|
|
Dunlap Creek
Sabo Road to Shut-in-Gap Road ( Piney Take-out)
Class IV
Overview:
Dunlap is a bittersweet experience, it drops straight off the ridge, unlike any of the other steep creeks in the Piney Watersheds it doesn't chew up all it's gradient at once, it waits until the very end then kicks it in to gear and drops 400 +/-feet per mile in one section, it has a fairly sizeable watershed, great rapids and fairly easy shuttle. On paper, it looks great...keep reading...
Now the catch. First is the put-in, it has unfriendly neighbors, their house is right at the put-in, and you will be trespassing if you don't watch your step. The best way to paddle here is to have a shuttle bunny...and paddle here only during the middle of the week while Dunlap's neighbors are at work...oh if it were only that easy...keep scrolling down and I'll give you the rest of the scoop on this Walden's Ridge run.
The Shuttle:
Leave the Piney take-out from Shut-in-Gap road and head back up the mountain on Hwy 68. Once on the mountain look for road named Jewitt Road , the map shows Reed Town road, well the map can lie and look for the old white sign named Jewitt Road on the left. The Gazetteer on page 41 , shows your left turn to be Reed Town Road (Jewitt Road)Then you will drive a little , then go by a nice pond on the right and then look for Sabo Road, then turn left.
Here is a picture of Sabo, it wasn't named on my Gazetteer
You will drive across two culverts, the 2nd one is the put-in, here is a picture showing the put-in and 2nd Creek
The below picture... if you look to the river left side downstream it is the house/yard, and it is right around the corner.
Here is one of many signs at the put-in...you are on your own <insert banjo music>
Here is a typical shot of Dunlap Creek...before it drops off
Okay here is the final nail in the coffin, and the insult to injury. At the put-in has two culverts one culvert is actually a Jewitt Creek and the other culvert is Dunlap Creek they come together at this very spot. The problem is that Jewitt Creek is damned up, and the lake doesn't act like a battery like the Lower Cullasaja or Johnnies do. Both have a dam in their headwaters and once filled they help stabilize the flows. But this lake hogs the water. This one having such a small watershed doesn't let go of it's water due to the impoundment. It is only really one creek at the confluence, and it needs the two small creeks to make it runnable, it would have to really rain biblical proportions to get Dunlap going. I've never seen it with enough water.
Jewitt Creek dammed up
|
|
|
|
***Warning label***
Whitewater
paddling is VERY Dangerous, and you should get
instruction before ever attempting even to paddle
flatwater. One of contributors to this web site
has personally helped bury 3 kayaking friends, this
isn't a joke. Whitewater paddling can ruin your
life through accidents and can effect your family
and friends throughout a lifetime.
The
information on this page is incomplete,
inaccurate, and very unreliable. Use
with caution. Whitewater paddling is a
dangerous sport and the information here is not a
substitute for actual knowledge and skill.
The authors are not liable for your actions. Go
ahead and kill yourself if you want to, but don't
blame others for you actions and decisions that you
will make on and off the river.
***Warning
label*** |
You will see more
tree damage like this, the time is now to enjoy the
Hemlocks of the Ridge
|