Learn About the 2024 Helene Flood of the Green River Cove
Watch the above playlist to understand the impact of the flood Hurricane Helene brought to the Green River Cove on Friday, September 27, 2024. These are the videos I released in real time in an effort to rally support for my community in the Green River Cove located in Polk County, NC, near the town of Saluda. We received no immediate support from large, well-funded Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs). Most major charities excluded Polk County relief until months later, if at all. As of January 21, 2025, I cannot verify their local assistance, though Samaritan's Purse was reportedly seen after the new year.
My Recovery Strategy
If you're just finding this page because one of my Helene reels is going viral, please read this post carefully for context. I am using my mind and knowledge to live my best life while preserving my savings to rebuild in the spring. Why do I wander? I wander to feed my mind and to multiply my meager earnings. I can eat and sleep for much less in Latin America than I can at home, even in the best of times!
I still need electricity to make progress towards a livable situation. Red tape and backlogged contractors (particularly surveyors) will likely delay my restoration efforts until at least April. I still need electricity to make progress towards a livable situation.
Edit November 12, 2025: my quest for a meter and power pole was ver expensive and only shortly finished before the end of the rafting season. It is now painfully clear the building of even a simple rustic tiny house will be a long process; kiley to be very expensive due to government oversight and red tape.
Addressing Misunderstandings
While my family has advised me to ignore negativity, I believe there are honest misunderstandings about my life and choices. Here is my backstory and an attempt to clear the air.
I didn't ask or expect to be thrust into the spotlight following this awful event. Many or most of you know the damage done by Hurricane Helene in our small coves throughout Western North Carolina and extending into East Tennessee. That said, when it happened I tried to do the best I could for my local community first and foremost. I turned down offers from the Dr. Phil Show and others, choosing to focus on the recovery of my community and to honor my commitment to work as a poll worker during the elections for Polk County and Saluda.
My community is the Green River Cove. The home folk know me, but most outsiders don't. At least 37 homes were washed away and more were destroyed by the historic flood in my cove. Mine was one of the homes washed from its foundations where it had stood for over 70 years. Some have been ugly, telling me to sell and move, and well, nastier things are being said by folks that don't understand my lifestyle or survival strategy. But first off, this land is like family and is the final resting place of my grandmother and a dear first cousin. I am simply the caretaker of the home place for the following generations to come.
I have done many things in my life and a fair amount of wandering, too. I worked in construction for years before pursuing a career in education to give back to my country and communities. I knew I wasn't going to get rich, but that wasn't my motivation. During this time my life balance improved, and I returned to spend more time on the Green River. My family and maybe especially my grandmother instilled a great love of nature and that river and water. I got bitten hard by the call of the river and began kayaking rather late in life in my forties. Within a couple of years, my skills progressed to the point I was creek boating and made my first runs on the Green River Narrows.
That proved to only be the beginning of my whitewater problem. I got recruited as a river guide on the Ocoee River in Tennessee and began guiding rafts and safety boating in a kayak on the Class IV section. I had already been teaching kayaking as an ACA instructor prior to this commercial venture with outfitters. Thus, I had become well known in their community. Ten years ago, I joined a friend and went to Ecuador to kayak her raging rivers; this was before the terrible droughts now plaguing the Andes. I fell in love with the Andes and the local cultures there. Within three years, I resigned from my job to spend even more time on rivers and exploring South America. I began earning all of my income as a river guide. Some have said this choice was much like taking a Buddhist monk's vow of poverty. I did, however, manage to earn enough to maintain my grandmother's old place and to fuel my wanderlust. I live a simple if not rich life, but I forego most if not all creature comforts.
So for most of the past decade, I have spent my summers working hard on the Ocoee River to fund my lifestyle and keep up the cabin. I split my time between North Carolina and Tennessee during rafting season from April or May until September or October. I often stayed to volunteer and help with the Green Race and local elections before heading south to Ecuador and sometimes Peru and other countries. It wasn't always easy, but it was worth the struggle and knowledge I gained about other cultures and myself. It helped forge who you saw during the aftermath of Helene's destruction.
I also travel to South America each year to make my funds go further to reach the next rafting season. It is far less expensive to live there. No, I don't go to resorts or nice hotels. I primarily live like the local people of the Andes, and not all that different than at home. I don't have any central heating and air. I often don't have hot water to bathe with. And I try to buy only what I need. My yearly earnings are often very close to the federal poverty level. I manage to live for less than one thousand dollars a month. Part of that equation is the enormous savings while in South America where it is much cheaper to live, and even in my humble cove. But living simply, I manage to pay my property taxes, bills, and maintain my car. There is no room in my budget for nice things like health insurance or home insurance and certainly not flood insurance. For that matter, virtually none of the home folk in my cove could afford flood insurance.
As I am closing out my 60th lap around the sun, I lost nearly everything. I managed to move myself and my car with a few kayaks and the river gear I earn my living with to higher ground. The river came damn close to taking that out, too!
Yes, I am back in South America. No, I am not using any donations to rebuild to fund this trip. I earned that money like every other year working on the river. And frankly, that money I earned is not enough to survive a winter in North Carolina in a good year, let alone this one. I lost four cords of seasoned firewood. I lost my home and a place to burn that firewood to stay warm. I lost my two-month stash of canned goods. I lost a freezer of venison and other provisions. My only reasonable strategy was to use the airline ticket I bought months ago before this storm formed. So, I followed the plan I had since before May and flew to Chile with my intention to learn what I could and travel over land north toward Ecuador.
My friends and the home folk in my cove already knew all this or at least most of it. The home folk have known me since I was a little kid. They rather revere my grandmother. I plan to honor my commitment to my elders now passed and rebuild this home to pass on to the next generations.
About Fast Fred
I'm Fast Fred Ruddock, a lifelong adventurer and dedicated frugal traveler. My core passions are whitewater boating and exploring Latin America, where I spend my off-seasons on extended solo trips.
I often guide in East Tennessee on the Ocoee River during the Northern Hemisphere summer. The Ocoee is also a fun river to kayak and practice skills upon. Want to book your trip with me and my friends? Get immediate access to my newest destination guides and secure the best discounts when you book directly.
I have traveled extensively through much of:
Mexico
Guatemala
Colombia
Ecuador (my favorite!)
Peru
Chile
Argentina
Bolivia
Living on a tight, guide-level budget proves you don't need to be wealthy to live a rich life full of adventure. Join me for frugal travel tips and authentic insights from the road!
Questions & Connect
Got questions aboutwhitewater, solo travel, Latin America, or budgeting? I'd be happy to give you honest answers!
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