French Broad Section 9 in January! aka Chil-Fest on the FB!
| River: | French Broad |
| Skill: | Novice+/Intermediate |
| Trip Date: | 01/28/2016 |
On a frosty, chilly January morning, a small but dedicated crew set forth to paddle Section Nine of the French Broad, and had a pretty danged good time doing so. This was actually the very first CCC trip I had officially coordinated, even though I’ve been a member since 1992. Luckily, this crew was totally up to the task. Mostly kayaks, with Benji and Sarah in a shredder-type raft.
We gathered at 10pm at at Stackhouse. There were a few concerns, because the previous day’s heavy rains had pushed the gauge up to 6750 that night. But after consulting with everyone about their experience and skill levels, we decided to put on. The level was down to 6140 by that time. At this level, the French Broad is pushy and some holes get quite big and retentive, and there are some pour overs that form, especially near Ledges and Big Pillow. However, many other rapids wash out. Because of air and water temperature, and because we had some boaters on their first descent of the FB, and others doing their first descent at high water, we decided to employ the more conservative lines available to us.
Lee Belknap led many of the rapids, lending his considerable river experience to the proceedings. Mary Ellen demonstrated a solid combat roll (I believe near Turtle Rock) and we had a grand time working our way down. Big Pillow was of concern just due to the volume of water, but the crew navigated it capably, with one person portaging and then deciding after the portage that it would have been fine to run.
We enjoyed the meat of the juicy wave train at Sandy Bottom, and then proceeded to a conservative line at Ledges, where the holes and waves became considerably larger. There was some excitement as David found himself in a side-surf during Ledges and his son Justin coming straight at him. Both wound up upside-down, but each made a great save with strong combat rolls.
We opted to run the Pinball side of the island. At this high water level, Decision Rock was not a factor, and it was a nice, wavy ride through the rapid, read-and-run style. Finally we found ourselves at the end, at Stackhouse — some holes to avoid, but with pretty straightforward lines on the left. Back at our cars, we made a batch of hot chocolate to warm up and plans to celebrate at a mexican restaurant in Marshall.
Thank you very much to an excellent crew — and to the Burkes, come on up and check out Section Nine at a higher or lower level; you’ll find that it is a totally different river and different experience. Cheers! Marc Harkness
Boaters:
- Marc Harkness
- David Burke
- Justin Burke
- Kate Kelleher
- Lee Belknap
- Mary Ellen Griffin
- Benji Burrell
- Sarah
Youtube video courtesy of David Burke!