Big Scirum Creek
Joy Road to Locust Fork(Scarum Creek)
| Difficulty | IV |
| Length | 1.7 mi |
| Avg Gradient | 150 fpm |
| Reach Info Last Updated | January 18, 2009 |
River Description
The area of increased gradient appears to start about a half-mile above Joy Road (though we are uncertain regarding the possibility of convenient access or whether there is sufficient reason to attempt put-in above the Joy Road bridge). From the bridge, the creek drops 200' to the confluence with the Locust Fork of the Black Warrior River. It appears necessary/likely to paddle about 0.6 mile (of relative flatwater) downstream to the next bridge access point.
Anyone having more details regarding this run is encouraged to either provide them (via the 'Add a comment' button which should appear for registered, logged-in users of this site) or (AW members only) sign-up as a StreamTeam Volunteer to 'adopt' this section of river.
River Features
Put In Drain Pipe
Park off the road, put in on the upstream side of the drain pipe under the road for a unique experience. Don't grind the side of the pipe as you exit--it has some rusty bolts sticking out that have put holes in boats before.
Dude's House Dam
An old dam next to a guy's house on river left. Be courteous and stay towards river right to avoid the golden retriever hazard on river left. Boof off the dam (3ish feet) pretty much anywhere.
Boof to Slide
This kicks off the steep section. A 5-6 foot boof onto a tall/long 30-45 degree angled slide. The creek is 6 feet wide at this point and the horizon line is pretty pronounced. You won't be able to see the bottom until you're over the lip.
Boof from the center with a little left angle, the goal being to stay on the left side of the slide to avoid the bit of wall that juts out on the right side at the bottom.
Below here, you get some class III boogie until the next significant horizon line.
Slide to Boof
The slide is about 300 yards long and is pretty low angle, maybe 5-10 degrees. At high water, it's enough to get moving pretty fast. There are a handful of spinout rocks along the way that can get you sliding sideways, so just work to keep it pointed straight.
The ledge at the end is 8ish feet high and goes pretty much anywhere, although there are two general ideal boofs.
At low levels, the best boof is a finger that juts out from the right half of the ledge. Angle straight downstream, even though the ledge will be at an off-angle to the current.
The left side of the ledge runs perpindicular to the current, but dries out at lower levels. At high levels it's probably the best spot to go off.
Take Out
Trip Reports
Log in to add a reportThis video shows every one of the named rapids on the creek at a low level. Includes some of the action you're likely to see on the Locust if Scirum is running after a big rain. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DTh\_6fsLND8