Paul's Creek, Virginia, US |
|
| Usual Difficulty | V+ (for normal flows) |
|---|---|
| Length | 0.5 Miles |
| Avg. Gradient | 740 fpm |
| Name | Range | Difficulty | Updated | Level |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ROCKFISH RIVER NEAR GREENFIELD, VA | ||||
| usgs-02028500 | 1200 - 10000 cfs | V+ | 00h48m | 106 cfs (rc= -0.1 ) |
Coordinates are approximate.
May, 2008 update: Paul's Creek is not
recommended right now. There is wood in the two drops above "Chutes & Ladders"
and in "Where's Haynie," as well as other drops. Go paddle something else
instead.
First off: Please understand that this is a very steep creek. I strongly suggest
that potential Paul's paddlers successfully paddle the nearbyAdrenaline Alley section of
the North Fork Tye before you bother to hike your boat all the way in to Paul's Creek.
It has often been said that, "Many hike-in, but few put-on!"
This is normally a hiking and swimming area known to local residents as "the
waterslides." When very heavy rains grace the area this becomes one of Virginia's
steepest runnable creeks. This is a sweet new addition to the other great creeks of this area
(Statons, South Piney, Tye Forks). From the trailhead parking area, hike down the trail to
the stream crossing. Wade (or paddle) across the creek and keep hiking up the river-left side.
You'll know you are getting close when you see "END" painted in blue on a rock (this is
the end of the official hiking trail). You may not notice the paint though, because
your attention will be focused on the two big slides in front of you. These are "Chutes and
Ladders" (upstream) and "Where's Haynie" (downstream). These are big-air slides
similar to some of the drops near the end of the Horsepasture in NC or a rougher version of some
of Cali's finest.
Keep hiking upstream through the woods along river-left for several hundred yards or more. Watch
out for poision ivy and nettle. You'll notice the creek dropping continuously on your left.
Put-in wherever you want. There is a small easy slide, then "Elbow Grease", then the
real drops begin. One tight, twisting cascade is called "Rochambeau" for the game of
rock-paper-scissors that was fought for rights to the first-descent. The half-mile of creek from
Rochambeau down to the take-out (at the trail stream crossing) drops at around 750 feet-per-mile
and there are no mandatory portages. It all goes. Sweet Steepness!
Put-in above Rochambeau, or keep hiking upstream as far as you want. The creek has more wood in
the streambed the farther up you go but is often surprisingly clean. There are few class IV
warm-up drops, and "Elbow Grease", up there to get your game face on.
If you are a Paul's Creek caliber boater then you won't need a description of the rest of the
creek from me. Be loose. Have fun!
Directions: First of all: Drive only 25 mph or slower in the subdivision. This is
private property. Your actions reflect on all boaters.
Do not loiter in the trailhead parking area. This is private property.
For a video of Paul's Creek, go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lxxQ8UWXGbY
The only gauge that is tied into this creek is a painted gauge on the Rt. 151 bridge over Mallory Creek. This is near the interersection with Rt. 6, north of Nellysford. Look on the inner side of the downstream river-right pillar. Look for 1 foot minimum on this painted gauge. It takes a lot of rain to make this one go. If the South Rockfish is running then Paul's is likely going too. For reference: The first descent of Paul's Creek was made by Gordon, Josh and Mason the day after the very heavy rains from Tropical Storm Frances in 2004 - This creek takes a big rain to get going. The correlation with the South Rock gage (shown below) is a rough guess. You may need less on a rising gage.
Look for 1100-1200 cfs or more on the USGS Rockfish Gauge.
| Name | Range | Difficulty | Updated | Level | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ROCKFISH RIVER NEAR GREENFIELD, VA | ||||||||||||
| usgs-02028500 | 1200 - 10000 cfs | V+ | 00h48m | 106 cfs (rc= -0.1 ) | ||||||||
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| When | River/Gauge | Subject | Level | Reporter |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paul's Creek [VA] |
RoShamBo
|
n/a | Gordon Dalton | |
| Paul's Creek [VA] |
Paul's Creek at good flow
|
n/a | Gordon Dalton | |
| 5y150d21h33m | Paul's Creek [VA] |
Brett Mayer-Aschhoff, Elbow Grease
|
n/a | Brett Mayer-Aschhoff |
| 7y50d21h33m | Paul's Creek [VA] |
Chutes & Ladders
|
lowest yet | Gordon Dalton |
| 7y50d21h33m | Paul's Creek [VA] |
Merry Christmas Harris!
|
n/a | Gordon Dalton |
No rapids entered. If you know names, and locations of the rapids please contact and advise the StreamTeam member for this run. reach
state
reachlink
Waterslides, Paul's Creek Virginia, US (mobile)
User Comments
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eC1EMeVyf1A&feature=related
and Ladders?", has a tree in the left side that extends all the way into the pool in the landing
zone. It's a real problem for that drop, although Haynie ran it on the right and stayed clear....
We established a new low flow minimum on April 20! Sam Lindblom Edit