Duck River Carpenters Bridge to Leftwich Bridge

Estimated Length:  8.5 Miles

Date: Sept. 24, 9011

Weather:  Sunny and the temperature in the 70’s

Time on River: 3 hours            

River Conditions:  Class I

Distance from Nashville: 45 minutes

Close By: Less than 10 minutes from I-65 Exit 46

                (all kinds of fast food)

Put-In: Carpenters Bridge (steep bank)

Take-Out: Leftwich Bridge

Overview:

     Do not let the fall weather keep you from planning a trip on the river. Saturday was a perfect day to  be paddling. With the recent rains the water was swift and deep, you did not have to worry about bottoming out and the presence of strainers was minimal. We had the river to ourselves except for the one lone fisherman who was not having much luck.

     As soon as we put in, we spotted a  river otter having his breakfast but we were to slow with the camera. There were lots of Blue Herons and ducks out this morning and the turtles where making their way on to logs as we finished up our trip. This part of the Duck River is within the Yanahli Wildlife Management Area which means there no homes or farmland on the river banks.

     This section of river comes within a quarter of a mile from I-65, so you will hear road traffic for about a 20 minute stretch. This is the only time on the river you will connect with the outside world. The rest of the trip is remote and so very seenic. We love the Duck River!!!

Highlights:

Sequatchie River Highway 127 to Condra Switch Road

Estimated Length:  9miles                           

Date: August 14, 2011

Weather:  Sunny and Hot

Time on River: 4-5 hours

River Conditions: Class I

Distance from Nashville: 2 hours

Close By: Town of  Dunlap about 35 miles northwest of  Chattanooga

Overview: Lex and I took this trip with our son Nick earlier this summer after spending the night in Chattanooga. We had heard the Canoe Sequatchie outfitters where no longer in business so we borrowed a friends kayak. The outfitters are indeed trying to sell their business and are not currently running the river. The Sequatchie Valley is gorgeous, being one of only two rift valleys in the world, the other is in Africa. On the west side is the Walden Ridge and the Cumberland Plateau is on the east.  The rift valley is formed between these 2 parallel geological faults. Not sure what that means but it does make for  a very dramatic back drop when canoeing down the river.

  The part of the Sequatchie we paddled is narrower than its sister rivers the Buffalo or Duck. But more than enough room for us to maneuver our Old Town canoe. The river has great easy riffles and lots of gravel bars to pull over on. The mountains on both sides gave a very regal feel to this paddle trip. We has a great day on the river!

Put-In: Is located at the Highway 127 Bridge, which is where the Canoe Sequatchie outfitters are located. They did not mind us using their facilities to put our boats in and let us park our car in their lot.

Take-Out: Is between Highway 28 and 283 on Condra Switch Road right after you go under the bridge. We left our car along the river close to a corn field. The take-out is difficult due to the steep bank.

Father and Son Getting Ready

Highlights:

•  Lots of shade the whole length of the trip.
• We did not see another person the whole time we were on the river.
• Gorgeous scenery

What to watch out for:

• Deadfall and strainers
• The take out point at Condra Switch Road has a steep incline.

Duck River Halls Mill - Hopkins Bridge

Date: August 21, 2011

Weather:  Hot and Sunny

Estimated Length:  8-10 miles (next time I need to take a GPS)

Time on River: 4-6 hours

River Conditions: No rain in the past couple of day so river was

moving a bit slow.

Distance from Nashville:  One hour

Close By: Henry Horton State Park, the town of Chapel Hill

Overview: This section of the Duck River has a great feel to it. The bluffs along the river almost make you think you are somewhere out west. We would do this paddle trip again in a heartbeat!

Put-In:  Halls Mill has plenty of parking and you can drive your vehicle to the waters edge to unload your canoe/kayak.

Take-Out: Great river access you can drive right up to the river (and if the water is low right on it) but first you have to pay “the lady”. The closest house to the bridge on the  north side of the road is where the you pay $2 per canoe/kayak. Knock on the side door “the lady” will wave you in and take your name and money.

 Highlights

• Some really nice riffs.

• Awesome bluff/cliff ledges.

• Great gravel bars along the river which means easy access to get in and out of to play in the water and stop for lunch.
• None of the local outfitters seem to be running this section of river so we basically had the river to ourselves.

 At times the river was slow (yes you have to paddle) but there were 5 sections of river that where Class I + rapids that made it fun and exciting.

Wildlife





Cute Turtle



Duck

 


Ugly Snake