Paddlin’ Ed

Saturday 2/16/08 – five of us all K-1 did a winter run on the Cheoah.  USGS gauge readings for the release showed 1,200cfs, however most folks seem to think actual water flow was higher.  The run defiantly had lots of water and push, and weather was great for mid winter with temps. in high 60’s and partly sunny.  A good size crowd had gathered for the run by the time we arrived for what was to be a great day of paddling. 

Some reports posted later on boating forums reported there was as much as 5′ on the gauge stick which was supposed to equate to 1,500cfs, so there a lot of debate about the actual level.  A number of people who have paddled it regularly since releases first began indicated they believed there was at least somewhere between 1,300 and 1,400 cfs, so actual level seems to be a mystery.  Mainly it was just plain full and quite beefy.  My own observations included a number of places a good bit more padded out and flowing through than usually.

Anyhow,  the five of us,  Darron P.,  Charlie, Tyler, John A., Joey T., and paddlin-ed all in K-1 met up just past noon at the take out,  loaded up boats on and paddlers in my van and head up to O’Henry’s parking and put in.  After quickly getting permits and unloading we where on.  After a quick warm up just out from the put in and practice roll for each of us we where off.  Doing our initial roll we found the water colder than we had experienced before for the Cheoah but not ice cream headache stuff,  still one practice roll was enough.

Darron lead off,  and I ran sweep initially.  Most of our crew had only one to two runs except of Darron and myself who have done it a number of times each over the last 2-3 years, including our last run in November.  The group kept up a brisk pace through the early sections.  Not to far above Wilma’s ledge,  Tyler just ahead of me in a playboat and hand paddling dropped over a big pourover into a hole and spun and surfed, only as I came around the end of the pour over hole he surfed over catching the bow of my creeker under him, which pushed him out of the hole and me in sideways.  Well I proceeded to do the two step side surfing back and forth seeking a flow out deep in the hole and finally backed the stern into a flow out curl at its left end, bow squirted and rolled on the hook of the out flow, hung, set up and rolled up, and on my way downstream.

Down just above Wilma’s ledge (basically a natural dam), we all hit the eddy above.  Darron and I discussed the line for a minute and Darron led off,  I followed and ran on downstream to eddy out.  The rest of the group followed, all being sure to hit the ledge at a running boof and dig on the landing, and pushing slightly left catching outflow.

Down below we re-grouped and kept moving at a brisk pace, bobbing and weaving the holes, diagonal, surging waves and working the drops that are almost continuous along the way.  Not to far down we stopped to let a couple in the group, stretch and otherwise take a break for a few minutes.  Darron and I stayed in our boats ready to move on.  Once the rest of the group was back in their boats we headed off again moving quickly down through take-out rapid and on toward land of holes.

Now somewhere along here is a nice rapid that after you decend down though it, it pushes you toward a large standing wave with a big hole/trough in front of it, such that most folks that either havn’t paddled it or have only once get caught a bit off guard by it.  It occasionally holds a paddler in the hole for a brief time but normally if you keep a stroken it will let you go and you’ll punch through.  Now coming up on this one today,  Darron mentions over his shoulder, the wave and hole just as he leads off,  Charlie paddles up from  behind me while running down the rapid and hollars,  “where should I run the wave?”  “To which I reply, anywhere you want Charlie, anywhere you want, just keep stroken, just keep’a stroken.”  Well evidently that worked everyone punched through with no time in the hole.

Darron and I discussed land of holes rapid (a long, long, long section of continuous hydraulic lines/holes, chutes, etc.,  basically concerned about the route.  I myself have never been able to peg a particular route through this area it changes with levels and where you can get into it.  So basically after a few words it was “lets go for it we’ll work through it as we go”, and we where off.  I pulled behind Darron on this one so the two of us would be out front and hopefully between us we would give some direction to the group on what route looked best.  Darron lead well through the upper part,  I finally moved more left into the middle, while he went more right we both seem to find good lines to go this day, and finally in the lower part we both moved back to right of center.  Down toward the end we moved hard left and caught the hooking drop back right to where the entrance to the next channel narrows down.  The group all came down ok behind us.

From land of holes we kept up the pace, pretty much kept hammering down through the various sections of rapid,  weaving and working.  With the high flow you had to be a bit careful to make sure you didn’t pop over any large pourovers mid channel, and there where some very large ones this day with serious re-circulating holes on their downstream side.  Skirting these pour overs, or using the fringes of the backwash to help move your line, slow yourself down, or surf across was good,  but they where not places to drop directly over the top into.  Quite a few pour overs on some steep drops in rapids would pretty much flush you, but really big one’s center of channel  with little drop formed large mounds with retentive holes, and where nasty looking when you passed them.

Finally we got down to the big pool area,  Darron and I decided to break below the bridge down stream and then headed to the far left end of the pool and work down and back into the fast current.  On down at the bridge we kept moving. By this time some of the rest of the group was moving ahead and leading a good bit of the time.  We worked the rapids beyond the bridge to where there a good eddy on the right with a small gravel ramp down to it,  eddied out and took our break.  We kept the break short as the its was past mid afternoon and while the day was still fairly warm we where out of the sun more and cooler.  After a few minutes to stretch, drink, otherwise recoup,  we where on the run.

From our break eddy we headed down the short narrow section toward the bend just above the rapid running down to Bear Creek Falls.  We worked the last few rapid sections above the bend, which have some nice drops and features,  eddy hopping the group down.  Then out the last run out above the bend,  Darron leading off, and myself following up the rear.

I ran down over near the eddy’s along the right side, and noticed the rest of the group already following Darron working hard left up fairly high.  Not liking the lack of good eddies with the flow I pulled left a bit and head down the run, but found I had to go lower first starting out this far over right.  Looking up I could see Darron then Tyler dropping a chute by a big ledge over about halfway down just left of center, and squirting a bit out the bottom.

About that time after seeing them drop the ledge, I got busy back right and started down through a maze of big pour overs, chutes and holes, and it was very busy at this flow.  I had run this way quite a few times but it all looked different this day.  Really busy, very big, and keeping from dropping over a big pourover into a deep hole became a focus real fast, which sort of limited my other options, or rather made other options better which included some rather large wave holes, tight chutes, tight turns to make the next immediate drop, and catching the backwashes to help the turn or ferry.  Sort of like being thrown around in a washing machine on high agitation and maintaining some control and a line.

Well about halfway down I spied Tyler and John over below the ledge drop on the right working over the channel between two ledges which I normally like to catch, that flows over to the pool on the left a short ferry from the eddy above the falls.  Well I started the move and found my path flowed part way over to a huge backwash, turned and pillowed off the side of a rock pile below and turned to ferry again.  Jamming hard and digging in I surfed through a wash to the flow behind the lower ledge of my usual route, and hammered down to hit the ferry over to the far left eddy.

Paddling into the staging eddy on far left for the falls,  Darron who had just gotten in before me and I looked at each other and both noted that the run down from the bend was really different with the higher flow.  Basically we agreed everything looked different and today we had both done new routes.  After a short breather and discussion about where to be on the left side run with the others, we got ready to drop the falls.

Darron headed out and dropped over 1st.  I followed next over the falls,  which required a bit more push to move to the line in the flow than usual today.  Once over I hit the right cheek line on center and went to hammer in the last stroke of the edge and found the flow such that it pretty much threw me off.  Working quickly to lean forward and lift the bow and quickly shot out, hammering left to the upper eddy.  Tyler dropped over next and joined us and from the upper eddy we watched the others run down, until finally Charlie was left.

Once Charlie was down we moved on.  Darron lead Tyler, John. Joey, and Charlie over to the creeking channel left of the island on river left.  I head out last and moved to the left side of the main channel and jumped the high rock wall just short of the big boulder above the island dividing the two runs.  Dropping over the wall was easy this day,  lots of flow where normally its a bang down.  I hit the eddy behind the rock in the center of the pool below and eddied out.  This is know as Bear Creek rapid with the main channel know as “the hole” verses the “creek line on far river left. 

I head down the narrow channel below through the chute on the left.  Two drops  down a group had gathered in a boiling eddy on the left above a ledge, it was crowded and they seem to be holding up so I pushed on and hammered down through the ledge above onto the line over the ledge below them.  About that time one of the group in the eddy back-ferried out right into my line, with less than a boat length ahead,  I jambed on the back water best I could and shouted.  Now understand I am on a large tongue of flow dropping down aimed on a 3-4 foot point on the ledge I need to be (rock to the right below – huge hole hydraulic the left below).  The guy finally looks up and realizes he is sitting  sideways directly in front of me, starts to turn and slides down the ledge chute and turns sideways in the trough below.  I hold back best I can but hit the trough just as he starts over the bottom side and get pinned up in the trough behind him and we head over the next drops hole like this.  Well can you say, tuck really good,  I can.

Aside from on brief thunk on the helmet, I tuck, set up and ride for a few seconds till it feels right and roll up clean droping down and through another hole below (its basically like descending a staircase here).  The guy is aware I am somewhere behind him after being underneath and is shouting over his shoulder for me to grab his stern.  I finally on the edge of the next drop finally manage to shout to him “what do I want to grab on for,  I am in my boat”.  Well we both ride out the last features and over to a staging eddy on the left where the rest of my group are waiting.  The guy from above asks if I am ok,  I ask if he is. Aside from my helment thunk on a rock, and a banged thumb I am ok and so is he, we both pardon our mishap and exchange names and shake.

After a brief check of myself and catching my breath,  Darron looks over at me and says lead on,  so I head out for the run down to Tapco above yardsale hole.  This is a fun section and I not feeling very wasted today so I play it hard.  Looking over just behind me Tyler is working down making lots of moves,  followed by the others doing the same.  Charlie bangs down past me at a ledge and moves across me and pushes ahead.  I move left to try something a bit different today just above the rock island below.  Darron’s out in front of the others around the left of the island and through threw the slot at the bottom end back right with Charlie,  Tyler, John, and Joey coing along behind him.

I work around the island on the right which normally this is difficult, but there is water in the channel today and except of on narrow slot through a choke its ok, though I doubt I will bother with it again.  Then on down pass the wave train run out below the island we gather in the eddy on the right.

We take a few minutes,  then John, Joey, Tyler and Charlie go for it down to yardsale, a minute or two later I head out followed by Darron.  I move toward the right eddy along the canyon wall above yardsale,  its a boiling and surging thing today and not really and eddy.  There is a flow right through its center to the normally narrow boof rock above the left end of yardsale’s hole.  Normally the boof has an inch or two of water and is just a narrow slot, but today its wider and probably had a foot of water dropping a large tongue down into the end of the slot.  I hammer for the slot, and not wanting the tougue to slam me down and over in the end of the hole,  I jamb hard off of it and twist right to land pointed down stream in the end of yardsale.  Its submarine time for a brief few seconds then the under current flow out of the hole squirts me out and over mid river.

From mid river I am fast coming up on a second hydraulic line hole,  but I know there a tongue just left of center,  I stroke for it, and then dig out the bottom side of the hole and over to the eddy on left.  Darron run out yardsale and eddys far right, then ferries over.  Moving down and eddy,  someone shouts “hey Ed”,  it John F. sitting in his boat up on a rock on the bank, we chat a bit.  Then the group seems to have gathered up  and appears ready to move I remark that it’s  ”lets git’er done” time and peel out.

We all work our way down enjoying the nice steep run out and features down the lake.  A short paddle across the lake and we pull out load up and head out.  I pick my van up at O’Henry’s and change, then Darron, Charlie, Tyler and I head for a barbecue dinner in Robbinsville after a fabulous day on the Cheoah and and outstanding level.  Highest I’ve done it and it was a blast!!!

SYOR – Paddlin-ed