Mitchell

Jerry Hopping, Charles Herring, Jim Van Lew and myself ran the Mitchell on Saturday. The level was between 4 and 3.25 feet as it was dropping fast which is probably typical. We had good water. We had planned to do section 1 as described by Benner. The put-in is now legit with paved off-road parking. When we arrived at the put-in on Mountain Park-Zephyr road we met local paddlers Colby, Matthew and Charlie who had just run the 2 miles above that put-in. They were easily talked into another run. We put in at the bridge for Kapp Mill Road just down stream from the dam and former mill and house. They ran the 2 miles and we continued down for an 8 mile run.
It was a fast 8 miles as the rapids were fairly continuous. Even the flat water was fast. None of the rapids were more difficult than a high class 2. There were plenty of surfing opportunities. The scenery was primarily rhododendron, white pine and rock bluffs. There were many ducks. The one disappointment was the water quality. According to Jerry and Benner, the Mitchell used to run clear even after rain. Though it is still a trout stream, after a rain it is quite muddy. There were a few strainers but they were easy to spot and avoid.
We took out at Zephyr road just upstream of I-77. Be careful of the road names they are confusing and mislabeled on the map and GPS. There is also a Mountain Park Road which is part of the shuttle. Make sure you have enough water. I have done 2 low water runs and they were excruciating.