This week Clint and Dawson sit down with Cory Hall. We talk with Cory about his recent Kayak trip down the Grand Canyon. This trip was an unsupported, kayak only trip. We talk about the differences between an unsupported trip and a commercial trip. And what it means when you dont have the luxury of a raft to carry all your gear.
Cory was first exposed to river life as a young kid when my dad took a summer job guiding rafts on the Ocoee and Chattooga Rivers for a small outfitter in our hometown called the Buckhorn Mountain Shop. His family would also take a lot of family whitewater canoeing and camping trips around North Georgia and North Carolina around that time as well. At 17 years old he started self teaching himself how to kayak and luckily met a local paddling legend Jeff West at a North Georgia restaurant job. Jeff started taking him kayaking and also helped Cory get a raft guide job the following summer at Sunburst Adventures on the Ocoee. At Sunburst Cory was living on his own for the first time and was immersed into a paddling culture where everyone on staff was a talented and dedicated kayaker. Cory says; we worked hard and kayaked hard everyday and he was having the time of his life.
Fast forward 30 years and Cory still enjoys paddling, running, and cycling around Chattanooga as much as he can. His wife and he are raising 2 boys (ages 7 and 4) and he works as a PE teacher at the Fairyland School on Lookout Mountain. Cory also works as a summer camp counselor at an amazing outdoor themed camp at the Baylor school called Camp Walkabout. Cory has been lucky enough to secure 2 permits to paddle the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon, AZ. The first was a high water 7 day trip in 2011 and he just finished an incredible 8 day trip in November 2022.
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