Whitewater Dreams on Triangle Rivers

Big Wave on Flat River 4.5'

What an incredible few days this is for the Triangle Region!   With the freezing rain/snow we'll have everything local running at some point between yesterday and Sunday (hopefully longer-fingers crossed).  While this is not unheard of, especially given our relatively wet year, every time it does happen it makes me giddy :)  I had the pleasure of getting out with some friends on the Little and the Flat Rivers yesterday, at what i consider really nice running levels.  They were both running 4.5'-5'.  This makes the Little pushy, with grabby hydraulics at various pour-overs and ledges, and a huge variety of lines down what is a short little gorge.  Run, boof, and repeat :)  The Flat at this level begins to form what is possibly one of the sweetest play spots in the NC Piedmont.  If you're familiar with this run,  this feature is located just upstream of the island where the river narrows down significantly.  At this spot there is a ledge that forms a super fun wave on river left.  At higher water this wave becomes river wide. At just under 5' this feature will allow for a huge array of moves, but as the level drops below 4.5' there is a rock or two that will keep you from being able to bury your bow or stern, but you can still spin like a mad man on it!  ...OK, I'm finding myself wanting to describe the potential this wave has to you here in more detail...but there is a decent amount of info on the AWA website.  No need to completely re-create the wheel.  Check it out: http://www.americanwhitewater.org/content/River/detail/id/1073/

Spinning the Big Wave on the lower Flat @ 4.5'

Anywho, if you find yourself here, make sure that you're looking carefully at all of your downstream hazards.  On typical high water days the island becomes a big strainer, and as of yesterday, upstream of the island (even closer to the wave) is a HUGE tree broached on some rocks creating an ugly log jam that one would not want to find themselves flushed into.

 All you Piedmont whitewater junkies get out and enjoy some local water!  As always, KNOW what you're getting into, be REALISTIC about your abilities (and those you're paddling with), make good CHOICES, be SAFE, and have FUN!