Coastals

O.C.T - Upper Tye River - 05/03/08

At present the Upper Tye is planned for this weekend. I do not know if the upper will hold water though Saturday, but plan on meeting at 10 am at the old church on the North Folk of the Tye. If the Upper is too low then the Tye from the AT swinging bridge to Massies Mill.

If the Tye is to low then the Upper Moormans should still have water as plan B.

1) Upper Tye – The N. Folk put in is fast and continuous drops. The N. Folk joins the S. Folk where Rt. 56 crosses, and is the normal trip beginning. This is pool area and is the only flat water for the next 6 miles. Immediately upon leaving the pool, the rapids are steady Class II-III rock garden and ledges. They are continuous, complex, intricate, and challenging. There are a few right hand turns that can be a Class IV with higher water.

AT Bridge – At the end of the steep creek section and the take out is the AT Bridge. If the Upper is too high or too low, then the Upper Tye from here on down to Massies Mill now is a steady Class II stream with frequent Class III or IV ledges.

The lower 2.4 to 3 miles is basically a gravel bed with frequent Class I – II rapids and constant current.

2) Moormans – Charlottesville Reservoir to White Hall (Rte 810) – Class II-III 5.5 miles.

I will make a call on the river level and location Thursday night. If you are interest then E-mail or call me Thursday evening between 6 pm and 8 pm.

Thank you

Richard

Richard,
You may want to rethink teh Moormans. As I doubt it will be running tomorrow let alone saturday. And there is no rain in the forcast between now and then.

Just a heads up.

Richard,
Here's a trip report on the Moormans from yesterday. There are strainers and some new fences in the river. I've been watching these reports for the last few days. I'll send more if you're considering it. I'm not sure who the author is - "Weltydave" (I hate usernames!).
Barb

I ran the Morman's from just below the dam, all the way to the
Millington bridge yesterday around 2:30. Up untill after the first
three bridges it was a blast with only one low head dam I had to scoot
over. Besides that it was great class 2 with a couple of possible 3
rapids the whole way that was scratchy, but a whole lot of fun in
spots. After the third bridge it gets a little hairy. There were 3
fences and several strainers that can sneak up on you once you hit the
pastureland. The first is the worst as there is a big log in the
river, before the barbed wire fence, so you can no longer eddy out to
the left. It's also right around a corner so it really sneaks up on
you. The other fences were easy to cross. There is also a tree down in
what looks like a really great rapid a little further down that looks
like you could sneak through, but I didn't risk it as I didn't feel
like I could maintain control through the approch to the drop after
fighting off branches. I really don't reccomend staying in the river
for long after the 3rd bridge as it seems more trouble than it's worth
with all the portages and shallow water. The next time I run it I will
probobly pull out along the road after the 3rd bridge, the first couple
miles is a blast when the river is up.

Tye at 470 cfs and dropping as of noon today.

At 100 cfs/day it would not make it to Saturday so it looks kind of grim but if it is 18" (≈ 300 cfs) or higher I will be there.

Dropped 200 cfs in past 24 hours. Too bad trip was not today or tomorrow.

Might just drop back and paddle the Appomattox on Saturday to save some gas money and blow out the winter cobwebs if the Tye trip gets scrubbed.

Don.

I have a great idea! There's plenty of water in the Cheat.

Thank you ladies and gentleman for the invaluable information of the water levels. I would not like to call a trip off a day ahead of time but the powers that be have passed along the bad news. Soooo, I will call off the Tye trip and the Moormans looks like a no show as well. O'Geezer does have a point about the Cheat, but it is a long trip with no forewarning to others. The lower Tye race is still on and should be a consideration. Next time folks.
Richard

is the nelson county race on saturday? on the upper tye

Yup this Saturday, it is on the lower section below rt 29