the kayakers are back

And the kayakers are happy. Lots of cars with kayaks on their roofs have been going past my house lately.

But they probably won't be running this stretch of the Pigeon River's West Fork:

Garden of the Gods, Haywood County, North Carolina

It is called the Garden of the Gods, at least by kayakers, and only a select few have even attempted it. There is a video on Vimeo, made a few years ago, featuring a couple of guys who dragged their kayaks up through the rhododendron and/or mountain laurel thickets and rode back down. They survived with smiles on their faces and, I imagine, a lot of adrenaline pumping. (After watching that video again, I notice that the water wasn't as high when they made that run as it was last week, when I took the picture above.)