Grand Canyon Training on Big South Fork of the Cumberland?

About a month ago, I got a call from Adam Goshorn informing me that he had won a permit to paddle the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon. Since that time, I've been buying gear to keep me warm and gear that I needed to camp. I even had to buy a new boat to fit the task at hand of paddling 226 miles through the Grand Canyon with all my survival gear onboard, since we won't be taking rafts with us. We will accomplish this feat in 7 days at 33 miles per day.

I would need a boat capable of running the big rapids found on the Colorado River while still being able to handle the multitude of flat stretches. Additionally, the craft would need plenty of cargo space including a dry cargo hold. I looked at boats from Jackson Kayak, Pyranha, Liquidlogic, and others. I studied the options carefully and ended up purchasing a Liquidlogic Remix XP10.

At 10ft 3" long and having a volume of 105 gallons, the Liquidlogic Remix XP10 would meet my needs of paddling the Grand Canyon. It has a dry cargo hold in the back, foot pegs in front so storing gear in the bow is easy, and a moveable skeg on the back to help with straight paddling across pools of water.

To stay warm on the water, I chose IR's Union Suit. It's a full body fleece suit that is very warm.
I would also need something to keep me dry. I chose the best...the Kokatat GMER Drysuit. I have never owned a drysuit before. Now owning one, I don't know how I survived the last 9 winters since I've been paddling.

Now for the test. For several years, I've been looking at a section of Big South Fork of the Cumberland that doesn't get paddled for it's whitewater. It's the Station Camp to Blue Heron Section that consists of mostly flat water with the exception of class 2 shoals and the class IV Devil's Jump. It's long been known as an overnight run with it's 19 miles of paddling through a wilderness gorge. Up until now, I had always dreaded 19 miles of flatwater. But now, I got a long boat that is fast and can carry a lot of gear. Furthermore, I would need to paddle in cold temperatures to make sure I could stay warm enough with my new warm/dry gear. This would also be a test of how comfortable the outfitting would be in my new boat.

Last Sunday, December 12, 2010, Todd Scott and I would put our boats and gear to the test. We would set shuttle the night before at Blue Heron, then camp near the put-in at Station Camp. The next morning, we would begin our 19 mile adventure on the Big South Fork in the middle of a snow storm. Weather forecasts were calling for 5 inches of snow and we did have second thoughts. But I kept telling myself, if a snow storm happens while I'm in the bottom of the Grand Canyon, I'll just have to deal with it. That is exactly what I did this past Sunday.

After cooking a hot breakfast of scrambled eggs and bacon, I was slowly motivating myself to paddle on this cold morning.

The Chimney Rocks at the put-in at Station Camp.

We launched at 10:30am across pools of water with class 2 shoals along the way. It had rained all night and the river level rose to around 3,000cfs. This surprisingly kept the pools moving.

There were cliffs along the way. It is a really pretty gorge that so many people never get to see.

Paddling through the snow.

Brandon is in the lead with Todd following in his Pyranha Speeder.

It was a cold day with temperatures never getting above freezing. Ice began to form in my beard along with a 1/4" of ice on my PFD.

Our first stop was at Bear Creek where Todd built a fire and I cooked hamburgers and hotdogs.

After scouting Devil's Jump, we decided to portage due to so much flow going into some badly undercut rocks. We both agreed that we could probably make it, but if something went wrong neither of us would be in a good position. After a full day of having a great day, we didn't want to push it. There was an easy portage on river left on a horse trail.

Looking upstream at the cliffs above Devil's Jump rapid.



Looking downstream from Devil's Jump rapid. Todd and I almost didn't get our spray skirts back on our boats after our portage due to so much ice on our skirts.

We made it to the takeout at Blue Heron at 4:15pm. Todd always has to have his coffee. At the takeout at Blue Heron, he got his stove out so he could cook a cup of precious.

Two park rangers met us at the takeout also to inform us that they had closed the road but that we could still get out by driving around the signs. By this point the snow was really coming down. We came back to civilization to a world of slick roads and scared drivers with several inches of snow and ice on area roads.

In conclusion, we paddled 19 miles in 5hrs & 45min including stopping to build a fire to cook lunch and a long scout and portage at Devil's Jump. The Liquidlogic Remix XP10 did an excellent job on both the flat sections and the class 2 shoals and wave trains. The XP10's seat and outfitting were very comfortable. The IR Union Suit kept me warm and toasty while the Kokatat GMER Drysuit kept me dry. I know that the Grand Canyon will dish out much larger water and much larger rapids, but I am now confident that paddling 33 miles a day in a loaded kayak is very doable. I look forward to the upcoming adventure.

Till Next Time, Pray for Rain!

All photos taken by Todd Scott.

All gear photos were stolen from Internet sources without permission but for promotional purposes.

Foamie Creek Construction

I have wanted a foamie creek for a long time but never had the space nor the gradient to build one. After deciding to get rid of the tree that ate my house, I suddenly had space. My plan was to pull the tree out, stump and all. Then, I would use the hole left by the stump as the lower pond. However, after breaking a tow strap trying to pull the tree out, I ended up just cutting the tree down and leaving the stump.

The Tree That Ate My House!

The tree is gone and construction has started.

I got a garden pond quicker than I wanted one. I found the waterline by chopping clean through it. Water began to fill the hole, I quickly turn the water off. I then relocated and repaired the line around the lower pond.


Installing the lower 90 gallon pond.

Positioning the upper 30 gallon pond.

My wife Hayley looking out the window trying to figure out what in the world I was thinking when I decided to start this project.

I had to build a rock wall to raise the upper pond to get more gradient.

The rock wall is complete.

I had to haul in a lot of dirt to fill around the upper 30 gallon pond and inside the newly constructed rock wall. You can see the creek pools have been dug along with a rough ditch where the creek will flow.

The ponds are in place, the rock wall has been constructed and the creek has been roughly dug. It's time for the liners to begin the creek construction.

Look at all that gradient....

Here's the lower half with multiple drops, pools, and undercuts!

The creek is in place and the rocks have been positioned.

I installed a grist mill next to one of the drops.

The mulch has been added along with garden lighting.

Looking upstream at the foamie creek from the bottom after the mulch has been added.

After construction was completed, I determined that I have 19 feet of creek that drops 3 1/2 feet. That would make this creek 973 feet per mile. I used a 2800 gallon per hour garden pond pump. That is equivalent to 47 gallons per minute or almost 1 gallon per second. Now I gotta find some Foamies to see how it drops. More later once I get the foamies.

Till next time, pray for rain!

Finally...Slickrock Creek

Slickrock Creek is located in the Joyce Kilmer Wilderness Area near Robbinsville, North Carolina. The put-in is at the end of National Forest Trail #41 which is 1.5 miles over the mountain from Big Fat Gap. The takeout is at the boat ramp on Calderwood Lake which is also the Cheoah River takeout.

I've been wanting to get on this run for several years but never could get the proper rain amounts or I had to work or couldn't get a crew together or something. On November 11, 2009, everything came together. The area received nearly 2 inches of rain the day before and through the night. Tellico rose till it peaked at 7.8ft at 6:00am. All the tributaries in the area had lots of water including Bear Creek which dumps into the Cheoah River with a waterfall. The tough thing about running Slickrock is that there are no gauges on this river and it's tough to get a visual. The only way is to paddle down Calderwood Lake over a mile to the mouth of the creek to take a look which we didn't do. Based on all the water in the tributaries and ditches and with Tellico high, we decided to gamble that there would be enough but not too much water in Slickrock.




Steve Krajewski and I started hiking at Big Fat Gap at 12:00 noon. We knew this was a little late but we were armed with a headlamp and we knew there was a well maintained trail along the river too. We decided if we ran out of daylight, we'd hike out to the lake and paddle to the car with my headlamp. After hiking 1.5 miles down the side of the mountain on FS Trail #41, we arrived at the put-in at 1:00pm.

The level looked OK at the put-in. Just remember, a lot of tributaries add to the creeks volume just downstream.

We paddled down some class 2+ and class 3 till we came to the big attraction...Wildcat Falls. This is the first drop which was very runnable.

This is the second drop which had a bad boil approximately 10-15ft out from the base but was feeding everything back into the falls.

This is the 3rd and 4th drop. The 4th drop was the largest and was basically a horseshoe shaped falls. I've been told those that run this plug the hole and go deep and pop up downstream. I just wasn't up for that today and we decided to portage.

We encountered several logs but only had to portage 3 or so times. This one was a no go.

Here, I am entering one of the easier class 3 rapids. It's an S-turn around a rock.

As you can see in this picture, there was a log in this drop just under the surface. We both tapped it. This rapid would be unrunnable at lower levels.


There were several areas along the run where the gorge would narrow down and the blind drops just kept coming. We boat scouted most everything. I think we got out to look only a few times. There were logs hidden in some rapids but all went well.

About a mile above Calderwood Lake, there is another river wide 15ft waterfall. The left side looked the best. The right side had a horseshoe pocket. We ran it on the left side.

After reaching the lake at 5:30pm (official sunset), we discovered a problem. There had been so much rain in the area, that all the dams in the area were dumping 3 full gates of water. Calderwood Lake is a very narrow lake. Slickrock Creek dumps into Calderwood Lake about 2 miles below Cheoah Dam. The downstream current on the lake was unbelievable. We had to paddle up the lake 10ft off the bank to get to our car at the boat ramp also known as the Cheoah take-out. At 5:55pm, we arrived at the car as it was getting dark.

Slickrock Creek is a wilderness whitewater run that has been seen by only a few kayakers. Reports talk about an extensive hike. However, I'm not in the best of shape physically and didn't have any trouble hiking my boat down a well maintained trail off the side of a mountain for 1.5 miles. You must be prepared to boat scout rapids and make quick decisions on the fly. If you attempt to scout every rapid, you'll never make it out. It's really non-stop whitewater. You will need good water levels or you'll encouter more obstacles and mandatory portages. There were several rapids where we paddled over underwater logs that were good to go but, at lower water you'd never get across them. Have plenty of time to enjoy this run. We made it car to car in 6 hours. However, if we'd ran Wildcat Falls, we would have needed more time to setup safety and to scout. We kept moving to make sure we got out before dark. And finally, be sure to take a headlamp. There is a well maintained trail along Slickrock Creek. If you get caught in there by darkness, just hike out to the lake. Then, paddle to the boat ramp.

Slickrock Creek is one of the finest wilderness runs I've ever paddled. I can't wait to go back next time.

Till next time, keep praying for rain because it's working!

Raft the Big South Fork of the Cumberland

For as long as I can remember, my father has always talked about wanting to take a raft down the Big South Fork of the Cumberland. Being a native of the Big South Fork area I suppose had sparked that interest. I grew up in Robbins which is only a few miles from the put-in and take-out. I didn't realize what was in my backyard until I moved away to Knoxville and got into whitewater kayaking. Wanting to help my father achieve his dream meant finding the perfect time to accomplish the task. Over the years, it had been difficult as it was either too cold or the water was too low. Today, Sunday, April 26, 2009 was the perfect day. Water levels were around 1200cfs and the air temperature was well over 80 degrees with not a cloud in the sky. What a perfect day to go rafting down the Big South Fork of the Cumberland. I borrowed a raft from a friend along with with paddles, pfd's, and helmets and headed out for our adventure. The participants included my father Carlie Hughett Jr, my two newphews Cody and Josh Hughett, my brother-in-law Nicholas Botts and his girlfriend Joanna. Steve Krajewski came along also with his kayak to be our safety boater. We would put-in at the Confluence of New River and Clear Fork and our take-out would be the O&W bridge. We would paddle about 4 1/2 miles.



The first big rapid was Double Drop which we decided to run backwards...well...we made that decision when we clipped a rock on the right and we spun off the drop backwards. We had a good recovery and we ran the rest of the rapid fine. Next up was Washing Machine which sent the bow high into the air. Then finally, the Ell would finish the big three with a great line. Other rapids were to follow like Punch in the Nose, Honey Creek Rapid, Ass Kicker, and others. We had a great day on the river. I am extremely excited that I was able to help my father fullfill his dream of running the Big South Fork of the Cumberland in a raft. It will definately be a time I'll never forget.

Till next time, pray for rain!

Easter in the House of Tallulah 4-12-2009

What a great place to spend a beautiful Easter Sunday on the river...Tallulah Gorge State Park in Tallulah Falls, Georgia. Anton Stevens, Tom Rannells, John Eskew, and myself met up for an Easter run on one of the South's crown jewels. This would be Tom's first run of the gorge.

Tallulah Gorge, Photo by Anton Stevens

Put-In, Photo by Anton Stevens

Oceana Falls, Photo by Anton Stevens

Over the years, Tallulah has dished out it's share of beatings and this day would not be any different. Tom's "Last Step" would prove to be more than a baby step and the Gautlet didn't let up for him either. Overall though, we all had good lines and sunny warm skies on this Easter Day.

Our Stunt Boater...Tom...on the last rock at the lip of Bridal Veil Falls. I know this rock well as it was a last resort for me last year, Photo by Anton Stevens

Till next time, pray for rain.

The Return to Cain/North Chick! 3/27/2009

The first time I had ever paddled Cain/North Chick was about 5 years ago. It was probably the most challenging run I had ever paddled. Adam Goshorn, Todd Scott, and Mark Woods were along for what would be a very strenuous day for me. That trip included me running all the rapids including Vortex on Cain Creek but I ran the sneak at North Chick Falls. After putting on late in the day and blue angeling almost the entire run, we made it to the takeout as it was starting to get dark. Adam and I have talked ever since that day that someday we needed to get back in there to see what we blasted by. Well Friday, 3/27,09, was my day to make by second descent of Cain/North Chick. Adam had to work and was unable to come but there was plenty of folks along. Tony Robinson, Justin Cullars, Tera Wilson, Robert Keeble, and three paddlers from Indiana were along for the ride. Several others from Knoxville were also on the river in a seperate group. The level was perfect at just over 800cfs.

Brandon running North Chick Falls. Photo by Kemper Begley.

I had forgotten just how beautiful Cain Creek is. With it's sliding ledges through the woods and it's big drops, it just kept going and going. I ran Big Splat but decided to portage Vortex. We paddled on down to Drain Pipe and I saw some very interesting lines. My favorite was when Tera had a tango with the entrance drop, rolled up at the top of Drain Pipe and launched off the drop blind. Venturing on down North Chick, we dodged massive holes and saw some good carnage of other paddlers. We all fired up North Chick Falls but my line was probably the worst. I flipped in the landing and got pushed into an undercut ledge and was unable to roll up. Yes...I swam. We ran the main lines of all the rapids. I even ran the hero line at Cyclops. I am very happy that I got to run Cain/North Chick once again and can't wait to go back. It's a long challenging run but well worth the effort.

Here's a Facebook video that Tera took of me running Big Splat on Cain Creek.

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=1645624&op=1&o=global&view=global&subj=1468250667&id=741873363#/video/video.php?v=1123604051387&subj=1468250667

Till next time, pray for rain!

Little Clear Creek and Crooked Fork 3/16/2009

After running Little Clear Creek at at juicy level on 3/15/09, myself, Steve Krajewski, Ken, Mary Ann and Doug headed to Little Clear Creek for a lower level run at 1.8ft. It was a much less pushy level but still a lot of fun!Brandon running the first drop of Triple Drop. Photo by Doug and Mary Ann.

Brandon running the third drop of Triple Drop. Photo by Doug and Mary Ann.

Brandon seal launching Novicane. Photo by Doug and Mary Ann.



Brandon running Oh Yeah! Photo by Doug and Mary Ann.




Brandon flying off Oh Yeah! Photo by Doug and Mary Ann.



Brandon landing after boofing Oh Yeah! Photo by Doug and Mary Ann.



Brandon running Boofalicous. Photo by Doug.


After a great run on Little Clear Creek, Steve, Ken, and I headed to Upper Crooked Fork. We put-on at LaMance Falls at 5.5ft and paddled down to Potter's Falls. It was a great level and we had great lines off Potter's Falls. That was all the day light we had and we headed home.

Till next time, pray for rain because it's really working!