Pluviophile (noun): a person who has a fondness for or a desire for rain; a lover of rain – also known as a creek boater.
To understand a creek boater’s love of wet weather, one must understand the sport.
“Creeking” is a niche whitewater sport that involves – you might have guessed – paddling creeks, which differ from rivers in that they are generally steeper, narrower and lower-volume, or capable of holding less water.
In the Southeast, these tributaries run only with rain, of which the Tennessee Valley has recently had no shortage. In fact, with a total of 67.01 inches of rain, 2018 went down as the wettest year on record. Last December, local kayaker Lucien Scott made it his mission to take full advantage of the region’s rainfall. Earlier that month, the 33-year-old had undergone hernia surgery. While waiting to be cleared for physical activity, he wanted a goal to help motivate his return to the sport.
“I decided I would try to paddle as many consecutive days on whitewater as possible,” Scott says.