Drought conditions are pretty hard on whitewater paddlers in the southeast these days. That being said, there is one run that still seems to run at least one day a month. Linville has run 7 days in the past 2 and a half months. Having got back from BC, I had some serious catching up to do at home and had not been able to get on it the times it came up.
But, having allocated some time to go to the Russell Fork for the race, I knew as usual something would come along that would interfere with my Russell Fork plans. Luckily, for the last few years, that obstacle always seems to end up being a few inches of rain in the high country, resulting in cush flows for Linville.
Linville is the best river run in the eastern part of the continent. I haven't paddled every river in this region, but I am sure it beats anything else. Not many people run it for some reason, and I attribute that in part to the misinformation passed around the paddling community about what kind of flows are required for a good run. The gauge changed in 2004 after the floods, but there is much dispute now about whether or not it may be settling out. I KNOW it is settling out back to previous flow correlations, and is only around 0.2 feet off of pre-flood levels. Anyway, let the video be the judge. We had what many North Carolinians refer to as "minimum for sure". You can decide if it might be scrapable lower than our flow.
So here is a short video of our day on Linville on Saturday. It ended up being the best day I have had out there. The water was solid, and the leaves were amazing. We had two first timers too, and they now have a new favorite.
But, having allocated some time to go to the Russell Fork for the race, I knew as usual something would come along that would interfere with my Russell Fork plans. Luckily, for the last few years, that obstacle always seems to end up being a few inches of rain in the high country, resulting in cush flows for Linville.
Linville is the best river run in the eastern part of the continent. I haven't paddled every river in this region, but I am sure it beats anything else. Not many people run it for some reason, and I attribute that in part to the misinformation passed around the paddling community about what kind of flows are required for a good run. The gauge changed in 2004 after the floods, but there is much dispute now about whether or not it may be settling out. I KNOW it is settling out back to previous flow correlations, and is only around 0.2 feet off of pre-flood levels. Anyway, let the video be the judge. We had what many North Carolinians refer to as "minimum for sure". You can decide if it might be scrapable lower than our flow.
So here is a short video of our day on Linville on Saturday. It ended up being the best day I have had out there. The water was solid, and the leaves were amazing. We had two first timers too, and they now have a new favorite.
Linville Gorge from Kirk Eddlemon on Vimeo.
Props to Keith to stepping up to the run without a drytop and much of anything. Nick's vinatage pink shorty splash top loaner was classic. No wonder some of the footage was so shaky.
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