Tanasee Creek, North Carolina, US
|
|
in Pisgah
| Usual Difficulty |
III-IV(V+) (for normal flows) |
Below the first drop
Below the first dropPhoto by Rob Hurst taken 12/11/08 @ High
Gauge Information
River Description
Sweet Class III-IV+ Wilderness Run In Pisgah!
Forum: BoaterTalk
Date: Feb 09 2004, 17:05 GMT
From: LVM
Wanted to share a trip report with you guys about a real special III-IV wilderness run in Western
NC. The run is called Tanasee Creek and is located over the hill and west from the North Fork French Broad.
If you look at the gazetteer and find Wolf Res (I think) you will see Tanasee and
Panthertown/Upper Tuck
flowing in.
We took out at the second bridge from the lake and used the somewhat 4 wheel drive road on river
right to access the putin. We put in at the bridge on the paved road 1 mile from the end of the
dirt road (make right turn).
The putin flow looked about like the Gragg Prong (180 cfs) with a
nice trib joining just downstream. The run is about 3-4 miles and in an isolated gorge (hard to
hike out). We portaged several class V- drops due to poorly placed wood, but after that it was
all read and run to the takeout.
This creek will provide a great training ground for up and coming river runners wanting to get
that wilderness experience without many difficult rapids.
The trip involves scouting, portaging and tree-ducking skill, all in a beautiful isolated
setting.
Can be combined with Courthouse Creek, Coondog Falls, Upper NF, NF
or West Fork for an
exciting multi-run day.
If you are looking for a great trainer trip this is it.
Enjoy,
Daniel
LVM
Lat / longitude coordinates are a rough estimate from the above.
StreamTeam Status: Not Verified
Last Updated: 2010-11-06 19:00:42
No rapids entered. If you know names, and locations of the rapids please contact and advise the StreamTeam member for this run. 
User Comments
mentions above is a full-on class V 4x4 road. Truck/SUV recommended for this option (sorry, but a
Subaru Outback doesnt have the ground clearance needed) The take out and the put in are easy to
find, we used the NC Gazatteer. At the time we went, NFFB was 2' and holding. The water level was a
little on the low side, but manageable. We were able to run all the rapids, and only had to portage
3 logs. The first big rapid has an eddy on river right, and makes the rapid almost boat scoutable.
Peeling out high of the eddy, turn right, and follow the main flow under some trees, and boof a 6
footer, being careful not to be too far right, as it may land you on a rock. The next rapids of
mention are some really cool slide/boulder garden combos. excellent read and run. Below this, there
is another class IV/V rapid, with 2 parts, the top, which is easy, into a small eddy on river
right, only about 2 boats can fit in this eddy. Continue down stream on river right through a
weaving narrow slots, very Anaconda-ish. After this rapid, the river mellows out to some class
II/III boogy. One of the best features of this river were all the tributaries coming in from both
sides of the river, adding water, and opening up the river a little bit more. Mike Nail PS... BE
VERY WARY OF WOOD ON THIS RUN!
page a good minimum. The guage is on the Jackson County page. Only had to make one portage because
of wood, surprisingly clean. Some quality rapids, kind of like the little east fork, but no hiking
or anythign involved. Didn't see a single piece of trash the entire way down the river. I'd say if
the FB @ Rosman is around 2000 cfs or so, this would be a good bet and certainly worth it. Fairly
continuous smokies style boogie with a couple of good rapids.
Will Lyons
1/19/06