Crab Orchard Creek

4-24-17. Put-in at noon. 2.4 feet on the bridge gauge at Flat Rock Ford. Cut-off is 2.5 feet per Whitewater of the Southern Appalachians by Kirk Eddlemon. A 2-volume must have, awesome book - go to http://www.wwsouthernapps.com to buy yours. USGS Emory River at Oakdale was at 18,000 cfs at noon. Harriman area received 4 inches in the past 2 days and Wartburg area 7 inches. Three massive waterfalls, a dozen plus smaller waterfalls and numerous micro-streams pumped more and more water in as the run progressed.

The high water and plentiful wood turned this normally II-III+ fabulous run into a solid IV, with relatively few eddies, always the danger of wood, and a few undercuts to keep you on your toes. The upper had numerous strainers, several river wide or 2/3rd's across the run if you took the wrong chute, or went the wrong way around a log jam or an island. Kirk nailed it with a 2.5 ft at the put-in as the cut-off. For the 3 magnificent waterfalls, we weren't able to catch an eddy to watch their splendor, but then this was essentially our 1st run on this creek (last run was 17 years ago at a lower level).

The 10.7 mile Crab Orchard Creek section has 9 miles (yes, 9+ full miles) of continuous, glorious whitewater. At this high level there were a multitude of drops and moves around boulders, munching holes, and numerous slides. In the lower section there were gigantic wave trains, crashing waves and hungry holes.

Due to how pushy the water was it was a constant read and run, with little opportunity to stop and get out and scout. In fact we didn't get out and scout, because where was that eddy when needed? I've heard that at upper levels the upstream rapids tend to wash out and the run isn't as much fun. All I can say is that at 2.4 ft, with all of the additional water coming in below on the run, that the rapids were great.

The upper section of this run is lined with thick mt. laurel/rhododendron making any hike out very difficult at best, and would you even know where to hike to in this remote area? The lower section has some rural homes and farms along the way. The scenery is fantastic.

It took 4.5 hours to run 13.7 miles, paddling only what was necessary to run the lines, including taking three breaks totaling over 45 minutes. The 3 mile run down the Emory took 20 minutes, without paddling! Wowser. What a wonderful 14th wedding anniversary for Chris and Renee Harwell!

BTW - Connie lives at the nice house catty corner from the take-out bridge in Oakdale. She keeps an eye on the cars, and worries when people don't return until late at night or are gone for a day or two. She likes to visit with the paddlers and asks that you leave a note on your car or with her stating what run you're taking and when you're expected back. That way she'll know when to call for help on your behalf as occasionally people do get into trouble on the plateau.