Accident Database

Report ID#68262

2003-06-12
accident date
Intermediate Level Kayaker
victim
n/a
victim age
Watauga
river
1. SR 1557 to NC 105 - Red Roof
section
Trash Can Falls????!!!????
location
Medium/Medium High Water Level
gage
n/a
water level
IV
river difficulty
Pinned in Boat Against Strainer
cause code(s)
n/a
injury type(s)
n/a
factors
Private
trip type
Whitewater Kayak
boat type
status?
status

Description

I had asked about this run from locals and they gave me descriptions of a couple of bad spots on this section. A friend and I scouted everything as we made our way down. There was a particularly clean looking drop (I am now convinced it was Trash Can Falls) that I decided to run first. My friend that was behind me described to me later that myself and my kayak “disappeared completely” underneath the water. I was in the first (and only) vertical pin to this date. It happened so fast- I was vertically pinned for probably 30 seconds and I ended up punching out. The boat pitchholed after my exit. I surfaced way downstream, looked back and was like holy s*****! The ride back into town was very quiet, it all came to me how close I was to checking out. A few days later it took about 7 guys and a couple of z drags to pull the kayak out from under the rock, and it kind of resembled an accordion. We celebrated our successful recovery with a couple of cases of Budweiser. I am so grateful that a really good friend was there and would have done anything to try to save my life if he had to, and the few people that I did not really even know banded together to help me with the salvage operation. It is in my hopes that people will read about about one of the scariest experiences in my lifetime of paddling and be aware of that very dangerous spot on the Red Roof. Thanx for reading this and a I wish you guys fun and safe paddling wherever you go……..