Elk River, Back Fork, West Virginia, US
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2. Confluence of Sugar Creek(Skelt) to Big Sycamore(Breece) (Three Falls Section)
| Usual Difficulty |
II-IV (for normal flows) |
| Length |
4.6 Miles |
| Avg. Gradient |
55 fpm |
| Max Gradient |
55 fpm |
Back Fork Elk
Back Fork ElkPhoto by Tom O'Keefe taken 09/01/03 @ 5.7'
Gauge Information
River Description
Logistics: Take WV 20 north out of Webster Springs, cross the Back Fork, and bear right on CR 24
(Back Fork Elk River Road). You'll head up the hill and then after the pavement ends, dip back down
along the river. After about 5 miles you'll reach Sycamore Park. There is good access a couple
hundred yards downstream of a foot bridge. To reach the put-in, head back to WV 20 and go 11.2
miles north to WV 18 (Holly River Rd.). Take this road through the town of Jumbo and 3.5 miles from
WV 20 bear right. It's another 2.7 miles down to the put-in where the road first comes along Sugar
Creek which is a tributary of the Back Fork. If If Sugar Creek is too low, you can turn around on
CR 22 and go back up the hill a short distance until you quickly come to the second dirt road
heading downstream in reference to Sugar Creek. The first dirt road is at creek level and only goes
a short distance down Sugar Creek. The second dirt road will have a black mailbox on it. It is not
a driveway. You can even see it on any WV Atlas and Gazetteer. Take it and after about 1/2-3/4
mile, you will come to the Back Fork.
Description:
The run starts out with a fun ledge on Sugar Creek and then you quickly join the Back Fork Elk. The
first half of the run is mostly class II and it's a scenic float through mellow rapids. Just as
you're beginning to wonder when the action starts, you arrive at the the "Three Falls" section
where you will find six major (4-12') ledges. At levels below 6.2' the top half of the run will be
a little boney and you might scrape a bit over some of the ledges, but they are still fun.
There are some more fun rapids and then a couple more ledges as you cross under a road bridge and
then the foot bridge to Sycamore Park. The take-out is on the right.
Lat/longitude coords are approximate, from TopoZone.
StreamTeam Status: Verified
Last Updated: 2004-11-20 06:23:37
Editors
No rapids entered. If you know names, and locations of the rapids please contact and advise the StreamTeam member for this run. 
User Comments
(mixed skill levels) passed the aforementioned strainer easily---we limboed under it. This level
was quite good---low, but without much scraping, and still great fun. Every rapid was run, but the
fourth ledge had no easy routes at this level (except for the hike-and-seal-launch---still fun!);
more water makes this one easier. The shuttle can be run up Old Sycamore road. It's shorter, but I
don't know whether it's faster---probably is faster for professional rally drivers. From Bergoo
Road, take Old Sycamore Road up the hill; when you come to a T, turn Right. At a Y intersection
with a church up on the hill, go Left. Go over the hill and down the other side to a little valley
with a funky intersection at a paved road. Just go straight, up the dirt road. Later, take a Right
at a Y intersection. Soon you come to the paved road that goes to Sugar Creek. (I think the house
number is 460.) Turn Right. No high ground clearance required. My DeLorme's Atlas shows this route,
albeit in tiny little red lines. I hadn't done this river for about 12 years or so, and it really
is an enjoyable section. I remembered that it went by pretty quickly when I soloed it, but taking
my time and doing multiple runs of some of the drops with some good people really made a nice day.
The drops really are very nice, classic, even great! They can all be run multiple times, except for
the third one; although, technically, someone did, with help from above, climb back up the cliff
for another run, I think that risking a broken back in a fall from wet, slimy, and probably loose
rocks offers a very questionable cost/benefit ratio. As for the shuttle, maybe some "local" can
compare the two shuttle routes and decide which is better/faster; please post the results here. Edit
beautiful paddle with views around every bend. I would highly suggest paddling this sect and and it
is a very easy paddle by the way. Edit
<br>
The strainer that Mike Mullins referred to is still there. We were on the run for the first time
and did not know how soon the Three Falls section was coming up. As mentioned, the strainer looks
completely passable on the left side. But what looks like water going over the top of the strainer,
actually seems to be water pillowing up on a root ball where it looks passable. Three very
competent paddlers in our group wound up going under this strainer because they thought the route
was open, and two of them wound up swimming. It was possible at that water level (1150cfs Elk R
below Webster Springs) to limbo under the far right side of the strainer, but if the water had been
any higher, that option would not have been there. As mentioned, the portage is easy.<br>
<br>
Also- if you put on at Sugar Creek, there is another strainer to contend with shortly after the
8-10 foot ledge on the creek. There is a fallen tree extending across the river from the river
right bank, and another fallen tree just behind it, extending from the river left bank. At the
level listed above, it is possible to eddy out to the left of the first strainer and ferry between
the two, but it is a tight move. Might be a good idea to portage this, too, if the level is any
higher.
<br>
Strainer alert--Backfork of Elk<br>
Posted by Mike Mullins on 3/10/2003<br>
<br>
Approximately 200 yards b/4 first drop on "Three Falls Section of Back Fork" there is a
river wide strainer. It looks like it has been there for a while, but the river left side appears
to have picked up several limbs in the recent storms. Because river left side is just at water
surface, at higher water, river left may be hidden and/or look passable. Its not, and probably
won't be anytime soon.<br>
<br>
There is an easy portage on river left.<br>
<br>
<br>
Webster Springs gauge. The book says 5.8 is minimum and we agree. We did it at that level and had a
lot of fun. But I would NOT do it at 5.7 or 5.8 and falling fast. I also ran it in the past at 6.1
and found that level to be a lot of fun also. So the guidebook suggestion of 5.8 to 6.2 I agree
with on the low side...on the upper end...well that's up to you.<br>
PUTIN. If Sugar Creek is high enough...put in on Sugar Creek. Otherwise turn around on CR 22 and go
back up the hill a short distance until you quickly come to the SECOND dirt road heading downstream
in reference to Sugar Creek. The first dirt road is at creek level and only goes a short distance
down Sugar Creek. The second dirt road will have A BLACK MAILBOX on it. It is not a driveway. You
can even see it on any WV Atlas and Gazetteer. Take it and after about 1/2-3/4 mile, you will come
to the Back Fork. We drove downstream about 100-200 yards and parked in a wide spot on the road
just before a church. No sweat!!<br>
THE RIVER. Delightful to the max!! The guidebook talks about three falls (indeed the section is
known as the "three falls" section. Well, they are all runnable and we ran all 8 of the 3
that we found!! We won't tell you more than that because part of our delight was coming to them and
figuring out how to run them. We took at at the the Big Sycamore on river right after parking in
the parking area by the footbridge to the Big Sycamore. Unfortunately as of May 2002, the Big
Sycamore looks Big Sickandmore.