Dunlap Creek

Ran this 4/15/2018 with Zach Peterson and Jack Henderson. Piney was at ~6.5ft.

First off, there are a ton of trees. Both the vertical and horizontal kind. The first mile or so is pretty placid, with some log portages and occasional Class 1-2 as you go through a narrow river in what basically feels like a rainforest. Tons of large waterfalls cascade in throughout the run and it's pretty beautiful. The river is tiny at the put-in, and eventually leads to a portage around a road/bridge. Shortly after this, the gradient picks up and is pretty continuous all the way to the confluence with Soak Creek. Lots of drops around blind corners, heads-up boating for wood and keeping eddies in sight. This section reminds me a bit of Lower Big Creek or maybe Thunderhead Prong. Class 3+/4 boulder garden type stuff. Super fun and has a remote feel to it. Water quality was pretty sub-par; burns your eyes a little bit. The ride out on Soak Creek is great if Dunlap and the other feeders have good flow; reminded me of a steeper Middle Cheoah. I believe 2+ inches of rain hit Spring City in just over 12 hours. We had a good level and it maintained steady throughout the run.

Overall it was actually really fun and had a bit of an adventurous feel to it. Just watch for wood. - Matt J.