Highlander's Library of Mountain Adventure Tales...

Ancient Waters, Thrilling Ride...

The best part of a whitewater trip is in the raft, so you'll want to stay in the raft. If you do get thrown out of the raft and into a hydraulic, ball up your body and the rapid will spit you out. If you're in less turbulent waters, lie back, straighten out your legs and flow with the river, this maneuver keeps your backside from hitting most rocks and keeps your legs from getting caught behind or between rocks. Proceed to ride the river, bareback until someone pulls you back into the raft. If the raft flips everyone, passengers should ride the river to a gentler stage and get out on the bank. The guide will gather up the group and find the raft...you're not finished white-watering yet...continue story...

White Water in the Morning!

White Water in the Morning!...the Ole Blue Swimmin Hole....Mid-summer heat on a dog day afternoon... visibility fades into a heavy mist hanging densely over the mountains of the southern Blue Ridge...the summer season is at its height.

Deep within the Cherokee National Forest of southeastern Tennessee's Polk County, is an ancient gorge lined with steep rock walls twisting along the cutting path of the Ocoee River's white water paradise...continue story...

Fishing, the Pathway to Nature

It pains me that some children don't experience nature as I have. A recent book by Richard Louv, called Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder, has brought into the national dialogue the condition of today's children and in particular their poverty of outdoors experiences.

The Cornell study of 2,000 adults by professors Nancy Wells and Kristi Lekies revealed in the journal, Children, Youth and Environments, that kids that fish and have unstructured time outdoors grow into adults who care more about conservation and the environment...continue story...

by Dr. Mamie Parker, Assistant Director of the US Fish and Wildlife Service in Washington DC, an avid angler, and member of the Arkansas Outdoor Hall of Fame

designed, produced and hosted by

The Blue Ridge Highlander logo, all photography, design, graphics, artwork, writing, digital images, etc are the Copyright © of C. Wayne Dukes and Sherry Bell Dukes, 1996 to current day, except where otherwise stated. All rights reserved, reproduction, downloading, and/or duplication of any sort is strictly prohibited, all violations will be prosecuted. Legal Policy.  If you have any questions, or comments, regarding this site, e-mail the Highlander.