Everything that's happening on the Undiscovered French Broad May 2021 |
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Paddle Season is Here!The long, cold winter is finally over and we're eagerly dusting off our fleet of kayaks, tuning up our expanded bus fleet and getting ready to hit the water! Opening Day is May 7, and reservations for the entire season can be made online now at www.LazyOtterOutfitters.com. After a busy 2020 we're increasing our capacity to be able to run more of our 4-mile paddles on the Horse Shoe Bend as well as the 7-mile Paddle to Westfeldt and Sierra Nevada Express trips, while continuing to enjoy the calmer, less-crowded experience that the Undiscovered French Broad offers. We've got Adventure Tubing in the plans as well, though tubing availability depends on water levels so reservations may not be available at any given time. We're hearing that lots of folks are planning vacations and getaways in the area this summer, so we encourage you to make your reservations to paddle with us early so you won't be disappointed! |
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News from the Undiscovered French Broad |
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The Legendary "Mountain Lily" |
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There is history all up and down the Undiscovered French Broad, but one of the most notable tales of Henderson County’s past was first told right where you’ll start or finish your paddle with Lazy Otter Outfitters - where the river rolls under Banner Farm Road at what was once better known as Johnson Bridge. Here, on the east bank of the river (the same side as Lazy Otter), was the home mooring of the Mountain Lily - known when she had her maiden voyage on August 2, 1881 as “the highest steamboat line in the world.” The 90-foot, 100-passenger twin paddle wheel ship was the brainchild of Col. Sidney Vance Pickens, a Civil War veteran, attorney and one of the fathers of the tourism industry in Henderson County. Pickens’ idea - some may call it a scheme or a folly - was to offer passengers the opportunity to behold the beauty of the French Broad River between Brevard and Asheville from the decks of a luxurious river boat. Pickens proved masterful at creating a steamship line, if less so at operating one. With the help of his cousin, Congressman Robert Vance, a federal project to dredge and deepen the channel of the French Broad was approved, and Pickens sold out the 160 public shares of ownership in his French Broad Steamship Company at $25 each. Shopkeepers and businessmen up and down the French Broad anticipated a great boon from the coming of the Mountain Lily, and locals and dignitaries |
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from across the state were on hand on the banks of the river in Horse Shoe when the time came for her maiden voyage. The story is told in different ways in different sources, but one thing is for certain - the Mountain Lily never made it to either Brevard or Asheville. Whether it was because the water was still too shallow, the decks of the boat too tall or the bridges too low, the ship made only a few short trips before a fateful rainstorm hit upstream in Transylvania County. As author Wilma Dykeman describes it in her epic history The French Broad, “The placid Dr. Jekyll of a river was suddenly transformed into a raging Mr. Hyde. Floodwaters swept debris down from the mountains and on the third day, the poor Mountain Lily yielded before their onslaught and swirled loose from her moorings.” She ended up partly buried in the mud near where present-day Highway 191 crosses the river where she was abandoned and eventually dismantled. Parts ended up being used at what is now Horse Shoe Baptist Church, where the bell still sits under a covered shelter. The Mountain Lily may not have been a lasting success, but Lazy Otter Outfitters shares Col. Pickens’ desire to showcase the beauty of the Undiscovered French Broad to locals and visitors alike. That’s why we named our first shuttle bus the “Mountain Lily” - and made sure we only use kayaks that we’re sure can fit under all the bridges! |
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Spotted Along the French Broad |
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“Really, there are otters?” We hear that question often when we tell folks to keep an eye out for the playful - and elusive - river critters. Yep, there really are otters on the Undiscovered French Broad, and they’ve made an impressive comeback in recent years as the river’s industrial history recedes and their habitat improves. Otters can generally get to be about 10 years old in the wild, grow to more than a meter long and weigh up to 14 pounds. Fish is their |
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favorite meal but they also eat aquatic insects and small crustaceans like crayfish. They’re well equipped for fishing, since they can easily dive down to the bottom of the river and hold their breath for as long as six minutes.
If you’ve only seen otters on Youtube, be aware that most of them aren’t quite so camera-ready! You’ll need to be observant to spot one, but you can also look for their slides in the mud on the river banks. If you do see one it may be just a quick glance, but we’ve had paddlers report otters swimming alongside them for several seconds, which would be an incredible treat!
If you miss seeing a wild otter on your paddle, you can visit Otter Falls at the WNC Nature Center to see Olive and Obi Wan! |
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To thank you for subscribing to Otter Tales, here is an exclusive discount code that you can use to receive 10 percent off trips during the month of May 2021! When you're checking out, enter the code "MountainLily" to receive the discount. |
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