On Sunday I hiked into Ravenâs Chute on the Chattooga with my girlfriend with the intention of proposing to her.  I did, she said yes, and then two kayakers showed up.  One of which was in a green Green Boat and the other was in a yellow Kokatat dry suit, yellow Solsquist PFF, and yellow creek boat (believe a Dagger).  Anyway, I will let her tell the great story, but if you know the guy in yellow I would love for him to hear this part of the story.  



We both knew we wanted to get married, but I didnât know when he was going to propose or what the ring looked like. We both love the outdoors â hiking, kayaking, etc. He told me we were going to north Georgia to cut down a Christmas tree at a tree farm and even went to the extent of sending me links to pick one out, so I was all excited about going to get a tree and seeing reindeer. He wanted to stop and hike into Ravenâs Chute, a remote hiking area that leads down to the Chattooga River gorge at the Georgia-South Carolina line. So we hike down and sit on our favorite rock facing a rapid that is interesting to watch, where we went on one of our first dates. I even asked if he thought we would see any kayakers that day. It was nice because no one was down there and we had this amazing spot to ourselves. He started talking about how in future years we would only need one tree and then pulled out the ring and asked me to marry him. The ring is gorgeous with three stones and channel diamonds, and the most special part is that the center stone is from his grandmotherâs engagement ring. He even brought a small bottle of wine to celebrate and a camera to capture the moment.

I guess all of this is pretty par for the course â a quiet romantic place with meaning to us, but we do have the surprise element for which no one could plan! Between the actual proposal and opening the bottle of wine, kayakers came down the river. In fact, when I looked up from putting on the ring, I commented on two kayakers coming along; they were out of their boats scouting the river. Because it is December, they were wearing bulky dry suits, and as one kayaker was walking farther downstream than the other, I noticed him messing with the crotch area on his drysuit. I told my now-fiancee, âI think he has to pee,â to which he replied after looking over, âNo, he is going to take a dump!â As I look, he was starting to pull down the lower half of his dry suit to take care of business, resulting in us having to turn around on our rock and face the other direction laughing. There is no way he didnât see us sitting there, but I guess when nature calls in a gorge it calls loudly!
We think it would make a great Mastercard commercial: Tank of gas to Ravenâs Chute: $40; Hike in: free; Engagement ring: $$$; Bottle of wine to celebrate: $10; dude âtaking a dumpâ on the opposite river bank: priceless!