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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.
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.
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.
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
***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***
Our hemlocks
are dying on the ridge due to the woolly adelgid
infestation. You can find out more at the Save
Our Hemlocks website:
http://www.saveourhemlocks.org/