About | On the Watauga

Snake Pit rapids near Sugar Grove, N.C. — Photo by Jesse Wood

The Watauga River

I fell in love with the Watauga River as a college student at Appalachian State. I was a freshman in 2000 and, wow, has the river grown in popularity during the past two decades.

Several years back, my wife, Caitlin, and I married along the river. We seemed to rarely encounter people when we were getting to know each other along the riverbank.

Now we live just a couple miles away and take our kids on river adventures regularly – when we can find a parking spot!

I hope my kids, though, have been having as much fun on the river as I have over the years. If you haven’t already, I hope you all do too after reading this website.

For what it’s worth, I graduated from App State with a degree in elementary education. But more time inside a classroom was just not for me.

I’ve worked in multiple wood shops in the Boone area building furniture, cabinets, doors and architectural millwork. This is currently my day job.

In addition to my woodworking background, I was an editor at High Country Press for several years. I’ve contributed regularly to The Appalachian Voice in the past and wrote for national publications like SIERRA.

I plan to continue being an advocate for nature and in particular, the Watauga River, here at On the Watauga.