B-Side Streams: Richland Creek and Vestal Creek

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Mendenhall Falls. Michael Merletto looking for play options.

B-Side Streams: Richland Creek and Vestal Creek

a Carolina Paddler Article

Text and Photos by Zach Schiada 

– Early last year I was with my family on our way to the zoo. Looking out the window, I noticed a few creeks that looked like they had significant rapids. Later that night, using Maps online, I tried to narrow down which creeks these could be. I determined that the first stream was Brush Creek and the second was Richland Creek. I then proceeded to measure elevation changes throughout these creeks on Google Earth and I studied the satellite views from top down. The data showed gradient that seemed promising.  Tempting enough to encourage me to drive to Erect Rd on Richland Creek one morning when I knew the water would be low.  I needed to see for myself what this creek looked like.

Brian Hamilton was kind enough to come along and brought his two sons for the adventure. They paddled on my inflatable paddle board, while I scraped my way down in a kayak. The trip did not disappoint despite the low water. I was surprised how seldom I needed to get out of my kayak, even though I was not running the rapids proper. Often, when I explore creeks, they appear to be pretty good on the map and turn out to be very disappointing once putting on the water. That was not the case with Richland Creek and I’ve gone back to this particular section (Picketts Mill Rd to Erect Rd) a couple of times since.

1. Under Picketts Mill Rd. Bridge  2.View downstream from the top the Erect Road busted dam  3.Tight squees left turn rapid  4. Exploration Team: Brian Hamilton and sons Ellis and Luke  5. Downstream view from the most difficult rapids of this section.

Several months later, I contacted Paul Yow. Paul had already explored this creek (and many others) and he filled me in on other spots upstream possibly worthwhile. He mentioned there was a rapid upstream that even he had walked around despite being a more experienced paddler than me. Paul did say it was runnable with the right water level. This was so exciting, that I was able to convince Michael Merletto and Alton Chewning to join me in exploring the upper parts of Richland Creek still at low water. I have a detailed trip report on the CCC website, but below I will provide some basic information on all of the sections I’ve explored. I would consider all of Richland Creek a good float for a boater with basic skills, but for those who crave exciting adrenaline pumping action you can skip all sections other than Old Humble Mill Rd to Fairview Farm Rd run and the Picketts Mill Rd to Erect Rd.

Compared to other creeks I will be covering in the coming months, this is the most similar to the commonly ran rivers in our area.  I would not consider this a “B-Side,” but more a lesser known, enjoyable whitewater creek. CCC Member Alex Harvey helped me post the lower section of Richland Creek on American Whitewater, so be on the lookout for it. I think boaters already visiting Cedar Falls on the Deep River should consider doing Richland as well.  Consider a minimum of two inches of rain for this to be a good runnable level during the summer and 1 inch during the winter. I use rain pursuit to measure the rainfall in each area. My best reference for visual water level is the bridge pier on Erect Rd. It is difficult to see unless you hike down from the road, but 1- on the paddle gauge is a minimum for most of this. I also use the busted dam rapid at Erect Rd as a visual. If there are no rocks showing, you should be at a decent level. Another option is to use the USGS gage for the Little River in Star, NC as a proxy with maybe 2-3 feet as a good minimum. Both streams originate in a similar location. This is only my estimate, however, and should be tested. At high water, the high gradient sections would likely be dangerous for the novice boater, requiring very good boat control.

Richland Creek. A tributary of the Deep River. Asheboro, NC

Map of Old Humble Mill Rd. (Upper part of Richland Creek.)

Old Humble Mill Rd to Fairview Farm Rd (1.81 Miles, 31 ft/mile), Class II-III (IV)

Please be aware that a portion of this run passes through hunting land on river left, followed by a Zipline business also on the left. Be courteous of the potential for being on property that is private. In both cases, there should be places on river right not on private property to scout or portage if necessary. Just upstream of the put-in bridge is a S-Turn rapid if you want to hike up to it. It drops about 5-6 ft over a 20 or so ft run.

Below the Old Humble Mill Rd bridge, there is a set of easy rapids just before an island. The right side of the island has less strainers. Just past here, there is a metal pipe that crosses the creek and will need to be portaged at runnable levels. After this, a large boulder covers most of the creek with a small opening on the right side, dropping about a foot. It has a slight undercut on the left side.

After this, there is another S-Turn. We eddied midway right to boat scout. A bit further, there is a wave train rapid that runs for about 10 yards, followed shortly by a large outcropping on the left side. Get out, because the next drop is the largest on the creek, Mendenhall Falls, dropping about 7-8 ft. and you will want to scout. The left side is a chute slide that requires a left lean to avoid a rock on the right below. At higher water hitting the rock could lead to a serious piton or even a pin.  The right side of the falls is a two-step drop of about 3.5 ft each and the second drop requires missing a rock on landing, not too difficult.

The next drop on the creek is also a large one best scouted from river left. The right side appears more abrupt but is likely runnable despite the drop being a blind one. The left would require an eddy to the left before angling right to drop.

The rest of the run has small rapids and a few strainers due to the channeling of an already small creek. Take out river right at the Fairview Farm Rd bridge. When we ran this, we noted a small concrete base at the bottom of the bridge piers. We determined that if this base was underwater, this section would have a decent level.

1. S-Turn Rapid just above Old Humble Mill Rd. 2. Portage encountered 3.Small ledge drop with undercut on the left side 4.S-Turn Rapid 5. Section with small drops in a narrow chute. Would be a good wave train at higher water. 6. Drop following Mendenhall Falls 7. View of the piton rock immediately below Mendenhall Falls drop river left.
Map above covers the next three sections described below. These can be run individually but unlike the Upper Section above, these are consecutive bridges.

Little Beane Store Rd to Picketts Mill Rd (1.13 Miles, 10 ft/mile), Class I-II

There is a small Class I rapid just under the Little Beane Store Rd bridge, then flat for the next half mile. After a left turn, there is a short Class I section of boogie water and a noticeable increase in gradient despite being easy rapids. The creek then takes a right turn with a long Class II rapid with some trickier than normal lines. A short flat section is followed before the creek bends left and you reach a Class II section in sight of the Picketts Mill Rd bridge. It begins with a 1.5 ft drop at a busted dam followed by 80ft. of fast-moving boogie water.

1. Start of rapids, Class I just before gradeint picks up. 2.Bottom of the tricky Class II rapids after the creek bends right. 3.Small ledge drop before Picketts Mill Rd. site of old dam that is busted. 4. Boogie water following the busted dame looking downstream towards Picketts Mill Rd.

Picketts Mill Rd to Erect Rd (1 Mile, 41 ft/mile), Class II-III

This is my personal favorite of all other sections on the creek. Right away you will go under the bridge with an easy drop of about 2 feet. There are remnants of what appears to be an older bridge. The first rock garden appears a tenth of mile later, not complicated if following the main flow. At half a mile there is a more technical zig zag of rocks that funnels through a narrow channel. Stay left and lean into the stream around a boulder. Scouting here will likely be needed to be sure there is not a tree down at this boulder since it is a blind turn and often has a strainer around the bend. This is followed by a couple more ripples. After a brief calm area, a large boulder covers most of the creek. Scout from the large boulder. The left is the best option and can be run if water is high enough before joining the middle of the creek after a class III drop. This rapid is a tight 3-foot drop that requires maneuvering to avoid rocks. The middle option opens up with a rockslide if water is high enough and the right side would only be possible if water was very high. There is a rare surfable wave after joining the middle channel. At lower levels, you will need to portage and seal launch from the right side of the island to the middle channel just above the surf wave.

There is one more set of rapids with a 2 ft. drop that should be run to the left of a small island. After more flat water you’ll find the most interesting feature of this section, an 8 ft high dam with a breach on the left. This cuts to the left before spiraling rightward around an island just below the dam dropping about 2 ft at a time before reaching the bottom.  It is II+ at lower levels and class III at good levels. This can also be run on its own by parking at Erect Rd and hiking upstream a bit. If taking out here, eddy river left at the bridge pier of Erect Rd. Otherwise, you will be swept downstream to the next section.

1. First Rapid. 2 ft. ledge under Picketts Mill Rd bridge 2. Blind lefthand turn rapid that should be scouted for wood. 3. Erect Rd. dam drop.

Erect Rd to Riverside Rd (2.6 miles, 13 ft/mile), Class I-II

This section requires more water to run than the previous sections. It has a few decent rapids and quite a bit of flat water. I encountered a few strainers when I ran it, a couple where water is moving fast, so please run this one cautiously. There is class I boogie for the first tenth of a mile. After a slight curve to the right there is a fun and playful rapid with a class II ledge drop that can be surfed after eddying right immediately below the drop. After the creek curves left, there is a smaller ledge before a long stretch of flat water. Next is a small boulder garden, likely to have a strainer. Then the most challenging rapid, a class II with a difficult to follow left flow. A few more easy ledges precede the Riverside Rd bridge take-out.

1.Boogie water to start after Erect Rd. 2. Best ledge drop in ths ection with possible play options 3.Next ledge drop before a long section of flat water. 4.Most difficult rapid encountered in this section. 5.One of the last ledge drops before reaching Riverside Rd.

There are other sections of this creek likely worth exploring between Fairview Farm Rd and Little Beane Store Rd although I believe I’ve covered the sections with the most significant rapids. For those interested in a long trip, you can take this creek to the Deep River via access on the Riverside Rd bridge. Though good rain is needed to do this, I believe it likely runs more frequently than what is required rain wise for most creeks in the central part of North Carolina. This is likely due to its size and the number of side creeks that feed into it. Other creeks that I’ve run close to home are completely unnavigable without significant rain, whereas this one was floatable even with very little rain. You would still want rain to have the most enjoyable run but based on my experience it would be less than required for streams like New Hope Creek, Bear Creek or Buckhorn Creek.

Vestal Creek. A tributary of Richland Creek. Asheboro, NC

Technically, there would be a few rapids on this one; including right at the beginning and right at the end before the confluence with Richland Creek, but I would consider Vestal not worthwhile at all due to the frustrations involved.

Map above shows the route we took on Vestal Creek starting at Pine Hill Rd (yellow) before the confluence with Richland Creek. Green line sarting at Old Cox Rd is what I would recommend if you want to start above Old Humble Mill Rd and run all of Richland Creek. Not far upstream ifrom Old Cox Rd. the North and South Prongs of Richland Creek meet to form Richland Creek proper.

We started on Vestal Creek from Pine Hill Rd to do a trip down the upper part of Richland Creek. This creek is very narrow and has a few rapids I could imagine with rain. Don’t bother though since the property owner next to the bridge isn’t keen on people parking near his property and there are multiple strainers. Not to mention, the fun is much further downstream on Richland Creek anyways. We spent more time dragging our boats across shallow gravel shoals and over muddy banks than paddling. I suspect that even with rain, you would be portaging more than paddling. If you insist on paddling upstream of Old Humble Mill Rd, I’d suggest starting on Richland Creek at Old Cox Rd, rather than Vestal Creek. While I haven’t been on this part of Richland Creek, I’ve heard of it being done.  Its flow was evident once we reached the confluence, which leads me to believe the water upstream on Richland would have been a viable option.

1. First “rapid” at Pine Hill Rd. 2. Typical view that summarizes our trip down Vestal Creek with crew dragging boats in narrow, wet gravel. 3.Maze of rcks jsut before the Richland Creek confluence. 4.View fo the confluence of Vestal Creek and Richland Creek.

SUMMARY

Richland Creek is by far the best “unknown” creek that I’ve explored to date, but I believe the area offers much more for those interested in exploring. High on my list is Brush Creek, located on the other side of the Deep River. Looks very promising from satellite views. I hope to get on this one the next time we get a decent rain. Other nearby creeks I may explore are Fork Creek and Little River (Pee Dee tributary). My experience with Richland Creek is what got me into exploring streams. While often these micro creek explorations don’t yield a place worth revisiting, this stream led me to believe more are out there than are commonly known. As I advised before, be careful exploring, but don’t necessarily assume that a creek isn’t good if you haven’t heard about it before.