We were hoping to paddle Wilson Creek in North Carolina, but after a rare prolonged dry spell in March, Wilson had too little water to run. So we headed to the US Whitewater Center, an artificial whitewater course facility in Charlotte, North Carolina. Temps were about 60 degrees, cloudy with scattered showers.
Since Wilson Creek was too low, most participants dropped out, and we only had two paddlers at the Whitewater Center: Tom Hackman and Jake D. We had a wonderful time. The Whitewater Center has powerful class III rapids, with some class IV features mixed in, but is designed to be very safe. The Center has two river loops that both end in a bottom pool, where a conveyor belt conveniently take paddlers back up to the top of the course. Lots of good practice surfing, boofing, dodging rafts, rolling, and making slalom moves. Halfway through the afternoon we took a lunch break at the nice snack bar at the Center. After many laps on the course, we were happily tired out and could hardly even roll. A great afternoon on the water at an impressive facility.