Tallman's Green River Page

Note: This page was retreived from the Internet Archive. it was originally posted at http://www.jeff.tallman.com/green.html
I have reposted this page for the benefit of anyone else who would like to see the information that Jeff provided. This page was referenced on the American Whitewater and Chris Bell's BoatingBeta websites

For the paddler there are 3 main sections to this river:

Upper Green:  Class 3 & class 4
The Narrows:  Class 5+
Lower Green:  Class 1 & class 2.
 

~ "Upper" Green River ~
(Aka: Section 2)


Call:
Min. Level
Good Level
Max. Level
Difficulty
1-800-829-5253
1-4-2:  today's flow 
1-4-1:  lake level
Today's flow is updated daily at 8 a.m. 
When Lake Summit is above 98.3 feet 
Duke Power is likely to be releasing water.
1 turbine
at 100%
1 turbine
at 100%
2 turbines
at 100%
Class 3
plus 
2 Class 4's

GETTING THERE:

* MEETING SPOT:  Meet at the McDonald's/convenience store/gas station at I-26 Exit 22 Upward Road.
*  TAKE-OUT:  From McDonalds take Upward Road east about 3 miles, turn right on Big Hungry Road.  Go left at the first fork, then turn right at the subdivision sign.  Keep going down that dirt road about .75 miles.  See the "hunters parking" sign?  Park there.  You can also park in the pasture across the street by paying $5 in the box on the guy's fence.  (I am NOT making this up.)
* PUT-IN:  Go back to I-26 and go south.  Take the first exit.  Get on Hwy 176 going back toward Saluda.  Turn left onto Pot Shoals Road and take this dirt road down to just below the power station.

PADDLING THE UPPER GREEN:
(Photos are from mid-October 1999.)

* I've only paddled this section with level being 1 turbine at 100%... this is level is PERFECT.
* Distance is about 3 or 4 miles, average time with sightseeing, scouting & snack break is about 3.5 hours.

* The first class 4 is "Bayless' Boof" (above) it is about 1 mile from the put-in.  You can hear it well before you see it.  As soon as you hear the roar of the rapid, get out on the trail (river left) and scout around the bend!  In the center of this rapid there is a dangerous washing machine hole which is to be avoided.  Run left of center and shoot off the tongue of water to boof.


Check out the electric bailing system Pat built for his canoe.

* About .2 mile below Bayless Boof is a little class 2/class 3 hole called "Three Stooges."  Watch out for this!  It can grab you & flip you & hold you.  Run this all the way against the rock on the right shore.  The last three times I've run this I flipped.

* About 1.2 miles downstream see the I-26 bridge towering 200+ feet overhead.
* About .75 miles downstream is the second class 4: "Pinball" rapid.  Get out on the island on the right to scout.  This rapid has a top half and a bottom half.  Run the top half heading toward the left bank and run the bottom half right against the left bank.  There's a hidden rock, so if you stay in the center of the bottom part of the rapid, there's a possibility of being decapitated.
*  The take-out is really hard to see.  About .75 - 1 mile past pinball, look for a 6" diameter black plastic pipe sticking out of the left bank.  A few yards further is the take-out on the left.  If you pass Big Hungry Creek on the left, you've gone too far.  This can be bad, because just downstream is the class 5 "narrows" and there isn't a way to carry out once you're in the narrows.

* We joke that this section is class 3/class 4 with a class 5 take-out.  Brace yourself:  It's a pretty stout carry out!  It's about .75 mile... uphill.



 
 

~ "The Narrows" ~
(AKA:  Section 3)

!!!Warning!!!  Class 5 whitewater!  Experts only!  I have never personally seen The Narrows... too dangerous for my skill level.  See Leland's Green River Page for photos and even a video clip of someone running Gorilla Falls--  Great site, lots of info and amazing photos.
 

~ "Lower" Green River ~
(AKA:  Section 4)


Call:
Min. Level
Good Level
Max. Level
Difficulty
1-800-829-5253
1-4-2:  today's flow 
1-4-1:  lake level
Today's flow is updated daily at 8 a.m. 
When Lake Summit is above 98.3 feet 
Duke Power is likely to be releasing water.
1 turbine
at 60%
1 turbine
at 100%
2 turbines
at 100%
Moving flatwater,
Class 1 & 2

* Before running this section, you'll need to do some math.  Call the phone number above to see what today's release is.  Got it?  Add 4 hours to the start time and 4 hours to the end time.  Those are the times that water will start and stop at the put-in for the lower Green, "Fishtop Landing."  The take-out, 6 miles downstream from Fishtop, will run out of water 4 hours later than fishtop.  Got it?

Example:
* Tuxedo Hydro station is running 1 turbine at 100% 7 a.m. to 12 noon.
* Fishtop Landing will have high water 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
* The take-out will run out of water at 8 p.m.

GETTING THERE:

* From I-26 get off at Exit 28 (Saluda, NC/Holbert Cove Rd.).  Go east about 100 yards and take a left onto Green River Cove Rd.  Follow this about 3 miles of hairpin turns down the mountain.  Where the road levels out that dirt parking lot on the left is the PUT-IN:  Fishtop Landing.  To drop a car at the TAKE-OUT continue down this road 6 miles.  On the way to the take-out you'll cross the river twice.  The take-out is a big dirt parking lot on the left.  Actually you can take out at either bridge.

PADDLING THE LOWER GREEN:

* On summer weekend days the Green River Cove Campground puts about 700 people down the river on those yellow inner tubes.  There are 2 other local campgrounds that also bus tubers to the Green.  If you're looking for solitude, don't expect to find it on the lower Green on a summer weekend afternoon!  Don't get me wrong though, it is still beautiful, fun & convenient.
*  An average float on this section with playing & breaks is about 4 hours.
* There are not any major areas of difficulty on this section.

Lower Green PHOTOS from a typical summer day:

    
Pat takes his inflatable for a "spin."


Woodchuck Chuck in the rapid that's visible from the first bridge.


Dave.


Me & my Kahuna... the perfect boat for this section.
 

Island hopping on the lower Green.


The rope swing just above Green River Cove Campground.


This photo is posted as a public service:
When paddling the lower Green either take this
locksmith's number with you or hang on to your keys.
 

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