A few months ago I had a vision to put on an event that would bring together and inspire the women's paddling community by "taking over" the river. All too often the river is filled with men and I wanted to have a day where the women take it over!On October 19, my idea was made reality with over 50 women putting on the Upper Green together and 24 of those continuing on down through the Narrows!
Photo by Nikki Malatin
We started out at Fishtop (takeout to the Narrows) for sign ups and loading onto shuttle vehicles. In an effort to really flip some gender rolls (and have an excuse to dress up some of the sport's finest in ridiculous attire), we made sure to have our own fleet of male shuttle bunnies on hand to drive us to the Upper Green put in.
Shuttle Bunny Love (Photo by Nikki Malatin)
Best Shuttle Bunny Team Ever! (Photo courtesy of Gareth Tate)
After arriving to the put in, we officially kicked off the day with a big group meeting and safety talk. We then split up into smaller groups and headed downstream. The groups that put on last filled their time with a little impromptu dance party. It was amazing to see all those women together in one place!
Getting ready to go! (Photo by Jess Daddio)
Good Times with New Friends! (Photo by Nikki Malatin)
For those unfamiliar with the Upper Green, it has two marque class 3 rapids -- Bayless Boof and Pinball. For many, these are some of the first bigger rapids that they'll run. It was great to see everyone supporting each other through this section, pointing out lines for those that didn't know them, or simply cheering everyone on at the bottom. Out of the 52 women that paddled the Upper Green that day, we had essentially no swims (I say "essentially no swims" because we did have a woman in a shredder slip off at the bottom of Pinball, but that hardly counts)!
Scouting Bayless Boof (Photo by Gareth Tate)
Mother and Daughter team (Beth and Diane Gaydos) at Pinball (Photo by Gareth Tate)
Enjoying the sunshine after a successful trip down the Upper Green (Photo by Gareth Tate)
After a great trip down the Upper Green, about half of our group hiked out to be met by our shuttle bunnies and driven back to Fishtop, while the other half continued on downstream into the Narrows (Class 5) section of the Green. We had another quick safety talk and group reorganization before making our way into gorge.
We had an eclectic group of women on the Narrows together, ranging from some who would be soon racing the Green to others who had taken hiatuses from the river to raise families. One thing that was constant however was the overwhelming support, big smiles and non-stop laughter that came from all of us as we boofed and slid our way downstream.
Mothers and Green Racers alike looking stylie in Frankenstein (Photo by Mary Ann Grell)
Looking out for each other coming through Chief (Photo by Nikki Malatin)
The ladies enjoying a moment at Gorilla while the men do whatever they have to to sneak into the picture (Photo courtesy of Nikki Malatin)
Taking over the Sunshine Rock! (Photo by Gareth Tate)
Taking over Colonel Dicks! Every kayaker you see in this shot is a woman, how cool is that (Photo by Gareth Tate)
While we were making our way down the Narrows, all of the other women hiked up to Hammer Factor, the last rapid of the Narrows, to hang out and cheer us on while we came through. We then all headed to Fishtop for a social gathering filled with food, beer and lots of rad women!
We finished up the day with a raffle fundraiser for the Shannon Christy Fund, a fund to honor Shannon's memory through supporting the women's paddling community. For those that did not know Shannon, she was an inspiration both on and off the river and is truly missed. There is no doubt that Shannon was out there with us on the river, smiling down and reminding us that we are all beautiful.
Shannon's infectious smile.
You Are Beautiful
Thanks to Dagger and AT for supporting the event from the beginning and encouraging and supporting me along the way! Also thanks to Girls at Play, Mountain Khakis, Kokatat, Green River Adventures, the Nantahala Outdoor Center and Asheville Adventure Rentals for their donations of either raffle prizes or shuttle vehicles for the day. And finally to Emily Shanblatt and Anna Levesque for their help throughout the entire process. You all rock!
Make sure and check out this amazing video of the Green River Takeover!
