Having missed out on Saturday opportunities and starting out to late to go much further west I met up with a couple of old friends who where doing a afternoon run over on the French Broad 9. Level was around 1,800, and the day partly sunny. I met up with Tim T., Jim Van L. and Brian along I40W and made the trip north of Ashville, NC to the FB at Bernard. On arriving we found a cold front had moved in early and decided to do the Bernard to Stackhouse run and stay off of the long open “Windy Flats” (windy and cold) section on the last part of the run.
We quickly stopped at Stackhouse to dress out and leave a shuttle, loaded on one vehicle and head to Bernard where we quickly put on. Tim and Jim had run this before but it had been a while, Brian had only one run the previous year, so I kind’a got elected un-offical lead/guide to make sure everyone new what was coming and a general idea of the lines. We all warmed up our skill on the surf spots and ledges in the 1st mile and then headed down the 1st real long section of rapid after a few quick words on possible lines.
All ran down and played through the initial long rapid and then onto the diagonal ledges area below. Jim got into a little something about halfway down and had a bit of an altercation with a diagonal. After getting everyone back together we ran down the remaining ledges, worked a few practice spot at the bottom and then down through the rapid below in the left bend - run right of center.
From here we all ran out various lines starting over left of center on the next rapid, working our ferries etc. back a forth down through the rapid and out the long section at the bottom. Below here we entered the S-turn, and after a bit of description of the line, I lead off, working the eddies behind the pour overs in the S-turn to work from center to right and back far left down the run out chute on far left to avoid the big hole just to the right. I had cautioned the group above that at the final run out the right side of the opening looked like the place to be but would land you in a big nasty hole and to stay far left. Tim followed, then Brian, and finally Jim.
As they each ran down we flagged each into the eddy on the right to group up and go over what was below. Big Pillow rapid was next, and I went over its basic features, big hydraulic line from the left bank to past center and the “pillow hole” to the right below and explained the entry and ferry between to the eddy on river left, plus where to be below if missed. I lead off caught the edge of the backwash just below the end of the hydraulic off the ledge and ferried it over to the eddy far left, Tim followed, then Jim, and finally Brian started down but didn’t stay on the ferry and went down the right, fortunately far enough left to miss “pillow hole” but fighting to get back out of the huge flow to the eddy behind “Pillow Rock” on the right. I headed up high into enough of the backwash off of the ledge hydraulic above to be able to ferry over to the right without being washed out and down and caught up with Brian entering the eddy at Pillow Rock right behind him. Jim left the far left eddy, but didn’t pull up high and nearly got washed into the monster hole below Pillow rock out in the main flow and just made the bottom of the eddy. Tim saw me frantically trying to wave for them to go high in the eddy before coming out and did so and made a nice clean ferry up high over to us.
I peeled out and ran the shadow eddy behind a rock on far right and out clean at the bottom, caught the backwash below and waited for the others to come down. We played down from there surfing along the way to the ledge above the pool before Sandy Bottom, I ran the creeky line on far left out of a small eddy diagonally across the tongue, Tim and Brian followed, with me hollering to stay high, Jim followed but hit low and did a 2 step with the rock out the chute to the left but landed ok. We all paddled down to long pool and ran Sandy Bottom rapid on the left side, I hit the eddy toward center high and waited on the others. We paddled over to the rocks below on the left and took a lunch break and breather.
Well it was getting a bit windy and cold so break was brief, and we where off again, down through the long fun section of rapids a bend below Sandy Bottoms. This is one of the most fun sections, long with plenty of fall and a maze of features and ledges to play and we all played.
Down below we met up and paddle down to the split at the island where the big water line goes left and the creek lines go to the right of the island. I explained the choices and no one in the group had ever done the left, so I said “well plenty of water today for the line so let’s go”. I lead off going over to far left and heading into the rapid running further left to a leaky eddy a couple of chutes down, turned and started ferrying back right, Brian came down right on my stern so I turned a bit and ran down right, then worked to a chute off the final ledge of its right lip above the hole below and waited below as the other ran it out. Tim and Jim ran the bottom ledge on the left side down the center and out.
From there we worked down the left to avoid the re-bar field and then down the final chutes and ledges at Stackhouse to the take out. After dressing out, loading boats and running the others up to cars at Bernard we said our farwells after a cold but good day on the river.
0 Responses to “French Broad 9 - April 13, 2008”