This series us really great, Im amazed at how few likes and views it has. Vastly underated. Im looking to explore the haw some this year, this will be a huge help. It will be interesting to se gow the river has changed.
Really great video. Very helpful for anyone wanting to learn about paddling the Haw River. Much appreciated for the time put into this series. Outstanding.
Quick question: when you paddle from Indian Valley to Glencoe, I believe you have to exit at Great Bend and portage to Glencoe due to the dam? Is this correct? If so, how long of a walk is that, etc? Just curious with the kids, etc. Thanks again.
Correct. I actually cover this in the latter portion of the video. The portage will be just over 200 yards long if you use the sanctioned portage trail. You can get closer to the dam and knock that distance down, though you need to take care not to get close to the dam or the mill race sluice that is active...esp with kids. min 12:30 on the video will cover this topic. Thanks for watching and I hope that helps! Let me know if I can help you further!
Ok I watched all the videos and have information overload right now I must have overlooked it. That's very helpful and thanks again for the content and your quick response. Happy Paddling.
Great video and a great paddle... Can't wait for some water in the river to do that sometime. Its just great how you emphasize leaving something for another time if not sure. I say that to my son all the time. It will always be there for another time
Thanks Guy! Im all about pushing and going for it. But that is such a personal thing. Each paddler will find that happy medium of adventure vs security. Having a positive experience is the main priority.
@@RiverKingsKayak And you can't have a positive experience if you are scared out of your wits or worse yet get hurt. I see so much of what you do with your son that is just like what I do with my son only you have a bit more skill to back it up with. He will follow in footsteps of a river king.
Brief update as of 08/16/2021 - the very unique tunnel far left of the river referenced around the 10:35 mark of the video that helps avoid the dam is not accessible due to two very large fallen trees. From the looks of it, the trees have been down for some time. With that in mind, my wife and I weren’t comfortable going over the dam; however, we paddled to the far right of the dam and were able to exit and slide the kayaks around the dam. It requires getting out of your kayak while still in the water and the rocks are slippery, so requires patience and decent water shoes. Once out of the water, it actually made for a decent sand spot to stop for rest and a snack. When we got back in the water after the dam and looked back, it did look like a section of the dam almost exactly in the middle was a little lower than two feet and had better water flow, so likely would have been an okay spot to go over. These videos have been very helpful to get a feel for a trip ahead of time. Thank you for sharing.
Nice little wall bump, came out of that trip with a pug nose kayak. :P I went camping this past weekend, I've got to edit the video, but I tried to jump a downed tree, and ended up much like you did on the wall....
Ahhh, yes, we call that four wheel driving! When we do micro creeks (15' wide or less) log jumping becomes a common thing. Unfortunately, your kayak has one of the worst bow designs for doing that. If you had a high raked bow, (long sweeping angle to the waterline) it would slide right up and over. We have done this knowing our friend had a bad design for this. We jumped right over. When he couldn't get over, we kept giving him different advice on how he was doing it wrong until we finally came clean. I can't believe I smacked the wall...he he. Not that it really matters, but it was just funny. What river did you settle on?
We settled on the Pomme De Terre river. I think it was a great beginner one, even with a couple sissy rapids to it for fun. The bad thing is I knew my kayak had a dipped down front end, so I have no idea why on earth I thought I could make it...I think it was me trying to look cool in front of the wife :), or maybe I left my brain at camp.
Sounds awesome. Its all part of the fun! I've run 40' waterfalls in my ww boat. At the top of some of these are some hidden rocks that can really mess you up right before the lip. I found one of these once. Talk about sucking the seat covers off! I had to correct off the curtain of the falls on the way down. That is where you want to have it all together. On low consequence runs, it is all about experimenting and learning what you can and can't do. Nothing wrong with trying! It will just add to your skill set believe it or not. I was halfway paddling and looking at my camera to be sure it was on and before I looked down, I anticipated a bit more leftward push to the water. When I looked up, you might imagine my surprise. Ha ha! I was really just annoyed that I messed the footage up. But, as I stated in my Yadkin river trip...the river is always lurking, waiting patiently for any opportunity to get ya! Glad you guys got out there and had some fun!
Great video as always. I take it that if the water level is ~3ft we will probably need to portage at the Indian Valley dam? I can't remember exactly what Paul's book says
Thanks Chery!! I always go thru the tunnel on the left...be sure that tunnel is open and free of trees and debri first. I would always recommend scouting that as you set the shuttle so you will know before you get there. If there is a boil line below the dam, don't run it. There is also a portage option on river right if I remember correctly...
Hey Pete, I’ve been watching these videos for awhile now and all of them are extremely helpful, so thanks for the effort you put into doing these!! A buddy and I were thinking of doing this section (maybe just to Indian Valley) this Saturday, but wondering if the water levels there are consistent with the Haw River gauge (1.75 now)? Think I read in Paul Ferguson’s book that levels further upstream might be different? Thinking that a minimum of 2 ft might be ideal for this stretch, maybe a little higher?
Yes, there is no discernible difference. 1.75 will be on the low side, but I believe you will make it down. I usually look for 2' at least on the gages, but sometimes we have to make do! LOL
were all the kayaks flatwater touring types? I have always wanted to go down the Haw but was afraid my boat was too long. hope to go soon. any other runs like this? calm
This series us really great, Im amazed at how few likes and views it has. Vastly underated. Im looking to explore the haw some this year, this will be a huge help. It will be interesting to se gow the river has changed.
thanks a ton smartypants!!
Really great video. Very helpful for anyone wanting to learn about paddling the Haw River. Much appreciated for the time put into this series. Outstanding.
Thanks Keith! I would have loved this info way back when I was starting out...figured I'd put something together. Thanks for watching.
Quick question: when you paddle from Indian Valley to Glencoe, I believe you have to exit at Great Bend and portage to Glencoe due to the dam? Is this correct? If so, how long of a walk is that, etc? Just curious with the kids, etc. Thanks again.
Correct. I actually cover this in the latter portion of the video. The portage will be just over 200 yards long if you use the sanctioned portage trail. You can get closer to the dam and knock that distance down, though you need to take care not to get close to the dam or the mill race sluice that is active...esp with kids. min 12:30 on the video will cover this topic. Thanks for watching and I hope that helps! Let me know if I can help you further!
Ok I watched all the videos and have information overload right now I must have overlooked it. That's very helpful and thanks again for the content and your quick response. Happy Paddling.
Awesome! Have fun out there!
Great video and a great paddle... Can't wait for some water in the river to do that sometime.
Its just great how you emphasize leaving something for another time if not sure. I say that to my son all the time. It will always be there for another time
Thanks Guy! Im all about pushing and going for it. But that is such a personal thing. Each paddler will find that happy medium of adventure vs security. Having a positive experience is the main priority.
@@RiverKingsKayak
And you can't have a positive experience if you are scared out of your wits or worse yet get hurt.
I see so much of what you do with your son that is just like what I do with my son only you have a bit more skill to back it up with. He will follow in footsteps of a river king.
Brief update as of 08/16/2021 - the very unique tunnel far left of the river referenced around the 10:35 mark of the video that helps avoid the dam is not accessible due to two very large fallen trees. From the looks of it, the trees have been down for some time. With that in mind, my wife and I weren’t comfortable going over the dam; however, we paddled to the far right of the dam and were able to exit and slide the kayaks around the dam. It requires getting out of your kayak while still in the water and the rocks are slippery, so requires patience and decent water shoes. Once out of the water, it actually made for a decent sand spot to stop for rest and a snack. When we got back in the water after the dam and looked back, it did look like a section of the dam almost exactly in the middle was a little lower than two feet and had better water flow, so likely would have been an okay spot to go over. These videos have been very helpful to get a feel for a trip ahead of time. Thank you for sharing.
Thanks for that beta! Good information! Thanks for tuning in and letting everyone know about the trees!
Nice little wall bump, came out of that trip with a pug nose kayak. :P I went camping this past weekend, I've got to edit the video, but I tried to jump a downed tree, and ended up much like you did on the wall....
Ahhh, yes, we call that four wheel driving! When we do micro creeks (15' wide or less) log jumping becomes a common thing. Unfortunately, your kayak has one of the worst bow designs for doing that. If you had a high raked bow, (long sweeping angle to the waterline) it would slide right up and over. We have done this knowing our friend had a bad design for this. We jumped right over. When he couldn't get over, we kept giving him different advice on how he was doing it wrong until we finally came clean. I can't believe I smacked the wall...he he. Not that it really matters, but it was just funny. What river did you settle on?
We settled on the Pomme De Terre river. I think it was a great beginner one, even with a couple sissy rapids to it for fun. The bad thing is I knew my kayak had a dipped down front end, so I have no idea why on earth I thought I could make it...I think it was me trying to look cool in front of the wife :), or maybe I left my brain at camp.
Sounds awesome. Its all part of the fun! I've run 40' waterfalls in my ww boat. At the top of some of these are some hidden rocks that can really mess you up right before the lip. I found one of these once. Talk about sucking the seat covers off! I had to correct off the curtain of the falls on the way down. That is where you want to have it all together. On low consequence runs, it is all about experimenting and learning what you can and can't do. Nothing wrong with trying! It will just add to your skill set believe it or not. I was halfway paddling and looking at my camera to be sure it was on and before I looked down, I anticipated a bit more leftward push to the water. When I looked up, you might imagine my surprise. Ha ha! I was really just annoyed that I messed the footage up. But, as I stated in my Yadkin river trip...the river is always lurking, waiting patiently for any opportunity to get ya! Glad you guys got out there and had some fun!
I thought it might be Glencoe Scotland but soon realized it wasnt UK. Looked fun though.
Sorry, it would take a LOT of kayaking to get there! Thanks for watching.
Great video as always. I take it that if the water level is ~3ft we will probably need to portage at the Indian Valley dam? I can't remember exactly what Paul's book says
Thanks Chery!! I always go thru the tunnel on the left...be sure that tunnel is open and free of trees and debri first. I would always recommend scouting that as you set the shuttle so you will know before you get there. If there is a boil line below the dam, don't run it. There is also a portage option on river right if I remember correctly...
Hey Pete, I’ve been watching these videos for awhile now and all of them are extremely helpful, so thanks for the effort you put into doing these!!
A buddy and I were thinking of doing this section (maybe just to Indian Valley) this Saturday, but wondering if the water levels there are consistent with the Haw River gauge (1.75 now)? Think I read in Paul Ferguson’s book that levels further upstream might be different? Thinking that a minimum of 2 ft might be ideal for this stretch, maybe a little higher?
Yes, there is no discernible difference. 1.75 will be on the low side, but I believe you will make it down. I usually look for 2' at least on the gages, but sometimes we have to make do! LOL
Can people swim in the haw?
Yes sir. I take my kids there on occasion to pass a day.
@@RiverKingsKayak what's the best spot for swimming
@@anthonytilley370 pretty much anywhere. A lot of folks swim near saxapahaw
@@RiverKingsKayak oh ok I really like the red slide park area
@@anthonytilley370 that would also be a good spot!
were all the kayaks flatwater touring types? I have always wanted to go down the Haw but was afraid my boat was too long. hope to go soon. any other runs like this? calm
Yes, any kayak will be ok on the haw with the exceptions of the upper, middle and lower runs found neat pittsboro.