(bright music) - The Tennessee River winds its way 652 miles over 1,000 kilometers through four states, from Knoxville, Tennessee to Paducah, Kentucky.

Over the years, the river has played a significant role in economic and industrial development, but the river also provides world-class recreational opportunities.

Recognizing the value, beauty, and fragility of the Tennessee River and its 41,000 square mile watershed, the Tennessee RiverLine Project was conceived in 2016.

The vision, a continuous trail system of hiking, biking, and on-water experiences along the length of the river and its watershed.

(lively music) It's a partnership between the University of Tennessee, the UT Institute of Agriculture, the Tennessee Valley Authority, and a growing list of other partners.

Now 41,000 square miles is gonna take a long time to explore, and so I decided the best place to start was at the top of the river in Knoxville, Tennessee.

Little did I know that I was about to discover one of the most beautiful and outdoors loving towns that I've ever visited.

And so in this episode, I'm exploring the Tennessee RiverLine and Knoxville, Tennessee.

(lively music) My name's Ken Whiting, and for over 30 years, my life has been guided by the paddle in my hand.

This is my search for the world's most spectacular paddling destinations.

This is "Facing Waves."

(techno music) Funding for facing waves is provided by Discover the World.

Collette offers small group explorations, tours, destinations and local experiences designed especially for small groups.

Explorations by Collette Guided travel since 1918 Postum Instant warm beverage made with wheat, grain and molasses.

It's non-GMO and caffeine free.

Since 1895, all three flavors are available online at Postum.com and by these additional sponsors.

♪♪♪ (techno music) The Tennessee River is a big river.

Now most big rivers, they're big arteries and are primarily used for industrial purposes.

And so it's really cool to see one of these big waterways being used for recreational purposes.

(bright music) - The Tennessee River is one of our region's most valuable, yet most underutilized, natural and cultural resources.

The Tennessee RiverLine Initiative seeks to unlock the river's potential for economic development, entrepreneurship, and public health, resource stewardship and equitable access to river spaces and experiences by developing a continuous system of paddling, hiking, and biking experiences along its 652-mile reach.

- So I'm in Holston River Park in Knoxville, Tennessee, and just a mile downstream of the Holston River here, we have the confluence of the Holston and the French Broad, and that's where the Tennessee River starts.

And this is where my paddling adventure is beginning today.

We're doing the first part of it, doing about a six or seven mile chunk of the Tennessee River right into downtown Knoxville.

So I get my first taste of the Tennessee RiverLine, my first taste of Knoxville from the water.

(lively music) Oh, yeah.

(lively music) So here we have it.

This is the beginning, is it 652 miles of Tennessee River glory ahead here?

- [Brad] There is, this is the confluence of the French Broad and Holston.

It's 652 miles to Paducah, Kentucky.

- [Ken] Well, I mean, it's a little long.

It'll be a big day, but I'm game if you're game.

(lively music) - A really important part of the Tennessee RiverLine story is that it was actually a student's concept developed initially in 2016 as this vision for a continuous trail system along the river.

What that has since evolved into is a recognition that our waterways can be viewed and should be viewed as a part of our public space systems.

(playful music) - One of the healthiest things to see on any waterway is paddlers on the waterway.

That means that it's accessible, that people are discovering the river as a way to explore their homes, their communities.

It's an encouraging thing to see beginners on the water.

- I know.

- [Ken] Well, that looks like a pretty good sized group of paddlers getting ready to launch.

- [Brad] Yeah, so the City of Knoxville's take on the RiverLine is breaking down barriers for first time paddlers.

You know, not just thinking about the adventure enthusiasts, but individuals who might not have been out on the river before.

(lively music) Hey, Sheryl how are you doing today?

- [Sheryl] I'm doing fantastic, Brad, how are you?

- [Brad] Oh, we're doing great.

We're just giving my friend Ken here a taste of with the river here in the city of Knoxville.

- Wow.

- Hello.

- [Sheryl] Hello, how are you?

- [Brad] What's happening outta the river here today?

- [Sheryl] Well, it's a great day to be on the river.

Thank you for coming.

I'm glad I'm seeing everybody, but we have my colleagues, my coworkers that are here, and some friends that I have with Brendan that is new on the river.

So it gives my staff a an opportunity to do some training, and we get a good day on the river.

- [Brad] Well, hey, we're continuing on down to Calhoun's for lunch.

Would you care to join us?

- [Sheryl] That would be first.

I'd love to.

- Awesome.

We'll see you in a bit.

(lively country music) Well, I love seeing people getting their feet wet paddling for the first time, but I love the idea of a riverside lunch even more.

So we gotta get moving.

(gentle music) Coolest thing about this section that we're paddling today is it really is where nature meets the urban environments.

You know, we're starting in this beautiful park with, you know, very wilderness life, and we're ending in downtown Knoxville.

- [Brad] It's one of three stadiums in the country where you can boat up to and actually walk to the game.

- [Ken] So all these buildings, the part of the university?

- [Brad] They are, they are.

This is the campus of the University of Tennessee Knoxville flagship campus of the UT System, and the birthplace of the Tennessee RiverLine Initiative.

- Pretty cool paddling in Knoxville.

You're pretty much right downtown.

I mean, you've got the downtown core right there.

You have the University of Tennessee and the stadium, 100,000-person stadium right there, right alongside the river.

I mean, this is a town that is built on the river.

- Knoxville, Tennessee is the Trailhead community for the Tennessee RiverLine.

It's my home.

It's home to the University of Tennessee.

It's the home to TVA.

And it has become unto itself a recreation destination within that river as park concept that functions here locally, where we have many miles of river that flow through downtown that connects to neighborhoods and communities outside of the center of the city and offering diversity of recreation opportunities and experiences.

(bright music) - It's pretty cool to see the beginning of the Tennessee RiverLine.

I mean, Knoxville represents the beginning of the Tennessee and the Tennessee RiverLine, but there are 652 miles of the Tennessee River and then countless other tributary rivers, not to mention the walking trails, biking trails, the other trails here.

And I have a whole lot more exploring to do in this area.

Well, Calhoun's and our lunch is just up ahead.

What a great first taste of Knoxville, of the Tennessee RiverLine and the Tennessee River, but far from the only taste we're gonna get, we're stepping up the adventure a little bit tomorrow.

(lively country music) Now the Tennessee RiverLine, it's much more than just the Tennessee River.

It's got all these tributary rivers that drop into the Tennessee River itself.

And one of the most popular tributary rivers to paddle is the Flint River, which runs almost right through Huntsville, Alabama.

It's one of the most popular rivers around because it's one of the most accessible rivers.

It's got lots of access points, and you don't need to be an experienced paddler to enjoy its beauty.

(lively music) I think I'm gonna like this.

(laughs) Dan is like my long lost brother from the south.

He is always game for a paddling adventure in particular along rivers.

- My name is Dan Truitt and I'm the Southern Paddler.

We're on the Flint River, which is on the outskirts of Huntsville, Alabama.

It's one of the most popular rivers to kayak and canoe in this area.

One of the things that makes the Flint special is when you're on the Flint, you don't feel like you're in Huntsville.

You look around and it's nothing but trees.

You feel like you're out in a quiet remote area so you can get away from the noise, the hustle and bustle.

And to me, being out on the water, I tell people routinely it's my therapy.

You know, I come out here to unwind, to decompress, and I just feel better deep down in my soul when I get off the water than if I've just spent the day in town.

(lively music) - Dan and I share a love of paddling rivers and not really knowing what's coming up.

And so Dan was very understanding of the fact that I didn't want him to tell me what was coming around the next corner.

You come around that corner, you're not sure what you're gonna see, and we quickly saw a lot of cool things on the plan.

Oh, wow.

Look at that rock wall.

Nice.

(lively music) Ooh, back channel.

Can't say no to a back channel.

That's right, gotta check it out.

You first.

All right, there's no gators here, right?

- Nope, not as far as I know.

Nope, we may be at the end.

(laughs) There's a tree down.

- Can we get through that?

No.

When you're paddling and flowing rivers, there are some hazards that you do need to be aware of.

Even on mellow rivers like the Flint and fallen wood, fallen trees is the biggest thing you need to be concerned about.

The other thing you need to watch out for are some creatures like snakes.

And we spooked a snake pretty good, but I'm not sure who was spooked more, the snake or me.

- [Dan] Is that him right there?

- Look at that.

He's flared right up.

- [Dan] I'm surprised.

I didn't think they were that aggressive.

- Oh, oh, it's slinking away.

That's a big snake.

- [Dan] It is a big one.

(lively music) - Over the years, I've discovered all sorts of different types of paddling.

I started off as a whitewater kayaker, and at that time, 30 years ago.

That's all I cared about whitewater paddling.

Over the years, I've come to really love and appreciate all types of paddling, but on this trip, I learned something new.

I learned that paddling and lounging go really well together.

Well, I gotta do my gear test, and it's a rough job, Dan, but somebody's gotta do it.

- [Dan] Somebody's gotta do it.

(lively music) - I'll be ready to go in about half an hour there, Dan.

- Okay.

Looks pretty comfortable.

- Oh yeah, I ain't so bad.

(laughs) (lively music) Well, you know, sometimes I absolutely love getting the adrenaline going when I'm paddling, going on in a real adventure that challenges me.

But there's other days where I just wanna get on the water, chill and relax and get away from everything.

And that is exactly what this trip has been.

A big thanks to Dan Truitt.

This is the second time I've hooked up with Dan, and both times have been such great river running days, and I'm really looking forward to the next.

I don't think I could have picked a more relaxing and enjoyable trip than the Flint.

What a treat.

(excited music) Well a trip to the Tennessee River would not feel right without doing some fishing.

Because there is world-class fishing all along the Tennessee River.

And so today, I'm at Arrowhead Resort on Watts Bar Lake.

This is one of many world-class lakes, and I'm hooking up with Michael Daugherty, a local kayak angler, and we're gonna hopefully catch some big old bass out here.

So let's get this thing pumped up and hit the water.

(lively music) When you come down to the Tennessee River, if you don't allocate some time to go on a fishing adventure, there's something wrong with you 'cause this is world-class fishing down here.

Coming down to Watts Bar to do some kayak fishing, it really only made sense to hook up with Michael Daugherty who started Watts Bar Kayak Fishermen, a group to promote kayak fishing in the area.

- I'm Mike Daugherty from Kingston, Tennessee.

I'm also the director of Watts Bar Kayak Fishermen.

We've come down to part of Watts Creek, the reactor branch section of Watts Creek.

I've been, I don't know, gosh, I've been here for, I've fished on this lake at least 20 years at least.

To see the changes and the things that's happened here and the growth and development has been pretty cool, especially in the kayak industry.

I created this group really to give people a chance to come together and meet people, right?

I wanted people to make friends, you know, lifetime fishing buddies, partners, you know, that kind of thing.

And I've met a lot of great people, a lot of great people doing this.

- This is my first time on Watt's Bar, but I've fished on a number of the other lakes, Guntersville, Chickamauga.

And the coolest thing about them is that there's so many spots on each lake.

They're not just big round lakes by any means.

The dams that have flooded the land in this very rolling hill style land has created all these little arms and then these little coves and bays, and there's so many different places to go on each lake.

- It's so versatile.

There's so much water in this area.

Within an hour, two-hour drive, you can fish anywhere really, whatever you wanna do.

You can fish for about any fish, any kind of fish, for the most part.

From trout to bass, to catfish.

There's all kinds of stuff.

(lively music) - Anytime you go fishing to a new body of water, the most important thing to do is hook up with a local angler who knows the different techniques, what's working, where to go.

But more importantly, that gives you a wonderful excuse when you're not catching fish.

Fishing is 90% excuses and 10% skill.

Oh no, 80% excuses, 10% luck and 10% skill.

- Nice.

(lively music) - Oh, I've just been shaking loose all the small ones.

I'm waiting for the big one.

(lively music) Michael thinks I didn't notice that that after catching two fish on that side, he decided, "Hey, I'm gonna show Ken."

He went and caught a fish behind me where I just fished and didn't catch a thing.

(Ken chuckling) You think I didn't notice that technique, eh?

- Onto the next cove?

- Sounds good.

Might have to fish our way out.

(chuckles) (lively music) There gotta be a fish.

There gotta be.

I got the secret weapon now.

Oh, I got that stick fish.

Either that or it's a... - [Michael] A rock.

Just let slack in it and pop it.

It should come.

- Oh yeah?

A perfect example of how fishing is so much about the excuses that you have.

Michael handed me his rod to try out a crank gate along the shoreline, and it just so happened I snagged after my second cast, but it's okay 'cause I have an excuse.

His reel was a right retrieve reel, and I'm used to a left retrieve reel.

And I mean, you can't expect someone to just nail it first time.

(lively music) Well, unfortunately, no fish today, but I did catch this.

Pretty impressive, don't you think?

But today is the kinda day where it didn't really matter if I caught fish or not.

Beautiful day on the water.

And tomorrow, I have another adventure.

So off we go to get ready for tomorrow.

(bright music) Funding for facing waves is provided by Discover the World.

Collette offers small group explorations, tours, destinations and local experiences designed especially for small groups.

Explorations by Collette Guided travel since 1918 Postum Instant warm beverage made with wheat, grain and molasses.

It's non-GMO and caffeine free.

Since 1895, all three flavors are available online at Postum.com and by these additional sponsors.

♪♪♪