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Green, |
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2. Green Narrows (Big Hungry Creek to Fishtop Access)
| Usual Difficulty | IV-V+ (may vary with level) |
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| Avg. Gradient | 178 fpm |
| Max Gradient | 342 fpm |
Spankin' The Monkey
Spankin' The Monkey
Photo of Leland Davis @ Can't tell for sure
River Description
The Green Narrows is the southeast's most famous steep creek. It epitomizes a low-volume, boulder congested, pool-drop character, with a couple of slides thrown in for good measure. Unique in the fact it is dam released and runs nearly 300 days per year, it still retains the feel of a wilderness creek due to the depth and inaccessibility of the gorge, the decent water quality and fabulous landscaping, and the .6 mile walk downhill with your boat to get to the put-in.
First run in it's entirety in 1988, and long after remaining a holy grail for whitewater enthusiasts, the Narrows has been eclipsed by a series of other now commonly run creeks of greater difficulty. Nonetheless, it remains the bread-and-butter of the Asheville area Class V paddling scene, and is still a mighty big sandwich to bite into. Most of the rapids are tight and technical, requiring precise boat control to run smoothly. Many of the boofs are not just fun, they are mandatory. Boaters with strong Class IV+ skills who walk the Big Three have been shown down successfully countless times now, and yet boaters with strong Class V skills still get hammered here on a regular basis. Sadly, the river is the site of two fatalities and countless other minor and major injuries. It is not to be taken lightly. The 100% release level, with minor differences between 7-9 inches, is "the standard". While a couple rapids get easier at 200% -- and there's nice padding at higher water -- most rapids get harder. The time between rapids also gets much shorter, and the penalty points add up quick.
Although running the Green is staple food ---a happy meal--- for regulars just trying to shut out the noise and stay safe, it is also the daily training ground for many of the country's elite creekboaters, and the annual Green Race is a most revered and hotly contested affair. Held at high noon on the first Saturday in November since 1996, it draws huge crowds and even a grilled cheese sandwich and/or hot burrito sales program. Another more recent event, Jerry's Baddle, a paddling & bicycling biathlon fundraiser held each Spring, is now in its fourth year and hugely successful as well. Both events have a homegrown, homemade kind of feeling, and reflect the strong and diverse community that has built up around the Green. You hear it all the time: "...man, I LOVE the Green".
Shuttle and
Hiking Directions
Duke Energy Tuxedo
Release Schedule
Chris Bell's Green Flows
Page
The
Green Race Information Page
History of
Access, Parking, & Releases
Chris Bell's Green Page
(includes camping info)
Join American
Whitewater
The Narrows is wholly located within the Green River Gamelands, a rugged tract of more than 10,000 acres along the Green River in Henderson and Polk Counties. Owned by the people of the State of North Carolina, the primary purpose of the Gamelands remains wildlife conservation and management. The 16 miles of trails are for foot travel only. River otters, bears, deer, snakes, turtles, fish, and all manner of birds share this beautiful place. Arguably, the Green's water quality has been going down over time thanks to the increase in development upstream in the watershed. Following heavy rains the creek runs browner now and carries more sediment from poor erosion control measures. See this picture of Toilet Bowl to learn more.
Although topozone.com no longer offers free access to their USGS topo maps online, the Libre Map Project does. To view the USGS topo map covering the Green Narrows, click here for their North Carolina listings, and then scroll down and choose the "Cliffield Mountain Quad". I was able to download and open the TIFF version using Windows Photo Gallery. If you have not looked at a topo map of the Narrows area, then check it out. There is also a blown-up version covering just the Narrows that I linked to in the Sunshine rapids description.
Click the "Rapids" tab at the top of this page for descriptions and pictures of all the Green's famous drops. In that section, several alternate pictures are shown and different lines are described, yet no attempt has been made to describe everything. There are "race lines", "200% lines", several hazards left unmentioned, and a myriad of little cul de sacs made for good or ill. More detail and better pictures will come with time. Feel free to find me and pass along any suggestions you care to....it's a work in progress. --- John Pilson (12/6/07)
| Timing The Watercourse Way |
| Water to Put-in = 2.5 hours |
| Water to Take-out = 4-4.5 hours |
| (a) River empties faster than it fills... |
| so latest sensible put-on is 1 hour |
| after turn-off.... Paddle w/o delay. |
| (b) "Dawn Patrol"....if release goes |
| to midnight, they won't turn if off until |
| at least 7 a.m. the next day. |
The Green Key Way: ...In order to access the Narrows by parking at the end
of Gallimore Road, you need to use a gated and locked parking lot which is rented by
the Green River Access Fund. Keys for the "Gallimore Creek Access Area" (the parking lot)
cost $60 each, and this year there is NO discount for turning in last year's key, as agreed
upon in the last public meeting of the Access Fund. The cost for camps and commercial groups
is $200.
The keys run annually, with the normal program being from April to April. New keys will be required starting April 1st, when the lock will be changed from the 2008 key to the 2009 key.
Keys are available at Green River Adventures, the new outfitter near the top of the road at Fishtop. Call GRA at (828) 749-2800 for more information. Current Spring hours: Tues.-Sat 10-5. T-shirts for key purchasers are available for $12 each, and $20 for non-keyholders. Sorry, but keys and T-shirts are not available via mail order, and are not available through Liquid Logic. GRA only, and in person -- sorry, but that's how it rolls this year.
Key Rentals -- New for 2009, and designed for folks not living in the Carolinas. Key pick-up and drop-off at GRA, with the cost being $10. Contact GRA for more information.
Use of the parking lot is for keyholders only, and is self-policing. There are NO other parking spots at the end of Gallimore Road, save for two that are reserved explicitly for hunters and fishermen across from the lot. You are subject to ticketing and towing if you park there as a boater. At this point, there is no visitor parking, and no "put the $5 in the mailbox" day-use honor program that existed in the past. It didn't work. Woody Callaway at Liquid Logic is the leaseholder, paying the rent, not making a dime, and all Green boaters who plan to access the river at this point by using the lot need to pony up the funds to support the continuing use of it. Cheap entertainment. Keyholders are reminded to lock the gate behind them each and every time they come and go, and to not let in people without keys. Until a more permanent -- and owned -- lot is found that allows us to park and walk down the public trail to the put-in, then this is the deal we got. People are working on better options all the time. Key purchases and other donations are tax deductible.
The No Key Way: ...If you don't paddle the Narrows enough to warrant buying a key, and you are not getting dropped off at the end of the road and parking back up on Big Hungry (apparently legal), then you must paddle the Upper Green first to access the Narrows. Alternately, to perform the Gentleman's Poach, drop your friends and gear at the put-in trail and drive down to Fishtop, getting a ride back up as "just a body".
For further information about the Access Fund, contact:
Green River Access Fund, 1437 Dana Rd., Hendersonville, NC 28792
Editors
NWRI - Green 2. Green Narrows (mobile)