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French Broad - Del Rio to Bridgeport Market
French Broad, Tennessee, US |
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Del Rio to Bridgeport Market
| Usual Difficulty | I-II(III) (for normal flows) |
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| Length | 8.5 Miles |
| Avg. Gradient | 10 fpm |
| Max Gradient | 40 fpm |
River Description
This is a very good beginner / intermediate run. The first obstacle that you will encounter is a two to four foot fall depending on the water level. This fall can be portaged on river right. If you plan to run the fall I highly recommend that you scout it. Watch out for the hydraulic at higher water levels. I usually run it on river right.The next three to four miles have a couple of small ledges and some small rapids.
The best rapid on the run is the Milky Way. The river narrows down in this area, and although it looks like you can get through on river right you can't. It is 75 to 100 yards of three to four foot waves. The most fun way to run it is right through the middle. Watch out for rocks on river left at the end of the rapid!
There are a couple of other small rapids after that but they are easy class 1+, 2's.
Be sure to check out the take out when you leave your car at Bridgeport Market. Walk down to the river if you haven't made this run before because the take out is easy to miss. To get to the put in drive up Hwy. 25/70 to Hwy. 107 and turn right. Then in the curve go to the right onto the gravel road. You can park there and walk across the bridge then get to the water under the railroad bridge.
The coordinates are just a close guess, as close as I could get using the Topo Map web site.
StreamTeam Status: Not Verified
Last Updated: 2001-08-13 19:31:21
Editors
Rapid Descriptions
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Del Rio to Bridgeport Market, French Broad Tennessee, US (mobile)
User Comments
II: named for the sharp rock resulting from dynamiting on river left when the RR was constructed.
Best lines are river right and center, just left of the rock island. Mile 3.5: "Tavern Rapid"
class: II(III): Named for the Bobarosa Saloon, a biker bar on river right of some notoriety. Enter
the rapid on river right to the sounds of Skynard and then work left to an obvious channel near
river left at the bottom of the rapid. This rapid is almost a 1/4 mile long which could be
inopportune for would-be swimmers! Mile 5: "Galloping Sluice" class: II(III): at this point, all of
the river flows into a river-left channel that then drops over a shoal/gravel bar to create a fast
and fun wave-train. At 1500cfs the waves can reach 3 feet. At 3000cfs, the waves can reach 5+ feet!
A large underwater rock extends 10 feet out from the left shore somewhere near the top of this
rapid! This rock will clean your clock so have plenty of right hand boat angle and stay clear of
the left shore! Swimmers should be very careful to keep feet up as swimmers have sustained injuries
in this rapid! Mile 5.25: "Zig-Zag" aka "Rib Cracker" class: II(+): a shoal that creates multiple
small pourovers and holes depending on the level. Added challenge can be had by catching eddies
along river left. The rocks in this rapid can be quite sharp and swimming should be avoided. Mile
6: "Rollercoaster" class II: at this point the river drops about 6 feet over a gravel bar that
creates a series of large standing waves. This rapid is quite fun and can easily swamp an open
canoe. Large eddy at bottom of rapid makes for easy rescue.
pretty good when it starts getting around 2500-3000 cfs. Consider taking out near the large bridge
which goes over the river, it would save you some major flat water on the way to the market.
Treat the falls with respect! Scout them well before you choose to run them. A local man drowned at
the falls the day after we last ran it! We did this stretch on 22 July 2004 at a little under 2000
cfs. It was a great time but we used our heads, too! Just be ready to paddle some big calm
stretches in between the fun rapids.
Bridge listed I recall seeing about a half mile down stream. This means that the put in coordinates
are also off about a half mile to the east according to TopoZone.com as well.
is no problem as the land owner lives on the propery. The take out is a small campground with a
couple of trailers parked on it. The land owner does not live on the property. It took quite a bit
of asking around to locate the land owner. Called him and was able to get permission to use the
camp ground as a takeout. GPS coords for the take out appear to be about a half mile off. Takeout
is actaully to the west. Its behind a small store with two gas pumps in front of it. At the end of
the gas pumps is a small sign that says "Bridgeport Market". There is a dirt road at the
east end of the Market's parking lot that goes down to the river and the camp ground.