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On Friday, July 30, Phil Whitney, Harold Carter, Fred Ewing and Louis Bondurant head to Greeneville, TN with craft in tow. Joining them from the UK are Tony Cowan and his son Richard. Their goal, to hover the Nolichucky River from Davy Crockett Lake near Greeneville, TN to Erwin, TN. The Nolichucky River winds through the mountains of North Carolina just north of Asheville heading west toward the town of Erwin, TN. The name Nolichucky "Rushing Waters" was given by the Cherokee Indian based upon the conditions on this rugged section of the river. In the Erwin area, the pace of the river becomes far tamer, but the mountain scenery continues to be quite impressive. Further downstream towards Greeneville, TN, the river's path sweeps on into the foothills of east Tennessee and then into Davy Crockett Lake just above US Highway 70. Below the lake's dam the river becomes tamer yet and slowly winds through the surrounding hills toward its confluence with the French Broad River, 45 miles further downstream. The section between Erwin and Davy Crokett Lake was chosen because it offered a good mix of smooth and fast moving water that would be challenging, but suitable for most any type of hovercraft. As the crow flies the put-in and turn around points were less than 25 miles apart. By river, however, this was a 96 mile round trip, prompting us to get an early start. We chose to start our cruise at the downstream (Davy Crockett Lake) end. This not only allowed us to assess rapids for the first time from downstream, it also facilitated a return with the flow of the current. Fortunately no craft required an in-tow return, but this would have simplified matters if it had been necessary. The elevation gain for the first 20 river miles upstream averaged only 4' per mile. This worked well for Fred Ewing who has only had the opportunity to log about 3 hours before this trip. None the less, the rocky banks and occasional overhanging trees were more than enough chalenge for a 1st timer. Fred and his nearly new Neoteric took the trip like champions and returned with a multitude of stories and only a few battle scars. Just above Davy Crockett State Park the first meaningful set of rapids are encountered. The elevation change is around 4' and across most of the river's width this occurs over a run of only 5' to 6'. A less agressive section to ascend is found ajacent to the left bank of the river, but this leaves all wondering what the Nolichucky has in store for them ahead. As it turns out this was one of the more agressive sections of the day. Rapids did, however, become far more frequent and the elevation gain increased to an average of 12' per river mile. Just short of Erwin the river's pace picks up to 20' per mile and rafting traffic appears. Here the pace is notched down considerably and the looks generated on the faces of the rafters was one of amazement, rather than fear. At a camping area on the river's edge a county sheriff picks Louis Bondurant and motions him to shore for questioning. By the look on his face he is somewhat surprised when Louis chose to park his hovercraft right beside his ATV some 8' away from the river. After some discussion the sheriff concludes that we are not operating in a reckless manner and advises that we are free to proceed. After filling several requests for rides, we proceed on to our fuel/lunch stop in Erwin. After a quick lunch they note that 2PM has arrived and decide to drop the optional plan to hover another 5 miles upstream to the NC state line and proceed with refueling & return. A gas station had been previously identified that was only 1/4 mile from the river's edge. The trip there was easy enough, but the return with five 6 gallon fuel tanks was far from enjoyable. The return begins at 3PM, leaving some but not a great deal of time for unexpected delays. As is often the case after hours on the river, a couple of less then perfect driving decisions are made on the return trip. While no craft to craft impact occurred, a couple of stops were necessary to check the results of contacting rocks or overhanging branches. Around 4PM the rain starts and then builds to a torrential downpour. With raingear donned they proceed downstream glad that this is a mid-summer trip. They reach the ramp at 7PM about 1 hour after the rain has ended and the sky has cleared. A closer inspection reveals that none of the craft have incurred any significant damage and the conclusion is reached that a good time was had by all!! |
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 A rather significant section of rapids is encountered just upstream of Davy Crockett park. Fred Ewing finds a suitable point to ascend on the far left side. |
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Links: Terra
Server USGS
Stream Flow Data |
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