Pound & Upper Russell Fork – Jeff Hatcher
| River: | Pound , Russell Fork |
| Skill: | All |
| Trip Date: | 10/04/2005 |
| Participants: Chuck and Nancy Brabec, Nancy Guthrie, Larry Ausley, Woody OBrien, Jeff Hatcher, Karol and Don Gray.
Dates: October 3-4, 2005 River: Pound and Upper Russell Fork (to Garden Hole) |
 Don Gray running the broken dam |
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I have wanted to do this run since I heard about it for the first time a couple of years ago as a sort of “homecoming” to my native state of Kentucky. This was a great trip for me for that reason but also it was a special treat to get to paddle with people who are the true “Buddha’s” of the North Carolina paddling community. It was about a 4 hour drive to the river from Greensboro, NC. The last few miles were a reminder of the roots of this area: small country roads twisting and turning through coal company housing towns.
The days started with a delicious breakfast made by Woody and Larry and Nancy. I‘m not sure what’s nicer, having some one portage your gear or having them cook for you. It all worked out in the end, since I was the “add on” to the group, meaning I had to wash dishes. |
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| The river starts at the base of Flanagan dam which holds back the Pound River. The weather was nice, upper 60s/low 70s and sunny. The water is cool, maybe a little warmer than the Nantahala, as it comes off the bottom of the lake. The first rapid is right at the put in, a simple class II boulder dodge. The Pound River section is mostly a class II warm up. We found a great side surfing wave which Chuck used to try to teach the rookies how to spin. After that, there were lots of great waves/holes to get into to play. There was also a great line where Larry showed us how to do stern squirts at the confluence of the Pound and Russell Fork. Shortly after this confluence is Bartlick Dam, a straight forward pour-over. The biggest hazard here is going over the wrong chute and getting stuck and being re-circulated. After the dam, the river constricts and the rapids are little tougher (class III) with multiple pool/drops. The toughest rapid is “20 stitches”. It gets a class IV rating for its length. It’s a boulder garden that just keeps on keepin’ on. The toughest part is not knowing where the holes are (or being fast enough to dodge them when you do finally come up on one!). It didn’t seem as bad as it’s legend, mostly because I had a group of pros to show me some good lines. There are several other class III rapids in this section the last of which is before the take out at Garden Hole. A couple of pool/drops here were the last of the fun for the day. Everyone (except me) ran the last one backward. |
 Karol Gray |
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It was a great weekend all around: Not a single swim in our group, a great buffet dinner at Breaks Interstate Park and truly beautiful weather. It was somewhat bittersweet though, as I knew this would be my last paddle for at least 8 months as our baby is expected within the next month. However, the season finished as it has for the last 3 years for me – grateful to be involved with the great bunch of people who make up this club and grateful to the people who have taken me under their wing (paddle) and helped me to become a better boater.
SYOTR 2006 |
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