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Cain Creek
Walden's Ridge Tennessee
Barker Camp Rd. to North Chick
Class IV.6 6 miles Gradient 250 avg
Water Quality (1 bad 3 good)
Scenery (1 bad 3 good)
Vortex a view from the cockpit
VIDEO:
Here is
some video of Paul Hubbard showing the lines on Cain Creek and the North
Chick
with a
helmet cam.
Maps:
Watershed Map (to find
location and size of creek)
Click Here
Special thanks to Steve Zerfos for
making the map.
Drive up from from Mobray Mountain road leaving
the North Chickamauga Pocket Wilderness area
(which is the take-out)
, then on your Gazetteer
on page 24 look for Barker Camp road. You will
leave the Pocket Wilderness parking lot,
turn left, head up the mountain. Once on top you
will go past a pond on the right. POE ROAD is on
the left, turn left .
Once down Poe Road, you will drive under
some overhead high voltages line, then into a
curve with a guardrail. Be on
the lookout for GRANT ROAD. Continue on Grant
Road, then you will come to a "Y" Turn left onto
BARKER CAMP
ROAD. From here you will still be on pavement.
Once on dirt you will go 2/10 of a mile. At 2/10
you will see the road
below. It is on the left. Park here and walk to
the creek. DO NOT DRIVE DRIVE ON THIS ROAD
OR BLOCK IT.
From Ted Hayes:
The state has plans to put a gate at the end of
Barker Camp Rd, blocking off access to the lower
Cain Creek put-in
(Rockhouse) & Cooper Creek.
They want to put a combination lock on the gate
to ALLOW boaters the right to
access these
put-ins. I'm going to e-mail the Ranger that I
talked with on Sat, & find out when this will
happen.
I'll post details as they take place.
So it didn't happen as of 31 May 2008
From Tom Montgomery:
"the old pine plantation used to be owned by
Bowater is now owned by the state, part of the
Cumberland state
trail system.. it is posted
and is foot traffic only past the gate... just
a word up, it is patrolled by park rangers
all
rules apply.... so if this is one of your
swimming holes i would think about what i was
packing in there.... "
Here is the gate at the end of Barker Camp Road
If you want PERMANENT access to this area and
who doesn't.
CLICK HERE
The put-in gage:
After you put on the creek, look on your left
for a stick gauge that Andy Turner nailed on the
tree, you want a minimum
of 6 inches. If it is
less than this , you need to take out cause you
are going to have a long day.
First major rapid:
It
is a 5 foot ledge that at high water has taken
some boats; you run this ledge almost sideways
Then
it's on...
Mandatory Portage Rapid:
Got
it's name for trees always in the rapid assume
there are trees!
Photo of Tom Montgomery
photo by Jordan Rice
Mossy Creek:
Use
this as a landmark just to know where you are
at. It adds a lot more water into the run and
starts helping give
Cain its push at good water.
Big Splat:
This
one has broken ankles , so the trick here is to
right the curler just to the right with about 5
degree angle.
And if a mishap occurs gather your
gear quickly because Vortex is coming quick.
Big
Splat
Paddler Chris Brigman Photo by Matthew
Wallace
The sieve before Big Splat:
On your
Cain page, I think this sieve deserves a mention. I ran it last week and we
walked it on the right, although a few in the group wheel-chaired through
some shallows. It’s in between Mandatory and Big Splat.
The
trick here is to walk! For the brave the
trick is to run the dry sandstone, into meat of
the drop,
the washout will remind you of
Gorilla. This one is over quick if you decide to
run it.
This rapid in the 90's was cutting edge,
today it is a benchmark for Class V boaters.
Killer shots of Vortex
Photo by Jordan Rice Paddler
:
Kelly Voncannon
Paddler Matthew
Wallace Photo by Ben Davis
Paul Hubbard on Vortex photo by Robert Smith
The rapid right after Vortex...notice the boil
and the horizon line
Photo by Jordan Rice Paddler
: Sean Richards
After Vortex:
Is
the run out, and onto a 5 drop ledge that is
better to run on river right with lots of speed
DrainPipe Rapid: Photo by Matthew Wallace
Paddler Ben Davis
Drain Pipe:
After the run out with Vortex , you will run a
long series of eddys that is better to
eddy hop one eddy at a time,
and work your way
down to the big one of drain pipe. Now you see
how it got its name.
You can walk on river right
but it is a total B*tch, so try to take on as
many eddys as you can.
The
trick here when at the bottom of the rapid is to
have a driving hard angle onto the rock/boof on
river right,
you must drive on it high, even
higher than you think. Driving high will make it
easier to avoid the undercut waiting
on you on
river left.I have never hit it high enough. If
you do go too far left make sure to stick your
bow into the undercut.
By doing this you will
flush out.
Final Approach
DrainPipe Rapid:
Photo by Matthew Wallace Paddler Ben Davis
Photo by Jordan Rice Paddler
: Ben Friberg
After
Drainpipe Rapid:
You need to be
aware of the Rock House put-in on the
left. (Which is a good place to put on on low
water days)
From there,
the next rapid....run straight on , and down the
middle with a strong brace on your right....and
do not run on the river side there is a
pinning, screw up rock that has messed a lot of
people up.
I know of
three people needing stitches and of one
concussion.
From there it
is straight on to the Chick....
***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/
