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Thread: Jacks River

  1. #1

    Default Jacks River

    Anyone know what the river is like? I heard GA was pretty dry. Planning a trip to jacks either beginning or end of September. Hoping for a healthy jacks flow.

    Any help is appreciated,
    K2

  2. #2
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    Default

    We've had a fairly wet summer topped off by a lot of rain this week. The Jacks is running high. If things return to normal, the flow will be healthy for the balance of this month and likely for all of September. (It was also unusually high for summer back in June and early July, meaning groundwater levels are higher than usual for this time of year.)

  3. #3
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    Default I would wait

    Its too high right now, at the lower section. Above the actual falls, would be better, so if recent rain, head to Betty Gap and work your way down. You cannot evacuate the lower 2-3 miles before the Alaculsy Valley bridge as it is a canyon. I have seen it rain upstream near Betty and the river rise 3 feet in less than an hour. Just keep this in mind, you don't know what its doing upstream and water flows down-quick! I would strongly recommend the last of September and that being after a dry spell of a week or two. Hope this helps. Keep your eye on the radar for a few days before departure.
    [\QUOTE=Dan Roper;2289097]We've had a fairly wet summer topped off by a lot of rain this week. The Jacks is running high. If things return to normal, the flow will be healthy for the balance of this month and likely for all of September. (It was also unusually high for summer back in June and early July, meaning groundwater levels are higher than usual for this time of year.)[/QUOTE]

  4. #4

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by K2 Travels View Post
    Anyone know what the river is like? I heard GA was pretty dry. Planning a trip to jacks either beginning or end of September. Hoping for a healthy jacks flow.

    Any help is appreciated,
    K2
    Are you planning to hike the Jacks River trail, which crosses the river many times, or take one of the other trails down to the river? As noted above the lower part of the river may be too high to cross.

  5. #5
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    Default

    Betty Gap is in the Conasauga River watershed, not the Jacks.

    The upper Conasauga rises and falls more quickly than the Jacks and does have a gorge-like section below the lower trailhead. A year ago, the trail was in bad shape due to the large number of blowdowns. I don't know if they've been cleared out.

    The Jacks River Trail is in better shape, but the Jacks is bigger than the Upper Conasauga, so when the water is up it can be a real beast. We've had a lot more rain this weekend, so I wouldn't chance either river trail without recent firsthand information about conditions.

  6. #6

    Default

    Thanks for all the information.

    I plan on doing the same trip I did a few years ago: Starting at Betty, sleep on top of panther falls, then up hickory to jacks, out at Dally. I will definitely ask again closer to the date we decide on.

    K2

  7. #7
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    Default

    If rain tapers off to normal or thereabouts, the Cohutta Wilderness stream- and river levels should be fine by early or mid September, maybe sooner than that (quick rise, quick fall in those watersheds, barring continued rain).

    You may know this, but in 2016 there was a drought followed by fire followed by windstorms and floods. As a result, some trails were wrecked beyond reasonable use. Hickory Ridge was one of those. It was an overgrown, downfall-covered mess of epic proportions. I know that as recently as 2019 it was almost impassible during the summertime. I think, but I haven't confirmed, that a lot of work has since been done, so that it may now be fine.

    The fire weakened many trees, so that new downfalls happen fairly often. Usually these are scattered so not a major issue.

    I've done Panther Creek Falls, East Cowpen, and upper Jacks River trails since those calamities. All were basically fine. I wouldn't expect anything different, allowing for the possibility of scattered new downfalls.

    I plan to do a Jacks River hike in the next two weeks. This may include Hickory Ridge, though not sure yet. I'll update afterwards.

  8. #8
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    Default

    A friend just reported that Holly Creek was impassable to hikers yesterday. Holly Creek is in the watershed just south of the Conasauga watershed. He said similar conditions should be present right now in the Cohutta Wilderness. The rain gauge at Blue Ridge reports eight inches so far this month. Blairsville has had nine. Calhoun and Rome each have had more than five. That's considerably above normal this time of year.

  9. #9
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    Default

    Ida's remnants dropped 4 to 6 inches of Tuesday and Wednesday. Flood warning for Holly Creek in the valley west of the Cohutta Mountains. So little doubt that water levels in the Cohuttas are running high to dangerously high.

    The forecast for the next week or so is pretty dry, and the upper watershed levels drop quickly, so there's hope that things will return to a more normal level by mid September.

  10. #10

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Dan Roper View Post
    Ida's remnants dropped 4 to 6 inches of Tuesday and Wednesday. Flood warning for Holly Creek in the valley west of the Cohutta Mountains. So little doubt that water levels in the Cohuttas are running high to dangerously high.

    The forecast for the next week or so is pretty dry, and the upper watershed levels drop quickly, so there's hope that things will return to a more normal level by mid September.
    I know all about Ida as I just got back from a 21 day backpacking trip on Snowbird Creek in NC and got hit first by Hurricane Fred and then I was on Flats Mt in TN during Ida.

    Trip 213 (103)-XL.jpg
    Here's my CS on Snowbird Creek just after Fred hit. Lucky my Hilleberg tent floor keeps out water in a small lake.

    Trip 213 (99)-XL.jpg
    Here's Snowbird Creek next to camp before Fred.

    Trip 213 (104)-XL.jpg
    After Fred.

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