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Dougherty Creek
Lookout Mountain Georgia
Water Quality (1 bad 3 good) Scenery (1 bad 3 good) 
Maps: Watershed Map (to find location and size of creek) Click Here Special thanks to Steve Zerfos for making the map. Topo Map: Click Here A special thanks to Randy Hale of NorthRiverGeographic for the map
Overall
Description:
Dougherty Creek looks good on paper, real good when you
look at the Gazetteer ,then you reality sets in
....after reading this you will write off like we did,
it just can't happen, not enough water, AND the creek
just isn't that good.
The Put-in
River Right:
We went and checked it out, the
put-in is land locked in my property owners, river left
has a hunting preserve and is fenced in ,to enclosed it
for trophy hunting, signage abounds everywhere , and
they carry guns...so it's a no go.
River Left:
Is land locked in by the Valley
View Ranch. Valley View is a private equestrian camp for
girls. We talked to the owners there, and it was a
no-go. A nice lady there was very kind to us. But there
are endangered plants in there. The same plants we are
trying to protect here on W.R.W.W. The Large-Flowered
Skullcap resides on her land and she is afraid of them
being trampled. WE AGREE it's not worth taking the
chance.
The head waters:
Are damned up...no I didn't
misspell that one...a lake has been built on the direct
headwaters, just like Dunlap Creek on Walden's Ridge
UGH!
.
Here is one of the many gates
around the hunting preserve..............................................................................................
Lot's of signs abound...........................................................................................................................................................................
Here is the headwaters lake................................................................................................................................................................
Take-out: Is the same as Allen Creek
Remember to stay in the Road Right of Way and don't
trespass while at the
takeout.
Here is a picture of the
takeout...it has old abandoned gage on it...too bad it's
off-line :(
Here is where you need to park and
be discreet.
Please contact the Schmitt family , before
parking.
They are the first family on the left driveway,
after you cross the bridge, if the downstream side was
on your left. They are a very nice family.
DO NOT
PARK LIKE THIS TRUCK IS...ASK FOR PERMISSION!
Dougherty Creek Trip Report
First paddled on Sat 28 March 2009
Adam Goshorn K-1
Ben Karp K-1
Phil Foti OC-1
Leigh Knudsen K-1
Mark Cumnock K-1
I’m not much on trip reports in guide books, but I felt
this needed to be a supplement For this creek, it added
more of the flavor to this creek write-up for some
reason.
Dougherty Creek a.k.a Sucky Creek First Descent
28 February 2009 First D…remember a.k.a. Sucky Creek
Well...we had the intentions of running Johnnies Creek
sat or something close, so we went to the Canyon Mouth
Park to meet up, with Adam Goshorn. Well leaving
Birmingham the road was crowded with kayakers, (it
finally rained again) and the take-out confirmed it : )
We weren’t too fired up about paddling with a zoo. 15
years ago I looked at Dougherty Creek just over the
border in Georgia, when I paddled Allen Creek off Pigeon
Mountain back in the Steep Creekin’ video days.
Fast forward to modern times, in
January 09; Phil Foti and I checked it out again, and
spent about a day trying to figure how to make it work.
This time a lake had been built on the headwaters, and
it looked like a write-off. Even on the
WaldensRidgeWhiteWater.com guide section I had written
it off. But the rain finally hit, and the daffodils were
blooming, meaning the creeking season was coming to an
end. And worse; Greed. Greed kicked in, and I wanted
another first descent. This would make the 23rd
documented first descent for me…Greed is a terrible
thing.
We knew it would be low, but it should be good because
it fell off the mountain like Allen Creek. Also we knew
some of the Chatty boys were looking at, so it was now
or never. So Phil, Adam, myself and Adam’s friends Ben
Karp and Leigh Knudsen snuck off from the Johnnie’s
crowd and headed to the Allen Creek take-out.
The Put-in
Is a total bootleg, we performed a hot put-in, quick
stepped it to the lake and seal launched into the
private lake. We were lucky we had a heavy fog to
conceal our poaching. The lake was long, but from
previous scouting we knew where the spillway SHOULD be.
So we sprinted across the lake being very quite. So we
paddled up to a culvert, the lake was surrounded by a
electric fence from h_ll, (think Concentration Camp) it
was sketchy to climb over it…after paddling thru the
culvert, we thought the lake was over and we would hit
the creek
Here is the culvert …notice the kayaker in the pipe….
Well behold , another freaking lake ugh!...so we kept
paddling ….the 2 combined lake paddles felt like
paddling Lake Tugaloo at Section IV…IT SUCKED! So
finally we come to a spill way….and it sounded
steep…steep is good! … wrong it was full of trees…a
total omen of the day to come. It was also way low…but
it was a first d, and low water could save your neck on
a first run. But it was looooooooooooow.
Here is a shot of the beginning of the run
So we paddled, more like knuckle boofed our way down,
but we should be hitting the gorge and it should pick up
and constrict.
Here is some of the knuckle boofing
Man there were trees everywhere, it reminded of a Ozark
stream, it had trees for sure…but the gorge should help
us out. Positive thinking should help too.
Here is a shot where Phil got out, where he helped
pull the butt boaters over another tree…the walking was
already getting old
Later it picks up but it is nothing to write home
about .Paddler Phil Foti
The creek quality never picked up…and there were f-nk up
rocks in the minor rapids that shouldn’t have been
there, you would hit them and they would move, maybe it
was debris from the lake building who knows. But worse
was the trees…any good rapid had a tree in it
Here is a typical shot of the trees
Well in the beginning Phil and I were swapping the lead
and thank God Phil was in a canoe he could see and get
out before another tree got him or us. Well I took over,
it was my turn, fair is fair, and I got a little to
ahead of the group. Which was easy because of the low
water and f-nk up rocks.
I went around a blind corner/slide , and OH SHITE…this
is it I thought. I went into sieved out strainer and no
where to go. At the last moment, I bow stalled and
carved the Karnali as best as I could and planted it. My
split second decision might have saved my life. I got my
head above water…it seemed like forever and finally Ben
came through, and I pushed/deflected him outta the way
while pinned, and he got to the bank. I sank further,
from his Hit…then came Adam blasting through blind
thinking I cleared it, I pushed him enough towardsthe
bank with one hand. Adam immediately got out of his
boat, and grabbed my boat and pulled me out like
superman.
On the bank I asked Adam ” How bad did it look?” IT
LOOKED BAD!...I took a big hit to the ribs in the
strainer, and knocked a lot of wind out of me…but we
laughed and got going again .
Here is a shot of the strainer…I used Paint to help show
the pin …yeah I know Paint sucks…not a good picture,
with the Paint . My ribs were pinned against the
submerged log….with my back against the exposed log and
breathing air…life is good :)
So we paddle some more with Adam, Phil and I swapping
the lead. Phil sees a bad one and gets out to point us
the right direction…the water is too low, down into a
sieve /drop and the undercut has a over hang. Most of us
clean it; my run was ugly, very ugly with another shot
to the same ribs. The low water forces you were you
don’t want to go. Adam’s friend, took a bigger hit in
the ribs, it flipped her, Leigh hitso hard and took her
paddle and she still rolled, a swim there would have
sucked We take a pause to let her regain her composure
and to get some air from the hit in the ribs. She took a
very hard hit, her eyes are watering and she is tough as
nails! So now we have two paddling hurt….we trudge on.
It starts to pick up, but it’s nothing to write home
about
Here is a shot of Adam Goshorn in the better quality
rapids
Here is shot Ben in one of the better rapids
So the creek still sucks…trees with more trees with a
side order of trees enough to wear you down. FINALLY
after a long day we hit Allen Creek, I’m now having a
hell’uv time breathing, I think the adrenaline has
finally worn off from the hits, and that sucks. Because
Allen stays tough in it’s runout. And by tough I mean
Jones Creek tough. Adam and Phil are still in the groove
and nailing their lines. Phil made a crux move, flying
into an eddy and then he cracked his hull. He hit so
hard, he broke his saddle loose, and also put a small
crack in the bow of the Spanish Fly.
Here is a atypical Allen Creek run out rapid …with
blind approaches
On the Allen run, I took another hit, trying to run a
sneak due to not getting enough air. Beside the run out
on river left ,up a ways, is a jeep trail…I can’t take
it anymore, and start walking the dog…my ribs are
holding me back…and breathing is getting harder when I
bend forward to dig, right behind me unknown to me,
Adam’s friend, Leigh is following my tracks…she is
hiking out due to her ribs….and is having trouble
breathing too. We get back in out boats for the run out…
digging with paddle sucks….Phil and Adam are still in
groove and continue on leading .
Adam, Ben and Phil paddle a little later downstream,
with a near miss, and with daylight running out…pick up
the pace and walk the last major one to speed it up, the
take-out is now the goal of the day.
Here is another atypical run out rapid
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