Long Swamp Creek, Georgia, US |
|
| Usual Difficulty | III-IV (for normal flows) |
|---|---|
| Length | 2.8 Miles |
| Avg. Gradient | 114 fpm |
| Max Gradient | 220 fpm |
| Name | Range | Difficulty | Updated | Level |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LONG SWAMP CREEK AT REAVIS MTN RD, NR NELSON, GA | ||||
| usgs-02390475 | 7.00 - 10.00 ft | III-IV | 00h32m | 3.82 ft (rc= -1.1 ) |
This is the after work, after thunderstorm run just outside Jasper, Georgia.
There are a couple of nice runnable waterfalls. The first one can be viewed by hiking less than
half a mile down the trail on river left from the put-in. Most of the run consists of bedrock
rapids.
At the put-in the creek is about 15 feet wide. Look for all the rocks under the Grandview Bridge
to be underwater. There are a couple of small class 3 slides, then two fairly large slides.
Shortly after that is the 15 foot waterfall. Off the middle or middle left is usually preferred.
The landing zone is quite deep but the lip shelf gives good boofs. Scout on the left to look for
trees.
Below that are some more slides and 2 more drops of note. The first is an eight foot tall ledge
with a pretty scary notch on the right. At lower flows you have to run thru the notch. Bring your
elbow pads.
Next is an eight to ten foot tall ledge that can be boofed right off the middle. After that the
river flattens out until the takeout. There is probably a mile of good whitewater followed by a
mile and a half of flatwater to the takeout.
There are usually numerous logs to limbo or portage in the lower section below the rapids (which do collect wood as well). Keep a ready eye out for these. They came down during Ivan (2004) and don't look like they'll be going anywhere anytime soon.
The dam at the takeout can be run, but the landing zone is only one paddle blade deep. If you run
it make sure you land the boof dead flat.
The locals still call this one Cove Creek due to the take-out being on Cove Road, but the maps
all call it Long Swamp Creek.
Directions:
From Atlanta take I-575 north to Jasper. Go right (east) on Highway 53 to downtown Jasper. Cross
over Main Street in Jasper, then take a left at the next light onto Burnt Mountain Road. Go about
a quarter mile then take a right on Cove Road. Long Swamp Creek is the first creek you cross over
at the bottom of the hill. To get to the Put-in continue up the hill on Cove Road, then take the
first left onto Grandview Road. Long Swamp Creek is the first creek you come to across from a
horse pasture.
Visual - this one takes a lot of water.
Four Ways to Gauge Long Swamp Creek:
1. The best way to gauge whether this one is running is to check and see if there was a major rain event in its watershed within the last 2-3 hours. Also, when you arrive, check the put-in and take a visual. If it looks small and you see rocks that you'd scrape over, it will be even scrapier downstream. If it looks like you'll float over without scraping, you'll still probably be on the low/scrapy side down on the slides and in the rapids. If it looks thumping (but not climbing out of the banks) at the put-in, you should have a good medium level. Again, these are put-in water level indicators.
2. There is a new gauge [Long Swamp Creek at Reavis Mountain Road: USGS Gauge] which was installed in 2006.
The gauge is a few miles downstream, and it is flatwater below the take-out, so this gauge is a historical record of the creek's flow. However, if the gauge is reading over 7 feet, you will likely have water. We need more correlations to figure out exactly how to use this gauge. Please post in the comments what level the Long Swamp USGS gauge was when you ran it.
3. Look at the USGS rain gauge and stream gauge for Fausett Creek near Talking Rock, Ga. This creek is ~10 miles away and tends to receive the same rain patterns as Long Swamp. Look for 2+ inches on this gauge in the winter in a short period of time when the ground is already primed. Even more rain will be needed when it has been dry. At 300 cfs on this gauge, Long Swamp was "pumping" according to one paddler. Based on that and timing of recent runs, look for around 2.5 feet or a minimum of 200 cfs on this gauge. We need more correlations to figure out exactly how to use this gauge. Please post in the comments what level the Fausett Creek USGS gauge was when you ran Long Swamp.
4. There is a pumping station dam at the Cove Road take-out. I would want to see water spilling over the top of the dam from bank to bank. In 2003, Rob Maxwell installed a gauge on the river left side of the dam at the Cove Road take-out. It is easily seen from river right. In September 2003, 10 inches was minimum and 1'6" was medium. However, soon after in 2004, the local authorities dug a channel around the left side of the old pumping station, and it now has thrown off the gauge. This new "streambed" is rapidly changing and is in soft ground where erosion certainly affects the correlation, so there has been no new correlation yet. The best place for a painted/stick gauge would likely be at the put-in, where the creek is well defined.
| Name | Range | Difficulty | Updated | Level | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LONG SWAMP CREEK AT REAVIS MTN RD, NR NELSON, GA | ||||||||||||
| usgs-02390475 | 7.00 - 10.00 ft | III-IV | 00h32m | 3.82 ft (rc= -1.1 ) | ||||||||
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| When | River/Gauge | Subject | Level | Reporter |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Long Swamp Creek [GA] |
Woo Hoo!!
|
Med. | Dallas Shaw | |
| Long Swamp Creek / Cove Creek [GA] |
(RM) Take Out
|
1 foot | Robert Maxwell | |
| Long Swamp Creek [Ga] |
Long Swamp Creek
|
10 (Too Low) | Chris Gorman | |
| 8y225d11h45m | Long Swamp creek [GA] |
Boofing, Long Swamp Style
|
medium | Chris Gorman |
| 9y23d11h45m | Long swamp Creek [Ga] |
Long Swamp Creek, Ga
|
Very Low | Chris Gorman |
| Mile | Rapid Name | Class | Features (Legend) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.1 | Grandview Rapid | III |  |
| 0.2 | Second Rapid | II+ | |
| 0.3 | Bump & Grind | III+ | |
| 0.4 | The Falls | IV |  |
| 0.6 | S-Turn | III+ | |
| 0.7 | The Narrows | IV | |
| 2.8 | Take-out | IV |  |
(RM) Grandview Rapid (400ft from put-in)
(RM) Second Rapid (mile .17)
(RM) Top of Bump-N-Grind (mile .24)
(RM) Long Swamp Falls (mile .28)
(RM) Top of S-Turn (mile .40)
(RM) Exit Ramp (mile 0.7)
(RM) Take Out reach
state
reachlink
Grandview Rd to Cove Rd., Near Jasper, GA, Long Swamp Creek Georgia, US (mobile)
User Comments
known. It was 7' on this gauge when we ran it at 1' on the damn. It felt like a good low-medium
level... ie just right.
have found an indicator. USGS 2381600 is Fausett Cr. which is about 10 miles away, but is on the
other side of the mountain. It spiked to over 300 on Monday when Long Swamp was pumping. Most
importantly it does have a rainfall gauge which may be more valuable.<br>
<br>
is where the gauge is so it needs a new correlation or a new gauge below where the two channels
join again
you have to run thru the notch. Bring your elbow pads.<br>
<br>
Next is an eight to ten foot tall ledge that can be boofed right off the middle. After that the
river flattens out until the takeout. There is probably a mile of good whitewater followed by a
mile and a half of flatwater to the takeout."<br>
<br>
I think that is mixed up. The notch rapid is the last drop on the run. And the other one "Exit
ramp" is before this one. The scary notch one has a bad sieve/pinning spot on far right. So
you want to boof the rock to the left of it (but if u dry out and slide to the right then you are
in the sieve.
dam at the Cove Road take-out. It is easily seen from river right. 10 inches is minimum. 1'6" is
medium.
side. I was told that if the water was at that line it would be a fun level. It was about an inch
or two below that and people were running it. They said it definitely could use some more water but
they still had a good time.