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Tubing: rapid approsG
to enjoying a summer
Spiish, bump, swoosh and my glasses were gone, in the rapids. Twenty-twenty
, vision lost in a swirl of white water. .
I had been holed up in my apartment during three days of rain, reading Hunter S.
Thompson's The Great Shark Hunt so my first reaction to Wilson's Creek was tainted:
Fear and Loathing In Mount Pisgah National Forest Some friends had talked me into
skipping Bjorn Borg's try for his sixth consecutive Wimbledon championship (ulti
mate sacrifice for a Borg fan) and then I had lost my only pair of glasses.
But both sacrifices were worth the trip. Wilson's Creek, located 20 minutes west
of Lenoir, is a beautiful haven from hurrvdrum routine. Sandy campsites line the
creek's edge, witrtthe cold, clear water a jump away. The area offers hiking, swim
.,' ming and chess by campf ire, but tubing is the predominant activity.
An over inflated inner tube and a sense of adventure are all anyone needs to wind
down theserpentine stream. The rapids are small and gentle upstream, offering a
good training ground for the novice tuber, but become more thrilling downstream
with triple falls, shutes and sheer drops.
The calm stretches between rapids give the tuber a chance to look at the towering
green trees that coyer the mountains, making them look like large hills of moss.
The large rocks are like grandstands, where watching the spills and chills of others
can be as much fun as doing it yourself.
But people have left their marks on the place. "I Love Doris" is just one of the
catchy phrases spray painted on the rocks. And pools left high and dry during low
water strand beer cans and cigarette packs as well as minnows.
But if you get the chance, get some friends, and get to Wilson's Creek. Two
requests: don't paint the rocks and don't get my space.
And don't wear your glasses in the water. r
Phaizs by Keith Klr.j
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