2026 Southeastern River Release Schedule

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Suggested Books to Read While Traveling in Latin America

Bus rides, long shuttles, early nights after a full day of traveling… all of these are great reasons for uploading/bringing along a book with you when you travel.  Many inns have a book exchange, so if you bring one book with you, you can resupply.  Another important reason for doing some reading before, during or after your travels is that you will learn more about the culture you have chosen to immerse yourself in. Following are some of our favorite reads, definitely influenced by the time we have spent in Latin America.

The White Rock, Hugh Thompson
Tropical Nature, Adrian Forsyth & Ken Miyata
1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus, Charles C Mann
The Lost City of Z: A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon, David Grann
Last City of the Monkey God Douglas Preston
Sweat of the Sun,Tears of the Moon: A Chronicle of Incan Treasure, Peter Lourie
Valverdes Gold, Mark Honigsbaum
Land of Ghosts The Braided Lives of People and the Forest in Far Western Amazonia, David Campbell
River of Doubt, Theodore Roosevelt’s Darkest Journey, Candice Millard
Savages, Joe Kane
Three Cups of Tea, Greg Mortenson
Latin American Heroes: Liberators and Patriots from 1500 to the Present, Jerome Adams
When the Rivers Run Dry: Water – The Defining Crisis of the Twenty-first Century, Fred Pearce
Confessions of an Economic Hit Man, John Perkins
The New Confessions of an Economic Hit Man, John Perkins
River of Darkness: Francisco Orellana’s Legendary Voyage of Death and Discovery Down the Amazon, Deckle Edge
The Mapmaker’s Wife: A True Tale Of Love, Murder, And Survival In The Amazon, Robert Whitaker
At the Tomb of the Inflatable Pig: Travels Through Paraguay, John Gimlette
Is A River Alive?, Robert MacFarlane

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For women traveling abroad, there are a few cultural hitches that can make for awkward moments.
Nothing that should dissuade a female from embarking on an international trip,
but if known ahead of time, can make traveling as a female a whole lot easier.

Toilet Paper
something many of us take for granted. But once out of metropolitan areas, there are many countries that consider toilet paper a luxury. If you are not a drip dryer, make sure you bring along a travel size roll of paper. And work on your squats before you go—many toilets are not really conducive to sitting down.

When it is “that time”
The last thing you were thinking about when packing for your trip was the ol’ monthly girl time. And even if you check the calendar to make sure you are not going to overlap, traveling often screws up the timetable just to be a nuisance. Pack for it even if it is not going to happen. Outside of large metropolitan areas, many cultures take a different view on how the monthly plague is handled. Solution: pack enough of your favorite product for the time you are going to be gone as you may struggle to find a resupply – especially tampons.  And think about disposal. If you are traveling in a country that has little access to public bathrooms, or has septic systems that do not accommodate paper products, you need a disposal solution. Bring a supply of snack-size zip lock bags. And have a bit of toilet paper folded in each one (for reasons already mentioned).

Prescriptions
Many countries bypass the doctor when handing out prescription drugs. You walk in to a pharmacy, describe your ailment, and as long as you are not asking for your favorite recreational drug, you will probably be taken care of. Exception to the rule: birth control pills. Don’t leave home without them. It is not only uncomfortable asking for them, but all but impossible to get a prescription filled in countries that do not exactly condone the use of modern medicine in birth control.

Changing Clothes
If you are visiting a country that has religious and/or cultural stigmas about public nudity for women, don’t embarrass your host country. You will not win any friends flaunting your inhibitions. Respect their culture—even if their culture is not shy about calendar photos of half-dressed women snuggling up to sweating beer bottles, they might not take you changing in front of them well; therefore, bring a changing towel, dress, skirt, long shirt.

Cat calls/wolf whistles/being ignored
Sure it might be sexist in your country. And it is in theirs. But that is beyond the point. In many countries (Latin American countries for example) if you are a good-looking lady, you are going to be appreciated. Don’t shoot them the finger and shout “pig” in every language you know. Just continue on your way and be flattered. On the other extreme, there are certain cultures where you will be overlooked if you are part of a group embarking on an adventure—particularly an athletic adventure. Don’t be offended when there is a show of surprise that you are going to do the same thing as the guys…kayaking a river, climbing a mountain, riding a mountain bike. There are cultures–even in this day and time, where women do not participate in such activities, much less alone with a group of guys. Don’t back off from what you are doing, but don’t take things personally if dubious eyes turn towards you when you start putting on your gear.

The Bar Scene
In many countries, it is against every cultural norm for a woman to hang out in a bar.  Nightclub/dance club – yes, but bars – no. That doesn’t mean don’t go—but make sure you are with friends if you do so. Do not try being a bar fly on your own; it will be taken the wrong way—even if all you intended was to have a glass of wine before going to your room for the night.

Above all, remember that television supersedes you. Take care not to play into the preconceived notions that certain cultures have about women from your culture.  Take the time to do your homework before traveling to learn the faux pas of your destination’s culture.
And remember that you are an emissary for all the women that will travel after you.

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Themes: rejecting perfection, community, learning, and experimentation/creativity.

sharing with you from ERA Instructor Mita Coker

This weekend made me feel fulfilled, present, joyous, and humble. This was my first ever women’s-specific programming I’ve run and I was nervous! I wanted it to be perfect, which is why I was nervous. Perfection can be so enticing to people, especially paddlers and especially female paddlers; and it is so so dangerous. It takes the fun out of a sport that is literally just for joy; puts pressure on people that does not have a place in a learning environment, and inhibits experimentation, which is critical for getting better in paddling and in building community. Once I realized I was falling back into a common trope for myself and for many women, I decided to approach it differently. I reframed my mentality for this clinic and embraced uncertainty, experimentation, and honesty. By doing that as the instructor, I was able to set that example and encourage others to do the same. I would never hold my students to the standard of perfection, so why hold this clinic and myself to it?

We made mistakes, we swam, we flopped around, we laughed, we shared, and we learned from all of it. We practiced skills that force you out of your comfort zone – offside rolls, running new lines, going down rapids using unconventional methods, and doing it all in the company of new people. We all agreed to create a space and a group that invited creativity and trial and error, and celebrated each other every time we upheld that agreement. We were able to step out of our comfort zones while staying in our learning zones, and make breakthroughs doing it. Perfection is the antithesis of creativity and creativity is the beginning of learning.

We started our weekend by being open to possibility, new adventures, and each other. By reinforcing that with honest communication, staying curious, and rejecting perfection, we were able to build a community that felt comfortably challenging. That is what I think makes women’s-specific programming so special: just by signing up, you have made an unspoken agreement that you are going to do uncomfortable things in an uncomfortable environment, but you have a group that will support you doing that, and you will support them.That doesn’t happen often with open-enrollment instruction, there just isn’t that agreement to be an active participant in the community.

Trying new things, or old things that scare you, is just as much mental as it is physical. Your community makes all the difference when learning and pushing yourself, and our community was supportive, honest, varied, and engaged. It made teaching and learning so much easier and way more fun! Releasing ourselves and our group from the expectation of perfection enabled us to get a little silly, be more present within our group, and experience each other in an honest and unvarnished way.

This community and this clinic made me feel fulfilled as an instructor, embraced as a friend, and valued as a female paddler. And turns out, it was perfect.

For more Womens Progression Dates and Other Options for Improving Through Instruction

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It’s no secret that adventure sports, whitewater included, generally have more male participants than female participants. When you start to paddle Class IV and Class V, you may show up to a put in and see no women at all. Why is this? Do women tend to be more risk averse? Is it the machismo culture that often accompanies the higher level paddling? Or do women believe they can’t because they don’t have the opportunity to see other women doing class 4 and class 5?

According to the Outdoor Foundation’s 2019 Special Report on Paddlesports (I was unable to find any studies more recent), 36% of whitewater kayakers are women. The study also suggests that the 36% becomes smaller as you climb up towards Class IV and Class V, which is evident when you arrive at the put-in for rivers like the Cheoah, the Gauley, or the Russell Fork. However, over the past five years, whitewater has grown in popularity and participation. I wonder what the current demographics look like?

It is so rare to paddle with a group of only women, but it feels special every time. Now don’t get me wrong, I have a group of men that I love paddling with. I would not be the kayaker I am today without some of my male friends showing me new moves, or taking me down numerous Class IV and V rivers for the first time. But many of the days that stand out to me when I look back on my paddling career are the days that I paddled in all-lady groups, or was with some of my best women friends (and great men too) on the river. There is something special about paddling in a group of supportive, fun-loving, cool women on our favorite rivers.

Events like the Green River Takeover, or the Ocoee River Takeover, are awesome community building events. It is so easy to make friends who have similar goals, and who may be interested in paddling together after the takeover. After these events, networks have grown, and women have been represented in a positive light. Events like the Green River Takeover, which due to recent changes to the riverbed could be a different experience in the future, also allowed women who paddled Class II and III to see and meet women who paddled Class IV and V.

Seeing other women paddling harder whitewater, paddling harder whitewater with other women, or even paddling your home run that is well within your comfort zone with your women friends, all lead to better representation for women in whitewater. We exist, we celebrate each other, and we can push each other to be our best selves and kayakers. Endless River Adventures has always had bad ass women who work here, starting with our co-founder Juliet. Today, we have multiple female instructors, who paddle Class IV and Class V on for fun.

We like to celebrate women and their accomplishments, which is why we are starting to offer women’s only progression clinics. These will be designed to help you meet goals of paddling certain rivers, making certain moves, and meeting other cool women who like to kayak the same rivers as you. We want you to leave these clinics feeling empowered to push yourself, and with a crew of women who will become each other’s biggest cheerleaders. We want you to have the option to paddle more challenging rivers with your group of women (and of course the boys too).

Check out our new Women’s Progression Series and help us build an even better community!

 

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During the winter, it is tempting to save all your roll practice for the pool.   And for some – the winter pool sessions are the only time a roll is really ever practiced intentionally.  True, winter paddling is not really conducive to lots of roll practice for most of us, given the tendency to strive for dry, ice-free hair days on the river. It is tempting to save roll practice for the nice warm swimming pool. So there you go, diligently practicing your roll all winter long at weekly pool sessions. Big confidence booster when that roll is working. If you used your time well, you made sure to practice rolling on both sides. Maybe a hand roll was added over the winter. Feeling good about all that work, you are now heading back to the river for spring paddling, only to find that the first time you unexpectedly tip over, your roll is not there. Swimming in cold water – dry suit or not, is a shock to the system. And a confidence killer. What’s that about?? And were all those nights at pool sessions over the winter a waste of time?

Rolling is the one kayak technique that is not like “riding a bike”

Practicing your roll is essential. So the short answer about rolling at pool sessions: no, you did not waste your time going to pool sessions all winter. But if that’s true, what’s with having an awesome pool/flat water roll but not rolling up on the river?

First off, rolling is extremely mental. If you learned to roll/practiced your roll all winter in a warm swimming pool, dressed only in a pair of shorts and bikini top and now you waddle your way down to the river in a dry suit plus multi layers and skull cap and pogies and and and…. When you tip over it’s just not going to feel the same. So the tendency is to rush – because the water is darned cold if nothing else. If your roll doesn’t work on the first try, that full-fledged ice cream headache you end up with drives you to promptly rush the second roll even more. And then you swim.

Practice makes permanent with the kayak roll

Practice does not always make perfect. Practice does always make permanent. If you “practiced” your roll, which happens to be a pretty bad roll but gets you up all winter, or were taught a roll that got you up in the pool, but was not really good technique, that is the roll you are going to take to the river. Once you take away that warm cuddly pool water and your roll doesn’t work so well, you go back to rushing your roll. And then you swim. Practice is good. But you have to be practicing good technique.

Why doesn’t my pool roll work on the river

You worked all winter fixing/learning your roll. Technique-wise everyone was giving you big thumbs up. But as soon as you are upside down on the river, you revert to your pre-pool-sessions roll. And swim. Don’t throw your hands up in despair. You have the makings for a new-you roll. The problem is that when you were practicing the new-you roll, it was in the pool. The water was warm, you were surrounded by helpful folks ready to t-rescue you, and you only tipped over when you were good and ready. Nose plugs were on, your support staff was lined up, the side of the pool was close at hand, and after a nudge or two, you were upside down. That’s not how the whole upside down thing works on the river is it! So until you take the time to practice rolling in moving water, when you tip over you are going to default to the old bad roll/no roll at all. It is muscle memory – but that muscle memory is not stored in your muscles, but in your brain. That old roll is still stubbornly locked away in your cerebellum. It takes time to move that muscle memory out and replace it with the new-you roll. Replacing will not happen if you never tip over on the river. Or if you only practice in an eddy.

How to get your river roll

Dress appropriately on the river and take time to roll. In an eddy. Peeling out in the current. Have support on hand so that you do not have to swim every time. If it is not working, don’t beat yourself up. Get some instruction. The longer you practice bad rolling the more permanent it becomes. Or the less you practice your roll, the less likely it will work for you.

Rolling is an essential component to having fun on the river. And it is well within everyone’s abilities to roll on the river. You have to give the roll the time and the coaching needed to see it working for you. Once you are there, embrace being upside down as something fun on the river rather than a painful result of accidently tipping over.  Want more beta on better rolling? Check out our library of roll-specific articles.

The above sounding like what you are dealing with?
Let’s get you set up for a day of coaching with one of our hand-picked instructors.

The post Why A Pool Roll Is Not Always A Whitewater Roll appeared first on Endless River Adventures.

When fly fishermen talk about the delayed harvest season – Western North Carolina is always mentioned as one of the top destinations. 

What is Delayed Harvest

Delayed harvest is a trout management strategy that provides a high quality catch and release trout opportunity from fall through spring. It runs from October 1st to June 01.  During that time, there are strict regulations set up by NC Wildlife that must be followed.  Regulations include catch and release only and the use of single artificial hook. There are specific stocking days set up  rivers are generally stocked in October and November, and then again in March, April, and May.

Where to Go for Delayed Harvest

The Tuckasegee River is one of our favorite go-to’s in early spring.  With Rainbow, Brown and Brookies, as well as Bass, the Tuck is great fishing during delayed harvest. Float fishing is preferable on the Tuck. In addition, the Upper Nantahala from White Oak Creek to the Duke Energy Power Plant is a delayed harvest section as well. Wade fishing is the go-to on the Upper Nantahala.

What About the Lower Nantahala

The Nantahala River has two distinct sections of river, supporting all three species of trout:  rainbow, brook and brown.  Between the quality of stocked and native trout and the beautiful scenery on both sections of river, it is no wonder that the Nantahala is ranked as one of Trout Unlimited’s  Top 100 Trout Rivers in North America. The lower Nantahala sees some of the better hatches in North Carolina.  It is important to keep in mind that the lower section of the Nantahala is a hatchery supported section of river. During the month of March, you cannot fish hatchery supported rivers. This is because The N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission closes approximately 1,000 miles of Hatchery Supported Trout Waters to fishing at 11:59 p.m. on Feb. 28 and reopens them at 7 a.m. on April 2.  This includes the main section of the Nantahala River – which is open for year-round fishing with the exception of March.

What flies work best during Delayed Harvest?

Dry Flies work best in the early morning and late afternoon. Small wet flies, streamers, and nymphs work best during the day. A current NC fishing license is necessary for fishing on either section of river.  You can obtain a 10-day short term license, or annual license at our Outfitters shop overlooking the Nantahala River.  Stop by for a license, and to spend time in our fly fishing section to check out what flies and gear you can use to spend time out on the water.

The post Delayed Harvest Fly Fishing Season in Western North Carolina appeared first on Endless River Adventures.

I get asked all the time, “when is the best time to come and fish in Western North Carolina?”   Many anglers put their gear up for the year when winter arrives, but here in WNC, we have outstanding fly fishing opportunities year round. Mild weather makes for pleasant days on both natural streams, like those in the Smoky Mountain National Park and delayed harvest streams like the Upper Nantahala River, Tuckasegee River and Snowbird Creek,  just to mention a few.

Here in WNC we have outstanding fly fishing opportunities year-round.

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Delayed Harvest Season

Delayed harvest makes western North Carolina an even better fly fishing destination than it already is!  All of the delayed harvest streams are stocked in the first couple of weeks of October, and then again in March, April and May.  This is the time of year when you might find larger fish being stocked. What makes it such a good time to get out with a guide and float the river is that you have lots of fish and no crowds. This time of year, there is no reason to be limited to a small section of stream.   A float trip allows you easily cover miles of river and not have to worry about trying to wade in the faster and deeper water.

“I can pretty much guarantee that if you put in the time and use this technique you will be surprised at the success you will have.  Once you pick up the technique and spend some time fishing during the off-season, it will likely become one of your favorite times of the year to fish.”

The Nuances of Streamer Fishing

We asked head guide Ken Kastorff about late winter and early spring fishing.  His response was that “personally, my favorite time of the year to fly fish because I switch to streamer fishing.   While it is always fun to work on nymphing skills, late winter/early spring is a great time to streamer fish.  Streamer fishing is the most exciting way of fly fishing because, typically, larger fish are caught on streamers. Late winter/early spring is prime time to catch that trophy brown trout.  Streamer fishing gives you a break from watching a stick indicator or struggling with trying to perfect that perfect drag free drift.  Streamer involves traditional casting skills like those that most people associate with “fly fishing.”  Switching to streamer fishing is like casting yourself in A River Runs Through It.”

Best Equipment for Off-Season Fly Fishing

It is time to bring out the sink tip line and shorten your leader.  Get a rod with some backbone that can throw larger heavier flies.  Ken recommends fishing two streamers at the same time.  Usually, a smaller streamer followed by a larger one a few feet behind.  He added that many times he will fish two different colors

Here are a few tips I give my fly fishing guests when working with them on streamer fishing:

• Start with a cast perpendicular to the current.  Let the current swing the fly down stream and wait until the fly has almost straightened out before stripping it in.
• When stripping back to the rod, pause after every second or third strip.  Steer the fly with your rod.  You can easily move the fly laterally in the current flow to place the fly next to downstream eddies or over and into likely pockets that could hold fish.
• Cast cross current again and this time strip slowly as the fly swings down stream. Pumping the rod will give the fly more action.  Do this same cast again each time increasing the speed of the retrieve.
• Eventually, on your last cast the streamer should be erratically breaking the surface of the water on your retrieve, looking like distressed bait fish.
• Now cast about five feet upstream from perpendicular and let the fly sink a little before stripping it in.
• Each successive cast should be five feet further upstream, until you feel the fly bouncing on the bottom of the river.  This technique works well because each cast brings the fly through a different water column.

If you are looking for one of the best destinations for fishing in the southeast, and looking for one of the best small towns to visit in North Carolina, western North Carolina is your destination.

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