French Broad, West Fork - SR 1309 Bridge to US 64 Bridge


French Broad, West Fork, North Carolina, US

Disclaimer

SR 1309 Bridge to US 64 Bridge (West Fork)

Usual Difficulty IV-V (for normal flows)
Length 3.4 Miles
Avg. Gradient 100 fpm

Upstream view of the 1st slide


Upstream view of the 1st slide
Photo of Upstream view of the 1st slide by Tyler Stewart taken 12/05/02 @ -1

Gauge Information

Name Range Difficulty Updated Level
FRENCH BROAD RIVER AT ROSMAN, NC
usgs-03439000 350 - 1000 cfs IV-V 00h29m 210 cfs (rc= -0.2 )


River Description

The West Fork is something different for those jaded by the North Fork. It has a slightly different character, and offers the chance to go big more than once. Three times in fact, in a row.

This different and slightly bigger character comes with some consequences though, as this river has taken a life, unlike it's brother. There is a dangerous pothole in the first slide, small but significant seives in the boulder garden, and some bad lumber all through the run.

Takeout:

From Headwaters Outfitters at 64 and 215, go West on 64 and look for a small factory immediately before the small bridge. Turn L into the "Shipping and Receiving" drive and park near the picnic tables.

Putin:

Turn L (West) on 64, and climb the grade. Turn R immediately past the CITGO gas station. Follow this road (SR 1309) until it crosses the river. Park on the left or right.

You can hike down the river left bank to the first drop to get a feel for the flow. It's about a quarter of a mile.


StreamTeam Status: Not Verified
Last Updated: 2009-10-29 23:52:36

Photo#874188

Detail Trip Report    Rosman, NC, NC(466.35KB .jpeg)

Photo#874187

Detail Trip Report    Rosman, NC, NC(466.35KB .jpeg)

DN running 1st slide

Detail Trip Report  DN running 1st slide  Rosman, NC, NC(550.94KB .jpeg)

DN running 1st slide

Detail Trip Report  DN running 1st slide  Rosman, NC, NC(486.05KB .jpeg)

3rd slide

Detail Trip Report  3rd slide  West fork of the French Broad, NC(193.66KB .jpeg)

Upstream view of the 1st slide

Detail Trip Report  Upstream view of the 1st slide  West fork of the French Broad, NC(206.06KB .jpeg)

1st slide

Detail Trip Report  1st slide  West fork of the French Broad, NC(205.39KB .jpeg)

1st slide Vid clip

Detail Trip Report  1st slide Vid clip  West Fork of the French Broad, NC(2.07MB .avi)

Third Slide

Detail Trip Report  Third Slide  French Broad, West Fork, NC(45.30KB .jpeg)

First Slide

Detail Trip Report  First Slide  French Broad, West Fork, NC(41.69KB .jpeg)

1st Slide Below

Detail Trip Report  1st Slide Below  West Fork French Broad, NC(6.98MB .avi)

Dropping the line on the 1st Slide

Detail Trip Report  Dropping the line on the 1st Slide  West Fork French Broad, NC(3.67MB .avi)

James: third slide

Detail Trip Report  James: third slide  French Broad, West Fork, NC(3.77MB .wmv)

DC: third slide.

Detail Trip Report  DC: third slide.  French Broad, West Fork, NC(3.64MB .wmv)

Nathan: third slide

Detail Trip Report  Nathan: third slide  French Broad, West Fork, NC(3.77MB .wmv)

Tyler on the third slide

Detail Trip Report  Tyler on the third slide  French Broad, West Fork, NC(2.84MB .wmv)

Zach on the third slide

Detail Trip Report  Zach on the third slide  French Broad, West Fork, NC(3.79MB .wmv)

James on the second slide

Detail Trip Report  James on the second slide  French Broad, West Fork, NC(3.72MB .wmv)

Rusty on the third slide.

Detail Trip Report  Rusty on the third slide.  French Broad, West Fork, NC(4.89MB .wmv)

Tyler on the second slide.

Detail Trip Report  Tyler on the second slide.  French Broad, West Fork, NC(2.95MB .wmv)

Rusty on the second slide.

Detail Trip Report  Rusty on the second slide.  French Broad, West Fork, NC(2.88MB .wmv)

Nathan on the first slide

Detail Trip Report  Nathan on the first slide  French Broad, West Fork, NC(3.84MB .wmv)

Glen on the second slide.

Detail Trip Report  Glen on the second slide.  French Broad, West Fork, NC(4.91MB .wmv)

Tyler on the first slide

Detail Trip Report  Tyler on the first slide  French Broad, West Fork, NC(2.76MB .wmv)

Class V Tubing

Detail Trip Report  Class V Tubing  French Broad, West Fork, NC(9.14MB .wmv)


Gauge Information

Gauge Description:

The gauge is on the SR 1309 bridge at the Put-in. 6 inchs below the MIDDLE of zero is the minimum. This is usually running with the North Fork is running, and a 0 on the NF gauge will corelate roughly with -6 on this gauge. At a reading of +3, the third slide becomes one long drop, and the boulder garden begins to bump up and pad out.

Gauge Information

Name Range Difficulty Updated Level
FRENCH BROAD RIVER AT ROSMAN, NC
usgs-03439000 350 - 1000 cfs IV-V 00h29m 210 cfs (rc= -0.2 )

RangeWater LevelDifficultyComment
350 -1000 cfs barely runnable-high runnable IV-V Upper limit for best boatability uncertain. Please help your fellow boaters with a comment or report.

Report - Reports of French Broad, West Fork SR 1309 Bridge to US 64 Bridge and related gauges

Reports give the public a chance to report on river conditions throughout the country as well as log the history of a river.

Reports

When River/Gauge Subject Level Reporter
French Broad, West Fork [NC] Nathan: third slide +7 in Nathan Crawford
1y292d09h58m Rosman, NC [NC] Josh PFD on the West Fork a good level Dwight Nalbone
1y292d22h43m Rosman, NC [NC] DN on 1st Slide of WFFB 1.00 ft Dwight Nalbone
5y42d17h43m French Broad, West Fork [NC] Zach on the third slide +7 Nathan Crawford
6y212d17h43m West Fork French Broad [NC] 1st Slide Below -2 in William Jones
6y226d17h43m French Broad, West Fork [NC] Class V Tubing 7-9 Marissa Ray
7y144d17h43m West Fork of the French Broad [NC] 1st slide Vid clip 1/10th below Zero Tyler Stewart
9y70d17h43m French Broad, West Fork [NC] Third Slide -1" Ben Gaston
9y70d17h43m West fork of the French Broad [NC] 3rd slide -1 Tyler Stewart
> 10 years West Fork French Broad [NC] Dropping the line on the 1st Slide -2in William Jones

WXPort

News





User Comments


2007-12-26 09:03:15 (1508 days ago)
Geoff KohlDetails
For the WFFB uninitiated reading this page, you definitely want to boof the ledge at the bottom of
the first slide. There is a pothole in there, and I have watched it piton and pitchpole a very good
boater who mis-timed his last stroke. At 3", it really doesn't want to let you get to the right
wall to skim around the ledge with that small tongue. Middle, it seems, is where the pothole is.
Most successful seemed to be entering middle at top and heading left, then throwing a righty boof
off the lip. That drop is so much fun when you hit it correctly, but please don't take it lightly
due to the pothole.

2006-03-09 14:11:02 (2165 days ago)
Harrison MetzgerDetails
On March 5 I and a guy named Dan from Boatertalk spent the afternoon cutting strainers out of the
West Fork. We spent several hours on the logjam in one of the middle drops of Jim Sheppard Rapids,
the long Class IV boulder garden.<br>
<br>
I waded across and chainsawed the logs, which averaged 8-11 inches in diameter, into pieces about
7-8 feet long. Dan stayed on river right and hauled the logs into eddys over there using his throw
rope which I binered onto each log.<br>
<br>
We were quite careful as we cut through the strainer pile, which was completely blocking a 3-foot
drop about 6 feet wide halfway down the rapid. There were a half dozen logs stuffed in the only
navigable drop, as well as a railroad tie and the remnants of one of those river tubes (maybe it
was left over from that guy who was videotaped tubing Pothole Falls awhile back.)<br>
<br>
While on river left, I also cut smaller strainers upstream and downstream in the rapid. Then
holding the chainsaw over my head I waded back across and we sawed up the six or seven large logs
into sections no longer than 4 feet. We carried some above the high water mark, but they were
waterlogged and heavy as hell, so we ended up stacking the rest in a cleft in the rocks on river
right about 6 feet above water level. We also removed another 10-inch diameter, 8-foot log that was
stuck under a rock upstream of the former bad strainer.<br>
<br>
On our way out, I waded back across the river and cut an overhanging rhodo branch that has knocked
several paddlers over in one of the final drops. It is all clear now and good to go the next time
it rains.

2005-08-18 18:52:26 (2368 days ago)
Harrison MetzgerDetails
Could the person who posted the Class V tubing video please repost it as an AVI file? I can't open
it as is and I really want to see the carnage. Thanks

2004-10-03 11:07:25 (2687 days ago)
Brad RobertsDetails
I watched a bud pin in the pothole in the first drop. He was paddling a Cruise Control set up as a
C-1. He was ejected out of his boat hard enough to rip out the thigh straps. After that, I ran
right.
Users can submit comments.

Rapid Summary

Mile Rapid Name Class Features (Legend)
0.3First Slide5.0Hazard Waterfall Photo
0.5Second SlideIV+
0.8Third Slide5.0Hazard Photo
1.0LogHazard
2.5Boulder GardenIV
3.5TakeoutTakeout

Rapid Descriptions

First Slide (Class 5.0, Mile 0.3)

First Slide

First Slide
Photo of Tyler Stewart by Scott Houston taken 12/05/02 @ -1"

12 foot broken shelf slide into a 8 foot vertical drop. In THE BOTTOM CENTER OF THE VERTICAL DROP IS A POTHOLE!!!! Usually run starting middle, angled right through the fluff, driving right down the shelves, and powering up into a sliding boof off the right wall at the bottom to clear the hole. Be aware that the shelves can grab your boat and slam you (seen a shoulder dislocation here), and the eddy in the trees on the right can spin you around. The line is tight. If you find yourself going off the bottom drop in the middle, BOOF. A vertical pin here is a VERY real possibility, though the pothole allegedly flushes on the right. There are also those who run right to left (watch the video below), and those who run it "Hard, Fast, and down the Middle" at lower flows (below 0) Clean trail on the left.

Second Slide (Class IV+, Mile 0.5)
A 15-20' slide with a rooster tail 3/4ths of the way down in the middle, and a piton potential on the bottom left. This hole could get stiff. Scout and/or carry on the dry rocks to the left.

Third Slide (Class 5.0, Mile 0.8)

Third Slide

Third Slide
Photo of Tyler Stewart by Scott Houston taken 12/05/02 @ -1"

Long, 25' slide with a fin of rock bisecting the flow. Run right of the fin, and drive right before the final 5' slide, as there is a log laying off the left bank about halfway across the river, in the hole. As of October 2004, there was a blowdown off the right bank hanging into the slide about halfway down. It is still possible to run the slide, but a severe lashing is a definate possibility, as is impalement or straining. The water at the top wants to push you right, away from the fin, into the blowdown. There's only ~4 feet of blue sky between the tree and the fin. Scout or begin the heinous portage on the right. Bring your rope and sticky shoes.

Log
As of October, 2004, there is a log laying across the stream after the pool below Third Slide. At levels over -4", it would be considerate to those who love you to think about walking down the left bank. It is possible to limbo at lower levels, on the right.

Boulder Garden (Class IV, Mile 2.5)
Long, tight, and technical boulder garden. This series begins when car-sized boulders appear after about a mile of flat and class II water. The drops are tight, and the lines numerous. Eddies begin to dissapear the higher the water gets, and the holes get stiffer. Read and run, this is the half-mile long big brother of The Clog. There are several small but significant seives to avoid, and swims could be bad, as could new lumber. Stay on your toes and keep your bow up.

Takeout
After floating through the moving flatwater, you'll go under US 64 (the first bridge you come to). Look for a faint trail on river L to the picnic tables.


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 SR 1309 Bridge to US 64 Bridge, French Broad, West Fork North Carolina, US (mobile)