Coastals

Thanks to TrevarB for this excellent video of creeking on Bottom Creek.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PzGDsxFy0Sg&NR=1

Bottom Creek comes out of the high mountains (Poor Mountain, Bent Mountain, Twelve O'Clock Knob) where Roanoke, Montgomery, and Floyd Counties come together. The Nature Conservancy owns a lot of the watershed and there is little development, so the water quality is good and the scenery fantastic. There are trails on the Conservancy land so mortals can visit the Bottom Creek Gorge.

Lower down Bottom Creek joins with Goose Creek from Floyd to make the South Fork of the Roanoke River. But there are several 100 foot gradient lines before that happens.

Disclaimer for all the hucksters out there ... BE SURE TO READ UP ON THIS RUN AND HAVE SOLID CL V SKILLS AND AN EXPERIENCED GUIDE BEFORE THINKING ABOUT BOTTOM CREEK! Missing the mandatory portage at Eye of the Needle would likely result in a fatality. I don't have the skills for the run and have thus never run it, but I've done enough research to feel it prudent to post a word of caution. Check out the AW page for starters.

@ slo2roll: Spoken like a true PSA straight from the streets of Sesame.

Good call on the PSA. You should fire up the Nelson quadruple crown first. Another good litmus test is firing up log flume on Staton's. The log flume wouldn't even warrant a scout if you were following a guide on BC.

David, you mentioned Goose Creek above. Don't know if you have ever checked it out but it is a way that mere mortals can experience boating in that area. A few of us ran it ran it yesterday for our first time, its all roadside, kinda continuous class II/II+ with one nice 6 foot dam drop. It takes a lot of water (S. Fork Roanoke level was around 800 cfs and dropping) but is worth checking out if you are in the area. Jimmy

Cool deal Jimmy. I would definitely like to check out Goose Creek. Where do you meet to take out? Post if you are running it again and maybe some folks can make the trip.

Would you say your run at 800 cfs on the South Fork Roanoke gauge was a minimum?

David, we took out at the bridge crossing right near Jewell Road, there is a church there where we parked. There are other options further downstream on the S. fork after the confluence wiith Bottom Creek. We put in about 2 or 3 miles upstream, and there are also various options for put ins. I would not want to do it much lower than we did. A friend went down there that morning to get a visual before we decided to do it. The S. fork peaked about 1000 cfs that morning and dropped quick, and Bottom Creek contributes more water than Goose I think. I'll try to post if I know we are going again but its an iffy run if you are travelling much distance.