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the writings of Doug Woodward

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a captivating whitewater autobiography

December 14, 2006

by “River Jack,” in The Eddy Line, the Newsletter of the Georgia Canoeing Association, December 2006

I was unaware that this book was even in the works, much less its publication, so you can image my pleasant surprise when I saw a number of books graced with a cover photo that I was familiar with stacked upon a small display table at the NOC.

I first saw this photograph in the publication U.S. Whitewater ’74, the annual program of the US International Slalom Canoe Association. Its caption read: “Doug Woodward of Georgia running a high unnamed waterfall on the Tellico River in Tennessee. Photo by Rodger Losier.” The date of the photo was April 1972 and we now know that high unnamed waterfall as Baby Falls.

From a friend I once heard a first-hand account of that memorable day: There was much wailing and gnashing of teeth by loved ones and friends as Doug took the plunge! However, that was neither the first nor the last “first descent” by Doug, and I, for one, am glad that he took at least one more formidable leap — that of writing it all down and sharing the stories with other kindred spirits!

Wherever Waters Flow is a captivating whitewater autobiography as well as an historical account of the vernal days of paddling in the Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the USA. For me, the stories of the “Chattooga tribe” from the early and mid-seventies are the most enjoyable. Names of people that I’ve not heard or thought about in decades jump from the pages and bring back fond remembrances of a delightful time in my life when paddling rivers was all bright and shiny-new and a bunch of smiling faces were all shouting, “Come on in, the water’s fine!”

The eighteen chapters in the book include such noteworthy happenings as the beginnings of the Nantahala Outdoor Center, taking (then Georgia Governor) Jimmy Carter down the Chattooga, interesting behind the scenes accounts from the filming of Deliverance (Doug was the canoeing double for Ned Beatty), getting to know James and Christopher Dickey, and paddling with Walt Blackadar (both out West as well as on the Chattooga).

Also, the early days of Explorer Post 49 are well chronicled, including one western road trip in an old school bus where “self-reliance” took on a whole new meaning for a band of river gypsies from Atlanta! Interesting archival photographs are also spread throughout the book.

The book is a fascinating read, often in the form of first-hand dialogue, sometimes purely narrative or even journal-like, and all the while bestrewn with eloquent musings by one of the true pioneers of Southeastern whitewater.

In the final chapter Doug waxes poetic and brings forth the river as metaphor when he looks back upon where his own life’s journey has taken him — but then again I see that perhaps there’s no metaphor here at all, since that for some, the two — one’s life and the river — can be so interwoven as to be one.

So, come on in, the water’s fine, and Doug has this great trip all lined up!

website for the Georgia Canoeing Association

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Events

Nov 9, 2019: Paddler’s Night at the Museum

Slideshow by Doug about paddling in the ’60s and ’70s, with special features on Deliverance, Jimmy Carter, Payson and Aurelia Kennedy, and the short documentary The Important Places.

Recent Published Articles

cover of American Whitewater magazine, Sept/Oct 2019

The Whitewater Legacy of Jimmy Carter, in American Whitewater

For those of us whose spirits would wither away without wild country in which to renew ourselves, Jimmy Carter’s greatest legacy is to be found in the rivers that remain free-flowing and the great swaths of protected Alaska land that allow the caribou and grizzly to roam…

Born to Paddle article with 8-year old Canyon at the raft oars

Born to Paddle

Several families relate the joys of connecting to Nature via paddling. Canyon and Forest Woodward’s earliest days of paddling are recounted…

A Storm to Remember, article by Doug Woodward in Canoe&Kayak mag, spread image.

A Storm To Remember

A September canoe trip on the Bowron Lakes of British Columbia. Four adults, a two-year old and… well, it wouldn’t be as interesting a story if everything had gone as planned and the rain and wind hadn’t held a big party on the lakes that week…

Circling Back

In 1970, Doug Woodward paddled his homemade kayak through the Grand Canyon. Though he continued to run rivers over the next four decades, he never expected to feel the whitewater of the Colorado again. His son Forest would change that…

… More Articles…

Recent Musings

The Important Places

The cover of an NRS catalog

The Deliverance Question

… More Musings…

Purchase Doug’s books

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