On the evening of August 24, nearly three inches of local rainfall precipitated four massive landslides in the Nantahala Gorge, a popular outdoor haven famous for recreational opportunities such as mountain biking, zip lining, and last but certainly not least, whitewater rafting. Boulders, trees, and other natural detritus slid down the steep gorge wall and into the highway and river, creating an impassable obstruction for cars and boats alike. Roads were reopened within 48 hours, but the river remained closed for a full week before it was deemed safe for recreational use.

As I'm sure you can imagine, this looked like economic trouble for businesses in the gorge, especially with the historically profitable Labor Day weekend approaching. Companies were forced to cease rafting operations as massive amounts of debris in the river created a hazard the US Forest Service was unable to overlook. River access became a huge liability, which prompted the Forest Service to order a total shutdown of recreation on the Nantahala while they worked to clear the watery corridor of debris. No rafting means no rafting revenue, which is vital to the livelihood of these companies.

While whole companies were certainly concerned for their business in the upcoming weeks, it's the raft guides themselves whose incomes were most vulnerable to the financial ramifications of the landslides. Human resources, restaurant employees, zipline guides, etc. still had work to do. Raft guides, on the other hand, were sidelined. Shelby Mannes, a local raft guide, explains that "[the raft guides] had multiple days off following the landslide". The initial shock of such an unprecedented event certainly threw plans off for a couple days, but Shelby goes on to explain that when Labor Day weekend rolled around, most of the scheduled trips were simply moved to other rivers rather than being cancelled.

"That made up for some of the hours, but was way less than a normal work week" she added. Apparently though, what was lost in monetary compensation was made up for in new challenges, and the opportunity to experience new rivers nearby as was explained by Alice Gaddis, another raft guide from the area.

"I could've been really frustrated that I almost went an entire week without making a dollar...but instead, I saw it as an opportunity to do things that I would not have had the chance to do had I been working, and I got to experience them with my friends. Had this landslide not happened I would not have rafted the Ocoee, Pigeon, or Nolichucky Rivers and I would not have had those memories that I will now treasure for a lifetime", Gaddis went on to say. Clearly the raft guides enjoyed their time spent on other rivers.

Mita Coker, a local guide, furthered that sentiment by adding that "Things actually went better than we had even planned. The rafting center was really on top of it, and we were calling people and getting trips changed throughout the week."

Though disaster was initially in the forecast, Labor Day weekend ended up being quite successful. Flexibility allowed raft guides not only to work, but to do so on different rivers, most of which were more challenging than their own Nantahala. In turn, they were able to provide guests with a unique river experience.

The Nantahala River has finally been determined safe and thus opened for recreation.

Looking upstream at the remnants of one landslide following cleanup efforts to clear the streambedLarry Meisner