Pigeon, West Fork

Flows spiked on us and went from a comfortable low side of medium to a higher flow that was a lot pushier and the holes took on a lot more punch as the day progressed.

Ran this gem on 2/24/19. Level at the USGS 03455500 W F PIGEON R ABOVE LAKE LOGAN NR HAZELWOOD, NC gage was 900 to 600 cfs, dropping while we were on the run. We felt that this was a good first time level, but it could use a tad more water. Less water would be undesirable. Run is 3 miles, drops a tad over 750 so 250 feet per mile. Haywood County is the highlight, a big un.

For more great photos and videos check out Lelands Paddle Page.

This is the the small waterfall entering river right just above the portage.
This is the upstream view of the log sieve rapid.

Just for clarity's sake, this strainer mentioned in the post BELOW is a large old growth tree log, nearly river-wide, and has been there for years. Mandatory portage. According to 'southeastcreekin' on BT, 'Be careful it's blind and looks like any other drop on the river -- but paddling over that horizon line would be almost sure death!!! If you are unfamiliar with the run...scout everything that is blind until you get past it..its not worth taking a chance with this one.' ....(actually, I've paraphrased his quote slightly to make it clearer. JP)

Another river hazard...W. Fork Pigeon in N.C. riverwide death sieve

Forum: BoaterTalk

Date: Mar 20, 2003 02:11 GMT

From:Flow

It's been mentioned on BT previously, but it's worth mentioning again. On the run putting in right below the Garden of the Gods madness to the place where the road runs right next to the river for the first time(the obvious takeout), it's about 2/3 of the way down. It's not obvious at all, and is apparently a relatively new feature. Be careful.