Mudcut Branch

Typically nothing more than an epic little hike and fun foamy run, Mudcut will never be a staple or sought-after run, but it was run and can go. Best classified as an ultra-steep novelty creek, it was first (and probably only run) around the turn of the millennium, by a very excited, younger, and more zealous Boyd Ruppelt. It then gained infamy from a young, excited, impulsive email that was posted on AW without context, without edits, and without checking with Boyd on the description first. Likely posted that way out of humor, spite, or probably both, the video of the run was later posted on Boatertalk to which people responded, 'that looks fun!' Despite all the infamy and jokes, it did go and was both steep and fun, although likely an acquired taste.

Hazards: steep hike up, runaway gradient, nano-volume, steep slides, tight drops, undercut ledges, sieves, and WOOD. Still, it was surprisingly clean that day and much of the wood was easily removed on the way up. This creek represents boat abuse at it's finest, but it did go and it was fun... if you like that kind of thing.

Flow Info:
It snowed about a foot up on the mountain, about 6-8 inches near NOC, and then a weird warm front came through and the next day was 80 degrees. In between though, early that morning, it also rained 2'. So it took a sudden foot of snow melt and at least two inches of rain to get it going, but it was a fun adventure. These days, a heavy 8' rain and fast flash could bring it back in. The easiest way to tell if it's going is to look at the volume entering the Nantahala under the small bridge just across from Farabee Park (the railroad and SSR 1101 bridge). If it looks like it has plenty of water to run under the bridge, the creek will be good to go.

Directions:

These days, access is questionable from the sprawling quarry. From the SSR 1101 bridge across from Farabee Park, hike up as far as you're willing toward Cheoah Bald on the Appalachian Trail. The bottom

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