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Slickrock Expeditions will offer 5 trips in 2013. They'll go from the southwestern deserts to southern swamps and from the Appalachian highlands to the rivers of the Pacific Northwest. Slickrock guide Burt Kornegay will lead each trip and provide all permits, food, and gear (including sleeping bags and tents), as well as local transportation. B&B’s, lodges, and historic inns will be part of some trips.
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Upper Lumber River Exploration (NC).
In 2013 Slickrock Expeditions will explore the headwaters of the Lumber River, in the coastal plains of eastern NC. We’ll meet on the first day at Lumber River State Park at Chalk Banks to get organized and spend the night. Then we’ll launch on remote, swift-flowing Drowning Creek the next morning and canoe down to its confluence with Buffalo Creek, then continue on the upper Lumber, for 3 days of river canoeing total and riverbank camping. We’ll follow this small river as it twists and turns through beaver swamps and cypress forests to the Riverton Road access, near Wagram, covering 32 miles.
Cost: $550 (deposit: $250)
Dates: April 4-7
"We can still see that beautiful blackwater river in the spring sunshine, with the canopy of new leaves overhead and cypress trees along the bank and maybe a blown down tree up ahead we have to maneuver through--just enough challenge to keep things interesting." |
– Martha Moore |
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Hiking the BartramTrail (NC/).
On this 3-day backpack, covering around 5 miles a day, we'll hike one of the most wild and beautiful stretches of the North Carolina Bartram National Recreation Trail, where the trail winds out of the Nantahala Gorge and climbs to the crests of the Cheoah Mountains. The trail will take us along Ledbetter Creek to Bartram Falls and then on to the mile-high summit of Cheoah Bald itself, called the "Grandstand of the Atlantic" for its sweeping views of the Southern Appalachians. We'll see spring wildflowers and camp in deep forests, then the last day we'll follow the Appalachian Trail down and out to the Nantahala River. We'll also see the place on the bank of the Nantahala where Bartram met the grand chief of the Cherokee, Atakulkulla, in May, 1775.
Cost: $420 (deposit: $200)
Dates: May 17-19
"The 80-mile-long portion of the Bartram Trail in North Carolina was completed in 1997, thanks in large measure to the energetic leadership of a literary-minded ex-Marine named Burt Kornegay, owner of Slickrock Expeditions in Cullowhee and a past president of the North Carolina Bartram Trail Society." |
– National Geographic Magazine |
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Riding the Grande Ronde River (OR/WA/ID).
Sign up for one of Slickrock Expeditions favorite western canoe trips, down the fast-flowing Wallowa-Grande Ronde River, winding through the Blue Mountains of Oregon and Washington. As Western Whitewater puts it, the Grande Ronde is “one of the most scenic river trips of the Pacific Northwest.” And Oregon River Tours states: “there are few river trips in Oregon that can surpass the Grande Ronde as a wilderness experience.” In addition to exploring 3000’-deep canyons and enjoying beautiful campsites, participants may see some of the bear, deer, eagles, bighorn sheep, elk, coyote, and moose that live along the river. We’ll canoe and camp on the Grande Ronde to its confluence with the Snake. Then we’ll settle in for a comfortable night at the Reflections Inn, in ID. The last day will include a spectacular drive along the Clearwater, Salmon, and Payette Rivers to Boise, where the trip starts and ends. Cost includes transportation from Boise, river-trip gear and food, shuttling, and the final night and breakfast at the Reflections Inn.
Cost: $1650 (deposit: $800)
Dates: July 6-13
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Hiking the Slickrock Trail (NC/TN).
On this 3-day backpack, covering 4-5 miles a day, we’ll explore the Slickrock Trail in the Joyce Kilmer-Slickrock Wilderness. The trail will take us along crystal clear Slickrock Creek, where we’ll camp two nights. We’ll see fall wildflowers and swim at such beautiful spots as Wildcat and Lower Falls. The last day we’ll take a side trip to the Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest to walk among some of the oldest, largest trees in the East. All gear and food will be provided, along with local transportation and shuttling. Group size will be limited to 9 people.
Cost: $425 (deposit: $200)
Dates: Oct 4-6
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Canoeing the Rio Grande (TX).
If you want to make one of the most adventurous Expeditions of 2013, join this 8-day exploration of the Lower Canyons of the Rio Grande. The heart of the trip will be canoe tripping, as we paddle and camp for 85 miles through monumental canyons, with walls up to 2000’ high, forming one of the most beautiful and remote stretches of wilderness river in the U.S. The trip will also feature hikes to up slot canyons, to cave shelters, and into the Chihuahuan Desert, as we explore places with names like Burro Bluff, Palmas Canyon, and Outlaw Flats. Our final night will be spent at the historic western hotel, The Gage, in nearby Marathon: “The Gage Hotel has served up West Texas hospitality with big-city service since 1927.” Trip starts and ends in Midland, TX. Trip cost includes all food and gear for the river, ranch access fees, transportation from Midland, shuttling, and the night at the Gage.
Cost: $1750 (deposit: $800)
Dates: Oct 20-29
“I wish we could have had just one more night around the cookstove, just one more bend in the river. The Rio Grande was everything you said it would be, and more.” |
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Watch a video of the 2011 Big Bend trip here |
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