Shenandoah River Outfitters Offers a Fun Day Trip Out on the River

Shenandoah River Outfitters offers a fun day trip out on the river

A few days after I started working for the Page News and Courier, I got an email from Nancy Sottosanti, one of the owners of the Shenandoah River Outfitters, inviting me to go canoeing or kayaking.

A year after Helene, river guides in Appalachia are navigating a new world

On a clear, sunny day in May, just a few weeks into the Smoky Mountain rafting season, Heather Ellis took a dozen people through the Pigeon River Gorge to celebrate its grand reopening. She led them over and through roaring rapids with a practiced ease. “Forward!” she called. When the water rose, everyone heaved on their oar, ducking against the spray. The rubber float surged forward. “And relax.”  Ellis, bubbly and blonde and smiling behind an …