Lost Rapids of the Haw

Lost Rapids of the Haw

by Zach Schiada

Often, I seem to find myself interested in the niche or what some might consider weird experiences in whitewater paddling. This sometimes leads me to explore creeks that are not documented as having been navigated or areas that would maybe not be considered worth the effort. This sort of thing might not be for everyone, but one river in the Triangle that seems to be revered by all is the Haw River, specifically the Lower Section. Access is easy, rapids are challenging for novices and provide some great play features for the more experienced.  Compared to other rivers in the area, this one seems to run much more frequently.

One might wonder why I’m mentioning niche and the beloved Haw River in the same sentence. The reason is because I am on a quest to find the “Long Lost Rapids” that used to exist prior to the construction of the Jordan Lake Dam. This seems like it would be a long shot, but I believe I’ve worked out a decent calculation on water levels and conditions necessary to make this a reality. For those that want to indulge me in my fantasy, read on and join me in my madness and rough calculations. For those that think this is a silly waste of time, stick around since we have some history that might interest you gathered from some veteran paddlers in our area.

I’ve spoken to several boaters that were around before the construction of the dam and most find this to be a sore spot in their memory. John Manuel mentions that many people would meet just below Gabriel’s bend to hang out and when the topic of the proposed dam came up it was as if they were finding out that a close friend was going to be passing shortly. Some went so far as to say they would move away from the area because of this. Some were optimistic as there would be additional recreational opportunities with the lake, but in the whitewater community it was generally seen as a major loss. Like what is currently runnable, the rapids that are lost to the lake were characterized as continuous whitewater, ending with the most exciting part, Pipeline, that shot you right to the finish at the steel bridge. One of the challenging parts of recovering memories from back then in addition to the many years that have past is that for the most part the rapids we currently have named were not named at the time they were run. Howard Dubose mentioned that he helped create some of the names as well as provided some background on other ones we know today. For example, Gabriel’s Bend was named for the belief that you could hear the trumpet of Gabriel when passing around the curve. Also, Harold’s Tombstone was likely named as a reference to Howard but with the mistake in the name. Maybe we should call this one Howard’s Tombstone? Do not be worried, however, since Howard is still alive and happy to tell you stories about the Haw and other rivers in the area.

A few of those I spoke to have mentioned that there was a brief period after the initial construction of the dam in which repairs were needed and the US Corps of Engineers let the lake down for a week to previous levels just as they were before the dam. Many paddlers headed down to enjoy this special section of river to experience what they did before. It was an experience that was a nod to what once was, but the excitement, especially in Banzai Pipeline was diminished by the fact that the tunnel of trees that you would get funneled through before was no longer there. You experienced the nostalgia of the ride of the past, but without the visuals that made this rapid superb.

The Haw River just before Jordan Lake used to have an extra mile and a half or so to its run with an old steel bridge at the takeout, connecting the land area just north of Robeson Creek (now the boat access) with the Seaforth area of Jordan lake. The US Corps of Engineers began filling the lake in September 1981 and full level was reached in February 1982 (USACE website and info from Bob Brueckner). They then blew up the old bridge, leaving the debris in the water. The result of this was that several notable rapids and play spots have been eliminated and buried in the calm waters of the lake. The takeout was on river left at an old steel bridge according to my classic guide book (A Paddler’s Guide to Eastern North Carolina – Bob Benner and Tom McCloud).

This meant that unlike today, a more frequented route was to go river left after Gabriel’s bend. Joe Berry points out that after years of not paddling, when he returned to the sport in the early 2000s, in addition to difficulties in finding the put in, which has changed over the years, his fellow paddlers thought it was odd when he started to head left after Gabriel’s bend towards Harold’s Tombstone.  Harold’s Tombstone is still runnable and for those that haven’t done this, it is a class II drop with some creeky lines that are followed by some class I ripples. Next was Haw’s Revenge, which according to Howard Dubose, was a series of rapids weaving back to the right of a small island river left although the exact route was not always planned and was chosen based on conditions at the time. According to Dennis Huntley, this can still be run although one needs to be careful to scout as there are many trees that gather in this narrow channel. You would then run S-Turn, which I am told is like the S-Turn just above Hwy 64 on the middle Haw section, but with less of a drop. With longer boats, it was a challenge to make the tight turns, but it didn’t give anyone too much trouble, especially if they had a good brace. Next was Smooth Ledge, also known as Rainbow Falls due to the colors you could see when it was misty and sunny outside. This was approximately a foot and a half of drop and was a favorite for sending unsuspecting newbies to get trapped in the hydraulic and flip, which was good fun but relatively low danger.

This would set the paddler up to go through the Pipeline rapid (or Banzai Pipeline), which was a narrow section of class III rapids towards the center of the river. It consisted of a few holes and a surfing wave three quarters of the way down (William Nealy – Whitewater Home Companion: Southeastern Rivers Volume I). There is some variation in description on the difficulty of this section with some claiming it was on par with Gabriel’s bend, while others say it was not nearly as intense, but instead was a section with great waves to play in at the right water levels. You would need to watch out for rocks though. Everyone agrees that it was a good finish to the river-left route and was a fast ride. Another rapid that is now drowned out by the lake, Finder’s Keepers, was a class III according to Nealy and was on river right past the current takeout at Robeson Creek Canoe Access. This was mainly noted for a pour over ledge. This rapid created a wave that was very powerful and could be “surfed indefinitely”. The power came from an obstruction at the top by rocks, which funneled water to create the hole and would be run more at high water (1-2ft on the paddlers gage at Hwy 64 Bridge or 2400-5000 cfs) and the hole would become a breaking wave at 3.5 ft (around 10,000 cfs).

One might ask why it is worth writing about extinct rapids on the Haw River. Other than recording history, the reason for this is because there have been faint whispers on the internet that these could possibly be runnable in the right conditions. In my Facebook lurking, I’ve come across posts that mention attempts to run Pipeline in 2018. It is also mentioned on the American Whitewater page that some rapids not normally seen have been uncovered at drought levels on the lake. The USGS website provides excellent data on water levels at the Jordan Lake dam as far as 1995. In looking back on monthly averages, we can get a sense of what would be considered an unusually low level compared to what we normally see running the lower Haw. The normal elevation level at Jordan Lake Dam appears to be somewhere around 217 ft with Google Earth showing the same elevation at the point of the last portion of visual rapids on satellite view. The highs seem to be around 220-222 ft and lows between 210-212 ft. At the time of this article, we are currently at a level of 215, so approaching mid-level in what appears to be a comparatively dry year. I personally know that 215 is not low enough to uncover major rapids, but the end of river left after Harold’s Tombstone has a more pronounced drop than normal levels with many rocks normally submerged peaking above the lake water. If I’m not mistaken, S-Turn is runnable at the current levels and I’ve seen it mentioned that Smooth Ledge has been uncovered enough to run in the past. We’ll explore other rapids’ viabilities below.

Stan Cole was kind enough to provide me with an old topographic map, which has helped me to get a close estimate of this section’s gradient. Stan was also helpful in directing me to better understand how to read that map, which turned out to be more in line with real world observations than what I had initially calculated. Class III rapids in our area of the state generally are a gradient of around 20-40 ft/mile. In the map, the takeout at the steel bridge is shown around 185’ elevation above sea level. This makes a drop of about 36 ft of water elevation from the uppermost runnable rapids currently in existence (river right) to the takeout, or an average of 27.69 ft/mile.

Joe Berry points out that this lower end of the range is possibly an accurate gradient considering most rapids have dropped in class ratings over the years, especially with short boats made of plastic making maneuverability easier in modern times. I’ve mapped out the main rapids that were lost using a combination of William Neely’s Haw River map along with some input from veteran paddlers in the area and have come up with an estimated 0.65 miles of good whitewater that used to be available past the current Robeson Creek canoe access take out. This would put you below both Finder’s Keepers and (Banzai) Pipeline. The chart below offers a rough estimate on how much elevation drop in water level would be needed for each of the named rapids to be exposed.

The other point to consider is that it isn’t just exposed riverbed that we’re after. We also need flow to make rapids happen. The tricky part of this would be that you cannot have a surge of rain both in the lake area and upstream. You would need to have the right balance of heavy rain north in the Greensboro area, but not too much at the site of the lake. There also is a question of whether there is too much accumulated silt to make the rapids runnable. This would mean that you would need at least some rain to wash the silt in the area that is exposed, making the case for this being possible even more unlikely further beyond likelihood. Depending on the amount of silt built up, one can reasonably expect that rain would not be sufficient to wash the rocks clean completely.

The good news is that a surge from northwest to make the lower Haw runnable is not uncommon, especially at lower runnable levels. Also, in speaking with John Manuel, I learned that the Flat River north of Durham has had some exposed rapids during drought conditions. He mentions that he and a friend ran the Flat from State Forest Road to Lake Michie and where under normal conditions, one would find flat water to the takeout, they found some silt covered rapids that they were able to run. While this isn’t evidence that Pipeline or Finder’s keepers would be runnable, it’s worth noting that Lake Michie buried the rapids on the Flat River in 1926 compared to the Jordan Dam in 1981-82. I have also seen videos in which the Little River North of Durham has had some of its lost rapids exposed and run after the construction of the dam that created a reservoir. I don’t expect all rivers and reservoirs to behave the same way, but these parallels could show a sign of hope for running the Long Lost Rapids of the Haw again under the right conditions.

Whether this slim chance of running some rapids from our area’s past is possible or not is yet to be seen. In our modern world of internet fables, I believe the best bet is to do some flatwater exploring when Jordan lake approaches the lower levels of 212 ft and less, prior to a rain event just to scope it out. Another option is to go left after Gabriel’s every once and a while, especially with low lake levels to see what can be found. The consensus I am gathering is that there would be too much silt to make the bigger rapids such as Pipeline or Finder’s Keepers runnable, but I’ve not heard definitively this is the case. It would certainly make them different than they were before.

Generally, the conditions that would make the lake low, meaning lack of rain, would also make other rivers not runnable. This means that the biggest loss at trying to find these would be giving up a chance to run Moosejaw Falls and the two or three rapids below it, followed by some flat paddling back to the takeout. I prefer river left for the scenery and longer run and would recommend this to others who have not tried this route. It seems to be a sore spot for those that paddled prior to the construction of the dam, but in my opinion, it is worth exploring this area for those who used to run it if for nothing other than nostalgia. For us newbies, it can satisfy our itch to explore something rare and different. For those with scuba gear and curiosity, a few potential sights to be seen in the muddy brown water are 1) the Lost Rapids of the Haw (Finder’s Keepers and Pipeline), 2) Joe Berry’s boat lost at Pipeline and 3) the old steel bridge, which according to Matt Moore was blown up by the Corps of Engineers and the debris sunk beneath the water.

Sources

1. Nealy, W. (1981). Whitewater Home Companion Southeastern Rivers Volume I. Menasha Ridge Press.
2. Ferguson, P. (2007). Paddling Eastern North Carolina, 2nd Edition. Pocosin Press.
3. Benner, B., McCloud, T. A Paddler’s Guide to Eastern North Carolina. Menasha Ridge Press.
4. Berry, J. (Personal Communication, October 26, 2022)
5. Brueckner, B. (Personal Communication, October 14, 2022)
6. Duffy, E. (Personal Communication, October 28, 2022)
7. Dubose, H. (Personal Communication, October 27, 2022)
8. Huntley, D. (Personal Communication, October 17, 2022)
9. Manuel, J. (Personal Communication, October 28, 2022)
10. Moore, M. (Personal Communication, October 27, 2022)
11. Fisher, J., Martin, R., O’Keefe, T., Wei, J. Haw 3. Highway 64 to Jordan Resevior (Gabriel’s Bend). (28, October, 2022).  https://www.americanwhitewater.org/content/River/view/river-detail/2706/main
12. Heather, L. (2018). Hidden History: The lost community beneath Jordan Lake. ABC, Inc., WTVD-TV Raleigh-Durham. https://abc11.com/jordan-lake-history-hope-valley-homes/3833588
13. Cole, S. (Personal Communication, October 14, 2022)