Cheaha Creek, Alabama, US

Cheaha Falls to Devils Den

Usual Difficulty	II-IV+ (for normal flows)
Length	2 Miles
Avg. Gradient	100 fpm
Max Gradient	100 fpm

Gauge Information

Name	Range	Difficulty	Updated	Level
LITTLE TALLAPOOSA RIVER NEAR NEWELL AL
usgs-02413300	2.50 - 5.00 ft	II-IV+	41h20m	3.02 ft (rc= 0.2 )
	Flow range for best boatability uncertain. Please help your fellow boaters with a comment or report.

River Description

The run documented here is from just above Cheaha Falls to Devils Den. The falls may be runnable (Bill Patterson thinks so). Devils Den is about 1/2 mile above the lake, Mike Huff calls it the "Alabama Six Pack". The lake road is closed during the winter. It's hard to judge level from afar, but bank full after 2+" of rain would probably be about right.

Judson Douglas ran this 1/26/02 at below minimum, but his notes are quite helpful nonetheless:

They put in at bridge bridge upstream of the lake, but the 1st service rd would be a better choice. They walked and scraped to just above Cheaha Falls, which he saw as a 40' total drop with a boulder or two greeting your landing. The next mile or is so is class II with a couple 4-5' ledges.

At last, the Six Pack, aka Devils Den. He compared it to the Tellico ledges, only compressed. Overall it is a total of almost 100' drop in a comparatively short distance. The first drop is a 4' drop onto a 3' slide. The next is a like a big Powell Falls. After that is a slide or vertical slot move on the right, about 4' total. Next is the major move, a 12'-15' drop, only do-able at low water on far left with a ferry just above it from right to left, with consequences if you mess up. The fifth part is a 6' pourover with a slot move. Next is a 3' broken ledge followed by 3.5' slot / broken ledge. Finally after 50' of flatwater, something like a "speedway boulder garden class IV" drops 30' in 40' length. At last some 100 yds of class II brings you to the lake, and the 2 mile hike out.

This has been run at decent water a few times in the last few years, so the pictures and trip report now contain some good stuff. Also, it is common to just go to the lake and walk upstream to run the six pack rather than put in upstream.

If the Chinnabee Lake Road is closed, you could keep going the next 2 miles past the lake to the FR 537 bridge. This section is 55'/mile.Next section , 2.0 miles, 55', 55'