Paddling the Tellico River around Easter has been a favorite for me, and several years ago I started putting it on the Coastals calendar. There is usually a group from the Smith River Valley Canoe Club paddling, and a handful from the area around Roanoke where I live.
About 10 people have expressed strong interest for 2019.
The Tellico is a creeky and fun river, and one of my favorites! Last year we paddled the Whitetop Laurel Creek on the trip down. At the Tellico we paddled the Ledges and the middle section below the Ledges. Side trips depending on level and paddler interest include Citico Creek, the Little and the Greenbrier section of the Middle Prong of the Little Pigeon are possible. They take more rain than the Tellico.
The plan for myself:
Thursday April 18: Drive to the Tellico, and paddle in the mid afternoon to evening. Probably would be the Middle section of the Tellico.
Friday April 19 Paddle the Tellico - Ledges and the Middle sections depending on the river level and paddler interest.
Saturday April 20: Repeat of Saturday.
Sunday April 21: Abbreviated repeat of Saturday and drive home.
I really enjoy both the Ledges and the Middle sections and want to paddle both. My Ledges comfort zone is around 1.5+' ish to 2.0+ ish on the gauge. The level is often in that range in the Spring, and usually is a good range for paddling, I've done the Middle section down to 1.2' and up to around 3' in the summer. It's also easy to avoid certain parts of the Ledges if desired, such as Jaredd's Knee. The river is roadside.
The Ledges:
http://www.americanwhitewater.org/conte ... l/id/1791/
The Middle section:
http://www.americanwhitewater.org/conte ... l/id/1792/
Some videos from an earlier trip:
Ledges:
https://vimeo.com/94369849
Middle Section:
https://vimeo.com/92481159
Tellico Plains is here:
https://goo.gl/maps/LMcdP25Sua12
Lodging for me is a cabin, but other options like camping are available.
http://www.tellicologcabins.com/
A camping option:
https://www.cmtrails.com/
The gauge:
https://waterdata.usgs.gov/tn/nwis/uv/? ... 0065,00060
Tellico River Easter Trip - April 18 - 21, 2019
Moderators: admins, GinnyN, mod1, mod3, Raymond, slo2rol, mod2
