SUP with Cascade on the Ocoee River.

The Middle Ocoee river is a summer time staple for the southeast. Consistent flows and great class 3-4 whitewater make it a great proving ground for whitewater SUP.

There are many lines through all the big rapids. Since we started SUP here 2 years ago we have graduated to many of the meatier raft lines. Jon Shannon (above) is running the guts of Double Trouble!

Lines can be technical or stout, you choose! Left line at Broken Nose (above)

Tablesaw is one of those rapids that flips kayakers, sends rafts crashing against the rocks and is very intimidating on a SUP. This year we have been running main line. 250 feet of continuous waves 3 feet high or more. (above)

If you are confident in class 2-3 on your SUP board, come out and see us on the Ocoee in Southeast TN. Water temps are in the high seventies and we have releases from thursday to monday. We have quiver of EmotionTraverse and some C4 inflatables. www.cascadeoutdoors.com

See you all on the river

Aaron

Surfs up!

Mariela and I went to Colorado for a few weeks in May and June. If you've never been to the rivers out west, you are missing out. We stayed in Buena Vista, CO and surfed/paddled: Numbers, fractions and the BV and Salida Playparks.

Carving it up

We were able to surf Some of the Badfish Boards, both down river and on waves. Mike and Zach are at the forefront of river surf design. It was awesome to surf some completely original designs.

Stand Up River surf is a very new medium. Kayaks have been surfing river waves for years but SUP boards are relatively new.

Ollie

Badfish stand up Boards are available in a variety of sizes. 5' 11" to the 9' river runner. They are all hand crafted in Salida,CO.

Matt getting low!

If you are in the state of Colorado and you like to SURF? get over and check out the boys at Badfish. Badfish boards can be ordered at CKS!

See ya on the river

Aaron

SUP at Cascade Outdoors

One of the newest boards from Imagine Eco is the Surfer. This is a beginners SUP with extreme stability and great surfing ability.

Surfing Ocoee River Style
We tried the board on a glassy wave about 2 feet tall. The Surfer was retentive and very good at making slow wide turns.


Nice smooth carves!
This board has a very unique hull design. I say this after paddling DragoRossi kayaks. Corran has taken the stingers and bottom chines and put them to good use on this board.



Bottom of the Surfer!
I found that the board handled well with or without skegs. We tried from 4 to 9 inch skegs. Without skeg it is very similar to surfing a loose whitewater kayak, fun but not out of control.





Lots of space to move around!
I said before that this is a beginner board. Two people surfed yesterday who had NO experience surfing..AT ALL! The Surfer top has a lotof space to move around on. When you are learing to SUP you need a stable platform to get comfortable moving your feet. The Surfer is perfect for learning these basic techniques.

TECHNICAL DATA for the Surfer:

9’9” X 34” X 6” Max Weight:300lbs Board Weight: 44lbs

The Surfer is not a replacement for the Rapidfire. It is an able river runner and is made of bombproof plastic, but the lack of volume in the stern and the large flat top make it more prone to submersion than the Rapidfire.

I recommend this board for anyone who loves to surf and then river runs on the side. The Surfer handled class 3 rapids nicely, caught eddies and made ferries easy too.

This board retails for $399. It is worth every penny. Come check out our selection of SUP's at CascadeOutdoors.com


See you on the river.

Aaron

Now Rafting 7 Days a Week

A new rockslide has occurred in the Ocoee Gorge. What? Another slide!! Yes, that's right. We just experienced "Large Slide Number 3" for this year. The good news is that it is did not damage the road, but instead took out the flume line that is used to divert water from the Ocoee Riverbed to a hydro-power plant. As a result the Middle Ocoee is running 24/7 for the first time since 1984!! We have been experiencing larger than normal flows and great weather. Don't miss out, plan your trip now.

Construction Work

Construction Crews have been working 24 hours a day to open Hwy 64 through the Ocoee River Gorge after a large landslide in November destroyed the road and the rafting launch ramp. Today a milestone was achieved when crews poured concrete to repair our launch ramp. We have our fingers crossed that we will be back on the water April 17th. Check back often as I will be posting all updates as they come in.

Kip

Mexico Kayakers

Aaron Koch, a Cascade Outdoors river guide, enjoying some well deserved press at the entrance of the National Fair in Cuidad Valles, Mexico. Aaron winters in Central Mexico where he has a kayaking school, Kayak Huasteca. From a farm boy from Shelbyville Kentucky to the poster boy in Mexico!! Pretty cool, eh?