French Broad

A group of outfitters and river managers / advocates paddled Section 9 to assess rapid changes, access needs, and debris clean up needs, with US Forest Service approval. Here is what we learned:

The good news is that the rapids themselves are largely unchanged, especially upstream of Stackhouse. Paddlers will notice more or less water going in certain channels compared with before Hurricane Helene (September 2024), and some additional line options, but all the old lines are still there. The runout of Pit Stop is a bit different but obvious. Windy Flats is a bit rockier here and there. The holes in Frank Bells are a bit steeper and the entrance rockier, but the line is the same.

We saw plastic conduit stuck and trailing downstream in several rapids including Ledges, along the left bank of Sandy Bottom, in the left slot of Pit Stop, and a couple other spots. Other than that the river itself appeared very clean.

The river has a very different visual feel. Many islands have had all the trees and soil sheared off or are gone entirely including much of the island at Frank Bells, the banks are more exposed rock than forest now, there are big beaches and cobble bars, the railroad is much more visible and in need of repairs, and the river generally has a much more open, sunny, look and feel.

The amount of trash on the banks is epic. Silverline plastic's PVC pipe and conduit litters the banks and is wedged in massive debris jams that also includes a lot of lumber and other human debris, and there is plastic trash hanging from nearly every tree along the bank. Water quality seemed very clear but surely had high bacteria content.

Barnard and Stackhouse access areas are both damaged and closed, but appear to be fixable with a moderate amount of effort. For now, while the river itself is good-to-go for the most part, access remains the limiting factor to getting back on FB9 and paddling here is not recommended yet. Repairing these sites will be a high priority to get people back on the water.