Thursday evening the temp started dropping and clouds moved in. The weather guys were calling for a chance of snow, here in Greenville, SC, and were looking at a really good chance of accumulation for the mountains of NC. So we all get up Friday morning to find out the Hendersonville, NC store was closed and they were still getting snow all day. We, unfortunately, didn't get a dusting. We saw some flakes occasionally, and lots of sleet. So later that night when Ashley, I , and some friends all went out for dinner and Christmas shopping the roads were fine. It actually warmed up a degree or two after the sun went down.
Saturday, I had plans to paddle the Tyger, in Spartanburg, SC, with some guys from Columbia, SC. At 8am one of them called me and cancelled, due to the temperature. So I called around and made plans to try and get into Green River cove. I figured since we didn't get any snow down here, they probably didn't get socked in. That was my first mistake. So I get a few guys lined up to meet me in Columbus and go paddle the lower Green and see the snow. I loaded up my gear into my pick-up truck and got under way. I took Hwy 25 up the mountain and just before I got to Hwy 11 the snow had started to stick a little and there was some in the ditches. As I passed Hwy 11 there was about an inch covering everything. (as you can see by this photo)
So I continue my journey up the mountain and as I go the snow gets deeper and deeper. By the time I pass the state line into NC I am looking at about 4" of snow on the ground. (as you can see here)
So, we all finally make it to Columbus, NC and realize the state has not plowed anything but the Interstate and the major Hwy's. So there is no way in the cove. I made the mistake of bringing the pick-up rather than bringing the Jeep. Had I taken the Jeep, I probably could have gotten everyone in and made it into the cove. Oh well. We all met in front of the park just down from Brick and threw snow balls and made a new plan. We decided, after much deliberation, that we would drive back down out of the snow and go paddle the Middle Saluda. I had not run this section before. So I was rather excited. I like running new stuff and I also like the mountain creek style paddling, which is what they told me this would be. So we all followed each-other over to Cleveland, SC and changed clothes at the F-mart. We set up the shuttle and were in the water by 1pm. This run is very interesting. It has some nice medium sized drops, some boulder garden areas, and some flat water, with farmer's fields coming up the banks. I really liked it. After we got off the river and had a beer, we went down into Traveler's Rest and hung out in Sunrift for a while. I bought two new hats and a 2-pack of wool socks. Before leaving, Jake and I made plans for Sunday to try again to get into the cove. I told him I would be bringing the Jeep and I would get us in weather they plowed or not.
Sunday, Jake and I had made plans to meet up in Columbus, NC again. Then Rick said he was in and would meet us there too. So we all get there about 11am and start the trek into the cove. They have plowed the secondary roads about 1 lane wide, so everyone was able to get down to the take-out. Rick and Jake ran their vehicles up on to the snow bank so they were off the plowed path. We loaded their boats onto the Jeep and figured we could push their vehicles back onto the road when we got off the river. So we headed up towards Fishtop and stopped at Fred's. He had his new bood stove glowing and fresh pork chops cooking in a pan on top! He offered us some, but we declined since we all had eaten just before meeting in Columbus. We told what we were doing and he said he would join us once we got down to his place via the river. Then we headed on up to Fishtop.
Once at Fishtop, we were really about to start the fun! None of us had done a snow paddle before so we were all really excited. The parking lot had about 6" of snow laying on it, and so did everything else. Rick and Jake carried their boats down the trail but I opted to use mine as a sled and got in and slid down the hill to the creek. We all forded the creek with out incident. There is normally a large sand hill that you walk down and get in to your boat next to water. Today, it was covered in 6" of snow. So we got in our boats at the top of the hill and really SEAL launched! We played in eddies and paddled our way down to Superman's Rock. There I decided to hike my boat up the trail and sled down using the river bank's new 16" drop off as a launch ramp. This turned out to be one of the best play spots of the day! Rick, Jake, and I all did this several times. We then paddled on down to Fred's and he joined us. WE had a good time the rest of the way down the river enjoying the beauty of the snow and the peacefulness of the river. We were all quiet for the better part of the trip. It was very nice. When we got down to the 2nd bridge, Rick and I had scouted the long steps that make up the Tubing take-out. They go down about 40' and are carved into the side of the hill. Rick and I hiked up it and Rick decided to be the test pilot for this slide. He did just fine and so I went down! This was the best part of the day!! Rick and I both ran it twice and wow! It was soo fast!
Well, thanks for reading about my weekend.
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