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Discharge and Gage Height near Francisco, NC
This page is for sections 2, 3 and 4 of the Dan River. The page for section 1, Kibler Valley, can be found here. Click on the photos for trip reports, photos and videos from each trip.
December
29, 2007 Jessup's Mill - After two and a half months without
rain, 22 paddlers, mostly from the
Smith River
Valley Canoe Club, showed up to paddle the Jessups Mill section of the Dan.
The mist hung low, the air was warm and the water provided by overnight rains
held out just enough to keep the level above 1.9 feet.
River Depth at Francisco gauge = 2 feet Discharge = 220 cubic feet per second
January
1, 2007 Jessup's Mill - A great run with guys from
SRVCC
following an inch and a half of overnight rain.
River Depth at Francisco gauge = 4 feet Discharge = 1660 cubic feet per second
November 12, 2006 Jessup's Mill - Awesome, awesome day running the 7 mile Jessup's Mill section. Blue skies, warm sun, clear water, cold air, little boofs off little rocks and an 8 point buck.
River Depth at Francisco gauge = 1.68 feet
August 20, 2006
Frye Rd to Flinchum Rd. - Our first family canoe outing, two years to the
day after my first kayak trip on the Dan. Even with extremely low water,
we had a very successful and fun trip down the river. Well, except for the
part where we put a hole in our good friend Jeff's 16 foot Mad River canoe.
River Depth at Francisco gauge = 1.4 - 1.5 feet Discharge = 78-95 cubic feet per second
March 26, 2006 Jessup's Mill - For a myriad of reasons the Jessup's Mill section of the Dan had eluded me, but we finally got a chance to run it on a cold day with absurdly low water. It was the best trip yet, I absolutely loved it. Fantastic scenery around every bend and a surprisingly high number of class II rapids. Video Clip (9MB) and Trip Report with Photos.
River Depth at Francisco gauge = 1.5 feet Discharge = 120 cubic feet per second
June
12, 2005. 704 to Flinchum Rd. - We had trouble picking where to paddle today and settled on the
13 mile run from the 704 bridge access point to the access point on Flinchum
Road in Danbury, NC. It was an overcast day and recent rains gave us nice
water flow. Lots of other paddlers were on the river today, more than
we've ever seen. Good day to be on the water. Click
here for the
trip report and more photos.
River Depth at Francisco gauge = 1.75 feet Discharge = 205 cubic feet per second
February 21,
2005. Kibler Valley to Jessup's Mill - Jeff and I decided that we would cover fifteen miles of the
Dan River, putting in at Kibler Valley, Virginia and taking out at Jessup's
Mill, NC. Overnight rains had increased the river flow, but not muddied
the water.... perfect conditions. The forecast called for rain, but not a
drop fell all day. We had paddled thirteen miles of the Dan in a lower
section before and thought fifteen wouldn't be a problem. Nine and a half
hours after putting in under a heavy fog I climbed out of the river, in the
dark, soaking wet, and as tired as I have been in a very, very long time.
So what happened, I'll tell you... click here for
the full story and more photos.
River Depth at Francisco gauge = 1.75 feet Discharge = 205 cubic feet per second
November 7,
2004. Frye Rd to Flinchum Rd. - The water was crystal clear, the sun shining, the air a warm
seventy degrees. It was just a wonderful November day on the water.
We saw a spike buck at the put in, lots of big fish swimming under the boats,
and a blue heron flying overhead. Click
here for the trip report and photos.
River Depth at Francisco gauge = 1.75 feet Discharge = 205 cubic feet per second
October
6, 2004. 704 to Flinchum Rd. - I hit the water in my new Dagger Element for the first time
and had a great thirteen mile paddle in it. Jeff and I started at the 704
bridge and took out at the Dan River Company on Flinchum Road. Click
here for the trip report and photos.
River Depth at Francisco gauge = 1.92 feet Discharge = 259 cubic feet per second
September
20, 2004. Moore's Spring to Moratock - We paddled a ten mile stretch of the Dan River near
Danbury, NC in a couple of rented Dagger Zydecos. We put in at Moore's Spring Campground at 9:30am and the took
out at Moratock Park at 3:00pm. Click here
for the full story and more photos.
River Depth at Francisco gauge = 1.65 feet Discharge = 176 cubic feet per second
August 20,
2004. Moore's Spring to Flinchum Rd - Jeff and I both had
an awesome first time kayaking. We rented two Liquidlogic
Saphire Trekreational Kayaks from
Dan River Canoe Co
and made a 5 mile paddle on the Dan River with just superb weather. Click
here for more details and
a lot more photos.
River Depth at Francisco gauge = 1.5 feet Discharge = 149 cubic feet per second
The photos below are of Coiled Cobra at Jessup's Mill, the Dan's biggest and best rapid. It is also one of only four Class IIIs it has to offer, according to Robert Altman's Adventures In The Dan River Basin. The other three are the Power Plant Rapid, Public Enemy #2 and Basketball Falls.
