Back Creek (Jackson trib)

The most important thing to know about this section is that permission is needed to run it from the Boiling Springs Rod and Gun Club. In his guidebook, Gertler states that he visits the clubhouse at the head of Richardson Gorge on the Jackson River (permission is also needed for that run, which shares the same takeout).

Lower Back Creek is a great intermediate run, with nearly continuous class II from the USGS gauge put-in, with a couple of small ledges possibly easy III (see gallery). The scenery is great in this remote gorge, and you likely won't see anyone other than a couple of people fishing on river left in the first mile or so. It's a relatively short run from the gauge, so spend some time surfing the waves, taking a long lunch break, and enjoy the gorge. It's also possible to run both Back Creek and Richardson Gorge on the Jackson if you received permission for both. The shuttle is a bit long for Back Creek at about three times the length of the gorge, but is quite short for the Jackson. Since the Back Creek Pumped Storage Project is upstream, it may be worth keeping an eye on the gauge for enhanced flows or a maintenance release (unfortunately there does not seem to be any notification of these).

See Also:

Classic Virginia Rivers, Ed Grove (1992 ed), p. 196.

Virginia Whitewater, Roger Corbett (2000 ed.), p. 225.

Exploring Virginia's Waterways, Ed Gertler (2022 ed.), p. 163.