Check Out What's Happening: GAF 2013

Every year, NOC celebrates another great season of outdoor recreation by offering unbeatable deals on gear and apparel and by providing a weekend full of free, fun outdoor lifestyle events. This is our famous Guest Appreciation Festival, or simply "GAF."

Here are the top 6 things to look forward to during GAF weekend, September 27-29, at NOC:

1. Family-Friendly Activities - With a variety of kid's activities, GAF is a perfect time to bring the family to NOC for a beautiful fall weekend! This year we will have a bounce house, face painting, button making, coloring, games and much more for the whole family to enjoy.  Last year, the kids activities were on the tennis courts, but this year they will be closer to the festival, making it easier for parents to play too!
2. Snakes, Stories and Survival - Join Steve Longenecker for a hands-on lesson about snakes living in our region and around the world, Tim Hall for exciting, humorous mountain-themed stories and Appalachian folktales or sit in for a lesson on how to survive in the wilderness, courtesy of NOC's Survival School.
3. Discount on NOC Activities - As a thank you for your support and loyalty to NOC, we invite you to go whitewater rafting down the Nantahala River, take a ride on the Mountaintop Zip Line Tour or challenge yourself in the Zip Line Adventure Park for 15% off! Reserve your trip for GAF weekend, September 27-29, and use code "GAF15" to redeem this special discount.
4. Upper Nantahala and Cascade Releases - If you are a class IV-V kayaker, this weekend is perfect for you! The Upper Nantahala and Cascades Section of the Nantahala River will be running on Saturday and Sunday from 10am to 5 pm.  We are offering free shuttles for this release in partnership with Endless River Adventures.  Sign up here to give us an idea of how many people to expect for the shuttles!
5. Of Course, the Gear Sales - Get your outdoor gear from NOC's Used Gear Sale or the Guest Gear Marketplace at some of the lowest prices you will find.  From paddling and rafting gear to clothing and accessories, these marketplaces will have something for everyone! To sign up for a booth to sell your own gear, click here.
6. U.S. Slalom National Championships - Watch the nation's best racers carve up the exciting Nantahala Falls course on Saturday and Sunday morning. The winners will be crowned the national champions for 2013, so the competition will be fierce. Find out more from the Nantahala Racing Club. 

Soar above the tree tops on the Mountaintop Zip Line Tour

Thanks for another great season! We look forward to seeing you at GAF.

For more information and a full schedule for GAF 2013, click here.

Celebrate the Season at NOC's Spring Fling

Looking for a great way to kick start the season? Check out NOC’s Spring Fling, April 26-28! You can expect an action packed weekend at NOC with hands-on activities and contests, film screenings, and fun for the whole family.

Top athletes will be competing in the 2013 US Freestyle Team Trials for their chance to represent the USA in the 2013 ICF Canoe Freestyle World Championships, which will also be held here on the Nantahala this September 2-8. The Nantahala is the place to see world-class kayaking this summer, as DJ Brett Rock keeps the tunes coming and our announcers help to explain the moves and build excitement. This competition is open to everyone, so don’t be shy! Hop in a boat and be a part of it. Visit noc.com/shootout to register.

Spectators enjoy some world-class freestyle on the 2013 Wave here at NOC.

For those of you who prefer to paddle downstream (I number among you), the Nantahala Cascades and Upper Nantahala will be releasing from 10 am to 4 pm. Please remember Safety First as you head upstream to paddle this beautiful section of whitewater.

A paddler negotiates The Horns of God during the 2012 inaugural Cascades release.

NOC is excited to host the Reel Paddling Film Festival. After a day of excitement on the river, stop by and catch a film or two at NOC’s Welcome Center (near the railroad tracks) to check out some of the year's best paddling films from around the world. Films will be shown Friday through Sunday from 4 to 8 pm.

Be sure to stop by the NOC Outfitter’s Store over the weekend to check out the hot new paddling gear for 2013. Try out exciting new boat designs from Pyranha, Dagger, Jackson and Liquid Logic. The Outfitter's Store is offering free 1 hour demos for play boats (such as the Pyranha JED, Dagger Jitsu and Jackson Star) and 2 hour demos for creek/river runners.

Check out the vendor fair in front of the NOC Outfitter's Store for the inside scoop on the season's hottest gear.

For those of you coming with the whole family, check out our kids area near Slow Joe’s Café for face painting, bounce houses, hula hoops and games.

When it’s time to wind down after a long day, come on over to Slow Joe’s Café for some free live music Friday through Sunday. We have some great sets and a little something for everyone with The Archrivals, Marcus King Band, and Jonathan Scales Fourchestra.

NOC can't get enough of this steel pan trio. Don't miss Jonathan Scales on Sunday, April 28.

Guest Appreciation Festival 2012: Recap

Cascades, Cascades, Cascades
Some paddlers described it as pure chaos, or even a circus, but the Cascades release was definitely one of the biggest highlights during GAF weekend.  Providing entertainment, personal "first D’s" and what seemed like endless whitewater laps for some, the Cascades were on a-whole-'nother level this weekend.

Hunt Jennings (Yellow) and Matt Anger (Blue) during one of their thirty laps down the Cascades

Being the first recreational release for the Upper Nantahala and Cascades, this past weekend felt like Christmas for many. Boaters came from all over the region to paddle this section of river that is usually dependent on rain fall.

Many of you have requested the photos and video from the release so here they are! To find your photo click here and enjoy!

On Saturday night, The Pourover Pub hosted everyone to watch the Carnage Video from the Saturday release. If you happened to miss it, you can witness some of the chaos for yourself here:

NOC would like to thank everyone who helped with the safety of both spectators and paddlers on the Upper and Cascades during the event. With the extra efforts put in by many, the majority of the release went very smoothly.

Mini Music Festival
With 5 bands performing at GAF, NOC campus felt like a mini music festival!  From mid-afternoon to the wee hours of the night, guests were dancing on the banks of the Nantahala River. The bands fueled the crowd for hours resulting in smiles, laughs and very unique dance moves.

After the live music, the GAF attendees took over the stage during the Ride Garden Dance Party. After a day full of paddling it's amazing so many folks had multiple hours of dancing in them!

And of Course, The Gear Sale
With the combined 30 vendors, 15 private vendors and the Outfitter's Store sales, there were TONS of great deals from this weekend.  If you were looking for boats, gear, or accessories, hopefully you found it in the Marketplace.

The Marketplace was buzzing with energy during GAF.  The atmosphere was full of guests interacting and sharing memories, stories and advice.  It was a great chance to learn about folks interested in similar activities and meet some all around good people!

Take a look at some scenes from GAF 2012 here:

These are just a few highlights from GAF 2012, some others include: learning from Steve Longnecker's birds of prey, wilderness fire starting clinics, stories from Ms. Connie Regan-Blake and much more.  Let us know what you liked the most! GAF 2013 is just around the bend.

GAF Parking and Camping Information

A lot of folks will be joining us at GAF on September 28th – 30th, and we want to make sure that logistical confusion and parking don't mar anyone’s good time. Below, I’ve outlined our parking plan for GAF 2012. Read up before you come so you can all spend less time worrying about your car, and more time enjoying the festival.

GAF 2012 will feature the first ever recreational releases on the
Class IV/V Cascades section of the Nantahala.

Parking

We plan to use our existing on-campus parking most of Friday and Sunday. When you arrive at NOC, drive across the bridge and let our friendly parking staff direct you to an open spot. Please take their advice, and park efficiently so everyone can park on-property.

Saturday morning and early afternoon are the peak parking times at GAF. If on-property parking is full or if you just want to go ahead and get settled, turn up Silvermine Road, across the street from the Outfitter's Store.  NOC staff will be stationed at the mouth of Silvermine Rd. (near the Wesser General Store & Fly Shop) with maps and directions to approved lots. Please don't park alongside Silvermine road. We've seen too many festival attendees get tickets on this road over the years, even though it looks like there are pullouts.

The first satellite lot is located approximately ¾ of a mile up Silvermine Rd (within walking distance for many people). It is a fenced grass lot on the right hand side, and will be clearly marked with a special event parking sign. There will be an attendant on hand to help you park efficiently.

As this lot fills up, cars will be directed further along Silvermine Rd. to the second satellite lot 2.2 miles up the road. You will want to be sure you stay on the main paved road as you drive up Silvermine until you see the second marked lot. It usually only takes about five minutes to drive to this lot, so don't worry about the distance. The lot is nicely graveled, and because we are only running shuttles in one direction we can service the lots very frequently. No one should have to wait more than 10 minutes to get a ride.

In the unlikely case that we fill up both of our Silvermine parking locations, we will open an additional lot at the Ruby Mine near Bud Dill’s gas station, just east of NOC on Hwy. 19/74. Please don’t park in this lot unless directed to do so by NOC staff, because we’ll only be running shuttles in this direction once we fill the other lots.

Finally, NOC is offering free shuttles to the Wayah Forest Service Put-In for those who choose to leave their cars off property while they are on the river. We usually do this as a thank you to guests helping us avoid a parking crunch during Saturday at GAF. In other words, if you paddle into GAF we'd be glad to drive you back to your car when you're finished. (Just make sure you catch the last rafting bus headed to the put in around 3:30. It should be very easier to thumb a ride to the top with another boater this weekend anyway.)

Please note that all GAF remote lots close at 7pm. We’d love for you to stay to enjoy the free live music and dancing, so please make your way up to the lots as the afternoon wears on to move your cars back down to the center. It’ll make life easier for you when it’s time to go home.


Camping

As in years past, we are unfortunately unable to accommodate camping on campus or in remote lots during GAF. There are simply so many people rafting, dancing, shopping and playing that it's impossible to accommodate everyone.  Check out our lodging page for great tips on camping and lodging close by.

We will have off-duty law enforcement on campus throughout the event to make sure that everyone has a good, safe time. They’ll also be helping us with our no-camping policy, so it's important to make sleeping plans ahead of time. Please note that some registered vendors and event staff will be spending the night on campus to keep an eye on everything; they have been accounted for in the event plan and are exceptions to the no camping standard.

So, that's the deal. Guests who know the parking plan and who make appropriate sleeping plans will find this year's event really fun and really easy. We appreciate the preparation, and we can't wait to see you at GAF!

Spring Rains + Rising Creeks = Paddler’s Paradise!

From Jon Clark, Director of NOC's Paddling School. "Creeking" or "creek boating" is a type of whitewater paddling for kayakers and canoeists that takes place on smaller (both in width and volume) streams. Creeking tends to be steeper, more technically demanding and, if you take the word of many advanced paddlers, even more fun than running full-size rivers.

Rain in the Southeast means one thing for whitewater paddlers: creekin’! As cold fronts roll in off the Gulf of Mexico they creep into the Appalachian Mountains dumping massive amounts of rain. The creeks begin to rise, and I become reminiscent of days past creek boating with friends on some of my favorite Southeastern creeks.

Here at Nantahala Outdoor Center’s main outpost in Wesser, NC we’ve been experiencing heavy rain making for plenty of on-the-water action. The rivers are rising and NOC Paddling School instructors are back for the season just in time to join in on the fun. With so many creek boating options near NOC, part of the fun is just deciding which river to paddle.

Spend a week (or a weekend) with the pros and experience creeking at its best on a different river every day. With an instructional focus, Advanced Creek Clinics are designed to take advanced paddlers to the next level giving them the right tools and skills to do so safely. At the same time, you will be introduced to rivers and creeks that you may never have the opportunity to experience again on your own, creating the adventure of a lifetime.

NOC’s most distinguished instructors are teaming up to lead this year’s Advanced Creek Clinics. Our team will be by your side the entire time on the water aiding in the development of new skills and techniques as well as refining those you already have. Participants receive hands-on instruction that hone in on each individual’s specific needs and goals. Our instructors’ profound knowledge base and extensive creek boating experience create the perfect team to lead you down some of the best runs in the South.

Our goal at the NOC Paddling School is to teach both the hard and soft skills necessary to develop the most solid and competent paddlers. Just making it to the take-out is not enough. We want to see our paddlers come away from every course capable of adding to the overall experience of everyone on the river. Good decision-making, planning, and self-awareness are skills just as important as the boof stroke, dual sided roll and rescue. Often forgotten, these soft skills commonly create adventures that reach the “epic” level. We strive to teach a balance of these skills, helping paddlers excel at being not only a great paddler, rather a great paddler that is also a competent leader.

So come get your boof on and join us in one of the most rewarding courses you’ll ever experience! Advanced Creek Clinics have just kicked off with our first weeklong session and will be followed by two weekend sessions March 26-27 and April 16-17. A final weeklong course is available April 25-29 just in time to wrap up the peak of creeking season. These courses are all-inclusive with meals, lodging and daily transportation to all rivers and creeks. Gear is also available upon request.

Safe Paddling!

Cheers,
Jon Clark