Smith River,Philpott dam Spillway to Bassett access, July 4th

Had to go again!  It is hard to find places that has water in July, especially when we have had 2 weeks of close to 100 degrees with no rain.  July 4th we decided to take Casey and Carly to the Smith River.  Carly said she would only kayak if she did not have to paddle.  I believe she is a little lazy so Dennis and I thought this would be a good run since it is a dam release and the water is very cold.  We put in at 12 and got off at 2:15.  It was perfect.  I was a little worried we would out run the water release since they released from 11-9 and we put in at 12 but it was fine.  The video shows us going through the last rapid and Casey bumps Carly and she has to go through  backwards. The release was much like the last time 680 cfs and 4 ft.

Smith River, Philpott dam to Bassett

Today Dennis and I was looking for a place to paddle.  We were planning to paddle Kibler Valley to Saw mill Lane on the Dan River but the Kibler dam did not release water as scheduled.  Call Three River Outfitters in Eden, NC and talked to Steve who was very helpful http://www.3-r-o.com/ .  He referred me to Doug in Troublesome Creek Oufitters who knows all about whitewater trips. http://www.troublesomecreek.com/ . Doug said it would be a good idea to try faster moving water before I try Kibler Valley below the Basketball courts because the run is technical.

 He suggested we do Philpott Dam release at the spillway to the Bassett Access behind the Bassett Furniture Factory. It was about 6 miles and took us about 2hours and 20 minutes.  The Dam released from 11 am to 9 pm today it releases  690cfs and the gauge 4.01ft. http://waterdata.usgs.gov/va/nwis/uv?02072000 River gauge at Philpott.  Access information:  http://danriver.org/RiverInfo/Access/SmithRiver_PhilPott.htm

Doug said the water is always cold so be prepared.  The water temperature was in the 40's and the air temperture was 97 degrees.  It felt like we were riding on an air conditioner.  In cooler weather we would have to dress much differently because it was nice today and it was 97 degrees.

You start below the Philpott dam at the powerhouse.  This is one paddle trail where you only need to paddle to keep your boat straight.  The water keeps you moving it the dam is releasing which is the only time you can paddle it.  This run has several class 1 and possibly 2 rapids and the descending gradient of the river keeps you moving nicely.  It was really fun.

 Dennis and I could not get over how clear the water was.  This river was much deeper than others we have paddled 4-8 ft for fast moving water but you can see clearly everything on the bottom of the river including fish. It you are a new paddler you may not want to start here.  There are very few places to right your rec. kayak if your flip because the water is so deep.  I only remember 2 possible stopping places to get out and stretch.  No picnic spots to sit down on.  Even the grass spots in the movie are under water and boy is that water cold!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  I could only bare walking in it for a few minutes before I could not feel my feet.

It was beautiful until you get to the take out access right past the second bridge.  It gets ugly fast from the remains of the old furniture factory and industrial soil.  Perfect trail to paddle when we have had a week of temperature near 100 degrees.