Pigeon

American Whitewater staff attended a site visit with NCDOT and partners to learn more about the reconstruction of I-40 and the ultimate restoration of the Pigeon River. NCDOT removed essentially all of the small rocks from the riverbed, much of which came from beneath I-40 and had filled the lower half of the run with 10-13 feet of rock. Then, they built a huge 2-way haul road \*in the riverbed\* to facilitate their efforts to rebuilt I-40 from below. They are mostly done with the haul road but there may be more built near the tunnel. Now the building process for I-40 will occur until fall of 2028. Subsequently, likely 2029 or even 2030, NCDOT will begin removing the haul road, attempting to leave as much of the native riverbed in and large rocks as possible. They will do so in stages, and have qualified recreational engineers engaged, with the goal of leaving a geomorphological and recreationally viable channel that offers good aquatic habitat. American Whitewater and our partners advocated for these steps, and have suggested that flows may need to be released to assure the channel functions as intended. What we saw on-site was a river severely impacted by both the removal of rock and then the filling in of the channel with rock to make the road. Before this work the upper half of the Dries was in good shape post-Helene but the lower half was filled in with 10-13 feet of road rock and needed restored by rock-removal. Now the whole channel is stripped of small rocks on the left side of the river, and filled with the road on the right half to 3/4 of the channel. The future of the dries will be created when NCDOT removes their road and seeks to restore the river on their way out of the project.

American Whitewater and partners attended a site visit hosted by NCDOT on the Pigeon Dries to learn about the highway reconstruction and share our interests in the river. We confirmed that below Chinese Arithmetic the river is filled in with 10-13 feet of highway rock, and above that it is in pretty good shape. NCDOT has built a rock haul road on/in the river for much of it's length. This road is severely impacting the rapids in some locations, and less so in others. As the 2-3 year project proceeds the haul road will be removed, and the riverbed will be restored to some extent. American Whitewater is working to make sure we end up with a solid recreational river when the work is done. The 10+ feet of highway rock will be removed from the lower 2-3 miles, likely leaving a bedrock riverbed. The haul road's removal could radically change the rapids in the upper half if not done well.

4/13/2023- this link is to a pdf that shows the correlation between cfs in the Dries and the water level at the Harmon Den Bridge. This was compiled from this past fall when power plant work resulted in all the water going through the Dries. (thanks to Nikki Mallatin for her contributions)

https://www.americanwhitewater.org/content/Document/view/?id=5380

If no one has posted a picture or you can't go see for yourself, for a rough estimate, take the reading of the Main Pigeon gauge (which is downstream of the power plant), subtract 650cfs for each generator running, (as of now, 2 are running when generation is on- check release schedule at the Duke Energy flows page- the 3rd is being repaired), subtract 100cfs for every foot in Big Creek(currently available by direct visual), subtract 50-100 cfs if it has rained in previous couple days from other tributaries. For example, a couple days after the most recent rain event, Big Creek was at around 2.5 feet and 2300 corresponded to about 700 in the Dries).

Be aware that they usually stop releasing through the Dries once the Hepco USGS gauge (upstream of the lake) drops below 1500cfs. So it is possible for Main Pigeon gauge to indicate enough flow in Dries but you can get skunked in this circumstance, as it takes about 2-2.5 hours for water to get from Harmon Den to the Main Pigeon gauge.

Be advised that Duke Energy can be indiscriminate with whatever buttons they push to spill more water. 11/7/15: it was 750 when I left the house this morning, then up to 950 when we got to the take out and probably around 1200 by the time we got to Nowhere. Thankfully, we were off the water just before they pushed it to 1500. During all of this, the power plant was completely shut down and the inflow to the reservoir was steady @ 850. There was some light rain in the area (0.2' in 12 hrs) but every upstream gauge barely budged. Why spill almost twice the inflow? Give yourself time to scout and portage in case the flow spikes on you and maybe think twice about putting on if you're short on daylight.

Found this on BoaterTalk:

Forum: BoaterTalk

Date: Dec 13, 07:01

From: B Thornton

I've paddled it twice ,last Sunday was the second time.The level was 360 or so which is low but not scrapey.It is very similar to the upper yough in difficulty.Both are large rivers consricted into tight river beds.The Yough is a little more continous but the average rapid on the dries is a little bit steeper and tighter than than the upper yough rapids.There is one drop that is one drop that is harder than anything on the upper yough called ,Nowhere to Land, or Picket Fence, it is a big nastey drop with a trickey lead in and dubious landing zone.That said I saw several people run it with sun. with no problems, but most people walked it.Both runs are the type of runs that you can tell would be really hard at high water.The upper yough is legendary above 3' and I suspect the Pidgeon Dries will soon join it.

B Thornton

Here's Tom's article as it appeared in the May 1994 edition of 'Messing About,' the newsletter of the Western Carolina Paddlers.

The Pigeon River Dries (Careful With That Bleach, Eugene)

by Tom Visnius

At 1am, Saturday, April 23rd, I called my friend (and new WCP'er) Philip Curry, and suggested that we run Big Creek in the morning. We headed for the Park a few hours later, knowing that it could take all day to hike up and then paddle down. I also called my friend Mark and invited him to come out and watch the brave hairboaters and, if he was lucky, paddle the lower section with us.

Phil and I were the only kayakers hanging out at the campground for a while. As we waited, I asked a fly-fisherman about an etiquette issue that had been bothering me since my trip down Cataloochee Creek. On creeks in the Park, there's not a lot of room for both hunter and boater, so it is crucial to communicate to each other on how you would like to commingle. Does a boater give the fisher a wide berth, thereby floating directly over the trout that he has been sneaking up on? Or does a boater float right next to the fisher's knees and risk an assault from a surprised sportsperson? The second preference is not unlikely, so regardless of your right-of-way philosophy, it is worth noting that there are many fishers who visit Smokey Mountain National Park, and boaters should attempt to communicate with them. Then proceed with caution. The fellow I talked to preferred the idea of boaters paddling close to him so as not to spook the trout

It was not long before fellow WCP'ers Gregg Merchen, Karen Craft, Jim Sheppard, Chris Bell and Corran Addison showed up. Not among them were Mark and his car pool, so Phil and I had to decide whether to paddle in a fairly large group with two paddlers who had not run Big, get ahead and stay ahead, or paddle with Corran. Corran had copped some big air snowboarding only a week previous and his lower half was still recovering from yet another encounter with fickle inertia. His idea was to run the Dries of the Pigeon, which, as Phil and I were giddily aware, was stomping down from Walters Dam at a respectable flood-like pace. We observed on our way up to the campground that there come situations that require us to step away from our routines -- an unknown river in flood fell into that category.

Maybe it wasn't flooding. I don't know; I had never run the river before. Maybe it was merely breathing deeply after a claustrophobic winter in Haywood County. Perhaps it was stretching its limbs for the long parade down to Newport. Most likely, we happened to be in the area when the folks at the dam decided to release some extra water. Someone said that it was running 9 feet and 3000 cfs. Corran said that nobody had run it above 2 feet. I said that all that water should have diluted the abnormal burning stench that has given the Pigeon its international reputation.

'Big Holes!' 'Gnarly!' Words like these were included in Corran's description of the Dries. Of course, he hadn't seen it above 2 feet, but he did know the gorge well at lower water. He was in no shape the five-mile hike up Big Creek, so he was trying to gather interest in a nice, highway-accessible jaunt down a river with more water in it than rocks.

The contrasts are distinct between Big and the Dries. First, there is the difference between the pleasure of huffing your tub up a steep creek for five or more miles, and the convenience of driving on Interstate 40 for five miles. Then there is the difference in scenery. The Dries are not exactly like paddling in a ditch behind Wal-Mart. In fact, I seldom noticed the highway, which, being controlled-access, limits the amount of pedestrian pollution that a paddler is likely to come across. For the Lewis and Clarke wannabes, however, the Dries has more than its share of road debris as a result of the eight-lane highway carved into the gorge. Big Creek has an old railroad grade cut into its banks, but time has smoothed the scars, so that one seldom notices it, save for the hikers, horse-riders, and fishermen who frequently use it. Which is more remote? Which is more private? It would depend on what you choose not to look at.

There is a predictable difference in scenery. The Dries has many wide views of the gorge walls, due to the width of the river. Big Creek is close and, at times, confining. It is scenic elysium to paddle amongst the grand flora of Big, but sometimes that flora can barricade the river and leave you either hoofing or swimming. There are other differences, too. Namely water quality, quality of the water, and, of course, WATER PURITY. I have never paddled a river, even a smelly one, that has left my mucous membranes burning for hours after I took-out. SIX HOURS. And what is it, exactly, that is in the water to cause such a reaction?

Big holes! The Dries is home to the best whitewater in Western North Carolina! Among the bigger rivers. South of the Linville. In flood, anyways. For a flood stage river the Dries easily compares to Section IV at flood. There were pools, and eddies, and beautiful surfing waves. But when it comes to steering a boat through the thick of the big rapids, a paddler should be prepared to swallow some chemically aggressive whitewater in any of the countless throbbing giants that adorn the Dries. Every rapid does have a line through it; this is a general boating philosophy. But there are holes in the Dries, and no matter the level, there will be something in them that will lead the intrepid paddler's eyes, nose and throat to respect where those babies once were.

According to Corran, the Dries are split into three gorges. You can call them bends or rapids, but they are gorges. Gorge one is a good warm-up. I say this because I don't remember the first thing about Gorge One, except that what follows is Gorge Two. Gorge Two is loaded with challenging whitewater, and it contains the very special 'Stairwell to Hell.' It is easily spotted thanks to its distinct horizon line. There was supposed to be a pile of rocks at the base of the center drop.That day, the drop resembled Sweet's Falls, but with an aggressive looking hole at the base that resembled the hole in Tower on the Russell Fork. That hole is clean, isn't it We sneaked to the right, and then wove our way through a Golf Course of Gigantic Holes. Each hole looked like a good ride in and of itself, but it is best to proceed with caution. There are plenty of good times eagerly awaiting the tired, choking, blinded paddler further down Gorge Two.

One of these is called 'No Place To Run.' At nine feet, just shoot from right to left, like in Iron Ring. But, again, it would be best to avoid the massive lung mashers to either side of the theoretical preferred line. Gorge Three is a lot of fun. With the proper hazmat suit, I could be tempted to play in Gorge Three at any level. It is really fun, but not entirely challenging. Think of it as a way to expose yourself more completely to the caustic soda of the Pigeon, until you reach the Waterville powerplant and the sparkling, crystalline waters of Big Creek. Yes! Back to nature.

Ask the owners of the private property along scenic Lake Logan why they didn't build their park just downstream of the Champion paper mill. It's a beautiful, clear lake built on the West Fork of the Pigeon, about six miles upstream of Canton. Ask them how they like the water quality. Ask them if that's where their slalom kayaking friends train. Ask them what would cause a paddler's entire face to burn after running the Dries of the Pigeon. I don't know who they are, but I suspect the folks at Champion International Corporation, (704) 646-2000, might know.

Editor's note: The descriptions Tom and Corran gave in the parking lot immediately after their run were a tad more animated than those related above. Corran described a typical rapid as being like running the Upper Gauley's Pillow Rock, followed by Sweet's Falls, followed by Iron Ring. Both Corran and Tom told tales of thorough trashings in monster holes. Tom described being stuck for 'a long time' in one hole, finally washing out directly into a second hole, and then washing out and just making a must catch eddy before a scary drop requiring careful scouting. Most of us would probably prefer the Dries at lower levels...

This is the longest and most technical rapid on the Pigeon Dries. The photo was taken at the bottom on river left.
The Pigeon Dries is paddleable at a large variety of water levels. If you prefer creeky, stay below 750 cfs. If you prefer big hairy fun 1100+ is your game. Here is Ted Hayes hand paddling Chineese Arithmatic at an insane level.
Is it ever too cold to paddle? Notice all the ice! Notice that Kevin doesn't use gloves or pogies!! Chineese Arithmatic is the longest and most technical rapid on the Pigeon Dries. This shot was taken half way down the rapid on river right.
Chineese Arithmatic is the longest and most technical rapid on the Pigeon Dries. This shot was taken at the bottom on river left.
At higher water levels a boof move opens up at the bottom of Chineese Arithmatic. This is Sean Kennedy checking it out.
This is a shot of 'Dumb-S' in the background and the entrance rapid to Nowhere To Land.
Gunnell Buster is one of the last major rapids on the Pigeon Dries.
Look at Boatingbeta.com for the Harmon Den 'brick gage' method for checking the water level.
Nowhere To Land is the most powerful rapid on the run. It rates a solid class 5. This boater nails the boof perfectly as others portage on river right.
Ted Hayes running Nowhere To Land at 1362 cfs. (or did Nowhere To Land run Ted??)
This rapid gets its name from the P-53 painted on a rock just right of center of the main hole. It can only be seen at minimum flows. P-53 is the last of the 3 'warm-up' rapids before Tunnel Rapid.
Rock Jumble
Stairway to Hell is the most undercut rapid on the run. Stay away from the rocks on river left.
Tiney Tower can be run at a variety of ways at different levels. Here's a great boof on river left.
Tiney Tower can be run at a variety of ways at different levels. Here's Don Kinser taking on the middle line.
Tiney Tower can be run at a variety of ways at different levels. Here's Milt Aitken boofing the Tower Rock.
The hole in Tiney Tower can be very sticky. Just ask Kevin.
Tunnel Rapid isn't very photogenic. Its actually more difficult then this shot makes it look.