Trip Report: Hiwassee River from Gee Creek Campground to Dentville Rd on Aug 17, 2024
Trip Lead: BG Smith
Twenty paddlers registered for this trip but only twelve eventually made it to Gee Creek for the paddle, meaning eight people missed out on a chance to have a great war story to tell their friends & family!
On a beautiful late Summer afternoon, with clear skies and temperatures in the mid-80s, we met up at 2 PM at the Gee Creek Campground ramp, dropped our boats, and ran the 15-min shuttle over to the Dentville Rd ramp. We returned from the shuttle about 3 PM. For several people this was their first experience at watching the Hiwassee water "come up." At 2 PM the basin area around the foot of the ramp was still fully exposed as was much of the "V"-shaped fishing weir about 25 yards into the river. By 3 PM, the ramp basin area was filled completely and the fishing weir had disappeared below the water. Perfect conditions for a paddle! Not so fast!
Launching at Gee Creek Photo - Don Bailey
Everyone launched successfully and we headed down river under blue skies with Mark Miller leading the way while I stayed back to sweep .
Heading downriver from Gee Creek under clear blue skies. Photo - Jim Pickren
About 30 minutes into the trip, about 3.25 to 3.5 miles from the put in, the rumble of thunder could be heard to the south and west of our position. The skies in those directions grew dark! I quickly reconfirmed our plan if lightning was observed and we continued on. About 15 minutes later the first bolts of lightning were observed directly in front of the group, perhaps 5 miles away. I blew the whistle to signal the group and we all cleared off the river. A couple of us used our cell phones to check the weather and monitor radar maps of the storm. It was a line of strong thunderstorms crossing west to east about 4 miles ahead of us. Deferring to caution, we held our position to let the storm pass by. That took about 40 minutes during which time a brief, but intense rain shower with strong gusty winds whipped over us, drenching everyone thoroughly and making life truly miserable. After the wait, with a light rain still falling, we continued on the trip.
Back on the river under light rain after the worst of the storm. Photo - Don Bailey
Back on the water, after 5-10 minutes, the rain stopped. The skies once again cleared, the sun reappeared warming everyone back up and the rest of the trip was uneventful. We all made it safely off river at about 6:30 PM which is still remarkable considering the 40-min storm delay! Afterwards, 8 intrepid souls made it to Los Poblanos to celebrate another paddling adventure!
Jamie Daley after the storm! Clear blue skies! Photo - Don Bailey
Here is what we learned today:
- Never trust a smiling, grinning weather forecaster! They lie! 25% chance? Ha!
- Jon discovered convincingly that his inflatable NRS Kuda "barge" boat was not an ideal choice for the longer Hiwassee trip! Slow and lots of hard paddling! Mark was ready to send out a search and rescue team!
- Dry clothes and a towel in your vehicle is a wonderful thing!
- The margaritas and tacos at Los Poblanos are the best!
My thanks to everyone for the great support with the shuttles (Jennifer, Jon, and Don) and special thanks to Mark for once again providing outstanding safety and support for our trip! Couldn't do this without everyone's help! Thanks also to Don Bailey and Jim Pickren for sharing their photos! Great before and after shots of the trip!
Now, ... I want everyone to go tell their family and friends about their harrowing adventure on the mighty Hiwassee and how they survived a treacherous storm, all while humming the theme song from Gilligan's Island! This is what makes paddling fun -- great war stories!