This probably the closest run to me. It is located between
Morganton and Lenoir, NC. This was the first drop and pool type run
that I had done and I love it. It is a class IV or V depending on
the water level. 0 on the painted gauge is kind of the borderline
between class IV and V. It is said to be boatable down to -6 inches
on the gauge, but I don't know if that would be two low for us or
not. Above 0, the holes are supposed to get rougher and most people
look elsewhere if it is above 1 foot. It has been boated through
the gorge at 1.5 and attempted with some portages and aborted trips
above that. I'd run it up to a foot, but I'm glad I ran it at 0 for
the first time. This is not a place to take a beginner as some of
the drops are a little intimidating. After the first rapid, there
is a good slide into a surfing hole, but beware this hole seems fun
while you're surfing, but even though it looks harmless, it is a
pain to get out of (See pictures and description in the photos
section). Set up someone on shore with a safety line and camera.
The best way out is to head back across towards the center on the
river instead of downstream. After that you work through a rock
jumble and here comes ten foot falls. There is a class three wave
at the top that helps you get some speed and sends you flying around
a curve for a ten foot slide. Run the wave on the right and the
head center or left of center for the drop. Scouting is advised.
You can break the drop into two short back, to back drops by staying
more to the right, but if you get too right there is a rock jutting
out. Mark managed to turn sideways on a bodyboard and skirt the
rock, but he was cutting it close. Two other drops are next -
Thunderhole and Boatbuster. Nothing that challenging if you made it
through Ten Foot Falls. Just more big 6 to 8 foot slides. There
are two or three more slides that aren't named in guidebooks that
are just as big. I remember one of them because I went through a
slot just wide enough to fit the board through and realized that a
rock just barely above the surface was waiting for me. I call those
tombstone rocks as that is what they look like. When I hit it I
felt like the old crash test dummy-wear your seatbelt commericals
where they hit the wall and go flying out of the car. The board hit
it and I went flying foward off of the board, but managed to keep
one hand on it and it pulled over the rock. Definitely scout if you
are unsure on this section before you are committed to the drop.
Next is Triple Drop. Basically 3 slides one after another for a
total drop of 15 to 20 feet. Don't get too left or you will hit the
rock wall. The bottom hole is good for surfing at 0 on the gauge.
It will hold you, but you can kick out when you are ready to. After
a long pool, look out for the one undercut. It is a five foot slide
with a hole that backwashes into an undercut, so it isn't worth the
risk since it isn't that fun compared to the other drops. Another
one of those features that looks harmless at first, but could be
dangerous. We walked around, by floating up to the right shore and
then just sliding on our butts for a few feet around it. There is
another good slide, then some flat then a great rapid called S-turn
that lives up to it's namesake. S-turn is also called Huntley's
Retreat in honor of a pioneer in boating in the area, Dennis
Huntley. Legend in the guidebook has it that he attempted this one
at 3 foot on the gauge, got into trouble, and thank God he was also
a climber as he had to climb up a fifty foot rock wall to get out.
After that, you can take out at a pulloff on the road about half a
mile above Brown Mtn. Beach, or you can park at Brown Mtn. Beach as
well.