1. (Upper) Judy Springs to Forest Service Campground (Upper Seneca)Class IV-V+
13 Miles
Avg Gradient 170 fpm
Max Gradient 350 fpm
Bobby running Upper Seneca Falls
Bobby running Upper Seneca Falls Photo of Bobby Miller by John Pramik taken 4/22/06 Gauge Information
Seneca Creek
River DescriptionUpper Seneca Creek is an extremely long and demanding run. The stream is very remote and its length along with the hike in make this a creek for only those in top shape. There are several tall ledges and falls, which make for an exciting time. The rapids, in general, are not as close together as most steep creeks. The big drops are broken up by long stretches of continuous, steep Class 3-4 rapids. Although not the toughest creek around, the drops are pretty big and there are numerous undercuts to watch for. Luckily, the trail parallels the creek most of the way, making scouting and portaging a lot easier.Begin hiking down the Judy Springs Trail until the creek becomes big enough to paddle (usually after about a mile of hiking). Above Judy Springs, the creek flows swiftly over Class 1-2 rapids with strainers and beaver dams complicating the float. At Judy Springs, the gradient picks up and the creek starts dropping over ledges and slides. Soon, you will come to the first falls, a junky 10 foot double ledge runable in the middle. A half mile of small slides and ledges take you to another 10 foot falls called Coach's Corner runable on the right off a nice boof ramp. Soon, you will come to the big one, Upper Seneca Falls. Upper Seneca Falls- This is one of the cleanest 30 foot waterfalls that you'll ever run. A series of small ledges carries one to the lip. Run left of center, down a 10 foot slope leading to a 20 foot free fall into a very deep pool. Oh yeah! Standing Rock Falls- After a mile of smaller rapids and broken up by a 12 foot falls, you'll come to this monster. Standing Rock is a 20 foot double falls with some serious piton potential. It slopes down 12 feet before clapping on an ugly shelf and falling another 8 feet into a pool. If you decide to run it, start in the middle and make sure you get your bow up! Portage on the left. Knife's Edge- This is a series of diagonal ledges in a steep walled gorge. The top ledge is a 5 foot boof that leads into a 10 foot boof. After landing, start stroking hard to punch the large hole at the bottom of the slide immediately after. Below Knife's Edge, the gradient picks up for about a mile and the creek goes down a continuous series of slides and ledges (some up to 10 feet high). Notable is Oprah's Minge, which is an 8 foot sloping ledge with a rock at the bottom that is best avoided with speed to the left. This section is quite exciting and can be demanding due to the fact that it is about 6 miles into the run. Take your time and watch for strainers! Lower Seneca Falls- The creek will start to widen out and you'll come to a large horizon line. Here, you will find a narrow 20 foot falls into a nasty hole. Make sure you paddle hard and get a good stroke as you go off the falls. Unfortunately, the last 4 miles of the run are through a dredged out channel. There are lots of trees to portage and the area gets pretty scrapy in spots. Take your time and don't let this section put a damper on an otherwise spectacular day. StreamTeam Status: verified
Last Updated: 2006-04-24 21:46:28
|
You’ve followed a link to a topic that doesn’t exist yet.
If permissions allow (as a AW Member, you may edit River Wiki, for example) you may create it by using the “Create This Page Button” below by hovering your mouse over the edit wrench.
If you don’t see a wrench, you don’t have permission to edit or edit is turned off.
If you don’t know what you are doing click on the sandbox and instructions link off the create page link.
N F SOUTH BR POTOMAC R AT CABINS, WV [ WV ] |
Current Conditions
Station Graphs |
| Level Legend: | Running | Below Minimum Recommended Flow | Above Maximum Recommended Flow | Unknown |
| AW Gauge ID: | 6437 |
| USGS Station: | 01606000 |
| HUC: | |
| Latitude: | |
| Longitude: | |
| Class: |
User Comments |
|
2008-10-13 11:25:08 (0 days ago)
Robert Farmer---The last time that I did this, Knife Edge had changed dramatically, which was a huge surprise, because it had looked immutable. Plus, there were a lot of trees in it, so I portaged. I just wanted to let you know, that, yes, sometimes this little bedrock creek does move around a bit, so watch out! Edit
|
|
2006-06-05 00:44:54 (862 days ago)
Robert Farmer
When the upper is running, the lower is usually scary-high, even if you've just come down the upper.<br />
<br />
Also, below Knife Edge, the creek gets easier, lulling one into a false sense of confidence before some sometimes-sticky ledge holes above Lower Seneca Falls. Below here, the water splits around islands, usually necessitating some portages.
|
|
2006-04-24 21:47:48 (903 days ago)
Robert Miller
There is a bad tree pinned in the bottom of Knife's Edge, making the rapid a wise idea to portage. Other than that, there are the usual strainers to watch for, with most being ones you can maneuver around.
|
|
2003-09-22 13:03:21 (1848 days ago)
Kevin Williams
Judy Springs Trail is now signed as "Seneca Creek" A "duh" factor there but we drove past it figuring that Judy Springs intercepts the creek.
<br />
<br />
As for water - we had Hurricane Isabel the night before and at the Seneca Rocks bridge the lower was CRANKING. Take out looked high but not quite out of the banks, we had what I would call perfect water and were able to put-in waaaay above Judy Springs although the added wood was a pain. It could have been run substantially higher than we did it- I'd probably put on if the water at the take-out were a bit above the banks (but not much)
<br />
<br />
As of 9/19/03 it had wood in one only drop right after knife's edge- it was a big log so it could stay there for some time and it’s in a bad place so make sure you walk down there and look after knife’s edge.
<br />
<br />
No joke about the portage trails- they run most (but not all) of the way down the creek and make scouting a breeze.
<br />
<br />
Not as tough as I thought but the 30' falls is sweet and easy and the canyon is beautiful.
<br />
<br />
It's hard to catch, the shuttle is LONG and you really need a full day (we took off after dark) but grab it if you can!!!
<br />
|
No rapids entered. If you know names, and locations of the rapids please contact and advise the StreamTeam member for this run. 
River Alert
State News
River Links
(RSS)
(KML)help
(mobile)
River Info (mobile)
