River Description: 
Todd Grafe on the way to the chiropractor- Spinal Adjustment Photo by Ryan Allen
Put-in
The put in is located at the Rhea and Bledsoe County border, and Henderson Creek is what makes the county line on Liberty Hill Rd. *** Note you can really screw up here, Liberty Hill Road is very close to the Piney River put-in, and one wrong turn could have a Piney Paddler on a trip from h*ll ...trust us it's been done. The Piney flows to the North, Henderson flows to the South.
Alternate Put-in From Ted Hayes:
Props to Kirk for doing the legwork, it paid off. 3.6 miles down Bowater roads, & a 20 minute hike brought us in 300 yards above the Mandatory portage, cutting out 4 miles of flatwater.
Directions: Just past the normal put-in there's an orange gate on the right. Thats the 1st Right, then Left @ the Fork, then right, then left.
Hike thru the pine thicket for ten minutes, the right @ the tree line til a feeder stream drops down to the creek.
If you use it, make sure that you close the gate on your way in & out.
BLOG:
Please also check out Ryan Allen's' Blog , he was kind enough to share his pictures and captions for this webpage.
To see it CLICK HERE
Take-Out:
The take out is in Tennessee Linear State Park Laurel-Snow Pocket Wilderness area, off of Back Valley Road outside Dayton, Tennessee.
River Levels
The New Gauge:
The gauge is located on the north side of the Back Valley Rd bridge in Morgantown. Look for readings of 1.75 min to 3.5ft .
The Old Gauge
The Old Gauge: was painted on the this same bridge and was dialed in at zero, after a low water day on Richland Creek. 0" is the bare min.
From Ryan Allen's Blog:" It seems like some sediment is shifting around at that gauge."
The Internet Gauge:
To get a reading CLICK HERE it's even color-coded.
***Editor's note we need more input readings and postings to make it more accurate **
The Run:
The run starts at Liberty Hill Road, and please be mindful of the locals, the old landowners there have past away and the new landowners may not like people just showing up. In the beginning you will have a 2 miles of flatwater, and for a first time you want it to be boney. Also for a first time run with no one leading you ;you will want to to put on no later that 10:00 e.s.t. in the winter. Be forewarned this is long run by Walden's Ridge standards , up must be in mental and physical shape to make this a fun trip..
The rapids in top section are a cool mix-up of boulder gardens and slides, and here is a typical shot.
(These grainy photos are from the First Descent from back in 1991)
After this section you will come upon a boulder sieve section , and here is a picture from this section
The first major rapid is Spinal adjustment, and here is a picture of the beginning of Spinal from the first descent, Doug Wellman got to name it because of this low water landing, and a trip later to the chiropractor.
Here is a shot of Spinal with no water in it...now you know how it got it's name
The next major rapid rapid coming up is Spoonman, which has the pinning footage of Terry Smith in Wayne Gentry's video "Vertical Addiction".
"Come Together with Your Plan"- Rodwell on Spoonman- Henderson Cr. Photo by Ryan Allen
After this you will come upon the rapid Firescape, that is 4 parts series of rapids that you must memorize the sequence, it is one of the toughest rapids on the ridge ,and if run successful it is one memory you will never forget.
Javid Grubbs ducking out the Fire Escape- Henderson Cr. Photo by Ryan Allen
Once past off all of this you will come to mouth of PoleBridge Creek. Don't let your guard down. Be on the lookout for the hikers bridge that cross the creek, this section is very busy and continuous and at high water can be some of the biggest handful of the run. You can eddy scout this run if you have a tight group, but it is also known for old fallen hemlocks.
Now you will come upon, some flat water that is the old Dayton Reservoir
, at the turn of the century before Dayton grew this is where the town got its water. This landmark is also good to know, if you are tired there is an excellent trail on river left that carries the old pipeline to town.
Also if you think you are off the hook forget bout it...Richland is coming up and packs a punch. In this authors opinion it is wise to get a couple Richland Creek runs under your belt, and memorize it so you will be better prepared. Henderson will wear you out, only to have Richland finish you off :)
This is a shot of before the Spoonman section.
History of Henderson Creek:
This one was first run by Doug Wellman, Alex Harvey, Francis Mallory, Ron Steward, Terry Smith, Andy Turner and Mark Cumnock. . Wayne Gentry has good footage for this run on "Vertical Addiction'. But as Henderson would have it, there is still a lot not on film due to the number of rapids. And then you have to contend with the rest of the run on Richland Creek.
Bryce Evans, Portrait for the Family Photo by Ryan Allen