Rockcastle River

460cfs


The Rockcastle is awesome. I have said that before, but it has been a while since I have gotten down there. I love the run even more with the new shuttle and the new rapids. You can easily run the lower narrows twice in one day, you could probably run them three or four times if you wanted.

Josh and I ran the lower narrows twice, a bomber run before Ben came down. Then on our second trip we took our time, scouting the rapids and shooting video at each one. There were many other boaters down at the Rockcastle, more than I had ever seen before, though some of them were running the CBF this day. We did meet up with Meagan and Bubba on the water.

The new shuttle is easy and short. We put on above the Lower Narrows, but you can walk up river some and put on above Beech Narrows if you wish. All you have to do for the shuttle is turn right on Close road, look for the trail head with the gate on the left, then walk down about 10 minutes to the water. Rinse and repeat.

You can't get this much bang for your buck this close to home. 2 runs, 5 hours of paddling on the beautiful Rockcastle and about 16 class II and III rapids. I'm glad to see more people enjoying one of Kentucky's best whitewater runs.

Second Trip on the Big South Fork

Level: 1500cfs

I ran the Big South Fork this Sunday. I drove down on Sunday morning meeting up with Adam, Bryon, Chris and Troy from the Viking Canoe Club along the way. The sun was out and the weather was great. I took my Huka out for it's first real run and it performed very well through all the rapids of the BSF.

We put on at the confluence and ran down to O&W. I ran the left side boof at Double Drop with no problems, washing machine was pretty easy at this level and on The El I was surprisingly able to keep upright all the way through it. All the rapids seemed quite manageable at this level. Might have been even more fun in my play boat since there are a lot of play spots.

It's a long day of driving to do the BSF as a day trip, but always worth it. Next time I won't forget to bring my camera either.

Pictures and video from the day.

Billings Study on Whitewater Park

Large rocks would be placed in Yellowstone River to create waves or rapids...

By BRETT FRENCH Of The Gazette Staff Billings has the opportunity to be a regional whitewater mecca if it constructs a play park in the Yellowstone River, according to a river engineer. "It would draw from across the region," said Nick Turner, with Hydraulic Design Group. "People will drive four hours to go to a play wave." Hydraulic Design Group has offered to conduct a feasibility study on a whitewater park in Billings. The price tag on the study is just more than $32,000. "It would be helpful if you could raise money for a feasibility study," Darlene Tussing, alternate modes coordinator for the city of Billings, told the Beartooth Paddlers Society Thursday night. "There are people in this community who want to make this happen." Tussing didn't sugarcoat the fact that selling the idea of a whitewater park to the community would take some work. But she said such a facility would be an enhancement to the city, just like bike and walking paths. "You can sell it as a trail, it's a river trail," she said. "Rivers were some of the first trails historically used in our area. And when you create something nice, other people will come along and enhance that." According to one report, as of last year there were 34 whitewater parks under construction or already built across the U.S., almost half of them in Colorado. A study by the Outdoor Industry Association said whitewater recreation is one of the fastest-growing outdoor recreation activities in the United States. Missoula recently created a play wave in the middle of its downtown on the Clark Fork River. Casper, Wyo., has a whitewater park on the Platte River that was constructed as part of a refinery environmental restoration project, which also included a golf course and bike paths.

Other cities have seen substantial economic gain from developing river play areas. Turner said a study by Golden, Colo., estimated the town's water park added $2 million a year to city coffers. Turner also said creating a whitewater park brings more people to the river, saying one study estimated there were 12 visitors for every paddler. "It's a place for people to come down and experience the river," he said. "These types of recreation enhancements on rivers throughout the U.S. really improve quality of life. They bring people to the river. By introducing more people to the river, it creates more river stewards." The water features are typically made by strategically locating large rocks in the river to create waves or rapids. Any design would include room for passage by other river users, such as drift boats and jet boats, Turner said. An added benefit of such features is that they naturally create holding pools and eddies for fish. He also noted that the opportunity exists to tie such a Billings facility into current events, such as the annual Peaks to Prairie race and the Big Sky State Games. Turner was hesitant to suggest a cost range for construction of a whitewater park, since there are so many variables. But he said $300,000 to $500,000 would be on the low end. "More features don't necessarily add a whole lot more to the cost," he said. Engineering of the project would include constructing it to withstand 100-year floods, ice jams and flows of 20,000 cubic feet per second. Interestingly, the master plan for Coulson Park includes a whitewater play area in its design. "At least we have a foot in the door with this," Tussing said.

Brett French can be reached at french@billingsgazette.com or at 657-1387.

Published on Saturday, March 10, 2007.

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Whitewater outfitters pay TVA $1.1 M for Ocoee releases

Associated Press
DUCKTOWN, Tenn. - Commercial outfitters have secured a loan to pay the Tennessee Valley Authority $1.1 million in advance for 12 years of whitewater releases on the Ocoee River, officials said.

The loan arranged by the Southeast Tennessee Development District and eight banks, combined with a $500,000 federal-state grant, will ensure that rafters, kayakers and canoeists have plenty of current in the river that hosted the 1996 Summer Olympics' whitewater competition.

The total $1.6 million loan-grant package will help TVA offset a projected $3.1 million loss in power revenues from diverting water from its hydroelectric generators on Ocoee Dam No. 3.

Under a deal crafted last year between TVA and 22 rafting outfitters, the federal utility has agreed to provide 34 days of scheduled water releases on the upper Ocoee annually.

The outfitters charge a fee of $3.50 per ticket to pay for water costs. Last year's revenue was more than the TVA charge, so the extra will be put toward debt service on the loan and marketing the Ocoee experience, said outfitter Larry Mashburn.

Mashburn said 35,000 people rafted the upper Ocoee last year, up from 32,000 in 2005.

link to source

Honey Creek Loop & BSF Canyon

930cfs

This past weekend we camped at O&W at the Big South Fork. On Saturday Patrick, Darrin, his mom and I hiked the Honey Creek Loop. There was spectacular scenery through this hike. You can probably see it best from the pictures. That hike had us pretty tired so we saved all the kayaking for Sunday.

Ben Ballard came down on Saturday night to run the canyon with us. Darrin, Patrick, Ben and I ran it. This was Patrick's first whitewater kayaking experience and he handled it pretty well. He's got the bruised knuckles to prove it.

The weather was absolutely perfect on both days. And the Big South Fork recreational area was as beautiful as ever.

Flickr Pictures - Slideshow

A Cold Elkhorn

1800cfs
35 degrees

I've never really gone paddling below 50 degrees before. But on this Sunday, Josh and I ran the Elkhorn at a good level, but on a cold 35 degree day. The run was great, got in some good surfing when I could catch them. The sun was out most of the time and with all the gear on it wasn't too bad out there.

We also had a mini boat rescue situation as the current tried to take Josh's kayak downstream and away from us. It was saved and everything worked out though. Another great ride down the Elkhorn was had.

Forum thread for this trip