Tellico, |
|
| Usual Difficulty | II-III (may vary with level) |
|---|---|
| Length | 5.4 Miles |
| Avg. Gradient | 50 fpm |
| Max Gradient | 80 fpm |
| Name | Range | Difficulty | Updated | Level |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| TELLICO RIVER AT TELLICO PLAINS, TN | ||||
| usgs-03518500 | 1.40 - 4.00 ft | II-III | 04h04m | 2.79 ft (rc= 0.5 ) |
Logistics: From Tellico Plains head east on Highway 165 out of town and at mile 5.3 you will come to the Oosterneck Day Use Area that is generally used as the take-out for this reach due to the ample off-road parking. Continue on up the road another 0.1 mile and turn right on FR 210. The Ranger Station access is at mile 0.4 but there are numerous roadside pullouts and any of the ones in the first two miles make good alternative take outs particularly for those who are continuing from the ledge run that starts above this one. The great thing about this run is you can pick your access point depending on how much time you have and what you want to run. The traditional put-in for this middle reach is at the bridge at FR 210 mile 5.3. Put-in on upstream river left where you will find a good pullout. If you want to run 2 miles of quality class IV you can check out the next run upstream that includes Baby Falls and several fun ledge drops.
Description: The Lower Tellico provides paddlers with a unique opportunity to choose from one of several different possible runs by selecting from multiple access points. Those looking for more of a challenge start their runs further upstream, while those who donÂt want to get things started right away with challenging class III drops can find an access a short distance downstream. The convenient roadside access makes it easy for folks to join the group wherever they feel most comfortable. The gradient over the 5 miles of this run averages 50 fpm but gradually ramps down in the one mile segments as follows: 80, 53, 45, 40, and 32.
The run starts right off with a bang at the first class III rapid at the bridge. The hole under the right side of the bridge can get mean at higher flows. Only a short distance downstream youÂll find the next class III known as Ledges. The next rapid is Bounce off Boulder (BOB), notable by a large sloping rock on the left. Long boats can get enders in the hole at the base of the boulder, short boats can get nearly looped. Turkey Creek which enters from river right 0.8 miles into this run serves as an alternate access that avoids these more challenging drops and is also an alternate take-out for those running the upper run.
Below this point the run is mostly class II with occasional class III drops including Crack in the Rock (class III), Gregs Nose (class III), Submarine (class III-), and Pylon Rapid (class III-). Reeders Rock is another named class II that comes after these. This rapid is noted for the keep right sign and the deceptive undercut wall on the left. The nasty undercut is the rock that the sign is on, but the walls downstream are undercut as well. There was a drowning here in 1989. In another mile youÂll reach the Ranger Road access. Paddlers typically continue another half mile downstream to the access at the Oosterneck Day Use Area.
See Julie Keller's excellent article for additional information as well as Grateful Ed's Virtual Tellico Tour.
The Tellico is a great river for a group as just about everyone can find something to enjoy, and
even if the water gets high you can check out other sections. In addition to a couple of
tributary creeks, the other Tellico runs include:
1. Trout Hatchery to Bridge above
Bald River (Class II-III+),
2. Bridge above Bald River to bridge
below Jerod's Knee (Upper Tellico) (Class III-IV+)
4. Ranger Station to Tellico
Plains (Class I-III).
Low 200 cfs, High 1200 cfs. At high water this is a fun bouncy run for experienced paddlers who decide they donÂt want to have an epic on the Ledges section. Flow available at 1-900-288-8732.
Gauge: conversion table, feet to cfs
1.0 66 3.5 998 8.0 4100 2.0 330 4.0 1250 9.0 5400 2.2 403 4.5 1515 10.0 7308 2.5 526 5.0 1800 11.0 9608 2.7 618 6.0 2400 12.0 12,330 3.0 770 7.0 3150 13.0 15,520
To find the gauge:
As you head out of Tellico Plains on Highway 165 look for Highway 360 which turns to the left across the river. Immediately after you cross the river take the first right.
The concrete gauge tower is a short distance upstream of the bridge on river right. You can scramble down to read the staff gauge on the outside.
| Name | Range | Difficulty | Updated | Level | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TELLICO RIVER AT TELLICO PLAINS, TN | ||||||||||||
| usgs-03518500 | 1.40 - 4.00 ft | II-III | 04h04m | 2.79 ft (rc= 0.5 ) | ||||||||
|
|
||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||
| When | River/Gauge | Subject | Level | Reporter |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tellico River [TN] |
(RM) 1st rapid below Put-In
|
700 | Robert Maxwell | |
| Tellico [TN] |
Bounce Off Boulder - Tellico
|
~3ft | Chris Gorman | |
| 1y320d04h18m | Middle Tellico |
Account of 10/30/09
|
n/a | Jim Knowles |
| 1y320d04h18m | Middle Tellico |
Account of 10/30/09
|
n/a | Jim Knowles |
| 5y55d03h18m | Tellico [TN] |
Put-in
|
2.5 | James Locke |
| 5y251d03h18m | Middle Tellico |
Middle Tellico
|
3.1' | Thomas O'Keefe |
| 5y323d03h18m | Middle Tellico |
Middle Tellico
|
2.8 ft | Jason Mann |
| 6y237d03h18m | Middle Tellico [TN] |
James Locke & James Cornett Bridge rapid
|
1.68 | James Locke |
| 7y191d03h18m | Tellico-3 [Tn] |
Open Boat Boogie
|
320cfs+/- | Connie Logsdon |
| Mile | Rapid Name | Class | Features (Legend) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.0 | Put-in |   | |
| 0.0 | Bridge Rapid | III |  |
| 0.1 | The Ledges | III | |
| 0.4 | Bounce off Boulder | III+ | |
| 0.8 | Turkey Creek | II |   |
(iCal)
River Alert
State News
River Links
NWRI - Tellico 3. Bridge below Jared's Knee to Ranger Station (mobile)
User Comments
accident in the Ranger Station to Tellico Plains River Section. I have reported this to AW, but no
action has been taken yet. Here is the link:
http://www.americanwhitewater.org/content/Accident/summarize/reachid/1793/ The accident is actually
in the Bridge below Jared's Knee to Ranger Station Section, (1.0 mile upstream of the Ranger
Station is where Reeders Rock is located on the Tellico River). This is a serious undercut rock on
river left. It is more like a cave when seen at low water. Reeders has a wide opening on the
upstream side and a very small (smaller than a kayak) exit opening on the downstream side of the
rock. Do not take this rapid lightly, it is most dangerous when the level is around 1.4' - 1.8'. On
low level runs the best route is to portage across the rocks on river right. jknkboaters@yahoo.com
run. Some can be avoided and some will be need to be portaged. Edit
entrance the Bounce of Boulder. There is an opening river right that can be use to avoid strainer
(tree). The second was about .6 miles from the put in and is a downed tree that was about 4 inches
off the surface river wide. Portage was river left just before the log. Everyone be careful. Edit
of current there and not in a major rapid. Be careful. There is another tree down right above
Submarine Rapid. You can sweep around the left side and still make it back to river right for the
right hand drop. Edit
the high water flow over the past week could have potentially swept it on down stream. I am curious
to see its position tomorrow! Edit
This hazard was removed on weekend of Feb 9th. The log at Bounce off Bolder was removed by Steve
Smyth and friends almost two week ago.. Always scout.. Edit
really scary. On those days when the rock in diaper wiper is kicking up a 10 foot roostertail and
Jarrods knees is three riverwide holes....but you don't have time to drive over to citico (or
citico is dry) then move on down to the lower. One area to pay close attention is the hole under
the put-in bridge. The river right side starts to get evil about 1200 cfs and generally keeps
getting more nasty.
<br>
My experience runs out at about 3000 cfs, but at that level most of the run was still boat
scoutable.