Tellico Villagers are finding ways to get outdoors and enjoy various waterways around the Southeast.
Members of the Soggy Bottom Kayak Club ventured around Tellico Lake and Fort Loudoun State Historic Park early Friday morning.
“It’s pretty interesting when you get on the water, you look at the fort,” Dave Noble, club president, said. “You know, 200 years ago plus, there were people doing the exact same thing we’re doing — paddling. It was a much smaller river back then, but nonetheless, they were paddling by the fort and maybe came to the fort to trade. It’s just a really good stretch of fresh water.”
After circling the fort, the group continued its historic-themed paddle by the Sequoyah Birthplace Museum. The group capped the morning with lunch at Pizzeria Venti in Vonore.
“A lot of people don’t recognize that Fort Loudoun was built on an island, as was the Sequoyah Museum,” Noble said. “We go through ... we travel, basically, in a clockwise motion around that island. We put in at the state park ramp at Fort Loudoun and take out at the ramp, so the complete circumference that we paddle is about five miles.”
“This is just a nice, easy paddle,” Tom Dietrich, club member, said. “It’s a pretty day, and you get to paddle around. Then we go to Pizzeria Venti, which is always a fun gathering. Seems like if we tie in some place, some restaurant, more people show up.”
Dietrich has been involved with the club for more than 10 years and was drawn by the social aspect.
“I’ve been doing it since 2008,” he said. “The camaraderie is good, it’s fun. It gets you right on the water and forces you to go kayaking, which is a fun thing to do. ... Individuals have to do events, so we’ll take an event one time, and then another person will take an event one time so it can spread out. We’ll do other things, like overnight kayaks, which are fun. We’ll go up to Lake Fontana or Edgar Evins State Park, either camp or stay in a lodge. We’ll spend the night and kayak in the areas.”
The club has grown exponentially since its inception more than 20 years ago and is open to anyone with a paddle-type watercraft, such as kayaks, canoes and paddle boards.
Members enjoy more than 20 free paddle events every year, with some outside Tennessee.
“We normally take three or four trips during our paddling season to different areas,” Noble said. “This year, we have a trip scheduled in early fall to Fontana Lake. We have an overnight campout scheduled for Edgar Evins State Park, which is close to Nashville. ... We went to Cumberland River this year, which is in Cumberland Falls State Park in Kentucky, so we’ve gotten around. I think it was two or three years ago that we took a group of 12 to the Buffalo National River in Arkansas, so we’re just looking for quality paddling experiences.”
In addition to experiencing beautiful scenery and socializing with friends, the club also serves as a “fun way to stay in shape.”
“Of course, most people in Tellico Village are north of 50, but it’s a great upper body workout,” Noble said. “You know, arms, chest, back and you’ve got your core. Paddling just benefits all those areas.”
Tellico Village is widely known for boating and fishing, but paddle sports have recently become popular among residents.
“There’s been a growth of paddle sports in the Village, but the Village has grown, too, so I don’t know if total growth is doing it or whether kayaking is doing it,” Dietrich said. “As you drive across the country and look at a lot of things, you see a lot more people kayaking, you see them on top of tops of cars in places that we go.”
The club’s next paddle will be Aug. 9 on the Emory River in Oakdale. For more information, call Noble at {span}865-657-3252.{/span}
