Rock Creek, |
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| Usual Difficulty | III-IV+ (may vary with level) |
|---|---|
| Length | 9 Miles |
| Avg. Gradient | 100 fpm |
| Max Gradient | 140 fpm |
| Name | Range | Difficulty | Updated | Level |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NORTH CHICKAMAUGA CREEK NEAR MONTLAKE, TN | ||||
| usgs-03566525 | 800 - 1800 cfs | III-IV+ | 00h53m | 56 cfs (rc= -0.7 ) |
With origins in Bledsoe county, Rock Creek eventually finds itself in the town of Sale Creek, TN. The takeout is at the Leggett Rd bridge. A crude spray paint gauge does exist. 2.5 feet is a nice optimum level. One has several choices for a put in on this stream. One, is to actually put in on Rock Creek on Tendon Road. Another is to put in on Hall Creek, a northern tributary, off of Tendon Road as well. As of 1998, an alternative put -in was accessible too. Take the first main left road off of Leggett, some seven miles up the mountain. Follow the road for about a mile until you notice a pine plantation on the right. The trail leads 1/4 of a mile to Hall Creek. A nice man across the street actually lets you park in his yard, but make sure to ask first and be discrete in changing. This put-in cuts the trip down some three miles of basically class II. On the topo zone map, notice Clifton Bend. That's the road to Hall Creek.
At the confluence of Hall and Rock, there is an excellent playground for nearly 1/2 mile. The creek is wide and the holes (mostly shallow) are friendly making for some great play at nice levels. Several excellent class IV's and IV+'s are too be found later downstream when the creek narrows down a little. None of the rapids are officially named to my knowledge. A few of them with good water inch pretty close to class 5, and with good water this run is a considerable step above similarly rated runs like Piney River, Island Creek, and Piney Creek into Whites Creek. There are several complex boulder gardens with consequences and tricky moves. Most of the rapids you will encounter are class III-III+ though. In 1998 I spotted three bald eagles in the gorge, one mature and two juveniles. Overall this is an enjoyable stream where you can enjoy steep drops at times and good play as well.
For further information visit: www.waldensridgewhitewater.com
The closest online streamgauge is just a ways south. Look for medium high to highish levels on North Chick for this one to be going.
| Name | Range | Difficulty | Updated | Level | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NORTH CHICKAMAUGA CREEK NEAR MONTLAKE, TN | ||||||||||||
| usgs-03566525 | 800 - 1800 cfs | III-IV+ | 00h53m | 56 cfs (rc= -0.7 ) | ||||||||
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| When | River/Gauge | Subject | Level | Reporter |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4y311d21h53m | Rock Creek [TN] |
Rock Creek Gorge
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n/a | Daniel Talley |
| 5y261d21h53m | Rock Creek [TN] |
Rock Creek
|
3.0 feet | kemper begley |
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 - Rock Creek Retro-Hughes Road to Leggett Rd bridge (mobile)
User Comments
Dropped to around 1.8 when we took off. Plenty of water. Watch out for trees if you put in on Hall
Creek.
and it had dropped to 2.5 when we paddled out of the gorge. Kirk Eddleman and I agreed that it felt
like a moderately high flow. At this level, there is a lot of class IV and the run should be
considered as such (not class III-IV+). Do not expect it to be a small step up from class III-IV
creeks like Island Creek or Big Laurel Creek (NC). At this level, it can also be a long day because
many of the drops should be scouted and you sometimes have to start scouting well before the
horizon line due to the pushy flow in the long lead-ins. There's a very manky/junky rapid in there
that approaches class V and dished out a beating resulting in a swim to one of the SE's most
accomplished paddlers (not Kirk). There are several large cascades falling into the creek on both
sides - this is a very pretty place. I'll definitely go back some day…..
Rock Creek
What a perfect name for a run. Roger Scott and his gang first opened up this run. I think this one
is underrated. Everyone thinks of all the others, but forgets about this one. This one is a
classic. True, it doesn't have the gradient of the others, but some of the best don't have a lot of
gradient. It has fun rapids and the flavor of the Chick without the wind, long rapids, or the big
water. Near the end is when the rapids get hard so there is plenty of warm up. A good inch of
winter rain is good for this one, and most rapids can be run without scouting, but of course I
don't recommend that. If you have a class III boater group and some strong leaders, this is a great
run. I would put in on Hall Creek. Rock used to take less water, but once again clear cutting is
killing this one.
around the left side of the bridge piling. 2 1/2 and even 2 1/4 are now good levels high enough for
nice play on the first half of the run. Add roughly 1/2 a foot or better to the reading to get the
old gague equivilant.
The hole in the runout is long gone. The nice man at the put in advises that a private buyer is
attempting to buy the (presumably Bowater)land at his put in location potentially closing this
access point in the future. There is a group that is making efforts to protect some of the land
near the runout. More info is needed on this group to perhaps advise them of the potential land
purchase at the top of the mountian.