only search W.R.W.W.   Duskin Creek Walden's Ridge Tennessee             Left off Shut - In Gap Road to the Piney River at Spring City Water Quality (1 bad 3 good) Scenery (1 bad 3 good)              Shuttle Service: For Shuttles contact the following # 423.365. six nine zero zero. For # 5 dollars a head or $25 a car load. You can get a shuttle. Your car will be driven to the take-out. NOTE: If you call shuttle drivers and change your mind or go to another creek, please make another phone and CANCEL YOUR SHUTTLE. Don't be that guy.     Or you can contact these nice folks: We live about 3 miles from Duskin Creek put in. We moved up here from Atlanta 9 yrs ago. The upper part of Duskin Creek runs through our 11 acres before it crosses Shut In Gap Rd. We backpack the Piney Trail and Stinging Fork often but aren't kayakers. If you need to someone to go read the gauge, need a ride, some help, or just putting in...give us a call. We are one of the few non-scary resident up here. 423-533-4212 (feel free to leave a message if you need to). -Grant and Carrie.   Landmark to know: Look for this sign on Shut-in-Gap road when leaving the Piney Take-out, turn here to go to Duskin Creek or keep driving to Bear Pen Branch or to Moccasin Creek                                                  Photo provided by Chris King   Here are Google driving directions from the take-out to the put-in....you can move the map around with your mouse.                                                                                                                            View Larger Map   To add more fun and paddling to your Duskin Creek run CLICK HERE  for intel on BearPen Branch   Level: Min to run. 3.5 ft (E.L.F) on Piney Takeout gage on Shut-in Gap Road . 1.25 ft at Duskin Creek Put-in Crossing Bridge   Good water: Somewhat juicy   4ft at the put-in gage 5 + ft at Piney take-out bridge Special thanks to Mark Hammock for this intel.          Class III.6   2+/- Miles       Here is the put-in, make sure to count the 6 culverts, or you could put on Newby Branch.                                                 Maps:   Watershed Map (to find location and size of creek) Click Here Special thanks to Steve Zerefos for making the map.   Topo Map: Click Here A special thanks to Randy Hale of NorthRiverGeographic for the map                                                  To see the quads in a truly awesome format; click on the links in reference to the quads listed above. http://www.northrivergeographic.com/wrww/Piney_A4.pdf http://www.northrivergeographic.com/wrww/Piney_A5.pdf http://www.northrivergeographic.com/wrww/Piney_B5.pdf http://www.northrivergeographic.com/wrww/Piney_B6.pdf http://www.northrivergeographic.com/wrww/Piney_C5.pdf http://www.northrivergeographic.com/wrww/Piney_C6.pdf http://www.northrivergeographic.com/wrww/Piney_D4.pdf http://www.northrivergeographic.com/wrww/Piney_D5.pdf http://www.northrivergeographic.com/wrww/Piney_D6.pdf http://www.northrivergeographic.com/wrww/Piney_E4.pdf http://www.northrivergeographic.com/wrww/Piney_E5.pdf http://www.northrivergeographic.com/wrww/Piney_F3.pdf http://www.northrivergeographic.com/wrww/Piney_F4.pdf http://www.northrivergeographic.com/wrww/Piney_F5.pdf http://www.northrivergeographic.com/wrww/Piney_G3.pdf http://www.northrivergeographic.com/wrww/Piney_G4.pdf http://www.northrivergeographic.com/wrww/Piney_H3.pd   History: The run was first paddled by Tom Tohill and Dan Grey from Chattanooga . Camping: Camping can be had the Bowater Newby Branch primitive campground on top of the mountain. The campground is the same location for the Duskin Creek put-in area, and is close to the Stinging Fork hiking trail. It's easy to find, instead of going straight heading to the Duskin Creek put-in. When you turned left off of Shut-in gap road, about a 1/4 mile you will come to a "Y" in the road, take a right and it will take you to the campground. If you go to the Camping Section, it has directions to the Duskin Put-in. Just keep driving straight and don't turn towards the campground. The campground has some concrete picnic tables, and a porta-potty that is cleaned on a regular basis. Between the months of Mar-Nov. Which is same window of paddling for the Piney. I have witnessed no red necks at the campground. The campground is also the head trail for the Newby/Duskin hiking trail. The campsite would make an excellent base camp for paddling the surrounding area which is loaded with creeks. If the creeks are too low, go hiking the area trails are superb.     The Put-in: The put-in can be found off Shut-in gap road, once on the mountain, you will see Stinging Fork's trail head sign on the right, continue on and look for a small white sign on the left, that has been shot to hell by rednecks, make a left at this sign (IF ITS STILL THERE) and follow it all the way to you come to a creek with a lot of culvert tubes for a bridge. This is Duskin. It will save you a lot of paddling and get you straight to the whitewater section.     Duskin Creek is a very pretty run in the heart of the Piney Creek Pocket Wilderness Area, that not many get to see. Another cool thing about Duskin is the hiking trail system that follows the creek almost the entire trip down the mountain. It is a great place to take a Ocoee boater (Who catches eddies in Broken Nose) who is wanting to start to get vertical. Most of the drops are cascades and slides. The trail system is a built in safety net, for if you chew off too much. You can pull the pin and walk.   Things to know on the run: It has been awhile since a flood hit the Piney watershed , and with the Southern Pine Beetle killing trees, you need to be aware of deadfalls. Once you put on Duskin, you will cross your first hiking bridge, this is your sign post , that things will be picking up. Once you come to your second Hiking trail bridge on river left, and you are at a horizon line this will be your biggest rapid, and is the cover shot for this webpage. It is straight forward and a great place for a picture on the wall     Here is a picture of the first strainer that is 1/4 mile into the run.                Use this bridge at the beginning of the run to look out for the strainer .....                                                                                     Photo by Chris King     You will see this side creek on river right, its above the the big slide rapid. It's Bear Pen Branch.                This is the approach to the big slide. Looking upstream                                       Here is the horizon line above the big slide.                  The big slide of paddler Chris King.....            Paddler Paul Butler Running the big slide                                 Photo by Kemper Begley     Then you will see this...in a little bit...its straight forward and run it right down the middle.                                   Then for about a 1/2 mile you'll paddle and then around the corner this drop will appear you will paddle this fun drop.                   Look for strainers here.............                   Here is the bottom of that same drop....        Paddler Bob Britt photo by Chris King                                                    Paddler Paul Butler Photo by Kemper Begley     Here is one of the last drops of the run         Paddler Shawn Malone photo by Chris King   Here is the paddle out on the Piney Photo by Chris King     VIDEO: Here is some video of Paul Hubbard showing the lines on Duskin Creek with a helmet cam.                                             Here is some E.L.F. Level footage         UPDATE: FROM KARL WHIPP   You might mention on your update that just walking a few hundred yards down the trail at put in will save getting out of your boat on the top two portages.  I think that's what I'll do next time.   -----Original Message----- From: mark@waldensridgewhitewater.com [mailto:mark@waldensridgewhitewater.com] Sent: Monday, May 03, 2010 1:46 PM To: Whipp, Karl Cc: mark@waldensridgewhitewater.com Subject: Re: Duskin      FYI for your Duskin page...  The rapid that you talk about the    horrible strainer pile with the foot bridge on the left...as of    yesterday 5/2/10, all of the wood is gone.( EDIT this page was updated after this nice email from Karl)  Two portages in the    first ¼ mile and one other likely portage with a pine spanning bank    to bank about 3' off the water and branches sticking down like jail    bars.  Otherwise all wood was avoidable.  Just thought you might    like to update your page