Tallulah River above Lake Burton

We explored the Tallulah River, looking at a stretch from the first bridge above where the Coleman River joins it, down to the lake. This is a possible paddle trip for the future. Looks challenging. Also, the Tallulah is a great fishing river.

Upstream from the put-in point (bridge),
the river is Class 5 stuff  like this waterfall.

Water-carved rocks

Macro close-up of a patch of moss, a miniature forest

Paddling: West Fork of the Chattooga River

This was a solo 'scouting' trip, to get an idea what this stretch of river is like.

Short answer: really nice! Very scenic, with fast, rocky stretches mixed in with deep, slow pools. Saw lots of birds and fish; paddled over a couple of 14"-16" trout. Water was just above 2' on the SR-28 bridge gauge.

Sorry, no pix!

Went from the West Fork Campground (one mile north on Overflow Creek Road, from the Warwoman Road bridge over the West Fork), to a take-out on the river-side of SR-28, about a mile south of the end of Warwoman Road at SR-28. Probably 2-3 miles on the river, about 2 miles from take-out back to put-in. Which I was doing on foot today, this being a solo trip.

The takeout has a nice spot for camping, and a rope-swing out over the river.

To-do list for paddling adventure

• Paddle the portion of the Hiawassee, above Lake Chatuge. This looks like a good warm-weather activity, occupying most of the day. Check TVA gauge for water level from 2.5 to 6.0 feet, Hiawassee at Presley.
• Paddle the Tallulah, from just above Tallulah River campground, to Plum Orchard road (boat ramp). USGS gauge, Tallulah River near Clayton, above 2.45.
• Paddle two easier sections of Chattooga River: West Fork to main river, and SR-28 to Earl's Ford. Refer to on-line gauge (Chattooga River near Clayton).
• Upper Chattooga (section "00") - new rules for limited access.

Paddling Yonah Lake

Taylor and I went paddling this morning on Yonah Lake, an impoundment of the Tugaloo River, which forms part of the Georgia-South Carolina border, just downstream of Lake Tugalo. (The river name ends with 2 o's; all other names (lake, park, village, etc.) end with one 'o'.)

Taylor paddles south from Tugalo Park boat launch at head of Yonah Lake

No picture of it, but as we paddled south, we came upon a massive bald eagle in a lakeside tree on the South Carolina shore, startled it, and watched as it circled around us, no more than 100' away. Very, very impressive!

Tugalo Dam, at the head of Yonah Lake.

View of Tugalo Lake, from the road to Yonah Lake. Tugalo Park is a Georgia Power
campground and boat launch, located at the foot of Tugalo Dam,
and at the head of Yonah Lake.

From the road to Yonah Lake, you can see what is probably the biggest house in Rabun County, overlooking Lake Tugalo.

Near top-center is an enormous house on a hilltop overlooking Lake Tugalo.
Photo below shows a Google Earth detail of that house.

The shadows reveal the Disneyland-like towers of this house.

Yonah Lake is the most-downstream of Georgia Power's lakes on the Tallulah watershed. From the top, they are Burton, Seed, Rabun, Tallulah Falls, Tugalo and Yonah. Burton's lake level is 1866' above sea level; Yonah's is 744', and below its dam, 670'; a total drop of 1196', most of it harnessed by hydropower turbines. Yonah has some houses around its shore, but relatively few compared to Burton. Most of the houses on the Georgia side have road access; most of the South Carolina houses are boat-access only.

Getting in and out of the kayaks

Once you're all the way down into a kayak, your center of gravity (meaning, your butt) should be low enough to make the kayak stable. The trick is, getting there!

We use the steps next to the hot tub, for launching kayaks. Put the kayak in the water, front pointing away from the shore, parallel to the front edge of the steps, and floating in the water (not ON a step). Make sure the paddle is within your reach. Carefully put one foot into the kayak, and lower yourself onto the seat, while holding on to the step for stability. Then put your other leg in the kayak, grab the paddle, and paddle away.

If you swamp (and you won't be the first to do so), use the steps to turn the kayak upside down, to get most of the water out. Then pull it back onto the deck, and use the plug at the stern of the boat to drain the remaining water out.

Kayaking

Laura and Bob

Some are red and some are blue; some are old and some are new

One fish . . . 

two fish . . . 

red fish . . .

blue fish!

The blue fish came to us through the generosity of Laura, Taylor and Andrew. The red fish was a gift from our friend Ginger. Rhyming verses courtesy of Dr. Seuss.

 

Thanks!

Lake Tugalo

Taylor on Tugalo

Taylor and I visited Lake Tugalo on Saturday, Nov. 13, 2010. We paddled up the Chattooga channel, and picnicked on a sand bar. (We would have motored but the starter rope broke as we were launching.)