Whitewater Rafting tips/stories/suggestions

[TheDoubleA]

I thought I would chime in as I think whitewater is one of the funnest (word?) activities I have ever done. I have been white water rafting who knows how many times and over the past 4 years have been learning to white water kayak.

Here is my list of rivers that I have done and in the US:

Amreican (good for starters)
New River (good for starters)
Bulls Bridge (stepping up the game a bit with a little more class IV-V)

Chatooga (easy - go here to learn to kayak)
Nolichuky (same as above)

Gully River - Upper and Lower:
If you run this in the fall after they let the dam out, it will be one of the more technically challenging runs in the world. If you run it in the middle of summer, not nearly as hard. If you are serious about rafting, this one is a great one to check out.

Cherry Creek: Maybe the most diffucult river in the US. The first time I found myself more scared than excited (I was 19 and had not done the Gully in the fall) Constant rapids, and dont go if you dont like guides screeming at you and swimming through class V rapids, because both will happen a decent amount of time.

If you want the thrill, run the Upper Gully and Cherry Creek. I personally feel like they are about equall in terms of diffucluty, as long as the Gully is ran in the fall, right after the dam is let out.