Tye, North Fork

The usual put-in for the North Fork Tye is at the confluence with White Rock Creek. This is around 3 miles above the church take-out. There is a one-lane bridge and a sign that says 'Rainbow Mountain Wildlife Sanctuary.' Park before the bridge, leaving plenty of room for other vehicles to park, or pass by on the road. Respect private property. There is not much parking at the put-in so please try to minimize the number of cars going to the put-in.

'Crocker Knocker' comes at the end of the continuous boulder garden sequence that started almost as soon as you slid your boat into the creek at the put-in. A few small eddies above the drop give you a chance to decide if you want to try the left route or the far-right route.

'Cushion' is the first major rapid on the NFT. You'll know you're there when you see the small rustic cabin on the right side streambank. A huge sycamore tree juts out of the right bank at the lip of the drop. A large eddy on the left above Cushion provides a perfect place to regroup before dropping into the rapid. Cushion is a multi-drop series of ledge-like drops. You have a choice at the top: Run the center 'cushion' line - a boof with a mid-air turn to the right at a cushiony pillow of water, or run the far-right boof. Quickly catch the center eddy to set up for the second choice: drop the tight center slot, or run another far-right boof if the water is high enough today. After that you may eddy out of just keep flowing into the last set: working your way toward a center-ish ledge boof over a moderately-sticky hole. Don't get too far off the center line on this one or you could end up in the hidden cracks on both edges. Don't forget to look back upstream afterward, and enjoy the steepness of what you just paddled.

'Glide' (actually 'Glen's Glide' is the real name) is basically just a really great, easy boof off the left edge of a massive, smooth boulder. Boof to the right and land in a large eddy to watch your buddy lay a fat clapper. Bonus points for rail-grabs. Use the big eddy to give the right side of the next drop a look. This next drop is called 'Prison Love.' It's a very precise boof with a small landing-zone to avoid the shallow rocks that give the rapid its name.

Scout respectfully on the river-right, staying within the high-water line. This rapid has changed significantly since the first-descent in 1995. Back then, 'Packsaw' ended with a 8+ foot mini-waterfall boof over a sticky hole. Remnants of a hurricane sometime in the late '90's / early-2000s collapsed the ledge and turned the lower part of this rapid into a jumbled mess. Most folks portage the rapid now; it has a long, technical entrance and the crux comes at the very end of the rapid, where the water dumps directly into a rough, overhanging piton rock. In general, it feels a little bit better at higher flows but is still not recommended. Portage respecfully. Be aware that there is a hard-to-see undercut/sieve on the left about 70% through the rapid.

'Anybody who tries to paddle that drop has lost his marbles.' said Greg Gil, as we all scouted the drop from a big, round boulder high above. This assessment did not deter Kevin Batteh, who - just a few miutes later - dropped into the drop in his New Wave Sleek. Kevin did not lose a single marble that day and 'Marbles' got its first-descent and a new name. Marbles starts off with a sliding 6-foot drop with a sharply-overhanging rock wall on the left. Immediately after the slidey drop are three slots. Most folks are aiming for the center slot, a tight slot backed-up by a piton rock. You'll want to scout your route here the first time you run it. Pay attention to the dangerous sieve rapid immediately after Marbles too. It all happens fast in here.

Immediately below 'Marbles' rapid is a small otherwise-nondescript boulder-ledge sometimes called 'Thumb.' In the middle of this boulder jumble is a hard-to-see sieve that can trap a kayak and/or a paddler. Paddlers running Marbles can quickly find themselves entering this area, so scout it all together.

Take-out at the Evergreen Baptist Church slightly upstream of the North Fork's confluence with the South Fork, near Nash, VA. You will behave respectfully and appropriately in this church parking lot. No nudity, or disrespectful behavior will be tolerated. Park farther upstream, or elsewhere, on a Sunday morning so the congregation can attend services. This is an active church. We are guests.