Tuckasegee, West Fork

Launching immediately below the dam is not recommended because of the major waterfall, called Onion Falls downstream. In fact access is restricted to this section during a dam release. Fun Fact...the orginal Onion Falls was mostly destroyed when Lake Glenville was being built. What you see now is only a small section of it.

You'll probably see this waterfall on your right as you hike down to the put in.

Mandatory Portage!  This waterfall has two tiers and is about 170 to 200 feet high.  The river right side is blocked by high cliffs, but there is a use trail on river left which facilitates the portage.

This is the recommended put in because it avoids two very difficult portages. A parking area is located about 0.25 mile after crossing the dam's spillway. The trail to the put-in begins with a gravel road and then becomes a trail with log steps and boulder steps down to a put-in that is sprayed with water comming off High Falls.

Put in below High Falls. To walk the put-in rapid, ferry across the river to the big eddy and the river right trail. A long class IV rapid begins immediately after the put-in. At levels higher than the normal release, the two rapids merge into one.

Park here to begin the winding trail down to the base of High Falls. Stay on the trail all the way to the river to avoid launchinc above some huge unrunnable waterfalls. This trail, like the releases, were negotiated by American Whitewater and our partners as part of the hydropower dam relicensing in the early 2000's.

A shallow, slight, low-angle slide and perhaps 30 yards of class II+ water separates the first boulder garden from the second boulder garden.  The river splits into two channels 10 yards or so downstream of the surfable reciruclation at the based of the slight, low-angle slide. Take the right channel and prepare to either boof left off a 5ish foot boulder jam (visible in the photo above).  If you get pushed into the boulder jam before making the left boof, you'll probably be fine. The boulders pool the water enough to stay fairly stable while getting your boat aligned to make your way over the left boof.  The drop is immediately followed by 20 yards of a fast, bedrock rapid (not visible in the photo).  Be aware that there are two sieves in the boulder jam and that some water flows into an ugly (potentially vergy ugly) slot right of the boulder jam.

Leland Davis, the first known to run the right line, informally called this falls 'the Big One' in his guide to western NC creeks and rivers.  The river's local sage, Burt Kornegay, says it's 'rough as a cob' and has long called it Breakbone Falls, an apt name given the fact that it fractured vertebrae of two people who were carried out on backboards during the first year of official releases.  See http://www.americanwhitewater.org/content/Article/view/articleid/31911 for identification of the line where injuries have occurred.

The river-right line (commonly called Flight Simulator, but also called Fright Stimulator or Go Right and Fly) is about 25 feet high.  It starts with a 6.5 foot sloping ledge if you're far enough right, but it'll start with a pothole that's 7 feet deep and 12 feet wide if you're too far left. The sloping ledge ends with a 4.5 foot drop followed by a 14 foot vertical drop. Beware pitoning at the top or at the bottom if too far left. Pitoning in the top pothole can result in a beating, either in the pothole or on the way down the remaining 20ish feet.  Harrison Metzger, who likely made the first open boat run of the right line, recommends 'being 7 to 8 feet off the right bank with a slight left angle, which should deposit you in the 'fluffy box of bunnies' froth below.'

The river-left line (known to some as Crash Landing) is a 28 foot, broken, rough slide into a large pool.  Enter far left over the center of a small wave on the horizon line.  Being too far right on the small wave results in a ride with two or three very hard hits. Being too far left can result in hitting a bedrock slab about one-third of the way down.

Thanks, Burt Kornegay and Harrison Metzger, for making the measurements.

One more word about back injuries.  The big bounce on the river-left line that has caused back injuries is located near the bottom a bit right of the ideal left line.   Photo 1 and photo 2 show boats on the big bounce.  Paddlers who  lean forward over the bounce have had far smoother lines than those sitting up or boofing.  Check out this photo taken at base flow to understand the landing zone.

The take-out is across Hwy 107 from Thorpe Powerhouse on the downstream, river-right side of a metal bridge. It is clearly identified with a sign as the take-out. The official stick gauge is located on river-right under the bridge, bolted to a boulder near the bridge's foundation. For release weekends, expect designated parking areas for paddlers.