Saluda, Middle, South Carolina, US

1: (Jones Gap) Jones Gap Trail to Park (Gap Section)

Usual Difficulty	III-V (for normal flows)
Length	3 Miles
Avg. Gradient	300 fpm

Gauge Information

Name	Range	Difficulty	Updated	Level
FRENCH BROAD RIVER AT ROSMAN, NC
usgs-03439000	2000 - 8000 cfs	III-V	00h52m	213 cfs (rc= -0.3 )

River Description

I spoke with a ranger today and was told there were no problems with accessing the run but he was unaware of many successful trips on the upper rapids. The put in options are to carry down from the top or up from the bottom. I prefer to carry up as it keeps the shuttle to a minimum.
WARNING!!! There is new wood in the lower parts of this section.
I (Will Reeves) ran this creek at 3.5 ft (bridge guage below park) (=200 cfs) from the 1 mile bridge down with three other boaters including an open canoe (Kevin Miller). We did not walk anything and had no problems with wood and we ran every rapid down to the lower parking lot without problems. Great run, but if you want to do an all day steep creek run carry down from the US 276 access point. At 700 cfs this run looked too high to do safely.
Directions: Take 276 N out of Greenville, and a few miles after Hwy 11 joins in, turn Right at the F-Mart (small brown country store with a Pepsi Sign--"Best Hotdogs In Town", and they're telling the truth), and follow this road straight a nubmer of miles all the way into the park.

Description: This is all out tight, technical, boney, boulder infested continuous creeking. DON'T GET SIDEWAYS. It is far from hair, lacks anything huge and of Tao's enjoyment, but is still enough to get the blood pumping.

Park at the parking lot or in "camper" parking if it's during the week, and be sure to register as a "hiker" at the trailhead after checking the flow. If there's enough water in the park, there should be enough upstream for a ways. Try to catch it during a serious downpour or after a number of days of rain.

After you've started up the trail, start scouting, because it doesn't look like eddies are going to be of high availability. Be sure to check out the stream falling off the mountain on Hiker's Left about a mile up the trail. The river leaves and rejoins the trail several times. Once you're in the water, keep it pointed downstream, and catch whatever eddies you can find.

The only drops I can note are both near the end of the run. One is a huge boulder clog (Razorback), which looks runnable on the far right side down 2 or 3 steps, and then picking your way through the runnout. Stay out of the trees on the left and the clog in the left middle. The only problem it seems with the steps is that if you fall off the right side of one of them, you end up in a terminal seive. Be careful.

The second is actually in the park after the large wooden bridge but before the metal footbridge. It's like a huge slab had a diagonal slice about 3 feet wide cut out of it from top left to bottom right. You have a class II approch, and a small eddie in the pool on river right above the slot. The right slab is undercut, so a missed line will result in lost teeth or a nice bloody nose. You run up on the left slab, and fall off into the pool below. Beware of the f-up rocks right at the lip if the level is marginal. The total drop is only 3 or 4 feet, but can look pretty serious. Hit the water with a strong push to the left and drop through the slot and find a place to take out.

From the Coldsprings Branch down to the upper parking lot is 2 miles. The river drops right at 300 fpm for both miles. Above Coldsprings Branch the river gets really steep, dropping over 420 feet in the mile above the confluence. Check the topo maps and you will see that most of that gradient happens in less than a mile.
See also Out of the Park.

Wood on this creek is a serious concern, as the slots are narrow, and the banks are weak and prone to drop whole trees into the river. Scout when you can, and don't bang ahead, as eddies are few and far between, and you may be in the meat and maw before you know it.

Jones Gap State Park