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Run: |
West Fork Little River |
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Section: |
0, furthest upstream above Desoto
Falls |
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Class: |
III (IV+) North Branch, II West
Fork |
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Put-In: |
Sulphur Spring Road, Georgia (aka Yankee Rd or CR95) |
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Gradient: |
20,40,20,60 (North
Branch), 20,10,10,10 (West Fork) |
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Take-Out: |
Taylor Ford (CR 517) |
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Length: |
4 miles (North
Branch) plus 4 miles (West Fork) |
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Precip. Gages: |
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Shuttle: |
See below |
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Delorme Gazeteer: |
21E8, 21F8 |
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Water Q: |
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Primary Gage: |
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Links: |
Required Level: |
yellow 400 cfs, green 500 cfs, blue 1400 |
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PICTURES |
Indicator Gage: |
? |
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TRIP REPORT |
Required Level: |
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Notes: |
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From Alf Van Hoose: We put in on
a cold day at about noon. The West Fork gauge downstream had peaked several
hours earlier at 2000 cfs and was reading 1700
cfs Sunday at noon. The North
Branch of the West Fork was running bank full at a level that was
uncomfortable for this run. The pipes under the bridge were about 1/2
full and a footbridge about 1/4 mile downstream was mostly less than 1/2
foot above the current. If you try this run at this level (or
higher!) get nervous!! Branches across the water constantly block your
vision and the logs are usually stuck in fast current or in the
channels around the few boulders during the first two miles. During the
fourth (fifth?, sixth?) portage mostly thru a
jungle of plants on the shore I asked myself "Why are you doing
this?". Good question. I will let you know when I have a
good answer! About two miles
downstream shortly after passing a house visible on river right the
river drops out of sight between boulders on the right
center. Whoever runs this boulder choked rapid that drops about 12
vertical feet in a twisty channel gets to name it. Until then I call it
Not Today. After all it was
a cold day, I was tired from portaging strainers, it was my first run this
year, etc, etc,
etc. Note that there is a trail on river right that leads to the shore
below Not Today. This would be a very good put-in for this
run if it is OK with the landowners there. I am not sure what
state we were in there. If that rapid were on the state line we could
name it Welcome to Alabama. The next 1 1/2
miles were more enjoyable with only two logs that required a
portage. Then the 1/2 mile above the confluence with the East Branch of
the West Fork was fun. Fairly continuous Class III at our level that
was mostly easy to see from upstream. It is
not clear whether those rapids should be rated Class II or III at normal
levels The East Branch doubled
the volume of the river. The channel became much wider but the gradient
became much flatter. It would have been a pleasant float to Taylor Ford
except for 3 more portages. This time the problem was man made.
Damn dams! The hydraulic below the first dam was the worst keeper I
have seen in years. About 1000 cfs smoothly
poured over a river wide horizon line causing a back suck from 10 to 15 feet
downstream. The second dam could probably be run far right down a slide
but we portaged on general principles. I was too tired to scout the
third dam closely. We carried all dams on river right. In general this run
was not very scenic. But perhaps the gray overcast weather was
partly responsible for my lack of interest in the riverbank scenery.
I only recommend this run for those who want to run something
new and are willing to portage numerous
logs mostly stuck in the first two miles. If the North
Branch was clear of wood then I would rate this run class
II+ with one class IV+ rapid. But it is risky to
run the upper part of the North Branch at any level because the logs are
bad and the visibility is often very short range like about 20 feet! Shuttle: From Mentone
AL drive east on AL 117. Turn
left (north) on Dekalb CR 631 (Cove Rd) after
crossing the narrow bridge over the West Fork Drive about 1 1/4 miles then turn left on the
dirt road (CR 517) that winds about 100 yards to the river left side of
Taylor Ford. Drive back to Mentone then turn right at the CR 89
intersection. Drive about 9 miles northeast along the rim of Lookout
Mountain then turn right at the Sulphur
Springs Gap intersection. Drive about 3/4 mile on Sulphur Springs Road to the river bridge. Note that this road is named "Sulphur Springs"
on the west and "Yankee" on the east of that intersection. |
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View Upper
West Fork Little in a larger map