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Pocket Creek
"Best run of the Sequatchie Streams"
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 Zerefos for making the map. Topo Map: Click Here A special thanks to Randy Hale of NorthRiverGeographic for the map QUAD / GRID TOPO Maps: Use the link below to match the quad map below to get more detail of the run. http://www.northrivergeographic.com/wrww/PocketCreek.pdf
Class IV.6
The gage:
The gage is on the put-in bridge and is handed painted and was dialed in at 0" ,but creeks are always in flux so paddler beware. Pocket is very finicky on water levels due to the sink holes in the valley.
Note the "check mark" PLEASE CHECK before putting on.
0" is just that...the min level...aka E.L.F. Level
6" optimum but you have to walk some sink holes at the bottom. (dependant on watertable levels)
1' Is the perfect level for no sinkholes, but it makes the rapids tough.
Chose your flavor of Kool-Aid.
(Notice the baseflow, it hadn't rain for 2 weeks the picture was taken in Jan. it's a great watershed)
For a great level, there is an old dam at the put-in.
Little note, over the years I have noticed runs that have old grist mill dams are excellent watersheds, the old-timers knew this hence why they would build on them.
Rain:
1.6" of local rain is needed, with the water table full for a min run.
2.5" will give you full a full creek.
3.75" will give you full " big boy pants" day on Pocket Creek.
Plan B:
If pocket doesn't go, and you are there you can go back to Suck, or go to Woodcock or Little Brush.
Internet Gage:
Use all three gages:
Use our flowpage ,we have two rain gages and virtual river gage for it. We base it off the North Chick gage, for two reasons. The Chick is just over the ridge on a straight line, and we base Suck Creek off of the North Chick gage. The North Chick gage has been stellar on predicting when Suck runs, and just over the ridge to Suck is Pocket. Most paddlers drive by Suck on the way to Pocket, so we get a perfect sanity correlation that way. Special thanks to Paul Hubbard for all the gage readings. If you see Paul give him a beer.
#1 Use the River Gage based off of the North Chick
#2 Use the Whitwell Rain Gage
then
#3 Use the Prentice Cooper rain gage.
If all three are lit up that's great. Also the old rule "two out of three ain't bad" works here. But for a long drive use all three.
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THE BEST GAGE FOR THE RUN
IS THE RAIN GAGE ON OUR FLOWPAGE AND NOT THE
NORTH CHICK RIVER GAGE PER SAY.
USE THE RAIN GAGE AS YOUR
MAIN GAGE, USE THE NORTH CHICK GAGE AS A SANITY
CHECK FOR A LONG DRIVE.
TRUST US THE RAIN GAGE IS
85% ON PREDICTION
Also note on our flowpage
we have 3 watertable gages if two out of the
three light up. The watertable is good for
Pocket Creek.
CLICK HERE FOR FLOW DATA
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The put-in can be hard find there aren't many real road signs.
Look on Page 24 of you Tennessee Gazetteer , the look for hwy 108 outside Whitwell TN. Okay here is the hard part, look for Pocket Road.
On highway 108, look for this sigh and turn left.
On your left will this fire hall, (from Whitwell) turn here, use this picture for a landmark.
, 
Once down Pocket Road look for this sigh and turn left.
At the same turn look for this building for your landmark it will be on your right and comes up fast. Turn left
At the put-in :
BE DISCREET HERE ! DO NOT RUIN THIS FOR THE REST OF US.
The take-out: For the lazy
On Page 24 of the Gazetteer look for hwy 28, from there look for Sequatchie Cove Road, (It goes up the Sequatchie) drive up this road until it hurts.
***Park like you car might be caught in a flash flood , because it could so park accordingly.
The downside is at lower water 0"-5" you can lose a lot of water.
Also trees abound here, somewhat like the early days of the Cheoha, just
stay on your toes.
The take-out: For the not so lazy:
Get your out your gazetteer still on page 24 and print-off a section of our topo map for the Sequatchie Valley that we have provided. This use to be the secret take-out due to issues but now the word is out.
Once at the takeout get back on Kilgore-Goforth road for 3.5 miles, go past the state park and once past the houses, look for an 4X4 trail on the left. Word to wise, this is not the State Park in the beginning. So yes you are trespassing. Just added to the Natural Area is some of this access that you will encounter. And is in the state natural areas they do not allow vehicle access. We have had friends use this take-out during the week NOT WEEKENDS, but paddling out to the run-out ,to the regular take-out.... it's quicker just to paddle out, once you factor in the risk of trespassing and don't include the longer shuttle. You aren't saving that much time on the hiking and the UGH, I'm going up hill! But I would rather paddle out to the park on LRC then hike up the chairlift section. It takes about 45-60 mins. And finding the trail from the creek is a pretty tough.
The call is yours...be discreet and don't use this road during the weekends.
River Description
Justin Howard, Todd Gould ,and myself got the first run on this in early April 1994. The first part of the run has some really cool slides ,tough eddies etc, but near the valley the quality starts to be lacking it goes underwater or did on our first trip, we ran it at 0". 6" is a perfect first time level and it fills the sinkholes up depending on the watertable levels. 1ft is a
semi-pushy level, but it fills the sinkholes up totally. Totally filled up
is a good thing. The eddies at lower water will remind you of
Miller Creek, sieved out and go underwater. This is a tough run by anyone's standards. It has complex rapids, long slides, that have multi-move makes in them.
The main character off the rapids is "hey this is tough I got it tho'" and
then around the corner the rapid is still long and tall. It is hard to catch with the right water in it. Once the watertable gets dialed in, it turns into a classic run by anyone standards.
After talking to Matt Wallace we talked and came to the same agreement.
"This has a Class IV feel to it run, but make no mistake this is a Class
V RUN. If you are a Cain Creek or a
Johnnies Creek paddler and not running Gorilla Constrictor on Johnnies
and Vortex on Cain you might not like it here. Most rapids are Class IV in
nature, but they are accumulative. Bear (GA)is
harder, Rock (GA) is easier."
NOTE:
For a first time run with a group that believes in scouting every
drop, putting on at 10:00 am is very wise, most groups that put on at 12
noon walk out or paddle out in the dark.
OVERALL:
(Write up from 10 years ago)
I still think Pocket needs some attention for some reason it never turned into the
"cool guy" run ,. Everyone who has run it, brags on and about the rapids and drops, but they b^tch about the water under the same breath. Once dialed in this run , will become a gem. I truly believe this run is more dependant on the water table , and then the rainfall. But you can't have one without the other for this run.
1ft of water and its perfect. (Our rain gage now proves this )
I also talked to Tom Bowen about this run, he told me a few years ago , that Jonathon Clardy ,Tom and Andy Mitchell made an attempt on Pocket Creek with high water (2ft and rising quickly) and it turned into a "survival mode "run. From what I gathered from the conversation. When that high. The run on the upper turns into a hole surfing/ where's the car run, everyman for himself run. The upper is really nice but that said. I put a gage up for reason and just a couple of inches and here and there makes a big difference ,I personally will be going back and will be watching the watersheds and water tables for water amounts. It's that good.
To me and others who have recently run it say its better than Little
Possum, I think its a hidden gem. I've always thought too that Pocket was on
the wrong ridge and should be over on Walden's Ridge.
The creek is actually close to the Chattanooga area and is just over the hill from Suck Creek and it needs more attention from the Chatty boaters. Everyone I know wants to go back to it. It's still not the cool run yet for reason.
The water quality is outstanding, there are coal mines everywhere and the companies have done a fantastic job on preserving the water quality in the watershed.
The creek will remind you of a Waldens Ridge creek, and I think this might be due to the way Pocket Creek falls southward and not eastward like the other the Sequatchie Valley runs. To me it will remind you like Little Possum and Deep Creek , and Roaring Creek , with the good parts of Hendy. If you paddle these creeks you can figure out the lines : )
From Matthew Wallace:
My thoughts on Pocket Creek.
Pocket Creek is one of the best runs in the Chattanooga
area, it is also hard to catch. Quality wise it is one of the best on the
plateau. It's mostly a class IV run with a few class V's . It has
the nature of Bear and Allen (bedrock drops up top boulder gnar below), but
easier than both. Everything is runnable, but usually there is at least one
portage. The top section is a series of long bedrock slides ending in
fairly good drops. The rapids are long and complex, but for the most part
they can be run blind and boat scouted (esp if you know they are clear of
wood). The next section is a fairly steep boulder garden, more difficult
than the upper section, but still can be boat scouted for the most
part. The run is also fairly continuous and pretty steady, not pool
drop, but there are pools to catch your breath. There are a fair amount of
undercuts and seives out there to keep you on your toes.
This is not a run for a group of class IV boaters to
step it up on. It is fairly remote, and if you are not comfortable boat
scouting and running rapids blind be prepared for a long day. You better put
on early if you want to scout every bind corner and horizon line. If you are
looking to run Pocket you better be comfortable running everything with GOOD
WATER on Cain/ Nchick and everything on Johnnies WITH
WATER. Be sure to get with somebody who knows the run, or go with
somebody who has run, it if you plan to hike out. You will miss the trail
if you don't know what you are looking for. The trail also has a couple of
turns, so do your research or have a guide. The hike out is not easy and is
significantly harder than the hike out of LRC. Probably twice as long as
the hike out LRC and the last section is steeper than anything on the LRC
hike. If you don't like hiking this might not be the run for you.
1ft on Mark's gauge is a perfect level. Any lower the
run would be pretty abusive, esp the top part but would still be
fun. Pocket is definitely worth the hike. The scenery is spectacular, the
water quality is good, the rapids are numerous and fun, and you probably
won't see another group out there.
 by johnnyj »
Terry and I put on nice and early, had a grueling and rewarding day for
sure. Neither the slides up top nor the steeps below should be taken
lightly. i would not want to have to rely on boat scouting alone on this
creek. Give yourself ample time unless you are sure all the drops are
still free of wood. Too many rapids in the boulder garden that you
simply cannot see the bottom of, and they just keep on comin at you.
Then you think you are off the hook, or finally on the valley floor--but
think again! There are still at least 3 really steep gnarly stacked
drops left for you. This creek has some of each of the flavors of
Henderson, Cain, Little P, Bear, and even a little Whites thrown in for
good measure( the long stretches with a thousand little trees growing in
the current on the paddle out option..) I can definitely see were the
sinkholes would be cuz it seemed like we lost some flow just before the
little Sequatchie.
This is the best creek with the most difficult takeout options around
Chattanooga. Both options have to be less than desirable. I know the
valley paddle out sure is.. we were exhausted and then still had what
seemed like 5 miles of the lil Sequatchie to deal with.. it kind of
reminds me of lower White's creek in a way.. the way that Whites can
"cul-de-sac" with two crappy, thin-tree lined options to get out of the
cul-de-sac. Not hard to deal with, but long and after a tough creek for
sure. Once you get to the "drive-till it hurts" up Sequatchie Cove
Rd.--you have to walk over a flood-plain cow field and 3 old electric
fences to the old abandoned white farm house were we chose to leave the
shuttle. Next time I will try the hike up option for sure.
The level was only 3inches when we put-on. This was plenty of flow until
we got to the section after the Jeep trail hike-out. There are no
significant trees or strainers in the lower section after the hikeout
option. With better flow it might take you an extra 45 minutes to paddle
out vs. hike-out.
What an adventure, i will be back over and over to this absolute sweet
a$$ creek.
The following photos are courtesy of Kirk Eddlemon.
Thank you Kirk!
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Note this sign:
Just down the road on Pocket Road on the left, is this park. If you feel it's too high or too low you can use this as a immediate takeout and punt to either be safe or not ruin your boat.
Here is a view from the park and the gorge you will paddle.
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