Three Kayakers Drop 90-Foot Noccalula Falls in Alabama
Josh Wolfe 02.22.12
Three kayakers, Pat Keller, Isaac Levinson, and Chris Gragtmans, of North Carolina, recently launched a 90-foot drop off Noccalula Falls in northeastern Alabama. The trio of veteran kayakers diligently scouted the drop before making the attempt. Low water levels hindered several previous attempts until they were able to accomplish the feat on a November day.
“A couple of waves on the way in made it complicated; the lip was one of the most terrifying things I’ve seen when it comes to waterfalls,” Keller, who made the first descent, told Canoe & Kayak. “It had a bump under the surface that changed the water’s trajectory, shooting you farther out than you wanted.”
Check out the video of the drop:
httpv://youtu.be/z132Np3ze2E
It didn’t take long for me, following in my father’s footsteps (literally), to develop a deep appreciation for the outdoors. Because it’s there in the wind, in the rain and a cool summer sunrise where I’ve learned more than in all the classrooms combined. My journalistic work is the sum of all I’ve taken from the outdoors and all I want to give back.
It was during a long, grueling two-year stint working as a banker in Huntsville, Alabama, I finally realized I needed to follow my dreams. After sojourning several places across the country, I now call Asheville, North Carolina, home, where I am the co-founder, publisher and editor of The Golf Sport (www.golfsportmag.com) magazine and editor of Sporting Classics Daily (www.sportingclassicsdaily.com). I am also a contributor to OutdoorHub and Global Outfitters, and hope to really inflate that balloon over the next couple years.
For me, it’s the power of the pen that makes the outdoor adventure live forever – as it is resurrected on the page in front of me. I am so fortunate to be a part of the outdoor community and make my passion a career.
