Funny the way it is. When all is risked for that moment, that moment which will become a memory forever ingrained in your mind whether for better or for worse. It’s when everything is telling you to back out, because this will not end well. The odds are stacked against you, but IF it does go well the reward is unimaginable. Hell we all know “the next best thing to playing and winning is playing and losing”. So you go all in and go for it.

Ben Davis Boofing Big In Colorado

Three years ago I met a wild eyed eighteen year old with the passion for whitewater that I had, his name was Ben Davis. After several trips boating together we became the best of friends. Traveling across the US and even internationally wrangling rivers. We pushed each other on the rivers and our skills flourished. The summer of 2008 Ben suffered a shoulder injury on Oh Be Joyful in Colorado. His summer was cut short. That fall he re injured his right shoulder training for the Green Race which resulted in surgery. Early the next summer Ben was back. We were back boating, but Ben then headed out to California on a trip of a lifetime and I had unfinished business in Colorado. The summer passed and we both returned to Chattanooga, boating the typical fall runs of the Southeast. Nearly a year to the day of Ben’s last shoulder injury we were back at the Green River again training for the Green Race. Little did we know the same rapid would, would injure Ben’s left shoulder and break several bones resulting in another surgery. We had gone from boating nearly every day as a team to boating together only a handful of times in two years.

Ben Post Surgery

Spring 2010, Ben was ready to paddle again. Ben was focused on school , and I was focused on exploring the lesser known runs of Walden’s Ridge. We were boating, but no longer on the same page we were once on. Ben dropped by the apartment one afternoon, beers were drank , and we reminisced about the times we had on the Raven Fork. Just so happened a few days later rain fell, and the Raven Fork was running. I shot Ben a text, and he was game. He said he’d meet me at 10 the next morning after his Special Forces test. As usual things went over and it was nearly noon when we left Chattanooga. Two stops later we were pushing making it to the Raven Fork By five in the afternoon.

The Author In Colorado






Ben California Dreaming




The mood was heavy. Ben hadn’t been to the Raven Fork in over a year, and he hadn’t paddled anything of that difficulty since his surgery. We decided to run by the take out first hoping to get a shuttle. Like always when you are pressed for time nobody was there. So we went to the put in and started hiking. It was now six and we had less than two hours to hike in and run one of the hardest sections of whitewater in the southeast. When we reached the river we had an optimal flow and a beautiful afternoon, but we both knew we could afford no mistakes. I remember looking at Ben and saying this had the potential to be one of the best or worst trips of our lives. As I went into the first rapids, I was stopped in a hole. The hole beat me down but I was determined not to swim. After several tense seconds maybe even a minute, I fought my way out and finished the rapid riding switch. Ben decided to walk. Contrary to what one would think the beat down lightened the mood. We were determined to keep a safe trip so we took our time and picked our way down the river. We finally reached the portage section and were above the largest rapid on the river. We had 45 minutes of daylight left 3 big rapids and one portage left. Portaging the first of the three rapid was not going to happen due to time restraints. After watching me run it on my head, I could tell Ben was nervous. I patiently waited in the pool below as I watched him saddle up and take the ride. Two rapids were left. We snuck the next rapid to stay safe and got out to scout the last major rapid. Ben was debating portaging, but after my line he decided to run it. Next thing I knew, he was flying off the last drop and we were both laughing. We quickly made the last portage and enjoyed the paddle out in a perfect spring sunset deep in the Appalachian Mountains. We made it to the take out and jogged the two miles to the truck where we watched the last rays of sunlight fade away.






The Author Boofing Caveman in the Raven Fork Gorge

The Author in Mike Tyson Punchout

Ben Davis in Mike Tyson Punchout


We both knew a simple mistake could result in one of the most epic and miserable nights of our lives, but we knew if it went well we’d be sipping ice cold brews after a perfect day on the river. Of all the trips and days spent on the river this is definitely one of my most memorable. Not for difficulty of the rapids or beauty of the gorge, but for unspoken trust that was shared between two best friends who risked it all for the simplest of rewards .

What do you do with Good Ole' boys like them?