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The origin of the Sequatchie River is high in the Appalachian
Mountains south of Crossville, TN. It flows SSW to join the Tennessee
River just north of the corners of Georgia, Alabama and Tennessee.
From the Tennessee River one can hover upstream 17 miles to Ketner
Mill. The first 5 or 6 miles are over 50' wide and flat without
obstructions. Further upstream the going gets quite tight. Fallen
trees, rocky shoals and some white water, coupled with occasional
livestock in the river, necessitate dropping the pace considerably.
Allow about 90 minutes each way for this run and longer, if you
plan to stop for photos. Also, remember to plan your fuel requirements
for this trip in advance, there is no fuel to be found anywhere
along the Sequatchie.
Ketner Mill is a great place to stop for a break, swim and/or
lunch. The inside of the mill itself is in somewhat a state of
disrepair, however, much of the equipment has been salvaged and
placed on exhibit under roof in an adjacent pavilion. The mill
dam is 8' or so high and just below it is a clear water pool
and natural sand/gravel beach. There is a ramp up from the river
below the dam to a paved road. If there is a means to re-enter
the river above the dam, continued cruising would be feasible.
This option has not yet been investigated.
The easiest access point to the Tennessee River near the Sequatchie
is a ramp on the north side of the river just below Nickajack
Dam. There is also a good campground, with a boat ramp, on TVA
property just upstream of the dam. This campground is also on
the north side of the river and rates summer 2000 rates were
$12/tent per night. The resident manager's one request was that
we not use their dock as a base to give rides to the public.
If one launches at the campground it will be necessary to
lock down from Nickajack Lake into Guntersville Lake. This lock
operated by the Corp of Engineers for TVA and is available for
free public use. The one drawback is that upon arrival, you could
find them in the middle of sizable commercial locking. It is
advisable to allow one hour to lock through, however, I was told
by the lock master that the wait could possibly approach 3 hours
(worst case). The locking process is an experience in itself.
Imagine cruising into a concrete chamber 110' wide and 600' deep.
Giant steel doors slam shut and then you proceed to slowly drop
39'. It is my estimate that TVA donated 63 acre feet of water
to our one passage through their lock. If you stay in the campground
and find the lock to be booked up on your return trip it is possible
to pull out at the ramp downstream of the dam and walk about
1 mile to the campground.
One other item of interest in this area is the old TVA Hales
Bar dam at Haletown, TN. This dam was dynamited when TVA commissioned
the Nickajack dam about 8 miles downstream. Much of the old dam
structure, including the powerhouse, remain intact partially
submerged. |
Don't be surprised if you have
to shoo cows out of the river.
