Paddling Tennessee's Obed/Emory Watershed

Daddy's Creek flows quite peacefully until the vicinity of I-40, where the paddler may encounter occasional Class I rapids. Below Center Bridge, the Is build into IIs, which eventually turn into IIIs beyond Antioch Bridge. Then, below Yellow Creek, Daddy's Creek enters its notorious canyon section and there is no shortage of rapids and no shortage of beautiful views.

Overview
Not so many years ago Daddy's Creek Canyon was the operational definition of hair paddling. Times have changed. Daddy's Creek is now viewed as a Class III-IV run, and is rated in this volume as Class IV in overall difficulty in recognition of its undercut rock hazards.

Several things haven't changed, however. The first is the canyon itself: Awesome. First-time exposure to this stream permits little attention to anything other than the whitewater, but the environs are majestic if you have time to look. Another constant: This stream increases in difficulty exponentially with increases in water volume. Third, there are rocks everywhere—in the stream, along the stream, in the water where you want your boat to go—everywhere. In many ways, the canyon section of Daddy's Creek is a micro-upper-Gauley, especially Lost Paddle. And as the water rises, the hydraulics take on temperaments of Nashville rednecks: unprincipled.

Come to think of it, no wonder it once had such an intimidating reputation! Regardless, this float is one of the top ten technical whitewater runs in the southeastern United States. It is demanding at any water level.

River Conditions
The first mile below Antioch Bridge has a 20 ft/mi gradient and offers the opportunity to warm up for the demanding part downstream. The next mile has a 60 ft/mi gradient, with several technical Class II rock jumbles, some of which become easy Class III rapids at higher water.

The next two miles have a moderate gradient (20 ft/mi) and permit the paddler to ponder leisurely the significance of the 200-foot sheer rock cliffs that loom ahead. After paddling 3 1/2 miles Yellow Creek enters from river right. Ahead the paddler can see clearly that the entrance to Daddy's Creek Canyon is imminent.

Don't permit these early, relatively placid, miles to induce inattentiveness because the canyon section, about two miles in length, begins one half mile below Yellow Creek with a three-part rapid called the Snakedance Trilogy (Class IV). The snake is run from tail to head, beginning with Spike Rapid (Class III+), which forms the tail. Spike has a bothersome rock in the main flow on the left side of a constricted chute. First-time paddlers should scout (river left). The rapid is an abrupt drop through a narrow corridor. The right side is badly undercut, but staying left means a tango with the spike, especially at low water. The undercut cliff on river right (which is where the water pushes boats) is considered by some to be the worst undercut in the system.

Next is the "body" of the snake, beginning with a drop into a strong hole and continuing with a row of boulders into (and under) which the water seems to disappear. It does! This appears to be a dead end, the river is so congested with room-sized boulders: But there is a winding course through an eerie boulder field of obstructions (on river left) leading to the snake's head, and its infamous "fang" of the rattlesnake, formed by a five-foot drop through three cracks. This drop is probably less formidable than it looks, but it's difficult to cop a clean run at any level, partly because of the congestion at the base of the drop, and partly because the far right looks so horrendous. It looks like Meatgrinder on Spring Creek (Tennessee) or Suddy Hole on Big Laurel Creek (North Carolina). At lower water there is little choice, only the left crack has enough water to accommodate a boat. It is necessary to negotiate the five-foot drop into an undercut rock and simultaneously duck to avoid decapitation. At higher levels this route is not practical, and the middle crack is the route of choice. The problem is the landing: rocky.

Rocking Chair (Class IV) is a rollicking ride with a nasty sting nestled on river left (a really bad undercut rock formation). The rapid is a succession of drops with the biggest near the end. Objectively it's not very difficult, but the undercut on the left and the big rock in the main flow at the bottom tend to snare floating objects. This undercut hazard is common with Cumberland Plateau streams, where Class III rapids assume potentially serious consequences due to dangerous undercut boulders. The Piney River near Spring City, Tennessee, raises the undercut entrapment phenomenon to a macabre art form, but the Obed and its tributaries also are full of notable exhibits, transforming the objective classification of rapid difficulty to "what if?" conjecture.

Below Rocking Chair the rapids are less hazardous and generally less difficult, but they continue for the next 1 1/2 miles for an exhilarating stretch of technical whitewater. Stop occasionally and look around, especially upstream. The canyon is remarkable.

The canyon walls recede from the river and diminish in height as Devil's Breakfast Table is approached. The last mile features a more moderate gradient of about 35 ft/mi.

Summary
Daddy's Creek Canyon is sometimes referred to as Yellow Creek Canyon, possibly because Yellow Creek enters just above commencement of the canyon section. Whatever its proper name, this canyon is outrageously wild, remote, and beautiful. The canyon proper is only two miles in length, but a furious two miles because of the 70 ft/mi gradient and the fact that the stream bed is continuously chock-full of boulders. In places, very large boulders tower above the paddler's head, sometimes on every side, conveying the relative insignificance of the human element in this pristine riverine setting. The immense boulders on every side lend a sense of "closed-in-ness" quite unlike any other river.

Access
Put-in is at Antioch Bridge. (Take the Peavine Exit off 1-40. Antioch Bridge is ten miles from the Interstate, over secondary roads.) Antioch Bridge is accessible year-round. It also can be reached from Crab Orchard.

Take-out is at Devil's Breakfast Table (DBT) in the Catoosa Wildlife Management Area (CWMA). Access to the Breakfast Table is problematic much of the year because the CWMA is closed to vehicular traffic from January to April and on other weekends during managed hunts. The schedule of managed hunts is announced on an annual basis and the only sure way to know if the Breakfast Table is accessible on a given date is to contact the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency. Round-trip Antioch to DBT is about 50 minutes.

If the CWMA is closed there is an alternate take-out downstream of DBT at Obed Junction (OBJ), which marks the confluence of Daddy's Creek with the Obed River. This alternate take-out adds two miles of Class 11+ paddling to the run, and has the advantage of lying outside the CWMA and hence never is closed.

However, there are two distinct disadvantages to the OBJ take-out. First, the access road is four wheel drive (4WD) only. Even with a 4WD vehicle, access is still a problem because the road is very narrow, rocky, and overhung with tree limbs. The alternative to 4WD access is to walk out with one's equipment either in tow or on one's back. The distance is 1/2 mile up a canyon wall. The second disadvantage to the Obed Junction alternate take-out is the onerously long shuttle. If the CWMA is closed, one must drive back to I-40 West, exit at Genesis Road, and follow Genesis Road until the last right turn before Jett Bridge. Round-trip shuttle from Antioch Bridge to Obed Junction is 65 miles and at least 1 1/2 hours.

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