"I lived and worked on the Chattooga for about 7 years. On a big water day, myself and an unnamed friend paddled section 00. A very nice Forrest Service official ticketed us and asked if it was worth the $50 each... we both answered yes! He smiled while warning us not to do it again.
The funniest thing is that we didn't see anybody else that whole day... no one is fishing that area when its high enough to paddle!!! My question is... how can something be "wild and scenic" if you are not allowed to see it?"
Seems like a bargain really... how much do they charge to paddle at Charlotte for a whole day? Not that anyone should have to pay anything to paddle on a Wild & Scenic river... ever.
Thought I'd mention it here since the FS, TU and GA Forest Watch only monitor BoaterTalk
Maybe the Chattooga Headwaters should be on the "to do" list for ALF...
If AW loses the lawsuit, I intend to give the trouties lots of company by wading and swimming the headwaters, as I have done a number of times in the past.
Anyone who wants to see selected scenes from the whole 25 miles of the headwaters can go to boatertalk.com and go to my "Gallery"... obviously the one for ezwater. The pictures were taken back in the 90s during low flows in summer.
I didn't see fisherment on sections 00, 0, or 1, except on certain short stretches easy to reach from a bridge or road.
The MOST SUITABLE section for paddlers in general is Section 1, from Burrells Ford to hwy 28. Yet that is the section USFS excluded from paddling in their half-baked offer. Their proposal shows that their decision was based on politics rather than suitability for paddler use. Sections 00 and 0 are very small and rarely floatable. They require advanced creeking skills, not because they are that steep, but because certain rapids or constricted sections require skill in landing, scouting, and possibly portaging.
Section 1 has maybe four falls or rapids that require stopping, portaging, or rope coverage. Most of Section 1 is just class 2, and the last 4 miles are class 1.
So if a person had a few creek skills and was drivin from like three hours away what would be the most adrienlien filled run. Give no consideration to the posibilty of detection, I hope I would run into a ranger I don't carry ID and I would tell them I was from Wisconson and my name is decker.
ezwater wrote:Anyone who wants to see selected scenes from the whole 25 miles of the headwaters can go to boatertalk.com and go to my "Gallery"... obviously the one for ezwater. The pictures were taken back in the 90s during low flows in summer.
I agree I was in there many years ago and HEck yA IT IS WORTH 50 DOLLARS If a bunch of us went over could they ticket us all and if they did would it be the end og the world
