{"id":23360,"date":"2020-07-30T08:00:05","date_gmt":"2020-07-30T15:00:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/community.nrs.com\/?p=23360"},"modified":"2021-10-14T09:37:17","modified_gmt":"2021-10-14T16:37:17","slug":"river-ravioli-on-the-chattooga","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/community.nrs.com\/duct-tape\/2020\/07\/30\/river-ravioli-on-the-chattooga\/","title":{"rendered":"River Ravioli on the Chattooga"},"content":{"rendered":"

Along the right shore, a side creek enters the river as a sixty-foot waterfall. Rather than a sheer drop, the white veil of water pours over the steep rock face, diverging and converging again like delicate lace.<\/p>\n

Waterfalls and wildflowers, the inspiration for pictures and poems, songs and sentimental hearts, these muses are all about us. Tributaries, swollen from spring rains, cascade into the river. The delicate blossoms of dogwood, silver bell, and black locust hang over the water, dropping petals into the current like children launching toy sailboats on a pond.<\/p>\n

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Dick\u2019s Creek Falls pour into Section III of the Chattooga River<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

My wife and I are rafting Sections II and Section III of the Wild and Scenic Chattooga River, covering 20 miles at a pace that will give us lots of time for relaxing at camp. The majority of the river along these sections is class II\/III dispersed with technical shoals. Instead of a large raft with frame and oars, we are sitting across from each other, paddling our 12-foot raft from the middle compartment with three days worth of camping gear stuffed into the bow and stern.<\/p>\n

At camp the low angle sun skips across the water\u2019s surface, bathing our beach in subdued light. The heat from the coals radiates off my face as I tend to the Dutch oven. When I lift the lid, a puff of steam rises. The aroma is more like a taste than a smell. My mouth waters with anticipation.<\/p>\n

The Dutch oven is a classic camp cooking device comprised of a heavy metal pot for containing and cooking the food and a lid that can maintain an even heat for baking. It\u2019s a link to the days when explorers lacked rubber boats, synthetic underwear, waterproof layers, and bottled fuel like us modern adventurers. Most camp chefs have a favorite Dutch oven meal. For this trip, I included one of mine.<\/p>\n