part in the activities that make their summer vacation so memorable. If you'd like to see our list please go to http://www.wildwaterrafting.com/publiccamp.php. Of course we hope that while you're camping you'll also join us for a fantastic time on the river!

For a great article on the increased use of the National Parks go to http://www.facebook.com/ext/share.php?sid=88398324362&h=0SVob&u=FGt1u&ref=mf