Turket Creek

Culvet on Highway 150. Note traffic barrel for scale.

Turket Creek is a disappointment. The drop was perhaps two feet when I paddled by on the Alaphochee in June 2005, but the Alapahoochee was high enough that day to flood all of its rapids. Turket Creek is not wide enough to spin a boat 360 degrees. It is such an insignificant creek that it is not obvious where County Road 150 crosses it south of Jennings, Florida. Keep an eye out for where the road dips just outside Jennings. This culvert is effectively the beginning of Turket Creek, since it's blocked by a railroad embankment on the upstream side.

Clearly, the drop will be higher when the Alapahoochee is lower than it was the day I was there. However, for Turket Creek to be interesting, you'd have to have significant rainfall in Turket Creek's drainage basin, without enough rain in adjoining drainages to raise the Alapahoochee or the Alapaha. That combination would likely be very rare. I'd be surprised if Turket Creek would be interesting even one day a year.

When I returned in March 2011 to run the Alapahoochee, the waterfall was much higher, between 6 and 8 feet. However, I noted a sandbar directly below the drop, so paddlers should scout the waterfall before running it.

Note how water flows over some rocks on the way and also the sandbar below the drop. Photo taken at low flow on 3/19/11

Dude, this is in FLORIDA, If they listed this in NC id be dissapointed but a two foot drop thats interesting one day a year is pretty damn good for gradient hell.