I enjoy thrill seeking. I also enjoy the company of my wife & 10 year old son. We had a Gatlinburg visit, and I wanted the three of us to go rafting. I found this awesome river in TN that is ~2.5 hours away from Gatlinburg. Evidently the 1996 Olympics took place on this river, and I went to sign up… I found out that the minimum age is 12, and after watching a few videos on youtube w/ my wife, she refused to go on it… I told her the people that ended up in the water were purposely putting themselves in a situation to fall in the water… some of them look like they were jumping in on their own volition… she did not bite.
Then I found this other river in TN that did not have this min age requirement of 12. It was 45 min from Gatlinburg, which was nice b/c we would not be stuck in the car all day. The fact that there was not this same age requirement made me a bit nervous, as I did not want to spend ~2 hours ‘tubing’. There were various rafting companies to choose from, so I spent a lot of time researching options to see if there was something that was not quite class v, Olympic style rafting, but also not something that would be a snooze fest… wanted the porridge temp to be just right… I came across this option at River Rat called the ‘Xtreme Trip’. It was a smaller raft (4 guest max) where they had a promise that it would be uniquely catered to us (we only have three in our family, so there was a risk of a stranger tagging along, which would have changed the group dynamics… but that did not happen). This option was perfect for us. It was bumpy enough to be exciting, but not too bumpy where anyone was injured… I myself like to do things where there is risk of injury, and I think this thirst was satiated w/ the technical activities we participated in… ie evidently we can ‘surf’ on a raft, which we did a few times. Worth noting… I am called cheap by family and ‘a good steward’ from my church friends. The Xtreme is a bit more, but in my humble opinion, well worth it.
I have already rambled on, and if I may, please let me ramble on about one more highlight – our guide, Rayne. I have been on several rafting trips w/ great guides. This is the first time just our family has rafted together, and for our dynamic … aggressive mama bear, cub, & wanna be thrill seeking dad… he delivered a perfect product. He was patient, encouraging, & very knowledgeable. He has a great origin story… grew up on this river, following in the footsteps set forth by both parents (father was a guide in the raft next to us). This was the final straw that put my wife at ease b/c she realized there was probably no safer place to be.
I can talk about the food truck (in case you do not feel like prepping food) and the covered picnic area to eat said food. I can talk about the warm showers and nice facilities. I can talk about the fact that they do not charge $10 to rent a locker to put your keys in – they held the car key at no charge (This is the first time where the rafting company did not take the mafia ‘protection’ approach w/ car keys). I can talk about nicer buses, etc… but you can see all of these things on their website.
In conclusion, I would strongly recommend River Rat to friends & family. I strongly recommend the Xtreme upgrade.