Hornbeck's Creek,
|
|
Emery's Rd. to Rte. 209
| Usual Difficulty |
IV-V+ (may vary with level) |
| Length |
1.8 Miles |
| Avg. Gradient |
242 fpm |
| Max Gradient |
370 fpm |
Ben Dunham on Bobby's Falls
Ben Dunham on Bobby's Falls
Gauge Information
River Description
According to Stephen Wright, this steep bit, which drops into the Delaware Water Gap, has "15
large, cascading drops in a beautiful canyon of about a mile." On March 27, 2002, it was the scene
of a nasty accident, as Bobby "ZoneDogg" Miller slammed his head into the rock shelf at the bottom
of the first drop. The impact knocked him unconscious; his fellow paddlers were skilled and on the
scene right away, and as of this writing (3/28/02), his prognosis is good.
Click here for Wright's
description of the accident in Boater Talk.
Click here to read about it,
including updates, in the ZoneDogg website. It's got photos and some videos of Bobby's Falls.
Wright says they had a great time, but I think it goes without saying that you'd better be
very skilled in steep creekin if you're contemplating this one.
Steve has kindly contributed the following description:
Shortly after the put-in is Bobby's Falls, a cascading falls that drops about 25 feet in roughly
20 feet of river. Then is Left-Turn, which is a steep slide into a pillow created by a wall that
the water slams into, which then diverts the paddler left into the main runnout channel. Next is
Let the Good Times Roll. It's a spectacular drop of 20 feel of a straight-forward steep slide
into a deep pool.
Next is Twist and Shout, which is a series of close slides that twist and turn into the pool
before Goliath Falls. Goliath Falls drops a total of more than 50', and has yet to be run to my
knowledge. There were a few possible lines down, but all involved falling 15+ feet onto rocks, so
we walked it.
The next major Rapid is Slot Machine, which I was the only one to run (it falls a total of 15-20
feet). As the slide begins, the water slopes left into a tiny channel which eventually drops into
a boat-width slot which stays terribly narrow against a vertical rock-wall for 10 feet.
Next are a few "smaller" 10-15' clean cascades which lead to Sliding-Board Falls. This drops VERY
steeply 20+ feet into a deep pool. A rock on the river right diverts some water, and trees in the
landing pool were hazards.
Next are several other large slides (last chance to get out) before Entrance (a 20' steep
cascade) which runs right into David's Falls. David's Falls is a multi-pitched steep slide
dropping a total of 40-50 feet into a deep pool! It's GORGEOUS!!!
The river mellows out after this for the mile run-out, which is choked with strainers. We elected
to simply carry back up to the put-in.
This creek is very steep and in a spectacular canyon. Expect to do a LOT of scouting.
StreamTeam Status: Verified
Last Updated: 2002-08-07 23:46:41
Editors
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User Comments
new wood upstream but very visibly pinned on a longterm log in the flow. We rode up and over the
Left side of it. We left it in spot as it will drift into a much worse location from where it
currently is.
high in the River Right setup eddy for twist and shout. In its current location it provides no
hazard except High water could move it into play down stream. A little z-drag action could help
this out a bunch..
creek left side and very hard to see on a river Left scout. Boaters are regularly getting pinned
under this large log each time I'm there. They usually get minimal help to get out or mostly to
manage gear in the swim out. Scout it on river right to easily see the log. Make a bigger move to
the right staying higher to miss the big log. My last run in February saw there was now another
less troublesome log stacked in there too. Last seen you could ride out the right side around the
one big log and over the new one in the landing pool. Its likely to pick up more wood in this pile.
straight for a couple weeks
gauge. If Hornbecks is primed it will only take about a half inch in Edgemere to get it going. If
the area is dry over an inch is what youll want to see before heading up there. Today was a good
low level. Goliath was run by Eli Landis-I'll let him tell you about it. Slot machine got heavy
looks, but no givers. Good lines on Davids aka "Devils falls" according to an old local. He also
called Goliath "5 fingers". I managed to find a shelf at the bottom of Davids and pitoned hard!
Creased my boat pretty bad-not to mention a hard hit at the bottom of a 25 ftr. I might suggest a
further right line and separate a little from the back of the drop at the bottom. Try to keep the
bow up too. I am going to swim in when the water drops to locate the piton shelf, there is
definitely one in there! Have fun and Be safe!