Day Two of the 2002 Great Mohican Gathering

... The Nolichucky River ...

For the second day in a row, our experience was immeasurably enhanced by the folks we were dealing with. Ok. It would be hard not to have fun on a rafting trip down a whitewater river. Add in the Mohicans locations, all the personalities of the Gatherers themselves, plus the dedicated diligence of our guides, and, well, the end result may very well have been the ultimate whitewater raft trip! All the guides were fantastic, but two, in particular, stood apart from the rest ... they were our Mohicans Guides, veterans of the film shoot in this area, having accompanied Michael Mann & the film crew in the gorge when they were scouting and filming back in 1991.

Tom & Wayne ... our Nolichucky Mohicans Guides!

We had a marvelous day ... it was long - all day over 8 or so river miles - those of us, 14 in all, I think, who opted to ride the one-man "duckies" [funyaks], had a particularly tough, though exhilarating, go of it. You can't tell it by these photos - who was gonna be shooting pictures through the rapids? It was all we could do to stay in the crafts. Come to think of it, most of us didn't stay in the crafts! - but it was a wild ride! Though bruised & battered by day's end - paling any other Mohican experience on the exhaustion scale - most everyone said they'd do it all again. Just us and the Nolichucky ... all day. What a day! And, truly, it is a near-miracle that we have pictures at all. Only disposables were brought, and though I had mine "securely" wrapped in a plastic bag, I was thoroughly soaked by days end ... yeah, went "swimming" as they say! 

The LOCATION PICS

With cameraman strapped - with camera - to the front of a duckie, we see the whitewater of the Nolichucky as Chingachgook was supposed to have ... from water level! The rapids just downstream in this view, called Snappy, were what you saw on film ... what we rode right through!

The rock from which Hawkeye & Uncas pull a tumbling Chingachgook from the river. Note the graveled train track area to the right-center of picture. This is visible in the film we were told, and then noticed for ourselves the next night at the theater.

From the point of view of the camera straight on in to the woods ran the 3 Mohicans after pausing on the rock for a breather. Between the rock and this spot is water, but our guides were among those who held pontoons in place for them to run across!

SOME QUOTES
Courtesy of the fine memory of Diana Strickland

"Oh, I went swimming. I was violently ejected from the raft." "Did they get you pulled back in the boat OK?" "No, you don't understand...we were A-L-L violently ejected."...regarding the raft trip on Friday.

"Yeah Rich got out to get his duck unstuck, and it left without him!"...regarding same as previous.

"Hey look at him go, he's surfing. WOW...a 360. Go, Man!"... "I can tell by the look on his face, he's not meaning to do that! He's trying to get out of the rapid, not stay in it"...raft trip again.

"No really, I'm OK. It's just a scratch"...said Dane, as the long red ribbon of blood trailed his funyak in the river after an awesome self rescue!.

"OMIGOD, JAYNE!" said while viewing swollen, purple, bumpy, red bruised triceps from the "SURVIVOR - NOLICHUCKY" show. Outlast, Outbruise, Outdrown, Outswim, Outrow, Out-swallow-river-water, Out...like a light that night!

SOUNDS LIKE FUN, EH? YEAH! IT WAS FUN! ... REALLY! ... IT WAS ... HONEST ...

DAY ONE || DAY TWO || DAY THREE || DAY FOUR ||
GATHERERS' PHOTO GALLERY

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