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Upper Hiwassee- Hiwassee Dries
Hiwassee Dries.
The Ocoee Boater's other run.
Water
Quality (1 bad 3 good)
Depends on how long it has run to get the trash out.
Scenery (1 bad 3 good) 
Class III.8
Length
4.8 Miles (plus 2 miles of Turtletown
Creek)
Intel:
Avg. Gradient 35 fpm
Max Gradient 75 fpm
Levels:
1000 is minimum.
2300 is a nice solid flow
4000 is getting high
10000 is a A-Team day.
15000 go somewhere else
Put-in:
Option# 1
You can put in a Hwy 68 and this is a brutal put-in
imagine the Cheoha from hell. Lot's of trees with a side
order of trees. The streambed has been de-watered for so
long its almost impossible to get down and in warm
weather the river is full of snakes. And lot's of
miserable flat-water over 3 miles of it. UGH!
Option # 2
Which can suck too, is to use Turtletown Creek's takeout
road, BUT! Since 911, TVA and the Forest Service block
the gate.So....
Option # 3
Is to paddle Turtletown Creek, then paddle the Hiwassee
Dries. Turtletown Creeks shortens the
shuttle and adds better water too. But it makes for a
longer day and Turtletown doesn't run that much and the
Hiwassee is usually de-watered.
Option # 4
Paddle Coker Creek , but you have
the same problems as the Turtletown Creek problem.
Option # 5
Is that you can hike in a little bit from the shuttle road.
This is your best bet. Use your Gazeeteer!
Use the USFS road that runs between Turtletown and Reliance.
In
Turtletown follow the USFS signs that direct you to Appalachia Powerhouse
and Big Lost Creek
campground.
Shuttle: From Ben Riekhof
After you turn right on FS road 236 from McFarland Rd,
it is 5.9 miles to a good place to hike down to put in. Look for a tree that
has broken and has been held up at a right angle by some vines. You’ll be
able to see the river on your right.
Take-out
Appalachia Powerhouse. It's best to park at the put-in
of the Lower Hiwassee.
Here is a overall view to help you grasp the shuttle
details USE YOUR GAZETTEER for this one.
Do not assume you can drive by or over the powerhouse
dam that feeds the Lower Hiwassee. Maps lie. Its a footbridge.
View Larger Map
Here is where to go to find out if it is running:
Intel provided by Abigail Bowen:
http://www.tva.gov/lakes/aph_r.htm
The website predicts flows for
the next 3 days,it also shows observed flows from the current day. As long
as the amount of generators says "0" and then the average outflow is what is
in the dries.
1000 is minimum.
2300 is a nice solid flow
4000 is getting high
10000 is a A-Team day.
15000 go somewhere else
"Apalachia will be spilling until further notice."
Its nice to see this on the T.V.A. website : )
Here is an
example from the T.V.A Site:
Generation Releases
|
Day |
Time Period |
Generators |
|
3/24/2011 |
5pm - midnight |
0 |
|
3/25/2011 |
midnight - midnight |
0 |
|
3/26/2011 |
midnight - 1am |
0 |
Observed Data
|
Day |
Time
(Eastern) |
Reservoir Elevation
(behind dam)*
|
Tailwater Elevation
(below dam)* |
Average Hourly
Discharge* |
|
3/24/20XX |
10 am |
1,277.36 |
840.39 |
2,288 |
|
3/24/20XX |
11 am |
1,277.26 |
840.39 |
2,281 |
|
3/24/20XX |
12 pm |
1,277.16 |
840.38 |
2,272 |
|
3/24/20XX |
1 pm |
1,276.93 |
840.38 |
2,261 |
|
3/24/20XX |
2 pm |
1,276.78 |
840.37 |
2,255 |
|
3/24/20XX |
3 pm |
1,276.64 |
840.36 |
2,245 |
|
3/24/20XX |
4 pm |
1,276.51 |
840.35 |
2,235 |
|
3/24/20XX |
5 pm |
1,276.32 |
840.34 |
2,228 |
*Elevations are in feet above sea level. Discharges are in cubic feet
per second and are reported at the end of the hour.
Overall:
So now you have figured it out. The shuttle is from
hell, its long, blocked gates, muddy crappy roads you
have to be careful where you park at the take-out due to
911.
(Your best bet is to stick to the shuttle road beside the
run on river left and forget about the Hwy 68 put-in.)
The rapids once they open up are Class III.8 in nature ,
most feel like Tablesaw on the Ocoee. The majority of the
run is pool then rapids. The pools are good for picking
up lost gear and boaters : )
The first big one named Hollywood Bowl reaches almost Class IV
when there is a ton of water, but is a true Class III rapid and there
are several routes . If its your first trip take your time here.
When you approach Coker Creek you will be approaching the
gorge section. There is a lot weird funky funny water in this section. You
never seen anything like ,it will remind you of the boils and runout of the
Grand Canyon rapids but on a lesser scale , avoid it where you can and
be ready for an anything can happen low brace. After this its a play and run section, once again take your time here and enjoy the
time to play here.
Now its kinda like "Land of a 1000 holes" on the Cheoha
River without the chaos but with the trees. You can boat scout this section.
The last mile is like the section on the Upper Ocoee when
you paddle all that flat water before you get to the ramp to paddle the
Middle Section.
So is it worth it? I think not .Unless the water
is clear, give it a few days to clear out. Others rave about it.
But to be honest the work to fun ratio just isn't there.
Its good to run when nothing else is running and they are making extended
repairs to the Powerhouse. Also extended days of it running flushes a lot of
crap out that has been sitting there when the river is de-watered. I was
there fighting snakes and trash.
That said everyone else who runs it loves it. But I like the
microcreeks that run into it and I think its jaded my opinion. If you can
get Turtletown AND the Dries now that would be a awesome day.
Also I think I got a bad vibe due to making the mistake of
putting on at Hwy 68. Be willing to put some work into hiking to the run and
walking the tracks and you will be rewarded.
I also wish it ran more to take pressure off the Ocoee, Hint Hint TVA : )
Btw is gorgeous in there and the State of Tennessee wants to
cut a highway through there.
The fantastic info
pictures are from Ben Riekhof :
For for next easy trip to the Hiwassee
Dries you can thank him and give him a beer!
Shuttle:
After you turn right on FS road 236 from McFarland Rd,
it is 5.9 miles to a good place to hike down to put in. Look for a tree that
has broken and has been held up at a right angle by some vines. You’ll be
able to see the river on your right.
Photo by Ben Riekhof
Photo by Ben Riekhof
The take out is about 3 miles down FS
road 236 until you get to Appalachia dam – here is where we parked:
Photo by Ben Riekhof
The hike in:
Hike to the railroad tracks and head upstream until you
reach a good place to put in above the first rapid. NOTE: There is what
appears to be a large rapid another .5 miles upstream. We did not hike up
this far, but if you choose to do so, be prepared to do a lot of
bushwhacking through poison ivy. Start hiking down where the railroad turns
away from the river.
Photo by Ben Riekhof
The first rapid is downstream of this small island –
hike just upstream of the island for a good place to get some warm-up rolls
in before committing.
The river:
The first rapid (Hollywood Bowl?) is fun and has a
big-water feel. There are two offset ledges that both look like great boofs.
I started right of center and ran left of the first ledge and right of the
second, which is about a 5 ft. pourover. Greg boofed the second ledge, and
it nearly backendered his Nomad.
Photo by Ben Riekhof
After this rapid, there’s some more boogie, nothing
major, for maybe a mile. When the water starts to get squirrely, it’s time
to get back on your toes. The next class III+ rapid has a couple of
different routes. You can go far river left and punch a large hole at the
bottom. Or you can go right of center, just right of a couple of trees, and
skirt the corners of some holes on river right. The hole on river left looks
to be about the size of Hell Hole and could possibly be a good playspot, but
we didn’t try it. The run-out from this rapid is really squirrely.
Photo by Ben Riekhof
Photo by Ben Riekhof
The next rapid is announced by a creek coming in from river left:
Photo by Ben Riekhof
In this section, the water gets really fast and boily. It is hard to scout
this rapid, but it is easily boat scouted. Approach right of center to avoid
a large hole at the top, and enjoy the ride.
This is below the rapid just downstream of the creek confluence.
Photo by Ben Riekhof
After this rapid, the river narrows some more, and there are some beautiful
rock formations and more squirrely water and some fun boogie.
Photo by Ben Riekhof
Photo by Ben Riekhof
Then,
there are two more really fun rapids in quick succession – it could be
considered to just be one long rapid. The first part is, like the other
poster said, slightly reminiscent of Land of 1000 Holes on the Cheoah. It’s
fun read-and-run class III+.
The second
phase of this rapid, if run on river right, is a screaming left hand turn to
avoid getting slammed into a stand of trees. It doesn’t look like much in
the picture, but the water is moving very fast through here. There appears
to be a line on far river left. There may also be a fun slot that is left of
center, but we didn’t get a good look at this (SCOUT to be sure it is clear
of wood).
Photo by Ben Riekhof
Photo by Ben Riekhof
This is the same rapid as pictured above with possible alternate lines
highlighted.
After this rapid it’s an easy paddle out through some class II boogie,
weaving through some trees and brush.
Overview:
Hiwassee Dries @ 2300 cfs.
Overall impressions: Class III+/IV- The technicality of
the rapids is class III+, but the continuous nature of certain rapids, as
well as the fact that there are trees in the stream bed, make the rating
closer to IV-. At 2300 cfs, this is a higher-volume run, very few shallow
spots. Reminded me of some of the class III boogie on the Cheoah – another
boater was accurate in describing rapids as similar to Tablesaw on the
Ocoee. A river-runner or playboat would be better here than a full-on creek
boat. Lots of catch-on-the-fly waves and a couple of potential playspots
have decent eddy service. The water on certain stretches is very fast and in
others is very boily and weird. On the day we paddled it, the water was a
beautiful clear blue-green. There are several stretches of flat water, but
not enough to keep me from coming back. The highlight, besides 2 or 3 really
fun rapids, was the scenery.
From Stacy Stone:
I ran it a few weeks ago at 2300 cfs. I didn't think it was difficult at
all. I do think it is an easy class III...maybe the exception would be the
first rapid, Hollywood Bowl. However, Hollywood Bowl can be scouted as you
hike into the run.
The rapid has a nice, small tongue somewhat center left. You would
definitely need to scout it as you hike in to know where this tongue is
before running. The water has a big water feel which might intimidate some.
I didn't run anything that I felt was similar to the Roach Motel or the
Olympic Section. I guess everyone has a different opinion, but it just
didn't seem that difficult
From Dave McDonnell:
I would add that it is not very swimmer friendly, not that the swimmer would
die or face too
many hazards not normally present in Class 3 water, just that the bigger,
faster water would make gear retrieval a pain for your group
From Judy Ranelli via Dave "TeleDave" McDonnell:
"...ran the Hiwassee Dries yesterday afternoon. It is NOTHING
like the AW page makes it out to be. All the photos on that page were
taken at @1000cfs but they are currently releasing between
2300-2500cfs. I was expecting a creeky run but it was some of the
biggest water I have run. Very similar to the Upper Ocoee, but
everywhere the water is boiley/swirly. Even the flatwater is like the
boils just below Whirlpool on the Nanty. I got worked in a hole on the
1st rapid, primarily because no one knew where to run and I boofed
over a 8-10' rock that created a huge hole just behind it. I never
saw the rock until I crested the 6-8' wave directly in front of it. I
will say, just from the speed of the water it is a no swim zone. Also,
no real opportunities for bank scouting because the water is way up in
the trees on the bank. Lot's of trees/brush in the middle of the river
too.
Highly recommend trying to get on it while it is running, try to go
with someone that has run it before. It's kind of scary eddying out
behind a bush in the middle of the river and trying to get a consensus
on what line looks best. "
From an anonymous WRWW user: name withheld
"
It is easy class 3 w/ a big water feel. It has some nice size waves and
swirly eddies. It is a little work to get to the run...shuttle is all on
Forest service roads. And, there is a 1/1.5 hike in to the run. But, it is
worth it, b/c it is incredibly beautiful. It is probably the most gorgeous
run that I've done in awhile."
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