| Livello di difficoltà | IV |
| Lunghezza | 2.5 km |
| Gradiente medio | 75 fpm |
| Valutare | Clear Creek presso il ponte Lilly vicino a Lancing, Tennessee |
| Portata a partire da 24 minuti | 270 cfssotto raccomandato |
| Informazioni aggiornate | Luglio 15, 2026 |
Little Clear Creek is, like so many things in life, short but sweet. A flattish paddle leads a few miles down to where Little Clear encounters the more resistant sandstone layers of the Rockcastle Conglomerate, and a reckoning occurs. Over the next roughly half-mile, the creek drops over 5 distinct drops in a gorgeous little plateau canyon, with all the aesthetics and fun whitewater one could hope for. And just like that, it's over, and the wide-eyed paddler finds themselves being whisked down Clear Creek's Lilly Rapid, at higher speed than usual, and to the take-out. Little Clear offers up an all-afternoon mission for aspiring creek boaters wanting to project out their first taste of the harder side of the Obed drainage, an all day lap-fest for others, or the wettest, steepest way into a high water Lilly to Nemo after-work run for dialed in creekers who call the Knoxville area home. Regardless of how you engage, Little Clear is a special place worth spending some time in.
Below the put-in bridge the stream is pretty flat, and for the first two miles, island splits and trees are the matter of concern. A tributary on the left followed by a beautiful river-left bluff with water dripping right into the creek signals that the action will start soon. Nice Class II-III- bedrock slides and chokes lead into a hard bend to the right. Here, where a landslide from 2003 once created a mandatory portage, is the fast, blind entrance to Triple Drop, the first and biggest on the creek. Scout the entire series for wood from the right. Triple Drop proper is best run left of center off a 4 foot ledge that claps onto a slide. The slide pushes into the right wall before fanning back out and falling over a final 4 foot ledge. Stay center or left here, as the bottom right has an undercut pocket that doesn't kiss and tell. Downstream Class II-III boogie that can collect wood leads to a small eddy above a 3 foot ledge. The boulder upstream river-left of this ledge is very pin-pron
...Park upstream river-left side of Hwy 62 Bridge. Stay on right of way, and do not block access to adjacent field. Walk right of way down upstream side of bridge, then cut upstream slightly and slide in off a floodplain and into the water just downstream of the visual gauge.
Triple drop consists of a 4 foot drop onto a low angle slide that falls into the right wall before fanning out and dropping another 4 feet. This whole rapid bends left severely and the bottom cannot be seen from the top. The only real hazard is a bad pocket/undercut on the right at the bottom. Run left of center at top, and let the reactionaries coming off the right wall help you drive back left for the finish to stay clear of the pocket.
After some Class II-III boogie, this rapid falls left out of a cobble bar and into a boulder on the left that is a pin. Drive just right of it, then fall back left to get a good lift on the 3 foot ledge just below. The right at the bottom is a little junky.
Most of the water in Novacaine starts left, but falls back right into a dangerous rock pile with a pin in the middle, pinch sieve left, and undercut on the right. Folks used to seal launch off the big rock on the right to portage, but the undercut just downstream is often full of wood and has opened up more in recent years. Walk left, or run the incredibly narrow drive hard left at the top and berth through the tiny slot and fall 4 feet into the pull below. From here avoid being siphoned right into the main line, and pull a powerful gorilla wheelchair move up and over some rocks and back into the flow on the right, just below the hazard. As you approach from above, hop out early on the left, or run the entrance hard right to left to eddy above or run the sneak.
Just below Novacaine you'll run a small but sticky ledge right above a 6 foot ledge. A giant boulder overhangs from the left, and at the bottom a big boulder on the right creates an undercut pocket hole. Run the ledge slightly left of center with a right stroke and slight left angle. The hole is stickiest back and to your right as you skip through.
Just below Boofalicious hop out on the left and walk down to verify that Oh Yeah is clear of wood. Here the creek drives towards the right bank, rides up on a slab, and then falls 6 feet down and to the left into a funky slot. The move is to drive hard right up on to the slab and boof right. Land in the eddy on the right for extra credit, or finish direct. Either way duck the overhang just below. Eddy left for an easy walk back up for another lap!
Little Clear drops right into Clear Creek above Lilly Rapid. Enjoy this swollen Class III wave train and eddy out on the left just below and climb up to the parking area downstream river-left of the bridge.
marzo 22, 2020
Io e Brandon abbiamo percorso il Little Clear il 21/3/20 e abbiamo scoperto che nel primo miglio c'erano un paio di punti con alberi caduti che ostruivano il torrente. Abbiamo percorso il tratto con una portata bassa e non abbiamo avuto problemi a effettuare il trasbordo, ma con una portata maggiore potrebbe essere più impegnativo. -Dave
Gennaio 3, 2011
Ho percorso questo 1/2/11 con una buona portata d'acqua. Una discesa fantastica lungo il torrente. Abbiamo usato un gommone e ci chiedevamo se qualcun altro ci avesse già provato o se fosse la prima discesa in gommone per noi.
Saluti,
Dirty Bird Crew e Hard Knox Boaters
APRILE 15, 2006
Brandon esegue la terza discesa di Triple Drop.
Il masso sulla sponda destra del fiume ha una grotta sotto di sé.
