I'm local to Boone and have been paddling Watauga for 15 years. My opinion may be biased after so many runs on the old Watauga but myself and several others who have paddled down feel like the whole section is about 85% different. I've gotten about 5 laps since the flood (400-200 cfs) and have noticed more changes each lap. In multiple places car sized boulder have been flipped over or rolled hundreds of feet downstream. The whole river seems to follow a more left to right sweeping path (like Linville) and overall, we agreed it felt more creekish and more channelized. On a 200 cfs lap my partner in crime and I only hit a handful of rocks. The gorge walls are scoured clear 30 feet vertically on both sides the whole way down. All the rocks have been polished to beautiful shade of grey and much of the nasty sediment and algae appears to have been washed away for now. With so many trees removed sunlight is pouring in at new places and the air smells cleaner than it has in years. A few rapids got junkier (Beech Creek, boulder pile above Vernon's Folly, rapid bellow Blow Job). Overall, the feel of the rapids became much more like Linville to me (lots of side-to-side movement, narrow but deep tongues, curler boofs and fun slots). I suspect seasoned Watauga boaters or paddlers with keen eye will have a glorious time looking for changes and marveling over the new look of the gorge. Finally, a word of caution, a few new sieves and undercuts have formed so use caution and scout if you can't see from your boat. The rock in the center of Heavy Water is now a pretty large undercut with a tree lodged in it...probably not a problem at lower flows but most of the flow is charging that way now and it could be dangerous at high water. The right side of Bump n' Grind is hard no go with multiple pins and undercuts. Stateline is notably harder. Again, we feel the river is overall more channelized and I feel like southeast paddlers have been gifted a mini version of Linville without all the danger. Be safe, enjoy, and unlock new lines! 💚💚💚
@@highcountryhuckster - Ty for pointing out more stuff. Yea, I think I’m enjoying the new Watauga more. Also, really want to get on Linville Proper at some point. Also curious about changes in there from the Hurricane. I’ve hiked in there a bunch in the past.
Boof Falls.... back in the day we called that "rewind"... glad to see that the tradition is to run it backwards, we did the same back in the 80's. It was great seeing it again, it's been 30 years now for me, I think me last run was in 1995. God I wish we had GoPro's back then. Great to see it again, brings back many memories.
So this is what the North Carolina side of the Watauga River looks like now. I fish the Tennessee side but haven't been down since the flood and don't know what's up with it. It was a world class trout fishery, but we shall see if that has changed.
Yea, the entrance is more technical now. Regarding the drop itself, there is a flake on the right side that I got a good boof off of. Other people were saying that it is kind of hard to hit. I've only gotten one lap on the new Watauga so far.
Let me know if there’s anything with my beta, rapid names or anything. As much as I’ve paddled the Watauga, I still don’t quite fully know all the names of everything
Too bad I can only give this one thumb's up. First of all, nice run. It looks fun. Second of all, this is the first kayaking / C1 video I've seen where people eddy hop, ferry, and surf. Mostly it's just pick a line, barrel through it, use steel-edged Kevlar paddles to break inconvenient rocks, and boof on those rocks too big to break. Oh, and micro-eddies. Stuffin' your boat in places where it's not meant to go. Great fun, and an even better whitewater skill to have.
I'm local to Boone and have been paddling Watauga for 15 years. My opinion may be biased after so many runs on the old Watauga but myself and several others who have paddled down feel like the whole section is about 85% different. I've gotten about 5 laps since the flood (400-200 cfs) and have noticed more changes each lap. In multiple places car sized boulder have been flipped over or rolled hundreds of feet downstream. The whole river seems to follow a more left to right sweeping path (like Linville) and overall, we agreed it felt more creekish and more channelized. On a 200 cfs lap my partner in crime and I only hit a handful of rocks. The gorge walls are scoured clear 30 feet vertically on both sides the whole way down. All the rocks have been polished to beautiful shade of grey and much of the nasty sediment and algae appears to have been washed away for now. With so many trees removed sunlight is pouring in at new places and the air smells cleaner than it has in years. A few rapids got junkier (Beech Creek, boulder pile above Vernon's Folly, rapid bellow Blow Job). Overall, the feel of the rapids became much more like Linville to me (lots of side-to-side movement, narrow but deep tongues, curler boofs and fun slots). I suspect seasoned Watauga boaters or paddlers with keen eye will have a glorious time looking for changes and marveling over the new look of the gorge. Finally, a word of caution, a few new sieves and undercuts have formed so use caution and scout if you can't see from your boat. The rock in the center of Heavy Water is now a pretty large undercut with a tree lodged in it...probably not a problem at lower flows but most of the flow is charging that way now and it could be dangerous at high water. The right side of Bump n' Grind is hard no go with multiple pins and undercuts. Stateline is notably harder. Again, we feel the river is overall more channelized and I feel like southeast paddlers have been gifted a mini version of Linville without all the danger. Be safe, enjoy, and unlock new lines! 💚💚💚
@@highcountryhuckster - Ty for pointing out more stuff. Yea, I think I’m enjoying the new Watauga more. Also, really want to get on Linville Proper at some point. Also curious about changes in there from the Hurricane. I’ve hiked in there a bunch in the past.
Any sight of a yellow vw bug? Was lost during the flood down the river
Thanks for the video!! I'm looking forward to getting back on the Watauga.
Boof Falls.... back in the day we called that "rewind"... glad to see that the tradition is to run it backwards, we did the same back in the 80's. It was great seeing it again, it's been 30 years now for me, I think me last run was in 1995. God I wish we had GoPro's back then. Great to see it again, brings back many memories.
So this is what the North Carolina side of the Watauga River looks like now. I fish the Tennessee side but haven't been down since the flood and don't know what's up with it. It was a world class trout fishery, but we shall see if that has changed.
You should try fent falls next
Looks like the entrance to state line is harder but easier to keep the bow up off the drop. Almost looks like a autoboof now
Yea, the entrance is more technical now. Regarding the drop itself, there is a flake on the right side that I got a good boof off of. Other people were saying that it is kind of hard to hit. I've only gotten one lap on the new Watauga so far.
Sick boof on Stateline!
Let me know if there’s anything with my beta, rapid names or anything. As much as I’ve paddled the Watauga, I still don’t quite fully know all the names of everything
Obviously, u don’t watch many kayaking videos
Too bad I can only give this one thumb's up.
First of all, nice run. It looks fun.
Second of all, this is the first kayaking / C1 video I've seen where people eddy hop, ferry, and surf. Mostly it's just pick a line, barrel through it, use steel-edged Kevlar paddles to break inconvenient rocks, and boof on those rocks too big to break.
Oh, and micro-eddies. Stuffin' your boat in places where it's not meant to go. Great fun, and an even better whitewater skill to have.