NOC Stories

True Stories of Outdoor Adventure and Inspiration

All fans of whitewater sports have been impacted by the Nantahala Outdoor Center (NOC) in one way or another. In 1972, the NOC was the outgrowth of an idea that friends working together to pursue their outdoor passions could change lives for the better. Today, the center is a seminal Southeastern paddling hub.

Compiled by Payson Kennedy and edited by Greg Hlavaty, NOC Stories is a collection of 62 entertaining stories by NOC staff veterans’ memories that describe the center’s first 25 years. It approaches the story of the NOC’s inception, a time of exponential growth in whitewater sports and instruction, a time when the NOC’s contribution to paddling technique and instruction reverberated around the world. It is both a history of NOC’s leading role in the evolution of commercial river running and an overview of when kayaking, as a sport, exploded in the United States. The remembrances presented here blend history with adventure as they document the NOC’s singular vision.