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Staton's Creek, VA

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Staton's Falls to Pedlar River

Class V
0.6 Miles
Avg Gradient 500 fpm
Max Gradient 500 fpm

After-Work Hucking


After-Work Hucking
Photo of Mason Basten by Gordon Dalton taken on a Friday afternoon in the spring.

Gauge Information

Staton's Creek
low
13
12/5 4:30

Min Sug. Level:  120 cfs Max Sug. Level:  700 cfs

River Description

This half-mile heartstopper is yet another of several fine steep creeks in the Nelson/Amherst County region. Staton's makes for a quick, fun begining or end to the Blue Ridge Quadruple Crown (North Fork Tye, South Fork Tye, South Piney and Staton's). Do you have what it takes to wear the Crown??

Statons Creek is also good warm-up practice for even steeper local runs like Paul's Creek or the Upper North Fork Tye's "Adrenaline Alley" run.

Put-in below the awesome 60-70 foot tall Staton's Falls. Immediately below the falls are two easy ledges and a tight little slot leading into the first slide, the "Chunderslide"...
Above: THE CHUNDERSLIDE TREATS MASON WELL

A small, wide pool follows the Chunderslide, but this is the only bit of flatwater on the run. After that there is a 15' falls, a nice slide, a cascade, a super-tight rapid (the infamous and tricky "Log Flume"!) and tight, technical boulder gardens all the way to the take-out.


Above: MACE LAUNCHES THE CASCADE

One of the slides is "Duck and Run." Before Hurricane Isabel, "D-and-R" used to require ducking under a fallen tree in the crux of the drop. The tree is gone and now you only need to brace into a pillow coming off of the undercut right wall (it's really not as bad as it sounds). Sometimes wood collects at the base of this drop.


Above: GORDON ENTERS "DUCK AND RUN" - pre-Hurricane Isabel

Look out for small undercuts and at least one small sieve/siphon. Wood is also a concern - Staton's is an especially woody creek due to the many large, dead pine trees along the stream. This area contains a few virgin hemlock and pines but the pine blight or the wooly adelgids seem to have swept through the grove and now there is often new wood in the creek after any wind storm. Always scout the bigger drops on your first run! Scout or portage on the river-left side for all of the drops. Feel free to post in the COMMENTS section at the bottom of this page if there is wood in the creek. The wood changes often. Lately we have been running the whole creek without having to get out, but that could change tomorrow.

Take-out before (or at) the small bridge just before the Pedlar confluence. There is a dirt spur road off of Pedlar River Rd. (Rt.605) just before (south of) the bridge. The spur road leads 100 yards to a dirt parking area. Put-in below Staton's Falls on Fiddler's Green Rd. (Rt. 633).

To get to the area: Pedlar River Rd. is accessed off of U.S. Highway 60 - the main east-west highway between Lynchburg and Lexington, VA. Note: the road names in the DeLorme Atlas/Gazeteer are incorrect but the route numbers should be accurate.

A word on the gradient figure for this one: there are USGS benchmarks on both the bridge at the top of the run and on the takeout bridge. According to these benchmarks the run drops 309 feet over a half-mile (2107' to 1798'). That's an average of over 600 fpm. Take the big Falls out of the equation and this little dude is probably more like 450-500 feet-per-mile. Still PLENTY of steepness and plenty of FUN! Enjoy it.

NOTE: "Johnny Wise's Hole" - the 15' vertical falls (pictured at the very top of this webpage) has a deceptively sticky hole at the bottom. It doesn't LOOK bad, but it has caused at least two close calls so far. Rumor is that drop, which the locals call Johnny Wise's Hole, has killed more than one fisherman. It's like an Altoid mint - curiously strong! Apparently the left side wall creates a retentive vortex. If run well the drop is no problem, but getting stuck in the hole could have surprisingly bad consequnces. The boil-line is deceptively strong. This will be even more of a problem at high water. You have been warned.

StreamTeam Status: verified
Last Updated: 2006-10-23 12:14:57

Search Results

Photos/Videos 1- of 27

Tour of Statons' creek


Tour of Statons' creek  Staton's creek VA
(4.84MB .avi)

Staton's Falls


Staton's Falls  Staton's Creek VA
(17.58KB .jpeg)

The Chunderslide


The Chunderslide  Staton's Creek VA
(79.61KB .jpeg)

After-Work Hucking


After-Work Hucking  Staton's Creek VA
(15.49KB .jpeg)

Duck and Run


Duck and Run  Staton's Creek VA
(17.77KB .jpeg)

Cascade


Cascade  Staton's Creek VA
(37.27KB .jpeg)

Above the falls


Above the falls  Statons Creek VA
(77.55KB .jpeg)

Dave and the Falls


Dave and the Falls  Staton Creek VA
(129.24KB .jpeg)

the Falls at high water


the Falls at high water  Staton Creek VA
(95.80KB .jpeg)

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Gauge

Gauge Description:

The USGS and City of Lynchburg have put the Pedlar River gauge back online! It has been unavailable for about a year, but previously we needed around 120 cfs on the Pedlar River gauge in order for Statons Creek to be running. Pedlar River Gauge: http://www.americanwhitewater.org/content/Gauge_detail_id_8047_ Keep in mind that the Pedlar gauge is pretty far downstream from the Statons confluence and Statons can be run with very little water. People (who shall remain nameless) have run Statons down to 60 cfs on the Pedlar gauge. Knowing recent rainfall at Irish Gap will help you make a guess about Staton's flow. Statons is usually the first of the Nelson/Amherst creeks to become runnable during a rainstorm, and it usually holds a runnable flow longer than the others too. There is a gauge on Statons Creek at the small bridge below the takeout (above the Pedlar R. confluence). In progress...

PEDLAR RIVER AT FOREST ROAD NEAR BUENA VISTA, VA [ VA ]

Current Conditions

Stage Flow Updated
2.83 13 12/5 4:30

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
VA Pedlar— 1. US 60 to Lynchberg Reservoir II-III(IV) 13.00 CFS   low 12/5 4:30
VA Staton's Creek— Staton's Falls to Pedlar River V 13 cfs   low 12/5 4:30

Station Description

AW Gauge ID:8047
USGS Station:02024915
HUC:02080203
Latitude:37.6975
Longitude:-79.2783
Class:

WXPort

News




icon of message No guide books for this stream. If you know of a book that describes this stream please contact and advise the StreamTeam member for this run.

User Comments

2008-04-28 09:10:34 (220 days ago)
We ran it today and the gauge is way off it said on usgs that the level was 180 and it felt alot more like 115 to 130. just wanted everyone to know. T.O. Edit
2008-03-09 10:11:53 (270 days ago)
NEW WOOD!! After Boof Right (after chunderslide) There is a riverwide log that is new. At higher levels this will be deadly. Directly after Cascade is more new wood. The last new wood is the first drop into logflume. going to try to get in there soon and clean it out but other than these three it was clean today. Edit
2006-10-10 15:19:06 (786 days ago)
Brett Mayer-AschhoffDetails
It is critical that if you are not familiar with this creek that you are very aware of the consequences of this run. Do not take the drops on this creek lightly. At lower levels most of the drops are relatively innocuous, however several are known to cause problems. 'Log Flume' has an extremely tight move, like an s-turn with 90 degree angles that has flipped several very experienced boaters, broken many paddles and scraped the skin off more than a few knuckles. I have run Statons many times and had my first incident this weekend, Saturday, October 7th. The fifteen foot vertical falls now has a very large log running the length of the entire drop right smack in the middle. Make sure you run river right, but beware... going to far right and you may land on rocks. This hole is extremely sticky at the right levels, (not just really high levels). It worst at really high levels, but gets retentive again at particular levels as the creek drops. I ran the right side of the drop on Saturday, but did not get a good boof because I was concerned of going too far right and running into rock problems. I had a good 45 degree angle but was immediately sucked backward. Knowing the dangers of this drop and the retentiveness of the hole, I admitedly panicked and instead of looking where I wanted to go, was staring at the rocks to my right because I could not get a good paddle stroke in. I yelled for a rope and was quickly brought to safety. It is likely at that level, (somewhere between 200 and 250cfs) that I would have popped out fine, however easier said than done sometimes. Please be careful and if you are running this creek at unfamiliar water levels take a look for yourself before taking the plunge. Needless to say, despite all the great water, I took it easy and ran the Maury on Sunday... be safe, <br /> Brett Mayer-Aschhoff
2005-12-20 15:03:46 (1080 days ago)
Brett Mayer-AschhoffDetails
Last Friday, December 16, 2005, Mark and I attempted a very low and bitter cold run down Staton's. The level was somewhere in the neighborhood of 85-90 cfs. The Chunderslide, the Cascade and the Second Big Drop were still loads of fun, but be aware of Log Flume at this low level. In my opinion, there is not enough water to run the part of the drop next to the undercut wall rock, especially in these icy conditions. Mark set safety while I ran the boof move into the crux of the drop where all the water hits a rock wall and turns 90 degrees to the left. I made it down just fine, only to find a large block of ice protruding out into the middle of the next part of the drop. Luckily, I was able to hold myself in place, while Mark threw a rope to pull me out. I kicked my boat in front of me, which first disappeared into the hole, and then was wedged under the block of ice. We were unable to find my paddle, and believe it was swallowed by the undercut rock. If anyone happens to run across a purple Lightning paddle, I would love to get it back. It probably would have not been a big deal, but ice in the creek, and on the rocks, changed the scenario.
2005-10-10 14:35:32 (1151 days ago)
Brett Mayer-AschhoffDetails
October 9, 2005<br /> Mark and I went to check out Staton's Creek after running a few drops on the South Fork of the Piney. It was probably somewhere just below the recommended level to run it, but we scraped down a few drops, before pushing the limits on daylight. We were able to scout most of the creek, and even below 120 cfs, this little guy is definitely worth the drive, non-stop action! We can't wait to run the whole thing.
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