Flat

We ran this yesterday. At 4.9 ft on the USGS gage, there was one class 2 on the South Flat before the confluence and lots of flat water. After the confluence there were a few class 2s some with some decent sized waves and a good surf wave at what used to be Harris Mill. The busted dam above Moores Mill Rd was not difficult, but intimidating. There was a small landing zone river left that did not have a nasty hole, but looked really boily below most of the drop. From here till below the bridge was heavy boogie for our area and some of the best rapids in the triangle in my opinion. Two more fun drops before you reach the Durham county line. From here, it's the occasional class 2 with some good waves. Deep Creek at this level didn't look very big and was not worth portaging to run, but it was a neat play spot with very strong current. We took out at Red Mountain Rd to avoid the extra flat water. If you park here, I'd recommend river right just after Old Red Mountain Road, where it is downhill to not get stuck.

I ran this in April, but just wanted to mention some info I didn't see anywhere. The takeout at state forest road requires a permit for parking. It was $18 for me and good for a year. I would recommend taking out at either Bowen rd or Red Mountain to get the last of rapids before a long flat section. Going under the low bridge is fun, but there's not much other than that unless you are going all the way to lake Michie. If you take out at red mountain there's a good class 2+ drop on deep creek river left. At 2.5 ft when I ran it, I did not find the busted dam above Moores mill difficult compared to other class IIIs in the area, but this kicks off the most fun rapids for the next 0.25 miles. According to other reports this is more challenging at higher levels, but I found 2.5 ft manageable and fun for a novice, similar to middle haw difficulty, less so than lower rocky for comparison.

Whoever said the Flat is runnable at 5cfs must have been riding a bicycle down it. Consider 2 foot @Bahama to be minimum. At 4' and over, the broken dam becomes a class 3+ and the bridge below a solid class 3.

le scott

The broken dam marks the begining of a lively class II section that only gets bigger as the water rises.

There is a broken dam on this section that should be scouted. It is decidedly more difficult than the rest of this class I-II run.