Big Brush Creek, |
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Eric Zitzow contributed:
This creek holds water well. Use Collins and Sequatchie gauges to get an idea of the level. Once at the put-in use the metal ladder on the bridge for an exact level. Remember this rule of thumb and it will serve you well- "One and a third rung is good to go, one and a quarter rung is just too low." Two and 3/8 rungs is the highest that I have done and I would say that the upper cut off is in the 3-rung neighborhood.
Just don't run it too low. This will be a miserable pin-fest and you will not enjoy it at all.
| When | River/Gauge | Subject | Level | Reporter |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Big Brush Creek [TN] |
Big Brush and Little Brush shuttle routes
|
n/a | Geoff Kohl |
No guide books for this stream. If you know of a book that describes this stream please contact and advise the StreamTeam member for this run. No rapids entered. If you know names, and locations of the rapids please contact and advise the StreamTeam member for this run. River Alert
State News
River Links
NWRI - Big Brush Creek Bridge on FS road off Highway 8/111 to Highway 127 (mobile)
User Comments
bridge 12-2004. Sequatchie at Dunlap 3000, Caney 1.7, Emory 8000. Good medium level, wouldn't want
it much lower. I suspect around 2 1/2 rungs the holes are going to get sticky. Class II-III for the
first couple of miles and then the action starts. Class IV - V creek with tight undercut boulder
gardens and a few blind slots. There are many places to get hurt on this creek, so take your time.
It is a long physical run and once the action begins, the rapids are non stop until the take out.
Our trip took 6 hours and there is a mandatory portage about 1/3 down. The creek veers sharply left
and drops out of sight. Look for a series of X's on several river left trees. Not a drop you would
want to blunder into. There is a logging road just up the bank on river right. Portage there.<br
/>
If you like tight boulder choked rapids, Big Brush delivers. Sweet 15 minute shuttle. Oh, and don't
forget your elbow pads...<br />
Chris G<br />
page:
THE BIG BRUSH SHUTTLE:
TAKEOUT is the first bridge the creek comes to once it's off the mountain. That bridge is on Oak
Park Lane (I believe the name is correct). To get to that bridge, Take Hwy 8/111 from Dunlap, turn
right on the last road before you ascend the long road cut. The road immediately T's, so bear left
on Oak Park. First bridge is Little Brush Creek; you need to go to the second bridge for Big Brush.
There is some sort of rock company just before it. [If you're coming down the road cut (from the
put-in), this Oak Park Rd is the first left you can take once you've descended the highway road
cut.]
To get to the PUT-IN, go back to Hwy. 8/111, and go up the mountain. Once you've ascended the
plateau, keep going (and going). You know you're getting close to your turn when you finally pass a
decent-sized gas station on your right. Keep a lookout for McCarver Road. There is a red-roofed
cabin structure at the corner of this road and the highway. Turn right and follow it. When it forks
(a very notable fork), bear right. Soon/immediately after this fork, you'll come to the first big
gravel road on your right. It has a sign up on a tree about 50 feet about "Illegal Removal of
Minerals". Turn right and follow this big (public?) road back for about 10-15 minutes until you
reach the bridge over Big Brush. It has planks lined up under your tires and metal pipes as the
hand rail. Lock your car and don't keep anything of value in it. Note: this unnamed gravel road has
some bouncy, rough sections. 4x4s not required, but don't take a car with low ground clearance.
Look out for semis carrying logs or rocks.
Time required for shuttle: about 30 minutes each way if gravel road is in good shape.
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GAUGE:
The gauge is at the put-in. The "gauge" is the ladder in the middle of the bridge on the downstream
side. The bottom rung is considered "1 rung". You can check the gauge from the bridge. The rule is
that 1-1/3 rungs is on the low side but doable. Not sure if this has changed, there are gravel bars
at put-in so it could flux some. Look for a visual: Is there enough water to float over the rocks
without coming close to scraping? Gauge used to be a piece of duct tape but it seems to have washed
away (that was 12 years ago, though).
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LEVELS: (my best guesses)
If gauges are falling fast, then you should want to see Collins at 2,000 and Sequatchie at 1,800.
Daddy's would probably be around 1,300 and dropping.
AW has the Sequatchie gauge accidentally linked to Collins, so here's the real Sequatchie
gauge:
http://waterdata.usgs.gov/tn/nwis/uv?03571000
If gauges are rising, water table is up, and you've had a big rain event, you could probably see
levels of half those or less and Big Brush will probably run. These gauges are down in the valley,
far downstream from the creek parts of their rivers, so they respond slowly.
It's considered a Day-After-North-Chick run, but that's only if the water table is up. If water
table is down, it's a day-of N. Chick run/immediately after N. Chick run. The run was formerly
considered to hold water very well, but recent clear cutting in the area may have made the run-off
drop faster.
Other options nearby if it's too low may be Cane Creek, Bee Creek, Caney Fork. If too high, check
out Little Brush or Cain/N. Chick.
Enjoy, and if you run it, please post what you saw on the nearby gauges when it was running.
Hopefully if we get enough data we can create a virtual gauge. Make this creek known; there once
was a popular proposal for damming up the gorge, and I'm sure there are some who would still like
to see that.