As some of our participants were faced with travel times in excess of 8 hours, all chose to travel the day before the cruise. The Best Western in Newport, TN served as a meeting point for many.

While the weather in this part of the country can be quite cool by mid-October we are gifted with a high temperature around 70 and little wind or rain, not to mention a beautiful sunrise.

The first 8 miles of the cruise were on TVA's Douglas Lake which was well below full pool.

The on and off nature of water flow in the Pigeon River prevents accumulation of sand bars. None the less we find a few spots to pull off for a break on this 65 mile cruise.

Rocky bluffs, many of which were over 100' in height, were common on this scenic mountain run.

From the mouth of the Pigeon River (at its confluence with the French Broad) to Denton, TN, we experienced minimal water flow. Avoiding fixed objects like those seen above provided a good opportunity to hone navigational skills.

A pause near Denton, TN to stretch the legs a couple of hours into the cruise. Still waiting for the water flow to pick up.

Finally, Progress Energy flips the switch a bit before noon and the water starts its trip down the riverbed.

Just after noon the water reaches us somewhere between Denton and Hartford, TN.and we are presented with a fresh set of operating requirements. Unfortunately driving requirements did not facilitate pictures being taken on the class III and IV sections.

While we did enjoy a safe trip in regard to personal health, this was not the case with all of the craft. This nicely trimmed out machine sustained moderate damage from an inverted trip through a significant section of rapids.

Recovery efforts were aided by the close proximaty of a road, but still stretched well beyond sunset. We did not depart the area until all debris had been removed from the river.

After the Pigeon River Cruise our next stop was the 25th annual HoverIn at Rural Retreat in Big Spring, TN.