Hatchet Creek

Flow: 2ooo cfs - peaking
Gauge: Hatchet at Rockford
Clarity: Muddy

Weather: Near 60 - Cloudy skies, Showers
Section: U.S. 280-U.S. 231.


















This is the highest we have ever floated Hatchet. Weogufka was blown out at this level. We checked Chestnut Creek in Verbena and it was too low. The radar storm total showed most of the rain fell in northern Coosa County. The amount of water flowing in out of Jacks/Socapatoy, indicated that the Socapatoy run would have been decent Monday.

It was a fast run, maybe three hours of floating and a long lunch at the mid point. Some shoals were washed out, while others had decent waves. There are two solid class II rapids at this level.
The best level for Hatchet is about 1500 cfs...

It was a very pretty run, as usual. On the shuttle back, I took the moped for a ride up through Hanover. After impressing the ladies out in front of the local church with my peddles and 49 cc motor. I proceeded down county road 49. I was laughing about how funny it must look to see a 33 year old guy in a red and black paddling outfit on a retro moped. I looked over at a guy walking his dog in the front yard. As I waived, I realized that it was not a dog after all. The man had his pet possum on a leash. Out for a stroll with the pet possum, on a rainy day in Coosa County.

Locust Fork of the Warrior

Locust Fork of the Warrior

Trip Report

Level: Medium Low
Flow: 2.8’ steady
Gauge: Locust at Cleveland
Clarity: Mostly Clear
Weather: Near 60 - Cloudy skies, Fog
Section: U.S. 231-Rt.160 ( 7 miles)

The Locust Fork of the Warrior is one of the more popular and dependable whitewater runs in north-central, Alabama. It is located 45 minutes northwest of Birmingham up HW 79. The stream begins atop Sand Mountain, and has a rather large watershed before dropping quite a bit in elevation near Cleveland. It is mainly a class II whitewater run, but at higher levels above 3.0’ - transitions to class III. The scenery is very nice with impressive bluffs. There is a little trash and debris along the high watermark, but overall it’s a pretty place. There are some very sizable homes along the river, mainly atop the bluffs. And, you also get a chance to see Swann Covered Bridge.
















After leaving Mobile a little later than usual, Curtis and arrived at the Locust Fork of the Warrior early in the afternoon. We took the boats off the truck and I stayed at the put-in to finish rigging out my floatation. Curtis drove my truck and our new shuttle vehicle in the truck bed down to the take out. I took my time moving the canoes well away from a stinky dead coyote that I failed to notice while unloading. I had hardly finish blowing up my air bags when Curtis comes roaring in on the TFR moped. The shuttle took all of 20 minutes.

With everything locked up, we hit the river at a nice introductory level of 2.8’. The river looked really good from the beginning and you could tell we were in for a good ride.There are several class II rapids… We talked to a kayaker at the put in and he told us what to expect. House Rock is the first with an easily avoided undercut bolder on river left.

















Tilt-a-whirl is next, followed by S-turn. These are all class II’s and scouting was not required on Sunday. We did stop at the island to scout out “Double Trouble” which was essentially a long II+ at this level.































The rapids are spaced out nicely by recovery pools. Neither one of us had any real difficulty in any of the rapids above Swann Covered Bridge. Though the most challenging rapid on the run is “Double Trouble”, the one that looks the most impressive is named Powell Falls. It’s an eight foot drop that is more of a slide, than a true waterfall.
















Curtis hit it a little off line to the right and flipped at the base. The recovery pool is very forgiving. I made a clean run. This was nice feeling after swimming Weoka Falls at a very high level last spring. We also had some big fun in a stick play spot just before the take out. The take out is steep, and we were both pretty well spent by the time we got our big long boats loaded up.

Styx River Revisited

Styx River

For the first time since Emma Krouse was born on 10/4/08, I had a special opportunity to take several days to do some paddling and fishing. In January, rain systems and temperatures play a big role in what is fishable and/or floatable throughout the state. The best plan is to have no formal plan until the day of the trip. I researched different ideas through the holidays, and the weekend of 1/3-1/4 finally arrived. We finalized the best of our options and hit the water on Saturday 1/3.The 2009 paddling season started out strong with big rains in December. There was a solid base flow throughout the state… However, we were a little short on recent rainfall for whitewater runs (other than the Locust and the Mulberry) by Saturday, 1/3. Big rains were expected Saturday night, so we chose to do a blackwater floatfishing trip on Saturday, with the hopes for some Central Alabama whitewater on Sunday 1/4.

We started out with the Styx River for some bass action.

Styx River

Trip Report

Level: Low/good
Flow: 150 cfs, falling slowly
Gauge: Styx at Elsanor
Clarity: Clear
Weather: Near 70 - Cloudy skies, occasional showers
Section: CR 87 to Seminole


















I’m not quite sure why I do this every 2-3 years. It’s a long paddle - approximately 13 miles. The river is pretty well trashed with beer cans, water bottles, and other remains. An outfitter sets up tubing and paddling trips on the upper section from Wilcox Road- CR 87 section. So, the river is a wasteland in the lower section. At this level there are 2-3 logs that you have to pull a boat over, and one major logjam to carry up and around. You also have 2-3 miles of flatwater and tidal flow at the end. The take out at HW 90 is also a bit of an issue. Parking is not allowed around the bridge, so you have to make arrangements with one of the stores in Seminole to leave a vehicle a ¼ mile up the road. The bottom line is that this float takes all day and you better start early.




















Is the fishing worth it ? Well… I guess so. There are largemouth and spotted bass, along with a number of bream. We probably caught 30 or so fish between the two canoes.