Ran the Chattooga Section IV yesterday for the first time. Level was 2.1 rising to 2.2 feet by days end. cfs? By far the most dangerous river I have ever run. Also one of the most fun. Middle Fork Salmon folks, I can now understand why Les still loves this river.

Starts out with Bull Sluice, a class 5. If you chose to start here, you have to peel out from the eddy and make the drop within yards of the put in.

Woodall Shoals is a “Class VI.” It has a “real” keeper hole smack in the middle that unexperienced paddlers repeatedly fall into and drown. You don’t see any hotshots even toying with the idea of riding this baby. It is a class IV sneak down the right side.

Seven Foot Fall is one of the most enjoyable rapids for me on the river. Jim was a good leader and although I blew the eddy and had to go for it alone, I was well-briefed,… the result was awesome! Highly recommended and one of the safer ones on the river.

If you recall “Deliverance” with the scene on the cliff, it is really a nice sight. Also, somewhere along here is the “love scene” spot. Weirdly enough, it showed the most camping/day use of any beach on the river.

Raven Chute was soo bigg we chose to “boof” right. THE MOST AWESOME BOOF EVER! Then the Five Falls. Five rapids within about 800 yards. You almost have to run Entrance (First Falls) w/out scouting, no huge deal but intimidating.

We set throw ropes and scouted Corkscrew. Sort of like Insignificant except the rock on the bottom is undercut so badly, water boils around the back. Water more turbulent than Pistol Creek on the MF or the bottom of Double Z at 10'.

Below is Crack-in the-Rock; “just a drop” doesn’t begin to describe the rapid. It’s not difficult, just the implications of what could go wrong. Left Crack is the one people hear about and are justifiably afraid of. Swim it out of your boat, particularly at low water and you die. However at this level, Left Crack is the preferred route. Middle Crack is the standard route, BUT at 2.2 a hole forms unlike any other I have seen. It looks somewhat like a bowl, with no escape routes. We choose Right Crack, NOT the preferred choice at high water. Our leader, Jimmy dropped in, back endered and eddied out. I tried to boof further right to avoid the hole at the bottom, but… got caught at the bottom in the hole, windowshaded once, had flashbacks of the Cranberry and worked my way out the side. We told the other guys (Jim & Bill) to go for Left Crack because Jim had a Fury and Billy was paddling a Stubby. But they wanted nothing to do with Left Crack. Both dropped Right Crack, got hugely endered, looped and recirculated but managed to exit the same as me.

We snuck down a little farther to the “backdoor” to Jawbone and got out. One look and I was done. I have never walked a rapid before and this was certainly the time. I pride myself not in my paddling skills (intermediate level), but in my water reading skills and judgment. I probably would have run it if for not Hydroelectric Rock at the bottom. Huge and very similar to Shipwreck on the Gauley, except place a exactly circular hole through the center for current to flow (i.e. hydroelectric turbine). Now put Lower Keeney at 2' on Fayette Station gauge, 30 feet above the rock with all the current going for it (probably time for 2 roll attempts, maybe time enough to swim if you bail early and swim frantically). That’s Jawbone.

We set ropes for the others to run. Jimmy our leader, went first, got stuffed under an undercut, lost his paddle, ejected and swam. Jim P hit him with a rope immediately and pendulumed him perfectly into an eddy. Whew! The other two had better lines and finished safely left of Hydroelectric.

Sock-em Dog. Everybody was walking the dog that day. Jim’s boat had flushed through to the pool below so he walked. The other guys ran the ”puppy chute” and I hope I got some good pictures. Basically, if you had the nerve, you had to hop eddy to eddy, then build up enough speed to hit the “launching pad” and hop OVER an enormous hole. Not us.

Shoulderbone was nice after all that. Some play holes and then the paddle out over two miles flat water. Did I say FLAT WATER!? Its the top of Tugaloo Lake, and although I was positively beaming and just happy to be alive, the more experienced group members officially viewed paddling rodeo-style boats across this large impoundment of molasses as NOT FUN. Jimmy was paddling with his spare breakdown. At the takeout a fellow paddler offered Jimmy his paddle back AND the location where he had hidden Jimmy’s OTHER paddle that this guy had found on Overflow creek last month. Wouldn’t even accept a contribution to his Paddling Gear Fund. That’s what paddling is about guys!

Overall, Section IV, is More dangerous that the Middle Meadow or Upper or Lower Gauley. Lower flow than the New and Gauley. Waves not as big as either Gauley or the New except in some of the more constricted rapids. Not as technical/steep as the Middle Cranberry (except the 5 Falls section). Probably legitimately more beautiful than the Gauley. Probably more but not as quality play spots as the Lower Gauley.