Cartecay, |
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| Name | Range | Updated | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| CARTECAY RIVER NEAR ELLIJAY, GA | 1.20 - 6.00 ft | 01h13m | 1.99 ft (rc= 0.2 ) |
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| This is the official gauge of the Cartecay. All rapid descriptions and flow information reference this gauge. | |||
Gauge Description:
We have a new offical gauge for the Cartecay. This new gauge, located at the East Ellijay city
limits on Highway 52 - about 1/4 mile east of the Highway 515 bridge, is now online. The new
gauge replaces the Coosawattee gauge for this reach.
Most of this section of the Cartecay River runs through a residential area. There are no restrooms after you put in and most of the river banks are on private property. So, please take care of these needs before putting on. You will paddle past cabins and homes on both sides of the river for most of this section. Most of the homeowners are friendly toward the boating community, but they do not want to see you nude, nor do they want you going to the bathroom in their yard. It is recommended that you keep your groups small and quiet and not stay too long at any one spot, or put on the river after dark. In short, please be respectful to the home owners.
Put in at the bridge on Lower Cartecay Road. There are put-ins on river right and river left. Managed by commercial outfitters these access points have their own sets of rules. If you prefer, you can put in at Highway 52 and paddle the extra mile down to Lower Cartecay Road, but be prepared to portage because this section will likely have some strainers (deadfall) on on it.
The Stegall Mill Road takeout is just past the bridge downriver from "Blackberry Falls" on river right. Please do not change clothes at the takeout. You should be aware that parking is limited. If you take out here, you should arrange for someone to pick you up after you get off the river.
When the level is 1.8' or better it is worth it to paddle on down to the DNR takeout.
We have no additional information about how various flows affect runnability (or playability) of this section of river. If you can provide additional information, please either directly contact the StreamTeam member for this reach, or add a 'comment' or a 'report' with your information to help out your fellow boaters.
| Name | Range | Updated | Level | ||||||
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| CARTECAY RIVER NEAR ELLIJAY, GA | |||||||||
| usgs-02379500 | 1.20 - 6.00 ft | 01h13m | 1.99 ft (rc= 0.2 ) | ||||||
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This is the official gauge of the Cartecay. All rapid descriptions and flow information reference this gauge. |
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| Mile | Rapid Name | Class | Features (Legend) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1.0 | Sexton's | II |  |
| 1.3 | Rock Garden | II | |
| 1.5 | Surfing Rapid | II | |
| 1.8 | S-Turn | II+ | |
| 2.0 | Whirlpool | II+ | |
| 2.3 | Blackberry Falls | II+ | |
An island in the middle of the river marks the entrance to "S-Turn". Run left of the island and stay far left to avoid getting stuck on rocks. Beginners will want to scout "S-Turn". Eddy out on river left to scout. The most distinguishing feature of this rapid is the sluice that forms at the top of the ledge on river left. The river makes a sharp right turn through the sluice, and then quickly turns back to the left. Most beginners will run this rapid by aggressively paddling through the sluice and turning left after the drop. Others will catch the large eddy on river right and continue the run from there. At levels above 1.6' you can skip the sluice and drop straight over the ledge. Either way, you need to paddle aggressively the rest of the way. Punch the hole at the bottom. Eddy out river right or river left. If you eddy left be aware of the undercut rock at the bottom of the eddy. "S-Turn" is rated Class II+ at normal levels. At 4-6' it is definitely a solid Class III.
"Whirlpool" gets its name from the large swirling eddy on river right at the bottom of the rapid. Beginners will want to avoid this and eddy left, where there is a large pool. Be careful though, because the left eddy has a very dynamic eddy line. For best results run "Whirlpool" with a left angle and paddle hard for river left. WARNING: there is almost always a strainer at the bottom of the river right eddy. Also, this is a very deep spot in the river and the channel is full of trees and debris left over from ice storms and other bad weather. You cannot see them because they are below the surface. But watch out if you take a swim. Keep your feet up and swim aggressively for river left. "Whirlpool" is rated Class II+ at normal levels. At levels above 4' it becomes a Class III/III+. At these levels a very large hole forms at the bottom of the rapid. Run the sneak down the left to avoid this hazard. I don't recommend playing in this hole. It is shallow and people have been known to get hurt or break their paddles while attempting to play here.
Note: One of the property owners has asked that we not loiter here. She seems to be ok with small quiet groups, but would prefer it if large groups and clinics limit their time at this spot. Please respect her wishes. Thank you.
The grand finale of the run is "Blackberry Falls". It looks intimidating to beginners but it is actually just a big ol' slide. It ends in a haystack that tends to stop and flip those who air-brace, rudder, or otherwise don't paddle. You know, beginners. The classic "Blackberry" run is down the center with a slight left angle. Look for the green hump of water just below the top and split it with your boat. Paddle hard and punch through the haystack at the bottom. Eddy left or right - preferably left. The other popular line is the diagonal line from left to right. If you are good enough, and lucky enough, you can catch the wave above the haystack and surf it. "Blackberry Falls" is Class II+, Class III/III+ at levels above 4'.
River Alert
State News
River Links
NWRI - Cartecay 2. Lower Cartecay Road to Stegall Mill Road Road (mobile)
User Comments
started by Jay and Fuzzy Nuts many years ago. If you would like to participate please contact Jenny
or Myself for more details. We are up for additional suggestions on how to make this event a great
EXPERIENCE for all.
Cartecay Bridge.
rain comes through it will create a dam and lots of problems and safety problems on the Cartecay.
Woody was out with a chain saw today and removed a portion and will continue working on it
tomorrow. We want to be sure it is safe for everyone on the Cartecay. We try to make a run every
Friday morning to clean the river of garbage and debris. If anyone wants to come along. We
appreciate any help. Contact us on our www.cartecayriverexperience or call us anytime.
the Cartecay Watershed access is going to be the only available one unless someone cuts this one
away or it shifts significantly. It is just below the bridge and today it was impassible. There
were no other strainers on this section today. Edit
of drunk locals/non-boater types putting on at midnight in inner tubes that were hammered, and
quite frankly were rolling around getting gay with each other. Now I'm not opposed to someone's
choice, but what they do in public ain't cool. I am not blaming anyone but if it were someone that
stole the canoes that night I would tend to believe it was a tuber. Otherwise where would they put
their own boat. They would have to push the boat into the stream and guide it. While the Cartecay
isn't that challenging in a manned craft, I know an unmanned craft would swamp out. I also was
still at the party at River Right when the last shuttle came in and they didn't have any canoes so
if it was that group of tubers they would have had to stash the boats somewhere and gone back to
get them. I also agree with Mark about being quite after dark. No one seems to mind that you are
there as long as you are not disturbing anyone. I have been doing night runs on the Cartecay since
the 80's and never had or caused an issue. Heck, I see it on a river I own property at.
Occasionally people float after dark. It's relaxing and you can see surprisingly well. But use some
common sense and if you see other groups tell them to keep it down as well. Some people you are not
going to keep honest, but typically I doubt it's anyone in their own kayak or canoe. Edit
homeowners along the Cartecay. The group was on the river well after midnight and was very loud.
Some residents were concerned that someone was in trouble on the river. At some time during that
same night two canoes were stolen from underneath a property owner's deck. This type of behavior
hurts our relationships with the property owners. Please refrain from putting on the river after
dark but if you do please be quiet about it.
careful on the river right side of whirlpool. Edit
fun little river. We ran it this weekend at low levels and I feel like I left most of the bottom of
my boat back at the river. Whirlpool, sturn and blackberry are fun beginner rapids and a decent
play sopt is at the bottom of all of them
passed away. Carol and Jay both had cancer. Jay had esophageal cancer and Carol had brain cancer.
They died within one day of each other. This is very sad news for their son Roy and all of the
others who knew and loved them both. They will definitely be missed. My wife Diane and I knew Jay
and Carol personally and considered them friends. I cannot say enough good things about them. Our
heart goes out to Roy. Donations maybe made in Carol and Jay's name by check to: Georgia Mountain
Hospice, Inc. 70 Caring Way PO Box 580 Jasper, GA 30143 Mark and Diane Neisler
it meets the ellijay river in the ellijay city limits , then its the coosawattee untill it reaches
calhoun where it s joined by another river I dont remember the name of that one tho,but it's called
the coosa to the miss.river Edit
Shuttle. Edit
strange reason. I have been running this river since 1976 - in fact my ex-husband's family owned
all the land on both sides of the river at the covered bridge - actually back then there was no
covered bridge. However, after the ex's grandmother died the land was divided among the 11
siblings. Some chose to keep their land other chose to sell to development. Now people are
referring to the river's slide/fall rapid as Blackberry. It was and as far as I know always called
by locals as Stegall Mill Fall. Just curious how it metamorphosed into Blackberry. Blackberry is
the development that came about in the 80's. The developer even took control of the river trying to
banned paddlers from using the river and take-out at the falls. Jay represented the paddlers and
was able to get the Gilmer County Commission to permit paddlers to take off the river below the
covered bridge. Blackberry Development has never done one thing to be honored by the naming of the
rapid. They were allowed to develop too close to the river and when the river rises the
trash/debris from decks, lawn furniture and like have littered this river for years. And, it seems
no on is responsible for cleaning up the homeowners messes. They probably spend more on keeping
paddlers off the river. Unless someone knows otherwise, I suggest paddlers call the rapid Stegall
Mill. Quit giving credit to those who basically ruined a great river. Steve & Alice
a year ago and consider ourselves rookies. We would like to set something straight about the CFS
and height of the Cartecay. I would agree that optimal CFS for newbies to intermediate would be in
the 400 CFS range, but, this river is easily runnable and still fun at CFS down to about 150. As a
general rule, my wife and I will head up to make a run if the river height is 1.25 or greater on
the Coosawattee gauge and the CFS is 150 or more. This comment applies to Section 2 only, as the
first section is basically non-runnable due to trees down, and the third section requires around
190 to 210 CFS in order to make it fun (and not a hike over rocks). If you have questions feel free
to email me. bdboire@yahoo.com. There is a great outfitter that allows you to camp for a minimal
charge of $3 per person per night and treats you like gold. M.O.E. Their website is:
http://www.mountaintownoutdoorexpeditions.com/ Their phone number is: 706-635-2524 They provide
both rentals (sit on top, kayaks, and canoes) along with shuttles to the put-in and take-out Edit
on the gauge. At this level the three named rapids (S-turn, Whirlpool and Blackberry) run together
and become an Ocoee-like maelstrom, with huge haystacks, keeper holes, and very few easy eddies.
Scouting gets difficult. Playing is only practical in the realm of the very experienced and
terminally insane. The top of S-turn develops a foot-wide tubular curler. Whirlpool ramps up to
something approaching a class 4 level of difficulty, with 2 giant haystacks and a nasty bottom
hole. The ledge at Blackberry is underwater and some interesting alternate lines open up on the
left side. The convergence of the right and left channels produces a monster exploding wave, best
hit smack in the middle of the vee.
Ya can't walk out of the river until you are below Blackberry without trespassing on private
property. Stay away when it's this high unless you are sufficiently experienced and confident. It's
BIG.
Use caution! Have a blast! Keep it safe
-- STEVE