2. Highway 52 to Clear Fork River

A suberb class 2 creek run in the Cumberland Plateau which offers fabulous scenery for anyone and manageable class 2's for intermediate and beginner paddlers and plenty of boogie water floating stretches for conversations with friends and head-on-a-swivel to take in the views. Refer to page 260 in Volume #1 of Kirk Eddlemon's fabulous Whitewater of the Southern Appalachians for a better description. The best, reliable gauge to use as a reference is the USGS Robbins gauge on Clear Fork, located at the Burnt Mill Bridge near the trailhead for Honey Creek; that bridge is a put-in for a separate run down to the Confluence for the Big South Fork run. Small R2 rafts and Phat Cat or Star Slice catarafts will have plenty of water at levels close to 700cfs or higher. Be aware that Clear Fork is a much larger watershed than White Oak Creek so on some days 450cfs could be sweet but on other days it could be fooling you. Launching via the Horseshoe Bend Road is an easy way to shorten the trip length and cut out the first few miles of flat water below the highway 52 bridge. Although this entry, Trip Reports, and its map often refer to a trail hike out via Rugby, TN there is every opportunity to simply float downstream a few more miles, beyond White Oak Creek's 'Meeting of the Waters' confluence with Clear Fork, and Takeout at Burnt Mill Bridge itself. Extending the run adds another 5 miles or so and paddlers may prefer that to the hiking and carrying. Although the 5 miles on Clear Fork do have quite a bit of slower water there are some lively class 2 rapids and some quality class 2plus and air temperatures and the flow on Clear Fork can tilt the decision one way or the other. Flows of 750 to 850cfs at Clear Fork make its 5 miles go faster; if you are paddling White Oak Creek closer to the 400cfs minimum then the Rugby hiking trail may be your jam. Local expert (Ron Stewart, Box 1337, Chattanooga, TN 37401)