B-Side Streams: Upstream Rocky River

Section -1  

Charles L. Turner Dam to Hwy 1004,  Class I-II

Section 1 of the Rocky described in Paul Ferguson’s “Paddling Eastern North Carolina” starts at above Siler City Snow Camp Rd (Hwy 1004).  My first trip to explore the Rocky River began here.

Rather than go downstream to see what Ferguson already had documented, I made a goal to paddle and hike upstream until I reached the dam at the Charles L. Turner reservoir. Because of this, I’ll refer to this as Section -1.

Although water was too low to say for sure, based on the gradient and stream bed structure, I’d expect this to be class I with the occasional class II. I found a runnable beaver dam, several damaged stone dams, and lots of stagnant water with goose droppings, especially as I got closer to the dam. When I reached the dam, there was a small valve on river right where it appeared that the city was releasing what I’m guessing is the minimal amount of water to sustain the river downstream.

Based on this scout, I figured that the more popular stretches of river downstream are likely only at runnable levels if water is high enough in the reservoir to spill over the dam, which did not have water spillage that day. At the time I explored this section, the USGS gage at Crutchfield Crossroads was at 1.45 ft, whereas Paul Ferguson recommends at least 1.5 ft (20 cfs) for the downstream sections. Since then, I’ve relied on the gage at Hwy 64 for my trips downstream in the more popular sections of river and I’d expect this -1 section to be runnable at the normally accepted 200 cfs on the Siler City gage ,just like downstream.

I cannot recommend this section of river for the obvious reason that logistically it is not feasible to paddle upstream without some serious frustration. At higher water, the current would likely be too difficult to attain with little reward other than a view of the dam. I have seen references to Siler City planning at some point to include a public access to this section to be located below the dam at Water Plant Rd. I’ve not been successful in finding the source that mentions this, but I’ll continue looking. If an access were provided, this would be a great short run for the beginner paddler as well as for those who are not wanting the difficulty level of the downstream Upper and Lower sections of the Rocky, listed on American Whitewater.

Rocky River Narrows (Section –2)

Siler City Water Supply Lake Number One to Charles L. Turner Reservoir (0.32 miles of rapids, 36 ft drop), Class II-III+

After my experience on the previous trip at Section -1, I was curious about a short section of river between the two major city reservoirs. I had almost given up due to the logistical challenge of finding a way to run this stretch of water. Even I have limits on what frustrations I’m willing to put myself through to explore a section of river that may not bring value to anyone, all while we have other good sections of river to paddle with much less effort. However, in an announcement for a Regional Creek Week celebration on the Chatham County Facebook page on March 6 2023, there was a photo of what appeared to be a waterfall, which I had never seen before. I responded to the post to inquire where this waterfall was located, and the group stated that it was between the two reservoirs on the Rocky River. They mentioned there was no public access to the area, which was a bit of a letdown, but a welcoming challenge to figure out how to get there.

In addition to access, another challenge to this section is figuring out the flow required to make this runnable. There is a USGS gage on Staley-Snow Camp Rd that gives some indication since it is above the Water Supply Reservoir, but there is also North Prong Rocky River that flows into the lake. Additionally, since this is one of the supply lakes for Siler City, it’s difficult to know how much of the upstream flow is diverted for the city’s water use. Admittedly I’m not very knowledgeable about water supply reservoirs. On top of this, there is the question of just how much water would spill over the dam to the river below before dumping into the next reservoir. I figured that a good minimum would be 50 cfs on the USGS gage at Crutchfield Crossroads.

Regarding my trip to this section of river, I feel the need to add a disclaimer that I’m not sure after running this that there is a reasonable way to get here that I can recommend. The Rocky River Narrows is a local treasure that no one appears to know about. I don’t consider it a treasure because of its great rapids, unique in both scale and gradient for our area, although it does have this. Instead, it is a treasure in the sense that reaching it is not an easy task and getting there alone is an adventure with careful decisions being made to reach the spot before even dealing with the rapids. There are better places to paddle with less risk, but none that reward you for the effort like this one does. I cannot in good conscience recommend the route that I took, although I’m confident that what I did was legal… I think. Anyways, below is what I saw in my trip here since the real interest is the 1/3 mile of rapids below the dam.

We recently had the rain I estimated would be needed to run this -2 section with 130 cfs on the USGS gage at Crutchfield Crossroads. While I am not going to go into detail about my route to reach the rapids, along the way I saw a few beavers and a canoe on a bank at the lake hinting that maybe I’m not the only one to explore at least some of the area. I also saw lots of cows who were awfully chatty, possibly alerting the nearby farmers of the weirdo paddling near their land.

I headed upstream to the river mouth and current started picking up making paddling increasingly difficult. About a quarter mile later, I reached sight of the first rapids, class II, where the constriction of the channel made a very strong current that I could not attain. I got out river left and started hiking upstream. Further up was a channel of flat water I needed to wade across to continue an easy hike upstream. Based on satellite views, I suspect this used to be another channel of the river before the dam was constructed, but due to limited time, I didn’t explore here.  I haven’t been able to find any old maps to confirm this.

A quarter mile after that, I reached the drop that I saw in the Facebook post. It was impressive, about 7 ft tall followed by some heavy boogie rapids. I couldn’t quite tell if the base was clear of trees so I continued upstream to look for a better vantage point. The river up to the dam was mostly class II boogie with the occasional surf wave. At the dam, there was a foot bridge to the other side of the river, but it was gated, preventing me from putting on river right, which would have been my preference. It did provide a good perspective of the rapids leading to the large drop and everything looked fine.

I put in river left 100 ft below the dam and planned my route. I ran a couple of drops before eddying river right to take out and scout options for the big drop. The rest of the run was clear, but the big one was still a question. Walking it or running it only if I could be sure the landing looked okay. The safer bet appeared to be river right, which is much more gradual, but to my disappointment, there was a log blocking this channel with heavy current at the bottom. I did get a good view of the larger expanse of the drop and luckily it was clear of strainers and did not appear to have a significant hydraulic. I hiked back up to my kayak with my planned line. I put in, punched a small hole and eddied left at the flat just before the big drop. Everything looked ok from this view as well and I went for it with a line a bit left of center.

The drop went smoothly, and I braced for the heavy wave train that followed. The stress of the big drop eased, and I boogied on down with a few 2-3 ft. ledges mixed with fast, wavy water and the occasional tree island to dodge, reaching the end with stoke high. At the flat water I phoned my buddy.  He couldn’t join me this time but was on standby ten minutes away if anything were to go wrong. I then continued down to the takeout. It was a little harder to paddle out than in but I managed.

Overall, everything went well, and I don’t doubt I’ll go back. I would caution people this was higher in difficulty than my usual creeking adventures. Should a flip and failed roll happen at the big drop, some serious bruising Is likely.  A swim would be long since the current is strong and rapids continuous for the next quarter mile. I would not consider it a high risk of serious injury or death, but there would be harmful consequences if not properly executed. I’d say this is similar to the Little River Gorge north of Durham in terms of difficulty and risk, but more like New Hope Creek in feel since the holes were minor, the waves good-size and current very swift. Additionally, I am not confident that my route to the rapids is one that can be done again. With disclaimers out of the way, this section of river was awesome and should be run by those who have the appropriate skills and a trustworthy group. Most people who have seen the photos commented that the river looks full of strainers. I imagine this could be a problem since there were many living trees in the middle of the river and on several islands within braided channels. However, on this day, the only place where I saw wood as a major issue was at the cheat line (on right) for the big drop.

I hope at some point this can be made a public access, perhaps at City Lake Rd, a dirt road leading all the way to the dam. I felt like it was worth the effort the way I ran it. Once in the Narrows, river right, which gives the best views for scouting, seemed like a reasonable hike the whole way and was better for viewing the big drop than river left. In terms of water level, I’d still estimate this to be runnable around 50 cfs on the gage. 200 cfs would probably kick this up to class IV in the 100 yards of the big section with the rest being class II drops with class III obstacles given the fast current and scattered tree islands. The level I ran it was perfect from my perspective, I’d consider it the higher side of medium.

You might be asking yourself why I would bother reporting on a section of river that possibly cannot be accessed. The answer is that it is my belief that if Siler City were to make a public access at City Lake Rd, this would be a great park and run spot, similar to Cedar Falls, Falls Dam and the not so often run Lockville dam. I live an hour away and would be happy to drive the distance to run this if access could be made easier. Anyone have a connection with Siler City that might be able to make this happen?

To sum up, I’ve reported here on two sections of the Rocky River that are not easily accessible to most people. I’m hopeful someday accessibility to these two sections can be unlocked to have a bit less of an undertaking to reach them. I certainly enjoyed running them and especially just finding out what was there. Writing this, however, I’m reflecting on a run I made recently on the Lower Rocky; the anticipation of water level the night before–would it be high enough, the iffy parking at the put in with No Parking signs and the difficult takeout–a long hike uphill.  Only one person in our four-person group was able to walk it without stopping for a break. It makes me wonder if this isn’t always the case with the Rocky, more fun comes with a higher price of admission.

This will probably conclude my exploration of the sections of the Rocky River that aren’t already documented. I still hope to run the Paul Ferguson sections not on AW at some point, Sections 1 and 3. In my opinion, I have not seen anything on maps upstream of Sections -1 and -2 that seem worthwhile to run. The same is the case for the North Prong Rocky River. It seems too small to warrant a trip an hour away from my home. I would certainly be happy to hear from others if they’ve run further upstream on the Rocky than this in case my assumptions are wrong.