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Chinquapin Creek, AL

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Lower Canyon Rim Road to Little River Canyon

Class V
0.75 Miles
Avg Gradient 475 fpm
Max Gradient 475 fpm

Roy Tastes the Rainbow


Roy Tastes the Rainbow
Photo of Roy S. by Adam Goshorn @ 4"

Gauge Information

low
29
10/11 15:00

Min Sug. Level:  4500 cfs

River Description

Brad Hinds: "I am pretty sure we did the first descent of Chinquapin Creek about six years ago [1995?]. We ran everything but one drop were it sieved out after the second drop which was a bouncy slide."

Chinquapin is the biggest (and only runnable) tributary flowing into Little River Canyon between Bear and Johnnies Creeks.  It is short and steep, dropping about 350 feet in about 0.7 miles before dumping into the Little River just upstream of Powell Trail.  It is extremely steep non-stop action featuring endless slide series seperated by cascades and waterfalls. 

There is a painted gauge on the downstream side of the bridge at the put-in.  After scraping down it at 4"  I would say that 6" is probally a better minimum.  Another good indicator is that if Johnnies Creek is over 0" and still rising fast, Chinquapin may be going.  The creek is much more narrow at the put in bridge than some other places on the creek.  At lower levels this results in the water being great in some rapids and very low in others.  If it looks fast and juice'n at the put-it, the rest of the run should be good to go.  If the put-in looks scrapy, don't bother.

Take-out options include Powell Trail or Canyon Mouth Park

If your short on time, daylight, or just looking to get on another run; I suggest using Powell Trail as a take-out.  Its not far downstream from where Chinquapin hits Little River and is a  quick (less than a mile) hike up the hill.  Powell Trail also makes for a quick shuttle to retreive cars and get on with you day.

 

 

 


StreamTeam Status: unverified
Last Updated: 2008-04-03 16:14:16

Search Results

Photos/Videos 1- of 20

Fifth waterfall


Fifth waterfall  Chinquapin AL
(41.73KB .jpeg)

Adam and Adam scouting


Adam and Adam scouting  Chinquapin Creek AL
(54.98KB .jpeg)

Typical Slide Series on Chinqupin Creek AL


Typical Slide Series on Chinqupin Creek AL  Chinquapin Creek AL
(37.81KB .jpeg)

Entrance falls to the big slide on Chinqupin Creek AL


Entrance falls to the big slide on Chinqupin Creek AL  Chinquapin Creek AL
(47.59KB .jpeg)

River left side of the first falls


River left side of the first falls  Chinquapin Creek AL
(33.31KB .jpeg)

The last real drop on Chinqupin Creek


The last real drop on Chinqupin Creek   Chinquapin Creek AL
(46.93KB .jpeg)

The rapid after first falls


The rapid after first falls  Chinquapin Creek AL
(27.71KB .jpeg)

Slide below the big slide


Slide below the big slide  Chinquapin Creek AL
(30.11KB .jpeg)

The Big Slide on Chinqupin Creek AL


The Big Slide on Chinqupin Creek AL  Chinquapin Creek AL
(22.26KB .jpeg)

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Gauge

Gauge Description:

There is a painted gauge on the downstream side of the bridge at the put-in.  After scraping down it at 4"  I would say that 6" is probally a better minimum.  Another good indicator is that if Johnnies Creek is over 0" and still rising fast, Chinquapin may be going. 

 

The creek is much more narrow at the put in bridge than some other places on the creek.  At lower levels this results in the water being great in some rapids and very low in others.  If it looks fast and juice'n at the put-it, the rest of the run should be good to go.  If the put-in looks scrapy, don't bother.

Little River nr Blue Pond, AL [ AL ]

Current Conditions

Stage Flow Updated
3.55 29 10/11 15:00

Station Graphs


Linked Reaches

Search Results

Level Legend: Running Below Minimum Recommended Flow Above Maximum Recommended Flow Unknown
Descriptions of reaches with River Name in bold have been verified by a regional StreamTeam member.

State River Name/Section Class Level Rel. Level Updated
AL Bear Creek (Dekalb Co.)— Lower: Canyon Rim Road to Little River IV(V) 3.55   10/11 15:00
AL Black— Noccalula Park campground to Tuscaloosa Avenue II-V+ 29 cfs*   low 10/11 15:00
AL Chinquapin Creek— Lower Canyon Rim Road to Little River Canyon V 29 cfs   low 10/11 15:00
AL Cotaco Creek— Matt Morrow Rd (Mill Pond) to Ruth Rd. III-IV 29 cfs   10/11 15:00
AL Hicks Creek— CR 127 (Jennings Rd SE) to Canyon Rim Road (State Route 176) III-IV(V) 29 cfs   low 10/11 15:00
AL Johnnies Creek— 1. Upper Upper - CR 43 to CR 47 III-IV 29 cfs*   low 10/11 15:00
AL Little— 1. Hwy 35 to Upper Two II-V 29 cfs   low 10/11 15:00
AL Little— 2. Upper Two to Eberhart Point III-V 29 cfs   low 10/11 15:00
AL Little— 3. Eberharts Point (Chairlift) to Canyon Mouth Campground III-IV 29.00 CFS   low 10/11 15:00
AL Little, E. Fork— Lahusage to Rt. 35 II(III) 29 cfs   low 10/11 15:00
AL Wolf Creek— CR49 to CR47 II-IV(V) 29 cfs   low 10/11 15:00
AL Wolf Creek— Rt. 176 to Little River V+ 29 cfs   low 10/11 15:00
AL Yellow Creek— First Falls to Lake IV-V+ 29 cfs   low 10/11 15:00

Station Description

AW Gauge ID:1122
USGS Station:02399200
HUC:03150105
Latitude:34.2878
Longitude:-85.6817
Class:2

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Rapid Summary

Mile Rapid Name Class Features (Legend)
0.0Put In BridgePutin
0.0First Falls a.k.a. Ankle Breaker5.1Putin Portage Hazard Waterfall Photo
0.0First Slide SeriesIVPhoto
0.0First Slide Series (part 2)IVPhoto
0.1Anvil5.1Hazard Waterfall Photo
0.2Twat5.3Portage Hazard Waterfall
0.3Curtain Falls a.k.a. Looking Glass FallsIV+Waterfall Photo
0.3Behind the Curtain5.0Hazard Photo
0.3Taste the Rainbow a.k.a.The Big SlideIV+Waterfall Photo
0.4V SlideIVWaterfall Photo
0.5Fuzzy Bunny Slippers5.0Portage Hazard Waterfall
0.5Boulder Slide SeriesIV+Waterfall Photo
0.6Captin Happy a.k.a.Last DropIVWaterfall Photo
0.7Unnammed Boulder StuffIVHazard Photo
0.7Confluence with Little RiverAccess
1.1Powell TrailTakeout

Rapid Descriptions

First Falls a.k.a. Ankle Breaker (Class 5.1, Mile 0.0)

First Falls, a.k.a. Ankle Breaker

First Falls, a.k.a. Ankle Breaker
Photo by Adam Goshorn @ 4"

The first falls is a 20 foot drop with a bad shelf at the bottom that has broken ankles in the past. To run it clean you need pretty high water to clear the shelf.



First Slide Series (Class IV, Mile 0.0)

Slide below 1st Falls

Slide below 1st Falls
Photo of Matt Wallace by Adam Goshorn @ 4"

Below the first falls is the first of many typical slide series that make up this run.



First Slide Series (part 2) (Class IV, Mile 0.0)

DUCK!

DUCK!
Photo of Matt Wallace by Adam Goshorn @ 4"

The downstream view from the first slide series.



Anvil (Class 5.1, Mile 0.1)

Anvil, From the Top

Anvil, From the Top
Photo of Matt Wallace by Adam Goshorn @ 4"

After some slides the next distinct drop is Anvil, a steep cascade which mostly lands on a big boulder. Depending on the level you can run right or left, but its best if run on the left.  Watch out for a stomping hole in the runout at higher levels.



Twat (Class 5.3, Mile 0.2)

Here the creek falls into a slot between two house sized boulders and drops about 20 feet into a very shallow landing. Its basicly a  sieve, but has been run a few times. Most portage it and the portage on the right is best.



Curtain Falls a.k.a. Looking Glass Falls (Class IV+, Mile 0.3)

Curtin Falls Boof

Curtin Falls Boof
Photo of Dalton Creech by Adam Goshorn @ 4"

This one calls for a big boof into a fairly shallow pool. The exit of the pool is behind the curtain of the falls on river left.



Behind the Curtain (Class 5.0, Mile 0.3)

The exit of Curtin Falls

The exit of Curtin Falls
Photo of Matt, Dalton, Roy by Adam Goshorn @ 4"

This is the exit move from the previous pool. The move involves paddling behind the curtain of the entrance falls and boofing over a large flake of rock.  Keep your bow left to avoid pinning as you head down a small slide before heading onto the big slide.



Taste the Rainbow a.k.a.The Big Slide (Class IV+, Mile 0.3)

The BIG slide

The BIG slide
Photo of Roy S. by Adam Goshorn @ 4"

This big twisting slide drops about 30 feet.



V Slide (Class IV, Mile 0.4)

V Slide

V Slide
Photo of Adam Goshorn by Dalton Creech @ 4"

This boundy slide is just a little way below the big slide.



Fuzzy Bunny Slippers (Class 5.0, Mile 0.5)

This large boulder pile has multiple cascading lines to choose from at good water and multiple ways to tweak your back and/or break your boat at low water.



Boulder Slide Series (Class IV+, Mile 0.5)

Typical Slide Series on Chinqupin Creek AL

Typical Slide Series on Chinqupin Creek AL
Photo of Chinqupin slide series by Shannon MacMichael taken Spring 2006 @ Not Running

This long slide series is located over half way to LRC.

Captin Happy a.k.a.Last Drop (Class IV, Mile 0.6)

The last real drop on Chinqupin Creek

The last real drop on Chinqupin Creek
Photo by Shannon MacMichael taken Spring 2006 @ Not Running

This is the last ledge drop before a short stretch of boulder boogie water to the confluence with the little river.  Currently a large log requires running this one on the left.



Unnammed Boulder Stuff (Class IV, Mile 0.7)

Doh!

Doh!
Photo of Matt Wallace by Adam Goshorn @ 4"

This unnammed boulder drop near the end has several pin spots at lower levels.




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