Eastatoe Creek,
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US 178 to Smith Creek above Lake Keowee
| Usual Difficulty |
IV-V (may vary with level) |
| Length |
3.52 Miles |
| Avg. Gradient |
230 fpm |
Shayne cranking a big boof
Shayne cranking a big boofPhoto of Shayne Day by Brad Roberts taken Sept 28, 2002 @ low
Gauge Information
River Description
The big nasty portage is about 2 miles into the run. We carried on the right. Left looked like a
better bet. Watch out for the stinging nettles on the bank in that area, and lots of poison ivey.
Last seen there were a couple of riverwide strainers that got us out of our boats above the drop.
This is a good thing because the gradient will sneak up on you above the portage if you are not
careful.
Bradley
September 27, 2002
StreamTeam Status: Verified
Last Updated: 2006-01-24 11:25:45
User Comments
the rapids. There are a couple of really good rapids that can't be run because there are logs in
them. If you are planning a trip down this section, start early so you make sure you have enough
time to scout and portage, because you will be doing a lot of portaging. There are only a few big
drops that require scouting but there are also a lot of fairly easy blind drops that must be
scouting to make sure there is no wood. Don't let the fact that it is only 4+ river miles fool you
it will take some time. We got caught by dark and had to spend the night. So, be prepared for it to
be slow going.
hit 3000 before the day was over, cullasaja went over 8 feet.
We were still lacking water. Figure if you can float under the right channel of the put-in bridge
without scrapping then it will be do-able. Or if the bridge at the takeout has the only one
railroad tie stair showing. If you see both ties, its low.
Lots of trees and logs down. We probably had to get out of the boats 10 times to carry over various
pieces of wood. Two good rapids were unrunnable due to strainers.
Still there were 4 good falls. Some good sliding drops. A smaller version of something that looked
like singleys off overflow.. There were a bunch or nice long slides. Most of the run is over
bedrock. There are some streamside undercuts to be careful when you are near them. There was one
funky 4 foot ledge with a strong hole, the hole pulled one boat back up under the ledge a few feet,
it was a strange undercut.
There was also a lot of good boogie water.
The mandatory portage is a bitch. We carried on river right. River left looked better after we were
about halfway into it. Took us about 30 minutes to move 3 boats and bodies around the portage. The
falls after the portage is the best on the river.