Whitewater Legend

Payson Kennedy
An Invitation to Share a Life Adventure

Payson Kennedy is founder of the largest whitewater outdoor center in the U.S. Stuntman in the movie Deliverance, slalom and downriver competitor, outdoor guru, globe trotter, he has been a leader and a source of inspiration to the thousands of people hes guided and worked with throughout the years. Thirty-one years after starting the Nantahala Outdoor Center and in his 70th year, Payson is still intent on taking risks, exploring the world, and facing the challenges of living in the present moment. A true whitewater legend.
PROFILE

Text by Bob Beazley Photography courtesy of NOC

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We would like to find a few individuals or families interested in

sharing an unusual adventure in an alternative lifestyle.Last summer our family with the help of about eight young people operated the Nantahala Outdoor Center. Since that taste of a different style of life we have found it difficult to readjust to life in the city, our jobs in large impersonal organizations, friends scattered about in a population of thousands, and never-ending driving from activity to activity in urban traffic.We find our thoughts constantly returning to the Nantahala and the kind of life that might be possible there.

close to that at about 600. In 2002 NOC guided over 100,000 rafters on six different rivers in the southeast. When we started NOC there was no business plan, no marketing, and little capital. There was just this belief that we could make it work. I found it so incredibly energizing and exciting, thats why I wanted to make a change I kind of had this theory that if you were that much caught up in it, you could make it successful. You might make mistakes but if you could keep working at it you could figure out how to do things. So I was pretty confident. Relia was a little more nervous. At the time of writing their first newsletter, the Kennedys couldnt have imagined in their wildest dreams where their risky career change would eventually lead.

If there is one thread that runs through Payson Kennedys life that might give us a clue as to the success of NOC and of Payson himself it is his love of taking risks. However, if it were that simple there would be far more success stories, as the world is full of risk takers. For Payson, taking the risk is only the first step. The other essential piece is committing himself 110% to making it work. Once the initial leap of faith has been made he focuses on all the reasons it can work rather than why

-Excerpt from first NOC newsletterThe year was 1972. U.S. President Nixon was desperately

it cant. In essence it is like paddling a rapid. You keep your vision focused on the clean line rather than the obstacles you are trying to avoid. With enough hard work and focus on the goal over time, you will eventually achieve success. It sounds

trying to end the Vietnam War, whitewater had its debut as an Olympic event in Munich and

Payson and Aurelia Kennedy, living in Atlanta at the time, had just made a decision that would alter their lives forever and have a profound influence on the world of whitewater. Payson decided to leave his tenured position at
Kashmir, India 1988

basic enough. Yet as you talk with Payson and observe him

working you find the concept has a lot more depth and a spiritual Zen like quality to it. I love getting into that state when you are right on the edge of your ability, of what you think you can do. You forget about it and just do it without worrying about the risk, whos watching, or what the consequences are. I find that I perform beyond my usual ability. I am completely focused, thinking about nothing but what I am doing right in that moment. He describes it as the flow state. It is a state we have all experienced at certain times in our lives. Athletes, musicians, dancers, artists, fisherman, mystics, monks and mechanics all describe it in their own language, the essence of which is a one pointed focus of total absorption in whatever you are doing. Time seems to disappear. Mundane concerns like fatigue, hunger, and boredom fade into the background and in their place we experience a sense of well being characterized by euphoria, energy, enthusiasm, exhilaration and exci-

Georgia Tech, Aurelia left her teaching job, and they sold their house and moved with their four children to start an outdoor center on the Nantahala River. Their friend Horace Holden had just bought a 14 unit motel on the Nantahala called the Tote and Tarry. It came with a restaurant and souvenir shop. He asked Payson and Aurelia if they would like to manage it. Payson had been considering a career change to outdoor recreation and found the offer extremely exciting. Their colleagues in Atlanta thought they were crazy. It was too big a risk. Whitewater as a sport was still in its infancy in the U.S. and there was no indication at the time that it was going to grow rapidly.

In 1972 the first year of NOC operation, the number of employees was about 10: The Kennedy family, Jim Holcombe, some scouts from Paysons troop in Atlanta and a few other friends and locals. By 2002, the number of employees had climbed to over 600. In 1972 the number of people the NOC took rafting down the Nantahala was about 800. In recent years, NOCs busiest single day on the Nantahala comes

tement. These 5 Es are perhaps Paysons favorite words and ones that come up in conversation time and again when he tries to explain who he is, what his life is about and how it shaped NOC.

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He says he first experienced this flow state in a religious setting. In his early college years he considered becoming a minister. However, the more he studied philosophy and religion the more he found insurmountable obstacles in the form of irreconcilable questions that would have made it difficult to devote his life to religion. He also found that being in the outdoors, hiking, caving, climbing and paddling enhanced this flow the most. When I get into a new project I get pretty enthused and tend to forget the downside and look mainly at the possibilities. That was what had impressed me so much with paddling. We might drive in a weekend up to West Virginia and back for a race and drive all night long to get back. could have seemed incredibly unreasonable and tiring, just too much, but we were so energized that it was fun and exciting. sleep and We could do without just keep going.

often you see the president out digging ditches to lay a new sewer line. It made me always want to give 100% Payson believed in leading by example and spent time working in each department from rafting to grounds maintenance to the reservations office. From his own experience and extensive reading on the subject, Payson also knew that providing the right level of challenge for the staff was one of the key elements to creating the flow state and encouraging peak performance. In terms of the everyday workings of NOC, this meant minimizing systemization so staff had the ability to think on their own and make per-

ness and the flow state, and a very flexible work schedule to accommodate racers and explorers. It worked; his vision created a fertile ground for people of like minds to work and live together in an environment that was both challenging and fulfilling. Over the years NOC attracted a virtual whos who in the whitewater world. Numerous Olympic and National team members have worked at NOC. The list of international whitewater expedition explorers is just as long. Working at NOC inspired countless people to create lifestyles for themselves centered around whitewater. Many former NOC staff have gone on to establish their own companies in outfitting, instruction, and equipment design and production. As Payson hoped it would, the attitude of the staff rubbed off on the guests as well. NOCs explosion of growth in the 70s and 80s was largely due to word of mouth from NOC addicts. The guests were

Ultimately, whitewater grew to be his outdoor cathedral; it is where he engages this connection to life the fullest. Paysons life has been a quest to spend as much time in the flow as possible. Over time he has developed the ability to reach this state in more and more activities, from reading a financial statement to terracing the hill adjacent to his cabin. His vision for NOC was to create a center for excellence, but more than that, a place where people could come and work together in the flow state. He believed if the staff members at NOC were reaching the flow state in their life and work; it would deeply affect not only them but the guests as well. People who were not experiencing the five Es in their lives and work at home would feel the vibrancy and enthusiasm at NOC and want to return again and again. To this end, he tried to
Racing slalom and the Nantahala

brought back time and again by the atmosphere at NOC and also by the technical expertise present there. Paysons enthusiasm for teaching and openness to new ideas established NOC as a hotbed for innovation and creative thought about all aspects of whitewater sports. Many of the current techniques in river safety, rafting, and whitewater instruction were developed at NOC.

Paysons love of adventure and commitment to staff led early on to the beginnings of the NOC

Adventure Travel program. Payson saw this as another way to keep good staff around by providing work in warmer climates during the NOC winter. In 1976, The River of Ruins trip on the Usumacinta River in Guatemala became NOCs first adventure travel trip. As with all authentic adventure travel, the trip had its share of character stretching incidents. An earthquake closed the Guatemala City airport so we had to fly into Belize and figure out how to get the gear out of customs and overland to Guatemala. The government made us take a customs officer with us to the border to make sure we didnt sell any gear before we got to Guatemala. When we got to the border, our driver Jimmy was waiting with his truck Sugar Baby. The adventure far from over they were also forced to spend

create conditions at NOC which would foster this state and result in staff members performing at their peak ability. When looking at the changes and developments Payson encouraged at NOC through the years it is clear that every step was made with this goal in mind. Shane Benedict remembers, It was wild to come to NOC as a 23 year old river bum and have the president of the company recommend the book Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance to help make
PROFILE

sonal decisions rather than learning and acting by rote. Payson believed that employee ownership too would encourage staff to strive for peak performance. In addition to creating conditions conducive to the flow state, he also aimed to make NOC a place where people wanted to live and work for years, not just a season or two. These goals led to a series of initiatives that started with staff housing in 1975, and, over the years, evolved into stock ownership, health insurance, vacation and sick pay, self-awareness workshops, book discussion groups centered on self-aware-

you a better raft guide. Paysons attitude inspired me to look at everything I did in a different way. Its not

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one of the nights floating on the rafts because they misjudged how slow the current was on the upper river. In 1978 Payson traveled to Nepal for the first time to explore rivers with Don Weedon, an NOC guide who lived in Nepal at the time. Nepal had a profound effect on Payson. He gave up leading the Usumacinta trip to start leading trips in Nepal in 1979. It was an ambitious undertaking consisting of a two week trek into the Lang Tang area followed by a nine day trip on the Sun Kosi River. Over the years the treks and rivers have changed but Nepal

that time Nantahala Falls was rated a class V. Aurelia was one of the first women to run it. Paysons paddling continued through college and the army. In 1958 he entered graduate

water with Claude Terry and Doug Woodward.

In the late 60s Payson was involved with a series of events that fostered the growth of the sport in the southern U.S. In 1967 Horace Holden started the Georgia Canoe Association. In 1969 the Nantahala started hosting races, the first in the Southeast. About the same time, southern author James Dickey wrote his novel Deliverance, a dark tale of mans primal side set against the backdrop of four friends on a canoe trip in the southern Appalachia. Payson,

school at Emory and earned a masters degree in Sociology and Anthropology. After teaching in

Virginia for four years, he moved to Illinois to get a

Claude Terry and Doug Woodward were hired as consultants, safety men, and stunt doubles on the movie. They hired a

remains Paysons favorite trip. After one of the

trips, he stayed and explored Asia for six months. Part of this

Navy Seal at first to help, but after he flipped a raft and lost a camera, they contacted Claude, Doug and me to come

time was spent furthering his investigations of the flow state in a one month retreat at the Kopan Monastery in Katmandu

meditating and studying Tibetan Buddhism.

euphoria, energy, enthusiasm, exhilaration and excitement. These 5 Es are perhaps Paysons favorite words

help.

While filming the movie, Payson,

Claude and Doug ran the Five Falls section Chattooga of the River,

Paysons life before NOC was as full and varied as his life afterwards. He

mostly class 4 and 5, in Grumman aluminum canoes. This was possibly the first time the Five Falls had been run successfully tandem. Another tricky scene

was born in Atlanta in 1933. His first paddling experiences were as a cub scout in 1942. This lead to overnight trips in northern Georgia and water sports merit badges at Camp Pioneer. Those were the days of wood and canvas canoes and running rocky rapids
Payson as a stuntman in the filming of Delivrance

involved swimming down the rapid just above Deliverance Rock. This scene was later spliced into the famous waterfall scene which was actually filmed in the Tallulah Gorge. The movie came out in 1972, NOCs first year in business. The movie stimulated public awareness of whitewater sports and created new interest in paddling rivers, especially the Chattooga.

was not encouraged. In high school he met an attractive woman at the church social group named Aurelia. At the time she was 12 and he was 14; they married seven years later in 1954. He had just graduated from Emory University with a degree in philosophy and was getting ready to enter the Army counter intelligence corp. As a wedding present Raymond Eaton, of Camp Merriwood, paddled the Nantahala with Aurelia. At

M.S. in Library Science from the University of Illinois. Most of his free time was spent raising his family of budding paddlers with Aurelia and exploring rivers, often as scout master for the local troop. In 1964 the Kennedys moved back to Atlanta so Payson could take a job with the Georgia Tech Library. He became the faculty advisor to the Georgia Tech outing club and started an explorer scout post specializing in white-

Payson loves to compete. Anyone who has paddled their raft next to him across Lake Tugaloo at the end of the Chattooga section 4 can attest to this. His crews rarely stop paddling, and if they do Payson doesnt. He was sad to see the implementation of power boats to pull the rafts across the lake.

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It goes against his sense of self-sufficiency. He has won six national championships in open canoe whitewater competition, and the masters (over forty) in kayak slalom and wild water. He has also won numerous triathlons including open, masters and over fiftyfive classes. An avid biker he has done trips in

What would become known as Nantahala 90 was a major event that required flexibility and tenacity. In the week before the event, twenty-three teams from at least fourteen countries arrived at airports up and down the East coast. The day before the race was scheduled to start, the Nantahala was so

lities, were underwater. There is nowhere to house or feed all those people. With typical aplomb Payson shrugged his shoulders and said Well I guess well just have to see if the host families here in Atlanta mind if we stay another night.

Ireland, England and New Zealand and competed in the 100 mile Bridge to Bridge bicycle race. In 1997 he was inducted in the Emory University Sports Hall of Fame. His legacy of adventure travel trips is just as impressive. He has lead trips all over the world and been invited to participate in numerous explorations. In 1988 the Tourism

Payson sees risk as a necessary and mostly enjoyable part of life. If he hadnt taken many of the early risks at NOC like moving up from Atlanta and leaving the security of their city jobs behind he would never be where he is today. Much of his success is also the result of the tremendous support he has had from the incredible staff and friends that have spent time at NOC. His wife

Board of Jammu and Kashmir in India invited Payson to explore rivers in the Indian Himalaya, consult on the potential for whitewater trips, and train local guides. Several years later he was asked to lead the whitewater portion of the first source to sea trip down the Ganges in India.
The gas station in the sixties that would become the NOC store on the Nantahala River Bank

Aurelia is surely at the top of this list. From the very beginning he acknowledges it was their shared vision that shaped the NOC concept. Her influence at NOC can be seen as readily as his. She has been his companion on countless trips all over the world and continues to share the adventures they now pursue, whether its a Habitat for Humanity

In 1989 Payson put together a team for the first International Rafting Rally put on by Project RAFT (Russians and Americans for Teamwork). The event

Project (theyve done five so far) or traveling to Denmark to spend time with their oldest son John and his family.

was held in a remote part of Siberia on the Chuya River. Everybody camped out on the river bank like one big family on a river trip. For many it was an inspiring meeting, fourteen international river teams competing for peace in the spirit of friendship and love of the river. In the closing ceremonies Payson invited Project Raft to hold the event the next year, 1990, at the Nantahala with NOC as the host. The proposal was a huge gamble. The NOC was not in a remote area where everyone could just camp out and cook over campfires, nor was it in a city with ample accommodation available. Payson recalls, At the time I had no idea where everyone would be housed, where the events would be held, how the transportation and logistics would be handled much
in the nineties The same place in the eighties

Now in his 70th year Payson has lost little of his energy and thirst for challenge. He still guides regularly and

works out daily biking, paddling or doing one of his projects. He competes often in whatever race is going on. He says he feels a little guilty about not having any great ambitions now that he is retired. However, mention an adventure like a bike trip through India and his eyes light up like when do we leave?. His grandson Andrew Holcombe is a world class whitewater freestyle competitor. He placed second at the World Freestyle Championships this year in Austria. When asked what he thinks about this continuing of the lineage he says simply, I find it very satisfying.

In the end perhaps what is most amazing about Payson is that he appears ageless in his enthusiasm for life and the task at hand. His present project is using a wheelbarrow and shovel to build an island in the pond next to their cabin. I love it he says, It puts me in the flow.

less who would fund it all. What he did know was what he felt. He and everyone else there were in the flow. They had just pulled off the event in Siberia,
PROFILE

high due to persistent rain you could paddle through the NOC parking lot. The next morning while the teams were still in Atlanta for the opening ceremonies, Payson got a call from the NOC. Dont bring those teams up here today. We cant use half the faci-

and with enough enthusiasm, hard work and planning they could do the same thing at NOC.

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