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Green - 2. Green Narrows
Green, North Carolina, US |
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2. Green Narrows (Big Hungry Creek to Fishtop Access)
| Usual Difficulty | IV-V+ (for normal flows) |
|---|---|
| Length | 2.88 Miles |
| Avg. Gradient | 178 fpm |
| Max Gradient | 342 fpm |
McKinney Factor
McKinney Factor
Photo of Dylan McKinney by Rebecca Harris taken 01/15/12 @ 8 inches
River Description
The Green Narrows is the southeast's most famous steep creek. It epitomizes a low-volume, boulder congested, pool-drop character, with a couple of slides thrown in for good measure. Unique in the fact it is dam released and runs nearly 300 days per year, it still retains the feel of a wilderness creek due to the depth and inaccessibility of the gorge, the decent water quality and fabulous landscaping, and the .6 mile walk downhill with your boat to get to the put-in.
First run in it's entirety in 1988, and long after remaining a holy grail for whitewater enthusiasts, the Narrows has been eclipsed by a series of other now commonly run creeks of greater difficulty. Nonetheless, it remains the bread-and-butter of the Asheville area Class V paddling scene, and is still a mighty big sandwich to bite into. Most of the rapids are tight and technical, requiring precise boat control to run smoothly. Many of the boofs are not just fun, they are mandatory. Boaters with strong Class IV+ skills who walk the Big Three have been shown down successfully countless times now, and yet boaters with strong Class V skills still get hammered here on a regular basis. Sadly, the river is the site of two fatalities and countless other minor and major injuries. It is not to be taken lightly. The 100% release level, with minor differences between 7-9 inches on the stick gauge, is "the standard". While a couple rapids get easier at 200% -- and there's nice padding at higher water -- most rapids get harder. The time between rapids also gets much shorter, and the penalty points can add up quick.
Although running the Green is staple food ---a happy meal--- for regulars just trying to shut out the noise and stay safe, it is also the daily training ground for many of the country's elite creekboaters, and the annual Green Race is a most revered and hotly contested affair. Held at high noon on the first Saturday in November since 1996, it draws huge crowds and even a grilled cheese sandwich and/or hot burrito sales program. Another more recent event, Jerry's Baddle, a paddling & bicycling biathlon fundraiser held each Spring, is now in its fifth year and hugely successful as well. Both events have a homegrown, homemade kind of feeling, and reflect the strong and diverse community that has built up around the Green. Seriously, you hear it or feel it all the time: "...man, I LOVE the Green"
Shuttle and
Hiking Directions
Duke Energy Tuxedo
Release Schedule
Chris Bell's Green Flows
Page
The
Green Race Information Page
History of
Access, Parking, & Releases
Chris Bell's Green Page
(includes camping info)
Join American
Whitewater
The Narrows is wholly located within the Green River Gamelands, a rugged tract of more than 10,000 acres along the Green River in Henderson and Polk Counties. Owned by the people of the State of North Carolina, the primary purpose of the Gamelands remains wildlife conservation and management. The 16 miles of trails are for foot travel only. River otters, bears, deer, snakes, turtles, fish, and all manner of birds share this beautiful place. Arguably, the Green's water quality has been going down over time thanks to the increase in development upstream in the watershed. Following heavy rains the creek runs browner now and carries more sediment from poor erosion control measures. See this picture of Toilet Bowl to learn more. Even without recent rains, sediment left in the creek-bed is churned up every time Tuxedo is turned on, which means that early in a standard 5-hour release the water is much cloudier than just a couple hours later.
Maps: Here is a link to a page of maps. If you have not looked at a topo map of the Narrows area, then check it out, and there's some other goodies there as well.
The Green River has lots of friends, and you could be one of them: The Green on Facebook. One of the Green's earliest friends, Tom Visnius, who along with John Kennedy is normally considered having the first full descent in 1988, has published his 1991 notes from the Green along with commentary and such. Well worth a look for fans of the "Brain Mirror" and other early place-names .
Dam Removal on Big Hungry (September 2011): The NC Dept. of Env. and Nat. Resources Wildlife Resources Commission has issued a request for bids to remove both dams on Big Hungry River, just upstream of the confluence with the Narrows. The upper dam is visible from Big Hungry Rd. on the way to the hike-in trail, and the lower dam is downstream and just a short ways up from the Green. Removing the dams will ultimately be a great thing for the river system's ecology, and will be no small task. I've started a separate page to collect information about the dam removal process, and it's called the Big Hungry Topo Map And Dam Removal Page.
Click the "Rapids" tab at the top of this page for descriptions and pictures of all the Green's famous drops. In that section, several alternate pictures are shown and different lines are described, yet no attempt has been made to describe everything. There are "race lines", "200% lines", several hazards left unmentioned, and a myriad of little cul de sacs made for good or ill. More detail and better pictures will come along. Feel free, if you're in it for the money, to find me and pass on any suggestions you care to....it's a work in progress. --- John Pilson (12/6/07)
| Timing The Watercourse Way |
| Water to Put-in = 2.5 hours |
| Water to Take-out = 4 hrs. 22 min. |
| (a) River empties faster than it fills... |
| so latest sensible put-on is 1 hour |
| after turn-off.... Paddle w/o delay. |
| (b) "Dawn Patrol"....if release goes |
| to midnight, they won't turn if off until |
| at least 7 a.m. the next day. |
The Green Key Way: ...In order to access the Narrows by parking at the end
of Gallimore Road, you need to use a gated and locked parking lot which is rented by
the Green River Access Fund. Keys for the "Gallimore Creek Access Area" (the
parking lot) cost $60 each, and this year there is NO discount for turning in last year's
key, as agreed upon in the last public meeting of the Access Fund. The cost for camps
and commercial groups is $200.
The keys run annually, with the normal program being from April to April. New keys will be required starting April 5th, when the lock will be changed from the 2010 key to the 2011 key.
Keys are now available at Green River Adventures, now in downtown Saluda at 111E Main St. Call GRA at (828) 749-2800 end_of_the_skype_highlighting for more information. Current Spring hours: Wed.-Sun. 10-5. Sorry, but keys and T-shirts are not available via mail order, and are not available through Liquid Logic. GRA only, and in person -- sorry, but as far as I know that's how it rolls this year.Key Rentals -- New in 2009, and designed for folks not living in the Carolinas. Key pick-up and drop-off at GRA, with the cost being $10. Contact GRA for more information.
Use of the parking lot is for keyholders only, and is self-policing. There are NO other parking spots at the end of Gallimore Road, save for two that are reserved explicitly for hunters and fishermen across from the lot. You are subject to ticketing and towing if you park there as a boater. At this point, there is no visitor parking, and no "put the $5 in the mailbox" day-use honor program that existed in the past. It didn't work. Volunteers do the work, your key is paying the rent, no one's making a dime, and all Green boaters who plan to access the river at this point by using the lot need to pony up the funds to support the continuing use of it. Cheap entertainment.
Keyholders are reminded to lock the gate behind them each and every time they come and go, and to not let in people without keys. Until the more permanent, owned lot is developed if need be, then this is the deal we got. People are working on better options all the time. Key purchases and other donations are tax deductible.
The No Key Way: ...If you don't paddle the Narrows enough to warrant buying a key, and you are not getting dropped off at the end of the road and parking back up on Big Hungry (apparently legal), then you must paddle the Upper Green first to access the Narrows. Alternately, to perform the Gentleman's Poach, drop your friends and gear at the put-in trail and drive down to Fishtop, getting a ride back up as "just a body".For further information about the Access Fund, contact:Green River Access Fund, 1437 Dana Rd., Hendersonville, NC 28792
1/27/12-----------a draft of a safety box....not sure what i'm doing with it, where it will
be put, or even kept.
Some thoughts on safety: Because the Narrows is paddled regularly year round ---
and on a Summer weekend can seem downright crowded, there is a tendency by some people to let
down their guard and take it for granted. There is also a not un-common opinion that
"anybody" can get down the Green if they are halfway capable, and new people
occasionally step up to the Green well before they are ready to as a result. Things can turn
into a shit-show in no time, and this happens perhaps too often. Two people who were qualified
Class V boaters actually died here. Many many others have been injured, sometimes seriously,
with one of them being paralyzed for life. Nearly all of these people surely belonged on the
Green, and yet things went tragically wrong.
I don't have the answers; that's not my game. YOU need to think about it and talk about
it. I'd at least suggest you have a few of the basics down pat; namely, full safety
equipment, a first aid kit, whitewater rescue training or knowledge, familiarity with the
terrain and trails, truly solid paddling skills, and the ability to go to Plan B without
freaking out. Further, and finally, what seemingly can't be taught is the ability to keenly
observe and act with clarity, speed, and aggression when trouble is brewing for someone
else. Think about --visualize-- being "that guy" for someone.
This little box is here to keep the bug in your head that paddling Class V creeks is serious
business. Although the Green is seen as relatively forgiving compared other more dangerous
creeks, as my friend Kirk Eddlemon says elsewhere about another run, the Narrows can (and will)
still call your bluff. Yeah it's fun and all --- the kind of fun that hooks you and you
just can't get enough --- but step off your game for a moment and things turn south in a
heartbeat. Trust me, I know.
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2. Green Narrows, Green North Carolina, US (mobile)