The South is legendary for good food like grits, gravy, biscuits, and sweet potato pie! They say it hushes your mouth, and when it comes to first descents of creeks and waterfalls this is the best way! Southern folks are good at keeping secrets…

This tight lipped theory was proven this week, when Jeff West and Mark Bowman first descented a brand new Tennessee River tributary and found it nearly wood-free, much to their surprise. They had no idea who cleaned it out, but they were pretty certain that somewhere in a boat shed, there was a chainsaw in need of sharpening. Now that information has gotten out, its time to thank the Alabama boys who made this possible!

The early morning first descent of an undiscovered tributary of the Tennessee River by Jeff West in a Villain was photographed by Bett Adams. Thanks Bett!

The evening before, we all made our way to the top of a Georgia mountain, where a secret was revealed to us… another gorgeous 50+ foot waterfall never before seen by paddlers. Nick Murphy fired up this one, barely visible in the whiteout:

When Jeff isn’t running laps on steep creeks in his Villain, he’s the Ace Funyak coach on the Ocoee River. He has recently written a new book; Middle Ocoee Guidebook and Training Manual. Be sure to check it out!