“I like to be a person who wants to continue learning. I don’t want to be stagnant, and whitewater is so inspiring. I’m inspired every time I get on the river.”

It’s hard to pick a favorite run when you’ve co-written the guidebook on rivers in North America, but for Andria Davis, there’s something about the Rocky Broad. Dropping nearly 180 feet per mile and chock full of sieves, you might be forgiven for not having paddled Andria’s backyard run. After all, there are plenty of challenging, more remote rivers throughout the Blue Ridge Mountains.

“I honestly didn’t like the Rocky Broad the first 20 times I ran it probably, because it scared me… But, you know, my boating skills caught up to it, and eventually just started to love it.”

A free-flowing river, the Rocky Broad depends on rain and snow and its dynamic nature continues to teach even the most local kayakers, like Andria, new things.

This is Andria Davis and the Rocky Broad is her Home Run.

Editor’s Note: Check out River Gypsies Guide to North America. Watch the full My Home Run series on YouTube.