Little, W. Fork - 1. Desoto Falls to Cloudmont


Little, W. Fork, Alabama, US

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1. Desoto Falls to Cloudmont (Upper West Fork)

Usual Difficulty I-II(IV) (for normal flows)
Length 2 Miles

The unrun beast... Desoto Falls, West Fork of the Little River AL


The unrun beast... Desoto Falls, West Fork of the Little River AL
Photo of Desoto Falls by Hank Goshorn taken 2004 @ 300 cfs

Gauge Information

Name Range Difficulty Updated Level
WEST FORK LITTLE R AT DESOTO PARK NR FORT PAYNE AL
usgs-02398950 175 - 1000 cfs I-II(IV) 33d23h34m 129 cfs (rc= -0.1 )


River Description

The Upper West Fork of the Little River requires a hike in* and contains very few rapids. Those who are willing to make the hike are rewarded by an amazingly scenic put-in at the Base of 70' Desoto Falls and getting to run a stretch of rivers that few have seen.

This scenic class II stretch is broken up by one large class IV-IV+ rapid that will require very high water to run safely.

*It has been pointed out that there is an easier access point on river left accessed from the end of the grass runway of Shady Grove Dude Ranch. However, the dude ranch is private property and this access should only be used with expressed permission of the owner Jack Jones. The hike in access to river right at the base of the falls can be done without trespassing.

StreamTeam Status: Not Verified
Last Updated: 2006-01-20 16:40:29

Editors



The unrun beast... Desoto Falls, West Fork of the Little River AL

Detail Trip Report  The unrun beast... Desoto Falls, West Fork of the Little River AL  Little, W.Fork (upper), AL(55.17KB .jpeg)

Adam Goshorn on the hike into the upper West Fork of the Little, AL

Detail Trip Report  Adam Goshorn on the hike into the upper West Fork of the Little, AL  Little, W.Fork (upper), AL(62.38KB .jpeg)

Looking upstream into the exit of Squeeze Play.

Detail Trip Report  Looking upstream into the exit of Squeeze Play.  Little, W. Fork, AL(20.82KB .jpeg)

Desoto Falls, west fork of the little river, AL

Detail Trip Report  Desoto Falls, west fork of the little river, AL  Little, W. Fork, AL(12.96KB .jpeg)

Top view of Squeeze Play on W.Fork of the Little, AL

Detail Trip Report  Top view of Squeeze Play on W.Fork of the Little, AL  Little, W. Fork, AL(25.38KB .jpeg)

The view down into the Squeeze on W.Fork of the Little, AL

Detail Trip Report  The view down into the Squeeze on W.Fork of the Little, AL  Little, W. Fork, AL(25.18KB .jpeg)

Desoto Falls, AL. As seen from the outflow of the pool.

Detail Trip Report  Desoto Falls, AL. As seen from the outflow of the pool.  Little, W. Fork, AL(9.96KB .jpeg)

Desoto Falls, AL in black and white

Detail Trip Report  Desoto Falls, AL in black and white  Little, W. Fork, AL(17.13KB .jpeg)

Desoto Falls

Detail Trip Report  Desoto Falls  Little, W.Fork (upper), AL(67.61KB .jpeg)

Desoto Falls

Detail Trip Report  Desoto Falls  Little, W.Fork (upper), AL(58.10KB .jpeg)

Top of Desoto Falls

Detail Trip Report  Top of Desoto Falls  Little, W.Fork (upper), AL(45.05KB .jpeg)


Gauge Information

Gauge Description:

The online gauge for the West Fork of the Little River is about 5 miles downstream at the main Desoto State Park property. Look for anything over 175cfs and the run will be fine, even better ~300cfs.

Gauge Information

Name Range Difficulty Updated Level
WEST FORK LITTLE R AT DESOTO PARK NR FORT PAYNE AL
usgs-02398950 175 - 1000 cfs I-II(IV) 33d23h34m 129 cfs (rc= -0.1 )

RangeWater LevelDifficultyComment
175 -1000 cfs barely runnable-high runnable I-II(IV) Upper limit for best boatability uncertain. Please help your fellow boaters with a comment or report.

Report - Reports of Little, W. Fork 1. Desoto Falls to Cloudmont 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
Little, W.Fork (upper) [AL] Desoto Falls n/a Chuck Neese
Little, W.Fork (upper) [AL] The unrun beast... Desoto Falls, West Fork of the Little River AL 300 cfs Adam Goshorn
5y362d21h33m Little, W. Fork [AL] Looking upstream into the exit of Squeeze Play. 100 cfs Adam Goshorn
7y181d21h33m Little, W.Fork (upper) [AL] Adam Goshorn on the hike into the upper West Fork of the Little, AL n/a Adam Goshorn

WXPort

News





User Comments
2009-11-21 06:34:22 (813 days ago)
I think this was the actual first decent:
http://teamriot.blogspot.com/2008/02/desoto-falls-first-descent.html from February 2008 The other
link is from April 2009. Regardless this has been run more than once now Edit
2009-03-22 09:21:15 (1057 days ago)
It has since been run by Pat Kellar and crew.
http://egcreekin.blogspot.com/2009/04/desoto-falls-alabama.html Edit
Users can submit comments.

Rapid Summary

Mile Rapid Name Class Features (Legend)
0.0Desoto FallsN/APutin Portage Hazard Waterfall Playspot
0.6Squeeze PlayIVPortage Hazard Waterfall

Rapid Descriptions

Desoto Falls (Class N/A)

After the hike in paddlers are rewarded with putting in and getting to paddle around the base of and behind Desoto Falls. Bring a camera, this is a magical and photogenic moment (and a great place to make those pictures/video of flatwater moves look cool).



Squeeze Play (Class IV, Mile 0.6)
Shortly after the put-in at Desoto Falls paddlers will incounter the largest rapid on the run. Here the river splits around a midstream rock dropping about 3 feet then is squeezed through a 2 foot wide slot between two house sized boulders that are very undercut. I haven't seen this one high enough to make it go for my taste yet, but I would guess somewhere over 500 cfs would make it MUCH safer.


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 1. Desoto Falls to Cloudmont, Little, W. Fork Alabama, US (mobile)