President Jimmy Carter died Sunday at the age of 100.
Fifty years ago, in his time as Governor of Georgia, Carter canoed on the Chattooga River with local outdoorsman Doug Woodward who shared the story with BPR in a 2019 interview.
Carter was part of the first team to ever go over Bull Sluice Rapid on the Chattooga River in an open canoe. The river runs along the borders of North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia.
"He was never accompanied by a state trooper or another photographer, as it turned out. I had the only camera on these trips," Woodward said.
Woodward said he was surprised at the attempt.
"I look back and I see Claude Terry, one of the founders of Southeastern Expeditions, and he was talking to Carter," Woodward recalled.
"I kind of puzzled to myself, 'They're not going to run that, are they?' And in a minute, Carter came up to me and said, 'Doug, what do you think the odds are of our making it?'"
"And I said, 'Oh about 1 in 100 in an open canoe?'"
Carter reframed the question: "No, that's not what I meant. What are the odds of getting killed or seriously hurt?"
"So he had already written off swimming the rapid or whatever else might happen there," Woodward said. "And at that point I said, 'Well, you've got a very accomplished partner in your canoe. You've got good flotation in the center, and they'll be several of us standing by with with throw ropes at very stage stages in case you need them.'"
Woodward photographed the historic run which ended with a class 4 or 5 rapid at Bull Sluice.
"It was a bit hair-raising. I've got the only photo I had of that run because there was only one frame left in my camera, and I tried to use them all up farther up river thinking nobody's gonna be running Bull Sluice."
The one frame Woodward shot "shows a moment of hesitation as Carter's hanging out in midair, on the ledge."
Woodward said the moment stood out not only as an accomplishment, but also a reflection of Carter's efforts.
"He did so so well. I mean, that was probably the only moment that I could have caught where he wasn't in complete control," he said.
In an interview for the film, The Wild President, Carter recalled the importance of the experience in his life.
"I think it gave me a sense of, you might say, heroism and confronting the awe-inspiring power of the Chattooga River when I had a major responsibility as a governor of state."
President Carter went on to veto multiple dam projects and advocate for the continued protection of rivers nationwide. This year marked the 50th anniversary of the Chattooga's Wild and Scenic River designation.
