In 1992, Casper Cox signed up for a snorkeling trip on the Conasauga River with the Tennessee Aquarium. The trip was rain-delayed twice. Anxious for the experience, Cox finally bought his own mask, recruited a buddy, and together they made the one-hour drive to the river.
The moment Cox dipped his head underwater, he was hooked.
“Big fish, little fish … fish of many colors, some appearing electric in the shimmering sunlight … many coming right up to your face mask. I was surrounded by all forms of life,” he remembers.
Cox has now spent more than 25 years exploring the region’s freshwater and helping introduce others to the sport as a snorkel guide for Cherokee National Forest and Tennessee Wildlife Resource Agency’s naturalist program.
In 2019, he wrote the region’s first comprehensive and photographic snorkel guide, “Snorkeling the Hidden Rivers of Southern Appalachia.” Its colorful pages include beta on seven different sites, recommendations for snorkeling gear, tips on underwater photography and a field guide to native freshwater fish.