Oconaluftee River - Kayaking in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park // Elk sightings

Come along for a special run down the Onconaluftee River in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park! We had almost 8 miles of endless class 2 and 3 boogie water, boofs, rapids and amazing scenery. We were lucky enough to see a small heard of elk crossing the river as we floated past. We also saw deer and turkey. The river took me back to my first year in whitewater kayaking. This was the river I was always imagining was out there somewhere. The level was 1200 cfs on the AW source gauge. As depicted in the video, wood hazards are plentiful on this run as it is not permitted to remove such hazards within the park. Always be on high alert on this run and make sure all members of the party have the ability to catch any and every eddy to avoid such hazards. What a fantastic river! I decided to go with an edit that shows the whole run from top to bottom, every rapid and hazard along the way. I want the viewer not only to feel like they were along for the adventure, but also to have a realistic scouting tool for what to expect should they paddle this river. always have a safety whistle! - https://amzn.to/41dF38U Join this channel:    / @riverkingskayak