Overflow Creek

We ran yesterday. Put on at 1.8 and took off at 2.1. The correlation with burrell's ford is not exact. According to that guage overflow should have peaked around 1.6 (but we physically saw it at 2.1). I suppose it's okay for a general idea of what is going on at overflow but not totally accurate. Also, I have heard a lot of people from different groups say that the bridge guage is reading lower than it used to.... like 1ft now is closer to what 1.2 used to be. I can't confirm this but have heard it from several different people.

Dallas

A cold winter day. Left line.

Photo by Tim Gill

Be careful the Forest Service is checking permits on Overflow regularly now and they had a roadblock set up at 28 and Burrells Ford at 3 pm on a Sunday targeting boaters with cool beverages.

A permit is required for Overflow. There is now a USFS information board and permit box at the put-in (as of 1/2/07; it wasn't there on 12/2/06).

Word is that the Forest Service is requiring that permits be filled out prior to a run, as with the Chattooga. The form is the same - I don't know if forms are being made available at the takeout or if you have to go to the kiosk at the Hwy 76 parking lot for Chattooga (which would be a major inconvenience). Indicate the level on the form.

Geoff Kohl running Roundabout.
Finally, conclusive proof that it doesn't take any skill whatsoever to paddle an open boat! Here's Milt Aitken's barge running a perfect 'dry' line through Roundabout.
Geoff Kohl running a nice line on Singley's Slot.
Robert Bone on his virgin trip down Overflow. And a nice line at Singley's Slot.

I have a couple of overflow videos on my site

http://filebox.vt.edu/users/cdgorman/index.html

The Chattooga River is the WRONG gage to use as an indicater for Overflow Creek. A much more accurate gage is the USGS Cullasaja River at SR 1620. Here's how the levels correlate so far:

When Cullasaja is 225 cfs Overflow is around Low (about 0.9)

When Cullasaja is 310 cfs Overflow is around medium (about 1.5)

When Cullasaja is 500 cfs Overflow is high. (about 2.0)

I have an Excel 2000 spreadsheet that predicts the levels for Overflow Creek and several other rivers in the southeast. If you'd like a copy of this spreadsheet e-mail me at H2Olevelcheck@boatingbeta.com and I will send it to you. I only check this address weekly, so pardon me if I don't get back to you right away.

Paddle Safe - Rob Maxwell

Emerging from the foam pile at the Put-In Rapid to exit the slot on the right.
Looking back up at Hemlock - Drew in the eddy above.
Middle line in Pinball - top 1/3 of the rapid.

Some clips of overflow I threw together....Goto http://filebox.vt.edu/users/cdgorman/index.html for more SE creeking videos

The heavens shone a beam down on Singley's.

Just thought I would expand on the directions to the river for all of those interested. Please feel free to correct my mistakes.

From SC take Hwy 28 North. Turn Left onto Warwoman Rd. Then turn Right onto Overflow Creek Rd. The first bridge you come to will cross over Overflow Creek. This is where the guage is for Overflow and is the take out for the creek. To get to the put in continue on Overflow Creek Rd and turn Right onto 83-B. Follow 83-B (keeping to your right at every junction) until it dead ends. You will see the culvert that the water comes through. The put in is just below the first waterfall that you see from the parking area. (At least it was for me that day!)

Thanks to all who cleared the road last weekend which made my trip possible. It was my first time down the river and wouldn't have been possible w/o your help!

Right line at Marginal.
Strong hole below on right, run center or left of center for best results.
Good line exiting staging eddy, current pushing right into undercut - paddle hard. Flow courtesy of Hurricane Ivan.

From: Socemdog (socemdog@aol.com)

Subject: Re: Re: Big Creek (Chatooga Watershed)

Newsgroups: rec.boats.paddle

Date: 1998/04/29

In article frans@mail.tds.net, Strickland wrote:

Oops, sorry Craig. You asked for specific information, not a history lesson.

But it's the best that I could do. I haven't been back!

Actually, you haven't been back, because you found Overflow! ( pppttttuppp! )

Your history is actually pretty good, for such an old geezer as yourself. Have

you been taking some vitamins or sumthin?

I'll try to remember my version - to be possibly corrected by the actual

victims.

Not long after you ran Big Creek, Ken, Alan Singley entered West Fork

history. He had hiked Overflow, Holcomb, and Big Creeks a good deal by then

- as well as the north fork Chatooga Sections 1, Zero, Double Zero, and

Minus 1, and even Scotsman's Branch. One fine day, I believe in 1975, or maybe

1976, he dropped his boating and camping gear off at the culvert bridge, now

famous as the Overflow put-in, drove his truck to the West Fork bridge, and

hiked back up to spend the night. The next afternoon, about 5 miles and 8 or

9 portages later, Alan emerged with wondrous tales of a fantastic whitewater

run, with the improbable name of Overflow Creek. The fact that he *soloed*

the exploratory doesn't surprise anyone who knows Alan.

Alan's spectacular, if somewhat unbelievable, tales fascinated everyone, but

failed to gain him a partner for another descent. Undaunted, Alan proceeded

on another *solo* run, this time with 5 or 6 portages. Finally he convinced

another boater to accompany him, none other than Robert Harrison, an open

boater of some renown. Alan and Robert survived, but, alas, Robert's Old Town

Tripper was finished, thanks to Pinball. If I recall, Robert made about 7

portages on that trip. Should have been eight. Robert's account of that

descent convinced everyone that Alan Singley was not only crazy, but a menace

to society in general, and to paddlers in particular. It was truly amazing to

watch Robert's face as he told us of - the Terror That Was Overflow. This

sufficiently warned everyone, so again Alan could find nobody to paddle

Overflow with him. So, typically, he made the 4th descent solo, this time

with 4 portages. This was sometime in 1977.

That year Diane and I moved to Highlands, NC, situated on top of the ridge that

separates Overflow Creek from the Cullasaja River. I was glad to get

re-acquainted with Alan, who previously had introduced me to the Watauga. One

fall afternoon, Alan and I were settin' around jus' doin' nuthin' (that's how

it is said up there), and he casually mentioned that I ought to 'take a look

at' Overflow. Before I knew it, we were crashing through the rhododendrons

with our boats, just downstream of the culvert. We put in on this beautiful

little gurgling creek, in incredibly beautiful surrounding, and then Alan took

off, with me in tow. I can't tell you how many times I followed this young

giant, sitting up high in his C-1, down some unforgettable adventure into the

unknown, but this was to be the most memorable of them all!

About a mile later, my head was spinning after running some of the most

incredible rapids I had ever done. We pulled into an eddy, for the first time

since the put-in, and Alan said 'what do you think?' I was nearly speechless,

but his next sentence struck me dumb! 'We're starting to get close to the big

drops, so stay close.' 'Big drops?' I stammered, 'What have we been running

for the last mile?' He said nothing, but smiled and peeled out. I got really

nervous when he eddied out in a few yards, and said 'this is a pretty good one

- just stay right and you'll be fine'. Then he took off, and disappeared

over the edge. I thought I'd seen him for the last time. I scrambled out

onto a rock and looked at the horizon line, expecting traces of wreckage, and

finally saw the tip of his paddle waving. Not wanting to be left, I swallowed

hard and . . .

It was unreal! I asked Alan how many times he had run that 15 foot falls, and

when he said 'Once - today', I knew the name of that drop immediately - Blind

Falls.

The rest of the run was like a dream - a whitewater dream. Singley's Falls

waited for another day, and we stayed permanently away from Gravity and the

Great Marginal Monster.

Then you entered the picture, Ken, and now the whole world knows! Well, maybe

its not just your fault. Anyway, Overflow is too special not to share.

So that's what I know of the history. Or maybe I just imagined it. Either

way, it's really quite, uhh, well . . ( pppttttuppp! )

Ken, was the first run we did together on Overflow before or after that

ill-fated Section Zero run? (Is the statue of limitations up yet?)

Socemdog@aol.com Robin D. Sayler Meldrim, Ga.

From: Bo Eakens (jreakens@HiWAAY.net)

Subject: Re: Big Creek (Chatooga Watershed)

View this article only

Newsgroups: rec.boats.paddle

Date: 1998/04/29

Socemdog socemdog@aol.com wrote:

SNIP

: The rest of the run was like a dream - a whitewater dream. Singley's Falls

: waited for another day, and we stayed permanently away from Gravity and the

: Great Marginal Monster.

SNIP

It was the summer of 1978 and the Chatooga had just got the big rain. Several

of us working for NOC and Southeastern had all our trips cancelled, even

Section 3 was too high for a trip that day. We had all heard about Overflow

from the locals, knew there were a few drops still unrun and decided we'd give

it a shot. I'm bad with names and don't remember all the SE boaters but this

was probably the biggest group to hit Overflow up to this point. Some of the

folks with us were John Kennedy in a Mark V, John Regan in a Sauna, Les

Bechtel in a 14' Phoenix baot ??, myself in a Slipper, Chis Spelius in an

NOC saftey boat - a Hallowform, Bill Baxter and Gary Duven both in NOC safety

boats also and I have pretty much forgot all the others but believe Jim

Schelander was also along for the ride and we must not forget Rex Shawberg who

gave us all the scare of our lives at Marginal Monster.

I believe this was the first trip that all the drops were run on Overflow and

the West Fork. We had some great lines and some not so great lines but had

a great group and some great fun. I actually have some great slides and

pictures I haven't looked at in years. My favorite is the one of Les running

Blind Falls in that 14'+ boat. This guy was unbelieveable and now the owner

of Canyons Inc out in Idaho if you ever want a great trip down the Middle

Fork of the Salmon.

By the time we got to the take out all the Hollowforms had about 6' to 1' of

the nose pointed towards Heaven. John Kennedy went through the hole at

the bottom of Marginal and we watched as his stern seams blew out on both

sides. The nose of my Slipper and John Regan's Sauna also would require some

minimal repairs also.

Rex Shauberg had the crash of the day at Marginal. He ran the first drop and

got a little back ender that took him away from the left side of the next drop

and sent him towards the right and the undercut, which at that time had some

tree debris in it. I've got some pictures of Rex while this was happening but

there wasn't much any of us could do to help him until he got away from the

undercut. He, of course, was fine but gave us a good scare.

I'm just curious if any of these earlier posters to this thread were on this

trip with us? Sorry, but I was never great with names when I don't spend a lot

of time with someone. This trip is one of several of my fondest memories of

paddling and Overflow/West Fork will always be a Southern Classic run to me.

The next day it was section 4 at 5'+. A really great break from raft guiding

in the summer of 1978. May get some of those pics to a scanner and post a URL

for anyone who'd like to see some of the pics at a later time. -Bo

Tropical Storm Isador brought the rain. Milt brought a really big 14 foot canoe.

Midway down Pinball - rock at bottom splits the flow, with strong hole on left.

My second Cascade on Overflow at Singley's. Photo by Alex Harvey

Right melt line around the launch pad. Be careful of undercut bottom right.

The left line is the most commonly run at Gravity.
The right line is the less commonly run side of Gravity.
Marshall Fox runs one of the smaller rapids on Overflow Creek.
Bouncy, bouncy, trouncy, trouncy, fun, fun, fun, fun, fun......
Hemlock Falls is a sweet double drop. In the background you can see Shannon Nicholson hand paddling the first 10 foot drop and Phil Malatin running the bottom ledge.
On most rivers, this rapid would be called something like 'Killer Fang Falls'. But on Overflow, its simply Pee Wee.
Pinball is the longest and one of the most challenging rapids on Overflow. Unfortunatly, this photo makes it look tame. What you don't see is the large, munchy, grabby hole at the bottom.
On the count of 3, in your best southern accent.... ready? .....1 .....2 .....3! 'Roundabout marks the beginning of Damnation Alley!' Yes, this picture sucks, but what do you expect from a camera I bought at Walmart. However, this shot does gives you a good idea of how tight and restricted Roundabout is. Wood is sometimes a major problem, so be very very careful.
When taking a first timer down Overflow, its a tradition to say, 'just follow me!' at the top of Singleys Falls, and conveniently leave out the fact that you are at the top of Singleys Falls!
Dayna Bryant doing a great boof on the last drop before Igor and Marginal Monster.
You know you've found the put-in when the road ends at this huge culvert.
Most people put in at the base of the put-in rapid. A few have run this drop, but the line is tight and sketchy.

Preparing to get airborne.

Goto http://filebox.vt.edu/users/cdgorman/index.html for more SE creeking videos

One of the many spectacular drops on Overflow Creek.

Center line at Marginal Monster. Overflow still ran in Aug three days after 12' of rain in Rabun Co. Chatt. went to 10ft or so this epic weekend - all the timber in Overflow ended up in Tugaloo lake.