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Explanation of Terms

DESCRIPTION: A brief description of the stream as a whole or of the particular section is given.

TOPOGRAPHIC MAPS: “Topo Maps” are listed in the order in which the river flows. Unless otherwise noted, all maps are located on the North Carolina Index. If there is not a local source for maps, they are available on order from:

North Carolina Geological Survey

Division of Land Resources

1612 Mail Service Center

Raleigh, NC 27699-1612

(919) 715-9718

www.geology.enr.state.nc.us

COUNTIES: Each stream will have the county in which a particular section is located. Where it flows through more than one they will be listed in the order in which the river flows.

PUT-IN: The exact put-in is listed, such as a particular highway or secondary road bridge. Where more than one section is listed, the put-in for the following section will be the takeout for the preceding section.

GRADIENT: We have listed the gradient by breaking it down into an average number of feet per mile. Where the drop is quite rapid it will be listed, for example, “1@300,” which indicates that the section will drop at the rate of 300 feet per mile.

DIFFICULTY: This refers to the difficulty rating of the rapids located within the particular section of the stream. The rating system used below is based on that of the International Scale for Grading the Difficulty of River Cruising Routes. The first column gives the river or rapid rating and characteristics; the second shows the minimum required experience.

Smooth Water

A Pools, lakes, rivers with velocity under 2 mph.

B Rivers, velocity 2–4 mph.

C Rivers, velocity above 4 mph (maximum back-paddling speed). May have some sharp bends or obstructions.

Whitewater

1 EASY—sand banks, bends without difficulty, occasional small rapids with waves regular and low. Correct course may be easy to find but care is needed with minor obstacles like pebble banks, fallen trees, etc., especially on narrow rivers. River speed less than hard back-paddling speed.

2 MEDIUM—fairly frequent but unobstructed rapids, usually with regular waves, easy eddies, and easy bends. Course generally easy to recognize. River speeds occasionally exceeding hard back-paddling speed.

3 DIFFICULT—maneuvering in rapids necessary. Small falls, large irregular waves covering boat, numerous rapids. Main current may swing under bushes, branches, or overhangs. Course not always easily recognizable. Current speed usually less than fast forward-paddling speed.

4 VERY DIFFICULT—long extended stretches of rapids, high irregular waves with boulders directly in current. Difficult broken water, eddies, and abrupt bends. Course often difficult to recognize and inspection from the bank frequently necessary. Swift current. Rough-water experience indispensable.

5 EXCEEDINGLY DIFFICULT—long rocky rapids with difficult and completely irregular broken water that must be run head-on. Very fast eddies, abrupt bends, and vigorous cross currents. Difficult landings increase hazard. Frequent inspections necessary. Extensive experience necessary.

6 LIMIT OF NAVIGABILITY—all previously mentioned difficulties increased to the limit. Only negotiable at favorable water levels. Cannot be attempted without risk of life.

It is important to know the difficulty rating of a particular river before setting out. The ratings used here are based on normal or ideal water heights. The ratings will vary somewhat as the water level in the stream fluctuates.

The authors have attempted to be as objective as possible in declaring whether or not a rapid is Class III or Class IV. Such a judgment will vary considerably from person to person according to his skill or experience.

Where a section has only one rapid of a higher difficulty than others it is listed II–III (IV), with the final number representing the one more difficult rapid as a Class IV.

For the past several years, whitewater cruising has witnessed the ever-expanding willingness and ability of top experts to tackle increasingly difficult rapids. There are individual drops, as well as extended stretches, being run that were thought doable only in some abstract sense as recently as five years ago. Welcome to the hardwater boating scene of the present! Many factors have played a part in bringing the sport to this juncture. There are four areas that stand out:

1. EQUIPMENT—Today decked boats are being built and marketed with primary design functions that aid paddlers on steep, technical descents. These boats are generally short, high-volume, and heavily rockered in the bow, with large cockpits—all helpful performance and safety features. Open boats are shorter, narrower, drier, and more maneuverable. Many experts can roll open boats in difficult water because they are essentially outfitted as C-1s and are chock-full of flotation. Drysuits and synthetic undergarments, vast improvements over wetsuits and wool, allow the paddler more comfort and freedom of movement in cold weather (when the steep stuff normally runs). Life vests with exotic safety features, while not widely seen in the United States, are becoming commonplace in Europe. Skirts are drier and more bombproof, with rubber gaskets gripping the cockpit rims. Paddles are lighter and stronger. Helmets with chin and face guards are being used by more paddlers. Hand and elbow armor will not be far behind.

2. EXPERIENCE—The experts paddling hair runs today often have an experience backlog of 10, 15, and 20 years on difficult water. Whitewater sport being the relatively recent phenomenon it is, we can look back to the 1970s and find very few expert hardboaters with the experience level that so many have today. These days more informed decisions can be made on marginal runs because there is more information (prior probing) available. A certain psychological edge is developed from years of paddling difficult water. This mental toughness is a very real aid in making cool, objective decisions on the river. Instruction is more effective and efficient, allowing paddlers to get on more difficult water sooner. The Class V rapids of the 1970s will not feed the adrenaline rat of the veteran hair-head today.

3. AVOCATIONAL BOATING—There are increasing numbers of paddlers who look upon the sport as more than a weekend pastime. These folks tend to put more energy, time, and effort into the sport than the weekend warrior, eschewing “real” jobs and “normal” lifestyles to pursue whitewater paddling full-time. Much as surfing, rock climbing, and other sports have their devotees, acolytes of the boating subculture are often on, or creating, the “edge” of the sport.

4. UNSPOKEN COMPETITION—Finally, there is a good deal of unspoken competition at this level of paddling. While this is not new to the sport, it has certainly had an effect on it. This one-upmanship, if you will, has a much larger ante today than it did ten years ago.

For years the terms “hard” and “easy” have been used as adjuncts in describing whitewater difficulty. We’ve all heard “easy Class V” or “hard Class IV” used as a means of further delineating differences between rapids. Largely as a result of the more extreme water being paddled nowadays, rapids graded at the Class V level have, by far, a broader range of difficulty, within and between them, than the other classes. The much more difficult Class V water of today is put in the same category as rapids that were considered extreme ten years ago. Sometimes this results in shoving the “old” Class V rapid down into a lesser category. More often, rapids with large difficulty differences are placed in the same category. With the current International Canoeing Federation (ICF) scale, this “crowding” is inevitable, and it can be very confusing. There is a need for further, and more precise, delineation in classifying rapids at the Class V level. The old “measuring stick” needs a new coat of paint, one that shows the inch, as well as the foot, markers.

The mechanics of such a scale are relatively simple. It has been suggested to expand the ICF’s I–VI scale by adding Class VII, Class VIII, and so on—similar to what was done on many western rivers years ago. This seems too radical a departure, though, because rivers would have to be re-rated. A simpler method would be to add gradations within the Class V level of difficulty. There is a precedent. Rock climbing has seen an explosion of increasingly difficult moves and routes. Climbers have answered this by steadily upgrading the scale of difficulty to correspond to the more gymnastic or aid-requiring moves that are becoming the new standards. Why not follow the rock-climbing lead?

What we’ve done with the rating system in the book is to break Class V rapids down into three subclasses. In order of increasing difficulty, the scale reads: 5, 5.1, and 5.2. Having three subclasses within Class V, at this time, seems to satisfy the variance of difficulty of the rapids.

We understand the subjectivity involved in rating whitewater, with one man’s Class III being another man’s Class V. However, we have tried to maintain as objective a stance as possible in rating the rivers in this book. The reader can be reasonably certain, by the ratings, that Linville Gorge is a tougher run than the Broad River Gorge, and Watauga Gorge is a stiffer paddle, on the whole, than the North Fork of the French Broad (but the North Fork has one rapid tougher than anything in the Watauga Gorge).

The current ICF system does not allow for such delineation and doesn’t give the reader as much information as this revamped scale does. This is certainly not an ideal solution, but hopefully a step in the right direction. For instance, we have not attempted to define a Class 5.2 rapid, but will rely on the ICF definition of a Class V rapid and only suggest that a 5.2 drop is at the extreme end of what is considered Class V. We have not broken down Class I, II, III, IV, or VI rapids. We feel there isn’t much variation of difficulty within Class I, II, or III rapids. What most experts consider Class VI is run so infrequently that there is too little basis to make valid comparisons or quality differences among them. We welcome any dialogue or criticism to help us develop a more informative and realistic scale of difficulty in today’s brave, new whitewater world.

DISTANCE: Measured in miles from county and USGS maps; generally rounded off.

TIME: This is actual paddling time on the river, including time for scouting when necessary. When paddling with more than two or three boats, or when a lunch stop will be made, additional time should be allowed.

SCENERY:

AA Unusually beautiful, even to the spectacular; generally remote and wild

A Generally remote and wild; perhaps some signs of civilization but mostly uninhabited

B Mostly pastoral type of country with more settled areas

C Fair amount of development; general signs of civilization such as garbage dumps, autos left on the side of the stream, visual pollution

GAUGE: Where there is a USGS gauge located close enough to the put-in or takeout on a particular section, readings have been taken from it. Wherever possible a minimum level for solo paddling has been established. Generally a reading of 0.2 or foot above that listed for solo would be enough for tandem paddling (for example, 1.54 minimum solo level; 1.74 for tandem). On streams where a high level can be extremely dangerous, a maximum reading is given whenever one has been established.

Where no USGS gauge is available, gauges have been painted, usually on a bridge, at a put-in or takeout. Generally, a level of 6 inches below zero can be considered a minimum for solo paddling. There has been some confusion over how to interpret the gauge levels. We consider the level to be zero when the waterline is even with the bottom of the zero.

GAUGE ILLUSTRATION

WATER SURFACE: Whenever information can be obtained by phone, such as for dam-controlled streams and streams entering into the Tennessee Valley, a telephone number has been provided.

A recorded message giving stream flow in the valley can be obtained by calling the Tennessee Valley Authority at (800) 238-2264. Two useful Web sites for finding information about river levels are:

http://lakeinfo.tva.gov/htbin/streaminfo

http://water.usgs.gov.

DIFFICULTIES: A brief description of specific points that might present problems for the paddler are listed, hopefully in enough detail to make them recognizable without taking away the thrill of running a new river.

DIRECTIONS: Detailed directions have been given to find the put-in and the takeout. Where there are several sections of a particular stream included, only the put-in on the first section and the takeout on the last section are described. It is assumed that anyone who intends to paddle a good bit of a river will obtain county road maps. These maps are available from the local county office of the State Highway Engineer or from:

North Carolina Department of Transportation

Division of Highways

1500 Mail Service Center

Raleigh, NC 27611

(919) 733-2520

Visit www.doh.dot.state.nc.us/operations/secondaryroads/maps.html to obtain an order form online. There is a charge for county maps.

Where a river flows through several counties, county roads will be referenced by name and number (Burke CR 1100) initially. Thereafter, only a route number will be given until another road in the next county is introduced.

Exertion brings vital physiological reactions when there are worthwhile goals to achieve. Without weariness there can be no real appreciation of rest, without hunger no enjoyment of food, without the ancient responses to the harsh simplicities of the environment that shaped mankind, a man cannot know the urges within him. Having known this during a period of life when I could satisfy the needs, I think I understand what wilderness can mean to the young men of today.

—Sigurd F. Olson