Big Creek.

Action Alley.

 Big Creek, a beautiful class IV/V run located in the Northeastern section of Great Smokey Mountain National Park, runs in to the Pigeon River near the border of North Carolina and Tennessee.  This classic Smokey's run, consisting of steep boulder gardens in a lush green river bed, is one that should not be missed.

A big storm rolled through our area on Friday night, dropping more than 2 inches of rain in some places, and leaving many rivers flooded.  Saturday, while working the Nantahala Open at ERA, I was constantly checking gauges to see what the rivers had in store for the next few days.  I opted not to party too incredibly hard, and woke up the next morning to find beautiful sunny skies and many great whitewater options, the best being Big Creek.

Hiking up the trail.

The Smax Brothers, Sam and Max Ovett, and I loaded up and headed toward Asheville.  Turning on to I-40 and proceeding to the put-in, we found crystal clear water and an optimal level just below 3 feet.  We parked, geared up, and started the hike up, not entirely sure where we would be putting in.

After about 1.5 miles, we arrived at "Midnight Hole", a beautiful 10 ft. ledge surrounded by huge boulders on either side.  We dropped our boats, and hiked up further, looking for "Action Alley," which I knew was the steepest section of the run.  It is not a suprise that we didn't find it, but we did scout out some other rapids, and decided next time we came, we would hike up much farther, and run the entire section.

Putting in just above "Midnight Hole," I was happy to have brought a dry-top, because the water was freezing cold.  We rallied off the 10 footer, and started picking our way downstream.  I was out in front, reading and running some boulder choked drops, when the river split, and then a middle channel formed and converged back with the main, right channel.  I drove over a horizon line, only to dry out slightly, and drop down next to the ledge.  Below me was a tree on the right, and 2 horizon lines, the second one being quite a bit larger than the first.  I eddied out on the left, to make sure the Smax Bro's had no trouble avoiding the tree, which they didn't, and we all ran the first drop and hopped out on the left to scout.

Above Midnight Hole.

The big horizon line turned out to be an 8 ft. boof in to a tight mini-gorge and finished by dropping over another decent size ledge.  Another big horizon line loomed in the distance.  Wow, I thought, what I have gotten these kids in to? After watching a few boaters run the first drop, we all fired off it, enjoying pretty stylin' lines (if I don't say so myself).

We watched this guy stomp out the first drop. Nice paddle.

Sam Smax running the first big drop of "Action Alley."

Max Smax running the same drop.

Looking back upstream.

Now we had a few ledges between us and the next horizon line, and as I proceeded downstream Sam Smax decided it was time for some surfing.  Following a little too closely, he backed off only to slow himself down for a nice meaty hole only 50 feet or so above the looming horizon line.  Sam fought hard, but he was no match for the hydraulic.  Luckily for all of us, he managed to get himself to river right, in to a nice slow moving, shallow pool.  We regrouped, put out throw ropes away, and walked down to scout the next drop.  Another 8 footer or so, landing on a rock shelf, next to a veritcal wall on the right, and finished with a double tiered ledge at the bottom.  Awesome! I left the boys with my camera, and they managed a few awesome shots before running it themselves. (The landing is surprisingly soft.)

 

 

My line at the final drop of "Action Alley."

Mark Miller.

So it turns out that this super steep section is "Action Alley," and, with the exception of some surfin', we all ran it without much thought or trouble.  Pretty cool, considering the Bro's had never seen or run anything quite this steep before.  Then again, they do work at ERA. Well done boys!

Below "Action Alley" was some super fun, read and run class IV+.  After portaging across an island in the middle of the creek, and just downstream walking around a river-wide tree, we arrived at the take-out for Upper Big Creek and put-in for the Lower.  We decided to keep going, and rallied the Lower, which consists of mellow class IV, and is a perfect place to get accustomed to technical, Smokey's style whitewater.

Max on the Lower.

Thanks to the Smax's for joining me on what turned out to be a real adventure.  Maybe next time I'll read the guidebook.

Next up: The Mighty Raven Fork.