Tallapoosa River (lower)

March 15, 2006 - Tallapoosa River
Put-in was right below Horseshoe Bend at the bridge.
Take-out was where the lake began its back-up.

This was all in all a wonderful experience. I had the opportunity to meet up with a fellow paddler, Jeremy and his friend Loyd, whom of which I met through the club website (sorta). Super nice guys! I had seen pictures of this river but really didn't anticipate it being as nice as it was. There were many more small rapids than I had expected and it was a real hoot. This day would be my first day to try my new MadRiver Explorer 16 which turned out to do really well. Since I hadn't paddled a canoe in a while it proved to be a challenge in some light wind but it slowly came back to me. Jeremy and Loyd had much smaller and more sleek designed boats than my big canoe and probably frustrated them at my slow pace. I bet the two of them were getting a good laugh at me after we parted because I must have asked the both of them just how "BAD" is the "BAD" stuff about 20 times, referring the some rapids they each had mentioned. Though I thought some of the other bigger drops on the main channel that required some minor ferrying were more technical than the big rapid, that long shoot of a rapid was the most fun I think I have had in a canoe. My only regret of the entire trip was that I didn't bring my camera to get some shots of some new friends and the fun rapids. I'll be looking these guys up again very soon. Thanks again Jeremy!