Checking In!
This time last week, we were urgently watching river levels. Watching them rise, with more rain falling. Then we lost contact with our family; those at the shop that night and those at home. We waited long hours for Helene to pass, before we could safely make our way to the shop. Friday, late morning, we found our family safe and both buildings standing. We are so so thankful. At the time we had no idea the devastation downstream. We had no idea if our staff were okay, if our town was okay, or any idea of what as going on. Over the next 3 days we put pieces together.
We are all safe. All staff accounted for. That is such a blessing. Our food truck families are all safe as well.
It has been a week since Helene hit WNC. We are thankful for all the emails and messages checking in on us. Our Taproom took on water but our retail shop stood tall. The campground and compound took on significant damage. We are still without power and internet at shop. So we have not been able to fully assess when we can reopen. Lineman have been working day and night to get our community up and running and we can’t thank them enough.
Again thank you! We hope you and your family are safe. We hope if you or your loved ones were effected by this storm, that you are know we are here. It is going to take years for all of WNC to be back on its feet. But know our family remains committed to bringing you professional and authentic experiences on the Upper French Broad River Watershed. We can’t wait to see you again.
Love ~ The Whitmire Family
(We are tired, so please overlook any grammar or misspellings)
Here is a current update:
- Our shop and Taproom remain closed until further notice. We hope to reopen in the next 2-3 weeks.
- Our paddling season will be closed for the year. We can’t wait to see you in April 2025!
- Fly Fishing- All public lands including Pisgah National Forest and DuPont State Forest are currently closed. Many roads to our favorite trout streams are washed away and severely damaged. We are working to clean up Rachel’s but it took a hit as well. We might be able to run a limited number of trips starting next week. We will announce as soon as we can.
- Our campground will be closed until further notice. We hope to reopen by summer 2025. (Hard to believe less than two weeks ago we were dancing with llamas down there!)
- Forks of the River Fly Fishing Festival- we will reevaluate this year’s festival, and make announcements very soon.
|