Hey ya'll, I just wanted to give my point of view about the death of a kayaker (still don't know his name) this past week on N. Chick. I may have been one of the last people to speak to him... Thursday December 11, North Chickamauga creek peaked at around 8,000 CFS!!! N. Chick is my home run, and have seen/run it at extremely high and low flows. Finding all the other smaller and steeper creeks in the area way to high to paddle, I drove over to my home run the Bowling Alley on N. Chick to see what it looked like. Its usually a class IV run thats great for learning to creek, but not this day. As I drove down the Bowater Pocket wilderness road, it was easy to see that the creek was in a full throttle rage mode that I have never seen before. When I got near the parking lot for the stick-gauge, I found it to be full with a couple of cars and one boater's car with a lone lime green Rocker on top. So, I decided to drive down to the take-out for the Bowling Alley and see if there was even a eddy to catch if I wanted to test my luck on this Zambezesque creek. The creek was up in the trees and pulling on them hard, allowing no eddies to form, and creating a maelstrom in the main flow. One look and I knew that this was not a very safe place to be kayaking, especially alone and late in the day. So, I decided to leave the raging river alone and depart home. Driving up the hill away from the take-out I see two guys walking up the road towards the put-in and I can tell they (or at least one of them) were boaters. So, I rolled down my window and jokingly said, "hey, looks like its a little high huh?" The response I received wasn't what I was expecting. The kayaker of the two sarcastically said, "Too high for the... Bowling Alley?" I could tell by his response that he had already decided that he could/would run it, and that my inquiry was coming from someone who wasn't so sure of himself or the river. I must admit that I felt a little bitter about the manner in which he was testing my courage, and decided to simply respond "Nah man, its too high for me. Are you really gonna run it?" He looked over at his friend as if for encouragement, and replied "yeh, I'm gonna run it!" I thought he was bluffing and didn't feel like arguing with someone I didn't know about whether it was runnable or not and said, "Ok, be careful, but I'm going home." Leaving the Pocket Wilderness, the thought occurred to me that he might actually run it, but the seriousness of such a decision didn't take hold in my mind. I regretfully quit thinking about the situation I was just in, and didn't think about it again until I heard of a missing kayaker on N. Chick two days later. Then I began wondering if it was the same guy I encountered on thursday at the Bowling Alley. Once again though, I went back to thinking about myself and where I was going boating Saturday instead of going to help with the rescue/search mission. I headed over to Suck Creek Saturday late afternoon, and found one of my bros finishing up a solo run, and started to gear up for a run with him when I realized I had forgotten my helmet. He lended me his helmet for a solo run, and once again I didn't even think twice about the danger I was putting myself in, or the people who are connected to me. I was feeling confident and even did a second solo run on Suck and didn't think twice about the missing kayaker on North Chick. We paddled LRC Suicide section sunday, and when I got home, I looked on the news and saw the same Green Rocker of the guy I saw at the bowling alley thursday, and the seriousness of the situation sunk in. It was the same guy I talked to that died on N. Chick that day, and I didn't even stay around to set safety, talk logistics, or give any kind of support for such a serious undertaking as paddling the Bowling Alley at 8,000 CFS. I didn't have anything else to do. I just felt like my ego was a little deflated by someone I didn't even know questioning my judgement on my home run, and I didn't want to paddle, talk, or help that somebody. I'm not blaming myself for this guy's death, but it is making me re-think my role as a fellow boater and citizen in such a situation. I could have at least helped him understand that there weren't any eddies, and getting near the bank is the worst place to be because you'll get caught in the trees. I could have at least held a rope. This has made me realize how selfish one can be, and that simply because someone else makes you feel small by running something you don't want to, doesn't mean you shouldn't hold a rope while portaging, or drive away from the run thinking that guy was crazy. We're all in this together, and this death has definitely affected me and the boating community. I won't be so short with people I don't know. I'll try to at least give my 2 cents on whether something is safe or not, and then let them decide for themselves if they want to run. Sharing knowledge, beta, and opinions on rivers is something that helps others make sound decisions, and I hope we all will be more apt to provide it willfully, and be there for our friends when things go wrong. Be safe out there, and please don't make the same mistake I did by walking away. My condolences go to his friends and family. Peace be with you--Will Pruett