Owens Creek

There are two tough drops with large boulders blocking the creek, at least one of which I saw from the road. Definitely go right at the second one; I think I went right at the first one, too. They appear suddenly. This upper section (Sabillasville to Baugh Rd.) is not for Class 2 paddlers! It's more like steady and fast 3-4 with mandatory fast decisions required. I'm not sure if this section overlaps the official section or whether it's upstream, but it's fun and worth doing, if you don't have to drive too far.

I paddled Owens Creek in March of 1992 with members of the Carolina Canoe Club, though I can't recall who specifically was on the trip. The water was high following 1.75 inches of ran. My notes say it was flooding and had to be so to be runnable. I remain thankful to the CCC folks that took me under their wing and took me on trips like this while I was in high school. Hunting Creek had been run at this point, but we did not know at the time if Owens had been paddled. In the couple years following this run on Owens we ran Hunting, Owens, and Friends a couple times each, with Hunting being the our favorite for its steepness and memorable rapids.