Gotta hand it to JW & Brandon. If it hadn’t been for their vision of how to play a week’s worth o’ western NC rain, I woulda spent my Asheville paddling silver bullets on [awesome, but] “typical” Appalachian laps. Thnx to these insightful paddlers, we took advantage of all the American Whitewater “green” to explore roads less travelled, namely, Chattooga Sect 00.
So I’m not sure exactly how long it’s been taboo for paddlers,,, but based on the legislative churn I’ve followed for more than a short time now,,, quite a while!
Recently “opened” for kayak access – Jan ’13, the ranger (thnx Tyson, you’re a great American) that led us down the not-so-obvious trail to the put-in suggested maybe 15-20 takers thus far for this exquisite, off the grid, classic southeast run. Worthy of mention, seems the parameters negotiated for whitewater access are exact opposite of what the longtime “owners” of this section might prefer – i.e. when the water’s high enough to paddle, it’s too high to fish – nicely played kayak lobbyist!
So after a mile+ of shoulder burning, rhododendron ducking portage beneath bulging snow clouds, we posed for a memory shot of what promised to be a truly epic adventure.
Crystal clear water w/ a sense on “untouchedness”, thick mountain evergreen & steep valley characterize this run. If you’re in it for the adrenalin, you may be disappointed as the drops are [fun, but] short & separated by long pools of [beautiful] green. Lotsa both straddling & bank hugging wood populate the run, as well as a few mando class VI+ portages – one an ancient logjam the size of a small warship.
Unfortunately for our cru, we had a casualty at the first drop. Not the drop or the paddler’s fault,,, but one of those freak things, a simple brace started w/ a crevice hung paddle, ended w/ a dislocated shoulder . Fortunately, someone’s been paying attention in class, & Brandon swooped in w/ a big red cape, to the significant relief of JW, for the reduction. But despite the battlefield first response, the duo was obliged to punt & start the long portage out to ER & Percocet.
Local paddling beast Elliot & I continued the run in the now near whiteout of snowfall.
As alluded, the drops are fun, but the portages are great bar banter!
The first, aka big @$$ log jam, might be better crossed w/ climbing ropes & tree spikes, if not a helicopter. Add a 1/4”of ice, a handful of spots where the careless paddler might slip beneath a Jurassic size beaver damn (I mean dam), & imagine the white-knucking! We finally shimmied, scraped, clawed & cursed our way to freedom (btw, take the center channel if/when you find yourself here.
The second portage, 1st drop of Sieve Rapid [due to the steep walls of the approach], requires a floating debark & wade to freedom just above & toward, yes toward, the namesake maw. Before my wanton hands closed over something positive enough to give me a warm fuzzy, I was feeling some good size tug on my leg from the water running underground,,, joy! [Also beware, there’s wood across the breadth of Sieve Rapid 2nd drop – if the lip has enough water to boof, do so on the extreme left].
The third, a low water, icy banked, necked down pin spot (aka “Don’t Go Left” ), woulda been fine w/ a little more water, but at this flow (appr 300cfs), required us to toss our boats over & follow w/ a standing broad jump into the bottom pool.
But would-be adrenalin junkies toil naught, the signature drop finally arrives. Bullpen, at the takeout probably claims 15’ vertical w/ some schaweetness S-turning.
All in all the run was simply magical (uh,,, I mean it ROCKED!). Between the ingress, portages, drive out in the snow (story for another day),,, may opt to never do it again, but am damn glad we did it once.
Highly recommended as a check-in-the-block!
SYOTR,
swami
CHATTOOGA SECT 00
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CHATTOOGA SECT 00
Last edited by swami on Wed Feb 20, 2013 10:56 pm, edited 1 time in total.
i know you gotta eat & other stuff, but paddlin' comes first 
River
Great write up Swami, and the shoulder is doing pretty good i'm testing it out tom on the Lj. If all goes well I'm planning on being back down in that area to tackle some of the other rivers we were talking about if there is good rain of corse. Maybe even get me some redemption. Hopefully you'll be able to make it then too.
John
John
