When a young person tells his parents that, when he grows up, he wants to ski in the winter and kayak in the summer, it’s customary for the parents to wonder how that translates to responsible adulthood. Fortunately for Dave Crawford’s parents, they wouldn’t have to wonder for long.
With a degree in Environmental Studies from UT and a calling to build a life around outdoor recreation, Dave jumped at an opportunity to buy an abandoned rafting company that was up for sale in 2007.
“I’d never been in a raft, so I didn’t know anything about it. But, I put in a proposal and they said sure,” he says. “It was a huge undertaking, buying school buses and rafts and making it work. It used to be Big Pigeon Expeditions, but I didn’t want it to be a name based on location. I thought Rapid Expeditions could go somewhere else. I created a kayaking school too, so I was thinking that in the off-season we could go somewhere else.”
Seven years later, a woman named Katie from Tampa, Florida, was visiting her parents in Sevierville. Her father had planned a two-week kayak trip in the Everglades, so to help him prepare, Katie found a free Wednesday night roll clinic nearby. She put in a call to inquire about it.
“This guy answers the phone, and he was kind of a jerk. He saw I had a Florida phone number and I’d said I didn’t have much white water experience, so he was trying to talk me out of coming,” she recalls. “We still went and the gentleman on the phone is now my husband.”
They laugh at this story, because little did they know at the time that a prickly first conversation would morph into a marriage, parenthood, and a growing outdoor recreation business that brings a lot of joy to adventure seekers each year.
Katie is a board-certified nurse practitioner and on faculty at the University of Tennessee’s School of Nursing. She’s also the “behind-the-scenes” person and keen cyclist at Rapid Expeditions, giving rapid a whole other definition.
“Our main business is offering white water rafting on the Pigeon River. It’s a dam-release river, so we have a contract with the power company from May to Labor Day weekend,” says Katie. “We do year-round kayak instruction and offer two main biking events each year.”
Top (and budding) cyclists enjoy the annual Waucheesi Bike race, a spring event in Tellico Plains that boasts a 45-, 63- or 88-mile option with incredible terrain and spectacular views. The Hardford 50 (and Harderford 75) runs in August. Proceeds benefit Grassy Fork Rural Medical Services Club and the Appalachian Mountain Bike Club.
For water-bound adventure seekers, white water rafting is the best option. It’s family-friendly and catered to the youngest participant’s abilities. Whether on vacation from out of town or an outdoor activity for locals, Rapid Expeditions can host up to four trips per day. The route is fewer than five miles, which translates to about two hours time on the water.
“We have a commercial permit to be on the Pigeon River. There are Class III and IV rapids, but the lower Pigeon is very calm,” says Katie. “You have to be eight or older for an upper session and three or older on the lower.”
For what it’s worth, Dave and Katie’s four-year-old son Bear has his own kayak, which he takes on the lower portion of the Pigeon River.
“We’ve always tried to keep it simple,” says Dave. “We have a perfect score on our reviews. Simple and fun. We show people a good time.”
In keeping with what Dave told his parents, he is indeed kayaking in the summer and skiing in the winter.
“We have kayaking classes year round, and I work on the ski patrol at Ober Gatlinburg. I’ve done that for 20 years,” says Dave, who’s also an ACA Certified Kayak Instructor. “Since I’ve made it work, my parents don’t mind so much.”
“This is a labor of love,” Katie adds. “It’s the same with our guides. Everyone in our organization – this is their lifestyle too.”
Learn more at RapidExpeditions.com