Planning on.....(Trip report added, Bunyan Hill Bridge to FS 1000)

[Jdevil]

putting in at Borden TH tomorrow morning and paddling the sipsey down to 33 until Sunday.  Anyone observed the water levels these passed couple of days? Thanks!

[Jdevil]

Well, the departure time is near and the gauge over at Alabama whitewater reads low.  A little "eyes on" would have been appreciated, but no biggie, thanks just the same! If anyone see's us down the prior noted track, do say hello! A safe weekend to the lot of ya!

[Jdevil]

Well Folks, we started out on the maiden voyage of our new Kayaks at Bunyan Hill Bridge at approximately 10:00 AM with a low water level of a little over a 100 CFS at the Alabama whitewater site. I Would not recommend putting a canoe in here unless the water is at least twice or three times that level and be it noted that there is a pretty considerable log jam near, if my terrain association serves me correctly, fat mans squeeze, though we were able to manage it (too the left) without having to portage.  We scrubbed a great deal down until the convergence of Thompson and Borden Creek, though we never had to portage during the entire trip.  We located a great camp site near the last tributary before going around the horseshoe bend to the "100 yard dash" which turned out to be a beautiful little box canyon with a hidden waterfall.  I must note that during wet weather, the place would likely come alive with at least three different sets of falls and I highly recommend it! If anyone would like coordinates, just shoot me a pm.  

At about 10:30 PM, we were laying in our hammocks and noticed some lights coming down the river.  Turned out to be some folks in three different canoes who was unresponsive to our "A-hoy",  which is to be expected I suppose, lol.  We thought the people were insane, especially with such low water levels and it being our own first time in a kayak.  Why would people be going down this late at night?

Anyhow, we awoke the next morning and resumed our trip on down to 100 yard dash where we found a large hemlock almost blocking passage between the initial boulders.  A quick scouting mission showed that the small rapids were navigable, however, I'd recommend staying to the left as several small log jams were found to the right, with the most notable one completely impeding progress to the right of the big rock after initial entry under the large hemlock and through the big boulders.  We had been pretty anxious about going down the 100 yard dash, especially not being sure where exactly it was, but it turned out that it really wasn't worth all the anxiety, and to be honest, was more aggravating than fun with the low water level, but it was definitely a lot more fun than having to portage.  

It really made me wonder about the prior noted night travelers, as I would have loved to watch them attempt it at night, lol. Still seemed insane to me, but who knows, lol.

Anyhow, we made our way past Hurricane Creek where everything seemed to become a lot more scenic with large undercuts in the rock face. We lazily traveled on down past the convergence of Caney Creek and finally out from the old logging road on FS 1000, not too far north of the bridge take out at 33.  I would recommend taking out at 33, as said FS road is a pretty rough ride to say the least, in addition to having to carry our gear for about 75 yards uphill to the only feasible loading area.  All and all, it was a great tip, but whether you put-in at the rec. area or Borden Creek, I wouldn't recommend this trip to canoers unless the water was at the very least 200 CFS, as there was a lot of scrubbing, even in Kayaks.  We enjoyed the trip immensely and though we were easily able to make it a two day trip, an additional day would have been ideal simply to be able to explore all of the cool places we observed along the way.  Honestly, it kind of made me anxious for fall so we can get back on foot and spend more time exploring.  Things just seem to pass by too fast in the water, lol, especially with so many beautiful and beckoning areas that requires hours if not days of scrutiny!
            

[Firedog]

Been there done that, same scenario. I posted a Trip Report on alabamawhitewate r. We put in and the water level was 3.05 at put in. It turned out to be more like a hike through the sand bars. Still the same would like to do it again with more water.  If someone would like to hit it after a rain, let me know. Carl W.

[Uncle Wayne]

Nice report, thanks.  I've never found that gauge report to be reliable.  I have reported it to the FS as out of calibration but they have never took me seriously.  I have checked the gauge reading online and taken pictures of the numbers of actual water level I detail below and the gauge numbers are all over the scale and never consistent from on reading to another.  I don't ever trust the online guage reading but several do.  It's never worked out for me.   

A much better gauge of floatable levels is the aluminum numbers on the southeastern Cranal Road concrete bridge support.  They are visible from the bridge to the lower parking lot. The numbers 1 through 4 are attached to this at water level.  When the water level is at 1 or below, better float from the recreation area to HWY 33.  Will still encounter some low areas.  If the water level is at 2 or better, the float from Borden / Bunyan Hill bridge is doable although with still some low areas.  If you are lucky enough to catch the water level at 3.5 or above, a very enjoyable float from Thompson or Kinlock is well worth the effort. I have floated in a canoe from Thompson with the water level at 4+ and the bottom of the canoe never touch the bottom of the river bed.

Doesn't mean there won't be tree jams, and some of them monsters, to work around or over but it's a very beautiful float.

[Jdevil]

I was kind of worried about the accuracy over at alabamawhitwater myself, being new to the paddling scene, but luckily for us, it turned out to be accurate, however,  I will definitely keep the info in mind! Not sure about the rapids past needles eye on Thompson yet though, lol, they kind of made me "antsy", to say the least, when we observed them on our hike back in March.  My girlfriend and I are very inexperienced on the water, thus far, and will likely take our time in ensuring our competency and learning our boats before attempting class 3's, lol, but it's only a matter of time;)  Thanks for the info. Uncle Wayne, very much appreciated!   

[Uncle Wayne]

I was kind of worried about the accuracy over at alabamawhitwater myself, being new to the paddling scene, but luckily for us, it turned out to be accurate, however,  I will definitely keep the info in mind!   

Yeah, my situation is a little different as I'm a little less than 20 miles from the Sipsey Rec. Area so I can check the water level before loading everything up.  The online gauge is the only resource available for those who don't live nearby.  I just wish it was more dependable / accurate.   I talked with Mark at Wild South about the gauge and he has noticed it's inconsistency also.