Paddlin’ Ed

Saturday Feb. 2nd, 2008,  three of us put on the French Broad section 9.  We had started to to do a creek run that morning, with heavy rains 24 hours earlier but with the recent drought our creek had dropped fast and so we moved our trip to the French Broad  and did a high water run.  Checking the gauge graph afterward showed just over 5,000 cfs on the upsteam gauge at Marshall,  with quite a few creek flowing in between there and the put in, so we had considerable flow.  Beautiful blue sky day, in mid-50’s.

The three of us, Darron P. in K-1, Grif in C-1, and Paddlin-ed in K-1 put on at Benard after arriving at the French Broad Section 9 -  Hot Springs take out around noon, dressing out, and setting shuttle.  By around 1 pm we put on which was just fine with the three of us, as the day by then had moved from morning temps of 30’s & 40’s into the high 40’s and was quickly moving into the 50’s.  Water was to say the least the typical murky brown of the French Broad at high water after rains,  as its watershed catches a lot by the time it gets to section 9.

Waves where bigger that normal flow with very little in scrape rocks, and ledges where in some cases a  bit washed out, but there where also many big holes or hydralics if you wandered into the wrong places.  Lots of boiling eddies and surging currents - real big water feel and dynamics.

The upper end of the run was pretty straight forward at this level,  just keep you boat angle and lean correctly going through  right hand bend,  it was basically a sea of chop, waves, troughs. The big thing was to watch out for the normally visable boulders and ledges that dot the run which this day where instead just underwater at this level or only occasionally visable between waves and surges.  You could find yourself suddenly runing toward a boulder or rock ledge, or into a hole, or up on/into a rock covered in a wave. So reading the water and making quick adjustments at short notice was a must. (the water was coldddddddd!!! - so you did not want to flip or swim on any of these.  Darron did the far right which had water and is not usually very open.  Grif and I pretty muched worked the center to left, more toward the usual area at lower levels,  but I found I could play through a bit further right this day, just to do something different.  Down at the bottom ledge where some hydralic all the way across but was also washed out quite a bit.  You had to plan moves more in advance and hammer - as it was big pushy water.

Down from there we moved into another area of rapid loaded with diagonal rock ledges that run down the river rather than across for a long ways,  where there was a lot of very dynamic turbulence and boiling, you had pay attention and execute agressively as well and plan your moves quickly.  Eddies where very boily with squirrely lines, requiring serious hammer down going in and out, and being ready to stroke once in them to stay up.  Darron worked a bit further left early as a lot of passages where open on river left into diagonal ledge territory that at lower levels normally leaves you in blind alleys.  I worked the hydralics along some of the upper/right ledges,  Grif scooted around both areas,  and we all pretty much ended up down at the final drops mid river and finding our own particular slot, diagonal, or chute combination to run out with plenty of choices.  Just below that last ledge where the water feeds into the area powerfully from multiple directions into an area confined by other ledges below under the water made for some really sqirrely, boily, water dotted with little sticky hydralic boils to pick you way out of.

Almost imediately below is the next rapid which when normally run at lower flow, requires running the right side after starting out from the diagonal ledges area above just left of center and quickly working to right of center into this run.  Normally the center and left sides are not very runnable, and just a maze of ledges and rocks with only a small amount of water running through.  Not this day,  as Darron did a run well left of center easily working down through the ledges, hitting a few eddies,  Grif worked some of the same area and back over to the edge of the normal right of center near the bottom to finish out.  I worked from center at the top, hitting 2 or 3 eddy’s back further left, then working a wave, and surfing over high to another 2 eddys, then back toward center and finally back just right of center,  and running down and out just left of the normal right of center run to the bottom. 

From there we headed down to the next rapid, normally entered well left of center, just past the rock out cropping on the left bank the rafters jump in off of in the summer.  Normally while the right can be worked in this rapid it is bony over there, and water mostly funnels well left of center, then imediately moves even more left just off a row of big boulders along the left bank, with a nice bit of fall on this one and some manuvering down between rocks.  Along the right side just left of center on this same run is a row of huge boulders with some nice openings but normally little water going right. Today there where was water going right.  So opportunities to run back through the right side boulders at the top of the entrance to the left line where open with high water.  Darron took a line down through the right side boulders,  Grif pretty much kept well left  I worked left of center into the run, and worked the rocks and ledges down and moving then moving to far left,  then spun into forward ferry below the bottom hydralic coming out of this neckdown and ferried into an eddy along the right boulder line.  From the bottom of the neck down Grif and I both ferried back and forth through the big main flow from the rock line to the right (center) to large boulders on the left.  At the bottom the normally sizable boulders there on the left where all underwater and appeared to be big waves. In fact with all the water they where big pourovers with large deep holes behind them.  I ferried out from a big eddy behind a rock on the left where Grif and I both eddied out just above and used the backwash of one of the holes to ferry between these bottom rocks and clear the slot just to the right of the last pour-over rock and its hidden hole.  Grif ferryed out and surfed over and ran down also.  Darron worked back over at the bottom from the right side around the center boulder line.

 The next rapid (called by many S-turn now a days) involves normally running through a neck down through and around some boulders which this day where pourover boulders and using the eddy action behind these to make your moves The manuvering basically amounts to something of a S-Turn through tricky crosscurrents and around the boulders and some diagonals to manuver to big a slot.

Now the slot at the bottom is really quite large,  but it has a bit of a secret.  Up until a few years ago with 3 massive flood from 3 hurricans in one month it changed, in fact some of us used to refer to it as the rock sieve rather than S-turn.  What is now the right side of the huge slot was back then a huge rock sieve wall that meant you really had to make the moves or get pushed/yeah slamed into this seive and it was ugly.  Basically you had to dig in and fight to run up against a huge slanted face rock down the left side of the slot that could best be discribed as the shape of a birds head and beak - basically like the crest of the birds head at the upper end and trailing off down into the beak down at the end of the slot into the water below.

Well these days the rock sieve is gone on the right side of the slot but its foundation, a huge pour over rock with a nasty large hole below still makes up from left of center, to far right of the opening.  To the unaware,  the center to left looks inocent, inviting, and the way to go, but its the path into a huge hole below.  This leaves only a narrow 4-6′ true slot/tougue on the far left with current that wants to push you to the right over the pour over or into the hole at the bottom of its chute.

Anyhow with the high water the big rock that marks the left side of the slot was above the water but much smaller and harder to spot upstream this day.  I had to study a bit to find my bearings and this rock target.  I lead off working the neck down that is in river center with a line of boulders along the right and the left side defined by a smaller line of intermitant boulders, holes, and pourovers on the left.  Weaving down the right side of this area then working carefully left to catch the edges of the eddies behind the rocks out in the channel of the left.  Now using these eddies behind the boulders on the left is what allows you to make the line, but with high water, like I said these boulders also had pourovers with holes behind them this day,  I had to be careful not to jump through the eddy lines to high and get sucked into a nasty hole.  Down at the last eddy, it was big enough to pass well into and out of the bottom of the eddy and basially come out well left on line for the far left “clean” chute.  Even then I had to hammer down my strokes to keep from being pushed right as the current wants to push you right over the pourover rock and hole below.  Darron and Gif worked down doing some different lines but basically ending up out through the same line on the final chute/drop.   Now its really important to run this one clean especially with high water as little opportunity to recover just below before ”Big Pillow” rapid - a powerful and fairly serious rapid.

Well, I caught the eddy on the right just below the last rapid or what there was of an eddy.  After Gif and Darron came down Gif took off toward the left band with Darron following,  Darron figuring Gif wanted to scout.  Next thing I know their not stopping.  Now normally the left side is a bad, bad place to be with a big drop and huge hydralic line and massive boil line.  So seeing their line I took off down the river center line which is basically the right side of the normal line down into big pillow past the hydralic.

Now just as I get to the drop off into Big Pillow I see Gif then Darron drop down the far left bank and realize that with the high water there is a huge tougue banking up and off the boulders down the left side.  They shoot down like they where fired out of a cannon and then have to hammer down the meat of the huge and powerful flow to the bottom of the rapid non-stop.

With the big flow I find I am having a little problem finding the normal entry point and in fact there is some small but never the less concerning hydralic line way over on the right,  then I spy a bit of a fragment tougue.  The tougue is broken up in two places off set but tells me there is flow through,  so I kick in some stroke line up,  hammer a stroke to turn on the upper part to throw me over the the lower part  and hit both so I kind of skip or scoot over the hydralic line.  Righ below this is a “pillow that from a pour over that normally flips the un-initiated so I mover quickly and upstream ferry and basically use the edge of the pillow hole to surf over to the upper eddy platform below to the right.  This is great,  I hit the upper right eddy platform,  fantasiic!!!  Then I notice the at the back of the platform where a lower eddy is I need to hit there’s a huge hole coming out with a large hooking hydralic coming out from it, just waiting to suck me in as the huge flow that is creating it is also pushing right to it.  I realize I’ve got to hammer out and use get just far enough past it to use its edge to hook me back safely into the eddy below without allow it to suck me into a really huge nasty hole with no outlet.  I set up hammer out, turn in my peel out,  use a bit of back ferry on my right upstream side,  kiss the curl of the hole with my bow and let it spin me into a forward ferry, hammering a few backstroke so a not to slip forward in its back wash then hammer home with forward strokes across the lower end of its backwash into the boiling, and flowing eddy below.  Then work on down in around holes and diagonals to where Grif and Darron are waiting below surfing on the run out on far right.

From there down to the entry of the pool above Sandy Bottoms we play some nice long low surf waves that had formed over the many low rocks and long ledges that normally are semi - exposed in this area.  Darron and Gif took different routes down center and right on the last rapid before the long pool above Sandy Bottoms. I drove into what is normally a stable eddy over on river left, and use the little bit of back flow there was this day to line up and turn to run the far left chute, piercing the hole where it crossed the flow from the ledge above.

We relaxed for a few minutes while we paddle the long pool, chatted, and enjoy the warm sun.  Then ran Sandy Bottom on the left, then hooked back right into the eddy.  Gif and Darron worked on surfing Sandy Bottoms at bit,  I was ready for a break and went over to the beach, stretched and got a drink.  We after a bit we are all out at the beach,  chatting with some other kayakers there, while we warming up in the sun.  Darrons is last to come into the beach and goes for the surfing line wave down across from there for a minute or two first,  does a roll and come up shaking his head,  paddles in and informs us its serious ice cream headache time from the roll - the water is COLDDDD!!!!.

Well then its back on the river,  across to surf the wave on river left then down to what is probably the longest and nicest play sections/rapids on the river where around the bend below Sandy Bottoms the river opens up an a wide long section with obvious continuous fall and features everywhere - chutes, holes, eddies, surf spots, hydralics, you name it you get it.  Except today at high water a lot of the ledges and boulders etc. normally visable have water pouring or surging over them and its harder to spot these until you are right on top of them.  Holes are bigger and more numerous,  everythings squirrly and boiling.  Well we all work down through the upper 2/3 weaving back and forth working what features and current lines we can, and avoiding landing in some large hole below some of the ledges.  Then about 2/3 of the way down there’s pretty much a ledge drop across much of the river,  usually with a chute or two on the right side.  Well I watch Darron’s move across it and he finally drops through, getting endered a bit but it looks like he’s found a line,  Gif makes a move for the same area and goes through.  I follow Gif’s line, and approach the ledge drop, and the hydralic from the top looks pretty continuous, big and a bit nasty.  I push for the area they both ran, see a bit of flow through, punch it and just as I come down a serging current hooks me from the right and pushes my bow around so I am now sideways in the hydralic line with my blade down upsteam.  I roll and reach under my boat and swing across with my paddle, reaching out to catch the outflow.  Then roll up, catch my breath, just as I am almost upright, it’s slide into a hole below and over,  set-up up-stream, roll up and just as I’am about up slide sideways through another hole,  set up again - it doesn’t feel right, and swing under and set up downstream on my off-side again and roll up, eyes clear and I paddle like crazy to skirt the next hole I am right above, and join Gif and Darron at the bottom.  After about 10 second upright paddling out the bottom,  I let out a huge Yell, “Yikes”, and Giff paddles over asking if I am alright.  I answer “yes but I have a wopping ice cream headache - that water is COLD!!!”.

Just below here is a island that splits the river with what is usually a pretty techincal run on the far left and a couple of creek line moves to its right.  We opt for the right side creek lines at this level.  Grif leads off and moves to an eddy on the right bank above a chute.  I move to the left to what is normally a stable eddy platform above semi-circular creek move line over by the island,  only today the eddy is washing through badly and I just use little there is to hold up, turn and line up and run.  My line cuts the curve around the left side of the chute and pushes through a hole below at the end of the chute.  Grif runs the far right does the drop, stalls a bit in the hydralic hole at the bottom, stern squirt a bit and pulls through.  Darron’s now over to the far right above and hammers through the drop a bit harder having seen it grab Grif a bit.

From there we all work our way down to Stackhouse,  being careful to move far left past the next island with the big rock slab on the upstream end as this marks the entry to the area of re-bar 2/3 across the river on the right side (big piecies of iron bar sticking up from the rock ledges from right bank out, left over from catching timber in spring floods for the sawmill operation at Stackhouse many years ago).  Down to stackhouse rapid, which is normally a bit scrappy,  its no problem to day lots of water.  We skip stopping at Stackhouse and move on.  Grifs leading down through the ledges below,  I follow working further right.  Just after the next ledge below Grif notices Darron’s not in sight,  we stop,  I had just seen him below Stackhouse rapid ledges.  We pull over of a bit concerned,  Gif walks up while I wait on the end of an island below to make sure Darrons does not pass us,  after a few minutes I hear Darron holler from the right bank where Grif left his boat , “You guy’s looking for me”.  Turns out he took a small channel around a island to the left just above the last drop in Stackhouse.  We all get back in our boats once Grif is back and Darron goes back down to his and we all head on down to ” Silver Needle rock” through “Windy Flats”.

Now “Windy Flats” is pretty much like its name,  its a long flat section and it get windy pretty easy.  There a good bit of chop all the way across with the high water and a bit of wind,  but with all the water we move along quicklyl.  Down just before “Silver Needle” (a huge long streak of Granite on a island peak mid river that looks like a silver needle down the peak through the trees) we take the fork hard right around the right side of that island, and pull out imediately on the right to scout “Kayaker’s Ledge” that is right below.

  We spend a few minutes studying the ledge at Kayaker with the high level.  The normal line off the far left doesn’t look as good, there more hydralic and boil line there today, though not to bad.  However the center of the flow that runs from about center of the ledge to far left has a pretty good tougue and flow out through the hydralic at the ledge base.  Key here it to hit it either slightly to the left of center or center straight on and hammering.  Just to the right of the center is the nasty spot, a bigger recirculating current up against the ledge with a definate depression and and long boil line - definately the place to stay away from, which means not getting turned sideways down the chute.

Darron climbs out as far as he can on the ledge with a throw bag and his camera.  Grif volunteers to probe, gets in his boat paddles upstream a bit and over to the flow down the left side,  enters nicely left of center and down the chute,  skips his bow up a bit through the wave hole flow at the bottom, turns and ferries over the river right.  I go up get in my boat,  paddle up a bit and over,  and start down the left side, I end up center of chute which put me in a bit of a trough going down the chute and have to brace at the top and stroke hard at the bottom.  As my bow plows the wave hole wall below and then skips over and the current flow toward the right swings me around as I pull through.  I quickly have to dig in to pull back up and over to the far right to an eddy.  I pull up where I can get Darrons camera, mention staying a bit further right on the chute to Darron like Grif did.  Darron goes up and runs a nice line coming down the left side of the chute which keeps him out of the center trough I hit and makes his exit at the bottom really clean - nice line!!!

From there we head out down to “Frank Bell’s” rapid.  Coming up on this one in the late afternoon sun, we can’t even see it till we are on top of it and pass into shade right above it,  but you can sure hear it!!!!!!  We all pretty much after a little discussion work down at the same time,  Darron works toward the left,  Gif goes more toward just left of center and I work over high and drop down well right of center.  All of us had good runs.  I found the right side, which at lower - more normal levels is not very runnable, quite good at this level, but still challanging at least where I ran it, with numerous ledge drops, holes, diagonals, and and plenty of boiling piles to negoicate.  Darron reported he was able to negociate at ferry between the holes on the left at the bottom and run out just fine.  Gif report his line was well padded and ok too.

From there we paddled out down to the take-out negociiating a couple nice hydralics at some ledges along the way,  inculding the sizable one that often suprises people down by the old gauge tower, just above the take-out (this one is hard to spot until your right on it and is deep in some spots - I’ve seen more than one person get the “suprise” there).

We had a great time, but where all ready to get out, dry off and change.  The river was fun, but the water was sure cold!!!  We where please to have fairly warm winter day.   Fortunately the day was still pretty warm around 4:15 when we changed and dress out in the parking are with the sunshine.  After returning to the put in to get Grifs car we said our goodbys and headed home after an excellant days paddle with a good group.