Tennessee River Thru Paddle - Day 9 (4/19/21)

Chickamauga Lock & Dam Portage

Start: River Mile: 478

Finish: River Mile: 464

Day Total: 16

Trip Total: 188

Our camp last night on TVA land on a cove known to the locals as Pinky’s Point, was great. We had our own private beach, and just 20 feet up a slop a beautiful pine forest. Setting up our tents on a soft bed of pine needles was a dream.

Pinky’s PointCampsite

 

Breaking camp, we got on the water by 8:15. Our first stop was Chickamauga Lock & Dam, 7 miles down river. Conditions on the river were peaceful, no boat traffic, calm water, and a very gentle breeze. I had a chance to connect with Dad and Bonnie on this stretch. It was great catching up with them. They follow along daily on the blog and even have the Army Corps map up on their big screen TV!

Once we were within a mile of the lock, I called the lock master to let him know we were 20 minutes away. In a somewhat harried voice he explained that he had 6 barges lined up downriver waiting to lock through. They ALL had priority over us. We totally understood, this is a commercial river and the barges always have the right of way. So, with an estimated wait time of 6+ hours, we opted for a long portage around the dam.

In looking at the various online map resources we have available (Google Earth, Google Maps, On X and Go Paddling) we were able to determine that there was a small city park, at the end of where the earthen part of dam ends. Unfortunately it was on the opposite side of the river, over a mile away. We found a set of large concrete steps leading up from the water. So, we had to empty our boats and carry them up the stairs to a large grassy area where we could get ourselves organized and get our boats on the portage wheels. Once on the wheels, we loaded all our gear back into our boats. The trick with this process is you have to balance the load so that you have the weight evenly distributed, like a fulcrum. This way, you are only pulling the weight and not also managing the balance. 

My fully loaded boat, on the long walk to the boat landing.

The overall length of the portage was 1.5 miles, with over half of it up hill. Even with a perfect loading job, the 200 pounds of boat and gear require stopping every 100 steps to change hands and keep loose. At the far end of the path we arrived at a TVA boat ramp where we had to repack our boats for paddling, lower them down the ramp and into the water. On on Mississippi River trip last year, we discovered that pushing the boat out to water deep enough for it to float allows it to the float the boat off the wheels and then pull it back into the shallow water to put the wheels away, which in my case means taking them apart, loading them into a mesh bag and strapping the bag on the rear deck of my kayak. From take out the put in, we spend 2 hours managing the portage. A good trade considering the 6 hour minimum it would have taken to lock through.

Back in our boats, with a good current and the wind at our backs, we covered the last 7 miles to Chattanooga in just under 2 hours. Jon had found a Springhill Suites right on the water. There was a boat ramp a block away from the hotel. So, we had to go through the whole process of unloading and getting our boats on the portage wheels to haul them up the long steep ramp and then to the hotel. The hotel manager Veronica was very helpful. Their conference room as not scheduled to be used today or tomorrow, so she let us wheel our boats in and unpack directly onto the hotel luggage carts. They then locked our boats inside the conference room, all safe and sound.

We had a very full list of to-dos waiting for us in Chattanooga. 

1. Lunch and a beer
2. Upgrade sleeping gear 
3. Ship old sleeping gear home
4. Resupply groceries
5. Resupply bourbon
6. Laundry
7. Plus, Jon has several hours of work to day and the hotel is perfect for that.

Lunch and a beer was accompanied at Scotties on the river, the restaurant that is adjacent to our hotel. Fish & Chips were very good, and the IPA was good too. From there we Uber’d to Rock/Creek outfitters to check out sleeping bags. Jon and I each found bags we liked. The store was also kind enough to ship our old bags home. So, two birds with one stone. While Jon transported our new sleeping bags back to the hotel so he could work, I walked over to the Whole Foods to get our grocery resupply. Shopping a new floor plan at least doubles the shop time. Eventually I found everything we needed. A half mile from Whole Foods was a Liquor store, where I was able to resupply on Bourbon. Once I had all that, I Uber‘d back to the hotel and got started on the laundry. Once Jon was done with work, we went back to Scotties for a light dinner and a cocktail. 

Chattanooga, TN!!

So, even though it was a short day paddle wise, it was a full day before you even factor in the two hour portage. I will sleep good tonight.