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You’ll not find a wider selection of wilderness adventures than Slickrock Expeditions has to offer. They go from the southwestern deserts to southern swamps and from the Appalachian highlands to the mountains of the Pacific Northwest. Slickrock guide Burt Kornegay leads each trip and provides all permits, food, and gear (including sleeping bags and tents), as well as local transportation. B&B’s, lodges, and historic inns are part of many trips.
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Coharie Creek Exploration (NC).
Each year Slickrock Expeditions explores a new blackwater river in the South, and this year it will be Coharrie Creek, in the coastal plains of eastern NC. We’ll meet on the first day at Jones Lake State Park to get organized and spend the night. Then we’ll launch on beautiful Coharrie Creek the next morning and canoe down it for 3 days, camping 2 nights on the riverbank. We’ll follow this small river as it twists and turns through beaver swamps and cypress forests to its confluence with the Black River.
Cost: $540 (deposit: $250)
Dates: April 12-15
"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 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 spring wildflowers and enjoy 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: $415 (deposit: $200)
Dates: May 18-20
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Learn To Canoe (NC).
If you want to become a competent and confident wilderness paddler, take this 3-day tandem canoe clinic on the rivers of western NC, with nights and meals at secluded Balsam Lake Lodge, reserved just for our group. The clinic, run annually for 15 years, provides a complete step-by-step introduction to tandem river canoeing, from smooth water up to Class II whitewater, with lots of paddling practice. Evenings will be spent watching canoeing videos and learning about the best kinds of paddling gear available on the market. All paddling will be taught in accordance with guidelines followed by the American Canoe Association. Plan to live and breathe canoeing for 3 days!
Cost: $610 (deposit: $300)
Dates: June 1-3
Gary
and I have told everyone who would listen about our great canoeing
experience and our terrific instruction! Hardheads like us are tough
customers, but you did it. |
Gail
Budd |
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Exploring the Madison River (MT).
Though famous in Montana for its fishing, the fast, clear Madison River, with its headwaters in Yellowstone National Park, has much to offer the wilderness canoeist too. The river flows for more than 80 miles thru a lush valley between the snow-capped Gravelly and Madison Mountains, 10,000’ high. We’ll meet in Bozeman to get organized, then launch the next day on the Madison a few miles below Bear Trap Canyon. The trip will offer a combination of wilderness canoe tripping and riverbank camping, along with paddling day-trips and nights spent at Lewis and Clark Caverns State Park in a comfortable group camp reserved for our group. We may also explore some of the many other streams in the area. The trip will include a stop at Quake Lake, formed in 1959 by one of the biggest earthquakes and landslides ever recorded in the U.S. Our last night will be spent at the restored, elegant Murray Hotel, in nearby Livingston. We’ll return to Bozeman on June 30. Trip cost includes all gear, boats, and food for the river, local transportation, shuttling, park fees, and the night at the Murray Hotel.
Cost: $1625 (deposit: $800)
Dates: June 24-30
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An ACA Exclusive! Riding the Grande Ronde River (OR/WA/ID).
Become a member of the America Canoe Association and 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. To become a member of the ACA, America’s largest and oldest paddling organization, go to www.americancanoe.org.
Cost: $1675 (deposit: $800)
Dates: July 4-11
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Hiking in Panthertown Valley “The Yosemite of the East” (NC).
On this 3-day fall adventure, we’ll backpack into Panthertown Valley, in the Nantahala Nat. Forest, and set up a base camp in a beautiful white-pine forest on the valley floor. From there we’ll hike out to explore Panthertown’s cliffs, gorges, creeks, and waterfalls, including such hidden gems as Fat Man’s Misery, Red Butt Falls, and the Devil’s Elbow. Emphasis will be on gaining an understanding of the valley’s natural history and of its human story, from the Cherokee to the present. A yearly fall favorite since 1991. All gear, food, and local transportation provided.
Cost: $395 (deposit: $175)
Dates: October 5-7
“A seasoned wilderness guide who literally created the trail map that brings adventurous hikers into—and hopefully out of—this forest, Burt knows the area like few others.” |
– Southern Living |
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To order "A Guide's Guide to Panthertown Valley" trail map, click here.
Paddling the Lower Canyons of the Rio Grande (TX).
If you want to make one of the most adventurous Expeditions of 2012, 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, Panther Gulch, 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: $1695 (deposit: $800)
Dates: Oct 20-29
“I can’t tell you how much I enjoyed Big Bend ‘Surf ‘n Turf.’ Every day held a different surprise, with the changes in terrain, different wildlife, different campsites, and the switch from hiking to canoeing. You also knew when to weave in a bit of ‘civilization’ - whether it was dinner at Chisos Lodge or the night at The Gage.”. |
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Watch a video of the 2011 Big Bend trip here |
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