Please be careful of strainers on all the rivers you paddle. Shane Hulsey reported on November 4th, 2002 that there were several hazards on the Tallulah this year:
I happened to be in the right place at the right time yesterday and managed to pull a girl off of the log below Lynch’s Wrench, but I shudder to think what might have happened otherwise….There is a tree just below Bridal Veil, which is just above the Zoom Flume. At least 1 boater got pinned here on saturday. At sunday flow, the line was fairly safe and passable.
The WORST tree is the one on river right just below the boof at Lynch’s Wrench. At saturday flows, the tree was more easily avoided, but MANY boaters were getting swept into this monster at the higher flows on sunday. Something bad is going to happen here…..The girl I pulled off flipped in the drop (which is not hard to do) and washed upside down into the tree…I happened to be on the tree after MY friend got swept over there also. Three people from her group were already in the eddy after being swept that way. This made for a very crowded rescue area! There is a small 2 boat (1.5 boat) eddy on the right just above the tree, but it’s not one that you would want to catch anyway.
Please advise people to set safety, and to space their runs out so as not to overcrowd the eddy/strainer spot. There are also trees in two of the nameless boogie water rapids above Toms Brain Buster, but they are a bit easier to avoid.
Thanks very much for your time, Shane Hulsey, Birmingham Alabama
AW Boardmember-elect, Sutton Bacon added
There are several significant areas where wood has obstructed the “normal” line in Tallulah rapids.
Those include:
1. Top Entrance to the Tallulah Channel/Flume/Etc:
DIRECTLY below Bridal Veil, most boaters paddle the left line and then make another left and then a right to enter the channel itself. Today, there was a strainer in the INITIAL lead-in drop. There were reports of several pins, including one serious vertical pin. Because of this, most all boaters were running the far RIGHT side of the rapid immediately below Bridal Veil, which is rarely, if ever normally run. The higher water may impact this strainer, but please use extreme caution here until the log is removed and run the rapid on the right side, which is clean. While doing this, definitely be careful of backwash from the Bridal Veil hole.
2. Bottom of Lynch’s Wrench/Approach to Ampitheater:
There is a large tree at the bottom of Lynch’s Wrench, consuming most of the river right eddy that forms the common set-up for Ampitheater. Although there is deadfall directly below the initial drop at Lynch’s that can be seen from above the top drop, the hazardous part of the tree extending into the main righthand line is largely hidden. Therefore, if you are unsure of how to avoid this strainer, scout in the river right eddy above the top drop at Lynch’s. You should be able to see the tree by scouting on the bedrock, so please stay on it, as to not disturb the trillium growing on the bank.
There will be more information about these hazards at boater registration in the morning. Hopefully, they can be removed before next weekend’s releases.
If you are unsure of the rapids mentioned above, please reference the AW StreamKeeper page for photos: www.americanwhitewater.org/rivers/id/506/
Also, boaters that were on the river today (Monday, the 4th) that can add to this posting in any way, please do.
Thanks,
Sutton